Disclaimer:
The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Oum Damn It!
Date Published: 11th July 2018
Title: Highlander Arc (Working Title)
Genre: Supernatural / Canon AU
Description:
There are many myths and legends in Remnant such as 'The Gods of Light and Dark' or 'The Wizard and the Four Seasons'. But there is one that has been forgotten for many centuries, but soon it will return with a vengeance when the world is at its darkest hour.
0-0-0-0
The sounds of metal clashing and yelling resounded in the dark forest in the outskirts of Mistral, ringing loudly despite of the pouring rain and thunder in the area. If one happened to be in the general area, they would be shocked at the amount of destruction that had befallen on the once lush forest: dozens of burned trees that was laid to waste on the scorched grounds, large portions of the earth torn up and thrown all over the area and the occasional splatter of blood. And all of this was done from one end of the mountain range to another.
That same someone would also be terrified to know that said destruction had been going on for three straight days without a delay in between. On that note, that person would probably be a little relieved to hear that the sounds started to lull at the start of the fourth day and stopped near the evening.
At the center of the destruction stood two men dressed in odd clothing. One was an old man in his late sixties, dressed in brilliant robes of black and red that spoke of times long past and were now ruined by stains of mud, blood and burns that blackened the material. His hair was black with streaks of gold and he had a beard that would have been impressive if not for it being burnt at the ends and marred with mud. His eyes were a dark black that seemed to be filled with a hatred that could burn people to the ground, likely due to the evident loss of his left arm.
Opposite him was a young man who looked to be in his mid-teens and in a state of pain. Unlike the man dressed in robes, he was dressed simply in clothes that had seen better days and his scarf was torn in many areas. His armor was heavily dented and scarred, speaking of long years on the battlefield. The boots were caked in blood and mud, and his gauntlets were barely hanging by the thread of the old leather strips. His blond hair was a mess with mud and blood covering it, and blood was flowing from a cut lip. His eyes however were glowing with a defiant fire while showing weariness from his fight, and he looked at the man before him with an air of one who would bow to no one despite his injuries.
"You have done quite well… for a whelp." The man said that with a contemptuous and mocking tone with a hint of grudging respect. "Fighters older and more experienced than you did not get to push me this far. But in the end, you are still too weak, Jaune of Arc." To that the young man chuckled while coughing out blood.
"Right, keep telling yourself that Gordon." Jaune smirked with blood trailing at the corner. "Not very convincing since this weak whelp took away a fair amount of runes and your arm."
"Tch!" The man growled in irritation before he lifted his leg and kicked the young man right in the chest, breaking one of his ribs as he flew back a few feet and hit the ground hard, coughing out blood in the process.
"You are a pest in my side, Jaune of Arc." The man walked over and stomped hard on the young man's ribs, causing him to gasp in pain as more blood gushed out of his mouth. "I have to waste a fair amount of my gold and resources just to hunt you down, a mere vermin like you should not be so much trouble."
"Gee I am so honored." Jaune talked back with an odd gleam in his eyes. Gordon merely kicked him again to force him to his knees before using his boot on his face to force Jaune upwards.
"Whatever, it no longer matters." Gordon raised his sword in his hand and aimed the edge at Jaune's neck "In the end I win, and you know what is to come. You should cease this behavior and accept your defeat with dignity."
"Oh goody~" Jaune sneered before coughing out more blood.
"Blame the Gods for your misfortune, because in the end…" Gordon pulled back the blade to prepare for a mighty swing while having a sneer on his face. "There can be only one." With that, he swung hard in a wide arc, putting in as much aura as he could to ensure that the head can be cleaved off quickly. But as the blade was about to make contact, Jaune seemed to lose his strength and dropped to the side, letting the blade grazed his ear lightly but missing his head altogether. With the momentum not stopped, Gordon overstretched his arm and ended up shifting slightly, giving Jaune an opportunity to push out with his legs and trip the older man, causing him to fall backwards and lose his grip on his sword, making it shoot out of his hand and disappear somewhere at the trees nearby.
"Damn you boy!" Gordon snarled as he rolled on the ground to get away while unsheathing a particularly big knife from his belt. Jaune merely continued to move while grabbing two branches broken off from a tree during their fight. Applying a bit of Aura left in him through them, the branches glowed before reforming themselves into smaller rudimentary looking daggers, one of which had a nasty serrated edge. With a quick push of his feet, Jaune got close enough to slash Gordon at the shin to force him down. Growling at the pain, Gordon struck Jaune with his dagger forcing him back. With a grunt, Jaune rolled on the ground before throwing one of the daggers at Gordon, striking him in the leg.
"GARH!" Gordon howled in pain as he dropped to his knees and released his weapon to try and grab the dagger. Jaune did not waste any time and dashed forward again to deliver a quick slash to the neck, cutting deep into the flesh and his artery. Gordon gasped and hunched over as he grabbed his neck to stifle the bleeding.
"Curse... you… Arc!" Gordon wheezed as he tried to heal the wound at his neck. Jaune panted as he tried to focus his aura to work faster. Not an easy task as he had completely exhausted himself, but he managed to get himself healed up enough to get back on his feet and slowly made his way to a spot where his own sword was embedded deep into a boulder. With a grunt, he pulled the broadsword out of it, stumbling slightly from the momentum. With another grunt he made his way to Gordon who had managed to pushed himself up and seating on his knees, still holding on to this bleeding throat while glaring at Jaune..
"Well, isn't this a reversal?" Jaune drawled as he spit out some blood. "I think I did well on this."
"You think you have beaten me?! You are a mere whelp, I have lived longer than you!" Gordon yelled as he removed his hand to reveal the wound had healed enough to show the flesh and some of the reconnecting nerves, and made to grab the dagger embedded in his leg. Jaune merely swung his sword at the right angle to cut off his arm at the elbow, making the appendage fly off with the dagger.
"ARRRHGGH!" Gordon screamed while flailing on the ground, having lost his balance without any arms to prop himself up. Jaune merely flicked his sword before continuing forward.
"No wait, stay back!" Gordon tried to move backwards with only his legs, stumbling every odd movement. "Don't get any closer."
"Why Gordon, I am hurt." Jaune placed a weary hand over his heart as he slowly walked while lightly dragging the blade. "I believe your exact words were... 'You should cease this behavior and accept your defeat with dignity'."
"I get it, you are not a whelp. I was wrong!" Gordon tried to smile barring the pain and fear of the situation. "I can see that you are better than those others who came before. You do not need to do this, we can work together to find the others and eliminate them!"
"And why should I do that?" Jaune raised an eyebrow at his obvious stalling and lying.
"You need someone to teach you, you have all that raw potential in you, just wasting away. Let me guide you, together we can rule Remnant!" Gordon started spewing out nonsense that came to mind. "We do not need to kill one another, we can be the kings of all four kingdoms!"
Jaune gripped his blade tighter as Gordon's words sparked an unwanted memory. A memory of an old man who appeared before him, lamenting about wasted potential inside him and needing guidance.
A man that doomed him to pain and suffering.
A man that forced him down this cursed path.
A man that made him lose his family.
"Blame the Gods for your misfortune, because in the end…" Jaune glared at Gordon who realized that his pitch merely made his situation worse and tried to move quickly to get away from his impending doom.
"No wait! STOP PLEASE!" Gordon wailed as Jaune lifted his blade, the edge gleaming beneath the moonlight.
"There can be only one."
'SHRRING!'
With a quick swing of the blade, Gordon's head went flying a few feet away from the decapitated body, his expression permanently fixed onto his face. The body itself collapsed to the ground soon after like a puppet removed from its strings.
Jaune hefted hard as he looked at the corpse and the head with tired eyes. It was odd for him to be feeling this after so many years, but he still felt deep regret at having to perform the deed despite Gordon's desire to kill him. No matter how long he had been at it, Jaune always felt sorrow and pain at having to spill blood with his sword.
"..."
"Yeah, I am okay." Jaune spoke softly seemingly to no one but to himself. "Just burnt out."
"..."
"I know, this sucks big time. Thanks for caring."
"..."
"Well at least the easy part is done." Jaune snorted as the wind started to pick up and the trees shook ominously in the area, with dark clouds gathering above him with rumbles of thunder in the distance. "Now to deal with the other part."
"..."
"Oh you are one to talk pal!" Jaune rolled his eyes. "Then again you always make it sound like a bore."
"..."
"Oh I am so shaking in my boots." Jaune shook his head as the clouds now formed above him with small bolts of lightning appearing in the area. The small animals and birds that still remained in the forest decided to leave at this moment, their animal instincts warning them of the higher powers that were descending in this area. Jaune looked up once more and grimaced at the lightning hitting some of the far-off hills.
"Here comes the part I hate."
The lightning picked up in intensity while the thunder roared in the open space, then with a burst of bright light, lightning bolts started to hit the ground around him, igniting the pieces of trees and alighting the area ablaze, leaving him and the corpse surrounded in a ring of fire that seemed to have a life of its own. Then with another bright flash, several bolts of electricity struck him and maintained their current around him.
"GARRRRRGHHH!" Jaune let out a scream of pain as the lightning surged through him and around him, lifting him off his feet and into the air. A second bolt of lightning hit the corpse and started lifting it off the ground, its clothes catching fire as it hovered in the air. From the chest, a ghostly flame came out of it and started building up in size in tandem with the amount of lightning bolts striking the corpse. In no time at all, the corpse was reduced to ashes, leaving behind a ball of bluish flames with a touch of purple mixed in it. With another bolt of lightning hitting it, the ball flew at Jaune and slammed into him, merging its essence with his.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Jaune let out another scream that almost tore his throat as the ball of flames forced itself into his body, the memories of Gordon fleeting through his mind while his life essence and powers battled with the conquered for dominance of the body. From his eyes and mouth, a ghostly flame exuded from them, shifting colors between a ghostly blue to a raging red. The lightning bolts kept striking him and the surrounding area a few more times before he let out one last yell and a wave of energy exuded from him, extinguishing the fire around him and destroying the few trees that were still standing. He hit the ground hard, creating a small crater from the fist he slammed into the ground and actually blowing away the clouds that were gathered above him, clearing the sky and revealing the stars and moon once more. He panted for a while with sweat running down the brow of his face before raising his head, the fiery light now gone and a look of exhaustion on him that gave the appearance of him gaining a few more years in a few minutes.
Which was a pretty accurate description if people knew what to look for.
"Hah~ for a guy boasting of his years of survival, he only had a couple of centuries more than me." Jaune snorted as he slowly pushed himself off the ground, picked up his weapon and made his way to where he left behind his bag. He paused to raise his arm and closed his eyes to focus on finding an item. He did not need to wait long as he heard the tell-tale sounds of resonance, and within a few moments, his hand felt the handle of the sword that once belonged to Gordon. The sword runes glowed red as it did not recognize his Aura signature at first and attempted to fight back, but with him flooding it with his Aura and the residual presence of Gordon's, it did not take long for the red to diminish and for a light blue to take its place, finally taking on a hue of sky blue.
Nodding at the quick acceptance, Jaune retrieved the scabbard and sheathed it, before an odd colored cube appeared over his shoulder with a light hum emitting from it. Lifting his arm, Jaune pushed the sword into the cube and watched it get absorbed into it, the surface of the cube lightly shaking from the contact to give the appearance of the sword entering water. He dismissed the cube after the sword was gone, then with a light crack of his neck, went about picking his equipment up. He had to move quickly as the destruction would likely attract both the Grimm and the Mistral authorities.
He and Gordon were not exactly the textbook example of 'quiet '.
Jaune paused one last time at the spot where his opponent once laid, now charred black where the lightning hit it and had what looked to be a symbol of a serpent with its head pulled back and its tongue stabbed with a knife. That was the old family crest of Gordon from the old ages, and now the line was cut off by his own hands. With an unconscious movement, Jaune glanced at the other blade strapped to his waist, where the pommel displayed prominently a crest of two crescent moons on the sides.
His family crest.
With another glance in the other direction, Jaune moved his hand to take out the relatively small disc that was in his pocket and inspect it with the moonlight shining on it. Littered all over it were different symbols and designs, each one more ornate than the last and as detailed as it was first inscribed. As he watched, one of the blank spots glowed red briefly with the scent of burning metal coming off it, before abruptly dimming to reveal Gordon's family crest inscribed on it. With a sigh, Jaune pocketed the item and checked his equipment once more before making his way out of the area, just in the nick of time as he could hear the sounds of the airships humming in the distance.
As with so many others in the past, Jaune now held the soul of the defeated warrior inside of himself and the mark of his victory on the disc. A part of him had hoped that was the end, but the blank spots on the disc proved that he still had a long way to go before the end of that journey. Against his will, he was forced to walk the earth to find the next one to vanquish.
This was his burden for the past 180 years.
And every day, he wished he could be rid of it.
The curse of being a Highlander.
0-0-0-0
Hello there, (puts on dark glasses, plays Terminator song, put on Austrian accent) I'm Back!
Took a while to get this idea written out, I had something of a plot but I was not sure how to get it out properly in the manner I want. There are some stories out there that portray Jaune as an immortal but they seemed 'off' in some manner (Not sure how to describe it). For this, I am thinking that the pairing can be Amber, Pyrrha and perhaps Vernal (?). Not sure if Jaune would be part of the Beacon Team, because part of the plot is Jaune going against Ozpin and Ironwood.
This is a rough concept, so please R-&-R, and let me know if you want more one-shot chapters of this or perhaps a full story.
And I put my pen down for now.
Can you hear the theme music for this? XD