Hello again!
Since the story has gotten bigger and I have a constant handful of reviews each chapter, starting with this one, I will be responding to your reviews!
As I mentioned, I only get a handful of reviews for each chapter, but if any of you 300 some ghost readers have any questions about the story, ask away and I'll happily respond. I won't ignore any questions.
The segment will be featured at the end of the chapter, after my notes.
Now on to the chapter!
The trio sat in front of the old man, with Salem in the middle, Jaune and Ozma off to either side of her.
The old man cleared his throat. "First allow me to introduce myself." The old man bowed his head. "My name is Zeus of Sevres. I am the mayor of this village."
Salem spoke for the group. "My name is Salem." She bowed her head as well. "To my left is Ozma, to my right is Jaune."
The pair of knights bowed their heads toward Zeus as their names were mentioned.
Zeus let out a hearty laugh. "I know who you are, Princess," he said, laughing even harder as Salem's shocked face registered surprise. "I used to be a part of the King's Guard."
Ozma squealed like a little girl. "Does that mean you're Zeus, Lord of Thunder?" Jaune didn't think he would ever see Ozma of all people fangirl over someone.
The old man adopted an almost somber look as he reminisced upon hearing his old title. "It's been over twenty years since anyone has called me that, boy."
Ozma prostrated himself before Zeus. "I am your biggest admirer, my Lord." Jaune had never seen the man so excited. "You are the reason why I became a knight."
The old man laughed good-naturedly and shifted his eyes to Jaune. "What about you, boy? Any heartfelt confessions for this old bag of bones?"
Jaune didn't hesitate. "No, I've never heard of you." He heard a sickening crack to his left and turned to see Ozma staring at him with his head tilted ninety degrees.
Salem hit both men with a blast of freezing cold water before they could level the village with their childish antics.
Zeus laughed so hard he began to cry. "You've certainly found quite the pair of knights, Lady Salem."
Salem pursed her lips at that remark. She composed herself before speaking again. "You said you would tell us about that woman who attacked you."
Zeus wiped his eyes and calmed himself. "Yes, the woman who attacked me is called Eris." The old man looked extremely tired. "I once called her my daughter."
To say the trio was shocked would be an understatement. Zeus continued before they had the opportunity to interject, "I found her when she was a young girl, I took her in and raised her as my own. She was a prodigy with a deep affinity for fire and dark magic." The old man paused to take a breath, "Like most children, when she became a teenager, she entered a rebellious streak. She broke into the archives and read things that a child was never meant to read."
The old man looked to the sky with a somber expression. "The artifact she's looking for is called the Pendant of Sanctification. Eris became obsessed with it; she spent every waking moment trying to learn more about it."
"What does the pendant do?" Ozma interjected. "It must be something valuable if she was so obsessed with it."
Zeus hummed in acknowledgment, "It's an incredibly powerful artifact that unlocks the full potential of someone's magic."
Salem and Ozma were in awe, but Jaune was extremely skeptical. "What's the catch?" he asked.
The old man looked pleased. "You have a sharp mind, boy," he complimented. "The only caveat to the artifact is that it must deem you worthy."
That was stupid.
Zeus laughed at the expression on his face. "Eris wore that same expression when I finally told her," he said.
"Do you know where she could be hiding?" Salem chimed in, with poorly-hidden animosity in her voice.
The old man frowned at her words. "I understand your anger, Lady Salem," he began. "But revenge will not bring these people back."
Salem was not pleased. "Then lead me to this pendant," she demanded. "I will use its power to restore Sevres."
Jaune frowned; it was that same mentality that would eventually lead to her being cursed with immortality.
He had a decision to make. He could do nothing and let history flow as it was intended to… or he could do things the Nora way.
Jaune made up his mind.
He placed a hand on Salem's shoulder. "Salem, you have to accept that things like this happen." He was uncertain in his ability to give a heartfelt speech, but powered forward anyway. "No matter how strong you are, you can't save everyone."
Zeus nodded and stroked his beard. "You should listen to your friend, my lady. Revenge will only burn you."
Salem's brow creased in frustration. "What would you know of revenge Jaune?" Her voice was sharp and bitter. She was lashing out.
The blond-haired knight gave a forlorn sigh. "Do you remember the story I told you before we reached Aegis?"
Salem hesitantly nodded. She hadn't expected him to respond.
Talking about Pyrrha's death still stung, even after all these years. "I hated her killer with every fiber of my being," he said quietly. "A few friends and I formed a team to hunt her down. We spent a year in the wilds following a lead." In retrospect, it was an incredibly stupid idea that by all measures shouldn't have worked. "I spent every waking moment angry at the woman who killed my best friend. When the time came to face her in combat, I mindlessly threw myself at her, not caring if I died or not."
Salem's eyes widened. She cared deeply for her friend; hearing that he had almost gotten himself carelessly killed frightened her.
"The lesson here is revenge will blind you," Jaune continued, "Don't let it blind you now."
Zeus nodded at his words. "You are very wise for a young man," he said, and it seemed as if his agreement strengthened his argument.
Salem didn't respond to him; she appeared to be deep in thought.
Ozma spoke up to fill the silence. "Do you know where the pendant is, Lord Zeus? If Eris manages to learn of its location, she may lead Grimm there just as she has here."
The old man sighed, "Aye, I know where it is. I'm the one who hid it." Zeus hesitated before speaking again, "I was sworn to secrecy on the matter by your father, Lady Salem."
"Does anyone else know the pendant's location?" Jaune asked. "If Eris was willing to attack you, then I doubt she would have any reservations about killing more unknown civilians."
Zeus hummed. "The only other man who knows of the relic's location is my brother," he said. "He is the keeper of the archives in Chaville."
That was lucky.
Ozma seemed to agree with him. "Our journey leads us through Chaville," Ozma said. "We intended to stop here only to resupply before continuing onwards."
Zeus slowly stood, "Then perhaps this is a blessing in disguise." He solemnly looked over to the remaining villagers, "The population of Seves has been reduced by a quarter. The dead have no need for food."
Jaune nodded; he had been thinking along the same lines, but suggesting it as an outsider would have been incredibly cold.
"We shall depart at dawn tomorrow," Salem finally spoke. "I will not allow more of my people to be harmed by the ambitions of a child."
Zeus smiled, "You remind me so much of your mother." He cleared his throat. "I will personally see to it that you get ample supplies for your journey."
The trio all rose to their feet; their conversation with the elder had drawn on into the evening.
"Get some rest," the old man said. "You'll need your energy for the trip to Chaville. The path there has recently been flooded with Grimm."
If that wasn't a foreboding omen, Jaune didn't know what was.
Night had finally fallen over Sevres.
The survivors of the attack all chose to sleep in the central plaza. They all needed the comfort of one another.
Instead of sleeping, Ozma opted to pester Zeus as long as he could.
Jaune found it hilarious; the once proud Headmaster of the most prestigious School for Huntsmen fangirling over a once great old man was a sight he'd never forget.
jaune had chosen to rest, he sat with his back to the wall of a still-intact house and stared at the large burnt tree. In some ways, Serres reminded him of Kuroyuri. What a depressing thought.
He was interrupted from his musings by the sound of footsteps to his right; he turned to see Salem approaching him.
She looked conflicted for a moment before sitting beside him. "Jaune," her voice was resolute, "Our talk earlier made me realize something."
Jaune raised an eyebrow; that could be either really good or really bad.
Salem refused to look at him as she spoke, "I don't truly know anything about you." Her voice adopted a soft tone. "You've told me many things about your adventures, but never about you. I want to know more; What were your friends like? What is your family like? I want to know more about my closest friend."
Jaune was caught off guard; he'd never expected Salem of all people to be interested in his personal life. He couldn't deny the warm feeling in his chest when she called him her closest friend.
His eyes shifted to the remarkably clear sky above; he was at an impasse. He'd been able to easily alter the stories of his adventures because he hadn't needed to be overly detailed, but now she was asking for exactly that from him.
"To hell with it," he muttered under his breath. Improvise was practically his middle name. "What do you want to know first?"
Salem looked genuinely shocked that he had agreed to her request. She really needed more self-confidence. "Tell me about your family," she said.
Jaune thought for a long moment before speaking. "I come from a family of ten; me, my parents, and my seven sisters."
"Seven sisters?" Jaune turned to see Salma gawking open-mouthed. He laughed; seeing that expression on her face would never get old.
"Yeah, Seven sisters. I was the middle child out of all of them." Jaune wondered for a moment if the world from his first life still existed; he wondered what had become of his family. He immediately smothered that train of thought; it would only lead to bitterness and anger.
Her eyes locked with his. "Was?" Jaune sighed; Salem really was too perceptive for her own good.
"I'm all on my own now." He had taken a page from Ozpin's playbook and answered her question without really answering it.
The pair sat in a comfortable silence before Salem moved again. She leaned against him and rested her head against his shoulder. "You aren't alone, Jaune," her words were quiet, but to Jaune, they were deafening. "It's as you said in Aegis; we are a package deal." She looked up at him with a wide smile. "I'm not going anywhere."
Jaune felt his heart clench as images of the Grimm Queen ran through his mind. He let out a shaky breath and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but didn't utter a word.
In that moment, Jaune Arc made a decision. He would never allow Salem to become the monster that was the Grimm Queen. Future be damned.
Salem's eyes slowly drifted open as she felt the warm sun touch her skin.
She yawned and tried to stretch, only to find that she couldn't move.
Salem wiped the sleepiness from her eyes and looked up only to be met with the face of her blonde-haired friend leaning against her head.
Salem's eyes widened, and blood rushed to her face. Memories of their conversation from the night before came rushing back to her.
She was incredibly embarrassed; she had pushed him on a topic he was clearly uncomfortable speaking about. Salem covered her face with her hands. She would have to apologize to him when he woke up.
Once the initial embarrassment faded, her mind began to wander as she thought about what he had said.
Once again, she had been proven right. Jaune was a good man, but he was also deeply troubled.
It bothered Salem to no end that the only thing she could offer him was her companionship and teaching.
She sighed and her body lost all its tension as she leaned back into his side. These were problems for future Salem to solve.
For now, she would just enjoy the moment before their journey continued.
It was nice.
Hey everyone!
The chapter is a bit shorter today. For that I apologize, but I've been a bit busy.
Now, as promised at the beginning of the chapter, let's move on to responding to reviews.
CrowMADDER: One of life's greatest conundrums, to cuck Ozma or to not cuck Ozma. That is the question.
Absolute Fury: I agree that reincarnation is the best way to handle fics like this reasonably. However, with what I have planned for the Capital Arc, I needed all the characters I could get. I might have a few reincarnated strays before the Capital, though, I haven't decided yet. Also, I'll be on the lookout for when you post your story!
lord-azrael3: thank you!
Batman1998: Will he or won't he? You'll have to keep reading to find out. MUAHAHA! I also think it would be funny to see the modern cast's reaction to this story; who knows? If this gets big enough, maybe someone will make one of those "RWBY reads X" fics.
fanfic-um-fan: thank you!
DragonTetho: The real question is will it last? Only time shall tell.
cerberus13: Jaune has started to realize that his actions are affecting the timeline, but he doesn't truly understand it yet.
SentinalSlice: Exactly. Jaune's combat abilities trump a large number of people in the past for that very reason.
TheSlySage: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Also, welcome back! I was worried my first reviewer bailed on me.
Dread Guy: I agree. A lot of time travel fics I've read poorly handle the inevitable future. The timing on this review was perfect for me to explain something about this chapter, Jaune is operating on extremely faulty knowledge, he doesn't know anything about the circumstances of his time travel other than just the fact that it happened. The goal for this fic is to have Jaune fully invest himself in the present. I've been planting the seeds of that thread since the beginning of the story and in this chapter they begin to grow.
That's all for today, I hope to post a proper length chapter tomorrow.
Until next time!