Wraith
Chapter Twenty
Beta: Smithrooks
A Dance Between Friends
Beacon, many years ago.
Awareness slowly crept into Jaune's psyche, the dull throb of seeing the aura of others slipping into his mind as he woke up.
"Mr. Arc?"
Ugh, couldn't whoever that was see that he was sleeping? Honestly, some people were so rude these days.
"We know you're awake, Mr. Arc."
It was a different voice this time, a much more familiar one too. Good old Ozpin, you can always trust him to ruin a healthy bout of laziness… "I hate you."
Gradually, Jaune's perception began to expand outwards, the unending forest green of Ozpin's aura serving as a nice little slap in the face to snap Jaune into total awareness. There was someone else in the room too, the silvery blue of General Ironwood standing in stark contrast to Ozpin's more sedate looking aura.
"No, you don't," Ozpin informed Jaune lightly, "you love me for letting you stay at my school."
Ack, damn logic. Why did Ozpin have to be so good at that? "My mistake then," Jaune muttered as he attempted to sit up. "Where am I?"
"The infirmary, Mr. Arc."
And why would that be? Hadn't he been at the dance? Ruby had sat by him and they'd shared a laugh over his toast to the socially awkward. Then… then he'd gone outside and… and something. Jaune fidgeted uncomfortably when the gap in his memory became clear, just what the hell had happened?
"Mr. Arc," Ironwood intoned, "now that you're awake, I can properly thank you for your efforts last night. Without your quick reaction to the threat, things could have been infinitely worse - the intruder could have even damaged the CCT."
CCT? What did- OH!
It all came crashing back in that single moment; the hazy red aura of the woman, the fight in the tower, the impossible heat of the fire… yeah, Jaune remembered. "Did… are those soldiers okay?" some of them had been beyond help already, but they can't all have died…
The silence that met the question was telling, the moment of hesitation giving away the answer before it was spoken. Jaune had failed them. If he'd noticed sooner, or been more powerful… maybe he could have stopped it. Maybe he could have saved them, or maybe he could have stopped the woman before she ended their lives.
"They did their duty," the general said calmly, "their sacrifice will not be forgotten."
Jaune didn't want to hear it. He felt like a failure. Huntsmen were meant to save people, and what had he done? Arrived only in time to be set on fire by their murderer. "Can I go?" he asked, "I… need time to myself."
Ironwood and Ozpin rose to their feet, their massive aura pools almost suffocating to look at. "You are free to leave, Mr. Arc," Ozpin informed him, "but for the next three days you mustn't strain yourself - lest you find yourself unable to participate in your first official mission in a week's time."
The Headmaster of Beacon stepped away, but Ironwood stayed for a moment. "Thank you again for your efforts, Mr. Arc. Should you ever require assistance or find yourself growing tired of Vale, you will always have friends in Atlas."
A weak comfort, considering the attitude the general had towards his former soldiers. Was everyone in the Atlesian military considered as… expendable as Ironwood seemed to view them? Jaune shuddered at the thought; thousands of people - all little more than tools be to used and discarded. Maybe this is why his father hadn't wanted him to become a hunter?
Ironwood left the room quietly, his massive silvery blue aura pool gently swirling around his left side, and sluggishly oozing around his right. Maybe there was something wrong with him? Aura wasn't really meant to do that, with Ironwood it looked like he was forcing the aura through something rather than it just following the natural paths of his body.
Thoughts for later, at any rate.
With a sigh, Jaune forced himself to his feet, a crushing feeling of lethargy weighing him down as he changed out of the paper-thin hospital gown and into his usual hoodie. The material was vaguely comforting to wear again; it helped take his mind off the horror of his failure last night… even if it was only for a few precious moments.
Using his now well-practiced hands Jaune tied his bandana around his eyes; he wasn't exactly sure what colour the material was to everyone else, but he liked it because it was absolutely soaked in his own white soul matter.
Quietly, almost timidly, Jaune made his way out of the infirmary. He didn't want to see his team right now; they were nice enough, but collectively they had the emotional range of a small rock. Ruby and her team were out too; Ruby herself was a great girl, but sometimes she struggled to see other people's side of things - she wouldn't understand why Jaune felt he had failed.
That left only Pyrrha he could speak to about his epic failure to live up to the promise he had made upon hearing his father's letter. She would understand, she was good like that. Mind made up, Jaune started walking towards team NRVR's dorm; maybe he and Pyrrha could find somewhere quiet and talk? She would understand his insistence this one time, the ever kind and understanding girl that she was.
"Hey there."
The voice startled Jaune out of his thoughts, his mind snapping back into awareness of his surroundings instantly. Three people, two female and one male. Male with silver aura, female with a sickly green aura, and the third with… hazy red?
Hazy red?
"You're Jaune, right?" it was the silver male that was speaking, but Jaune wasn't listening - he was staring at the murderer standing behind the boy.
It was her. The hazy red aura of the woman last night… the woman that had killed a bunch of soldiers so she could get into the CCT. Why was she here? How was she here? This was too much…
"Yeah…" Jaune muttered in response to the question, his aura already beginning to sing in anticipation of what he was about to do.
"I'm Mercury, and these are my teammates Emerald and Cinder," the silver-aura boy said amicably, "I heard that you were crazy good with Dust and I was hoping you could help me out with a problem."
Jaune didn't know if this 'Mercury' or the sickly green aura of the ironically named 'Emerald' knew about the monster on their team in the form of the hazy red aura of Cinder, but… well, they would survive at any rate. Whether or not that was a good thing could be worked out later.
With a shout, Jaune thrust his arms forwards, his aura forcibly guiding the roaring power of fire Dust through his special rings and outwards towards the foul woman that dared stand in these hallways and call herself a huntress. The burning heat rushed forwards in a haze of righteous anger the likes of which Jaune had never felt before, the heady power greedily consuming anything in its path.
The two extras didn't even have time to react before the wall of fire soaked over them and towards Cinder, their surprised shouts a good enough indication that they had survived the initial onslaught - even if they were blasted backwards with thunderous force.
Cinder dealt with the sudden blistering heat much better; with a violent surge of aura from Cinder, Jaune felt the power of the fire wrested from his control with almost trivial ease. Jaune had hardly a second to gasp before he found his own fire redirected back towards him with double the ferocity behind it.
The blind boy was pushed backwards as he tried to block the intense attack, his arms burning even through the armouring effect of aura. With a twist of his own spirit and a grunt of pain Jaune willed the fire to die, his now slightly charred arms simmering in pain from blocking his own attack.
"I wonder…" the voice was like soft velvet, but Jaune knew it to be little more than a cover for the viper that this 'Cinder' truly was. "How did you recognise me?"
Jaune wouldn't give the murderer the satisfaction; with another shout he launched himself forwards - this time using the power of his gravity Dust to propel himself for what would be a truly devastating punch to the face.
With speed Jaune could hardly follow, his attack was deflected to the side and a small fireball slammed into his chest with enough force to hurl him back against a nearby window, the glass holding strong as he crashed into it. The blind boy gasped and shuddered as he rose to his feet, his body aching something terrible as he stared at the hazy red aura of the killer.
"Ah, well…" she purred, "if you won't talk, then that's just too bad."
Jaune didn't even have time to question it, let alone think about what she had just said. In an instant, several dull embers near his feet were enveloped in the woman's powerful aura, and less than a second later they exploded with thunderous force.
Jaune vaguely heard the sound of shattering glass, and for a moment he blacked out. When he came to, Jaune found himself tumbling downwards towards the hard and unyielding stone of the Beacon courtyard - forcibly ejected from the third floor corridor he had been in mere moments ago.
A mild surge of panic erupted in his mind, but it was quickly quelled. With a roar somewhere between stress, anger, and fear, Jaune thrust his hands downwards - emptying an entire fire Dust crystal in one go as he used a massive plume of fire to slow himself down. His hands ached and his body shuddered in abject agony, but as Jaune connected with the now glowing hot ground he couldn't help but feel just a touch pleased that his landing strategy was better than his last one.
Jaune hit the ground with all the grace of a man doing the world's worst belly flop - but he survived.
But he had lost the fight. He could see it now; the hazy red aura of Cinder and her two goons quickly rushing away from the school… he'd failed. Again.
Vale docks, present day…
Pyrrha stared.
And stared, and stared, and stared…
But no matter how long she looked, Jaune was still dead.
A bullet through the heart, a sword through the chest…
Jaune was dead.
Why…? How…? Why didn't his aura protect him? It was just like back at Beacon; the crack of the rifle shot, this time distantly, tearing through the air and rending Jaune's flesh apart. The first huntress, the one from Beacon must have sniped from afar… leaving the one here to… finish the job.
She stood there now, her oddly familiar sword covered in still warm blood, her armour splattered with the cursed red substance from Jaune's death throes.
And behind her… was the body.
Vaguely, Pyrrha heard Nihilus laugh, but it was muted and dull compared to the words that slipped out of her mouth, "You… killed him…"
Jaune was dead… her partner, her friend… dead.
"I'm sorry," the voice was quiet and distorted, "It was never meant to be this way, everything's so wrong now…"
But Pyrrha didn't hear it. She didn't care to. Jaune… was gone. But she would avenge him, defeat this… stain, and give Jaune some peace in knowing that his killer wasn't getting off free!
With a scream of rage and sorrow, Pyrrha reached out with her semblance to bind the armoured being before her, fully intent on smashing her into and through as many hard surfaces as possible.
But something was wrong. She felt the metal of the suit… but she couldn't grasp it with her semblance. It just sat there, mocking her.
Pyrrha snarled, if she couldn't use her semblance to win then so be it. She'd just have to use her blade-
The crack of another rifle shot stopped Pyrrha dead in her tracks, the ground beneath her feet splintering as the Dust round slammed into it. What was that? Pyrrha's emerald-green eyes snapped upwards in the direction the shot came from; there was nothing, just more buildings and-
There! A glint of light, a small reflection where there shouldn't be any. That was the sniper, the woman from Beacon. It was far away, far enough that Pyrrha had to squint just to get the vaguest impression of what the gunman looked like. But even without a clear line of sight, Pyrrha knew it was the woman that had signed Jaune's death warrant. She could feel it in her gut.
"She's trying to tell you not to get involved."
Nihilus' voice crashed through her thoughts like a tsunami, the false lord sneering as he informed Pyrrha of his wisdom.
"She only wanted to kill the Usurper, not you, illusion."
Pyrrha whirled around to face him, her eyes burning with tears as it all began to sink in. "Don't you care AT ALL?!" she screeched in his face, "He was YOU! And you just let him die!"
Nihilus just sneered, "I had to suffer, to struggle for my might. What was his struggle? How did he suffer? He never earned his power, it was given to him."
"You could have saved him!" she roared, "Saved yourself!"
Nihilus' sickly yellow eyes darted around wildly. "Go to him then, interloper," he jerked his head towards the rapidly cooling corpse, "his spirit flails around in distress, soothe him before he fades into the void."
The black-armoured huntress flicked the blood off her sword as she drew closer, "Go now Pyrrha, this is between Jaune and I."
Pyrrha took a step back, her eyes landing solely onto what remained of Jaune. He was dead… but she would stay with him.
She owed him that much.
Vale docks, present day…
Blake released a shallow breath as Pyrrha knelt down by the cooling corpse of who could have been her husband in another life. She wished it didn't have to be this way, that no one had to die… but it was better like this. With the Jaune of this world gone, the chances of the Fall of Amity happening again were pretty much nil compared to what they were with him alive.
Blake pretended she didn't hear the quiet sobs as Pyrrha cradled the corpse gently.
"I never understood you…" Nihilus' voice sent shivers up her spine as she glared at him from behind her helmet, "But the poor idealistic little kitten just acts like a good little martyr now… yes, like a good toy soldier."
Is that what he saw them as? Martyrs? Toy soldiers? Was this how far Jaune had fallen? All the hate, all the sorrow he'd been burdened with… she couldn't understand what drove him to still fight. But even now… she couldn't blame him. Were she in his position she would have killed herself, only his iron will kept him alive now... "Please, Jaune," she begged, "We don't need to do this. I know I can never hope to understand what you're feeling, but it doesn't have to be this way!"
Nihilus snarled, his face twisting hatefully in ways so unlike the Jaune she once knew. "This? This is all that's left! Can't you see?! Nothing else matters anymore; not you, not me, not ANYONE!" With rage marring his face, Nihilus flung his right hand outwards, a bolt of golden lightning escaping his fingers as he did.
Blake only just managed to dodge the bolt of lightning hurled her way, her armoured feet skidding across the ground as she put distance between herself and her fallen friend. "Jaune!" she begged, pleading that somewhere deep down the kind boy that had helped her against the White Fang was still there, "We don't need to fight!"
Nihilus grinned nastily, teeth as white as his skin shining through the sick grin. "No," he muttered, "we don't." And not a second later, he vanished.
Blake jerked, where did he go? How-
The blow came from behind, the crushing force unlike anything she'd ever felt before sending the armoured faunus hurtling through the air and smashing through the walls of half a dozen warehouses before she tumbled to a stop.
The next breath Blake took in was harsh and raspy, a vaguely wet sound resonating as she lay in the rubble of what had only moments ago been numerous walls.
Nihilus reappeared before her just as quickly as he had disappeared before, "When you fought me in Vale I was depleted. I will grant you the death you have so longed for, hollow."
Blake felt a dribble of blood ooze out her mouth. This was it. Her death. More than she had expected, for sure. Better than a ditch in the middle of nowhere by a long shot.
With what felt like herculean effort she pushed herself to her feet, idly noting that she had dropped her swords when she'd been punted through half the warehouses in the city. With quiet resignation she drew a small knife from her belt, the blade gleaming as tiny slivers of sunlight hit it through the cracked roof.
A dry chuckle escaped her lips as Blake charged forward with her knife poised to stab Nihilus in the heart. "When we were students, I couldn't stop myself from loving what you stood for, you know. And since then… I was never able to forgive myself for how I treated you, how petty I was." The blow was deflected easily, battered away like a moth in a hurricane.
Nihilus sneered as he raised his ring-clad hand, wisp-like flames dancing on his fingers. "Liar." In a blinding flash of motion the false lord slapped Blake to the ground again, the concrete shattering from the force alone.
Blake wheezed and coughed, but she still had more to say - even in the face of what would doubtlessly be her death. If she and the others had struggled to match him at his weakest in Vale, she knew that there was no hope she could beat him at his best. But before she died… she had to get a few things off her chest, things she should have said years ago. "You never called me out on my childishness," Blake whispered as she slowly removed the seals on her helmet, "never looking for rewards for the good you did."
Feeling the effects of his semblance for possibly the last time, Blake removed her helmet. "You, Jaune… you just stood there in your righteousness." God, she was so tired. Tired of it all. "On some level, I wanted you to judge me, I wanted to see that you were just as bad as the rest of us so I wouldn't feel guilty…"
Blake rolled to her feet, her already greatly diminished aura fading quickly under Nihilus' crushing might. But she didn't stop, she could never stop… with only a quick flick of her wrist she sent her knife hurtling through the air towards Nihilus' chest, and only a second later she charged in with her fist raised to punch her former friend in the face.
But it wasn't meant to be.
In a motion so fast that Blake could hardly follow it, Nihilus plucked the flying knife out of the air mere moments before it found its mark in his heart, and in one fluid motion he swatted the irrelevant punch away with his free hand and jammed the knife between the folds of her armour - straight into her ribcage.
Blake gasped, her body jerking and shuddering as the cold steel blade found its way into her lung. Her own warm, amber eyes met the sickly yellow of Nihilus' as blood began to ooze out her mouth. "But I can say this with certainty now, Jaune," Nihilus held her close, gently guiding his former friend to the death she had so longed for. Finally, she felt she could be free of all the suffering in the world… "You were the best of us. If only we had helped you, as you had helped us then… maybe things could have been different…"
She felt her body crumble to ash as her final words escaped her lips. Death was almost a gift at this point; so many years of doing what she thought was the right thing, so much suffering caused through her time in the White Fang and later through her actions in RWBY… she deserved this. They'd gone too far, Jaune had gone too far… but at this point it was just nice to have the pain end.
"Thank you…"
With the faintest of smiles on her face, Blake felt herself drift away from life, all her struggles fading away as she found the peace she was looking for. This was the death she had longed for… the release of all the suffering as she stepped out of life and into the next great adventure.
She just hoped that Yang would be there to greet her on the other side.
Vale, present day…
Ruby raged and cried, but it didn't change anything.
She'd used the last of the Origin Rounds to shoot the younger Jaune through the heart, and then Blake had finished him off. But… but Blake didn't retreat like she was meant to. The foolish, foolish girl had stayed and tried to talk to Nihilus. Why? Why? Why had Blake done that? Ruby just… it wasn't fair! Nihilus had gone and done it again, killed someone Ruby held close to her heart. And for what? Just a meal?
Ruby was practically a city away, and when Nihilus had used his gravity Dust to throw Blake through some buildings… there was nothing she could do. By the time she got there Blake would be dead, and all she'd achieve was her own death - leaving Weiss alone in this miserable excuse for a life.
Why had Blake stayed though? She was intelligent enough to know that no matter what happened Nihilus would have killed her just like he did Yang. So why?
Why did Blake have to die?
A/N
Wow, looks like characters are dropping like flies at this rate.
Too soon?
Poor Blake, killed by a man she once considered a paragon of moral goodness. Alas, life sucks sometimes. Bummer for her I suppose.
My poor attempts at humour aside, let's look at the reviews:
blaiseingfire:
Thanks for reviewing.
What can I say? I like to keep things interesting.
SoraReach:
Thanks for reviewing.
That's what I was going for, I wanted the second half of this chapter to be as traumatic as possible. Jaune's suffering was brief compared to that of Nihilus himself, and that is something that Nihilus will never forget.
Of course, Nihilus was planning something. He is one-third Cinder, schemes are his nature.
Romulus Black Talon:
Thanks for reviewing.
Had it been any other bullet Jaune's aura would have protected him, but the circumstances were unique. These bullets were originally intended for Nihilus alone - but beyond that and recommending taking another look at Ruby's dialogue to Nihilus in chapter 17 I can't really say without spoiling anything.
So did Nihilus.
Tabris the 17th angle:
Thanks for reviewing.
That's okay.
Multiverse theory, nothing Nihilus does can affect his own personal timeline. Everything happening in the 'many years ago' segments is immutable, and the outcome of all that ended up being the universe shown from chapter 9 to chapter 16 (Nihilus' home world so to speak).
As for why Nihilus didn't save Jaune; ever since giving Jaune the ring Nihilus has hated Jaune with a passion - hated that Jaune never had to struggle or work for his power while Nihilus himself spent a lifetime suffering and clawing for every shred of power he could. Nihilus, while not inclined to kill Jaune himself, is only kind enough to give Jaune mild warning of impending danger.
Shaded Azure:
Thanks for reviewing.
I hope that's a good reaction to have.
Clever of you to have noticed. A Crime of opportunity, but no less intentional. Nihilus noticed Blake and Adam, already knew about Ruby following him - what better way to eliminate Jaune? A perfect way to further his current goals.
Remember; Nihilus is insane, but he is still frighteningly intelligent.
Le MAO XXIII:
Thanks for reviewing.
That's the reaction I was going for, I wanted Jaune's death to be as jarring and sudden as possible - a traumatic and brutal ending to his journey.
Aura-piercing yes, metal no - something within the bullet. Only five of those bullets were ever made, and while they could be recreated, Ruby would never force the issue. And yes, the sword also helped the process, being stabbed in the heart does that I hear.
A crime of opportunity, but no less intentional.
Have fun with your happy thoughts.
Jaune Black Smudge:
Thanks for reviewing.
Indeed, Jaune Arc is dead. Beyond that, I can't really say without spoiling anything. Though I find that death tends to stick.
Only five of those specific bullets were ever created, you have seen three of them used. They could be made again, but even Ruby wouldn't stoop that low. As for why Nihilus allowed it to happen... You're intelligent enough to have noticed the shift it the way Nihilus has been referring to Jaune as 'Usurper' instead of the original title of 'Shell' - the change being when Jaune accepted the ring. It would be accurate to say that any compassion Nihilus felt towards Jaune died a quick and ugly death as it was replaced by contempt. When Nihilus offered Jaune the ring it was a test - a test Jaune failed.
The relationship between Nihilus and the two headmasters had its ups and downs; Ironwood initially serving as something of a contact he could call on if the need was great enough, though this obviously didn't hold out very well into Nihilus' later years. Ozpin fits into more of a mentor role (see more of that later), and... well, you'll see.
COOLER:
Thanks for reviewing.
I'm not really into rap (I'd rather neuter myself really…), but I'll take the complement.
Inexperience and the bullet played a role in it, but the game was rigged from the start. It could have been avoided, but Nihilus didn't particularly care to save his counterpart. Well, Blake certainly isn't with her anymore… so that's one problem crossed off the list I suppose.
The Ring isn't a container, nor can things be sucked into it. Jaune is dead, there is only one thing to suggest otherwise - and that is in this chapter.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!
