Wraith
Chapter Eight
Beta: Smithrooks
Death in The Family
Beacon, many years ago…
Jaune could honestly say that he loved his teammates. Sure, they were a bit… rough… sometimes, but they meant well.
Most of the time.
"Ow! That hurts!"
This… was not one of those times. Jaune had noticed that his teammates were slightly racist pretty quickly of course. How could you miss something like that? Today the focus of their ire was a rabbit Faunus girl; Cardin and the others were having a good time ruining her day by pulling her ears and barking out unimaginative racial slurs.
They had offered for him to join in on the 'fun', but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't hate Faunus; he was fairly apathetic about them actually. But when looking at the warm, honey-coloured aura of the girl his team was harassing, he couldn't help but feel a stab of contempt. What a weak huntress she must be if she can't even stand up for herself. Hunters were meant to be pillars of strength and skill… not this.
Granted, he couldn't really comment about strength or skill given how poorly he did when he first faced Grimm. But the principal was the same; weak hunters died, all they loved died, all they protected died. Strong hunters lived, strong hunters were the pillars on which society was built upon.
Or so his father used to say anyway.
And his teammates were strong, in their own ways. Cardin was a total tank, the guy could bench press like four of himself. The other two were tough as well, but Jaune was mostly interested in Cardin's might since he was his partner.
And soon, Jaune would be powerful too. After class the other day, the others had taken him into Vale to get some Dust; the amount purchased had a distinctly depressing effect on Jaune's wallet. He and the others had done some practice… well, they had hit him until he'd started dodging, and then they'd hit him until he started using the Dust against them.
Which is why his hands were currently bandaged. Who knew fire could burn people? Aura only protected you so much, and after spending hours shooting massive plumes of Dust-fuelled fire out of his hands his skin had begun to roast. It wasn't quite as bad as it sounded, it's not like he ever had to write anything down anymore - the one upside to being blind was that he'd never have to write an essay, ever.
But the pain was a major annoyance, the constant throb of the burns… you'd think he'd be used to pain by now, considering what happened in initiation. But before coming to Beacon he'd lived a fairly sedentary life, the worst pain he'd ever experienced being some like that time he'd accidently cut his finger while cooking.
But he'd never admit that of course, just like how he'd never admit that he forged his transcripts to get into Beacon. Cardin would probably string his guts around Beacon as Christmas decorations if Jaune ever admitted the truth, either that or just blackmail him horribly for the rest of his time at Beacon.
Or both, really.
But that didn't matter, because no one would ever find out.
Jaune would make sure of that.
The sound of a frankly irritating bell rang throughout the school, snapping Jaune out of his thoughts and alerting all the students that the lunch break had ended. Jaune had history next, which was one of the easiest classes now since he never had to actually do anything beyond sit there and look semi attentive as the motor-mouthed professor jabbered away.
"Guys," the blind boy called out to his teammates, "c'mon, we have history now."
The Faunus girl was openly crying now, but she seemed deeply relieved when Cardin let go of her ear. The warm honey of her aura practically bolted once Cardin and the others moved away, probably to go complain to a teacher or something. It didn't really matter.
"I hate history class," Dove muttered as they got going, "Oobleck talks too much."
Jaune didn't comment. What was the point? He hardly ever had to do any actual work anymore, so anything he said about classes would be pretty shallow.
"Right?" Sky said as they walked through the semi-packed corridor, "The guy drinks way too much coffee, maybe he's trying to drink it all before Ozpin can get to it?"
Cardin and Dove snickered. Jaune made a weak attempt at laughing, his mind focussed on the deep black and gold aura he knew to be Pyrrha that trailed behind the group. She'd been following him near constantly, always apologising and begging forgiveness whenever he failed to get away in time.
His teammates seemed pretty apathetic about it - aside from a few lewd jokes - but Jaune knew it was a trick. It had to be. She speared him to a tree and now she wanted to finish the job, obviously she had been aiming for his throat or something and wanted him dead as soon as possible. No doubt she intended to do this by making him lower his guard around her, but he wouldn't let that happen. Never again.
Besides, sneaking up on him was sort of impossible now; he could see in every direction and was painfully aware of what Pyrrha's aura looked like. If she came within 200 metres of him he'd know.
They entered the class and found their seats in the upper rows. The professor was already there, slurping his coffee like he'd been stuck on a desert island for a month. His greenish-yellow aura shone brightly, almost radiantly as he drank his favourite beverage in the world.
The last of the students trickled into the room, including Pyrrha. Every few moments she turned to look at him, but he was already beginning to feel drowsy as the professor yammered away. Nikos wouldn't try anything while they were in a room full of other students as well as a professor, so it was relatively safe just to doze.
But his teammates didn't have the luxury of not being able to write assignments, and they, mainly Cardin, believed that if they were going to suffer through the lesson then so would he. Every few minutes, just as Jaune felt himself falling asleep, Cardin flicked him in the back of the head.
The cruel bastard. Sleep was a wonderful thing, the utter lethargy… glorious.
But the glorious lethargy was oh so rudely interrupted… if only, if only...
"Just prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralising the Faunus population in Menagerie." Oobleck rambled as he darted around the room, but Jaune wasn't really listening. What was the point?
"Now! While this must seem like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" Nope, Jaune didn't really do a whole lot of 'seeing' anymore, so this didn't apply.
"Now have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?" The green-haired professor asked, and Jaune noted with mild surprise that several people in the room put their hands up. All these young hunters had been bullied? How depressing it was, that the next generation was too weak to stand up for themselves...
"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Oobleck cried upon seeing the hands, "Remember students it is precisely this kind of hatred that breeds violence. Just look at what happened to the White Fang!" White Fang? Weren't they some terrorist organisation? Why hadn't hunters gone and put them down yet?
"Now which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"
A cold-looking aura, icy and rigid, was the one to answer. "The battle of Fort Castle." The voice was sharp, but smug at the same time.
From across the room, Jaune pondered the cold aura of the girl that had answered the question. She was sitting next to Ruby, perhaps she was her partner? Poor Ruby. He'd noticed that the shape and composition of someone's aura tended to give a vague approximation of how a person might act; Cardin's was blunt and hard, Professor Goodwitch's was rigid yet supple at the same time, Ozpin's was like a deep green maze…
But Pyrrha's aura… she was the exception. Her aura was… warm, but distant. Like a deep melancholy hidden behind a veil of cheer.
"Precisely!" the yellowish-green aura of the professor cried, "And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"
No one answered the question; Jaune himself didn't even know the answer. Binoculars perhaps?
"Hmm. Most disappointing that none of you wish to answer!" He didn't actually sound disappointed, "How about you Mister Winchester? Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?"
Jaune 'watched' as Cardin's silvery aura jerked in place, did he know the answer? Even if he didn't, Cardin would no doubt think of something; he was always saying how the team had to appear strong and intelligent. That they couldn't accept being anything less than the best team among all the first years.
Granted, he usually said that when expressing his disappointment over having such a weak partner, but the principle was the same.
"Well," The beefy boy started, "I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."
Witty, cruel and probably untrue. But at least Cardin didn't shame himself by admitting he didn't know the answer.
Jaune watched as the professor's aura flickered slightly, perhaps in disappointment? Jaune didn't really know, he wasn't very good at reading people's emotions through aura yet.
"You're not the most open minded of individuals, are you Cardin?"
The voice rang out from the other side of the room, and Jaune froze instantly. That was Pyrrha. What was she doing? If she angered him... well, she didn't have to suffer through his training, she wouldn't have to feel the rage-fuelled blows of his mace slamming into her face over and over again…
"What?" Cardin barked, "You got a problem?"
"No, I have the answer." She sounded so sure, damn her! Continuing to make his life difficult. "It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."
Beside him Cardin growled, and Jaune could already feel the bruises forming from the 'training' he would no doubt get for this.
A new voice spoke up, a purple aura continuing off from where Pyrrha had started. "General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep; his massive army was outmatched and the General was captured." The voice turned just a touch smug, "Perhaps if he'd paid attention during class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure."
In an instant Cardin was on his feet, bashing Jaune to the side in the process. The blind Arc tumbled to the ground silently and bore the slight pain; after all, Cardin had already done so much for him, it would be wrong for him to speak out against his partner.
"Mr. Winchester sit down." The voice of Oobleck sounded so utterly disappointed in Cardin, which would no doubt just make him angrier... "You can see me after class for additional readings."
Oh boy… Training would certainly be rough today. Jaune watched as Cardin's aura shook with anger but complied with the teacher's command. All that anger had to go somewhere, and sadly Jaune already knew who the target would be…
Dorme, present day…
Jaune was dropped to the ground with a dull thud as Nihilus landed.
They had been flying for hours, and Jaune had held onto Pyrrha for dear life the entire trip. They had passed the outer walls of the city and Jaune had tried to convince his captor to help the hunters against the Grimm attacking the city, but the black-robed man had just stared at him with his blank yellow eyes and said, "My dear shell, I see nothing. The lights fight only the air."
Jaune had no idea what that had meant, and despite his pleading to be let down the beast had just continued flying.
Until now, that is.
Jaune let Pyrrha's unconscious form slide to the ground as he got to his feet unsteadily. Why had the Lord of Hunger brought him here? What did the creature want? "You-" whatever he was going to say was quickly blocked when he finally took note of their surroundings. "Why… why did you bring me here?" Jaune demanded to Nihilus, his eyes wide as he stared at his surroundings.
They stood on a small hill that overlooked a quaint town. Jaune recognized every inch of it, he had grown up here after all. This was Dorme.
The cobbled streets and the small cottages… he had spent his entire life here. Playing with his sisters and the other village children, running through the streets doing things he no longer cared to remember.
Nihilus looked at him, sickly yellow eyes seemingly peering into Jaune's very soul. "This is where you belong," he declared, "you and she, not like me and her." A look of deep sadness etched its way onto its face.
But all too soon the sadness was replaced with burning anger, a fury that seeped off his form and radiated malice. "She did nothing wrong!" he screamed to himself, hands clutching the sides of his head in apparent agony even as rage overtook him. "She was being kind! I was the Gleam Eyes, I was the beast!" his yells turned to pained whispers, the rage from moments ago evaporating in an instant. "She was just being kind… why did… why did she have to go? Why was she taken?"
Jaune didn't know what to say, what was he talking about? He couldn't be talking about Pyrrha, could he? That was impossible, maybe he was talking about someone he used to know?
Someone he used to love.
Jaune opened his mouth to say something, but a questioning shout from behind him drew his attention away. Jaune turned; standing on the road nearest to them was a small crowd of people. All of them were pointing at him and Nihilus, whispers and mutters circulating through the entire group.
"Jaune!" He recognized the voice of course, how could he forget his own father? Growing up with John Arc as your father wasn't something that was easily forgotten.
Standing at the front of the crowd was a middle-aged blonde man; stress lines marked his face and his dark green eyes were crinkled with worry upon seeing Jaune. "Jaune!" he cried again, "Get away from him!"
Jaune's blue eyes snapped back to stare at Nihilus, carefully watching the insane man for any kind of reaction. But instead Jaune only saw the self-proclaimed lord nod encouragingly, as if prompting Jaune to follow his father's command.
Ever so slowly Jaune crept backwards, grabbing Pyrrha as he did so. He only stopped moving when he felt his father's hand come to rest on his back, stopping him.
"Stay back." The words were whispered roughly in his ear.
Before Jaune had time to really question what the hell was going on, he felt John snatch Crocea Mors from his hip and leap forwards so he was between the villagers and Nihilus. "Lord of Hunger!" John shouted, voice powerful and strong. "You attacked my son and you attacked Vale. Your crimes cannot go unpunished."
Nihilus was utterly impassive to the sword pointed at his face; his sickly yellow eyes didn't even blink. "Son? Yes… I had a father once." The words were calm and slow, almost as if he was trying to calm a frightened animal. "So long ago. He and I are one now. I feel his power in my veins, just as I feel yours."
John frowned but didn't react otherwise; he kept his family blade pointed at the kidnapper. "Leave this place or be destroyed!"
"Destroyed?" Nihilus questioned, yellow eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "I am the destroyer, the vanquisher… but it doesn't matter, none of it matters anymore."
John's frown deepened, his face turning resolute. "Very well, make peace with your makers." He raised his sword skywards, prepared to swing-
"Well look what we have here!"
The voice rang out too loudly, stopping everyone dead in their tracks.
Stepping out of the nearby trees was a heavily armoured form, the black metal shining dully in the sunlight. "I just came to set up some cameras so we could find you Nihilus," the voice was acidic, bitter. "But to my surprise, you're already here! If only the others weren't off setting up their own surveillance equipment, they could join me in the slaughter."
Nihilus spat in sudden anger, his blind eyes darting around to stare at nothing in particular. "I won't allow her to do this, Yang Xiao Long will DIE before I let her be taken away again."
John looked between the arguing parties with thinly veiled concern. He couldn't let the fight spill into the village; the damage would be catastrophic. "What are you doing?" he demanded of the armoured being, "Don't get him angry!" He'd seen the news reports in Vale, the damage this man had caused. That could not be allowed to happen here.
But Yang wasn't listening, more excited by the prospect of finally ending the beast of her nightmares. "I will kill you for what you've done, but before that I'm going to kill that whore of yours. Just so you get the pleasure of watching her die twice."
Nihilus roared in utter fury, and an instant later he had slammed his pale fist into the armoured helmet of Yang with enough force to cause a small earthquake, punting Yang back into the trees behind her.
John gaped at the speed that Nihilus displayed; only the most powerful of hunters could reach that kind of speed. Just what was this freak? For one that looked so young to be so powerful… he'd seen Ozpin's warning on the television of course, but to see it in person… John knew when he was outclassed.
But John didn't have even a moment longer to contemplate the speed of Nihilus, as less than a second later a dozen fiery flares shot outwards and rocketed towards the pale lord. The whizzing and burning of the flares set the nearby trees alight, the crackling wood of the ancient forest roasting from Yang's attack.
The rounds connected just as Nihilus raised his hands to protect his eyes, and an instant later the explosion rocked the ground and sent nearly all of the onlookers tumbling. Only John remained standing, and it only took him one second to decide his course of action.
He turned and ran, all the while shouting to the floored villagers to get the hell away. If they stayed they would all die, John could see that now. These two… whoever they really were, whatever their personal issues, the fight was going to be disastrous. They were too close to the village, if even a single one of those flares had gone into the village proper…
No, best to evacuate now.
"Run!" John shouted, waving his arms and Crocea Mors around to get the villagers' attention. "Get to the other side of the village! We can flee from there!"
Nihilus brushed off the explosion like it was nothing, hardly pausing to spit out some ash before his blind eyes focussed on Yang once more. "I've tasted you before, fury clouded with regret. This time I will devour ALL of you!"
Nihilus jerked his arms outwards and a wave of fire spread from him, the intense burning heat searing away the front row of trees in an instant. But Yang weathered the assault, the fire washing over her power-armoured form like it was nothing more than a breeze.
"You call that an attack?" the girl demanded, "I've seen you burn away entire towns, don't hold out on me now you freak!"
The Lord of Hunger snarled and dashed forwards, anger clouding his mind even as flames wreathed his fists.
Yang let out a bark of laughter as she leapt over his swinging fists and punched him in the side of the head with her power-armour assisted strength. Blood spurted out of a cut on his head even as he staggered backwards, a snarl crossing his features.
But Yang didn't let up; spinning on the spot, she swung her leg down and smashed it into his face, deepening the cut on his forehead. With a grunt, she finished her combo off by uppercutting him brutally in the chin so hard that it lifted him a dozen feet into the air before he crashed to the ground.
Nihilus moaned in agony from the ground, but Yang wouldn't let up, kicking him savagely in the gut. "Heh, you're getting weak. You haven't replenished your strength fully since coming here, and you're starving you freak."
Nihilus hissed, but didn't say anything.
"I bet you hardly had the strength to fly here." Deep, malicious amusement stained Yang's voice, "It hurts doesn't it, that feeling of utter weakness, the crushing realisation of your own mortality! That's how the rest of us felt! That's how my father felt when you murdered him!"
She swung her leg for a vicious kick to his guts, the blow containing more than enough force to shatter steel and tear the mightiest of buildings asunder.
But right at the very last moment Nihilus caught her leg, all the momentum bleeding out in an instant as he clamped down on the armoured limb. With a furious yell he shoved her backwards, punting her to the ground with a harsh kick as he rose to his feet. "You don't know!" he cried in fury, "You think you know pain? You think you know suffering?! You know NOTHING!"
Nihilus swung his leg outwards in a kick, but Yang deftly rolled under the attack despite her armour. As she rose to her feet she launched a series of vicious punches to his midsection, all of which he swatted away before they could reach him; but he missed the last attack, and Yang's fist slammed into his face with a metallic slap against his pale flesh.
The fallen Arc snarled in fury and flicked blood off his face from the cut on his head, his expression twisted in hatred. With a snarl on his lips he charged forwards and swung his fist at Yang once again, but she dodged easily and hammered him on the head once again.
But pain was already a constant for him, and the blow only served to heighten his anger. With a howl of rage, his pale fist slammed into the faceplate of her helmet.
Yang staggered back for a moment but was soon back in the fray, utterly ignoring the raging fires that destroyed the area around them. She swung her legs around in a crushing overhead kick, only for Nihilus to duck under the blow and slam both of his fists into her gut.
Air exploded out of her lungs as she was winded, leaving her utterly breathless but not defenceless.
Nihilus swung both his hands downwards, but Yang caught the attack and rolled around until his arm was forced into a painful lock. Then in one fluid motion, she kicked him in the side as hard as she could while still holding onto his arm, the result was a sickening sounding pop as the arm was dislocated.
Without even a flinch, Nihilus rose to his feet and forced his arm back into the socket. "She wants to hurt you, both of them do. You cause us pain! You can't do that! I was going to be the best! I COULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST HUNTER TO EVER LIVE!" he screamed in her face, "And what are you!? The little girl who failed!"
Yang snarled and charged forwards, but Nihilus was ready; his hands lashed out and bashed her across the helmet twice before she could mount any defence. Following up the vicious strike, he swung both hands downwards with all his waning strength.
Just in the nick of time Yang managed to catch the attack, the ground underfoot cracking and being blown away from the sheer force.
"What you did was unforgivable!" Yang snarled as she struggled, "We did what was necessary!"
Nihilus' features twisted hatefully, but he didn't have a chance to react further because Yang swung around and twisted his arm behind him, locking it into place.
The Lord of Hunger snarled in utter fury, "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" he roared.
Ignoring what was no doubt terrible pain, he forced himself to spin around and with his free hand Nihilus grabbed the girl by the throat.
Yang immediately let go of his arm so she could attempt to free herself from his grasp, struggling with both her hands against his fury-powered strength.
"They won't stop!" he screamed, more to himself than anyone else, "Make them stop!"
Yang punched him in the gut, and there was a wet sound as her shotgun gauntlet fired; but Nihilus showed utterly no reaction.
Yellow eyes gleamed even as blood gushed down his face, hunger and pain strewn across his features. "This is your end," he whispered.
Before Yang could react Nihilus opened his mouth wide and a massive plume of fire shot outwards, completely covering her sight and burning her helmet.
Yang screamed in agony as the fire seared through her helmet and splashed across her face, the unimaginable pain clouding her every thought as she felt herself roast.
But just as utter and consuming darkness closed around her vision, the fire died and Nihilus let go of her throat.
But Yang was finished. She dropped to the ground bonelessly, what little remained of her mutilated soul hardly keeping her alive.
Clutching the bloody wound on his stomach, Nihilus knelt down over Yang's face and stared at her with his unseeing eyes. "I understand why she did what she did," he whispered as he placed his pale and bloody hand on the dying girl's forehead. Instantly, her already charred skin began to blacken and die as her soul was sucked out, her once beautiful lilac eyes turning into empty white orbs. "I just wish she hadn't," The fallen Arc whispered as the girl finally died.
Yang Xiao Long was dead.
But the victory was a bitter one. Fire raged around the sole figure of Nihilus, the village charred and smoking from the intense flames, and the villagers nowhere in sight.
The Lord of Hunger had failed.
A/N
So… that happened.
The alternate Yang has died, what a terrible shame. I know quite a few of you are probably thinking that Yang would never act that way, but out of all the members of the alternate team RWBY she is the one who lost herself in her hatred the most - rightly so too, given what Nihilus has done. The younger Yang is still alive of course, though she and the others won't be playing a large role until later when things start to come to a head.
If any of you are wondering why Nihilus went from being able to take on all of RWBY to struggling with Yang, well, the answer was actually stated above. He was practically starved, making the jump between worlds isn't exactly easy for him, and the way Nihilus tends to fight leans towards obscene displays of power at the expense of personal energy.
That aside, let's look at the reviews:
Toddem Mach:
Thanks for reviewing.
It's pronounced team 'never', and Russel is the first R since he is partners with Pyrrha. I actually struggled quite a bit to get a decent team name for them, who knew it would be so hard?
I have never actually seen another RWBY story where Jaune became a Dust mage, so I thought it would be pretty original for me to do it. So far the reaction has been positive, so I think it's turning out pretty well.
Smithrooks:
Thanks for reviewing.
Yeah, the alternate team RWBY is kinda messed up... but think of it from their point of view, or think about it later when you have more information. They are lashing out like a dying animal, they're mostly just afraid of being hurt again. Ozpin will ponder the matter with a much less bias opinion, but he will do what he thinks he must to protect Vale - good or evil.
Ah... the history between Nihilus/Jaune and Pyrrha is a long and sad one, a tragedy through and through. But I suppose that's sort of a given when looking at what Jaune turned out to be.
Also the way Cardin treats Jaune is mildly better, this shows that Cardin isn't a total arse.
And yeah, I've never read a full blown 'Jaune the Dust user' story either, but I thought it would be cool to explore. Even more so given that he will be using Dust in a very different way to how other characters use it; interestingly I have noticed that all canon characters only ever use Dust as a secondary weapon, or a supplement for a gun. Whereas Jaune/Nihilus will be a full blown Dust-mage to the point of excluding other things.
hirshja:
Thanks for reviewing.
Eh, the alternate team RWBY isn't exactly the most level-headed of teams, they are mostly acting out of hurt and fear. And how could they know about his lack of training? His display during initiation was shameful yes, but he beat Ren pretty quickly. At this point he really is more of a puzzle to them, weak or strong? But I suppose you'll just have to wait and see.
Le MAO XVII:
Thanks for reviewing... twice...
Yeah, the idea of killing Jaune just because he could become another Nihilus... not cool. But while I agree with you, think about it from their point of view: they would feel extremely betrayed by what they see as a trusted friend (we haven't quite gotten to that yet) turning around and betraying them in a way that can never be taken back. Nihilus has killed hundreds through his actions and hurt many more, the alternate team RWBY is effectively lashing out like a wounded animal that is distraught and in pain.
Ozpin is too rational to just up and say "yup, that's cool, just go kill one of my students." He may do things you don't agree with, but not without reason and careful forethought.
And of course it's not just the semblance, the history of 'evil Jaune' given to Ozpin in chapter 2 by RWBY was a butchered and extremely bias account of something they knew very little about. Bearing in mind that 'evil Jaune' is in his late twenties/early thirties, with the exception of Ruby the alternate team RWBY has absolutely no idea what actually happened to Jaune other than 'he went nuts and started eating people.'
In regards to the unlocking of aura, that is a very good point you bring up. But for the sake of spoilers I will refrain from saying too much, though I daresay that you will be keeping all of those virtual cookies of yours.
Thanks for reading, and leave a review!
