Chapter 2 - Homeward Bound
I stared; slack jawed at the sight before me. A girl… no, a woman stood, arms crossed sleeping inside of the monolith, or coffin as I now knew it to be. She had long, messy blonde hair and wore strikingly similar clothes to Ruby, par the golden gauntlets adorning her arms. She was a vampire, obviously, but for some reason Zwei wasn't growling, he wasn't showing any ill will to the woman at all.
"Wait a second, is that… a Scroll?!" On the woman's back sat a thin, rectangular, black object with a small golden diamond in the middle. Before I could investigate further, the woman began to stir and her eyes opened, revealing shockingly yellow irises and a black sclera. The second she began to step out of her tomb, she lost her footing and began to fall. Instinctively I moved forward and caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Ugh… where… where am I?" She looked at me with confusion and a slight sense of desperation; I told her all that I knew.
"You're in a crypt, Dimhollow…" The woman looked to my neck and her eyes glossed over, she began to salivate and I knew what was about to happen. I gave her a flick on the forehead as she began to bare her fangs. "No! Bad vampire!" As it always had with Ruby, the flick to her head knocked the woman out of her bloodlust.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She manages to stand on her own and brushes herself off before standing opposite me and reaching out her hand. "My name is Yang Xiao Long, who are you?" I smile and clasp her hand with my own.
"Jaune, I'm a member of the Dustguard and I've been sent to retrieve you." Yang blinked slowly as we shook hands and tilted her head in confusion.
"Dustguard? You're a vampire hunter?" I nod my head and decide to elaborate when her eyes suddenly glow red.
"Before you decide to eat me, my order only hunts the bad vampires, we can tell the difference. I assure you I mean no harm so long as you can say the same." Her eyes didn't return to normal as she looked me up and down, gauging whether I could be trusted. I sighed and gave her my most sincere look. "What can I do to gain your trust?" I knew I was winning her over when her eyes flickered back to yellow for a moment.
"Take me home." She answered bluntly.
"I… what?" I asked, uncertain if I understood her.
"Take me home. I'm not going to go to some fortress filled with hunters when I could just as easily leave." I take hold of Dawnbreaker and make sure not to draw the blade.
"I could just as easily take you…" Yang grinned and gave me a sultry look.
"Do you honestly think you can beat me in a fight?" We stared at each other for some time, weighing the pros and cons of working together or fighting. I like to think she came to a different conclusion than I did when I broke and agreed to do it her way.
"Fine, I'll take you home…" I let go of Dawnbreaker and usher Yang and Zwei closer. "Yang, this is Zwei, the most ferocious of our order. Zwei, this is Yang, our charge who we're taking to her home. Zwei sat down like a dog in front of the woman and happily nuzzled his head into her stomach. Yang seemed to find the act simply adorable.
"He's so cute!" She picked the troll up by his sides and hugged him as if he were a household teddy bear and not a literal monster. I ignored the display and decided to scout the area for an exit, the bridge I entered from collapsed after I activated the pedestal.
"Vampires are weird…" The ritual site was situated on the middle of an island within the cavern, although the main bridge had crumbled, it seemed there was a smaller bridge on the other side, leading to a much more cavernous area, hopefully the exit. I waved my hand to the mysterious woman and called her over. We stayed silent until we had crossed the bridge. "So how long have you been in that thing?" Yang laughed and scratched the back of her head.
"I've got no clue, who's the current High King of Atlas?" I thought hard on the question and did my best to remember current politics.
"There isn't one until the war is over." Yang grinned and clasped her hands together in glee.
"Who are fighting?!" I ignored the sadistic note to her voice.
"Weiss Schnee claims ownership to the throne and most of the Dynasty back in Vale agrees too. But the rebels in the White Fang stay loyal to clan Belladonna." Yang's demeanour visibly dulled at my words.
"What… Dynasty are you talking about?" I paled at her question, fearing the implications of it.
"The Dynasty in Vale…? That was formed back in the second era, eight fifty four?" Yang slowed further until she stopped completely.
"Second era?" I blinked once, grabbed her by the hand and picked up my pace.
"Let's get you home first, yeah? The quicker we figure this all out the better…" Yang spoke her agreement and be both began to jog within the cave, but no sooner than we started did a massive stone gargoyle burst from an innocent looking statue of a fake gargoyle. The beast flew right for us screaming and with its claws glowing red. I ducked under the blow while Yang flipped over it before landing a burning punch into the monster's head, burning it instantly. Another beast burst from a higher ridge and jumped at me, I rolled out of the way and sliced clean through it with Dawnbreaker, quickly sheathing the blade when I heard Yang grunt. We both stood and stared at each other in shock.
"I'm glad I didn't decide to fight you…" We said in unison before making our way through an archway and finding a door. Upon entering the door, we found another crypt, fairly similar to the entrance I made my way through to get here. Luckily, there were no vampires here, so we could make our way out much easier. My curiosity got the better of me, and as we walked I brought up the mammoth in the room.
"So what's with the Scroll?" I asked, almost dreading the question immediately.
"Nope." Yang answered, a childlike tone to her voice.
"And by that you mean…?" Yang grinned.
"Nope. I'm not saying." I sighed with a roll of my eyes.
'Do all vampires act the same?" After a few minutes of walking, we eventually found our way into a room that resembled a Colosseum with a ring of chairs leading up from the ground to where Yang and I stood. A large chest sat on the other side of the room, open and looted, while a wall made from far different stone to the crypt sat next to it, Grimm etchings covering the thing.
"I think I see the exit up ahead!" Following her gaze, I saw a small archway with snow blowing out of it, I turned to Yang and grinned.
"Ready to see the sun again for the first time in centuries?" Yang rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Oh joy, I can't wait…" We made our way across the final room and towards the exit, happily leaving the dank place. I took in a deep breath of fresh air as we made our way outside.
"Either air is different now or I've been in there for way too long… Probably both." I laughed at her comment as I pulled out my map and made note of our whereabouts.
"Can you point out where you live on here?" I asked, handing the map to Yang. She gave a glance to the parchment before her eyes shot open and she began to stare. I knew what she was doing and I knew I wasn't doing much to help, but I like to think it kept her grounded when I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"We'll figure this all out when we get there…" Yang nodded, wiping unshed tears from her eyes as she scanned the unfamiliar landscape. She pointed to a shore Northwest of Solitude.
"There's an island here, it's not that much of a surprise to find it's not on your map…" I got the feeling she was more well-to-do than I first thought when I learned she stayed on her own island, but I kept any comments to myself.
"That shouldn't be too far away…" I spoke slowly, having marked the new area on my map and taking note of how far south Dimhollow was to Solitude. "We'll have to stop by Solitude to pick up some supplies." Yang nodded as she tucked her hair into her clothes and pulled her hood up.
"We should get moving, the sun is… it's not good for my skin if you know what I mean."
The warm sun was beading down on the streets of Solitude and I found the feeling welcoming to my skin. To my left, I saw Yang panting and sizzling in the heat. I sighed and walked ahead, up to the Winking Skeever Inn. Yang was quick to follow me inside and find solace in the shade. "Barmaid, a drink please!" I ordered to an Argonian woman behind the bar as I sat Yang down at a table. "Rest up and have a drink, I'm going to go to the alchemy store next door, I'll be back soon." Yang nodded her head with a bounce, seeming to find tipsy giddiness from the cooling shade after walking so long in the sun. Her drink arrived shortly after and I left for Angeline's Aromatics. The store was inhabited by two women, one roughly my age and the other much older. "Good afternoon, do you sell bottled water here?"
"I, uhh…" The younger woman stuttered, an obvious blush on her face. The old woman smiled at the girl and left for a back door, leaving her to serve me alone. Her blush deepened and she offered a nervous smile. "Y-yes we do sell water here. "W…would you like some?" I nod my head and smile as she quickly scans under the table top. While the young woman was busy, I decided to search the shelves for anything of value. I was well stocked on my own potions, but another one or two for Yang couldn't hurt. That is of course, until I saw a blood-red vial with gold plating on it.
"Excuse me." I called out, rousing the girl from her searching.
"YES?! I mean, uhh… y-yes?"
"What is this fancy looking potion?" The girl looked at the red vial and shuddered.
"A potion of blood… Some people use them in rituals, or for certain spells. And some even drink them to sate their bloodlust, ugh… vampires. I hid my grin with surprising amounts of effort as I picked the vial up.
"How much?" The girl gave me a sceptical look, she then looked to the vial and sighed.
"Just take it, better in your hands than with some creep." As she said this, the girl dropped a crate of water bottles onto the counter. I gave her my warmest smile and handed the girl the Oum's before packing away the bottles, keeping the vial in a different pocket of the bag.
"Thank you very much, miss…"
"Scarlatina. My name is Velvet Scarlatina" I smiled wider and overpaid the girl slightly.
"Well it was a pleasure to meet you Velvet." She smiled back to me as I left the store.
"Likewise."
I walked back up the street to the Winking Skeever and entered the building to find Yang missing. I called the barmaid over to speak to her. "Excuse me, miss. Where did the woman I came in here with go?" The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"That drunk? Upstairs, first door on the left. She should still be passed out I imagine…" I thanked the woman and made my way upstairs; ignoring the thought of what Yang might've been doing while I was gone. When I opened the door, I found Yang sleeping alone on a double bed. I could already smell the alcohol on her breath. I placed my sack of potions on the table in the middle of the room and the blood vial next to the bed. Once I was sure she wouldn't wake up, I laid down on the floor against the wall and closed my eyes, ready for sleep.
I woke up to Yang shaking me and yelling in my ear to get up. When I was finally able to understand her, I stood off the floor and listened closely. "Why would you sleep on the floor when there was a very warm spot on the bed next to me?" I wracked my head for an answer as I tried to think about what she meant.
"Because I didn't want to be rude and assume you'd allow that?" Yang rolled her eyes and threw my potion sack at me.
"Well come on, it's night time now, we'll be able to travel much faster." Nodding my head, I followed after the girl, but not before looking to the bedside table to see the vial was gone. I couldn't help but notice the glow to Yang's skin as we left Solitude and headed to the Northwest. I whistled for Zwei to come as we passed the tree we left him at. "Uhh…" Yang started.
"What is it?" I replied.
"As much as I love the little guy, I think it's best if Zwei heads home." I looked down at the troll and sighed, giving him a small pat on the head.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Zwei, head back to the fort." Zwei whimpered in sadness at the order. "Aww come on, you don't want to see everyone? Rest? Get pets?" At the thought of being pet by Ruby, Zwei ran off to the Southeast, surely to go all the way back to the fort in one run. I sighed and turned around, seeing Yang show the same emotion I felt on her face, there was definitely loss in the air with the little guy gone. "Come on, we're nearly there." We passed over a few rocky ledges and eventually found our way up to the shore. I could just see the island through a thick fog, although any buildings on it were too hard to make out. A small boat was floating by a wharf and we walked towards the dingy to find it in working condition. We hopped inside and I grabbed a hold of the oars to begin rowing across the water. We crossed in silence as I could easily see the contemplative look on Yang's face, a few minutes later we arrived and departed from the boat.
"Hey uhh, can I talk to you for a second?" I turned around to face Yang, feeling worried for the girl.
"Are you alright?" Yang looked taken back from my question, but smiled nonetheless.
"Yes, I… Thank you, I'm fine. You've done a lot for me and we only met yesterday. I just wanted to say that it means a lot to me, we'll probably part ways after this. But I promise you-I promise-that we'll meet again." Yang walked closer to me and gave me a hug, the embrace was farm warmer than I expected from a vampire, even warmer than Ruby's hugs. But I blamed that fact on the blood Yang had just drank.
"O-of course I'll keep you to that…" I wrapped my arms around her too and we parted after a moment more. The air felt awkward after that so I turned my attention to her home and whistled. "I figured you came from high class, but I wasn't expecting a castle…" Yang laughed as we walked up the bridge to the entrance, I kept my eyes on the gargoyle statues that littered the bridge we walked.
"I don't like the place that much; I prefer the garden at the back, plenty of air to breathe and far better sights." I smiled at the thought of a vampire enjoying open air and flowers in such a decrepit place.
"Halt! Who goes… Yang? Lady Long? By the eight… H-hold on, I'll open the gate." I snickered as Yang's face turned red.
"Shall we go inside, Lady Long?" I asked, laughing at the girl.
"Just shut up and follow me, and don't say a word." We entered through the large doors and I stifled my giggling. A tall high elf stood in front of us and made his way over, a furious scowl on his face.
"What is the meaning of this?! Who are…? Lady Long?" I stopped myself from giggling as Yang informed the man of what happened and we followed him down a stairway and into a grand hall. "Everyone, Lady Long has returned!" I was ready to laugh once again, but my mood darkened when I saw dead bodies being eaten off tables as if they were everyday food. My sword arm was getting itchy, but luckily Yang put her hand on my shoulder to calm me, looking at her face I could tell she felt the same way I did.
"Yang, my sweet little girl, you've finally returned. And with my Scroll no less…" I saw Yang's heart break when the blonde man in the middle of the room spoke.
"Yes father, I have your Scroll…" My heart broke also when I heard her reply. Yang stood by the man who then turned his attention to me.
"Who is this stranger you've brought into our hall? And a hunter no less…" I tensed up when all eyes in the room were on me, but Yang stood between the man and I, far more protectively than I thought she would've.
"This is my saviour, the one who brought me here and out of my tomb." The man nodded as Yang stepped out of the way.
"I take it you expect a reward for this feat?" He asked as he sized me up and down, I simply shook my head.
"No reward is necessary sir; just knowing Yang is safe at home is reward enough for me." Yang hid her face when she heard my reply and the older man grinned.
"My name is Taiyang Xiao Long, who are you?" I stood tall and proud as I looked every vampire in the room in the eye.
"My name is Jaune; I am a member of the Dustguard. A vampire hunter." I was tempted to draw my sword and show off a little, but I knew that would only mean certain death. Taiyang laughed at my display and began to pace back and forth.
"Yes, I've heard of your order, my grunts have reported needing to deal with you from time to time, they're all very weak that lot, but you… You're strong, you have conviction," he nodded his head to Yang, "You have skill to bring her back unharmed. Let me offer you a reward, her safety may be all you need, but that only proves you deserve a little extra. I offer you the power to become a god among men, to stand above the sheep as a lion, to smite down all who oppose you. What say you in regards to this?" I looked to Yang and saw she had a fearful look on her face and I knew what my answer was already.
"What happens if I accept?" I asked, hoping to play him along and show that my convictions weren't as strong as they seemed, if only to make him underestimate me further.
"You will renounce your pitiful hunters and join our order as a Vampire Lord." I feinted interest in the proposition.
"And if I decline?" Taiyang lowered his head in disgust.
"Then you will be prey, like all mortals. And you will be banished from this court. If we see you again, we will not hold back in slaughtering you where you stand." I saw Yang pale at the thought and I knew whoever this man was, he was definitely my enemy.
"I refuse your offer, Taiyang. I will not become a vampire." Yang offered me a quick smile before Taiyang growled and waved his hand at me, I saw the world swirl and everything faded to black.
I awoke back on the shore of the mainland. I stood up to look out at the island again, but I couldn't see anything through the fog, and the dingy was now missing, barring my entrance. It was pretty obvious that there was nothing I could do here, so I turned on my heel and headed back to the fort. "It's gonna be a long trip…"
When I finally arrived back, two days later, I found my welcome home was an ambush by more of the dead monsters.
"Die human!" One of them screamed as he raised his axe above him, I decided to leave this up to the others that were fighting when his chest spontaneously exploded with a light equal to the sun. My sudden plan was thwarted just as suddenly though, when three more of the beasts flanked me from the sides. Drawing Dawnbreaker, I stabbed one and jumped back as she exploded and burnt the other two instantly. Surveying the area once more, I saw that everything dead was dead for certain now, and I made my way up the slope to the door of the fort, mindful of the bodies and ash lining the path.
"JAUNE!" I heard Ruby scream as she tackled me to the floor in a hug. "Where have you been?! We thought you died when Zwei came back without you!" I gave the girl a hug in return as I slowly picked her off me and placed her on the floor.
"It was quite the adventure, sorry to worry you though. I-" Ozpin cut me off with a small cough before I could continue.
"Jaune, I understand you must be tired from your trip, but I'd like you to come with me for briefing before you do anything else." Ruby and I both understood the message, so I followed Ozpin up the spiral staircase, alone, and made my way into his quarters. "Now tell me, what happened?"
"Well…" I recounted every detail from the trip that I could remember, from the vampires in Dimhollow, to Yang, our stop in Solitude, the reason we sent Zwei back alone and the Scroll fastened to Yang's back. When I finished, Ozpin showed no emotion on his face, I knew he wasn't upset, or even angry. What he was feeling was fear.
"Thank you Jaune, I'll call for you again when I need you." I nodded my head and made for the exit. "Oh, and don't speak a word of your adventure to anybody, especially Ruby." I stopped in my tracks at his order, and felt the need to protest, but I didn't need to see his face to know the look he'd have in his eyes.
"Yes sir." I left for my own quarters immediately.
The next day, while I was out in the field performing my daily Destruction practices, Oobleck busted the door to the fort open and called for me. I was in the middle of throwing a fireball at the time, so I screamed as the spell exploded in my hand.
I did my best to ignore Oobleck's lecture as I followed him to the main hall.
"What's going on this time? Another mission?" I asked, looking around the room to find everyone occupying it.
"Indeed," Ozpin said, "you and Ruby are to leave first thing tomorrow morning." I smiled, knowing I'd have a companion that could speak helped calm my nerves.
"Where are we going?" Ruby asked excitedly. Ozpin simply smiled.
"To find some new recruits."