Hey everyone! Hope things are going well for all of you. The first arc of Huntsman, Student, Rogue Agent concluded last time and we're onto the second arc. I'm sorry if the first arc was a bit short, but it seemed appropriate that the first stage of Jaune's journey, betraying the Commonwealth and leaving Vale, would be a pretty short one compared to the rest of his adventure.
BTW, I've put this down before, but reviews really, really motivate me to write. I know that I've been posting regularly, but that's mostly because I've managed to maintain a lead on the written chapters over the posted ones. Not only am I open to thoughts, ideas, and opinions, but I'm also very interestedn in knowing what I need to do to improve my writing and the story.
These days, I think I have a tendency to either infodump, or to use too much dialogue. Also, I would appreciate tips on writing anime action scenes; they are a level above other action scenes.
I would like to thank Utruk Doomhammer for betareading this chapter and the last. I hope you enjoy this newest chapter as Jaune and Pyrrha arrive in Vacuo.
Arc Two, Part One
Unlike with their trip to Haven, Jaune and Pyrrha mostly kept to themselves. The only amenities available on their airship that they made use of were the Huntsmen's gym (where all the equipment was heavier and more durable than in the normal one), the pool, and the dining room. Most of the time, they sequestered themselves in their cabin, watching reruns of Star Hunters, "Professor What", a few other of their favorite Remnite shows, reading on their Scrolls, talking, and making love like newlyweds.
Additionally, Jaune alternated between checking his cameras and checking the news, looking for updates on the Headmasters of the Academies. There was nothing about an assassination attempt on Ozpin's life; Hell, there wasn't even a mention of a break-in at Beacon. Likewise, there was no mention of anything similar happening at the other academies. The possibilities ranged from Lionheart, Ironwood, and Theodore all getting Ozpin's warning in time and saving themselves from their assassins, or they could all be dead and replaced by Commonwealth imposters.
Jaune's handler had tried calling and messaging him twice a day that first week, and each time he had declined each call and ignored each message. The second week, there had been an attempted call every day. Now though, his Handler hadn't called him in days, and Jaune couldn't be happier that he had given up. The fact that he was one accidental call confirmation away from being tracked down, knocked out, and taken back to the Observation Post was wearing.
Jaune found himself praying (he wasn't sure exactly to who) that Ozpin's wasn't the only life he had saved that night. The good news was that he and Pyrrha could check up on Professor Theodore as soon as they arrived in Vacuo. Hopefully, they'd find the Headmaster of Shade to be himself. If not…with any luck the imposter wouldn't have the same fighting prowess that Theodore was professed to possess.
Even though they were on the run and constantly looking over their shoulder (and, in Jaune's case, emotionally and mentally scanning everyone who so much as glanced at them), it was…nice, to get away from everything and just spend time with each other.
The fact that nobody knew who they were only made it better; granted, most would have recognized Pyrrha over him (and he had no problem with that), but over his time at Beacon, he had made a name for himself as JNPR's leader thanks to his strategic and tactical prowess. The anonymity afforded by the veils was a major bonus.
All good things had to end, however, and only two and a half weeks after they departed from Vale, courtesy of favorable winds and the Grimm leaving them alone, the airship landed just outside of Vacuo.
Jaune and Pyrrha disembarked from the airship, their hoodies packed away in favor of their Vacuan outfits, designed to be light in the heat while still preserving their durability for the elements and any fights that come their way.
The first word that came to Jaune's mind upon seeing Vacuo for the first time was "jarring". The older parts of the city were made up of adobe buildings, sprawling and built off each other for generations. The new growth was signified by simple, wood structures laid out in a grid, dirt roads and alleys separating them.
Only a few dressed as though they were from those places and eras, though. Vacuan clothing strongly resembled the same styles and trends that could be found in most Human settlements built in the warmer climates of whatever planet they lived on. The effect was as if the Middle East and the American Wild West had collided together, and had then been invaded by American and European tourists.
Tour guides were waiting outside the Vacuo Airport, looking to gather tourists for forays into what would definitely be the tamer parts of the kingdom. The guides either had Huntsmen bodyguards or had Aura themselves; no point in putting tourists, their source of income, in danger after all. Juane and Pyrrha pointedly ignored them, opting to find their own way through Vacuo.
The good news was that Shade Academy literally couldn't be missed. It was located inside the biggest ruin of old Vacuo, a massive ziggurat that stood just outside the main settlement, most likely a temple or a palace in the ancient days of the kingdom. It was strikingly similar to the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of Human civilization.
"Unbelievable," Jaune shook his head as he and Pyrrha made their way through the streets of Vacuo, eyes on the unmissable Shade Academy.
"What is?" Pyrrha asked.
"All of this," Jaune replied, gesturing to their surroundings. At Pyrrha's confused look, he elaborated.
"Vacuo's buildings, both the old adobe and newer wooden ones, both resemble the architecture of other eras in Human history. Also, everyone's clothing looks like what Human being would wear in hotter climates.
"And it's not just Vacuo. Every single kingdom on Remnant looks like a Human civilization was just taken out of the history books and plopped right onto this planet. Your buildings, your cultures, your technology, you, it's so similar to Humanity and what we've created, it's just plain strange sometimes."
"That's unusual?" Pyrrha looked surprised. "For alien cultures to be similar?"
"Very," Jaune answered. "Star Hunters is way off. The vast majority of aliens look nothing like Humans or Remnites, and the civilizations and cultures they create operate by rules and norms that make no sense. Humanoid civilizations are the exception to that, and out of all them discovered so far, Remnant society is the only one that's nearly identical to Human civilization."
"Oh," Pyrrha said. "What makes us different from you?"
Jaune has to pause to think about that for a moment. He didn't particularly like what he came up with.
"I think," Jaune said slowly, "that I'll have to get back to you on that. Weren't you wondering what psionics are?"
Thank Oum for the eidetic memory that came with being psychic.
"Yes, I did," Pyrrha said, her eyebrows going up as she remembered. "What are psionics? How do they work?"
"Honestly, I'm probably not the best person to ask," Jaune admitted, "but I'll do my best. Ok, there's this other dimension, that exists alongside our own dimension, the physical plane, but we can't see or interact with it. This other dimension is called the 'Shroud'; it's, well-"
Jaune paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. "It's a place of power," he decided. "It's a dimension of pure psionic energy, and species and individuals with the right brain structures are able to tap into that energy and project it into the physical world as psychic powers. The more sensitive we are to the Shroud, the more power we derive from it. Does that make sense?"
"I…think so?" Pyrrha said, uncertain. "So, our world is the physical dimension, and the Shroud is…the mental dimension?"
"That's what a few theorists think," Jaune nodded. "There are a few species, and Humans," he admitted with a tone of disgust, "that treat the Shroud religiously, like the things that live in it are gods or spirits or something, and that all the answers to life's questions can be found there."
"There are things that live in the Shroud?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes widening.
"Yes," Jaune answered. "Beings of psionics energy. Some are good, some are bad, and others are neither. I think it's best to avoid interacting with them altogether. Those who do try to contact them are usually trying to strike a deal of some kind. They either fail, wind up getting possessed, or have to pay a price for their deal later on."
"You know Jaune," Pyrrha said, smiling wryly, "if I hadn't seen your powers in action, and I didn't already trust your word, I would say that your explanation for psionics is, forgive my Valean, Grimmshit."
"Is it as Grimmshit as the explanation for Aura?" Jaune asked, smirking. "A manifestation of the soul, a life force that runs through every living creature on Rem-" His quotation was interrupted as he jumped back to avoid Pyrrha's half-hearted swipe with a laugh.
"Alright," Pyrrha admitted. "Maybe the explanation for Aura…isn't entirely correct. You don't suppose that there's a dimension from which we Remnites derive the power for Aura and Semblances?"
"You'd have to ask the eggheads about that one," Jaune said thoughtfully. "Though, if there is an Aura dimension, it's extremely localized, existing only in the same space/time position as Remnant. As far as we know, the Shroud is local to our galaxy, but we haven't been to other galaxies, so we can't know for cert-"
Jaune stopped abruptly and grabbed a hold of something just off to his side. The air shimmered and a young woman appeared, her red eyes wide. Jaune held her wrist tightly, as she held his wallet in her hand.
"Muo's horns," the woman thought. "How did he see me?"
"I didn't see you," Jaune said aloud. "Now let go of my wallet."
"Poor choice words," the woman thought, letting go of his wallet with a smirk.
Her smile faded as Jaune's eyes glowed purple and his wallet stopped falling in midair, floating back into his pocket. Jaune squeezed her wrist briefly before letting her go, glaring at her the whole time. She glared back and then turned to go.
"Least Red's wallet full money/lien," she groused mentally. "Enough go Merc's fav restaurant for long-long while."
With a frown, Jaune gestured, lifting Pyrrha's wallet out of the woman's back pocket without her noticing. Pyrrha grabbed her wallet as soon as it got within arm's reach.
"I didn't even see her!" she exclaimed. "How-"
"Invisibility Semblance or something," Jaune muttered. "I only knew she was there because I sensed her mind and her intentions. Best keep an eye on our wallets from now on."
As it turned out, they were almost pickpocketed again, twice, before they decided to stop at a saloon-style restaurant in the middle of Vacuo for lunch. The Jumping Jackalope was one of those places that catered to Huntsmen: Durable furniture, huge bouncers, and massive portion sizes, the latter necessary because of the ridiculous caloric intake that an active Aura demanded of its user.
Thankfully, having psionics also required more food than usual. If not for that and the insane amount of exercise that Jaune had performed over the last four years, he would have gained so much weight from all the food he had eaten at Beacon's cafeteria.
He and Pyrrha ordered a pitcher of beer and a couple of sandwiches and took seats at a lone table. Despite their armor and weapons being on display, the other patrons of the Jackalope regarded them with equal parts derision and suspicion. The value that Vacuo placed in strength also meant that unless that strength was demonstrated, Vacuans tended to be hostile towards newcomers.
Jaune had to stop himself from smiling; if they only knew that the Invincible Girl-well, former Invincible Girl (thanks for that, Ruby) was sitting amongst them, maybe they wouldn't be so standoffish. They wouldn't like her for being Mistralian, sure, but they wouldn't deny her fighting ability, or his own prowess as a Huntsman, for that matter.
"So," Pyrrha inclined her head towards him, her thoughts as clear as though she was speaking. "What's plan? We-we just go up to Headmaster/Professor Theodore - ask if he's Human/Commonwealth/Imposter?"
"Be-be able to tell soon-soon as I see him - quick scan his mind," Jaune replied. "If Theo's Theo, then we go after/kill Human/Commonwealth/Eclispe operatives."
"What if Theo dead/replaced?" Pyrrha asked. "What-what then?"
"Then kill his imposter." Jaune leaned his head to the side until his neck cracked.
A look of startled horror briefly appeared on Pyrrha's face.
"Jau-Jaune, we-we-we can't just kill/murder a Headmaster!" Jaune winced at the increasing volume of Pyrrha's mental voice as she panicked.
"We can if it's not Theo," Jaune replied. "Remember oath to protect Kingdoms? Eliminate imposter Headmaster - protect Vacuo."
Pyrrha was silent for a long moment before she spoke, so softly that Jaune had to lean in to hear her.
"I can see what you're saying, Jaune," she almost whispered. "And you're right: If he's not Theodore, he needs to be stopped. What I don't understand-"
She paused to think and take a breath.
"What I don't understand is how you can be so…nonchalant about killing one of your own kind," she finished.
Jaune sighed before speaking just as softly. "Most aliens aren't as protective of their own as they show in Star Hunters, Pyrrha. And that's especially true of Humans. We've always been at each other's throats, and I think we always will be. Remnant's enemies, your enemies, are my enemies now, no matter their species."
Before Pyrrha could reply, their food arrived. While it was possible to carry on a mental conversation while eating, Pyrrha's thoughts didn't reach out to Jaune's mind as she ate her sandwich in silence. Jaune refrained from telepathically asking Pyrrha what was wrong, as he figured she needed space, and he had an idea what was bothering her.
While Pyrrha had accepted that he was alien, and had therefore accepted his true form as she had seen, she was now realizing just how different Humans and Remnites were on the psychological level. From what Jaune had learned onboard the Observation Post prior to arriving on Remnant, Remnites and Faunus didn't possess the same aggression that Humans had exhibited throughout their history.
Indeed, compared to Humans, Remnites and Faunus were less aggressive, less inclined to militarism, and less ambitious, savage, or cruel. Sexism, intolerance, and religious strife were all present throughout Remnant history, but they seemed tamer and less destructive on Remnite society as a whole. It was like the rougher edges of the Human experience had been smoothed down for Remnites, with some exceptions.
The ongoing tensions between Remnites and Faunus were definitely comparable to the racial conflicts and inequalities that plagued Humanity throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, hence why the White Fang existed in the first place. Also, there were the bandit tribes and the Grimm cults that plagued frontiers of the kingdoms, the latter being much rarer but more savage than the former by far. And of course, there had been the Suppressionists, their purges of art and expression, and the war they had started.
Ultimately though, Humans are far more prone to fighting each other, even in a time marked by species unity, a trend that was very common amongst interstellar civilizations, and despite the old divisions between the Kingdoms, Remnant culture in general seemed to share this sentiment of unity and cooperation, despite some old tensions and rivalry..
Jaune forced himself to quit overthinking the nature of Man and of Remnites and to focus on his surroundings. A good chunk of the training that he had received from Shattered Eclipse had been on analyzing his surroundings and using them to his advantage. Thanks to this, he was quickly aware of where he could find weapons, the keys to the vehicles parked outside, who in the saloon actually knew how to fight, the fastest escape routes, and also the best vantage points.
Jaune found it a bit annoying that when he looked around for anyone watching them, it turned out that a good number of the patrons were still side-eying them with some hostility and derision. It made locating the ones with any actual intent against him and Pyrrha difficult. Using his psionics made it much easier though.
"Damned outsiders, why do they al-always pick the Jackalope to eat/drink at? Neon sign or somethin'?"
"Those weapons even real? They look like Nikos/Arc's weapons. Copy-copycats, I should go over there - stuff their drinks/glasses down copycat throats!"
"Oum guys, no need to be inhospitable. Bet if outsiders decided to take their touristing elsewhere, you all be screaming in a week about the business loss. Hypocritical jack-ass-alopes."
"Jau-Azure?" Pyrrha's voice broke through his analysis. "Is anything the matter?"
"Nothing, not really," Jaune told her, leaning in. "It's just, thanks to Vacuan 'hospitality', it's just hard to know who really means us harm here without reading their minds."
"Huh," Pyrrha said, examining her sandwich. "What would it be like if they were blocking you out, whether on purpose or passively?" she asked before taking a bite.
"It would be different depending on the person," Jaune replied. "There are techniques for it, most of which require one to concentrate their focus on a single thing, keep telepaths from finding cracks and working their way through them."
Pyrrha frowned in thought as she swallowed. "Would you…mind teaching me those techniques? Not to keep you out!" she quickly added at his surprised look. "Just to keep other psychics out," she finished.
Jaune looked at her quietly before responding mentally, taking a bite of his own sandwich as he did.
"Been meaning to ask, why you ok with me being telepath/reading your mind?" he asked. "Never went deep, only surface thoughts, but still read your mind w/o your knowledge/permission. Would be bad/illegal if we were in Commonwealth/you were Human."
"It was/is weird that you can read my mind," Pyrrha said, "but I know/trust/love you, Jaune Arc. You were/are best thing to happen to me, first person in long time to treat me like normal girl, no pedestal. Now that I know of/about it, I like this, talking mind-to-mind, no misunderstandings, none of language's inadequacies. My heart was/is open to you - now my mind is too."
Jaune was about to reply when he felt a disturbance in the Force, to steal a line from an old movie series. Looking up, he saw two more patrons entering the saloon - a Huntsman and a Huntress, judging from their outfits and weapons. The Huntress was red-headed with a silver streak, while the Huntsman was tall, broad, muscular, his green hair and beard styled as a mohawk and goatee.
They were both headed towards Jaune and Pyrrha's table, and he could see something in both of their eyes - recognition and belligerence. Somehow, they knew Azure and Phoenix's faces, and they were coming in for a fight.
"That's our table," the Huntsman growled as he and the Huntress came within earshot. "We always eat at this table."
"Sorry," Pyrrha began, starting to get up. "We'll just-"
"Keep sitting at our table," Jaune interjected, "and finish our lunch." He began reaching out to their minds, hoping to see how they knew Azure and Phoenix, maybe even influence them to not try and pick a fight. "The table is big enough for the four of us, if you'd rather not get ano-"
The Huntress's weapons, two sai, leapt out of their holsters and shot right towards Jaune, golden wisps emitting from her hands. If it wasn't for his speed and reflexes, Jaune would have gotten a sai through each eye; instead, he slouched in his seat at superspeed, letting the sai hit the back of his chair.
"No you don't, bright eyes," the Huntress grinned. The sai popped out of the chair and flew into her hands. "You're not gettin' in my head that easy."
Jaune stood up from a slouching position on his chair without needing to grab on to anything; courtesy of Pyrrha and Ruby's workout advice, he had some serious core muscles to make up for his noodle arms (by Huntsmen standards). He grabbed Crocea Mors, drawing the sword from its scabbard and expanding it into its shield form. Beside him, Pyrrha was on her feet, Miló and Akoúo̱ in hand.
"If that's how you want it," Jaune replied, cracking his neck the other way. And the fight commenced.
The Huntress went for Jaune, while her partner immediately went for Pyrrha with a roar and a swing of a huge, chained mace. Jaune found himself on the defensive, the woman very proficient with her sai, both with her hands and with her apparent telekinesis Semblance, keeping him focused on deflecting her sai with his sword and shield.
Pyrrha's opponent was huge, strong, and equipped with a weapon that could easily drain Aura with consecutive hits, thus allowing for a powerful killing blow. Therefore, she was in her kind of fight. Subtle applications of her Polarity Semblance, and no matter how hard her opponent could hit, he would never be able to land a blow.
In his periphery, Jaune could see the saloon's other customers getting out of the way, either clearing out entirely through the still-swinging doors or setting up cover with their tables at the edges to watch the fight. He briefly wondered if any bets were being placed.
The table they had been eating at, and the supposedly the cause of the fight, was quickly demolished, sending their food off to splatter against the floor and the beer mugs to shatter against the walls. Decorations and trophies on the walls were sent crashing to the ground from the impacts. A wooden support pillar was shattered from having the man thrown through it. A table that wound up between Jaune and his opponent was cut to pieces thanks to his sword and her sai.
Jaune was reminded of the food fight between Teams RWBY and JNPR in their second semester as he dodged a platter of food sent flying at his head by his opponent's Semblance. He couldn't help but let out a laugh at the thought.
"You know," he told the woman between dodging her blows and swinging at her with a couple of his own, "my combat teacher at Beacon has a Semblance like yours."
"You mean that stuffy hag, Professor Goodbitch?" she sneered. "That explains why you haven't hit me with that huge pocket knife then."
"That's Professor Goodwitch, to you," Jaune growled in reply, deflecting her sai. Tossing his sword to impale the ground, he gestured with his free hand to telekinetically grab one of the sai in midair and send it flying upwards into the rafters. "And she taught me more than just combat."
Her eyes widened. "You're supposed to be a mindreader!" she snarled before leaping and vaulting up into the rafters to grab her weapon. When she came down, she had connected the handles of her sai and extended them to form a long-handled trident. Her grin quickly melted when she saw what Jaune had waiting for her: Four tables hovered in midair around him, his free hand clenched in a fist.
"I'm a man of many talents," he said before sending them all at her. She cried out at the impact, staggering as wood exploded everywhere.
With that, Jaune was on the offensive, sending chairs and tables hurtling to hit the woman and drain her Aura bit by bit. Jaune's psionics weren't quite as strong as Glynda Goodwitch's Telekinesis Semblance, but they were more than enough to show up his opponent.
Looking up, Jaune spied a chandelier right above. He wrenched it down and sent it to crash on top of the Huntress, who cried out as her Aura finally broke. With her arms trapped by the chandelier and her Aura broken, she wouldn't be breaking out. With a gesture, he tore her trident weapon out of her hands and to the floor before clenching his fist and picking her up bodily.
Aura protected its user from being picked up telekinetically. It was hard in general to pick up living things as opposed to inanimate objects; Aura made it downright impossible, hence why he hadn't just picked her up and thrown her around like a ragdoll.
He brought her face-to-face with him and looked her right in her surprised and scared face.
"Who are you?" Jaune demanded mentally. "What do you want with us?"
The Huntress' eyes widened at hearing Jaune's voice in her head, but she provided no answers, mental or verbal, her eyes then squinting in defiance.
Jaune frowned and then entered her mind, the world around him fading away to the purple haze of the Shroud and then suddenly flashing white as he entered her mindscape.
Jaune found himself in the desert under a blazing hot sun. The endless sand stretched out from horizon to horizon, heat waves shimmering in the distance. Jaune found himself spinning around, trying to find a landmark or building amongst the dunes.
"You won't find anything."
Jaune jumped and looked down, finding the Huntress' face looking up at him from the sand.
"I've buried it all under the sand," she told him, smirking. "The desert is the best place for hiding things." She closed her eyes and sank down, the granules of sand hiding her from view.
A distant gunshot rang off, sounding out of place; not a product of the woman's mindscape, but a sound from the outside. Glaring down at the patch of sand where she had disappeared, Jaune closed his eyes.
He opened them to find her grinning at him in the real world just as another gunshot rang out. Jaune's head pivoted to find the Huntsman now had a hold of Miló by the head. His mace had transformed into a gun, which he was firing point blank into Akoúo̱ as Pyrrha held it up in defense.
"We were told to bring you in alive," the woman said, a nasty smile in her words. "Her, on the other hand-"
Jaune didn't let her finish her sentence. He threw his hand forward, sending her and the chandelier flying at the man.
"Bertilak!" the woman screamed as she hurtled at him. He didn't have time to look up before she slammed into him, breaking the chandelier and his hold on Miló, sending him crashing into another support pillar.
Shaking his head, the man, Bertilak, got to his feet, pushing his unconscious partner and the ruins of the chandelier off of him. He raised his gun in Pyrrha's direction, only for her spin-kick him right in the jaw. His Aura broke, and a few seconds later, he crashed to the ground, his goatee evidently hiding a glass jaw.
Pyrrha's face was flushed from the fight, and Jaune could tell from the heat that his was too. They both stood there, panting for breath as the adrenaline wore off. Jaune could feel the heat from his Sandevistan, the heat sinks struggling to keep up with the demands he put on it.
His eyes caught sight of the man's Scroll falling out of his pocket. He gestured, and it floated up and into his hand. He tapped it and snorted it when there wasn't even a prompt for a password or PIN.
"Azure?" Pyrrha asked. "Should you really be doing that? That's his Scroll."
"I couldn't get anything off of her mind," Jaune said, nodding at the unconscious woman. "They recognized us, Phoenix, and I've never seen either of them in my life. Maybe there's something on their Scrolls…."
Jaune trailed off as he tapped the photos gallery and caught sight of the image immediately available, voice dying as he recognized the face.
It was Pyrrha's disguise, Phoenix, looking straight into the camera. Behind her in the background was Jaune, Azure's profile perfectly captured from the side. It was a picture of Pyrrha and himself back at Vale International Airport.
Shattered Eclipse had sent these two mercenaries after him and Pyrrha; they knew that he was in Vacuo, and they were already gunning for him.
How's that for a twist, huh? How did Carmine and Bertilak get ahold of that photo, how did the Commonwealth figure out Jaune and Pyrrha's disguises so soon, and why are Carmine and Bertilak doing their dirty work? The stage has been set for the Vacuo arc.
For the Vacuo arc of the story, I will be using characters from the RWBY books, "After the Fall", and "Before the Dawn". I'm not the biggest fan of the books, but in fanfiction, it's better to use characters that the fans will already be familiar with. Any ideas for using those characters in my story?
I hope you all enjoyed the latest addition to "Huntsman, Student, Rogue Agent". Looking forward to your thoughts on this chapter. Have a good one, everyone, and happy reading!