Outsider Chronicles: A New Arc
Dieing and ending up in another world is one thing. That world being one infested with monsters is quite another. This is gonna be fun...
Hello and welcome back. Nothing to say here, so lets dive right in. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
The next day dawned bright and sore for me as I had slept sitting up, leaning against the hard, wooden paneling that lined the Hall. Big mistake. I groaned as I cracked my back, twisting this way and that with a series of satisfying cracks.
"Ohh, thats better," I said, "Now, lets go gear up."
After my morning rituals and breakfast (making sure to keep my fingers well away from Nora), I headed into the armoury to pick up my gear. Yang and Ruby were already arguing about being on a team. I reached my locker to find Pyrrha and Weiss stood in front of it. Weiss had an odd look on her face and was probably in the middle of plotting how she and Pyrrha were going to be the perfect team and such. Unfortunately, my locker was right between them and I didn't feel like waiting for Weiss' little breakdown to finish.
"Scuse me," I said, snapping the white themed girl out of her trance, "Could I get at my locker?"
"Oh, sure," said Pyrrha, stepping to one side and letting me approach.
"You again," sniffed Weiss.
"Whats with the cold shoulder Princess?" I asked as I put on my coat and grabbed my sword, "I didn't do anything to you."
Weiss glared at me.
"You mocked me yesterday!"
"Thats what you took away from that?" I snorted, "I was only laughing because of how over the top you were acting."
"THAT GIRL COULD HAVE KILLED ME!" roared Weiss.
"But she didn't and she apologised, so no hard feelings," I said, "So, now thats out of the way, how about we start over. Hello Weiss, I'm Jaune Arc."
"Hello Jaune," said Pyrrha.
I blinked as I realised that yes, Pyrrha was still there. How the hell had I forgotten about her?
"Oh, sorry, that was rude of me," I said, holding out my hand, "Nice to meet you…"
Weiss was quick to plant herself between us, cutting me off.
"Ahem, Jaune was it?" she said haughtily, "Do you have any idea who this is?"
"I do," I said, "Pyrrha Nikos, correct?"
Pyrrha twitched slightly, but nodded.
"Again, its nice to meet you," I said, stepping around Weiss to offer Pyrrha my hand again, "I hope we can get along."
Pyrrha looked surprised, but shook it anyway.
"Um, likewise Jaune," she said, blushing slightly.
Weiss looked between the two of us in utter confusion.
"Bu...wha...she…"
"Breath Princess, don't pass out before we even get to the initiation," I said with a smirk.
That seemed to snap Weiss out of it.
"HOW CAN YOU TREAT HER SO CASUALLY?!" she spluttered, "SHES A CELEBRITY!"
"So?" I said, "So's my sister. And besides, past achievements mean very little here. After all, I've never even entered a tournament and yet I managed to get in with one of the highest scores in the combat exam ever."
Whatever Weiss was going to say was cut off by Goodwitch's voice over the PA requesting that we all meet at the cliff edge.
"Well, time to go," I said, attaching my sword to my belt, "Come on Pyrrha, Princess."
"Stop calling me that!" snapped Weiss.
"Then stop acting like it."
"GAH!"
She flounced off. I snickered as I followed her with a slightly smiling Pyrrha at my side.
We arrived at the cliffs and were directed to stand on the launch pads at the very edge.
"For years, you have been training to become warriors," began Ozpin, drawing all attention to him, "Today, the skills you have gained will be tested in the Emerald Forest."
"I'm sure that many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams," said Goodwitch, "Let me put your minds at ease. We will be assigning you into teams. Today."
"What?" whimpered Ruby.
"Your teammate will be with you for the duration of your time at Beacon," said Ozpin, "So its in your best interest to be paired with someone you work well with."
I noticed Ruby clenching her fists nervously.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with once you land will be your teammate for the next four years."
I could practically hear Ruby shattering at that.
"WHAT?!" she yelled.
"See, I told you…!" hissed Nora to Ren.
"Once you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," continued Ozpin, ignoring the whispering, "There you will find a ruin containing several relics. You will meet opposition along the way, so do not hesitate to kill anything in your path or you will die. Once you return with your relic, we will guard it and your standing and grade you appropriately. Our teachers will be watching your progress, but they will not intervene, so I suggest you be careful. Now, are there any questions?"
There was not.
"Good, take your positions," said Ozpin.
Thirty seconds later, the launch pad activated and I was catapulted into the air.
"YEEEHA!" I whooped as I flew over the trees, my coat tails flapping in the wind.
I flipped a few times, before gaining control over my flight and readied myself, placing my hand on Caliburn's hilt. My thumb pressed down on a switch on the guard and the tumbler spun and the lines on the sheath turned green, showing that the blade had been enchanted with Wind Dust.
"Reppuzan!" I shouted, more to look cool than anything, and swiftly unsheathed my sword.
An arc of green energy flew out and exploded into a blast of wind that completely crushed an area of forest and blasted it away, leaving a perfectly round crater in the forest floor and slowing me down in the process. I sheathed my sword and landed with a thud on one knee, my coat tails flaring out behind me.
"Hehe, nailed it!" I said as I straightened.
I heard a rustling sound at the edge of the forest and turned, catching sight of a glimpse of white as I did. I smirked. Looks like Weiss decided that she really didn't want to work with me. I turned and started walking in the other direction, flicking the switch that removed the enchantment as I did. It wouldn't do to accidentally shred the forest by accident after all.
As I walked through the trees, I paused as I heard a twig snap behind me. I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes as the source of said snapping stepped out, growling from between bared teeth, even as its packmates slipped out of the trees around me. It was a pack of Beowolves. This was my first time seeing the Creatures of Grimm in person and up close and I have to say that it was...disconcerting. The Grimm simply did not look natural and every part of me was screaming at me to destroy them.
I narrowed my eyes and lowered my stance, readying myself for battle. The first Beowolf pounced at me from behind, trying to catch me off guard. He lost his head for his trouble. That was the signal for the rest of the Pack as they charged, howling and snarling as they did. I smirked and turned on my heel, avoiding the first swipe as my sword flashed and the Grimms arm went flying, followed swiftly by its head. I spun my swords tumbler and activated the Dust, causing the channels engraved into the metal to light up pale blue and emit a faint mist. The next cut caused ice to form on the Grimm's fur as it stumbled away, howling in pain as its blood froze. I flipped my sword and drove it back, stabbing the Beowolf that had been about to take my head off through the gut and pulling the trigger in the same moment. The Beowolf froze instantly and a line of ice spikes shot out, impaling two of its Packmates.
I pulled Caliburn out of the frozen Grimm and spun it, cleaning off the blood and deactivating the Dust in the same movement as I slid it back into its sheath.
"Well, that was fun," I said, "Although, I wouldn't have turned down some help."
"I wanted to see how skilled you were," said Pyrrha as she stepped out from behind a nearby tree, "That was very impressive Jaune. Both your skills and your sword."
I grinned.
"Thanks. So, I guess this means we're partners?"
Pyrrha smiled and nodded.
"We are," she said.
"Great. Shall we?"
We headed off into the forest together, leaving the frozen Beowolf to shatter into dust.
"So, do you have any idea where we are?" I asked after we had been walking for a few minutes.
"Ummm."
"I thought so," I said, "Hang on, I think I've got...aha!"
I pulled a compass out of my coat.
"Why do you have a compass?" asked Pyrrha.
"Always be prepared is my Mothers moto," I said, "She probably stuffed the pockets of this thing with dozens of random bits of junk she thought I might need."
To demonstrate, I pulled out a packet of tissues, a packed lunch, a bundle of take out flyers and a tin of catfood.
"We don't even have a cat, why did she give me this?" I muttered.
"How..?"
"Don't ask," I said, "Now, North is...that way!"
I pointed in the direction the needle was pointing. Directly at Pyrrha. I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps to the left. To my relief, the needle remained pointing in the same direction, even when I walked past her. Nice to know that joke wasn't an actual thing. Now that we had a direction, we started heading north, keeping our eyes peeled for the Temple as we went. As we made our way through the trees, we passed a certain cave that, had I been less prepared, we might have stumbled into. Fortunately, we wouldn't have to deal with the Deathstalker.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Pyrrha paused.
"Hey Jaune, did you hear that?" she asked.
I stopped to and cocked my head on one side. For a moment, I didn't hear anything. Then…
"Sounds like something scuttling," I muttered, before my eyes widened, "Oh fu…"
CRASH!
Pyrrha and I spun around as the rock wall behind us erupted and the Deathstalker came surging out at us. As it did, it swung its claw and, as I wasn't prepared in the slightest, slammed it into my gut and sent me flying.
"..CK YOU MURPHY!" I roared.
CRASH!
My flight was abruptly cut off as I slammed into something small, soft and warm that was moving just as fast as me downwards, resulting in both of us being sent tumbling.
"Ow," I groaned as I reached for my sword to cut myself loose from the branches that had broken my fall, "Son of a bitch, that hurt! What the hell attracted that oversized bugs attention?"
I cut myself free and flipped over so I landed on my feet on the branch below me next to Ruby, who I had slammed into.
"Sorry about that Ruby," I said, "Blame the Deathstalker."
"No worries Jaune," she said.
"RUBY!" shouted Yang.
"JAUNE!" shouted Pyrrha as she came running into the area with the Deathstalker still chasing her.
"Pyrrha!" I called back.
"Yang!" shouted Ruby, jumping to greet her sister.
"NORA!"
"Did she just run all of the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" asked Blake.
"GAH, THATS IT, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!" shouted Yang as her Aura exploded around her, "CAN WE JUST WAIT 2 SECONDS BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE CRAZY HAPPENS?!"
I could practically hear the timer ticking down as Ruby tugged on Yangs sleeve.
"Um, Yang..?"
The blond slumped down as she realized that, no, the world wasn't going to give her a break.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT ME!" shouted Weiss from the back of the Nevermore.
"I said jump!" called back Ruby.
"Shes gonna fall," said Yang.
"She'll be fine."
"Shes falling."
I rolled my eyes and jumped off the branch, catching Weiss on the way down. I landed lightly and set the heiress on her feet.
"Um, thank you?" she said, looking a tad ruffled.
"Don't mention it," I said as Pyrrha was smacked by the Deathstalker and landed in front of us, "You OK Pyrrha?"
I bent down and helped my partner to her feet.
"Great, now everyones here!" said Yang with false cheer, "Now we can die together!"
"Not if I can help it!" said Ruby and ran off before I could stop her.
"Oh for…" I growled.
One touching scene between Weiss and Ruby later and we were running for our lives with our chosen chess pieces.
"What do we do?" shouted Pyrrha as we reached the ruins that spanned the canyon.
I glanced back at the Deathclaw that was still on our tail and then up at the Nevermore that was doing its damndest to skewer is with its feathers.
"We need to split them up, deal with them one at a time," I said, "Nora, distract the Nevermore so we can get through!"
"Got it!" said the energetic girl and started bombarding the flying Grimm with grenades.
"The rest of you, come on! We can split them up at the canyon!"
"Do we really have to fight them?" asked Ren as we ran for the crumbling bridge.
"They won't let us get away without a fight," I called, "Might as well chose our battlefield!"
I skidded to a stop as we reached the bridge.
"Pyrrha, Ren, you two are with me, Ruby, you take Weiss, Blake and Yang and deal with the Nevermore," I said as I charged Fire Dust into my sword, "Nora, get out of the way!"
Nora did as she was told as I unsheathed my sword and unleashed a wave of fire that slammed into the Deathstalker so hard that it forced it back a bit and cracked its mask.
"Whoa, thats one powerful attack!" said Ren.
"Thanks, but I've only got five more like that," I said, "It uses up an entire Dust cartridge in my sword and I don't think that thing's gonna give me chance to reload."
I took a breath.
"Thats irrelevant though, are you guys ready?"
My teammates all nodded.
"Then lets go!"
We charged the Shadow, our weapons ready. The others peppered it with bullets and grenades as I slid under its belly, slashing at its legs as I went. The Deathstalker let out a roar of irritation and swung at the others with its claws and tried to stab me with its legs. We all dodged the clumsy strikes and continued our assault with blade and bullet. Our individual attacks didn't do much, but together we were wearing it down, bit by bit. Then, one of us made a mistake.
Ren was in the middle of vaulting over its claw, peppering its face with bullets as he did, when the Deathstalkers tail struck, slamming into the Martial Artest leg with incredible force. I heard the crack it made as it snapped, even with his Aura's protection, not to mention his cry of pain as the impact sent him spinning into a nearby wall, causing it to collapse.
"REN!" shouted Nora.
The orange haired girl growled and turned a frightening scowl on the Deathstalker.
"You'll pay for that!" she roared and charged it.
"No, Nora don't!" shouted Pyrrha, but it was too late.
Blinded by rage as she was, the Hammer wielder was blindsided by a claw that slammed into her chin, sending her spinning away to land near Ren, knocked unconscious by the impact. Aura can protect from a lot, but there will always be some force that gets through, especially as emotion can cause ones Aura to fluctuate. The Deathstalker chittered in triumph as it skittered towards my downed teammates, stinger ready to strike.
"Oh no you don't!" I roared as I jumped at the Grimm, charging my blade with Wind Dust as I did.
Quick as a striking snake, the scorpion Grimm's tail lashed out and slammed into me. It was so unexpected that I lost my grip on my sword, which flew away and stuck into a nearby wall, passing through the stone like a hot knife through butter thanks to the Dust enhancement, as I went flying in the other direction, crashing through a wall in the process. I lay still for a moment, dazed by the impact, before I remembered that I was in the middle of a fight and started to struggle to my feet. I had barely managed to get to my knees when a gunshot made me look up. Pyrrha was the only one of us still up and she was fighting hard, trying to get the Deathstalkers attention away from Ren and Nora. It seemed to be working, but no matter how strong she was, Pyrrha wasn't good enough to take down a Grimm as powerful as a Deathstalker alone. I struggled to my feet, staggering slightly as I did, and looked around for my sword. It was the only thing I had that was useful against the Deathstalker, none of my other bits of equipment were up to fighting a Grimm of this size. My heart dropped when I spotted my sword, embedded high up in a wall. I could climb up and get it, but in my current condition, I wouldn't make it before Pyrrha was crushed. My Aura was healing me, but again, not enough time.
"DAMN IT!" I shouted, punching the ground, "How did I end up here?!"
I gritted my teeth and hardened my resolve. I wasn't about to leave my teammates behind. Not now, not ever. I would not allow them to die on me! I had barely known any of them for a day, but even so, they were, or rather would be, my team and, whether Ozpin made me leader or not, right now I was serving that role. That meant that I had to keep them alive!
I took a step forwards, only to stiffen as I felt something stir inside me.
"What…AH!"
My hands jumped to my head as it felt like someone had just cleaved my skull in two with an axe. I collapsed on my side, writhing in agony as a voice echoed around my head.
"You made me wait quite a while. You seek power, correct? The power to ensure that none you care for come to harm. You have seen a future filled with sorrow and suffering and wish to ensure that it never come to pass. A noble goal, one I wholeheartedly approve of. Very well, if that is what thou seeks, then I shall grant it!"
"GAH!"
I threw back my head with a howl of pain, my hands instinctively moving to my face. My fingers closed over the mask that had appeared over my eyes and, with a cry of effort, I wrenched it off in a spray of blood. My aura erupted, forming into a swirling blue fog from within which emerged a towering figure.
"I am Thou,
Thou art I,
I am the Huntsman."
Yeahhh, Persona 5's awesome. With that out of the way, lets wrap this chapter up with a few points.
First, Jaune is the only one who's getting a Persona. Its basically his Semblance. That said, his friends will be helping him since, you know, Social Links. I'll keep who's which Arcana to myself for now though. Jaune is the Fool however and yes, he does have the power of the Wild Card.
I hope my explanation on how Jaunes sword works makes sense. If not, heres a better one: Caliburn can shoot of elemental attacks based on the Dust thats used to enchant it. The used can determined how powerful the blast will be and the more powerful it is, the more Dust it will use up.
Before anyone brings it up, no I'm not bashing Weiss. Shes just kinda a brat at this point in the story. She'll get better.
And with that, I'm done. Please leave comments while I go and play more P5. Ta!
EDIT! Due to some really fucking cool ideas I had last night, I changed Jaunes Persona and am making myself a lire. Jaune wont be the only one with a Persona. Instead, others will gain the power as well later down the line. Other than that, I'm keeping my gob shut about it to avoid spoilers.