AN: Hey guys and gals! I hope everyone's had a wonderful two weeks. If not, then you'll get through whatever it is you need to. Trust. I said in the last one I'd switch back over more towards Beacon for a bit, because there's a lot to cover. It's gonna be chaotic and ridiculous, but worth it, lol. Anywho, Let's get it on!
Godly thoughts
Just me/Others
"Speech"/"Speech"
(Jaune)
Well, this is awesome. Thanks a lot, brother.
Jaune is currently handling a crusading Nora, trying to find Ozpin. Screaming 'He must know where my Kadey-Wadey is!' all the while with her hammer. Unsure of how to bring her down and ease her delusions, Ren, Adam, and him endeavored to stop her with a counter: More food.
Jaune made a beautiful strawberry sundae, but Ruby stole it from him before he could find Nora, and Adam was found lodged in a nearby wall on the way to Ozpin's office. Ren made his own special pancakes, and approached earlier as well. All he could see was Ren on his knees with a full plate saying 'I have failed them all' repeatedly.
Jaune was at his wits end, and the rest of his friends were barely helping. Blake and Yang were in the library, talking most likely about Kade, Pyrrha was training at the moment, and Wiess was out of the question. Who was going to stop Nora, if not him? He pleaded to the sky for a miracle, and one came.
A shadow coalesced in front of him, making out the rough shape of the God of Darkness, or well, just God now in the general likeness of his brother. Weirdly, he appeared more like Kade every second.
"So I see everything is running smoothly here, huh?"
"Please man, I need help. Just stop her before Beacon's main tower goes down or something. I don't even know what she wants. She's just raving about Kade and pancakes. Even Ren can't slow her."
"Grievous indeed. Well, I'll lend you a hand with a bit of a surprise. Come, walk with me to Ozpin's office."
"Ok, what did you have in mind?"
"What's the point of a surprise if you know?"
"Fair."
Jaune strolled with the God until they reached the base of the tower, and entered the elevator. Silence was deafening, and the ding of the machine let Jaune exhale finally. I know he means the best for everyone here, but I can't help but feel tense now. It's like death rolls off of him in waves. It's almost making me gag.
"Well hello there Mr.D'Arc, and Lord of darkness. What can I do for you?"
Jaune was immediately uncomfortable. Ozpin had received them with a smile he's never seen, and joy like a child. Sipping from his mug, the old wizard continued.
"Does this have anything to do with the selection of your host's lieutenants?"
"Why yes, it actually does. I had been meaning to wait for Kade to return, but the situation has progressed….differently."
"You mean Nora coming here to interrogate Ozpin on where Kade is, right?" -Jaune
"Bingo! Now, I'm going to grab something….there it is!"
The god had reached behind his back and pulled out what appeared to be a chalice, but one that kinda scared Jaune. It had crossed swords and scenes of soldier formations and war. What hit him next was the smell. Yup, that's blood. I might lose my breakfast…
"Oh calm down. Now drink it."
"You gotta be kidding me."
"Nope. Your brother is being a baby back bitch too right now. I need you to drink it. Quickly, before Nora remembers the elevator exists."
"Fiiiiine. Hand it over."
Jaune took the cup from God, swishing it slowly while contemplating. Will I die if I drink this? Why the hell am I even agreeing?
"Don't be shy. It's part of the surprise."
"Fuck it, we ball."
Jaune tossed his head back and poured the blood like liquid down his throat as quickly as he could. It tasted of pennies and smoke, and he almost felt it come back up immediately. However, he was able to stomach it somehow, looking at God and Ozpin to ask what to do now.
"No worries kid, this is part of my little recruiting process. Death is only pretty likely here, so good luck."
"AAAaAaaaGGhh!"
"See, it's not so bad."
Jaunw was currently convulsing on the floor, screaming out to burst the eardrums of anything near. Ozpin was standing over him now, as embers and smoke swirled around the three. Where the fuck did that come from? Wait, It doesn't hurt anymore.
Jaune stretched out from his fetal huddle and glared at both the figures.
"I hate you."
*sips with gusto*
"Well, Mr.D'Arc, don't hate me, I'm not the one who drank that."
"What even was that?"
"The essence of war, conquest, and bloodshed. I made you something like me, but limited. Like a pantheon god."
"The fuck? How do you even make someone a god? What if I didn't want it? How does this stop Nora?"
"Well, I did it cus it was cool. I liked the idea of Kade having help as my successor. So boohoo, now go fight Nora. She couldn't stand a chance now. Oh, and you'll get a few more surprises soon, but they'll hurt less. …Maybe."
"If you weren't technically my brother I would wanna kill you right now."
"Note Taken. But the merger takes a long time, so we're more separate than not now. I just take his appearance more. And share a bit of his jokes"
"Mr.D'Arc, if you could come this way."
"Yes Sir."
Jaune made to move towards Ozpin, now closer to his desk. Suddenly, the elevator dinged, and all three of them turned towards the door, getting paler by the second. The doors slowly opened to rev-
-"HI JAUNEY! OZZY, WHERE IS KADE! I'M HUNGRY!"
"Fuck." That was the only thing that got out of the three before Nora made to strike Ozpin with Magnhild. Jaune, against his better judgment, stepped in front of that hammer, and shielded himself as best he could. My brother above, this will hurt.
CLANG!
Jaune opened his eyes, not expecting to still be standing. Furthermore, Nora was stopped dead in front of him. Her hammer was stuck on his arms. Speaking of, they just so happened to be faintly glowing with a black and blood colored aura. Huh, so that cocktail wasn't just for laughs.
"What are you doing Jaune-Jaune!? I'm trying to find out where Kade is! I want him- I mean I want pancakes!"
"You haven't even had any yet from him? How do you know they'll even be good?"
"Lies! If Kade is the lord of all things one day, he'll be able to make the most superior pancakes in the universe!"
"That…kinda actually makes sense. Just pause on the assault, so we can figure it out where he is peacefully and quickly. Please."
"Fine, but you better hurry. I don't think you want to keep me waiting…"
Jaune couldn't be more unsettled if he tried at that moment, with Nora staring through his soul and smiling like a maniac. She hefted Magnhild back over her shoulder though, so Jaune could finally take a breath.
"Well students, that was a show. On the topic of your companion, I think we need to have another meeting. Jihn has been…very helpful in understanding the turmoil we've come to face. Come both of you, dinner is soon approaching, we can have a gathering in the staff room."
"I would agree. Here, let's speed this up."
Jaune felt his body lurch forward and his vision blur for a moment. When he refocused his eyes, he noticed two things. One, he was sitting at a table now. Two, nearly everyone he knew was there. Not only the all star cast that he was with last night, but also some atlas looking folks, his family, CFVY, The rest of the teachers, and some more lackeys of Salem.
Wait, I think that's the general? Wiess's sister, mom and dad are gonna flip soon, and even Hazel, Mercury, and Emerald were here.
"Hey, uh, god? The guy who's totally not my brother, at least yet, can you tell why there are EVEN MORE PEOPLE WE JUST DRAGGED INTO THIS!?"
"Easy there, my man. Just take deep breaths. They're frozen right now, so it's just you and me for a sec."
Jaune looked around at the large room and saw just that. Each and every one of them were still, not even a blink of an eye occurring.
"So what is it now?"
"Well, that's a loaded question. I got Kade to drink his special sauce, so he's undergoing the same thing right now, except with a few uninvited guests spoiling his time. It's a concoction I made from my power. If you all are to be by his side, I will test that. I'm making you and your friends into a pantheon."
"Excuse the fuck outta me?"
"You're excused. Now, yours is the dominion over war. In fact, it's similar to a tale of horsemen from Earth. They were thought to bring the apocalypse, and I liked that idea. So I just sorta made assumptions that it would work here."
"Sometimes, I can't even tell if you're turning into him, or the other way around."
"Pretty much the same thing."
"So who are the others? And What is Kade?"
"Now, that would just be spoiling my fun."
"I swear to you, I will stick my foot so far up your as-"
"Ok, ok, I'll relent. Just kidding, good luck with everyone."
Jaune started to see Darkness dissipate in front of him, finger gunning him with a wink as he faded.
"You-you motherfucker! Goddammit, man! I can't catch a break, can I!"
"Jaune, language!"
Jaune looked around at the table. He realized he was at the end of his life, as his mother was right in front of him, with a stern expression.
"I-I swear it wasn't my fault! Mom, you gotta trust me. It was all Kade."
"Uh-huh, I'm sure it was, young man. We'll see about that when your sisters are through with you!"
"No, please ma! Come on, help me here…"
"Jaune, you know how they are. Good luck."
One Jaune Mauling Later…
"Well, Mr'D'Arc, I must ask that you keep yourself in check. This meeting is of grave importance." -Ozpin
"OZPIN!" -Hazel
Jaune saw the big tanned guy make his way toward the headmaster, flexing his arm back for a wicked right hook.
"Stand down Hazel! Circumstances are changing, we cannot afford to blunder ourselves around right now." -Salem
Hazel froze in place.
"But you-" Hazel
"I know what I said Hazel. Do not make me repeat myself. Are we understood?" -Salem
"Yes, mistress."
Hazel made his way back to Salem, sitting with her and her "associates."
Jaune looked at the supposed future enemies. They were all tough, but they didn't seem as much as in the show. Maybe it was his different outlook and strength that gave him that feeling. But he would not be caught drowning in weakness like his early fictional counterpart.
"Whoa, what did I just walk back into?"
Jaune looked at the center of the rounded table, and saw Kad-Darkness standing tall. No matter what was said or done, it always spooked him when he just appeared out of nowhere and vanished the same.
"Kade, is that you? Why do you look so…different? I don't think the fire is as complementary as you think, honey bun." -Juniper D'Arc
"Well this is gonna take awhile. Nah, never mind. Random Bullshit, go!"
Just as he said that he threw his arm out in an arc, shooting little beads at everyone's foreheads not at the previous meeting. At that moment, the room was silent, and no one spoke. It was the D'Arcs who broke the silence first, beginning to wail into each other's arms and shoulders, not being able to comprehend the knowledge given to them.
"What did you do to them!" -Jaune
"Hey man, I didn't really do much. I just imparted all the knowledge of your showing, and what's been going on since you and Kade left home. Aright, now I think I'm good. Call if ya need me again! Don't bother with a scroll, just yell my name or something, I'll hear ya."
Just like that, Darkness poofed out of the room, and did whatever he was doing before.
"MY BABY! My sweet boy! What happened to you!?" -Juniper
"Jaune, is this real?" -Nicholas
"I'm sorry dad, but it is. Every last second and more. Please, just try to help mom. Nobody in this room has handled it well. No matter our smiles, we know what's what."
"Ozpin, is what I just saw true?" -Ironwood
"I'm afraid so, old friend. Our war became frightenedly more complex until it collapsed last night. If you would concur, Salem?" -Ozpin
"That is correct. The reason I fought to eradicate us all is so that I could release myself. However, the young god, who you know as "Kade", has altered that plan. I no longer control the grimm, as I found this morning. He holds nearly every card now. We are at his mercy."-Salem
Most of the others were puzzled at the exchange. Despite the animosity that was on screen the night before, something was different. Jaune could only think Ozpin and Salem might be playing at something. Putting the whole war behind them seemed unlikely. There was only one other option. They were scared. So scared that they agreed to be non-aggressive for the survival of humanity. Maybe they wanted Kade to end their curses? Jaune could only wonder as they kept talking, but it got fuzzier as he closed his eyes.
Huh, am I supposed to be sleepy? Oh hey, that's Pyrrha. Hi Pyrrha!. Jaune couldn't place what the hell was happening to him. He felt himself lean on the table a bit, and then his head crash down into it. After that, there was nothing, just blackness all around.
That was, until a bright red fire erupted in front of him in the void.
Fear me mortal! I am WAR, The Shepherd of Fire!
Aaaannnnd great. Now I have some crazy thing in my head too. Goddammit Kade. I said it before, why can't we just catch a break? God, I miss life before this.
After sighing heavily, Jaune walked toward the crimson flames, intent on deciphering whatever cosmic bullshit was coming next.
Well, the day just can't get any weirder from here, right?...
….Right?
*Sigh*...I forgot who my brother was. This is just gonna get worse.
AN: Heyo! This chapter is a bit shorter than normal, and I apologize for that. I don't plan on stopping, I just had some uncalled for complications lol. I really love you guys, and all the support you've given. If you have time, please drop a review, or a pm. I'm always open to talk about the story or anything, really. Alright folks, I'll cya in two weeks. Peace!