Chapter 3: Knowledge

Hello everyone! Sorry for not having an update for a super long time, like I said in my last chapter my internet was down so I couldn't do anything and let me tell you; one of the most boring weeks I've had in a while. But, I'm back now so do not worry! To make up for lost time, I will update more frequently but don't expect the chapters to be bad, I will make sure they are top notch and not utter trash. This chapter was fun to write and I will start on the next one immediately. Not gonna lie I kinda stalled on this chapter just so I could get all the dialog right, sorry...

Side note: 67 followers and 49 favorites! Holy crap thank you all so much! Gives me incentive to keep writing.

Lord of wrath: First off, thanks for the review, secondly I am glad you like the interaction between Jaune, Ozpin, and Goodwitch. I was on the fence about the encounter and I was hoping it didn't seem too...rushed? It just felt fast paced, same with the fight scene but even in the show that whole fight was fast.

Enjoy the chapter and leave a review of your thoughts, good or bad!

I slowly awoke to the sound of someone banging on my door. For a moment, I looked around the room so I could remember where in the hell I was. My memory quickly flooded back as I remembered the night before. I placed my hand against my head, hoping it would somehow stifle the rising headache. Unfortunately, it didn't help.

I made my way to the door and pulled it open. A brown haired man stood on the other side with two duffle bagsby his legs. His eyes looked down towards his clip board then to me. "Are you...Jaune Arc?" I nodded in response as the man smiled. "Good! These are your bags by the way, I have no idea what you put in these but let me tell you, it was a challenge to get them across campus." A smile was still plastered on his face as he stared at me. I had no idea if he was waiting for a response or not until he spoke again.

"Well, I got to head out but welcome to Beacon and all that!" The man spun on the ball of his foot and started to walk down the hall. I watched as he disappeared around the corner without a sound. The sound of metal doors closing filled the empty hall signifying he was gone. I stood there for a moment before grabbing me bags and bringing them into my room. After I set them down I closed the door and sat on my bed in front of a bag. The sound of a zipper being pulled filled my room as I opened the bag. The first thing I saw was Isaac's mask sitting on top of some clothes. I picked up the mask and held it in front of my face, looking over its features.

A smile made its way across my face as I remembered the memories of my old mentor. I placed the mask down beside me and pulled out my clothes and started to arrange them in plies.

After arranging them into my cabinets and drawers, I pulled the next bag over and opened it. A white chest plate glistened in the moring sun peaking through my window. At first glance, the armor seemed like it was standard armor, but in reality it was made of metal that could take more than a few hits. I pulled the chest piece out along with the rest of the pieces. Armor ran along my biceps and forearms, connected to the chest piece by sturdy leather. The arm pieces covered a majority of my arms while still giving full mobility.

The leg pieces were identical to the arms, covering the majority of my legs while still giving mobility. A few scrapes lined the white armor, most just small scratches from enemy's who got lucky hits off.

As I was about to place it over my normal clothes I realized that I hadn't taken a shower for weeks, and I now just realized the smell. I took my clothes off with haste and got into the shower. I placed my arm on the wall to hold myself up as the water flowed over my body. Dirt and grime and sweat disappeared down the drain, along with the tension in my muscles. My eyes soon closed as I fell into a relaxed state. It had been months since I was given time to relax, while I had showers at hotels and rivers to bathe in, I never felt safe. I always felt that urge of danger lurking around, and most of the time I was right.

I had been saved multiple times by my gut instinct, though it did not help me always. Some things still caught up to me, my scars were evident of that. I shut off the shower and dried my self off. As the mirror cleared up, I was able to see my upper torso.

Small scars lined my chest and sides, some larger than others. My hand absentmindedly rubbed over said scars. The skin on some was still rough and dark while others were smooth and light. I turned so my back was visible, three large claw marks ran from shoulder to waist. Each one as deep as the next, a example of how I used to be weak and foolish. The old memory clouded my head as I stared at the marred flesh.

I wasn't ready to fight yet, but I believed it so I went out into the woods while Isaac was asleep to fight my first Grimm. Sure, I knew how to hold a sword and swing it but I wasn't near ready for a strong opponent. I realized that after my swing against the Beowolf completely missed and went wide, leaving me open for an attack. The beast didn't miss it either, with one swing it hit me with perfect aim. A scream escaped my lips as I collapsed to the ground. I heard the beast howl as It's fowl breathe ran across my skin. I surely would have been eaten right then and their if it wasn't for Isaac coming to save me.

My scroll rang in the other room. I walked over and picked it up as a message appeared on the screen. It read "Class schedule, Remnant history, Grimm studies, Dust studies, and Combat class. Please come to Ozpin's office ASAP."

I placed the scroll down onto the desk and got dressed into a new black hoodie and matching cargo pants and boots. I pulled on my finger less gloves and slid my sword onto my hip along with my pistol holster on my thigh. A sparkle caught my eye as I went to place my armor into the duffle. I reached down and pulled out a large kite shield from inside. The front was white whith gold trimmings around the edges. On the middle of the face, A large gold star was painted on. The sun light shined off of the gold paint, lighting up the room in a gold hue. I flipped it around to see magnetic plates surrounding the handle along with leather straps.

I placed both my armor and shield back into the duffle, then I lifted it up onto my shoulder. 'Huh, the guy wasn't joking about the weight.' I thought as the bag shifted on my shoulder. I grabbed my scrolls and placed it into my pocket as I walked out into the hall way. My door clicked as it closed followed by a light red light shining from the handle then disappearing. A door down the hall swung open as blonde girl stepped out. She looked over and smiled at me. "Ooooh, I didn't know we were getting a new neighbor!" She walked over and stopped in front of me, her smile still present.

"If I would have known a cutie like you was moving in I would have came and said hello." She placed her hand on her hip and kept smiling at me. With the way she was standing it was hard to not look down her shirt, even more so because of her sizable bust. "The strong silent type I see, Don't worry I wont bite. Names Yang by the way." She stuck her hand out and waited for me. I slowly looked down to her hand and shook it. She held onto my hand with a firm grip. I looked up to her lilac eyes. "Jaune." She let go and placed her hand back onto her hips. "Nice to meet a fellow blonde, well I've got to go but I'll see you around tiger." She winked and walked down the hall, swaying her hips as she did giving me a full view of her butt.

Even though I had lived alone for a while with no contact with women, I could at least tell when they were flirting. And oh boy was she flirting. I shook my head and walked the opposite direction towards Ozpin's tower.

Ozpin's tower: 10 minutes later

The doors to the elevator opened with a audible ding. I saw Ozpin standing by the window looking out with Goodwitch next to him. She turned her head to look at me then tapped on her scroll. I stepped out into the office and waited next to a chair. Ozpin turned around and tapped his cane on the ground. "Good to see you up and about Mr. Arc, sleep well?" I shrugged and placed my bag down. "Not being woken up to the sound of Grimm or gunshots, yeah it was pretty good." He smiled and walked to his desk and sat down. "Have you conversed with any of the other students?" I crossed my arms and looked over to him. "Pyrrha helped me into my room, and Yang talked to me."

Ozpin smiled and leaned back into his chair. "Good to see you are not socially awkward like some other students Mr. Arc." I looked out the window and frowned. "Could you stop calling me that, it doesn't feel right." I could see Ozpin's smile drop from his face. He looked to Goodwitch and nodded. She tapped on her scroll and looked to me. "Right, well for today all I ask of you is to attend combat class so I can get you uploaded into the system, and since it is the weekend you won't have to worry about homework, for now." I nodded as she walked to the elevators and left.

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee and looked to me. "Jaune, I do not mean to pry into your business, but may I know why you don't like your last name?" I closed my eyes and let out a sigh before turning to him. "I think you know why, especially after what my father has said on the news." I made the word sound like it was poisoned as it left my mouth. I could feel the tug of anger in my emotions from just thinking about him. "I understand, I will have Glynda change your last name so it doesn't become a distraction." He stood and walked to the elevator and called it.

"Since we have all day until your class, how about we do a little training?" I turned and looked at him to see a small smile plastered on his face. With a nod I grabbed my bag and walked up next to him. The doors opened and we walked in. The entire way down neither of us spoke, causing an awkward silence to fill the box. I glanced over to him just to see if he was doing anything. To my surprise, he was playing a game on his scroll. He seemed to be enjoying himself since a huge smile was shown on his face.

The elevator dinged, followed by a lurch in the elevator. The doors slid open revealing a large room. Ozpin walked out and up to a control panel. As he started to type away I looked around the room. most of it was flat and large, like a training room multiplied by two. A few rows of seats lined the side along with safety glass. Lights hung from the roof illuminating the large floor.

I looked over to Ozpin to see him turn around and tap his cane against the hard floor. "Alright Jaune, before we work on your semblance, I would like to see you in a fight. Please, when you are ready step into the center of the ring." I nodded and set my bag down onto the ground and pulled out my armor.

As I finished the last strap the elevator opened revealing Goodwitch. Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked over to Ozpin in the stands. Her gaze fell onto her scroll as she tapped away. I pulled my shield out and extended my left hand, activating the magnets. The shield stuck to my arm in place. I walked to the center of the arena and rolled my shoulders getting used to the armor.

A loud hum started to resonate through the arena, echoing throughout the large room. Soon after holograms started to form out of thin air. I looked over to where Ozpin was to see him smiling. Goodwitch walked up to the glass and crossed her arms. "This room is for advanced training. When all the enemy's are defeated or your aura goes into the red, the round will end. Though these are holograms, the strength and pain of their attacks will still be present. Don't get careless." The holograms took the forms of Beowolves and Ursa.

A horn sounded as the beasts charged me. As the first beowolf closed in I got into s boxing stance. When it got close enough it reared its arm back to swipe at me. I sprinted forward and slammed the point of my shield into its throat. Black blood squirted out of the new opening, covering the ground. I jumped back as the now life less body slumped to the ground.

Two more rushed forward growling and snarling at me. I deactivated the magnets and threw the shield at one. The shield lodged into its skull with a loud crack from the bone. Its buddy rushed forward snarling as saliva dripped from its jaws. The wolf swiped at me with its large paw splinting the air where my head just was. I ducked and ran past the swipe towards the decaying wolf behind it. I ripped my shield from its head and placed it back onto my arm.

I ran to the next wolf and sliced its neck with the edge then slid through another's legs and jumped up over an Ursa. I pulled Ember from its sheathe still in dagger form and stabbed it into the back of the Ursa. With haste I jumped and dragged the blade through its tough flesh and created a large gash from its back to its neck. It let out one final growl as I tore Ember from its body. The ground shook as it collided with the floor, black blood started to pool around its corpse.

I quickly sliced through the remaining beasts with ease, it felt as if they weren't even trying to attack me. I looked around the arena to see the decaying bodies of the Grimm. A horn sounded as another hologram started to form. I looked over to Ozpin and Goodwitch only to see a black screen where they used to be. I let out a sigh as the hologram started to form a deathstalker.

Another horn sounded as the deathstalker finished. Its eyes shot open and looked directly at me followed by a screech that echoed throughout the room. I clenched my eyes shut and gritted my teeth from the loud noise. Before I could react the beast slammed its claw into my chest, sending me flying across the room. I impacted with floor causing me to roll/slide. The deathstalkers tail stabbed into the ground next to me as I rolled away. I looked up to see its red eyes staring at me, rage was evident in them. Another screech escaped its mouth as it yanked its tail from the ground. I pulled my pistol from its holster and unloaded the magazine into its eyes.

A few bullets impacted one of its eyes, causing it to screech and scamper away giving me time to grab my sword. I holstered my pistol and grabbed Ember from the ground and extended the rest of the blade. The deathstalker let out another screech and charged at me. I stood to my full height and brought my shield up. Its claw collided with my shield again and again trying to knock me off balance. I was slowly pushed back, my boosts squeaking on the hard floor.

It reared its stinger back and struck down at me. I deflected the stinger and jumped up onto its tail and jumped over the rest of the body. I placed my shield onto my back and ran towards the back of the deathstalker. I slid onto my back and under the beats while simultaneously dragging my blade against its soft underbelly. Black blood spewed from the gash as my blade dragged against the soft flesh. The deathstalker roared in pain as I appeared on the other side. It tried to get one final stab but collapsed at my feet.

I let out a sigh as the horn sounded. Speakers crackled to life as the glass turned back to its normal color. "Well done Jaune, I must say that was quite impressive. It has been a while since I have seen a Deathstalker killed by one man." Ozpin spoke in an amused tone. I shifted my gaze towards him to see a small smile plastered on his face. He made his way towards me from the stands with Goodwitch in tow. I slid Ember back into its sheathe as he approached. "Now that I'm done with my test, can we work on what you said we were going to?" I asked with an annoyed tone. Goodwitch scowled at me. "You should show more respect to your superiors Mr. Arc."

I matched her scowl with my own. "I told you that's not my name old hag." Her brows furrowed as she unfolded her arms. "What did you just call me?" Before I could answer Ozpin tapped his can and stepped up to me. "Jaune, you need to calm down. Both of you are at fault." He turned to Goodwitch which caused her to look away. He looked back to me and fixed his glasses. "Now, you know that a semblance is connected to your soul correct?" I nodded. "Have you ever meditated before Jaune?" I shook my head. "Its quite simple. Sit down and get comfortable and close your eyes."

I listened and sat down. "Alright, now focus on clearing your mind of everything, for this to work you must be able to stay level headed." With a sigh I complied and cleared my head of anything and everything. "Good, now you must block out every outside noise, including my voice and imagine your aura and focus on only that. If done right, you will enter a dream like state, after that it is up to you on what you want."

I felt a little confused on his last statement but pushed it away and did as he said. Eventually the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat. I could feel my aura flowing through my body, twisting and turning as it flowed. A slight shock went through my head as a light started to appear. I brought my arm up to block out the light. 'Wait, how can I see my arm?' I thought as I stared at my arm, I looked down to the rest of my body to see it was black and almost couldn't be seen. I looked back up to the light to see a younger version of myself standing alone with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Each drop echoed as it struck the floor. My father walked up and stood by my younger self, he had a frown plastered across his face as he stared down. He shook his head and folded his arms. "Such little promise. Even your eldest sister showed more strength at this age." He slowly walked off into the darkness, leaving my younger self alone crying. Soon after other shadows started to appear, each varied in size and had red large eyes and sharp white teeth. They started to laugh and point at my younger self.

I tried to move but couldn't, I looked down at my legs to see them covered in black mud. When I looked back to the light I saw my younger self run off into the darkness, leaving the shadows behind. I tried to yell out to him, but the only thing that escaped my lips was a hoarse groan. I tried to move again but failed. The mud felt as if it was getting stronger. A new light appeared to my left followed by the clash of metal. I slowly looked over and saw myself sitting in the stands next to my father. He had a smile on his face as he stared at the match.

I saw my eldest sister fighting a opponent, I thought back to the day that happened and slumped forward. She finished off her opponent as the crowd cheered. My father started to clap and smile more. "See Jaune, your sister Mary is strong and has little weakness, the signs of a true huntsman." Mary started to walk towards out seats with a smile presented on her face. My younger self looked up to him and smiled. "Dad, I want to be just like her and be a huntsman!" My fathers smile disappeared almost instantly as he looked down at him. "No Jaune, you can't be a huntsman because you would be too weak. Mary started her training even younger than you and showed more promise then anyone. Now run along and wait for us."

I tried to call out to him, but again nothing escaped my lips. My legs however, moved slightly in the mud. Mary went to hug my younger self but lowered her arms as she saw him trying to not cry. He walked past her without looking up from the ground and disappeared into the shadows. She looked up to my father who still had a frown present. "Don't pity him Mary, he is too weak and you know it." She shook her head and turned away from him.

A new light appeared to my right followed by the sound of mud splashing. I looked over and saw myself lying in the mud with a sword laying by my side. My chest was rising and falling quickly from the exhaustion. My father walked out of the darkness and stood over my younger self. He scoffed and sheathed his sword. "Weak, your are never going to be a huntsman. You can't even last without your aura! You are no son of mine."

I watched as he walked away into the dark, leaving my younger self behind. I grunted and grit my teeth and I moved through the black mud. Each step felt heavier and heavier but I kept pushing forward. With a roar I jumped into the light. I looked down to see my younger self gone, in his place was a broken sword. The black mud dripped from my boots and hands, splattering the white floor. I slowly looked up to see my father standing in front of me. He brought his hand back and swung at me.

I caught his hand and threw it away from me. An angry expression came over my face as I stared at him. "Finally got some back bone huh? Took you long enough. I see you are still we-" I jumped forward and slammed my fist into his cheek before he could finish. He stumbled back and exploded into white flames then disappeared. I looked down to my fist to see white flames slowly disperse. The mud that was coating my fist had now disappeared.

Heavy boots appeared from the darkness and stopped in front of me. I slowly looked up and saw a man dressed in knight armor staring down at me. His armor shifted as he walked around me. "I see I chose correctly." His voice boomed throughout the area. He stopped in front of me and crossed his arms. "Hm, I think I did." I shook my head and looked up at him. "What do you mean chose correctly?" The man remained silent for a moment then spoke. "You know of the sentinels yes?" I nodded. "And of the branch families?" I nodded again.

I could tell he relaxed a bit as his shoulders slummed slightly. "Oh thank goodness, I thought I was gonna have to explain that too. "He slowly pulled off his helmet to reveal his bright blonde hair and blue eyes. He tossed his helmet to the side, said helmet burst into white flames then disappeared. "I, am Samuel Arc. Your oldest ancestor." My mouth dropped open followed by my eyebrows rising. Samuel smiled and laughed. "Oh that never gets old. Yes, I know this is confusing but I will explain it all."

"Right now you are in a dream state, and those memories you saw were a test by me. I made you see the most stressful and painful moments of your life to see how you would react. Luckily enough, you didn't deny them and watched meaning you accept them. Only you know the truth behind those moments, and if you were to deny them then you would be denying your own life." He started to pace back and forth. "Now you must be thinking why I didn't show the death of your master, well while you thought of him as family, he wasn't and you know that." My shoulders slumped as I looked down to the ground. He noticed and quickly replied.

"I'm not here to degrade you Jaune, I'm here to teach you about your semblance. That in fact is how you are seeing me right now. Actually you should thank your headmaster, without him we wouldn't be talking." I looked up to him with a confused expression. "My headmaster? Wait I don't even know how to use my semblance!" Samuel pulled his blade from its sheathe and held it up in front of my eyes. I starred at it and saw that my eyes were now yellow and slit like a cats. "H-how!? This hasn't happened in years!"

He placed his sword back into his sheathe and smiled. "Actually it happened in your headmasters office, but before that it only happened in very stressful situations. Your semblance is connected to your feelings and reacts depending on the strongest one. Anger activates it the easiest, followed by love." I looked down to the ground and frowned. Samuel Placed his hand on my shoulder. "You are special Jaune. There are few who get to use this power, and even less who can use it correctly." I looked up to him with a confused look. "What do you mean correctly?" He snapped his fingers as a light appeared a little ways away.

Samuel turned and looked over to it. "When you activate your semblance, your feelings are strengthened tenfold, and it takes a lot of focus to control them. Some blessed by this power fall short on focus and become engulfed by their emotions." Two men appeared in the light. Both had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked young. "These two are your ancestors that lived long ago. Their names were Alec and Joshua. Both went through hardships like you. Alec lost his family to the Grimm and was forced to watch." Alec stepped forward and closed his eyes.

"Alec learned to control his emotions and thus was gifted the full extent of Instinct." Alec's eyes shot open, both were gold and slit like mine. White knight armor formed over his body and shined. White blades and daggers formed in the air behind him and pointed forward. "Each Arc's Instinct is different. Alec was able to create weapons at will and use them in battle." Alec slowly faded and disappeared. Joshua walked forward next and closed his eyes. "Joshua watched as his family was executed for bringing in a Faunas to their home, he unfortunately didn't take this as well as Alec."

Joshua's eyes shot open, but instead of being gold they were red, the whites of his eyes were turned black. A wicked smile spread across his face as Black knight armor formed. Horns formed out the front of his helmet as well as spikes that appeared throughout his body. Samuel stepped forward and snapped his fingers. Black flames rose from the armor and started to create Beowolves and Ursa.

"Joshua let his emotions overcome him. His anger turned him into a monster, and he used his power for it as well. I wasn't able to get to him in time to save him from his fate." Joshua faded as Samuel turned towards me, a frown was now present. "If you are controlled by your emotions like that, your body slowly dies and withers away to the point where you become poisoned by your own aura since your body can't filter it anymore." Samuel closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "It is a slow, and agonizing death that cannot be stopped after you have been engulfed."

He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly. "That will not happen to you Jaune, while you have gone through much pain, I can tell you hold your beliefs close to your heart, that is why you refused to use your weapon against those teens at the docks." He looked away from me and sighed again. "If something ever happens where you start to be overcome by your hate, then I will stop it but I can only do it once. After that it is up to you." I nodded causing him to smile.

"Now I bet your wondering how you can see me! Well when Instinct is active, which is your eye." He tapped my forehead lightly. "You are able to see the flow of aura in everyone." He reared his fist back and swung at me. Time seemed to slow down as his fist neared me. I quickly ducked as it passed over me. Samuel went back into a relaxed stance and smiled. "Also, your senses are doubled. So, you can see an attack coming at you in slowed down time." I smiled and nodded. "Now while you can see the attack, your body might now always be able to react fast enough to do anything. So, don't think you are invincible."

Samuel snapped his fingers as a huge wall of white aura appeared next to us. I watched in awe as it rose up twenty stories. "Remember how I said each person Instinct is different? Well mine is I'm able to change the environment to my will, like this wall here." He patted my shoulder and looked at the wall. "Think of it as a second semblance, but it drains your aura way faster than normal so don't use yours too much." I looked over to him with a confused expression. "What is my Instinct anyway?" Samuel folded his arms and smiled. "You used it in the forest, you can control your white flames! The flames strength depends on how much aura you put into it. It all depends on your aura and if your Instinct is active."

"That in fact, is how you are seeing me right now! I'm aura that has taken form in your mind, well for now." He looked down to his arm that was now see through. "Huh, it seems my time is running out for now. Before I go there is one more thing I need to do." He walked over to me and placed his hand on my head and closed his eyes. I felt a tingle in my forehead as he released me. I starred at him for a second waiting for a reply. "Well, what did you do?"

Samuel smiled and folded his ghostly arms. "I just gave you a little push on activating your semblance. Their are four parts to Instinct, one is your eyes which is the easiest, second you activated in the forest you burned down." He laughed a bit when he finished. "And the other two, will happen eventually with enough practice." The rest of his body started to fade away. "Remember Jaune, don't let your hate control you. Stay focused." And with that he disappeared completely.

Soon after that the light around me started to fade into black. I felt extremely tired and let my eyes close with the darkness.

My real eyes shot open as I regained feeling in my body. I quickly glanced to Goodwitch who surprisingly was still there. "H-how long was I meditating?" She looked up from her scroll and starred at my eyes. "A few hours, but I see it was worth it." A small smile arose on her face as she held her scroll down in front of me. I was ableto see my reflection as well as my now golden eyes. "It seems Ozpin was right about you."

Chapter end

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Longest one yet!

Yukas out