Chapter 8. The Blade of the Divine
Roman Torchwick was many things, and observant was definitely one of them. He noticed without fail that Cinder was very on edge. She watched the shadows obsessively and almost skewered a White Fang member who startled her. Neo had seen it too, Cinder was scared of something. Everyone by now had seen the remains of Emerald and Mercury, seen the message left for Cinder in the wall, and realized two things. One, whoever was after Cinder was very powerful. And two, they were very disturbed. Incinerating a person and mounting another's head on a spike were not actions committed by a sane individual.
Roman swore to himself, if he met the person who did that he would run.
Jaune could only gape at his luck. His team was being sent to Forever Fall, again, but this time it was to be a weeklong excursion with Professor Port. Ozpin had deemed Team JNPR ready for an advanced trial, and thus allowed them to participate in this extermination trip ahead of schedule.
Jaune and his team were setting up their camp a few hours before dusk, Port had opted to take a brief stroll but stayed within seeing distance of his charges. Ren was crafting a fire, Pyrrha was serving as lookout, Nora was bouncing about and rambling about sloths and how she wanted to try syrup made from Forever Fall sap, and Jaune was foraging for food.
Death had made great efforts to turn Jaune into a one man army, and this extended into survival skills. He had already found a river and started to fish, his Abyssal Chain snagging the scaly meals with near perfect accuracy. All the while he extended his senses, searching for anything unusual. The information about the ruin was vague at best but it was something worth investigating. He couldn't sense anything yet but the forest was vast and he had a week to look.
A small group of four Beowolves were trying to sneak up on Jaune, creeping quietly behind him. They pounced as he hoisted the sack of caught fish onto his shoulder, and it ended very badly for them. The first two died as Chaoseater tore through the air, and them, while taking the arm of the third. Jaune stopped his swing and moved to a thrust, Chaoseater's width decapitating the injured Grimm. The fourth attempted to flank Jaune, but the Horseman was ready. Driving Chaoseater into the dirt Jaune reached out and caught the Grimm by its throat, its lower body swinging as its momentum was suddenly stopped. It snarled for a moment before Jaune squeezed hard enough to snap its neck, it was dissolving before it even hit the ground.
When Jaune returned to the camp he behaved as if nothing had happened, which by his standards was completely true. Port was returning from his little stroll, the camp was set, and Ren had taken over watch duty.
"I see you've been busy Jaune." Pyrrha said, noting the fish Jaune carried.
"Fish! Yes, I love fish! Fish are great, and tasty! Though not as tasty as pancakes, especially with syrup! Oh, do you think fish will be good with syrup?" Nora was her usual spastic self, but Jaune was only paying slight attention. He had found something…out of place.
It felt like a bubble. A bubble coated in a mirror. His probing had overlooked it at first because of how this bubble behaved. Like an inquisitive hand that enters one place and emerges a great distance away.
"A time-space ward. Interesting. No wonder it's been so hard to find. I was looking for a place that, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist in this time and place." Jaune smirked, wards were tricky to place but incredibly useful when mastered.
Jaune knew that he needed to investigate, but with the situation that he found himself he would need to wait for an opportune moment. If he cast the proper illusion he could slip away at night without anyone noticing. What he didn't realize is that his team had noticed something off about Jaune. They knew that he could handle himself well enough but still intended to keep an eye on him.
Night came quickly, and the group found themselves ordered to rest while Port took first watch. Jaune nodded and pretended to retire, but the moment he thought he was out of sight he cast a quick illusion and slipped away. He wasn't as versed in such abilities as Death, but he could use them well enough. Illusions always seemed to be beyond his reach, Death theorized that it was because of who War was, is, and would always be. Illusions required a degree of subtly that was consistently beyond what a being such as War was capable of. Death had actually found Jaune a quick study and significantly more capable with illusions than previous incarnations.
And Jaune put that moderate skill to use. Port never noticed Jaune's departure, but Ren did. Alerting the rest of the team and giving pursuit, Ren took lead so as to keep that correct distance to prevent detection.
Jaune hadn't noticed them yet, he was focused on his task. In the time since sensing this ward he had made a point of feeling it out as best as he could, so as to figure out how extensive it was. He had felt a shallow dome of sorts above ground, but had quickly found that the ward was actually a massive sphere that extended far beneath the ground.
"The majority of the structure must be underground, with only the entrance on top." Jaune speculated, finally coming to the border of the ward.
His team were puzzled, Jaune had simply stopped and was just staring straight ahead. Ren could see small motions of Jaune's head from behind, as if he was looking about. If they could see his face then they would have seen a hard glare as Jaune investigated the ward. Nora almost squealed with excitement as Jaune raised his left hand, flexing his fingers as sparks of red lightning jumped about. He reached forward and seemed to be trying to touch open air.
Suddenly the red lightning jumped from Jaune's hand and hovered in front of him. This lightning spread out and did something that the rest of the team could only gape at. To them, it looked like a mirror covered balloon started expanding from where the lightning hovered. It swelled until a dome stood before Jaune, the surroundings distorted but quickly reorienting.
"What was that!" Nora burst out, ducking quickly as Jaune fired Mercy. Nora learned a valuable lesson at that time. Never startle a Horseman of the Apocalypse, even if they are in training.
"What are you doing here?" Jaune asked, his voice level after his brief jump.
"Trying to figure out what you're doing." Pyrrha said, trying to understand what had just happened.
Jaune was quiet, he knew that these people would just keep digging if they were curious. And if they investigated anything without proper understanding then they could be in danger. So he decided to play it safe and answer what he felt was necessary.
"Not long ago I came across a person who told me of something he found when in this forest. It was a relic that, if confirmed, is very dangerous to have out and about." Jaune answered.
"But what about that lightning. It was like buzzzzzzz, then ZAP! Then schtttt." Nora said, miming out wiggling her fingers, then splaying her hands, then ballooning out her arms. The sad part about interacting with this girl for as long as Jaune had, is that he was able to actually understand her.
"I sensed it earlier, while fishing. It's known as a time-space ward. Essentially it is a space that exists outside of normal space. A pocket of space that is separated and whose borders connect non-adjacent spaces." Jaune could see that only Pyrrha was grasping the idea. "If you stuck your hand in on one side it would come out on the other without actually touching the warded space."
"So it's like a portal from some of my games." Nora said, her finger on her chin as she puzzled over the idea.
"A…fair way of understanding it." Jaune said, not wanting to entertain the subject any further.
During his explanation the ward continued to dissipate, the mirror surface fading away to reveal a dark, stone mausoleum. It was obviously ancient, the vines had made significant progress in claiming the walls and roof, the stone angels on said roof were crumbled almost unrecognizably, and the metal door was completely overtaken by rust.
"What is this?" Ren asked, noting that the architecture was unlike anything in modern day cities.
"Let's find out." Jaune said, ripping the decrepit door from its hinges.
Inside it was a fairly spacious room, ten meters long and wide with a five meter height. The walls were dotted with small alcoves and adorned with urns, but a good portion of the floor was occupied by a sarcophagus in the center. It was a glassy black material that Ren, with an impressed face, quickly deduced was obsidian. On top, too perfect to have been carved by hand, was the figure of a massive humanoid.
Jaune simply stared at the figure's face, his expression unreadable. The rest of the team were quick to note the similarities between Jaune's face and the face on the sarcophagus.
"A relative of yours?" Ren asked.
"The first. The first War. My earliest ancestor. Which means…"Jaune said, trailing off as he looked at the urns around him. "These are those who bore the mantel before me. My ancestors."
Jaune continued to look about, but then noticed something. The floor had a number of scuff marks. This sarcophagus had moved in the last few years, but the dust on it was undisturbed. Something had moved this massive obsidian box without touching it. Jaune had a feeling that whatever did it was lurking beneath them right now, and that was concerning enough.
But caution did not mean inaction, and Jaune casually moved the sarcophagus to reveal a winding staircase leading down. It was dark and dusty, but Jaune was undeterred. Activated a shoulder mounted flashlight built into his armor, a useful thing he installed when he was still training, Jaune descended. His team was apprehensive but they knew that they couldn't just let him go off alone.
It was a rather short descent but the dark, cramped staircase made it feel much longer. Eventually the staircase began to have its own light, a soft, white glow that soon became quite bright. The source was soon discovered when the staircase opened into a hallway of sorts, to Jaune's left was a statue with a glowing crystal sword that had been providing the illumination while darkness stretched to the right. Jaune could see a few identical statues to the right, but the darkness was too strong to fully see them.
"Hindsight is 20-20 they say. This place must have terrified Tukson."No sooner than the thought passing his mind did Jaune get blinded by the sudden illumination from the other statue's swords. In pairs they lit, dispelling the darkness in large increments.
The hall was an interesting to say the least. A high ceiling supported by thick columns, cobwebs caked everything so thick that it was clear no new spiders had been here in centuries. In the distance a room could be seen, and it was towards this room that Jaune moved.
"Jaune, what is this place?" Pyrrha asked, rubbing her upper arms. Something about this place felt…unnatural.
Ren was looking at the webs with concern, as old as they were they were much larger than those of normal spiders. Nora was busy looking at the glowing swords, noticing something about how the statues were holding them. Nora gave one an experimental tug and was pleased when the large crystal lifted away from its stone holder.
"Leader, I challenge you to a duel." Nora exclaimed, holding the blade in front of her in what could only be described as a playful attempt at a gallant pose.
Jaune observed this with a raised eyebrow. Ren and Pyrrha could only chuckle at their teammate's antics. Pyrrha could honestly say that the oppressive, foreboding feeling had been dispelled by Nora's playful actions.
"Nora…" Jaune said, a warning note in his voice. Nora thought that he was about to tell her to put the sword back. "Be careful with that." He said, turning back to continue towards the room.
"You mean I can keep it?" Nora said excitedly, hugging the blade but keeping its edges in mind.
"So long as you don't accidentally decapitate yourself, yes." Jaune answered without looking back. The rest of the team continued on until they came to the final chamber. Whereas the hall had been dominated by soft white light, the chamber had bright yellow light.
It was a large circular chamber, a square dais stood in the center. On each side of the dais was a statue, with the fourth being just above the door to the chamber, and a lit brazier behind each to provide the light. To the back of the room, in the direct line of sight to the group, was a statue of the original War with its left hand extended out as if offering something. To the right was a male figure with large handguns, the right being pointed up at head level. To the left was a female statue with a whip. And seated above the door was a third male statue, a blank skull mask on its face and a scythe across its lap.
All of the statues were staring at the middle of the dais, where a sword was imbedded. It was ornate, with intricate metal work and seemingly inlaid with gold. The foreboding feeling had returned in full force, and the statues, despite not moving, felt like they were glaring down at the group.
Jaune could sense the power from the blade, and he knew that it was no replica. This was the Armageddon Blade that the first War used in his quest all those eons ago. Tukson's footprints were still visible in the layers of caked dust in the chamber, and an area just before the blade was cleaner than its surroundings. The area where the book had been propped against the blade.
Steeling himself Jaune strode forward, his hand extending to grasp the blade's handle. But just before he made contact a spectral hand grabbed his own. There, next to Jaune, was a red tinted translucent figure. Team JNPR could all see the clear resemblance between the face of the statue and that of the phantom.
Without a word the figure released Jaune and pointed at its statue, specifically the offered hand. It was only then that Jaune noticed that in the statue's palm was a dust covered object.
"Two relics in one day, how lucky." Jaune thought dryly, recognizing the object.
The Mask of Shadows, an artifact that allowed the wearer to peer into and interact with the realm of shadows. Recognizing this as a test Jaune picked the mask up and placed it on his face. Instantly Jaune and his team saw the surroundings change. The statues, dais, and identifiable structures disappeared, leaving an open space in the room. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all found themselves trapped behind a red barrier, witnessing as a shadowy mass sloughed off of Jaune and slithered from him. It bubbled grotesquely for a moment before a croutched figure rose from it.
Jaune frowned behind the mask, glaring at the dark reflection he now faced. The reflection glared back with equal loathing in its glowing red eyes. The two drew their blades and held them at the ready. His reflection spoke, its voice dark and containing a hissing undertone.
"So a Horseman finds this temple at last, but will it be his grave. It remains to be seen." And the reflection charged.
Author's note
So a few things to address. Yes, the next chapter will be Jaune vs. his darkness. I will be addressing some aspects of Jaune's personality there, sort of as an 'overcome your demons' chapter.
Another thing that I wish to point out. There has been a matter addressed with how I handle this fanfiction's Jaune, namely that by not going over Jaune's history before his time at Beacon I break reader immersion. That I should explain the character before even beginning his story, explain his personality and character. But that, is a true break of immersion.
To properly have a character, in a well written story, requires that the character be revealed over time. Their personality is revealed by early interactions with other characters, how their different traits and qualities bounce off of each other and eventually begin to color each other. How each character affects and changes the others through their interactions is how a character is revealed. But, this may just be how I see it.
A side note, If you have read my Percy Jackson fanfiction you will have noted a particular interaction where Artemis and Zoe have a change of perspective about Percy. They realize that Percy, much like Jaune in this fanfiction, is someone who is essentially a soldier for their respective causes. Percy in particular is best describable by the following statement. "He places one foot in the darkness, so as to better stand against it." Percy and Jaune, like most characters I write, are people who do those morally questionable acts to achieve a greater good. Both would gladly be thieves to stop a murder, and just as quickly commit a murder to stop a serial killer.
But in any case, leave any comments about what you think so far. If you have a preferred ship with this Jaune fell free to tell me who and why.