A Tale of JACS

by Iandude

Having been expelled from Beacon and exiled from Vale, the new and unlikely dynamic duo of Cardin and Jaune has been created. Follow them and those the two meet on their journey to become stronger and learn what they can about Jaune's newly discovered abilities and how they affect the world around them. Watch as the tale of JACS unfolds.

6. Chapter 6

JACS Chapter 6: Bull in a China Shop

I woke up on the day when my two companions and I would take down a white fang base with a sense of excitement and anxiety. The days previous to this one had been filled with the three of us training nigh constantly against Grimm in the surrounding forest, and our training had clearly shown. I smiled a bit, reviewing the screen for the clan.

Clan Beoulve roster

Jaune Beoulve, Lv. 11

HP: 230/230

Aura: 300/300

MP: 100/100

Class: Soldier Lv. 4

Cardin Winchester, Lv. 13

HP: 350/350

Aura: 180/180

MP: 230/230

Class: Battle Mage Lv. 4

Winter Schnee, Lv. 10

HP: 170/170

Aura: 175/175

MP: 230/230

Class: Support Mage Lv. 4

Clan Funds: 1500 Lien

The three of us grew a lot closer over the week as well, what with killing increasingly larger hordes of Grimm and spending most of the time not doing so simply hanging out and talking.

And then there was the creep incident. I didn't think Winter would ever let Cardin live that down as it was simply too damn hilarious in hindsight.

Speaking of Winter, her skills were invaluable from the moment she entered the party, providing the support her job described. Out of all the things she had learned, four skills truly stood out among the others, along with one passive.

50 AP: Cure (10 MP). A staple for those who wish to see those they care for come back from the battles they wage, this spell allows you to heal an amount of damage taken by the target's body, returning it to the state it should be in. Harmful against undead creatures.

100 AP: Barrier (Aura). To those who would give anything to protect those they hold dear, this ability allows the caster to loses an amount of aura to restore twice as much within the target.

150AP: Shell (20 MP). The best way to mitigate harm to one is to avoid it all together! This enchantment toughens the target's aura for a period of time, reducing the damage it takes. Duration: 3 minutes Mitigation: 40%

100 AP: Protect (20 MP). Strengthen the target's last line of defense, making sure that they take as little damage as possible. Duration: 3 minutes Mitigation: 30%

300 AP: Regeneration (Passive). As one becomes used to channeling healing, the caster's body learns how to naturally uses the residual energy to constantly heal themselves, dependent upon the max HP of the mage.

There were a few more she learned that had to do with countering status ailments that cost around 300 AP all together, which first appeared when I ate some bad sushi. I received notification that I was poisoned and, apparently a little bubble was above my head displaying a bottle with a skull and crossed bones. I wouldn't have lived that down had the same icon not appeared above them seconds later. Fun times, right?

On another note, the training had also allowed Cardin and I to gain some valuable skills as well. I scanned his ability list to figure out strategies given his current capabilities.

100 AP: Immolate (8 MP). A middling fire spell. It does a good amount of damage over an area. Chance to cause burning status effect (15%)

100 AP: Frost (8 MP). A middling ice spell. It does a good amount of damage over an area. Chance to cause frozen status effect (15%)

100 AP: Spark (8 MP). A middling electric spell. It does a good amount of damage over an area. Chance to cause paralyzed status effect (15%)

100 AP: Lullaby (16 MP). A soothing melody enchants the target, making them susceptible to gaining the sleep status. Chance to cause status depends on level gap (20-70%)

400 AP: Mage's body (passive). As one becomes used to channeling mana, their body becomes more adjusted to it and gains a boost to regeneration of MP (+50%)

Cardin and I both agreed that his choices were, as a whole, very wise and would definitely help in the battlefield while keeping the danger of casualties happening on either side low. Taking in my current objectives and the capabilities of my companions, I looked over the window for my skills and decided to make a few purchases.

200 AP: Stunning blow. (5 MP). A shot that is only useful against human enemies, this attack allows the use to incapacitate an enemy, removing them from the battle for a period of time so long as their aura is depleted.

200 AP: A.G. bullets (100 MP). To those who have learned to survive against man's natural enemies, this skill allows you took enchant your bullets and make them more effective against the creatures of Grimm. 100% Damage bonus against Grimm when active. Does not stack with other effects. Duration: 5 minutes

400 AP: Resourceful bastard (passive). Having lived through numerous combat situations, you have learned that sometimes bullets just aren't enough. All bullet effects can now be used on blades.

I was pleased at the decisions I had made. With these abilities, it become much more feasible that the three of us could fight our way through the enemy camp without having to kill anyone. With this knowledge in place, I woke the two others and we began our day.

Right as we were about to leave the inn, my scroll buzzed, indicating Ozpin had decided to give us the mission's overview. I opened it and checked what our job would entail.

The white fang base that you will be attacking is in a warehouse near the outskirts of the town. My sources have given me evidence that there is a large quantity of stolen dust stored there. Your job is to engage the members in the base and dispose of the dust. How you do so is up to you, though another of my contacts reported that they were having a gathering today at around 4:00. Good luck.

-Ozpin

As I finished reading the message a screen for the job popped up in front of me.

Job offer: Dust to Dust

The white fang has a base nearby. Attack it and get rid of the dust stored there.

Reward:

1000 Lien

500 AP

Contact: Professor Ozpin

Reputation +20 for Ozpin

Accept Y/N

I confirmed my acceptance of the job and started to get ready to stake out the place for a little while. It would do well to have a plan for something like this, after all. Blindly charging in would be beyond stupid.

3:55 P.M The same day

I took up my position, a vantage point at a window near the top of the warehouse. The three of us had seen this spot when we were scoping the place out and discovered that the ledge was enough to support one person and gave a good view of the building's interior. As of now, I opened it as quietly as I could and took in my surroundings.

There were 20 normal white fang goons, all around level 7 and would be easy to handle. The big thing was their leader, a level 15 man that was carrying a chainsaw with him as if it were nothing. I started formulating the plan in my head, quietly relaying to my comrades in their respective locations. Winter had entered through another way in that we found at the end of our impromptu investigation and was positioned on a lower but still fairly unnoticeable stack. She was currently readying one of the thirty blunt (and thus much less lethal) arrows and picking a target. Cardin was waiting outside, prepping a casting of sleep to possibly take out some of the goons before they had a chance to fight. I readied my rifle and was using the sight to see if there was anything I could do to tip the battle in my favor as the meeting started and Cardin messaged me over the comms we had purchased for 300 lien before commencing with the operation.

"Jaune, there's someone approaching the warehouse, a girl that looks about our age. And mad. She most definitely looks angry." He reported with a worried tone.

Okay, a new element has appeared. Time to plan arou-

"She has pulled out a greatsword and is advancing towards the door." Cardin updated.

Please dear Monty don't tell me she's about to do what I think she's going to do.

My hopes were dashed as I heard the front door being kicked open.

"Okay, change of plans, get ready to attack now. We'll talk with our local idiot after we get out of this." I, in an oddly calm tone, instructed. I switched my assault rifle out for my sword and got ready to enter this soon-to-be pandemonium. As I approached I watched as the group simply stared in silence at the blatant enemy. The leader, recovering from the momentary confusion he had simply gave on order.

"Take this interloper out."

As soon as the command left his mouth, the goons started to advance, only to be interrupted by the thunk of an arrow hitting on of them in the head, knocking the poor sap out. They stopped in their tracks, trying to find Winter, and then got an even bigger shock as seven of the group face-faulted into the ground, asleep. Our friendly interloper took this as a sign to charge and, seeing her do so, I came out of the space I had been watching from and engaged them. Of the twelve left, two were knocked out almost immediately by the unknown's initial attack. Getting hit with the flat of a greatsword tends to do that, after all. The group of ten now split into two sections, five on me and five on the plan-destroyer. The first one swiped at me and I dodged, marveling at how his attacks seemed much more clumsy now that I had two more levels in the sword proficiency. I quickly parried and countered with two slashes at his chest and finished him with a quick shot to the face with the guard of my saber. The remaining four looked at me with apprehension written on their faces. I did just quickly drop one of their fighters like it was nothing, after all. Any thoughts they had were quickly interrupted by the roar of a chainsaw as the leader engaged the intruder. I took note of the four unconscious bodies strew around her before going on the offensive against my group, reduced to three thanks to Cardin half-freezing one.

I slashed at the first, unknowingly sporting a somewhat manic grin. He went down to a combination of short slashes that were punctuated by a hit to the solar plexus. Still smiling I turned to the other two, and chuckled as two bubbles of frightened faces appeared above them. I engaged the closest enemy and took him out rather quickly, losing consciousness due to a quick knee to the kidneys. I then turned to see my last opponent running towards the door screaming "I'm too young to die!" The person's retreat was ended by a quick blow to the face, courtesy of Cardin's weapon. I gave him a nod and he simply quirked an eyebrow at me. I turned to see the last of the battle.

The plan-killer was holding her own against the enemy commander, but I quickly realized this was due to the fact that Winter was spending most of her time keeping the stranger alive. Realizing that this probably couldn't go on any longer, Cardin and I entered the fray against the enemy leader alongside the intruder. I ducked under a chainsaw swipe and returned with a few slashes at his legs. The enemy gave a little ground. He quickly tried to regain it by throwing a wide circular slash and it would have worked had his weapon not been blocked, even momentarily, by a greatsword. The stranger, sense we were not her enemies, decided to open herself and her adversary up to attack. Her idea bore fruit as a crack of thunder hit the terrorist, blowing him back a little. I used the momentum we gained to initiate a series of devastating slashes, using my piercing strike skill to hit him in the most damaging spots possible. I watched as his aura bar decreased steadily. I prepared to land the finishing blow but stopped when I heard the sound of a bow string twanging. I watch as one of the blunt arrows Winter had took him out. By hitting him in the groin.

"And that's for ruining my home life," She exclaimed at the now motionless terrorist. I tried not to laugh, but found the urge had become too strong. The intruder, realizing the fight was over, simply looked to me and opened her mouth to started talking.

She was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.

I quickly scanned the area and found one of the white fang members, one that we had apparently missed, had decided to ignite an entire crate of red dust. It was simply due to sheer luck that now of us got heavily injured by the impromptu bomb. Registering the situation, I stared giving orders to the four of us.

"Winter! You and her will assist me in dragging the bodies out of the base. Cardin, use your frost magic to stop that fire from spreading!"

"Are we really going to-" Cardin started and was stopped by me screaming.

"CARDIN WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS TALK NOW!"

He stared for a few seconds before doing as I asked. It didn't take long for us to contain the situation. This was aided by the fact that people who had heard the explosion quickly called the warning bell and the area was soon flooded by a mixture of the local guard and police forces. They looked the four of us over and took the white fang members into custody. It seemed like they were about to interrogate us about why we were in the warehouse that contained terrorists and explosions when the police chief got a call. He took it and I saw as his eyes narrowed slightly as the conversation continued. He then hung up and let the four of us go with a disgruntled look on his face.

I concluded today was a success as the three of us left. It didn't take long for us to notice that the intruder had put it upon herself to accompany us. We got to a quieter area over a few minutes of walking. Determining that this was enough I turned around and greeted our follower.

With a right hook.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" She whined, rubbing her now sore left cheek in her new position on the ground.

"That was for running into a Monty-blasted terrorist base without any plan whatsoever! And this," I said as I offered a hand to her, "is for assisting in the fight and, more importantly, helping get the unconscious out of that building before anything bad happened. I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

"Aurora Taurus. It's... nice to meet you?" She said.

"So why were you following us?" I inquired. She sat there for a minute, collecting herself, before she started talking.

"Well I saw you guys when you were fighting alongside me against the white fang and I figured that I would get more chances to defeat my blood-sworn enemy if I followed you around. It is okay for me to do that right? I'm pretty handy with my sword as you could see." She stated, hefting the huge thing.

I looked at the two beside me checking their opinions of the proposal. Winter looked happy to have another person, and one who shared her distaste for the white fang. Cardin looked like he didn't approve but didn't care enough to voice his opinion. Taking this in, I turned and extended a hand with a warm smile on my face.

"I have an even better proposal, you can forsake following us and instead work with us, joining our clan of sorts if you'd like to."

Aurora shook my hand, returning a smile that eventually gave way to confusion as a screen appeared before her. I took this moment to look at her stats in the clan roster.

Aurora Taurus, Lv. 11

HP: 300/300

Aura: 200/200

MP: 80/80

Class: Knight Lv. 4

I smiled at the new addition to the clan, motioning for her to walk with us as we returned to the inn and reported the success of our job. I went to sleep feeling satisfied, as everything had worked out well in the end.

---

If only Jaune knew that two pairs of eyes had watched his fight.

---

Undetermined location, Vale

Neo was in a good mood today. Sure the operation for Cinder and her gang in that outlying town had gone South, but she really didn't care much about her employer and only stayed because Roman was in prison at the moment. To be honest, she thought she was getting a little bored.

Then she saw him.

Neo had arrived at the base a few minutes behind schedule, slinking in through a conspicuously opened window. She stayed in the shadows, following the sounds of battle. It was there that she saw the person that had grabbed her attentions so.

The boy looked to be around 17 years of age, sporting jeans and a hoodie. His blond hair and blue eyes drew her to his face, showing he the thing that drew her in.

His smile.

He was smiling in the heat of battle like he was possessed. It spoke things about his character that interested Neo like none before had. She knew that this boy would likely end up leading her to some of the most fun times she will have had in a while. Sadly, the mission held some priority within her. As she left she decided to report that the base had already fallen by the time she had arrived to Cinder. She could interfere and probably kill them, but that simply wouldn't be fun.

Returning to Cinder with bad news was rarely pleasant, but Neo lived through it, only to see Cinder update her target list. It was there she saw him again, with a big X through his face. The description read.

Jaune Arc. Threat level: Minimum

Combat skill: non-existent

Semblance: Unknown

Status: Expelled form Beacon. No longer requiring observation.

Neo simply smiled as she learned his name, but was also a little mad that they would rate one who had captured her attention so lowly. She concluded that she would meet him again, and felt happiness as she awaited their next encounter.

---

Location unknown

Raven Branwen was intrigued to say the least. Her week was rather eventful, after all. She had spent the nights talking to and getting to know her sister, Yang, through her (Yang's) dreams. She had received information on her team and the team she had frequently worked with. She also was there to hear her rant at what happened to her friend, who had a week ago been expelled from Beacon and disappeared.

So it was most strange to see him suddenly reappear and take down the white fang base that she had been observing through her portals and planned to attack. Her interest in him grew when, as the warehouse caught fire, he opted to take the route of honor and save his unconscious enemies rather than leave them to die. He had displayed an aura of command that had simply drawn her in. Now what was his name again...

...Jaune Arc?

Raven then decided to keep tabs on him, wanting to see what he would do next.

After all, people like Jaune only came around once in a full moon.

A/N and that is the end of the next chapter! I must say, it was truly enjoyable to write this out as I took the time to develop how the scene played out in my mind.

Yes, I set up Raven as Yang's sister. It isn't confirmed in either case and it makes some sense in the headcanon I was thinking of in my twisted mind. It will be explained later.

Knight8: Yes, every single person on team JACS will end up with their own unique class and I agree that is is kinda boring that Ramza didn't get one in the original game.

Also, how did you guys like my intro for the last member of team JACS?

Oh, and, to all of you who were asking, can you guess who I decided to possibly ship Jaune with? As always, please read, comment and review. I hope you enjoyed it.