Three months…three months since Weiss stabbing, three months since Neptune's brutal beating, three months since they had last seen Jaune Arc. It had been troubling to say the least, winter was upon them, the snow hampering their progress immensely. Winter had been working night and day, trying to find Jaune…but for all her effort…she had nothing to show for it.
Neptune had made a full recovery, albeit with some psychological trauma that had to be resolved by a psycatrist. Sun and Blake had been hanging out more, though more to avoid the increasing relationship of Neo and Yang. The two had grown increasingly close the last few months, despite the unique circumstances that Neo was currently having.
A baby growing in you would do that to you, she was currently three and a half months pregnant. Yang, albeit shocked at first, took it in a stride. She had even raided a store for baby supplies…despite it only being three months. Neo had written down that it was Torchwick's, but…everyone knew that wasn't true. Torchwick had been imprisoned before the date of conception, but they also knew that Neo wouldn't hide anything without good reason.
The months had been filled with equipment transfers, the Paladin was to arrive today actually, and the servers had been redone to prevent another hack. However, the more important things to arrive was manpower, more troops, more formers students. People like teams CVFY, the rest of SSSN, hell…even team AMBR, Neon Katt, and Flynt Coal had shown up. Probably the greatest blessing/curse was the arrival of the remainder of JNPR.
Both had arrived today as well, they had been found wandering the forest, searching for a town that had been lost. Needless to say…they didn't take the news of Jaune's fall from grace well.
"That's bullshit!" Nora yelled as she grabbed Winter's collar, pulling the taller girl down to her level.
"Nora, please…language." Ren said, his face impassive as ever.
"Shut up!" Nora yelled, prompting the entire room, containing Goodwitch, Blake, Yang, SSSN, and even Ren to bristle up. Nora was never this aggressive to him, "She's standing there, telling us that Jaune has gone off the deep end, that Jaune killed Ruby and Weiss…"
"Nora, we saw what Jaune was capable of…" Blake tried to interject, only for Nora to growl at her. The faunas shut her mouth as Nora continued.
"Jaune, no matter how desperate he got, would never resort to killing his friends! He's not some berserker monster!" Nora yelled again, her voice rising, "Most off all, he would never use armor like that! No matter how desperate he got! It would be an insult to Pyrrha!"
"I see that cat's been let out of the bag," The entire room turned their heads to regard General Ironwood as he strode into the room, "Albeit with good reason."
"You!" Nora yelled as she let Winter go, only to storm up and grab Ironwood by his shirt, "You caused this! You, bringing that big ship like you were measuring dick sizes! You and Ozpin let this happen! You let Cinder and her bitches destroy everything! You let her kill all those people…you let her kill Pyrrha…"
Ironwood put a comforting hand on the now crying girls shoulder, he had dealt with enough crying friends to not be insulted by this outburst. He himself had lost friends who were more like family, the general looked up to the crowd of people.
"I understand that some of you might not be happy to see me…but I assure you, I have the world's best interest in mind. We need to stop Jaune Arc, before he does something that truly jeopardizes this fragile world." The general said coolly, allowing Nora to move over to Ren and keep crying.
"That's funny coming from you," Blake said as her eyes narrowed, "As Nora said, you're just as much to blame as Ozpin or Cinder."
"I know," Ironwood said, his hands clenching, "In my arrogance, I thought that my soldiers and robots could defend Vale. I was wrong, all those deaths are on my hands. However, right now we need to stop Cinder and her plans to destroy Vale, but first…we need to deal with Jaune Arc."
"Agreed," Goodwitch said as she looked over a map, "We haven't had any more contact with Jaune Arc in the last three months…obviously his last visit did not go over well."
"We lost 20 men," Winter said with a growl, "And my sister."
"…Yes, what we have discovered is that he's extremely adept at predicting our moves, almost as if he's got an inside source." Goodwitch said as she looked at Ironwood.
"I hear that you might have a prime suspect in custody already." Ironwood said as he looked over at Yang.
"Emerald has not had any contact with him, nor has Neapolitan, she was placed under watch as soon as she arrived." Goodwitch said, getting a slight scoff of disbelief from Yang.
"So…that means that either he's got an inside man or a way of hacking into our computers and learning of our plans." Winter said as she pointed at a black circle.
"We managed to find a signal originating from here, it was weak…but when we investigated, it turned out to be a decoy." Blake said as she leaned over the map.
"It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack," Ironwood said as he put his hand to his chin in thought, "What else do we know? I was told that we have a basic psych eval of him?"
"We, of course, have not managed to get a proper evaluation of him, but we've managed to get an idea of his motivations," Goodwitch said, "We know that he's being fueled by the death of Ms. Nikos and that he's become obsessed with avenging her death…albeit in a brutal fashion that's more animalistic."
"That's what I thought," Ironwood said as he put his hand down, "In that case…we have the perfect bait."
"What?" Blake asked, mirroring everyone's face.
"He's enraged by Pyrrha's death to the point of obsession…he probably blames me," Ironwood said, "That means that he wants me dead."
"Sir, I can't let you do this!" Winter started, only for Ironwood to hold up his hand.
"This situation is my fault…This is the start of me fixing it," Ironwood said, "We need a trap set, a ambush. Can I count on all of you?"
The crowd all nodded there agreement.
"Good, now…our goal is to capture him alive," The general said, shocking the group, "If he's found the Berserker armor, then he might have access to other Atlas weapons as well…we have to be sure."
"That's…understandable," Winter said with grit teeth, "But what if he activates his armor."
"We must do our best to prevent that, but if he activates it…" The general sighed, the group got the message.
"Sir…how would you like to proceed?" Winter asked, her voice solemn.
"If our sources are correct, and he has access to our computers, then he knows I'm here already," Ironwood said as he looked at the map of the camp, "We just need to present to him a opportunity, one that he would have to take."
"What kind of opportunity?" Ren asked in a curious voice.
"We use that 'Atlas Arrogance,' to our advantage," Ironwood said with a smile, "Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir." A woman said as she entered the tent.
"Send all the men to the factory district, we have evidence to suggest that the Black Swordsman is based there." Ironwood ordered.
"All of them?" The soldier asked.
"Yes, leave a minimum guard." Ironwood ordered, the soldier saluted and left.
"You all will stay here, alongside any other students. Jaune might be less willing to attack you and you all have proven to be quite capable at combat." Ironwood said with a calm smile.
"Absolutely not!" Goodwitch yelled as she walked towards the general, "You may have forgotten this general, but these are my students. They are under my care and…"
"We're in." All the teens present said, making Goodwitch's head snap towards them.
"Jaune's dangerous, but if there's even a chance of us making him see reason, we're willing to take the risk." Blake said as she stepped forward.
"Besides, we've got a score to settle." Sun said, cracking his knuckles.
"You know you don't have to do this." Goodwitch said, hoping some of them would take her advice.
"Actually…we do." Yang said, her eyes showing that she had no intention of backing down.
A few hours later…
Ironwood looked over the city, a flask in his hand. The soldiers were still sweeping the factory district, it would take them all night. The general sighed as he looked over at the file on Jaune Arc, it was partly his fault. He had brought the technology that allowed Ozpin to make his offer and he had brought his ships, he had played right into her hands.
Ironwood took another drink, that kid didn't deserve what he got. He really didn't, hell…Ironwood knew that if he had been in Jaune's shoes, he would've done the same thing. That being said, the general had to wonder…how did Jaune get that armor? It was in Vale under Ozpins protection, but it was also behind a locked door that was nigh indestructible. It could survive a aerial bombardment and not be compromised.
That left it being opened by use of the computer…but Jaune wouldn't have access to the codes to even begin a hacking, and it would have also taken administrator access. Only his top generals, scientist, and a few trusted allies had those codes. That armor should not be on that boy, that was certain though. Ironwood heard a soft footstep behind him, he sighed once more as he turned.
"So…you want to talk?" Jaune growled as he looked at the general.
"Jaune, I know that you're out for revenge, but this isn't the way to go about it." Ironwood said calmly, this wasn't his first negotiation with an angry maniac.
"Revenge? This isn't just about revenge," Jaune said with a cackle, "It's about proving a point."
"And what point is that?" The general said, keeping his cool.
"If you need to ask that…then you're more stupid than I thought," Jaune growled as he drew his blade, "I'm done talking, you die for what you've done."
"I'm sorry about Pyrrha," Ironwood said as he reached behind himself, "But if you think I'm going to let you kill me…you're sorely mistaken."
Jaune growled as he surged forward, bringing his blade to bare. Ironwood pulled out his revolver and fired, hitting the teen in the shoulder. The bullet didn't slow the teen down as he translated his weight and swung his weapon in a horizontal fashion, which the general dodged by leaping back. Ironwood raised his fist and swung, connecting with Jaune's jaw.
The teen merely growled as he suddenly head-butted the general, disorienting him and allowing for a kick that sent the general into a desk. Jaune brought his blade up to bring it down, only for the general to throw the desk at him. The teen sliced it in half, but the general followed by leaping in and kicking the swordsman in the face.
Jaune stumbled back as Ironwood lined up another shot, this one hitting Jaune full in the chest and sending him out a window. The teen landed in a heap before he jumped to his feet, he growled as he looked around to see himself starting to be surrounded…by people he knew. Ren, Yang, Yatsuhashi, Neon, Flynt, and Coco.
"No…" Jaune growled again, looking around at their faces, "No…you shouldn't be here, you can't be here…you can't interfere with this!"
"Jaune," Ren said holding his hands up, "It's OK, we just need talk."
"No...You need to get out of my way…I don't want to hurt any of you." The knight said, his teeth gritting.
"Jaune…I know that your upset about Pyrrha, but this isn't the way to avenge her." The teen in green said, moving a bit closer.
"If it activates…I might hurt you…I don't want to hurt any of you." Jaune said, seemingly in his own world.
"Jaune…let us help you, please…we can…" Ren whispered as he put his hand on Jaune shoulder, only for the knight to snap to attention. He roared as he shoved Ren back, right before slamming his pommel into the teen's gut. Ren's eyes went wide as the air was taken from his lungs and as he was thrown away, landing on his feet before falling to his knees.
"Get him!" Coco yelled as she revved up her minigun, Yang rushed in and slammed a fist into Jaune's gut, only for him to grab said fist. He looked into her eyes…right before his left hand starting squeezing her right hand. Her nerves burned as he did, she looked down to see that her artificial hand was crumpling in on itself. She yelped as Neon suddenly skated in and kicked Jaune back, opening up an opening for Yats to get in.
The two blades clashed with a shower of sparks, Jaune not moving an inch.
"Jaune, this isn't the way," Yatsuhashi yelled, "Would Pyrrha have wanted this?"
"You don't get to say that name!" Jaune roared as he broke the clash and hit the huge teen, sending him back…only for Flynt to start playing his trumpet and blasting Jaune back. The blonde shoved his sword into the ground, only for Neon to rush in and deliver a few hits from her nun-chucks.
The blows, each crackling with electricity, stunned him long enough for Yatsuhashi to rush in and start swinging his sword. This time, however, Jaune grit his teeth and rolled out of the way, Flynt readied his trumpet for another blow.
"Shut up!" Jaune yelled, holding up his left hand, which a barrel popped out of and bullets started raining out of it. The jazz player yelped as he avoided the bullets, but that brief moment of distraction allowed Yatsuhashi to come in and slam his blade into Jaune's back, sending him into a nearby open street.
"Now!" Coco yelled as Sage ran out and raised his weapon, miniature tornados flew out and caught the knight. He was completely immobilized as the paladin came out, its weapons locking onto Jaune's form. Coco ran over as well and aimed her minigun.
"Fire!" Winter's voice rang out, the weapons all erupting in a glorious blaze of vengeance, all hitting Jaune and burying him into a nearby building. The outpouring of lead was astounding and Winter smiled as she saw the building collapsing in on itself as it kept firing.
"What are you doing?" Ironwood yelled as he came running out, the guns all stopping, "If he activates the Berserker armor, then we lose any chance of reasoning with him!"
Winter didn't have time to reply as an inhuman roar came from the rubble, all eyes turned to the now shifting debris. That's when a black form leapt from the rubble and landed on the Mech, burying it's blade into the metal. The Paladin fell to the ground, the pilot screaming as the monster stabbed again, his screams being silenced as he was impaled.
The creature snapped to Yatsuhashi, right before he roared and jumped into the air, performing a few flips, before slamming his sword down single handed. The huge teen raised his blade to block, and he did, but the force was strong enough to create a crater. The man in green eyes widened as he saw blood suddenly gush out of the armored arm, the bones cracking as the blade hit. The beast roared as it lashed out with its other hand, knocking the distracted Yatsuhashi back.
The bones ripped and teared as the hand was ripped back into place, more blood gushing as the beast whirled around and slashed the huge teen across the chest, sending him flying.
"Yats!" Coco yelled as she let loose with her minigun, only to gasp as the beast merely roared as it ran towards her, the bullets only slowing it down as it approached. The armor was doing its job as the now squashed rounds landed at his feet, the beast roared again as it grabbed the moving barrels, stopping them cold. The weapon sparked as the mechanism's tied to turn, Coco looked at the creature again.
"Shit." She muttered as the beast grabbed her by the face and slammed her into the ground, creating another crater. The beast's head snapped around as it heard a war cry, Sage rushing in to try and slash at it. He swung, only for the creature to hold up its hands and grab the blade. The sheer weight of the sword snapped one of the hands bones, but the creature merely growled as it ripped the blade out of the teen's hands and jammed its pommel into Sage's jaw.
"Let's break it down!" Neon yelled as she skated in, her speed almost dwarfing the beasts. Almost being a key word as the creature dropped Sages sword and caught her weapon, "Oh…"
The creature roared once more as it threw her directly into Flynt, sending them both into the dirt. The beast grabbed it's blade as it readied itself to finish off Sage, only for a bullet to hit its hand. The round tore through the armor, leaving a hole in it. The beast snapped towards the shooter, Ironwood and Winter poised with their weapons.
The beast hatred of Ironwood coursed through its brain as it charged, only for Winter to summon her dove attack. The creature was almost stopped by the summons, only for it to keep pushing through.
"Sir…I'd advise you to get back." Winter said with grit teeth as she readied herself to charge in.
"Noted," Ironwood said as he took aim, "I fear it's time to put him out of misery."
The general fired, hitting the beast in the chest. It roared in pain as the armor piercing rounds bit into his flesh, the general had come prepared. Winter ran in, slashing with both her weapons as the general kept firing. The beast was slowly being driven back, the bullets ripping into him as Winter's Dust enhanced slashes kept it moving slow. Winter kicked it to the ground and raised her blade to finish the job, she brought it down as hard as she could.
The creature growled as it ripped its head up, the blade catching the helmet…only for it to slide off, taking a chunk of the visor with it. Winter was taken aback by its eye, she had faced men, beast, and Grimm…but nothing had ever looked at her with such venom. That little delay was all the time it needed as the beast lashed out, going under the woman's legs. Winter tripped as it whirled around and grabbed her by the ankle, and swung her into Ironwood.
The general, taken aback by the change in tactics, was sent flying. The beast threw Winter to the ground as it charged at Ironwood, its left hand closing around his throat. The beast slammed him down into the ground, squeezing harder and harder. The general was brought up to eye level with his opponent, the snarling reaching his ears.
"Finish it then," Ironwood gargled out, "Do it..."
The creature roared as it readied itself…only for a rather sharp blade to slice the hand clean off, the creature yelped in confusion as it looked at the stump.
"Don't be so dramatic, James," Goodwitch said as she adjusted her glasses, "I think the only one who's going to die here is Jaune Arc…unless he calms…"
The woman was cut off as, dropping his sword in the process, the creature picked up the general and threw him at her. The creature roared again as a pistol shot rang out, pinging off its armored helmet. The creature snapped around to see a rather scared looking Scarlet.
"Oh…bollocks," The teen yelled as the beast charged off towards him, chasing him into a long building with cargo crates. The teen looked back, only to yelp as he ran faster, the creature on his tail, "Oh crap, crap, crap, crap!"
He dove behind a crate, the beast roaring as it tried to round the corner…only to slip on the greased floors.
"Yeah!" Sun's voice rang out, "I told you it would work."
"It just seems a little too easy for that." Blake muttered as she jumped down from the rafters, followed by both Neptune and Sun.
"What? He's down, and he's not dead! We might have a chance to…" The monkey faunas stared with a grin…only to drop said grin as the creature got up with a snarl, "Aw…come on!"
Scarlet, on the other hand, only heard the sounds of fighting before deafening silence.
"Guys? Is…is it safe?" The teen asked, slowly poking his head out from behind the crate…only for a huge to grab his face, Scarlet's muffled screams were barely heard as the beast threw him into a wall…denting it in a perfect impression. The beast started to walk out…only to stop as a figure filled the exit, Velvet stood there with a determined look on her face.
"Jaune…don't make me do this…" The girl asked, her voice soft as she tried to calm the raging beast. The armored foe only snarled again as it charged, Velvet sighed as she jumped over it. She landed as a spectral Crescent Rose appeared in her hand, the faunas fired a round, sending her flying at the beast. She wrapped the blade around the waist, swinging her around to the beast front. The weapon disappeared as a set of submachine guns appeared which erupted as she peppered the beast with bullets.
The beast roared as it lashed out with its stump, Velvet ducked under, Ember Celica replacing Ren's weapons as she punched the beast in its chest, sending it back, before creating Nora's hammer and swinging. The beast flew back as she switched it out for Coco's minigun, which she let loose, the weapon sending the unanchored beast into a building. She summoned Penny's blades as the beast climbed out of the rubble again, and sent them flying into its limbs, pinning them.
She summoned the most destructive weapon she could think of at that point, an Atlas Mech gun filled the air in front of her.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, letting the weapon fire, a rocket careened into the beast, collapsing the building completely on it.
"Jaune…I'm so sorry." Velvet said with a sob, she had done it. She had killed, ended his reign of terror…but she had just killed Jaune, her friend, her…the rubble shifted. Her eyes snapped to as the beast as it climbed out of the rubble, Velvet gasped as she looked over him. The helmet was beaten, his lower left jaw was visible. His body was showing at various points, and it was scratched up pretty badly.
The creature snarled at her as it stepped forward, the suit drowning out the pain. Velvet fell back as the creature got closer, raising its hand to strike. Velvet summoned the first thing that came to mind as it came down, Jaune's face burning into her mind. A shield, with a symbol on it, as well as a sword. Crocea Mors. The hand hit the shield…only for the blow to barely register, the beast stared at the shield.
"No…no, she's my friend…" Jaune muttered as he grabbed his head, "I won't…I won't hurt my friend…I won't kill them…they are all I have left."
"Jaune…" Velvet said softly, only for her voice to be drowned out by a blood fueled scream.
"Jaune!" Nora yelled as she rushed in, slamming her hammer into his chest, sending him back into the building. Nora had been triggered, Jaune had hurt Ren, and Jaune was going to pay, "Why Jaune? She was out friend too!"
As she screamed, she hit Jaune with each sentence.
"She wouldn't want this! She would have wanted us to move on! And what have you done? You've killed Ruby and Weiss, you've hurt Ren! Why Jaune? Why have you turned into this monster that I have to kill?" Nora yelled as she beat on Jaune, who was now on the ground, coughing up blood as he stared at Nora's eyes. She raised her hammer and brought it down, ready to finish it. That's when a white, huge shield blocked the blow.
Nora yelped, and then again as a red blur slammed into her, sending her a few steps back.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jaune coughed out, "I told you to stay hidden!"
"As if," Weiss's voice hit Velvet and Nora like a truck, "This is what you get when you insist on being the lone hero."
"Besides, Nora would never forgive herself if she did this!" Ruby said with a grin as she grabbed the orange haired teen in a hug. Nora just stiffened up, the information not registering. Jaune got to his feet, only to be caught by Weiss when he fell.
"Velvet, where's the med tent?" Weiss asked, her voice sharp.
"It's…it's this way." The faunas answered as she started guiding the pair.
"Weiss?!" Winter yelled as she came around the bend, her eye's wide in shock.
"Look, I'll explain everything later, right now we've got to make sure this idiot doesn't die." The heiress replied as she continued on her way.
A few hours later…
"Jaune Arc is recovering in the med bay," The doctor said as he entered the command center, which was currently filled with pretty much everyone who was fighting Jaune, "He's in bad shape, the armor has taken a toll on him, add on that the damage that you guys did, I'd usually recommend a large amount of bedrest."
"But?" Ironwood asked.
"It seems like Mr. Arc is more resilient that we thought, probably a combination of the Berserk Dust and his own Aura. He should be on his feet in a few hours." The doctor said with a smile.
"Did you get a look at his prosthetic? Any idea where it came from?" The general asked, looking over the medical report.
"No idea sir, it's a remarkable piece of craftsmanship," The doctor replied, "However, it does seem that it was modified from its original base, looks like it was beefed up to allow use with the armor."
"Interesting," Ironwood said as he turned to face Ruby and Weiss, "Anything you wish to add?"
"We've already told you, we're not talking until our associate arrives, they will be here any minute now." Weiss said as she crossed her arms.
"She's actually just outside the door, she just messaged me." Ruby said with a grin.
"What? You're in the middle of Atlas HQ, how did we not…" The general started before the door opened and the associate walked in.
"Salutations everyone!" Penny yelled as she entered the room.
So…all of you who thought that Ruby and Weiss were alive? Here you go, they are alive after all… I mean, come on guys, would Jaune really kill those two? Maybe, but that's not the case with this story! Anyway, as always, thanks for the read. Keep those reviews coming and those faves and follows clicked.
However, a quick note for those of you who decide to rip on the story (for good reason or bad), I do ask of you one thing…please use proper grammar. I understand that I might be a hypocrite for asking that as my story has loads of typos (but, seriously, what FF doesn't?) but, if you're going to complain, then please do it professionally. Don't misspell cliché as clithe, as for the rest of you…keep it coming!