Wraith
Chapter Twenty-one
Beta: Smithrooks
Dead Memories
Beacon, many years ago…
Jaune wasn't liking this whole 'reputation' business; it was much too troublesome.
Not six days ago, Jaune had found himself hurled out the third floor window after he, somewhat foolishly in hindsight, attacked the now-infamous 'Cinder'. As quickly as possible he'd informed both Ironwood and Ozpin of the development, but by then it had been too late. Cinder and her two accomplices were long since gone.
Apparently Jaune was vaguely popular now, who'd have guessed? Foil an apparently diabolical plot and suddenly everyone wants to be his best friend. Kind of shallow really, especially given that less than a week ago most of everyone in the school either ignored him or openly called him the ugliest person they'd ever seen.
Good thing team RWBY were such good sports about it, actively helping him avoid anyone he found irritating. Much better than his own team in that regard, they encouraged this madness! RWBY were kind of a mixed bag though; Ruby and Yang were brilliant, praising him for trying to capture that Cinder woman, but not pushing the issue. Weiss was… polite, but also disinterested. Blake was tricky; she agreed with pretty much everything he said… but her purple aura shivered in mild disgust whenever she looked in his direction. Maybe she thought he was ugly? She was nice enough not to point it out, so that was fine.
"I'm so excited!"
That would be Ruby, aura already buzzing excitedly at the thought of everyone's first mission tomorrow. His team had chosen to stay in the city thanks to his problem with seeing Grimm; apparently they were going to be deputy police officers - that was pretty cool in its own right. Though it had come with the depressing realisation that Jaune would pretty much always be doing things like this during his time as a hunter. Stuff within cities, fighting crime instead of Grimm. Which was fine really, just not quite what Jaune had imagined when he first set out to be a hero.
"Jaune, are you even listening?!"
Of course he was listening. That was pretty much all Jaune ever did these days, people would be surprised what one hears if they just stop and listen once in a while. "Yes, Ruby," he breathed calmly, not caring in the slightest for the din of the cafeteria around them, "you were saying about how excited you were to go out and fight Grimm."
The other three girls on RWBY seemed excited as well, though they were far better at hiding it than Ruby herself was. Yang was busy stuffing her face with food while nodding vigorously along with Ruby's words. Weiss was filing her nails calmly, but her white aura betrayed her enthusiasm. Blake was… reading? She was reading, but she was watching too… Jaune wasn't entirely sure how she did that, but he could feel her purple aura gazing at him every now and then.
"Why aren't you excited then?!" Ruby practically barked, "It's so cool!"
Jaune smiled thinly, "Of course, I-"
His scroll buzzed.
Jaune pulled the small device out of his pocket, rising indignation swelling within him as he realised why it had had made a sound. Did someone just… text him? What the hell?! Why?! Why would they text him? What was the bloody point? It wasn't like he could read! The only reason he had the scroll was so he could access his dorm room! Who the fuck would text him!?
"Did…" Blake muttered from the other side of the table, "did someone just text you?" she sounded just as incredulous as Jaune was feeling.
"Well, that's just impolite," Weiss muttered, not bothering to divert attention away from her nails.
With iron will, Jaune restrained the urge to set the scroll on fire, or crush it under tonnes of stone, or pulverise it under its own weight, or electrocute it, or… well, he restrained himself from doing a lot of things. "I…" Jaune breathed deeply, "I can't read whatever it says," god he hated asking people this… "Can one of you please read it to me?"
It made Jaune feel so pathetic when he had to ask that, like he was an invalid. He hated the feeling that he was helpless, that he needed to rely on others for this most basic of tasks - he was a hunter, a hero of justice… he didn't, shouldn't, need anyone's help.
Blake pulled the scroll from his hand before the others could say anything, her fingers barely brushing against his hand as she did so. Jaune couldn't help but note that her purple aura shivered in quiet disgust when their skin made contact, though she seemed to hide it well enough. "The message is from Cardin," she all but spat the name, "he says that you have mail."
Was Cardin just an idiot or was he being cruel on purpose? Both were applicable, though it was likely the former. Cardin was a bully for sure, but he was also extremely loyal to his team - and extremely grateful he didn't die in Forever Fall thanks to Jaune's intervention.
The scroll buzzed again.
Blake's aura was practically seething, though Jaune wasn't particularly sure why. Why was she so angry on his behalf? It was nice of her, but also achieved nothing other than making Jaune feel mildly appreciated. "He says that your parcel is waiting in the dorm room, and he…" Blake's aura was waving around agitatedly, "...apologises because he just realised how pointless it was to send you these messages."
Well, at least the idiot had the decency to apologise.
"Thank you," Jaune muttered to Blake as he reclaimed his scroll before turning to the rest of RWBY on the table. "I'm off then. I probably won't see you until after your mission, so have fun!"
Because what could possibly be more fun than being neck-deep in literal walking nightmares that want nothing more than the utter and total destruction of mankind?
"See ya, Jaune!"
Jaune meandered his way towards his dorm room fairly quickly. Most people wouldn't bother him, but sometimes Jaune found himself uncomfortable around others. They tended to stare at his face or make comments that were rather hurtful - even if he didn't show that it affected him.
Within a few minutes Jaune got to his dorm, the other three males in the room hardly bothering to say hello before Cardin pointed to the small package sitting on Jaune's bed. It was odd, actually; just looking at it, Jaune could see what he knew to be his father's aura smeared across the very small little package. And small it was, too small to be a letter of any kind.
The blind boy picked up the little thing, his calloused fingers feeling the rough paper it was wrapped in. A small smile graced his ugly face when he realised what exactly he was holding: a recorder. That was a good idea actually, this way Jaune wouldn't have to rely on having Pyrrha write letters for him - which had been rather awkward when he replied to his father's first missive.
John Arc wasn't a particularly emotive man, but he was thoughtful. Jaune quietly excused himself from the room; he wasn't about to listen to this where people could hear it.
The roof was as good a place as any, but he'd have to keep it quiet enough that his team couldn't hear him; especially given that their dorm was right at the top of the building - something Cardin was quite proud of for some reason.
Once Jaune had made himself comfortable sitting on the edge of the building, he unwrapped the small recorder and hit the play button.
"Jaune…" his father's voice was just so tired, though Jaune could hardly fault him, "I tried to guide you away from becoming a hunter, I wanted you to live a better life."
Jaune already knew that. Since the loss of his wife, John Arc had made it his mission to turn his children away from being hunters - and seven out of eight wasn't bad. Unfortunately, Jaune had his heart set on it, and Jaune was nothing if not persistant.
"And then to hear that on your first day at Beacon you were maimed and blinded…" the man's voice wasn't sad, just a slight twinge of anger had pervaded the words, "and yet you still wish for this life? You're a fool. You're a damn fool."
Yes, well… but Jaune wouldn't be able to live with himself if he abandoned his ideals. The path of a hunter would almost certainly lead to his death in the long run, that was pretty much a certainty for anyone who walked down this path.
"I must be a fool too then, considering I'm actually considering helping you on your damn stupid crusade." John Arc cared for his family - that much was utterly beyond doubt or question. "You now have full access to the Arc family bank accounts, and I will personally be in Vale during the 'mission' you mentioned - I spoke to Ozpin, the slimy bastard that he is, and I found that your mission is on the weak and easy side. I will remedy this by leaving your teammates to deal with the mission while you and I get some serious training in - make sure you are ready for it."
Oh boy… training? With John Arc? A fantastic learning opportunity for sure, but also a painful one. John Arc had something of a reputation among hunters for being a ruthless bastard, and the man could tell stories that would even make Professor Port's look tame. This was the man that could - and had - punched Kraken level Grimm to death - Jaune didn't particularly fancy the thought of even being on the same continent as John if they were meant to be 'fighting'.
Maybe he could ask Ironwood if he could borrow one of his fancy-pants battleships? That might bring the fight onto somewhat… kinda… not really… even terms.
"I'll see you in a few days, Jaune."
Jaune shivered.
Vale, present day…
Pyrrha held Jaune's body close.
She tried to ignore the blood, and the way he was getting colder…
"Go to him then, interloper. His spirit flails around in distress, soothe him before he fades into the void."
The words of Nihilus were like a stab in her already aching heart. When he had said that before fighting the armoured huntress… Pyrrha had dared hope, some tiny little corner of her mind screaming that maybe Jaune was still alive…
But he was dead. His eyes were glassy and lifeless, his blood sickening and cold.
"His soul is leaving."
She was growing to hate that voice, the sickening parody of what Jaune had been. Nihilus claimed that he used to be Jaune… but that just wasn't possible. Jaune would never become as vile as Nihilus was, standing over the body of someone who used to have hopes and dreams with only a smile to show.
"You have a choice now, interloper."
Pyrrha stared at Jaune's lifeless eyes. He had been so tired at the end… after less than half a week his life had been practically ruined by the monster that even now stood over her, his sickly yellow eyes vacant as he looked at the body. And what did he say? A choice? What was the point of that? NIhilus had obviously finished killing that huntress, but what did he intend to do now? Jaune was dead, and with him went any reason Nihilus could possibly have to keep her around… Maybe he would kill her, maybe he would suck out her soul like he had so many others…
"Listen to me."
It was like an electric shock ran through her, a bolt of lightning running down her spine - all in a single instant. She wasn't sure if she did it on purpose, or if it was Nihilus making her, but she turned to face him - her emerald green eyes locking onto his yellow orbs.
Except his eyes were blue again, the pale blue of his blindness showing through even as he stared into Pyrrha's soul. "A choice…" he repeated, his voice oddly low. "Come with me - I can grant you power beyond comprehension, and together we can lay waste to those that did this to him." Nihilus gestured to his counterpart's body, his bone-like fingers almost skeletal, "Or you can leave. Abandon Beacon, leave Vale and never become a huntress - live your life, free of the death and horrors a hunter walks through."
Pyrrha stared at him. What choices were those? She could never abandon becoming a huntress; it had been her dream since she was a little girl, all she had ever wanted to do with herself. She had never wanted a complicated life. Become a huntress, and later start a family - just enjoying life to its fullest while still helping those around her. The other option was even worse though. That would be a betrayal of her very ideals, of everything she had ever stood for. Power and strength were tools to help people, not ruin them. And what would Jaune have thought? She may not have known him for long, but Jaune wasn't spiteful. Jaune was kind, never wishing harm on others - especially if it was on his behalf.
Something behind Nihilus caught her attention, a flash of brilliant red hair to match her own. It was her… Violet, Pyrrha's not daughter. She stood there now, her gorgeous eyes staring at Pyrrha in sorrow. Her little hands clutched at a bloody red hole in her chest, the wound a sick mirror of what had been done to Jaune. Please, she mouthed, don't say it.
But Pyrrha had already made up her mind, her will resolute in the face of both the daughter that could never be, and her sick parody of a father. "No."
"No?" Nihilus parroted, his head tilting slightly at Pyrrha's proclamation.
Pyrrha's gaze became wrathful. She rejected the 'choices' offered by Nihilus. They weren't real - just a hollow lie. "You said his soul was leaving," she hissed, angrier than she had ever been, "I know you, Nihilus - your mastery over aura is absolute. You can save him!"
Nihilus was silent for a moment, his blind blue eyes absolutely blank.
"I know you can!" Pyrrha continued, true anger pulsing in her heart, "Save him now, save him or I'll…" She ripped her rifle off her back, her hands shaking at the thought of what she was about to do. "Do it, or it'll happen again!"
She pressed the barrel of her beloved weapon against her chest, her fingers poised to pull the trigger and blast a hole through her own heart. If Nihilus was truly Jaune, if he had truly lived his life and had a daughter with his own Pyrrha, and if she had truly died, then he should be unable to see it happen again. Unable to let it happen again.
Nihilus' bone-white face contorted in true horror; his skeletal hands inched forwards towards her gun, but Pyrrha jerked away - Nihilus had to make his choice.
There was a moment of tense silence, the air so thick it could almost be cut with a knife.
But eventually Nihilus' gaze dropped to the body at their feet. "Is this what you want?"
Pyrrha glared daggers at him, utterly ignoring the wild flailing of the ghostly form of Violet - the spectre hysterical at what Pyrrha was forcing Nihilus into. No! She mouthed, no sound escaping her. Don't!
"Yes!" Pyrrha hissed, "Do it!"
Nihilus sighed, nodded, and then crumpled to the ground bonelessly.
Pyrrha almost staggered in shock. Out of the seemingly lifeless body of Nihilus rose something… sickening. Looking at it was sickening, the unending maze of pure colour that rose up in the shape of a man. It was almost hypnotic though; the lights that swarmed all around the glowing effigy were a sickening mesh of colours, but in the centre was the most pure, unblemished white Pyrrha had ever laid eyes on. It was damaged though, great rending tears that ran through the mesmerising white and left it bleeding countless shades of grey. Without really understanding why, Pyrrha instantly knew this to be what Nihilus really was - this was his true form, his soul perhaps, but Nihilus nonetheless.
A ghostly white but still utterly mesmerising hand shot out of the brilliant and vile soul of Nihilus. The hand grasped at seemingly nothing but air, but as its grip closed Pyrrha was finally able to spy what the phantom limb had caught.
Something small and white just as Nihilus himself was, it looked so tiny though - hardly even a fraction of the massive soul of Nihilus. The tiny little wisp struggled and writhed in apparent agony at its treatment, its dull white light flaring weakly as Nihilus held it. For a moment Pyrrha didn't know what it was, what Nihilus could possibly be doing… but then the noise started.
The terrible, ungodly noise of the wisp shrieking in torment… the noise of Jaune howling.
"Not much of you left, is there Usurper?" Nihilus' voice was like thunder, so terrible in its power that Pyrrha felt herself shiver.
The wisp howled louder, but Nihilus was having none of it. The vile soul of the false lord swung his spectral arm around, Jaune's own wisp-like essence being dragged for the ride. And in one single motion Nihilus' ghostly arm plunged into the empty body of Jaune.
For a moment nothing happened; even as the ghostly arm of Nihilus' soul retreated, Jaune lay as still and unmoving as the corpse he was.
The spirit of Nihilus slithered down to his own inanimate body, the multicoloured beast vanishing as pale white skin and heart began to beat again. A moment later Nihilus was on his feet, pale blue eyes utterly ignoring Pyrrha in favour of staring at the still-dead body of Jaune. With a light chuckle the dark lord bent downwards, a gleaming silver ring suddenly appearing in his hand as if it had always been there. "An anchor…" he muttered as he jammed the corrupted jewelry onto Jaune's left hand.
Pyrrha stared at the scene before her, unsure as to what exactly was going on. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly found herself stunned into silence as Jaune's very alive body gasped for air.
Pyrrha stared at Jaune; all his wounds were gone, replaced by unbroken skin. It was all wrong though; only when Pyrrha finally looked into his eyes did she notice this. His eyes screamed, not in pain or any agony Pyrrha could know, with a more primal emotion she simply couldn't understand. "Jaune?" she half-begged, hoping that he really was alive again.
He looked at her, his once vigorous blue eyes so utterly devoid of life. "Kill me…" he whispered, his voice rough and uneven.
"Please… kill me…"
Death, moments earlier...
Death had been almost freeing in a way.
Jaune had never felt like he did now. Like nothing at all in the world mattered anymore… Sure, looking down at his bloody corpse was mildly distressing, and watching Pyrrha freak out while Nihilus murdered the not Blake was rather concerning. But even those things just felt… irrelevant. It wasn't really important anymore, nothing was really important anymore. Jaune just felt like drifting away now… ebbing away because none of it really mattered.
It was peaceful really, like just letting the tide lap at his feet gently… he felt like he could just drift away happily and that was totally fine… drip by drip, he accepted the comforting absence he seemed to be fading into. Vaguely, he saw two people standing over his body, who were they again? It wasn't important… not really…
Oh… someone else was here too? Someone who was so totally colourful, a heart of white with bleeding greys and a skin of endless vibrant tones of colour. That was nice…
It stopped him.
The presence that seemed to wrap itself around Jaune was suffocating; all the peace and apathy that had been there moments ago died a sudden and ugly death as Jaune found himself gripped by something so hurt and broken that he could hardly comprehend it. Jaune couldn't help but wail as the ghostly presence constricted him, the feeling of world-destroying fury wrapping around Jaune and binding him to the cold world.
"Not much of you left, is there Usurper?"
The voice was the quietest of whispers, the barest of tickles to Jaune's hollow soul. And yet at the same time it seemed to bind and constrict him with its terrible power.
Jaune wailed and thrashed around as the terrible whisper dragged him back from the peaceful abyss he had been moving towards. Back in the world of cold and pain Jaune saw Pyrrha, her face both angry and horrified at whatever she thought she was seeing.
Without hesitation, the hurt and broken thing that held him jammed Jaune into the shattered, ruined and cold body on the ground. Jaune thrashed for freedom, but he couldn't escape the utterly alien prison he found himself in - despite the numerous cracks and holes in the cage that bound him.
Jaune couldn't help but watch in horror as the hurt and broken thing peeled away a single white shard of its own soul, the writhing fragment existing freely for only a moment before the destroyer bound it to a tiny little ring. "An anchor…" that terrible whisper again, like something so terribly damaged spreading through the air.
But it was wrong. The hurt and broken destroyer forced the ring onto the shell-like cage Jaune struggled against.
The world around Jaune snapped into sharp clarity. The image of Pyrrha and Nihilus faded away quickly into utter blackness, lacking in any shape or form – just the unrelenting absence of everything and anything.
Except… the ring.
The new ring.
In the sea of darkness, Jaune felt an impossible crushing force assault him from all sides, the terrible weight of Jaune's own spirit sagging and dragging him to depths he couldn't possibly fathom. Then a moment later he felt it stop; the weight shifted and changed, Jaune felt himself become impossibly light - his body felt like it was being ripped apart by itself, like his heart was going to push his ribs apart simply by beating in his chest.
But then he came.
The pure white being again, seemingly the same one as when Jaune accepted the first ring. "You died," it whispered, the crushing force slamming back into Jaune like a tidal wave, "you died and you didn't even care."
Jaune tried to scream, but suddenly the pressure lessened again - replaced by the feeling that he would explode just for existing.
"All your hopes, all your dreams… washed away in a single instant… and you didn't care."
Jaune tried to wail, to cry even, but his body failed him.
The white being grinned madly. "But that's the thing, you see. You're mad. And madness, as you know, is a lot like gravity; all you need is a little push."
Jaune felt himself tumble through the endless void around him, but now he understood. Force and gravity were mindless, just slogging ever onwards. But he could be its master, its ruler - the thing that defined why it did what it did.
Suddenly, Jaune found that the crushing force around him didn't matter so much anymore. It almost tickled, really. "I understand," he whispered.
The dark world around Jaune bled away, replaced by the blinding light of Pyrrha and Nihilus as they stood over him.
It was wrong though. Jaune felt like so much less now than he used to be, like something in him was just gone… Pyrrha stared at him, her emerald eyes searching his face. That didn't matter though; Jaune felt it, the cancer of the world around him - and how he too was equally as corrupted. There was nothing he could do, nothing anyone could do… nothing really mattered anymore.
"Jaune?"
It was Pyrrha, her voice just as vile and corrupted at the rest of the world. He didn't want it. He didn't want any of it. He had been at peace, or very nearly there anyway… why couldn't they have just let him die? Then he wouldn't have to suffer through the wretched experience of existing. "Kill me…" he whispered, "Please… kill me…"
Why couldn't he just die?
A/N
Jaune lives! Some of you probably expected his resurrection at some point, but did you see it happening like this?
But at what cost is Jaune now alive? He's going to be different, changed even, from what he was. Bear in mind Nihilus' exact words as he brought Jaune back, and think about what Jaune experienced 'on the other side' - Pyrrha made quite the mistake in getting Nihilus to revive Jaune.
That aside, let's look at reviews:
Shaded Azure:
Thanks for reviewing.
Actually, considering what's gonna happen later… well, let's just say Nihilus has a very ironic sense of humour.
COOLER:
Thanks for reviewing.
I'll take that as a complement - school is hard at times but very rewarding in the end. And the clues are important, this I swear.
You picked right up on that hint, Jaune's soul was 'flailing about' as he was slowly fading away. And indeed, the Ring was a test (the first ring anyway, the second is… well, you'll see…), but it was a test Jaune failed.
Cinder being recognised as a villain (with decent evidence) isn't done very often, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Not that it made much difference when young Nihilus tried to capture her…
Du:
Thanks for reviewing.
Life does indeed suck sometimes, or in the case of Yang and now Blake - sometimes life gets sucked out of you.
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!
