Hearts Eclipsed by Shadows
Chapter Six: The Secret Mission
A.N: Yes, I'm not dead thanks to me having more of a muse for this story and it has granted me mercy! Now we enter the Blake "Arc" (what? I saw my joke and I am not sorry whatsoever and the ship is okay.) and leave a like, review or follow it if you just want to or… send a pigeon or something. A dove would be nice. Now onto the show! *Throws confetti out of my pockets. *
Jaune woke to a sound of buzzing scroll. He checked it and saw one new message from Ozpin. Instead of checking it he decided to use the bathroom first, nodding to Pyrrha who just woke up. When he was done, rubbing sand out of his eyes, he looked at the message from Ozpin.
"I have found something useful for you. I'll need to see you three days from now, on the weekend. Your team and team RWBY must be present."
"Well great… Possibly a mission before the dance and that is going to suck…" Jaune whispered to himself while he rubbed his face and got dressed for the day.
He then turned to his team.
"Guys I got a message from Prof. Ozpin. This weekend we need to see him along team RWBY. I'm thinking a mission before the dance." everyone nodded when the other two had ideas as well.
"Maybe it's to give us sloths! Or pancakes?!" Nora exclaimed while Ren just sighed.
"Or maybe he wants to talk to us about our performance?" Pyrrha added in her two cents as she went to the bathroom to change.
"I don't know, but this will be concerning us and RWBY. So, in three days, we need to see Ozpin." Jaune said as he finished tying his tie.
Pyrrha came out of the bathroom ready when Nora ran in and got ready for the day as well.
"I was thinking of taking that hike later in the day after classes. Sounds good everyone?" Nora was happy and everyone else agreed for the relaxing hike.
As JNPR was walking in the hallway to get to classes, RWY came out. They all looked worse for wear - Ruby and Yang had bags under their eyes and Weiss looked a bit runned down.
"You guys okay? You look like the sandman decided to give you a knuckle sandwich instead of dust." Ruby just sighed as Yang clenched her hands into fists for a second. Jaune spoke worried for their health.
"We're worried about Blake… I wish she could have talked to us, but she just ran and now we don't know where she could be…" Ruby said sadly. Yang was seething behind Ruby with her eyes changed in anger.
Jaune nodded as they all got to Prof. Port's class. Jaune was talking with Yuri while Pyrrha and Yang were speaking about Blake.
'So… Is there any way for me to find Blake using my aura or something?' Jaune said.
"Not really. You'll just have to hope Sun's quick enough to send you the location of where they're at." Yuri said as Jaune sighed out of earshot.
'So just hope and pray? I hate doing that at times.' Jaune sat in his usual seat in Port's while Ruby passed notes between them about his weapon.
"I know you don't like it but it's all we got for us. Maybe she'll message us?" Jaune yawned as Port's tale was affecting him in the background as Ruby was knocked out for once. Jaune agreed to give her his own weapon after class today and she'll get it done by next week.
'Well Ruby did say that after class tomorrow, they'll go out searching for Blake and I'm going to help in secret. I'll just tell my team I'm going out to Vale and I'll look for her myself.' Jaune said.
"And maybe your team won't be upset that you're ditching the hiking trip to help search for Blake…" Jaune's eyes opened in panic when he realized he was supposed to go hiking with his team.
'Ah… Crap.' Jaune slammed his head on his desk. Unfortunately, Prof. Port heard it and swiftly looked at Jaune.
"Ah! A volunteer! Go get ready for a demonstration Mister Arc!" Jaune groaned and got up to change into his fighting attire.
Few moments later Jaune stood in the middle on the classroom, in front of violently shaking cage. Jaune didn't have his usual weapon so he decided to unsheathe Crocea Mors for this fight and positioned himself in his stance with the shield firm.
"Are you ready Mister Arc?" Jaune nodded the okay as Prof. Port destroyed the lock as a Alpha Beowulf came out and roared loudly.
"Eh shut up…" Jaune ran up and bashed its head back with the shield and returned to his stance. The alpha didn't like that and tried to swat Jaune away, but he blocked the claw with the shield and slashed at its exposed ribs. It roared in pain and kicked Jaune away. He got to his feet at the end of the roll and got his shield in position. The Grimm didn't like that it's opponent was still standing so it lunged at him, but Jaune decided to end this and used an aura-infused swing to lop it's head off.
"There we go." Jaune moved his hands in a sweeping-up gesture and put Crocea Mors away.
"Bravo Mister Arc! Nice show of your swordsmanship." Jaune nodded in thanks and left to change into his uniform.
As Jaune returned and sat in his seat, Prof. Port was telling a new tale of his youth that seemed to knock out a decent amount of his classmates. Ruby was surprisingly still awake blueprinting the upgrades for Chimera while Weiss was giving input for dust usage and his overdrive form. Overdrive allowed Jaune to use up a little bit more dust but for a bigger kick.
"So, what's with the different Overdrive forms?" Ruby inquired about the notes.
"Ah. I can use a bit of my aura on different dust and it makes it stronger, hence Overdrive."
"So, with Fire you can be like Yang?" Yang looked over Ruby's shoulder to see what's going on.
"Yep. And each element is stronger than its base form." Ruby whistled at that.
"And it'll be expensive since doing that will use up more dust to perform what you wrote down." Jaune nodded at Weiss' advice and wrote that down.
"Thank you for helping me out Weiss." he said as Weiss smirked.
"Of course. Who else would be as knowledgeable as me in dust." Ruby just shook her head as Jaune sat down.
As the two teams walked away from Port's class, Jaune noticed that Weiss was stiff as a board while Yang had an arm wrapped around the Heiress' shoulder.
"Well we got some stuff to do so we'll see you guys later!" Yang walked away from Weiss in tow as Ruby followed using her semblance. Jaune was devising a plan to get to Vale and needed an excuse in case his team says anything.
As Jaune grabbed his wallet to get ready to go shopping for dust, the rest of his team was getting ready for their hike that Ozpin approved for them as it was in his words 'A wonderful activity that all young people should try.'
"Sorry guys but with Ruby and Weiss working on the upgrade, I need some extra dust. I'll be joining you guys later." Jaune ran out of the dorm just before RWY left to find Blake. Suddenly he got a message from Sun.
S: Hey man! Blake took away my scroll, but I kept my backup hidden! BTW We'll be going to the docks since I told her that I've overheard a conversation about a Schnee dust shipment coming in tonight.
J: Thanks mon"king"! I'll pop up later tonight but first I need to get dust for my weapon upgrades. I'll still be bare handed if I do fight man.
S: Please spare me… You can kick anyone's ass bare handed if you wanted to! Plus, I never understood why you gave me that nickname… It sounds stupid but endearing.
J: To be honest, if you put on armor and a crown you'd look like a king. And do I really need to mention the second reason?
S: Good point, and really, a king?! That'd be so cool! You just gave me an idea for Halloween!
J: Oh god. What's Neptune going to be, the princess?
S: Dude! That's brilliant! Well got to go or she'll see this! See ya!
As the bullhead landed near the city, Jaune stretched his back while popping his neck. He sighed in relief as he stepped off the bullhead and headed straight for the dust shop that Ruby was at the night she was accepted by Ozpin.
"Thank god that dad sends me money at times to help with the dust. I'd be broke if it wasn't for him." Jaune walked through the store's front door while the shopkeeper said his usual greeting to all customers.
"Welcome to Dust to Dawn! I hope you find everything you need."
"Thank you!" Jaune grabbed about 4 vials of each type of dust he needed. He also grabbed a few crystals for his experiments over the week. The price total came up to 550 lien and as Jaune paid the total, he got a text from Sun that things are getting ready to happen.
"Gods… Thanks!" Jaune ran out of the building and put the dust in his pouches and pockets as he ran to the docks. He already heard the explosions as he got in and saw Sun defeating a bunch of White Fang members while Blake was trying to hit Torchwick. Jaune sighed as he jumped in and kicked Roman away, giving Blake time to catch a breath.
"You okay Blake?" he asked, holding her for support
She nodded, not taking her eyes from Roman.
"Well, we got a new hero entering the field, eh?" Torchwick sarcastically spoke towards Jaune. The young hunter turned his attention to him and narrowed his eyes.
"I'll distract him. You help Sun and get him here." Jaune got into his fighting stance while Roman just looked bored and flicked some ash off his cigar.
"Aw… Heroes aren't all that great kid. Just run blondie." Jaune shook his head and ran at Roman. Roman swiped at the blond's head with his cane, but Jaune knocked it up slightly. Roman kicked Jaune in the gut to get some distance. Jaune rolled back, planting his hand on the ground, and pushed himself up. He then calmly walked back into position and threw a left punch. Roman knocked it away with his cane but Jaune's kick pushed him away. The Criminal fell back, and used his cane to stay on his feet...
"You aren't half bad" said Roman, smirking "But." he pointed his cane at Jaune "I'm still out of your league, kid." he added, firing a round from Melodic Cudgel. Jaune quickly changed his element to Fire and crossed his arms, taking the brunt of the damage. Roman laughing died off when he saw Jaune just standing there, unharmed.
"What?" It was Jaune's turn to smirk "Expected me to kneel over after that shot? I'm tougher than you think."
As Jaune was about to rush Roman, Ruby appeared with a ginger girl with a bow in her hair.
"Well isn't it your bedtime Red?" Roman smirked as he fired a shot towards an unsuspecting Ruby that was distracted by Jaune being there. Ruby was blasted away, and the ginger girl hopped down helping Sun and Blake take down remaining White Fang grunts.
"And it's going to be yours too!" Roman barely blocked the haymaker aimed for his head and kicked Jaune in the jaw, grabbed his arm and tossed him over his shoulder. Jaune groaned in pain as he slowly got up but Roman slammed the handle of his cane over the blond's head. Despite pain and disorientation, the young hunter still tried to get up.
"What kind of skull do you have? Most huntsman would get knocked out by that?" Roman said with a bit of snark.
"Sorry to disappoint you but I don't go down easy. Even if you swing both ways…" That earned a sickening smack across Jaune's temple from Roman. Torchwick hated when someone was talking back to him and now the kid earned the beating he's going to get.
Suddenly Roman felt his world shift and he landed on his back as Jaune kicked his feet from underneath him. A second kick soon followed, creating some distance between two men.
"Jeez…Even I'm getting a headache from that dude's hits. Although he does dress kind of nicely. The bowler hat looks stupid though." Jaune chuckled then groaned as his head throbbed in pain. Suddenly Jaune was blasted off his feet by Roman's weapon and he rolled on the ground.
"I hate that matchstick of yours Roman…!" He got up and got into position again as Roman swaggered into Jaune's sight with a smirk. Jaune realized he hated that smirk, thankfully Yuri had a plan.
"Let me take over for a bit. I'll teach this weirdo a new word for pain."
'Could you even do that?' Jaune had a frown on his face secretly eyeing Roman from a far.
"It won't be long since us spirit guides don't have a lot of aura but I'm still as good as I was a long time ago. Just imagine some reins and I'll take over." Jaune did what Yuri suggested. His aura flashed from white to dark purple. This surprised Roman, who stared at the young hunter warily. Jaune opened his eyes - they were blood-red.
"Aw… Lost that snark eh?" He said with smirk. "I guess with your fashion sense it's to be expected." Roman frowned and aimed at Jaune again, but the boy still had this infuriating smirk.
Roman fired.
Yuri knocked the projectile away and ran at him enhancing his speed with a bit of wind dust. Before Roman can blink, Yuri was on him landing a punch on his gut, doubling Roman over.
Before Roman could speak, Yuri kicked him in the face and sent him crashing through a container. Roman bounced on the floor before landing next to the parked bullheads.
His partner Neo popped up and guided him in.
They took off with some dust, other two bullheads running interference for Roman to get away when a green colored laser cut through the two.
Yuri kneeled on the ground and the dark purple aura disappeared leaving a pure white one. Jaune took back the reins of his body before pain of the dust usage hit him.
"Everything hurts… Why did I think giving you the reins was the best idea?" Yuri chuckled in his mind as Jaune kept trying to stand while Ruby and Blake found him.
"Because honestly, I forgot your body hasn't adapted to using dust yet. Once you get a level three fusion, your body becomes attuned to that element a lot better. I'm used to having all my fusions."
Ruby and Blake helped Jaune up to his feet and taken him to the ambulance to check if he didn't take too much damage. Blake had already talked to Weiss who forgave the runaway Faunus so team RWBY was back together
Meanwhile Pyrrha called Yang to find any info about Jaune. Ruby told her how he fought Torchwick to help Blake fight the White Fang. She also mentioned Sun was there helping, and he was the one who sent a text to Jaune letting him know where they were.
Jaune was cleared quickly but was told to be careful because the blows he suffered could hurt even more if he strained himself with training and was told to have five days off as a recovery period. Team RWBY and Sun was nearby as Jaune walked away from the ambulance with a slight limp and a pained expression. Ruby ran up to him using her semblance and started looking over him.
"Are you okay Jaune?!" Jaune chuckled and rubbed the top of her head reassuringly.
"Yeah I'm fine Rubes. Torchwick just gave me a bit of a concussion but my aura is fixing it and my body is dealing with the aftereffects of me using dust."
"Why is dust messing up your body?" Ruby cocked her head to the side when Weiss jumped in for them.
"Using dust with your body has serious drawbacks since our body can't handle nature's wrath. No one can really use it repeatedly without either dying or serious side effects." Ruby's eyes widened as did everyone else's. Jaune shrugged and winced at the movement.
"Well consider my body kicking my ass now… I think that only using it for five seconds kind of harmed me badly." Before anyone say anything, Miss Goodwitch showed up with a massive scowl and a tick mark on her forehead.
"Well, anyone want to add anything before we all get killed by Goodwitch?" Jaune spoke as her glare was directed on him and with all his power and Yuri's determination, he managed to now cower and crawl under a rock. Everyone else flinched and cowered from her gaze while she berated RWBY. Jaune hoped he will escape her attention, but she told him that once he recovers, he'll get the same lecture as the others.
After the Beacon deputy left, Blake walked up to Jaune and gently hugged him.
"Thank you so much for helping me out." Jaune was shocked at first, but eventually shook himself out of his stupor and hugged back gently, and then pulled away from Blake.
"Its what friends do Blake. Never forget that alright? Your team will always be there for you." He smiled at Blake as she walked away. Yang walked up and gave him the same gentle hug.
"Thank you so much… You brought our kitty cat back…" Jaune hugged back and smiled.
"It's the least I can do for you guys okay? You guys are my friends and I'll do anything for my friends." Yang pulled away as everyone left with Goodwitch to go back to Beacon and get some rest.
When Jaune got out of the infirmary with medications, his team was waiting for him outside of the building. Pyrrha gave him light glare, Nora had a grin on her face, and Ren had a hand on Nora's shoulder to keep her calm and not hurt her leader anymore. Pyrrha couldn't keep up the glare and decided to hug him softly.
"I'm happy you're okay Jaune." Jaune smiled and hugged her back while Nora yelled and held her right hand up in victory.
"Our Glorious Leader has returned from the battlefield and has emerged victorious!" Pyrrha let Jaune go while he was smiling at Nora's antics. Ren just had a small smile aimed at Jaune for surviving his fight against Torchwick.
"Thanks guys. Plus, I'm sorry for not going hiking with you." Ren shook his head while Pyrrha had a small smile.
"We actually didn't go. Nora wanted something to eat and Pyrrha had to talk to her agent about something, so we decided to do it another day with RWBY joining us this time. Weiss complained but she seemed excited to go hiking with us since Atlas doesn't have green forests like us." Ren spoke calmingly. Suddenly JNPR received message on their scrolls, summoning them to Ozpin office. It said it was important matter that involved them and team RWBY.
When JNPR arrived in Ozpin's office, they saw RWBY was already present. They were sitting on chairs, looking at white sheet covering one of windows, where Ozpin was projecting details of some mission... JNPR sat in the seats near RWBY while Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor to gain their attention.
"Now, I understand this is way before students usually get their official missions, but this is a special case. I believe your potential makes this a bit easier on everyone."
"What's the mission Professor?" Ruby asked while everyone else nodded in agreement.
"The two teams will be taking a bullhead into Southern Mistral to the village of Fengtian and from there you'll head to Zhaoyang village. Zhaoyang village has been under investigation but the problem is that any courier that goes there has disappeared. The Council isn't willing to send Huntsman since it's not a Grimm threat and the Haven can't go against them. Your job is to go there and report anything unusual and deal with it. Any questions?" there were none.
"Good. Now rest and get ready. After tomorrow's classes, you'll be sent to Mistral to deal with the threat. Mister Arc, stay behind since I'll need to speak to you specifically." Everyone gave him some kind of mourning glance and Yang took it a step farther and patted his shoulder in fake sadness as they all left.
"Y-Yes Professor Ozpin?" Jaune have a half smile while Ozpin gave a wave at his behavior.
"You are not in trouble. There's some details that I left out for only you specifically. One of my associates has located the Water Gravestone in the village so I'd like you to go ahead and grab it and use it to your advantage. Your family would like to help out with this village problem but they're kind of busy in Haven on teaching other Huntsman about Grimm and other topics."
"Thank you, Professor. I'll be sure to grab it and arrive back with no trouble!" Ozpin smiled and took a sip of his hot chocolate mixed with coffee but giving Jaune a serious look.
"This might compromise your promise to keep your semblance hidden so if you need to, use it. Your team won't care about it and RWBY seems to be more open-minded than last time, so they may accept you without any problems. If yours or your friend's lives are in danger, use it and explain later. I have a strange feeling about this village and Professor Lionheart isn't telling me everything and seems to dodge the question. Now go rest and enjoy a well-earned victory today Mister Arc." Ozpin put his hand on Jaune shoulder and he smiled at the gesture before leaving to rest. Ozpin walked back to his desk and looked over the notes of the village and was frowning since it seems at night, things go badly and the neighboring village complaining of noises late at night.
"Hopefully she hasn't decided to do anything with her pawns yet. This seems too strange even for her…"
A.N: I know it takes at least two weeks for me to get out chapter but I'm going to try a rotation schedule! Next week or two, a new story will be released and then the two weeks after I'll be back on Hearts so on and so forth, so you guys can be entertained with new stories while one is on development! And I know in canon that RWBY and JNPR don't get missions until after the dance and their investigation will be soon but this I wanted to introduce a new aspect of the story that I thought would be kind of nice to see but keep to the whole "RWBY" while using different ideas from the game. And do you guys would like me to add in music in a sense for certain scenes of the story to enhance what you're reading or leave it out so that it doesn't give away the whole thing? Leave a like, Review and maybe share this with your friends! Or… your dog? Eh. Have fun and have a great morning, afternoon, or night folks! Golden signing out!
*Disappears in a cloud of confetti and Coca-Cola bottles. *