Chapter 13: Forever Fall

Location: Beacon Academy, Vale Year: Unknown

After the incident that night, Jaune was now more distant from his team and was hanging around with team CRDL more for some reason throughout the entire day. After Oobleck's class, I recieved a message on my Scroll from Ozpin to meet him in his office.

Of course, Blake and Weiss were with me and Blake asks, "Hey, what's the message say and who is it from?"

"It's from Ozpin and it says that he wants me to see him at his office." I answered.

Weiss raised her eyebrow and asks, "Wait, are you in trouble, Edward?"

"I haven't done anything wrong, so I doubt that. Must be something else, though I don't know what." I replied.

I sighed before saying, "I'll meet you guys later after I see Ozpin."

They both nodded and they head towards their dorm and I made my way to Ozpin's Office.

XXXXXX

'Later...'

I stepped out of the elevator into Ozpin's office, where both Ozpin and Ms. Glynda Goodwitch waited. Ozpin was seated at his desk while Glynda stood next to him. Ozpin, of course, was holding his coffee, which made me think, 'Does this guy ever drink anything else besides coffee?!'

Ozpin began, "Ah, Mr. Vaughn! I'm glad you came."

"I thought I said to drop the formalities and just call me by my first name. What is it that you wanted to see me?" I asked.

Of course, Edward. Well, I called you here to talk to you about something."

"Oh? And what's that?" I asked.

Ozpin then sighed and said, "Okay, first off: Why do you always wear your helmet?"

I realize that I'm still wearing my helmet and immediately took it off. I then gave a sheepish smile and said, "Sorry, it's a force of habit. The Wasteland was so dangerous that I have to always wear my helmet at all times, except when I need to eat and drink."

Ozpin smiled and replied, "That is understandable. Now, I asked you here so that we can talk about yesterday in the cafeteria."

I frowned and tensed up a little, and thought, 'Cardin, I swear to God, if yo-'

My thoughts were interupted by Ozpin, who said, "It is about your Aura, Edward, but more than that. Your Aura gave an effect that formed your feathered wings."

I then eased up and then thought, 'Nevermind, then.'

"All we want is to find out why it caused this effect. Do you know why?" Ozpin asked me.

I answered, "It's probably due to the amount of good deeds I've done during my days in the Wasteland."

"Oh? And what makes you think that?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, let me explain about one of the old religions that was around before the bombs fell: Christianity."

I noticed both Ozpin and Glynda had raised their eyebrow, and I continued, "Our creator, God, made our world, Earth, in 7 days, as well as Heaven, then created all life upon it. Heaven is ruled by him and there are beings that serve him, known as Angels."

I then noticed that both of them are listening carefully as I continued, "Angels are servents to God, as well as warriors, and guard and protect Heaven's Holy Light, which can make all darkness cower in fear. They also guide and protect people as their Guardian Angels, though indirectly. God forbade them to help out humanity, since we are suppose to do things ourselves. But they do protect and guide us by keeping what evil craves, known as Sin. Sins are deeds that are bad and will cause dire consequences. In any case, Angels are suppose to be the Warriors of Light, and fight off the forces of darkness."

When I finished, Glynda then asks, "Okay, what's all of that supposed to do with the effect that your Aura gave?"

"Well, you see, Angels looks exactly like a human, only a slight difference." I said.

Again, they both raised their eyebrows, and I continued, "Aside from the floating golden halo ring above their head, they have large, feathered wings on their backs and are white as snow."

Both Ozpin's and Glynda's eyes widdened as I then explained, "Of-course, Angels are also made when a human being dies, and their soul then receives judgment from God on what that person did in his or her entire life. If his souls is completely tainted and is filled with greed, hatred, and filled with Sins that the person does not regret, then they are sent to Hell, where all manner of darkness calls home, and become Demons. But if a person is pure and is full of righteousness, joy, and a small amount of Sin, as well as a neutral person, would be sent to Heaven, which is a paradise with no chaos, no hatred, no pain, and where we can never grow old, and become Angels. But, of-course, if the person is filled with so much Sins of murder and such, and regrets it all, then they are forgiven by God and are redeemed."

Ozpin's and Glynda's eyes are still wide as Glynda asks, "So, you're saying that-"

"That I have been deemed to be a living Angel, then yeah, I guess. I have made myself quite a reputation among the people of the Wasteland. To my enemies, I am known as the Angel of Death, but to allies and the innocent, I am known as the Messiah. In short, I have become a Legend throughout the entire Wasteland and maybe beyond." I said.

Ozpin and Glynda are quite shock at my reputation. After a moment of silence, Ozpin asks, "I see, so your wings represent everything pure, righteousness, and as well as the light within darkness, shining bright and strong even when darkness suround you?"

I nodded and said, "You are correct."

Both Glynda and Ozpin glanced at each other, then turned towards me and Ozpin said, "Thank you. You can head back to your dorm and rest up. You do have a field trip to the Forever Falls tomorrow, afterall."

I nodded and and replied, "You're welcome, sir. Good night."

And with that, I headed towards to the elevator and begin my way to my dorm.

XXXXXX

'Ozpin's POV...'

After Edward left, Glynda said to me, "Edward is quite a unique person. For once, I don't know what to say."

"Same here, Glynda. But we now know what he did before he arrived here, and puts my mind at ease, knowing that he won't do anything violent without reason." I responded.

I noticed that Glynda raised an eyebrow at me and asks, "Why do I have a feeling that you already knew?"

"Well, yes, I already knew, just wasn't too sure without any proof." I answered.

Glynda nods as I take a sip of my coffee, then continued, "For now, though, we will continue a careful eye on him, and see which lives he will change."

XXXXX

'Edward's POV, the next day at the Forever Fall...'

Okay, it's official; I'm never leaving this world, no way, no how. The reason why is because the Forever Fall is so god damn beautiful! The trees here are in a shade of red, and slowly, the leaves fall, making the scenery very peaceful.

I muttered out loud, "Oh my God... this place is beautiful."

I then heard Blake say, "We thought you might say that."

Then Ms. Goodwitch spoke as we walk, "Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest and I'm here to make sure that none of you die while doing so."

I grinned and thought, 'If it were that easy to kill me, but it isn't hard either. There were enemies that were over-powered, like Legate Lanius for example.'

We then stopped when Glynda stopped and turned towards us. I heard a couple of grunts followed by whistling.

Glynda then continues, "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap..."

I continued to grin and thought, 'Sounds easy enough, but...'

"...however, this forest is full of creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates.

I then thought, '...and there it is. But still easy enough, since I've done all kinds of samples that I needed to gather before.'

"We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun!" Glynda finishes.

I then heard Cardin say, "C'mon, buddy! Let's go."

I turned around and saw that Cardin was talking with Jaune. I slowly shook my head and continued with teams RWBY and JNPR, aside from Jaune.

I thought, 'Let's hope Jaune will change his mind soon...'

XXXXXX

'3rd POV, few minutes later...'

While Cardin and his friends chilled, Jaune returned with six jars filled with red sap. Jaune carefully dropped the jars and fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"Hey. Great work, Jauney boy. Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cardin asked.

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." Jaune replied.

"Great, great, great. So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'why did my buddy, Cardin, ask me to collect six jars of sap when there's only five of us?'" Cardin stated.

"That is one of the many questions that I asked myself today, yes." Jaune replied as he got back to his feet.

"Well, come with me and you'll find out." Cardin said.

Jaune says before he gulped was, "Oh..."

XXXXXX

'Few seconds later...'

Team CRDL and Jaune came up to a small cliff and watched as teams RWBY and JNPR, along with Edward, collecting the red tree sap.

Jaune asks, "Cardin, what's going on?"

A brief moment of silence and Cardin answeres, "Payback."

Jaune looks in the direction that Cardin looking at and asks, "Pyrrha?"

"No, Edward." Cardin replied.

Again, a brief moment of silence and Cardin spotted Edward and said, "There he is, that helmet-wearing know-it-all thinks he so tough."

He pauses as he takes out a box full of Rapier Wasps and continues, "Alright, boys. Last night, ol' Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put 'em to work."

Jaune made a nervous laugh as Cardin continues, "Now, according to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these nasty things looove sweets. I'm thinkin' it's time we teach him a thing or two."

Then all of them stood up and Cardin shoves one of the jars into Jaune and said, "And you're gonna do it."

Jaune asks, "Do what?"

"Hit him with the sap! Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon." Cardin said.

For a moment, Jaune looks at the jar before glancing up to Cardin and his friends. Jaune turned and then readied himself to throw the jar at Edward, who was analyzing his jar filled with red sap. He had a choice: Either do what Cardin says and lose, not just one friend, but all of them, or be shipped out of Beacon.

Jaune then remembered what Edward said to him that night...

*Flashback*

"Listen, Jaune! It doesn't matter if you were chosen to be here or not, you are here now. Look at me; I wasn't always this skilled in combat or anything else. I was like you, Jaune; unskilled, inexperienced, and unaware. But over time, you began to learn, not just your accomplishments, but as well from failures. Failures teaches you what you should not do and to do it differently. That is what we call 'Life'. Life becomes a teacher; a teacher that shows us our flaws and help us fix them. All you need is help, Jaune!"

Jaune tried to push Edward away and says, "I do no-"

Edward interrupted Jaune, "Yes, you do, Jaune! Your stubbornness and your pride are the things keeping you from your future; from your dream! In order to look pass you pride and stubbornness, you must focus on your character; for it is not a title that makes you, it's not the success that makes you. Your character finds the success and finds the fame, and it starts right there, for there is one in the thousands of hours in the training room, running laps, 5 A.M. runs while everyone else is sleeping, that's when it's won. The heart of a champion is a light switch that's always on; it doesn't go on and off when someone's watching, it's constant. It's how you are able to do with the best of your abilities."

Edward paused when he notices that both Jaune's and Pyrrha's face in surprised expression. He then continued, "It is up to you to make your dreams come true. You ARE a warrior, Jaune! All warriors have to train constantly in order to become better, to be stronger, through successes and losses, for they are your lessons for you to learn to make yourself better. And not every warrior is ever alone. Even though I was known as the Lone Wanderer, I was always in company with friends that I met along my travels. You must let us help you, Jaune. Let us help you to become stronger."

*Flashback ends*

Jaune closes his eyes and lowered the jar and said, "No."

"What did you say?" Cardin asks.

"I said..." Jaune then throws the jar at Cardin.

After the jar broke and Cardin's armor was covered in red sap, Cardin then chuckled and said, "Oh-ho-ho, you've done it now."

Then Cardin's friends took hold of Jaune, who let out a nervous laugh and it was at this moment, that Jaune knew... he fucked up. (Couldn't resist doing it, Sorry)

Cardin punched Jaune and Jaune fell. Then Cardin picked up Jaune and punched him again to the ground, and said, "You know that wasn't very smart, Jaune-y boy."

Cardin again picks up Jaune and says, "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny, pieces."

"I don't care what you do to me, but you're not messing with not just my team, but also my friends." Jaune said.

"What, you think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?" Cardin asks.

All Jaune responded was a grin. Cardin growled and punches Jaune, but something happened. Cardin hurt his hand when he attempted to punch Jaune. Jaune looks at himself and realizes that his Aura deflected his punch. But then one of Cardin's friends kicks him from behind and Jaune was on his hands.

Jaune then glares at team CRDL as Cardin says, "Let's see how much of a man you really are."

But then a roar erupted from behind team CRDL. As CRDL turned to the source, they were met with a large Ursa, which growled at them. All of them have shown their expressions of fear as the large Ursa moved forward upon them. The Ursa then stood up on its hind legs and began to sniff the air. It then turned its gaze upon Cardin, who has the red sap on him. It then went back on all fours and roared at them.

Cardin's friends begins to flee, while one of them shouted, "That's a big Ursa!"

Only Cardin and Jaune stayed, and Cardin was the first one to get swatted by the Ursa. Jaune, who was still sitting on the ground, flinches when Cardin was swatted and then looks up at the Ursa. Although, the Ursa ignores Jaune and goes after Cardin. Cardin pulls out his mace, only for the Ursa to swat it out of his hand and the mace landed in front of Jaune.

XXXXXXX

'Edward's POV..'

While I was still collecting more of the red sap in my second jar, a loud roar erupted close by. My head jerks toward the direction of the sound and thought, 'Oh, shit.'

"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked out.

But then Cardin's friends came running from the same direction, while one with a light green mohawk yelled repeatedly, "Ursa! Ursa!"

Then he bumps into Yang and grabs hold of him, and she asks, "What? Where?"

He points back behind him and says, "Back there! It's got Cardin!"

I heard Pyrrha dropping her jar and said, "Jaune!"

Then Ruby took action, "Yang! You and Blake, go find Professor Goodwitch."

Then Pyrrha said to Ren and Nora, "You two, go with them! There could be more."

I then pull out my 'Medicine Stick' and said, "Well, let's go and take down an Ursa!"

Ruby, Pyrrha, Weiss, and I began to run towards where Jaune and Cardin are at, as well as an Ursa.

After a few seconds or so, we arrived at the scene and Cardin was definitely getting his ass kicked by an Ursa, a large one at that. I then noticed that Cardin had that red sap on his chest piece, which could explain why this Ursa was completely focused on him.

I overheard Pyrrha, "Oh no."

Then the Ursa swiped at Cardin, only to be deflected by Jaune's block.

Weiss was about to strike until Pyrrha said, "Wait."

Then Jaune swung his sword and staggered the Ursa. Then it swung at Jaune who dodge immediately, and again, until the Ursa landed a blow on him, tossing him back. Jaune landed on his feet and charged head-on at the Ursa. Again, the Ursa landed a blow, which tossed Jaune back.

As both Jaune and the Ursa confronted each other, Jaune let out his battle cry as he charged at the Ursa, while it did the same. For a moment, everything seemed like everything slowed down. As the Ursa swiped at Jaune, he blocked it and he swung his sword, decapitating it. Although, Pyrrha had done something, which caught all of our attention.

"Uh, what." Ruby stated.

"How did you..." Weiss asked.

I then asked Pyrrha, "How the hell did you do that?"

Pyrrha answers, "Well, Ruby has her speed, Weiss has her glyphs, you have your Heaven's Trinity, my Semblance is polarity."

Ruby responded, "Ah, you can control poles."

"No Ruby, it means that she can control magnetism, like magnets and such." I corrected her.

"Magnets are cool, too." Ruby said.

I then thought, 'Huh, so that's how she won every spar match. Clever.'

Then Pyrrha started to leave until Weiss asks, "Wait, where are you going?"

Ruby follows, "Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened."

"We could, or..." Pyrrha trails off as she looked towards me.

I then realize what she's going at and I followed up, "...Or, perhaps, we could just keep it our little secret."

Pyrrha nodded and she wanders off. I then looked towards at Jaune as he walked up to Cardin, and offered a hand. To my surprise, Cardin actually accepted it and not waved it off like an asshole he was.

We then overheard Cardin saying, "Holy crap, Jaune?"

Then Jaune says to Cardin a warning, "Don't ever mess with my team, my... friends, ever again."

Then a brief moment of silence and Jaune asks, "Got it?"

Cardin didn't reply, though from being speechless, as Jaune walks away. Cardin looks towards at me and the others. All I gave was a look and then walked away, thinking that he deserved enough punishment, for now though, 'cause I still hate the bastard for discriminating against Faunas kind.

XXXXXX

'Back at the Academy...'

Me and Pyrrha went to look for Jaune and we went to the balcony to see if he's there. Sure enough, he was, staring out towards the tower. Me and Pyrrha walked next to him and Pyrrha asks him, "No Cardin tonight?"

I asked, "Yeah, aren't you two best buds, Jaune?"

The Jaune turned to both of us and said, "Pyrrha, Edward, I'm sorry. I was a jerk. You guys were only trying to be nice and... I-I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"

Then Jaune was interrupted by Pyrrha, who said, "Jaune. It's okay."

"Yeah, Jaune. It's alright. Everyone has that moment in their life. Trust me, I know." I said before I thought, 'Vault 101... ah, the good ol' days...'

Jaune smiled at our responses and Pyrrha continues, "Your team really misses their leader, you know."

Then she began to walk away from us, saying, "You should come down. Ren made pancakes." She sung around the word 'pancakes'.

She then said, "No syrup, though, you can thank Nora for that."

"Wait!" Jaune shouted out towards her. Pyrrha turns towards us as Jaune continues...

"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but would both of you still be willing to help me? To help me become a better fighter."

I grinned at this and thought, 'It looks like he's learning...'

Pyrrha walked back to us and shoved Jaune down, which caught Jaune by surprise. It also caught me by surprise as well, since I wasn't expecting it to happen.

"H-hey!" Jaune responded.

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." Pyrrha said.

I sighed and thought, 'That was so uncalled for, but, at least, she's agreeing.'

Then Pyrrha helped Jaune up and said, "Let's try that again."

I grinned at this joined in with Pyrrha to help train Jaune.

To be Continued...

(Note: Sorry if the beginning part of this chapter seemed a little preachy, but sometimes, I tend to carry away at times. Aside from that, I hope you enjoy!)