Chapter 4 - The Choice
"Are you awake yet Jaunney boy?" Yang asked, as the blonde slowly awoke from his slumber.
"Aw man…my face hurts. What happened?"
"Well I went a little overboard and knocked you unconscious. The match was getting fun and I didn't hold anything back on the last attack."
"Yea… I can still feel it. By the way, where's everyone at?" Jaune asked Yang, as he looked around the room.
"They all went to class, but I decided to stay for the day. It's the least I can do for going overboard."
"You didn't have to. Things like that tend to happen in a fight whether it is a sparring match or not. Hey! Isn't this the same room that I have been staying for days?"
"Yea it is. If you continue coming back here, they might decide to make this your official dorm room." Yang said as she giggled at her comment.
"Ha, real funny." Jaune got up from his bed and went to wash his face on the sink.
Yang looked at the blonde from her seat and began to ponder what made Jaune upset back in the arena. Jaune shut the sink off and looked at the mirror in front of him.
I need to get stronger. If I can't beat Yang, how good will I fair against the person responsible for the attack? Not only that, but I am worried about Professor Ozpin's video recording. Could that really be me? Well, whatever it is, it responded to my rage and anger of the incident. If I can somehow control that power, I will be able to get my revenge and take out the person or persons responsible for this. Jaune thought.
"Hey, Jaune" Yang asked, as she stood up from her seat and walked towards Jaune.
"Yea?"
"I want to ask you why you got so upset before the sparring match?"
"I wasn't upset. Did I seem upset?"
"Yeah you did. When I asked you where your weapon was."
"Oh… it's nothing. I guess I got a little annoyed because you kept asking. Jaune said, scratching the back of head.
Yang walked closer to the White Knight and scowled at him.
"That's not true. You always scratch the back of your head when you lie to someone." Yang said getting closer to Jaune.
"That's not true at all! You can't even prove that." Jaune said, as he stopped himself halfway from scratching his head again.
"THERE YOU SEE!" Yang yelled.
"OKAY FINE! I did lie but I don't feel like telling you."
Yang grabbed the boy by the shoulders and pulled him closer to her.
"Jaune… we are friends right? Why can't you tell me?" Yang said. Their faces almost a feet away from each other.
Jaune's face slowly turned red and he began to sweat.
"OKAY! Okay… I'll tell you if you let me go." Jaune tried his best to regain his composure.
Yang grinned at what he said and didn't let go at all. Instead, she pulled him a bit closer.
"Does this make you uncomfortable?" Yang asked, grinning.
"No… uh… not at all!"
"How about you tell me why you were lying, then I will let you go."
"I… I didn't want to tell you or anyone because… I had left it at a forest somewhat far from here.
"Was that it?" Yang asked as she looked closely to see if Jaune would do any gesture that would make it seem he was about to scratch his head again.
"It seems you are telling the truth Jaunney boy. Now… was that so hard?"
"Umm…no." Jaune said, trying to scratch the back of his head but was still being held by Yang.
Yang let the Knight go and proceeded to exit the room.
"Oh, by the way, you do see me as a friend right?"
Jaune took a deep breath simply turned her back to her.
Yang giggled and left to her room. Now Jaune was alone in the room trying to decide what to do about Crocea Mors.
Well there is no point in staying here, I need to go get my weapons back, but I would need to ask someone for permission to leave the school. I better ask Professor Ozpin since he already knows about me being in the forest. I also have a few questions about me being the Black Knight.
Ozpins Office
"Ah… Mr. Arc. I was wondering when you will come back."
"Sorry to keep you waiting. It's hard trying to grasp what I am and keeping it a secret to the others."
"It's best to keep it that way… for now. Now, I know you must be wondering what that black aura is and what it did to you. Well, have a seat because it's going to take a while to explain."
Jaune proceeded to take his seat and listened carefully to what Professor Ozpin was about to say about what this black aura and black knight is.
"This black aura is very, very rare. This black aura has typically makes the host more prone to negative emotions."
"Negative emotions?" Jaune asked, starting to get frightened.
"Yes negative emotions. You will become more prone to depression, rage, jealousy, irritation, and you will become more insecure. Not only this, but you will likely be more prone to the need of revenge. Aside from all the negative things, this aura also enhances your strength, speed, and reflexes."
"How do you know all this!?" Jaune asked as he got up from his seat.
"This black aura or darkness is what I like to call it, has been around in ancient times. I have read and done much research on it and I didn't believe it at first. However, after finding out the previous host, this made me realize that this power was possible to obtain. It picks its host randomly, however there are a few conditions that have to be met in order for the person to receive this power.
"A few conditions?" Jaune asked.
"Yes. Only a person who is pure hearted can receive this power, for example you and your family."
"My family!?" Jaune shocked at the information was shaken.
"Yes your family. The Arcs are known to be the most pure hearted families in Remnant. Which is why your family are the most likely to receive this power. Your great, great grandfather in fact, had this power."
"My great, great grandfather!?"
"Yes. There have been documents and information about him having a black aura that manifested into a full set of knight armor. Only a few people know about this darkness and it is still kept secret. Reason for this is because there would be many that would seek the host and try to get for themselves and who knows what they would do with this powerful gift or what I would like to call a curse."
"… My grandfather, what happened to him when he received this… curse?" Jaune asked.
"Your grandfather used this power to protect the people of remnant from dangerous Grimm as well as corrupted individuals who posed a threat to peace, at the cost of his life."
"The cost of his life?"
"According to the information that I managed to gather, he used his last ounce of strength to wipe out thousands of grim that had invaded a city long ago. It seems that this black aura can wipe out the Grimm in an instant from miles away, at the cost of the host's life."
Jaune remained quiet. Shocked at the information he was provided, he had a hard time believing all of this. To think that his family is prone to this curse and that one member of his family had already fallen victim to it.
"Your grandfather had lost his family from a Grimm attack. And from that attack, his spirit was broken, thus allowing him to receive this power. That is the other condition which I manage to find out. In your case, Pyrrha was killed in front of your eyes and your spirit was broken as well."
"What… what should I do…" Jaune asked now trembling with fear.
"What you should do is do what your grandfather did all those years. Protect the world from a great catastrophe that might occur. Control this power like your grandfather and not let it overtake you like the previous hosts."
"Like the previous hosts?" Jaune said, as his eyes widened at that statement.
"This black aura can only choose 2 hosts at a time in this world. The last host was completely swallowed by the darkness and had nearly destroyed a whole nation. I believe that the big catastrophes that occurred in the history of remnant were because of this Darkness. If it weren't for the four maidens, all would have been lost."
"The four maidens?"
"The four maidens have a power that might be equal to that of someone who wields the darkness. The four maidens have a power that was given to by a wizard long ago. I believe that the Darkness and the Wizard could possibly be related somehow, but with the information we have gathered, we can't be certain."
"We?"
"I and four other individuals have been looking into all these lore about the 4 maidens and the darkness. Since you were one of the chosen by the Dark, it is safe to tell you who the other 3 are. The other three are Glynda, Qrow Branwen, and James Ironwood. They should be coming here momentarily."
"You mean professor Goodwitch!?" Jaune asked, shocked at the fact that his own teacher knew about this.
"Yes. I was the one who instructed her to put you in a match when you arrived to class. Although it seemed you managed to put yourself first in the fight."
"Don't remind me." Jaune said, rolling his eyes.
The elevator opened and there stood the 3 people who knew about the information.
"So where is the unlucky fool?" Qrow asked, as he walked out of the elevator drunk.
"You're looking at him." Ozpin said.
"This scrawny blonde? You can't be serious. I thought it would be some buff looking badass." Qrow said, as he looked at the scrawny blonde.
"HEY! I can be… badass…" Jaune said looking down in shame.
"To think that an Arc would once again be gifted with this power." Ironwood said, as he observed Jaune.
"For the last time James, this gift is nothing more than a burden." Professor Goodwitch said to the man.
"This burden, is something to our benefit. We can use this to our advantage against the criminals who attacked us and if we can use this boy to aid us, we can stop the people responsible." Ironwood said.
"Or this kid can go insane and kill us all." Qrow added, sipping his drink.
"I won't do that! I… I want to be able to control this power so that I can get back to the person who killed my teammate." Jaune said, forming a fist in his right hand.
"Revenge huh. This should really play out smoothly now." Qrow said as he continued drinking.
"Listen Mr. Arc, I understand you want to get the vagabonds responsible for this incident, but you will not be the one pursuing the ones who are behind this. You will help us against their underlings, but the masterminds behind it, they will be answering to us." Ironwood told the boy who was sitting in front of him.
Jaune got up from his seat and walked to the window that held a beautiful view of the city.
"Those monsters took hundreds of lives during the attack and one of the lives was Pyrrha Nikos, a teammate and someone very close to me. I had to watch her as she slowly died on my arms. Do you know what it's like to see your world burn in front of your eyes? She was the one who helped me become a better fighter, she was the one who accepted me even though she knew I should have not been here, she was the one who loved me for who I was. A weak and defenseless student. Because of her death, this power had arisen from me and now I have to deal with the consequences that comes from it."
Jaune turned around and looked at the three who stood and looked at their eyes.
"DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I DON'T DESERVE TO GET MY REVENGE!?" Jaune yelled at the 2 who stood there shocked. Jaune's eyes turned yellow and his black aura began to slowly expel.
"JAUNE!" Professor Ozpine yelled.
"WHAT!?"
Jaune looked at himself, noticing the black aura that was resonating.
"I… I'm sorry." Jaune said as he quietly went back to his seat.
"It seems the kid's aura responds to his anger" Ironwood said.
"Oh really? I thought it responded to his happiness." Qrow said, glaring at Ironwood.
"Very well Jaune, you will be helping us find the people responsible for this and by my orders, you will be working under Qrow." Ozpin said, as he looked at the drunk man.
"ME?! Why do I have to babysit this kid? I have important things to do other than watch this kid get in my way." Qrow said as he glared at Ozpin.
"You will be training Jaune to become a better huntsman as well as help him control the darkness. He will be also help you investigate anything that can lead to the people behind this and their whereabouts. Jaune is also allowed to take any cases he is personally interested in." Ozpin said scowling at the grey haired man.
"I refuse." Ironwood stated.
"I think it would be best if he comes along with me. I have all the proper training equipment along with the latest technology that can help him become a better fighter. He will be able to increase his strength and fighting prowess at a faster rate than training with Qrow here. I can also prevent him from going completely insane if the Dark does consume him." Ironwood stated.
"Why don't you let the boy decide where to go. He can stay here, he can go with Qrow, or he can go with James to Atlas." Glynda said to Ozpin who was sipping his coffee.
"Very well. Jaune, what will you do? Stay here at school, go with Qrow, or with Ironwood?" Everyone stared at Jaune with ears wide open.
"Well… I think… it would be best… if I…"
Hey everyone! Here is another chapter that I manage to complete today. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I also hope you had a wonderful valentine's day. By the way, you are probably wondering what will Jaune choose? I want allow the readers to have a chance to choose on who to go with. I can't say for sure that your choice will be chosen, but the chances of it happening as of now is really high. Be sure to PM me or do something that will tell me who you choose and it might be done. As always, thanks for reading and feel free to follow if you are still interested in the story or unfollow if you no longer care for it. Thanks either way!