...two and a half times normal gravity...
…live there?
…not immediately, it would take a few…
…can support space colonies, viable option…
…variety of life forms, no problem with resources…
…incoming energy beam!
…maneuvers, red alert!
…Captain!
…
…
…
"Jaune?"
"Urgh…"
"Jaune, wake up!"
"What hit us?"
"Jaune, we will be late!" The blonde boy opened his eyes slowly and saw a familiar redhead looking at him with a concerned face. He blinked twice and blushed a little.
"Major, why are you at my quarters?"
"Major? Quarters? Jaune, what are you talking about?" She asked worriedly. Jaune then shot up and held her gently but with a strong grasp on her arms, his face so close to hers that she couldn't help but blush madly.
"The ship! The crew! What hit us!?" He shouted in panic before feeling a hand on his shoulder and seeing Ren standing by his side.
"Jaune, calm down. You probably had a nightmare." The boy said in his usual calm tone.
"What are you talking about, Lieutenant, what happened to the…" He finally looked around and noticed he wasn't in the Nagato anymore. It was an incredible spacious room, and it had windows by one of the sides, from where sunlight and a breeze came. He looked and saw Pyrrha, Ren and Nora looking worriedly at him, but instead of the Armed Forces uniforms they were wearing weird clothes he never saw before, and Pyrrha even had a type of headpiece on hers and make-up.
"I think you had some bad dream from your time on Navy School, Jauney-Jauney. Is that PTSD? Where you having dreams about the war? Did you rescue your fellow sailors from sharks while your ship was sinking after being hit by a torpedo?" Nora started babbling while Jaune looked around in confusion.
"I don't think Jaune had to do that, Nora. Have you?"
"No! But… Where are we?" Pyrrha looked at him and gently held his face with her hands.
"We are at Beacon Academy, Jaune. Don't you remember?" He looked around and had no recollection of that place. All he remembered was that the Nagato was scanning a big planet that could be used to support the colonies and then some light beam hit them, and that is all he could muster at the moment.
"The others? Ruby, Velvet?" He asked as a headache settled in.
"Knowing them, Velvet is already in the mess hall, while Ruby and her team will once again be late. And us, if we don't hurry. But if you aren't feeling well, I can take you to the infirmary." Jaune took a deep breath and got up, feeling his body complaining. Pyrrha supported him, and he smiled at her, trying to be comforting.
"I will get ready. My uniform?" He asked looking around, and Nora handled him the outfit.
"Here oh valiant leader!" Jaune stared at it for a moment and looked down on himself.
"What the hell am I wearing?" He asked as he noticed the blue onesie with bunnies.
"Pay up! I told you one day he would realize!" Nora celebrated with her hand extended towards Ren, and he gave her a few cards.
"Jaune, go get dressed, we have Prof. Port's class this morning." Pyrrha urged him, and Jaune nodded and looked at the door he hoped was a bathroom.
He entered there and noticed the spacious room, full of weird things he didn't knew about and some he could identify with. He removed his clothes and looked at the big mirror, and saw a younger version of himself. The blonde boy had no idea what was happening, but everyone except him didn't seem to be freaking out. He put the uniform and wondered what school used such complex and stupid clothing as uniforms.
"Penny, if you are listening, I am giving you permission to do whatever it takes to keep the crew and the ship safe. I will try to solve this from whatever I am, so if you can, help me here." He spoke out before fixing the tie. Ties… why people liked to have those around their neck were beyond his comprehension. After finishing dressing and cleaning up he left the bathroom and Pyrrha once again was the first to greet him.
"Jaune, are you sure you are OK?" She asked worryingly as she fixed his tie, and he smiled and patted her shoulder.
"Yes I am, Pyr. Let's go." He lied, as he was panicking in the inside, but whatever was happening, his instincts told him to not show. It wouldn't be good if everyone thought he was going insane.
He followed Nora and Ren by the ample corridors of the building they were inside, and surprised to see plants and trees on the outside, and a sun in the sky. He wasn't in a space station, which was clear. There were many young people walking around, but he didn't recognize any of them. They entered probably the biggest room Jaune ever saw, the mess hall, and they directed him to get food. Jaune was surprised they were free to take as much food they wanted, so he concluded that place had surplus of resources. He took the usual amount he was used to, and Pyrrha asked if he wasn't hungry. The truth is that he was starving, but yet the amount of food he took was what he learned to be all he needed, but he agreed that compared to the huge pile of pancakes Nora took his own meal looked meager. Yet he reassured his friend as they sat in the table and started eating.
"Oh, I had a dream were I was fighting an evil empire and…"
Nora started to tell one of her wild dreams and Jaune ignored as he kept observing his surroundings. He mindless put the food on his mouth, and was surprised on how tasteless it was, almost like Pyrrha cooked it. Jaune kept trying to find someone else familiar to him, when he heard a yelp. As he turned around, he saw two familiar faces, one he liked a lot and other he despised with all his might.
Velvet Scarlatina and Cardin Winchester.
Both were wearing the same uniform as everyone else, but Cardin was pulling one of Velvet's ears and laughing, while the poor girl made a very displease face. The group looked at that in disgust.
"Will he ever stop being a bully?" Pyrrha said followed by a sigh.
"As long as he believes he can, I think he will." Ren concluded as he sipped his tea.
"Our glorious leader will teach him a lesson." Nora commented with a smirk.
"Wait…What?" Both Ren and Pyrrha asked as they turned to see Jaune left the table and stomped in the direction of the bully.
"Winchester! Take your hands of her!" he growled in a commanding tone, making everyone on the cafeteria stop and look at that confrontation. Cardin and Velvet stared at Jaune like they couldn't believe he was there, staring angrily at the bigger boy.
"Fuck off, Jauney boy! I am just playing with my pet." Cardin smirked as he kept pulling the girl's ears.
"Did I hear you calling her a pet? Who the hell you think you are, Winchester?" Jaune said without hesitation, this time making the bully hesitate, his grip on Velvet's ear loosening enough for her to escape him.
"Who do…"
"Shut up, Winchester, I don't need you answer because I know it already. You are just a piece of trash that believe the world owe you something because your pitiful existence happened. So you better get your shit together before I have to do something!" The tone and posture that Jaune was displaying surprised everyone, and it took Cardin a few seconds to react.
"You little piece of shit!" He was about to punch Jaune when he noticed Pyrrha and the rest of his friends behind him, and Coco approaching angrily.
"Winchester! Did you touch my bunny?" She shouted and Velvet hid behind her, and the bully lowered his fist.
"I will get you for this, you fake." He whispered before leaving, making sure to hit Jaune with his shoulder as he walked away. Jaune groaned in displeasure before turning to Velvet.
"Are you OK?" Velvet looked in surprise and nodded.
"Some things never change…" Jaune talked to himself before gently caressing Velvet's shoulder, making her blush and Pyrrha stared at him with jealousy. Ren was shocked while Nora was praising him.
"Thanks for helping Vel, Arc. I knew there was a fighter somewhere inside you." Coco said punching him in the shoulder and Jaune wondered if that was a friendly gesture or a murder attempt as he rubbed the place she hit.
"Come on, we will talk about it later, we need to go to class now." Ren said and Jaune nodded, and they walked towards the classroom.
Jaune felt a bit of familiarity in the classroom, aside the fact it was way more spacious than what he expected it to be. It was pretty like the training room at the Colonies. His group sat down, Jaune by Pyrrha's side and Ren and Nora closer to the end of the table. The boy widened his eyes as Prof. Port entered, and if not for the fact the old man wasn't wearing the formal colonel attire, it was the same Port he remembered.
He was about to start class when fireteam RWBY stormed inside, falling on top of each other, making everyone laugh. After apologizing they sat in the same table as Jaune and the others, Yang by his side, then Ruby, Weiss and Blake. The blonde girl smiled playfully when she sat by his side, hugging his arm.
"Hey, vomit boy. Aren't you lucky to have a hottie like me sitting by your side?" She said with a sultry tone, and Jaune blushed a little while Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha stared at her disapprovingly.
"Xiao Long, you won't refer to me like that, ever. Understood?" He said, once again using the commanding tone he used at Cardin. Everyone stared at him in surprise, and Yang slowly let go of him.
"What bit you?" She asked in a whisper as Port was ranting about his past glories.
"The drill sergeant mosquito!" Nora whispered shout with a big grin on her face. Jaune sighed and gentle put his hand over Yang's, making the blonde girl look at him surprised and blush a little.
"Sorry, Yang, I had a bad night of sleep and I am a bit cranky." Yang stared at his eyes and nodded a little, before gently holding his hand back.
"OK, I will forgive you, but you owe me your dessert." She said with a wink, and Jaune nodded before paying attention to the class in an attempt to search information about the world he found himself in.
He learned the planet was called Remnant like the colonies, and the creatures of Grimm existed, and they dominated most of the land but not all. He learned that Beacon was a Hunter's school where people were being trained to fight the Grimm using their Auras and Dust to keep the creatures at bay. He learned of the four kingdoms, and that Beacon was in vale. Jaune learned that the White Fang existed there, about Faunus discrimination, the fact that different from his Remnant that one still hoped to win that war.
It was incredible how much information Port could convey in his lectures if you actually paid attention.
…
"OK, that is enough. Jaune, what is wrong with you?" Pyrrha asked, worry filling her voice.
They all sat outside for launch, under a huge tree, and Jaune was more concerned in admiring the place and wonder if his own world could have looked like this if they had actually be able to fight the Grimm back than paying attention at his friends chaotic behavior. He only snapped from his thoughts when two new familiar voices approached.
"And here it is Sergeant Arc!" Sun said as he sat with them, a banana in his mouth.
"Talk of the day, the guy that basically ordered Cardin Winchester into submission to save a lady in danger." Neptune said with a bright smile.
"Wait, what happened?" Ruby asked and Nora was more than happy to tell the tale, adding a lot of fantastical details, but even after Ren fixed it Jaune received some approving stares, some pats from Ruby and even some praise from Weiss and Yang.
"I never expected you to had such determination, Arc." Weiss half praised him. Yang on the other hand had other plans.
"Look at our little knight, so brave." She said as she pressed her chest on his side.
"Yang, stop teasing him." Pyrrha begged, not noticing she also was pressing herself on Jaune.
Or maybe she is? Why have I never noticed before they are so… alluring? Enticing? Bewitching would be the better word. Pyrrha have these expressive green emerald eyes, and her voice is so sweet. The way her hands feels is so comforting. Yang on the other hand is so upbeat and bright, her lilac eyes so full of life and so… maternal, somehow. And oh heaves she is so soft and I…
Jaune shook his head to make the weird thoughts get out of his head, and took a deep breath as he saw his crew… his friends talking with no worry in the world, so different from what they used to in the Nagato. The place they were standing wasn't bad either, so full of space, and it even had a breeze, and a shade, and grass, things he only knew from books and movies. And while the Grimm still existed, it was not a hopeless, lost battle yet, and no one gave him signs that it was going to be the case. It was almost… peaceful… Despite Cardin Winchester being there too.
"Jaune? Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted at him, getting the boy out of his thoughts once again. "Jaune, I am taking you to the doctor. We have combat class later and you can't be spacing out like this."
"Yeah, I think you are right. Sorry for worrying you like that. I am probably just a little under the weather." He said trying to give her a reassuring smile, and she nodded as she helped him up.
…
"It is probably just stress. Things have being a bit hectic around here in the last weeks." Dr. Verd explained as she finished checking Jaune. He looked around the 'med bay' and noticed how little equipped it was when compared to the one in the Nagato. It was almost like no one ever got seriously hurt there.
"Yeah, I think it might be just that. Doc, have you ever waked up with the impression everything around you is just… wrong? Like, it wasn't supposed to be like this?" Jaune asked, hoping the doctor would not just assume he is crazy.
"Sometimes, but that usually involved huge amounts of alcohol or illegal drugs… the last one I never did." She corrected herself while Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, have you done any of those lately?"
"No. Unless I used something that made me forget I used it."
"These ones are hardcore… not that I would know. Anyway, there is nothing physically wrong with you, Jauney, but I can get you a note so Glyn will not put you up a spar today, if you want to." She said in a comforting tone of voice, and Jaune nodded in agreement. Soon she delivered him the note and he put it on his pocket. "Now, if you still few gloomy, I want you to come back here, OK?"
"Sure, Doc. Sorry for giving you so much trouble. Sometimes it feels like you have taking care of me forever."
"Just a decade, Jauney. But I regret nothing." She said with a smirk before shooing Jaune off the infirmary.
He trailed off lost in thoughts as the mid-day sun warmed him up. It felt so different, so pleasant. Now he understood why the first space dwellers sang so much about going back to the planet, and why some of the veterans in the Marines loved to be deployed despite the dangers. He actually hated those few times he was forced to deploy as part of his mandatory training. The planet had lost its green and became a rocky and sandy desert covered in ruins and dead trunks of what were once trees.
But there, in that place, he now understood.
Yet he wondered what he should do. There he had everything people in Remnant would sell their first born to have, yet he didn't know why. If that was an alternative universe, it certainly was one he wouldn't mind living in. But then, what about those left back? Could he really chose staying there and leaving everyone else to suffer? His family? As he walked mindless around he didn't notice until he collided with two girls where he was going.
"Ouch! Sorry about that."
He looked up and saw two girls, twins. Both had beautiful, shining black hair, clear green eyes of a different shade than Pyrrha's, snow white skin and pink lips. He would be lying if he didn't found them very attractive. They wore the school's uniform, but had a head piece. The one with shorter hair had a red feather, while the long haired one had a white flower. They both stared him down.
"You should be more aware of your surroundings." The long haired twin said with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Come on Mel, he already apologized. Maybe we could cut him some slack." The short haired on answered and looked back at Jaune, this time with a small smile.
"You are too soft, Miltia. If we let this go he will probably just use the opportunity to 'accidentally' fall on girls around here." Mel answered back and cast a deadly stare at Jaune, making him gulp hard.
"He doesn't look like the kind of person to do this." Miltia answered her sister, and then glared at Jaune back.
"I… uh… No! I would never! I am sorry! Look, I have combat class soon, so maybe after that I could… I dunno… treat you two?" Jaune said and then cursed internally as that sounded way more flirty than he wanted to. The twins giggled and smiled at him.
"What is your name?" Mel asked, and he took a few seconds before understanding they weren't offended.
"Arc. Jaune Arc."
"I am Miltiades, call me Miltia, and this is my sister Melanie." The short haired twin answered now with a sweet expression. Melanie was also smiling, but had the same teasing smile Yang had most of the time.
"I will decide if I will allow you to call me Mel after our little date, Jaune. So, are you good at fighting?"
"Me? I am usually at the losing end. Besides, I would rather be fighting Grimm than other people." Jaune answered honestly, and the twins shared curious glances before looking back at him.
"Uh, I would expect you to be all about trying to be an alpha and other stupid stuff like that." Melanie commented, and Jaune gave a nervous chuckle as he scratched his head.
"There was a time I probably was like that."
"And what changed your mind?" Miltiades asked; voice laced in genuine curiosity.
"I just discovered… there are other things I am good at that isn't fighting, and if I can help other that way. I don't really need the glory and the spotlight." The twins once again traded glares and smiled at Jaune.
"So, I hope to see you soon again, Jaune Arc. We might not be able to have you treat us right away, but we will hold on you to treat us sometime." Melanie said as the two girls approached Jaune, making him slightly nervous.
"Do you promise?" Miltiades asked; her green eyes locked on his blue ones. He gulped and wondered why he was feeling like he knew those girls, despite being the first time he saw them.
"Yeah, of course. An Arc never goes back with his word." Then both girls kissed his cheek, making him blush madly.
"Be strong, Jaune Arc." They said as a farewell and walked away, leaving behind a flustered and confused blonde.
…
Crocea Mors.
It was so weird to see it there. It was an old relic, from before the colonies, and according to Jaune's father it fought Grimm in the hands of his ancestors. Now it was just an old relic that his father kept on the wall to remember then the entire lineage of heroes that composed the Arc family. But here, in that odd world, people still fought using such primitive weapons, powered by their Semblances and Auras.
Ad they were displaying a great show, Jaune had to admit as he focused on the arena instead of the weird combination of weaponry and armor Pyrrha said was his usual battle attire.
Pyrrha and Ruby fought each other, and seeing both so skillfully used such weapons was certainly a show in itself. Jaune was sure now that they could fight AND win against Grimm with that display of skill, even if they weren't wearing power armors. But yet the blonde couldn't help but feel like he didn't belonged there.
"Mr. Arc, your turn. You will fight Mr. Winchester again." Glynda Goodwitch called, and Jaune stared at her for a second. It was both so familiar seeing her as an instructor and so weird since she really was dressed like a teacher. Jaune was about to deliver the note Dr. Verd gave him when Cardin shouted.
"Come on, Jauney boy! If you don't play with me, maybe I should play with one of your sisters! I am sure not only they would kick more ass than you, they would love 'playing' with me." He laughed, but Glynda started chastising him over his behavior, and Jaune crunched the note on his hand.
"I am going, Comma… Ms. Goodwitch."
Jaune stood up, to the surprise of his friends. They all wished him good luck, and the blonde boy recognized the look on their faces. They wanted him to win, but none hoped he would. It was a look he was used since he started in combat school. He walked down as everyone tried to cheer him up, but even Pyrrha had the same look. As he walked down he saw Velvet and coco with two boys, and one of them caught Jaune's attention with his body covered in scars and his white eyes.
"Any moment now, Mr. Arc." Glynda called him, and Jaune approached the taller boy that had the usual smug smirk in his face. Jaune stood before him and Glynda resumed talking. "Standard rules, first whose Aura drop into the red loses. Begin."
Cardin didn't waste his time to start an onslaught of attacks against Jaune. Everything moved faster and hit harder, the blonde thought, and his attempts of blocking and countering were certainly failing. Jaune cursed under his breath his lack of fighting skills and specially the fact he didn't had the advantage of Pyrrha interfering in the fight or even better equipment on his side, but most of all, he hated the fact Cardin couldn't just shut up.
"You know, Jauney boy, you shouldn't be here. You don't have the skills, the strength or even the attitude of a warrior!" Carding shouted as he kept using his mace against Jaune's shield. "You can't defeat anyone! You can't protect anyone! You shouldn't be team leader! I will defeat you again! No one believes in you! You are nothing more than a disappointment!"
Jaune's mind returned to the colonies as he kneeled over another attack. He knew that the Cardin he knew thought that, and probably his hack of a father, the councilman. He was sure Ironwood thought he wasn't appropriate for the job. Probably a lot of people back there wanted someone more experienced, more victorious to be captain of the Nagato. He looked back at the stands to see their friends there, all shouting words of support towards him, some with worried looks.
"Now it is time to taste the flavor of defeat again, Jauney boy!"
Cardin held his mace over his head and swung it down.
But this time, Jaune blocked it, and as he stood up he punched Cardin under his chin, making the taller boy stumble back. Cardin growled and attacked again, and Jaune easily blocked this time, and kicked his adversary back with a powerful kick.
Silence.
"You know, I know what you are." Jaune slashed the enemy, the mace flung aside.
"You piece of shit!" Cardin yelled as he rushed to retrieve his weapon.
"I am not the best fighter, but I never needed to be."
"That is why you hide behind your friends!" Carding growled with another attack. Slowly, the people around turn into black silhouettes.
"No, that is why I count on them, as they count on me. When I saw you, I thought you were soldier material, strong and competent, something I wasn't. But the truth is that you are a bully, an asshole, too self-centered to care about others, a coward that would only go after an easy target."
"YOU ARE THE WEAK ONE!" Another attack, this time Jaune just dodged, Cardin landing on his face.
"I was weak because I envied you. Then I was weak because I feared you. Then I was weak because you become a symbol. A symbol of my insecurities, fears and doubts. And until now I still carried these with me. I still doubted myself. But I should thank you, because you made me remember why I am doing this." Jaune put his foot on Cardin's chest, sword hovering the bully's face. "Because my family believes in me. Admiral Tenryuu believes in me. My crew believes in me. The only other one who doubted me was I. But now I know why I am doing this trip. So my family and friends can live in a place like this. So no one needed to put up with a jerk like you because you are 'needed'."
Jaune kicked Cardin's head, and the arena disappeared in a flash of light.
…
"Jaune! Jaune! JAUNE!"
"I am up! Stop yelling!"
Jaune bolted up and startled everyone. Apparently they cramped everyone on the Nagato in the bridge and as he sat up his face came dangerously close to both Velvet's and Yang's faces as the two girls were sitting by his side on the ground. The bunny girl got incredible red and started stuttering while Yang smirked. Dr. Verd was scanning him as everyone looked concerned.
"How long I was offline?" Jaune asked as he motioned to stand up but Pyrrha held him firmly but gently down. Apparently he was using her lap as a pillow.
"Just two minutes, I just arrived, together with everyone. I will tell what, Jauney, you have one loyal crew when the news their captain was down was enough to make even the ones that were sleeping rush up here." The doctor said and Jaune finally noticed many were in their sleepwear. Some of them a bit too revealing for his poor heart.
"OK, everyone, I am OK now. Ren, what the hell happened?"
"We were hit by a slipstream." The boy answered after spending a few seconds to be sure his captain was alright.
"I thought it was impossible for the subspace energy come to our side." Jaune pondered.
"It isn't, as that was what just happened. Now, if you question how, I don't have an answer for that."
"It was probably an inverse warp. Since we use high-energy fields to warp, maybe two fields like that naturally happened on the subspace and made the slipstream leak on our side." Nora said and everyone but Ren stared at her in surprise. It was easy to think she was just a bubblehead, but Nora was quiet a genius when she wanted to be.
"Nora's theory is probably right, as usual, but I will have an answer after we check the data."
"Why those subspace sensors we installed didn't warned us?" Jaune asked as the doctor kept examining him.
"They are only online when we are in the subspace. I will make sure they are always on from now." Ren concluded and Jaune nodded.
"Do it. Commander, the bridge is yours as I will go with Doc to get a thoroughly examination." Jaune once again tried to stand up when he felt Pyrrha still holding him down. "Major, I can walk; it will be easy to get to the med bay instead of having someone carrying me."
"I will do it." Pyrrha, Yang and Velvet said at the same time, causing a few muffled snickers around.
"Major, help me with the captain." The doctor said putting the wellbeing of her patient before the utter amusement the situation was providing. "I will give a status report once I finish checking him."
…
It took an hour before the doctor decided Jaune was fine, and another just to convince the crew to resume their normal activities and let him rest in his room. And that not counting trying to make Velvet, Pyrrha and Yang understand he didn't need a 'nurse', and the mental image was forever ingrained in Jaune's mind. He rested in his bed, wondering exactly what happened. Dr. Verd stated that it was no different from a knockout and his brain receiving the shock of the energy wave just made the dream he had.
For a dream, it was incredible realistic. The only mistakes was the fact Dr. Verd couldn't be my doctor for ten years there, the lack of flavor on the food, and that guy with Velvet and Coco, since I only saw him dead as we carried his corpse back to the Colonies, the reason I could only see him with scars and white eyes.
"So that was our mistake."
Jaune shot up and looked around. The voice he just heard was familiar, but in the moment he looked around there was only silence.
"Am I going insane?" He wondered.
"You aren't going insane. But we will keep an eye on you."
"Who are you?" Jaune inquired as he stood up.
"From now on, a friend." The feminine voice answered, filled with echoes. "You passed the first of many tests, Captain Jaune Arc of the Nagato. We will meet again, as you have a promise to keep. Until them, we bid you a safe journey."
"Wait!" No answer came. "Great. I probably shouldn't tell the crew of this. Unless they want to lock me up in the brig." Jaune sighed and was about to return to bed when he heard knocking on his door. He opened up to see a redhead, a blonde and a brunette standing there.
"We decided to take care of you. Pyrrha and Velvet will clean your quarters while I nurse you." Yang immediately stated, receiving a glare from the other girls.
"I won the draw!" Velvet shouted, and blushed soon after as she avoided Jaune's surprised gaze.
"Girls, please, we are here to help him." Pyrrha calmly stated as the three barged inside the captain's quarters. Jaune just sighed and accepted they would not leave him alone until they decided he was healthy.
No rest for the wicked…