Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. Here we are with a very special chapter for the Volume 1 arc, one I've been wanting to write for a while now. I'm sure all of you have your theories about what's going to happen here, and I've got a few surprises of my own as well. What else is there more to say other than I hope you enjoy it. With that being said, let's get started.
Dark Jaunedice
It was time for combat class, currently overseen by Glynda Goodwitch where students would take turns to spar against one another, be it one-on-one matches, team battles, or on the rare occasion of a team facing off against one opponent. Currently, it appeared to be a one-on-one spar between Jaune and Cardin Winchester, and so far, it did not appear to be going in Jaune's favoras he already appeared greatly exhausted while Cardin didn't seem to have even broken a sweat, evident by his chuckle as he held his mace, the Executioner, over his shoulder.
"Come on… come on…" Jaune muttered to himself as he picked up Crocea Mors once again and charged Cardin with a battle cry, but Cardin easily dodged the vertical slice to strike Jaune with his mace and send him flying across the ground. Though Jaune was quick to pick himself up, having dropped his shield to grip his sword with both hands and go on the attack again, but Cardin blocked it rather easily.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin told him.
"Over my dead…" Jaune was cut off as Cardin drove his knee into his gut, causing him to keel over. Cardin raised his mace to finish him off, but the sound of the buzzer stopped the match.
"That's enough." Glynda stepped forward, revealing the status on each combatant's aura via holographic screens above them. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fir for battle, and that the official may call the match." She then addressed Jaune directly. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now, please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more defensive strategy."
Jaune gave a sigh, sparing a glance towards Pyrrha, as well as Team RWBY, who also attended the same class with the other students present, Pyrrha looking the most concerned for him.
"We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?" Glynda told him.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin muttered as he picked up the Executioner and proceeded to step off the arena.
"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away." Glynda addressed the students again, this got all the students, especially Team RWBY, excited. "It won't be long before students from the other Kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament, will be representing all of Vale."
The bell then rang, signaling the end of the class and allowing the students to pick up and leave, all except Jaune who could only hang his head at his own poor performance.
Meanwhile, Team Sonic had saw the whole thing from the ceiling, and outside the view of most of the students. "Hmm, that tournament sounds like it could be fun." Sonic smirked.
"Sonic, you do know that's for the students only." Amy told him.
"Yeah, it would be unfair if we went into it." Sonic said. "But, who's to say we can't have Ozpin pull some strings and have us do an 'exhibition' match with some pro Huntsmen. That could be fun."
"I think I could get behind that at least." Amy seemed to like that idea. "What do you guys think?" She asked Knuckles and Tails, though they didn't answer as they seemed deep in thought over what they had just seen.
"Uh, hello? Earth to the fox and echidna." Sonic got their attention.
"Sorry." Tails apologized. "It's just… that whole fight."
"Yeah, I don't think Jaune really knows what he's doing." Knuckles said. "A lot of those attacks were that of an amateur. I get that some of the kids here are more talented than others, heck we know a few of them, but him? Either he had poor training, or none at all."
"I see your point." Even Sonic had to admit that Jaune's combat finesse was rather poor, at least compared to the rest of his team as well as RWBY. "But, maybe he's a late bloomer."
"He doesn't even seem to use his Semblance like the others." Knuckles said.
"I honestly don't think he has a Semblance." Tails added. "Back in the Emerald Forest, he didn't even seem to know about Aura, Pyrrha had to help him unlock it."
"Exactly." Knuckles nodded. "I know I said that I get why these Huntsmen academies exist and I've seen that these kids can handle themselves, but it seems like Jaune's bitten off more than he can chew."
"You guys might be right." Amy admitted.
"Well, maybe we can help him out." Sonic suggested. "Nothing wrong with a friend giving a hand, right?"
"Yeah, maybe." Tails accepted the idea as even Knuckles and Amy nodded in agreement. But there was something else about Jaune's situation that caught Tails' attention. And that was the fact that he was the frequent target of Cardin's bullying. Something Tails could relate to.
"There we were, in the middle of the night…!" Nora began her story in dramatic fashion, telling it to the rest of Team JNPR, Team RWBY, and Team Sonic. Even Rouge was present as they all sat together for lunch in the cafeteria. If any of the other students asked, they were Faunus. Seemed to work as nobody else questioned it.
"It was day." Ren corrected.
"We were surrounded by Ursai…!" Nora continued, with Yang, Sonic, Amy, Rouge, and even Knuckles listening intently; while Blake seemed more interested in reading her book, Weiss was filing her nails and not even paying attention. Jaune didn't seem to be paying attention to anything, just depressingly picking at his food, much to the concern of Ruby, Tails, and Pyrrha.
"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected once again.
"Dozens of them!" Nora exclaimed.
"Two of them." Ren said yet again.
"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skinned rugs!" Nora finished proudly.
"I'm calling your bluff on that last part." Knuckles said to her. "How can you sell the skin of a Grimm if they disintegrate completely upon death?"
"Killjoy!" Nora stuck her tongue out at the red echidna.
"I hear ya, sister. Guy has no idea how to have fun." Rouge agreed, causing Knuckles to roll his eyes.
"Speaking of which, where's the Edgehog and robot-boy?" Yang asked.
"Shadow's not exactly the sociable type. He's probably off somewhere, maybe practicing with his new weapon." Sonic answered. "And Omega's in the Emerald Forest, testing Dust ammo against the Grimm there."
Two Beowolves were blasted through the trees by an explosion of fire, courtesy of E-123 Omega using Fire Dust ammo in his machine guns.
"Another test complete." Omega summed up aloud. "Fire Dust can be used for short-ranged explosive means. One round will suffice for clearing large crowds of enemies." The robot then turned around at the sound of a growl as an Ursa made its way through the trees and straight toward the former Badnik.
Omega wasn't concerned as he opened a compartment in his arm and fired a condensed beam of lightning that blasted a hole clear through the Ursa's chest, killing it in an instant as it dropped and disintegrated.
"Lightning Dust appears to be best suited for long-ranged attacks." Omega continued. "Particularly when condensed into a single beam." He then turned toward the side as he saw a Boarbatusk come onto the scene, it rolled up to prepare for an attack identical to a spin-dash, something Omega was well to familiar with. Before it had the chance to charge, Omega fired some glowing blue rounds around it, causing large clusters of ice to appear around the Grimm, piercing and trapping it in that one spot.
"Ice Dust would be best used in entrapping enemies rather than instant-kill attacks." Omega said. "Perhaps with fine-tunning, it could be used for armor-piercing rounds. Although, chances of ice piercing metallic frames are low, depending on the quality of the metal." He finished off the struggling Boarbatusk with a round of Fire Dust for explosive results.
A Beowolf had attempted to sneak and attack Omega from behind, but he quickly grabbed the Grimm with one arm and used his superior strength to pin the struggling beast to the ground. "Eggman's violation of space-time has granted me the means to utilize more destructive capabilities than before. I will thank him in our next encounter. I will thank him with fire." He used his own personal flamethrower in his free hand to then incinerate the Beowolf.
"Yeah… to be honest, I actually kinda feel sorry for the Grimm." Sonic joked.
"So, you got a new weapon, Rouge?" Yang asked.
"Yep." The former jewel thief presented a pair of purple heart-shaped objects, each producing a pair of short blades shaped like bat wings. "These babies function as boomerangs as well as short blades if I need close quarters combat. But if things get really serious…" She brought the heart-pieces together, attaching them which caused the blades to merge together and transform into a large broadsword, also baring the shape of a batwing. "I call this sweet baby, Purple Hearts."
"Awesome!" Yang grinned with approval.
"So cool!" Nora beamed.
"Very impressive." Ren also approved.
"You wouldn't have happened to have built that weapon with items that you may have stolen, right?" Weiss asked with a slight glare.
"Nope." Rouge put her weapon away and pulled out a nailfile. "I built it with stuff from the weapon's shop here that old Oz let us use."
Weiss couldn't help but draw her attention to the nailfile Rouge was using. It looked just like…. Her eyes suddenly widened as she felt in her pocket that her own nailfile was gone, and was currently in the hands of the anthropomorphic bat, smirking knowingly at the heiress.
"I said I didn't steal the stuff to make my weapon." Rouge told her.
"Give me that!" Weiss snatched it back.
Most of the group together laughed, all except for Jaune who continued to absentmindedly pick at his food.
"Jaune… Are you okay?" Pyrrha tried to get his attention. It didn't seem to work at first, that is until Tails, who had been sitting next to him, nudged his arm.
"Huh, what? Oh, yeah. Why?"
"It's just… that… you seem a little… not okay." Ruby said.
"Yeah, you are definitely not okay, man." Sonic told him.
Jaune saw that nearly everyone around him was giving him concerned expressions, and he tried to put on a brave face. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He gave a thumbs up and a forced smile.
"You're not convincing anyone." Tails said. "We all know that Cardin's been picking on you since the beginning."
"Huh? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune tried to divert it.
"Yeah, tall guy, likes to show off his muscles, total meathead." Rouge answered.
"Nah, he just likes to mess around, ya know? Practical jokes." Jaune still tried to dodge it.
"He's a bully." Ruby said bluntly.
"Him and his whole team." Amy added.
"Oh, please. Name one time where he's 'bullied' me." Jaune said.
"He knocks down all your stuff when you pass by in the halls." Ren answered.
"There was also the time he put up your shield and got you stuck in the doorway." Nora answered.
"And that one time he shoved you into your locker and launched it." Even Yang added.
"I had to run out and get you out of that thing." Sonic recalled.
"Jaune, you can ask us if you need help." Tails offered. "That's what friends do."
"Guys, really! It's fine!" Jaune tried to insist. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."
"Ow! That hurts!"
They turned to see Cardin and his whole team harassing a female Faunus student with rabbit ears, pulling on them and laughing the whole time.
"Please, stop!" She tried.
"I told you guys it was real." Cardin laughed to his team.
Needless to say, everyone in RWBY, JNPR, and Team Sonic looked less than pleased. "Wow. They make the Hooligans look like class acts." Sonic said in annoyance.
Knuckles stood up from his spot. "Excuse me one second. I'm gonna go break those guys in half."
"I'm right behind you." Yang also stood up.
"Me too." Amy already pulled out her hammer.
"Let's go break their legs!" Nora cheered.
"Hang on, I can do one better." Sonic smirked before vanishing in the form of a blue blur, one that zipped all around Team CRDL, out of the cafeteria briefly and back to his seat. Before anyone could ask what he did…
"What the hell?!" Cardin looked down and found that his pants had vanished, exposing his boxers. And it wasn't just him, his whole team had their pants missing, showing their underwear to everyone. "Where are my pants?!"
A whistle caught their attention, turning toward Sonic, who smirked as he gestured with his thumb to the nearest window, where they could see all their pants hanging from a nearby lamp post , waving in the wind like flags on a flagpole. The entire cafeteria had already erupted into a roar of laughter as Team CRDL ran out to try and retrieve their lost clothing, while the rabbit girl had shielded her eyes as her face turned red.
Yang, Tails, Nora, Amy, and Ruby had also burst into laughter, the blonde slamming her fist on the table repeatedly while Rouge chuckled and shook her head, even Knuckles couldn't help but smirk along with Blake and Ren, though Weiss just rolled her eyes slightly. Pyrrha gave Sonic a nod of approval while Jaune just looked shocked.
"Okay…! Okay… that… that was too good…!" Yang said in-between laughs.
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Sonic then looked to the rabbit girl. "Hey! Why don't you come sit with us?" He offered as he moved over slightly to give room. The girl walked over and sat down with her food.
"W-Was that you?" She asked.
"Yep." Sonic confirmed.
"Thank you."
"It's Velvet, right?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." She confirmed. "Is, this alright? Me sitting with all of you."
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Ruby assured. "Sorry about what happened to you."
"I'm used to it…" Velvet looked away slightly with a sad expression, something that Blake noticed as she scowled inwardly.
"See, Jaune? Standing up to jerks isn't all that hard." Sonic told him.
"Yeah, well some of us don't have super speed." Jaune replied somewhat harshly.
"You still have two fists and feet. Both are natural weapons." Knuckles pointed out. "I suggest next time you see him, strike him in the groin. It is the weakest spot, particularly for males."
"Yeah! Hit him in the groin!" Nora cheered.
"Guys! It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Jaune still insisted as he stood up with his tray and walked away, much to the group's concern, particularly Tails and Pyrrha as they shared eye-contact with one another.
Later in the afternoon, Jaune attended Oobleck's history class along with many of his friends and teammates, as well as Cardin. However, it seems the young man has fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the professor's lecture.
"…Yes, well prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, or more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite, adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." The Professor explained to his class, a large map of Remnant displayed behind him with multiple papers attached to it and connected by red wiring. The professor took a skip of his coffee before speeding along with his lecture.
"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day." Oobleck said as he continued to zip around his class while drinking his coffee. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"
A couple of his students did raise their hands, including Velvet, who also attended the same class.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." Oobleck continued, taking yet another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang. Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war."
Weiss raised her hand. "The battle at Fort Castle."
"Precisely." Oobleck responded. "And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?"
Cardin, who hadn't been paying attention at all, flicked a folded piece of paper onto Jaune's head to wake him up.
"Hey!"
"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class!" Oobleck zoomed in front of him. "This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"
"Uh…" Jaune was drawing a blank. "The answer… The advantage of the Faunus had…" He heard a subtle cough, glancing past Oobleck to Pyrrha, who pointed toward her eyes. "Over that guys stuff…?" She made a circular gesture with her hands around her eyes, which he clearly misinterpreted. "Binoculars."
Nearly everyone in class either laughed, particularly Cardin, or shook their heads, while Pyrrha couldn't help but smack her own forehead.
"Very funny, Mr. Arc." Oobleck said sarcastically as he zoomed back to his desk, sipping his coffee again. "Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject." He told the student who laughed the loudest.
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said, causing Oobleck to shake his head.
"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at him.
"What? You got a problem?" He questioned.
"No, I have the answer. It's night vision." Pyrrha said for the class. "Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."
"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake added. "His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured."
Oobleck nodded, indicating that was the correct answer.
"Perhaps if he paid more attention in class, and less on losing his pants, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." Blake said to Cardin specifically. That really got to him as Cardin stood up, looking ready to punch someone.
"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Oobleck told him. He then noticed Jaune snickering and zoomed over toward him as well. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Jaune groaned as Oobleck resumed the lecture.
Class was dismissed as Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora walked outside. "You two go on ahead, I'll wait for Jaune." Pyrrha told her teammates.
"Sure thing." Nora said while Ren simply nodded as they walked off.
Pyrrha then took out her scroll and dialed for a friend. "Tails, are you busy?"
"I'm here. What's up?"
"I could use your help with something."
Back in the classroom, Oobleck sipped his coffee for what could be the hundredth time as he addressed the two boys sitting in front of him. Jaune had the decency to look ashamed while Cardin looked more annoyed than anything
"You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is… it stops now." The professor told them with finality in his voice. "You've worked hard to gain entrance into this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it." That caused Jaune to look away slightly.
"History is important, gentlemen. If you can't learn from it… your destined to repeat it." Oobleck said somewhat dramatically. "Pages fifty-one to ninety-one. I want an essay on my desk by next class. Now, run along."
Pyrrha saw Jaune and Cardin leave the classroom, only for the later to push the former to the ground in annoyance. Pyrrha glared at him as he left while she helped Jaune to his feet.
"You know, I really will break him in half." Pyrrha told him, while Jaune could only hang his head with a sigh. "Come with me, I have an idea."
It was night time as Shadow the Hedgehog stood in solitude on the rooftop of the student dorms. It seemed the most private place to be alone with his thoughts, having spent the past few weeks learning everything he could about the world of Remnant. He had already understood the basics of how this world operates, having read all the data on his personal scroll that he currently held in his hands as he skimmed through the info again.
There were four Kingdoms in total: Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas, residing in the now-defunct Kingdom of Mantle. There was also the small Faunus-nation of Menagerie, but it wasn't considered an official Kingdom. The only other landmass was an unnamed continent that seemed to be the homeland of the Creatures of Grimm.
The Grimm were certainly perplexing. At first, he thought they were Remnant's wildlife, but he dismissed the thought upon seeing their bodies disintegrate instantly upon death in his first encounter with them. Upon reading all the info he could about them, it further debunked any natural wildlife theories he had; primarily on how there were plenty of other wild animals already. There was also the fact that Grimm only seemed to target humans, being drawn to negative emotions, and only got into conflict with animals in regard to territory. Why they targeted humans was unknown but couldn't be for food since the Grimm didn't seem to have any internal organs. One thing was certain, the Grimm were not natural creatures, and he was also certain that Eggman would find a way to use them to his advantage.
Of course, the Grimm weren't the only issue Remnant had. One of the most significant was this world's humanity discrimination against Faunus. Shadow wasn't surprised to hear that, most humans have always been pitiful in that regard. There was a small part of him that had hoped this humanity would be different from that from his own world, but it seems that was just wishful thinking. With all the hate-crimes and discrimination that he read about, as well as the Faunus being centralized to the smallest landmass on Remnant, it was little wonder the White Fang civil rights group emerged and later became an armed militia against humankind. That didn't necessarily mean Shadow approved of some of the White Fang's actions: targeting the weak and innocent, that was the same thing humanity had done to them. Honestly, aside from their outside features, there was little-to-no difference between humankind and the Faunus of Remnant. Though, a part of him did have sympathy to the Faunus as it was clear that humanity had discriminated against them first and had most of the power on Remnant.
Another greater issue was Remnant's defenses. Shadow didn't approve in the slightest of children being trained to combat monsters like the Grimm, one of the few things he and Knuckles could agree on. However, Shadow did understand the reasoning as the Grimm outnumbered humanity and showed no signs of nearing extinction, humanity had to have some way to defend themselves. And based on what he saw in Beacon, it seems the students had a relatively safe and stable environment to hone their skills and better prepare for the future ahead. But what you learn in school can only get you so far. But it wasn't just the Huntsmen academies that had him concerned, it was this world's military, or the lack of thereof. While Shadow understood the reasoning for Remnant not having military forces, so there is less chance of waging open war against one another, like the Great War he read about, it also made it easy for otherworldly invaders such as Eggman to invade. But in fairness, Remnant hasn't encountered alien life before and they didn't have any means for space travel, so it wasn't something they could exactly prepare for.
And yet, that didn't stop Atlas from forming its own military. Out of all the Kingdoms of Remnant, Atlas was the one that had him the most concerned. It was the most technologically advanced kingdom on the planet, as well as the only one that had a military force. If they so desired, Atlas could easily conquer all of Remnant. Why they hadn't done so already was beyond him. But then again, warfare led to negativity and that would only lead to an increase in Grimm activity, so there was that. He could tell from what he read that Atlas had a controversial reputation, having its Huntsmen trained to enter the military, as well as more-or-less abandoning Mantle below it. While a civil war between them would certainly lead to Mantle's destruction to the technological advantage Atlas had over it, Shadow would be a fool to dismiss the idea. Atlas could decide to just be done with Mantle entirely whenever it wanted to and move on to the rest of Remnant, including the White Fang, Grimm activity or not. Shadow had seen humanity's foolish nature so many times that expecting the worst from them was practically second nature to him.
But, Remnant's internal problems weren't his concern at the moment. Right now, his central focus was preparing for Eggman. He was certain the Doctor would try to use the Grimm, which is why Sonic insisted on Shadow making his own weapon for when they would fight them. While Shadow was confident in his own abilities, he decided to make one anyway, if only to keep Sonic from pestering him about it. His weapon was sheathed behind his back.
It was a single-edge, dark-colored sword, with a semi-serrated edge and a web-like pattern near the point. But it wasn't just a sword, as the handle of the sword could be pulled open to separate a short, customized, semi-automatic machine gun of his own personal design, one that can be detached from the sword, allowing him to dual wield sword and gun simultaneously. He named this weapon, Arondight.
Shadow's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening, where he looked to see Pyrrha leading Jaune to the rooftop. He also heard a familiar propelling sound, glancing slightly upward to see Tails arriving as well. Nobody appeared to notice him, and he wasn't planning on drawing their attention, so he moved around the corner to the other side of the building to continue his reading while the three made conversation.
"Hey guys!" Tails landed to greet the pair.
"Um… what's going on?" Jaune asked.
"Jaune, we know you're having a difficult time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters…" Pyrrha began. "So, we're here to help you."
Jaune didn't seem as enthusiastic as one would think.
"You and I can train up here after class when no one can bother us." Pyrrha offered. "And Tails can help you with classwork."
"I know I've only been on this planet for a short time, but I've gotten a pretty good idea of how things work here." Tails added. "So if you need any help, I can give it to you."
"Y-You think I need help…?" Jaune asked, sounding somewhat offended.
"N-No! No. That's not what I meant." Pyrrha responded.
"But you just said it… both of you."
"Jaune, listen. Even the strongest people need help from time-to-time." Tails told him. "Look at Sonic. He's probably the fastest being in the whole universe! But, he doesn't handle all the universe's problems by himself. Why do you think me, Knuckles, and everyone else are with him? Even Sonic will admit that he needs our help. There's nothing wrong with asking for help, that doesn't mean your weak or anything. And for the record, I know what you're going through."
"No… you don't…" Jaune tried.
"Yes, I do." Tails insisted. "Out of everyone in my home village, I was the only one born with two tails." He showed off his dual tails for emphasis. "Everyone thought it was weird. I got bullied and picked on all the time for that. It didn't matter how smart I was, if anything it made it worse. Everyone thought I was a smart aleck who thought I was better than them. I know what it's like to be pushed around and looked down on, but I got out of that hole. You don't have to stay in it, we can help you."
"That's right, you made it to Beacon." Pyrrha insisted. "That speaks volumes of what you're capable of."
Jaune turned around, not facing them as a shamed look formed on his face. "You're wrong… both of you. I-I don't belong here…"
"That's a terrible thing to say, of course you do." Pyrrha stated.
"No! I don't!" Jaune exclaimed as he turned back to face them. He looked away as both Tails and Pyrrha looked to him with confused and concerned expressions. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." He said, turning around again.
"What… what are you talking about?" Tails asked.
"I didn't go to any combat school! I didn't pass any tests! I didn't earn my spot at this academy!" Jaune faced them again. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"
Needless to say, Pyrrha and Tails were more than a little surprised.
"What…?!" She questioned.
"Why… would you do that…?" Tails also questioned.
"Cause, this is what I've always wanted to be!" Jaune began. "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him, they were all warriors! They were all heroes! I-I wanted to be one too…! I was just never good enough…"
"Well, you can be." Tails told him. "You can get stronger… and we can help you with that!"
"I don't want help!" Jaune exclaimed. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress or the sidekick! I want to be the hero!"
"Jaune…" Pyrrha tried to talk to him.
"I'm tired of being the loveable idiot, stuck in the tree, while his friends fight for lives, don't you understand?!" Jaune sounded like he was breaking down. "If I can't do this on my own… then what good am I?!"
Pyrrha tried to reach out to him, but Jaune pulled away.
"Just… leave me alone… Both of you. Okay?"
"If… that's what you think is best." Pyrrha said with defeat as she turned around to walk away. Tails spared Jaune one last look before flying away as well.
Jaune looked down dejectedly, feeling a sense of regret for pushing them away like that. But he wanted to do this his way. However, his thoughts came to an end with a familiar chuckle as Cardin climbed up onto the roof.
"Oh Jaune…"
"Cardin!?"
"I couldn't help but hear you and your little friends from my dorm room." Cardin revealed with a somewhat sadistic grin. "So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel."
"Please, Cardin! Please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune begged.
"Jaune, come on. I'd never rat out a friend like that." Cardin replied, confusing Jaune.
"A… A friend…?"
"Of course." Cardin pulled Jaune in with his arm around his shoulder, a seemingly friendly expression; but it was far from it as he squeezed a bit around his neck. "We're friends now, Jauney-boy. And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." He let him go, letting Jaune fall to the ground and catch is breath. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Doctor Oobleck gave us today. Think you can take care of that for me, buddy?" He ruffled his hair with a sadistic grin. "That's what I thought." He said as he climbed back down to his dorm. "Don't worry Jaune, you're secret's safe with me."
Jaune didn't have to be a genius to realize he was being blackmailed. But there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it, causing him to sink down in his own self-dug pit of despair.
However, unbeknownst to everyone else, there had been another on the rooftop that had been listening to the entire conversation ever since the words 'fake transcripts' were dropped.
Shadow had heard everything after that, from Jaune's pathetic excuses and dodges at genuine attempts to help him, to the blackmail attempt at the hands of that weakling Cardin. Honestly, Shadow felt sick to his stomach at such a pathetic display from both Jaune and Cardin. He had said to himself that he would not get involved with any of the students' personal problems, unlike Sonic, and choose to focus on preparing for Eggman. But this was just pathetic, so much so that he couldn't leave it alone. But unlike Pyrrha or Tails, Shadow had no intention of handling this the 'nice way'.
Two days later, it was already late in the evening as Pyrrha glanced out the window with a gloomy expression while Ren sat on his bed to polish his weapon while Nora absentmindedly bounced up and down on hers.
"How come Jaune's been getting home so late?" Nora asked.
"He's become rather scarce, ever since he's been fraternizing with Cardin." Ren answered, putting StormFlower away.
"That's weird." Nora looked down, still bouncing. "Doesn't he know we have a field trip, tomorrow? We need our rest!" She stopped bouncing as she flopped on her bed.
"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha said rather bitterly, causing Ren and Nora to look at each other with concern.
"I guess so…" Nora sulked.
Outside the dorm room, Jaune had overhead everything. He wanted to go in there and talk to his friends, but with everything hanging over him, he wasn't ready to face any of them. He even wondered if he could face them at all. With a sigh, he began to walk away, but just as he turned around the corner, he gave a yelp in surprise as he saw Shadow the Hedgehog glaring at him.
"Uh… it's Shadow… right? What are you…?"
The black hedgehog immediately grabbed Jaune by the arm. "Come with me."
Without even waiting for a reply, Shadow teleported himself and Jaune out of the dormitory.
After a few more zaps at teleporting, Jaune was thrown onto the rooftop of the school's cafeteria. It was a secluded spot where nobody could bother them. Jaune held his head and stomach as he shakily pulled himself up.
"Ugh… what did you… I'm so dizzy I might throw up…" Jaune struggled to keep his lunch down before looking around in surprise at their newfound location. "A-Are we on a roof?!" He heard a clanging noise behind him and looked to see Crocea Mors had been tossed at his feet.
"Pick it up." Shadow ordered, already having Arondight out.
"What's going on? What are you…?"
"Pick it up!" Shadow stated. "Don't make me say it again! Draw your weapon!"
Startled by his harsh tone, Jaune picked up his sheathed sword and drew it, expanding the shield.
"Now attack me." Shadow told him.
"What?! I-I'm not gonna…!" Jaune yelped in sudden shock as he felt a burst of energy at his feet that knocked him back.
"Attack. Me." Shadow growled, his red eyes narrowing at the young man. "Now."
Seeing he didn't have any room to argue, Jaune stood up and gave a yell as he tried to charge and swing his sword at Shadow, but he swiftly dodged. Jaune swung again and again, but Shadow evaded all the strikes, only to block the last one and used Jaune's own momentum against him as he slid underneath and caused Jaune to trip up and fall to the ground.
"You have no technique at all." Shadow told him, literally looking down on Jaune. The blonde picked himself up again to swing his blade at Shadow, but he easily blocked it. "Same attack pattern over and over." Shadow continued as he kicked at Jaune's feet, causing him to trip again before Shadow struck the handle of Arondight into Jaune's face to knock him down again. "Sloppy. Predictable."
Getting frustrated with all the criticism Shadow threw his way, Jaune yelled as he tried to leap up and swing his blade on Shadow, but the black hedgehog grabbed Jaune's sword arm by the wrist with his free hand and brought the handle of his blade onto the back of his head to knock him down once again. Jaune tried to swing his shield at Shadow this time, but Shadow was able to bat it away with Arondight and even knock it out of Jaune's arms before bringing his knee into Jaune's chin to knock him up and down on his back.
"You swing your sword like a child with a baseball bat, and you don't even have a good grip on your only defense." Shadow said, gesturing to the down shield before putting Arondight away. "Now, do you think you can handle an opponent who is unarmed?"
That really seemed to hit Jaune where it hurts. Can he fight someone who is unarmed?! With his anger and frustration boiling even higher, Jaune got up again and charged Shadow, raising the Crocea Mors sword high above his head and brought it down…
Only for Shadow to easily clap the blade in-between his hands and stop Jaune's attack, much to his shock.
Shadow then easily wrenched the sword from Jaune's hands before punching him in the face to send him rolling across the rooftop. He stopped and before he had a chance to recover, Arondight was driving into the ground near the right side of his neck while Crocea mors was on the left. Shadow, with both blades in his hand, crossed them like an X with the blades coming dangerously close to his throat.
"If I were an enemy, your head would already be separated from your body." Shadow leaned in close, causing Jaune to whimper as he tried to move his head back in fright. "In fact, there were at least ten different openings where I could have killed you. Easily. It is clear you do not know what you are doing." With a grunt of disgust, Shadow pulled the swords out and stood up, allowing Jaune to sit up and rub his neck. "Honestly, I'm surprised nobody could figure out that you cheated your way into this school."
Jaune gasped in shock, looking at Shadow with circular eyes. "Y-You… You know…?!"
"I overheard everything." The Ultimate Lifeform told the student. "Including you easily submitting to that fool. Honestly, I've never seen anything more pathetic. What did you think would happen upon entering this school the way you did? What did you hope to achieve?" Jaune held his head down in shame. "Answer me! What did you hope to achieve?!" Shadow exclaimed.
"I thought I could get stronger!" Jaune exclaimed back, standing up. "I thought I could learn everything all the great heroes of the world know and I'd be just like them! I'd be just like my father, grandfather, and everyone else!"
"Why?" Shadow questioned.
"What?" Jaune looked perplexed at that question. "I just told you…"
"No, why do you want to be a hero? A Huntsman?" Shadow clarified.
Jaune looked more confused than anything else. "W-Why do I…? I… I just thought…?"
"Do you even know what a Huntsmen does?" Shadow questioned.
"Yeah, they fight Grimm…!" Jaune was cut off as Shadow punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to his knees.
"They protect those who can't protect themselves!" Shadow told him. "By choosing to be a Huntsman, you've chosen to put the lives of others in your hands. But you don't seem to care about that. You only care for yourself."
"That's not true…" Jaune tried as he looked up at the glaring hedgehog.
"Then why did you push them away?" Shadow questioned, causing Jaune to look in surprise. "You think needing help is a weakness? You think cooperation is a hinderance? You think there's something wrong with being weak?"
"I… I want to be a hero…?" Jaune tried, only for Shadow to grab him by his hoodie and pull him in close to his face so he could see the soul-piercing red eyes of the Ultimate Lifeform.
"You are not a hero! You are a child! A child wallowing in his own self-pity because of an unearned sense of pride!" Shadow threw him back to the ground.
Every word Shadow spoke was like a dagger piercing his spirit. He broke down all his barriers and hit him where it hurts. Tears were already forming in his eyes as he could no longer deny it.
"You're right…" Jaune admitted as Shadow listened. "Everyone… even my own family… didn't want me to become a Huntsmen… but… they were just so cool… and my family… they were all heroes… I wanted to be part of that… but… I'm not. I'm a failure." He hung his head down in acceptance.
Shadow's expression softened only slightly. "So, you finally admit it? You admit you're weak?"
"Yes…"
"But do you intend to stay weak?" Shadow asked, causing Jaune to look up in surprise. "Nobody ever stays weak unless they choose to be. Weakness itself isn't a choice but remaining weak is. Every being is weak at one point in their life and there is no shame in that. The true shame is knowing you are weak but choosing to remain that way. And that's exactly what you've done. By refusing aid from your friends, people who can help you become stronger, and by submitting to that fool, you have chosen to remain weak. But more importantly, with your personal desire to be a hero, you've forgotten one critical detail."
"What is it?" Jaune asked, listening to every word.
"You're not just a hero, you are a leader." Shadow told him. "You have a team that needs and depends on you. As a huntsmen and leader, you are not only responsible for the people you need to protect, but your teammates as well. If you aren't there for them, if you're more focused on yourself, all those people you are responsible for, be it civilian or ally, they will pay the consequences, sometimes with their lives." Shadow leaned in close again. "This is not a game. It's not about your need for glory, it's not about you at all. It's about them. If they die because you choose not to be there for them, their blood is on your hands and yours alone. Do you really want that? If not, then get stronger, even if that means asking for help. Knowing and admitting you are weak is the first step to getting stronger. So, let me ask you one more time. Do you intend to remain weak, and abandon your team?"
Jaune, having listened to everything, shook his head. "No… I… I don't want to stay weak…"
"Then go to your team." Shadow told him. "Because they are your responsibility, not Cardin."
"But he knows I used fake transcripts!" Jaune stated. "If I stand up to him… he'll have me expelled."
Shadow signed in annoyance. "If that is what you're concerned about, then there is one other alternative. You can leave."
"What?" Jaune questioned, not quite sure what he meant by that.
"Tell Ozpin what you did." Shadow explained. "Tell him you used fake transcripts to get into this school, and leave Beacon of your own accord. At least that way you can walk away with some dignity and respect."
Jaune had to replay that sentence in his head a few times. "Leave Beacon…? I… I never thought about… But, my team…!"
"I'm certain Ozpin could find a suitable replacement." Shadow told him. "When you are weak, you are faced with two decisions. The first, is getting stronger. Second, if you feel you are unable to, at least for the immediate future, find someone else to act in your stead. There is no shame in stepping to the side if you are unable to complete the task." Shadow handed Jaune his sword back, which he slowly took. "You have a choice to make, I suggest you make it soon."
Shadow turned around to leave, but Jaune stopped him. "Hey wait… why? Why tell me all this? Why try to help me?"
The black hedgehog turned around to face Jaune one last time. "Because I choose to." He then teleported away.
Jaune was left alone with his thoughts. Everything Shadow had said to him had been hammered into his very soul. In a way, it felt good to admit his own weakness. He really did care about his friends, even those not on his team, and he didn't want to leave them. But, then again, he knew how dangerous the Grimm were and he wasn't the best fighter. Maybe someone else could be a better choice as a leader for his team? The idea of leaving on his own terms and not Cardin's did seem like a better idea than letting that jerk rat him out. But, what about Pyrrha and the others? What would they think if he just left?
His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his scroll. He picked it up and answered, seeing the caller was none other than Cardin.
"Hey, it's your buddy, Cardin. I know you're probably busy with that Dust project I gave you, but… I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps. And make sure they've got some really big stingers. It's important, so don't screw this up."
Jaune hung up on his scroll, anger fuming. After the harsh lesson that was just beaten into him, Jaune didn't feel as intimidated as he did before.
"Oh, you want Rapier Wasps, huh? Fine. I'll get you some. Real nasty ones, too."
The Next Day
Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL were led by Professor Goodwitch through the bright red forest that was known as the Forever Fall Forest. Several of the students, particularly Ruby, couldn't help but look in awe at the beautiful forest around them as the red leaves continued to fall, as they did year-long.
"Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful." Glynda told all the students. "But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest. And I am here to make sure none of you die while doing so."
She stopped, causing the student to stop behind her, except for Jaune, who appeared to be carrying all of CRDL's supplies, as he bumped into Cardin. Jaune looked away with an innocent whisper as Cardin glared at him and Glynda gave the students their instructions.
"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the Creatures of Grimm. Although an advance team has been sent in to clear them out, you can't let your guard down and stay by your teammates." Glynda said as Ruby and Yang exchanged knowing glances, having a good idea who this 'advance team' is. "We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun."
As Glynda left, the students began to split off into their respective groups, all except Jaune as Cardin pulled him in the direction away from his own team. "Come on buddy, let's go."
Jaune ended up following him, much to Pyrrha's displeasure as she caught up with the rest of her team. But they weren't alone, somebody else was watching over them from the foliage of the trees. A certain black and red hedgehog that had been watching over Jaune since their 'talk', if only to see if he really had been listening and what he might do.
Glynda had met up with the group consisting of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge some distance away from where all the students were.
"There are considerably less Grimm here than expected, I would like to thank you for your assistance in this matter." Glynda told them.
"No problem. Helping people and fighting monsters is what we do." Sonic smirked.
"But I suspect you called me here for something more than congratulations." Glynda said.
"Yes, we did. Follow us." Tails said as they led her to where they wanted her to go.
As they walked, Tails was left alone in his thoughts a bit. He didn't tell any of his friends about Jaune using fake transcripts to get into Beacon, but if he was being honest, he was certain they would already figure it out, if they hadn't already. Knuckles had already pointed out the amateurish techniques in Jaune's fighting style and he was the expert at that sort of thing. But, it was still weird that they didn't say anything. Maybe they were hoping Jaune would grow on his own? Tails was hoping that too. But, given his attitude when they last met, and that he's still letting himself get bullied by Cardin, it may not be the case. If things didn't get better, Tails might have to tell Ozpin about it. While Tails didn't like the idea of rating out Jaune like that, it may also be for the best given how dangerous the Grimm can be. If Jaune couldn't get stronger, then a fight is not the best place for him.
The group came to their destination, a large puddle of a black tar-like substance that laid in the middle of a small barren clearing that completely contrasted the lively forest surrounding it.
"I see, you have found a Grimm Pool." Glynda observed.
"Probably one of several scattered throughout this forest. It's likely where they come from." Knuckles assumed.
"These pools are scattered all throughout Remnant." Glynda explained. "We are uncertain as to what their origin is, or how they are able to produce the Creatures of Grimm, but this is where they emerge."
"And the fact that they're still around suggests you don't have anything that can destroy it, right?" Rouge assumed.
"That is correct." Glynda admitted reluctantly as she pulled out her crop and used her Telekinesis to pull out a large rock from the area nearby and dropped it over the pool. The rock sank into the pool completely, leaving nothing of it left.
"Like quicksand…" Amy noted.
"Everything that enters this liquid is broken down and destroyed." Glynda said. "Even Dust can't seem to stop it."
"There might not be anything that can stop it naturally…" Tails said as he set down the backpack he had been carrying and began to rummage through it to pull out a special orb-like container. "If I can extract a sample from this liquid and get a proper analysis, maybe I can develop a way to counter it. Think maybe you can lift a piece of it up with your telekinesis?"
"I can try, but I must tell you that our most advanced scientists have been trying to study the Grimm and the pools they originate from for years, and have yet to find a concrete answer." Glynda told him.
"Won't stop this guy." Sonic rubbed Tails' head with a smirk. "Seriously, Tails has worked with all kinds of crazy stuff, even alien tech and energy! If anyone can figure a way to take out this gunk, he can."
"Yep, our little genius." Amy nudged Tails' slightly with a grin, causing Tails to rub the back of his head with a smile.
"Thanks guys, I'll try my best."
"Very well, if you insist. I'll help." Glynda offered, aiming her crop at the Grimm Pool and concentrating a her powers on a small portion of it. Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge stood ready to face whatever Grimm that may emerge from the pit as Glynda was able to extract a small batch of it, roughly the size of a basketball, and lifted the pulsating substance into the air.
Tails immediately opened the orb. "Put it in here." He requested, allowing Glynda to carefully place the substance into the container, not even spilling a single drop before Tails closed it shut. "Got it. Thanks Ms. Goodwitch."
"You're welcome." Glynda nodded as Tails put the newly collected sample safely into his backpack. "If you are able to find a solution… we would all greatly appreciate it." Though a part of her did indeed hope Tails would find a means to eradicate the Grimm Pools, if he was as smart as Sonic and the others claimed to be. But at the same time, she was prepared for them to be wrong. Being a Huntress had taught her to hope for the best while also preparing for the worst.
"Alright, mission accomplished." Sonic dusted his hands with a smirk.
"Not so fast…" Knuckles noticed something on the other side of the pool and made his way over.
"Knuckles? What is it?" Amy asked as the red echidna kneeled closer to the ground.
"We got some tracks here." Knuckles revealed, feeling his hand along the ground. Rouge quickly joined him and inspected it herself.
"You're right." The white bat agreed. "These footprints are fresh. From something pretty big."
"Likely an Ursa." Knuckles assumed. "And given how fresh these prints seem, it must have emerged very recently."
Everyone got serious at the thought of that. Though each of them could take on one Grimm easy enough, it could cause a panic among the students and that could attract more Grimm nearby, which would only make things worse.
"Alright. Fan out and try to find that thing and any other pals it might have." Sonic told everyone, including Glynda, as they began to split up around the area. "Hopefully we'll take care of this before it becomes a problem."
Meanwhile, Team CRDL appeared to be relaxing as Jaune had gathered all the tree sap for them, six jars in total before dropping them on the ground in front of them and falling over.
"Hey, great work, Jauney-boy." Cardin mockingly congratulated him. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"
"I think I'm allergic to this stuff." Jaune said, his voice sounding somewhat horse.
"Great, great, great." Cardin stood up. "So Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself 'why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap, when there's only five of us?'"
"Pretty sure it's not for extra credit." Jaune said as he picked himself up.
"Nope, something better." Cardin smirked as he led his team and Jaune a bit closer toward some of the other students, perched behind some cover where they saw that the others appeared to be handling themselves well in gathering tree sap, save for Nora who drank a whole jar's worth.
"Cardin, what's going on?" Jaune asked nervously.
"Payback." Cardin glared. "Since that blue Faunus freak who took my pants is nowhere to be seen, I'll just have to settle for one of his little friends that he hangs around with. That red-haired know-it-all who thinks she's so smart also has it coming, so she'll do."
"You're kidding?!" Jaune exclaimed. "You want payback on her for something she didn't even do?!"
"I don't recall asking for your opinion!" Cardin stated as he pulled out a box with a W on it. Inside the box, one could hear several angry buzzing noises. "Listen up, boys. Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box full of Rapier Wasps, and now… we're gonna put em to work. According to that one essay he wrote for me, these nasty things love sweets. I'm thinking it's time we teach her a thing or two." He pulled Jaune up and forcibly gave him the jar. "And you're going to do it."
However, none of them appeared to notice Shadow perched in one of the trees behind them, remaining silent and hidden behind the thick red leaves. While Shadow's opinion of Cardin was already significantly low, it just dropped even lower. He was going to humiliate somebody else just to get payback on Sonic and having Jaune do the work for him. To be honest, Shadow was more than tempted to go down there and teach Cardin and his whole team a harsh lesson in humility, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Jaune had something planned. Shadow read Jaune's body-language and could tell there was anger deep inside and it wasn't hard to deduce whom that anger was directed toward. But, in the worst-case scenario, and Jaune was going to throw that tree-sap, Shadow would snatch it before it even left Jaune's hand and teach the rest of CRDL that lesson in humility he so wanted to teach them. But for now, he would only watch.
Jaune's anger was indeed fuming, but it wasn't just anger toward Cardin. It was anger toward himself. Pyrrha, as well as Tails, had both wanted to do nothing but help him. They treated him with respect and compassion, even after revealing he forged his transcripts, still offering to help. And how did he repay them? He pushed them away and let himself become Cardin's own lapdog.
"You think needing help is a weakness? You think cooperation is a hinderance? You think there's something wrong with being weak?"
"You're not just a hero, you are a leader. You have a team that needs and depends on you."
"So, let me ask you one more time. Do you intend to remain weak, and abandon your team?"
"You have a choice to make, I suggest you make it soon."
The more Shadow's words replayed in his mind, the more solidified his resolve became. He already had knew what he had to do, and Cardin's demand of him just sealed it.
Jaune's expression went hard as he dropped the jar. "I have a better idea." He grabbed Cardin by his shoulders and shoved his face into the box of Rapier Wasps.
Jaune stepped back as Cardin screamed, pulling himself up as the vicious insects stung him all over his face. Even if his Aura did protect him, it still hurt like hell. As Cardin tried to wave his hands and swat the Rapier Wasps away, Jaune couldn't help but smirk.
A smirk even graced Shadow's face as he saw it all. He was rather pleased to see Jaune took his lesson to heart, but even more so in Jaune's use of those insects. It was a surprise to be sure, but an amusing one.
However, the rest of CRDL grabbed Jaune and forced him to the ground as Cardin, who had managed to swat away the Rapier Wasps, glared down at him.
"That wasn't very smart, Jauney-boy." Cardin growled.
"No… me submitting to you wasn't the smart move." Jaune talked back, causing Cardin to kick him in the face before the rest of his team did the same in literally kicking Jaune while he's down.
Once again, Shadow felt the urge to beat Cardin and his gang to a bloody pulp. But this was Jaune's battle and he had to solve it on his own if he was going to develop any kind of self-esteem, be it as a Huntsmen or as a person. Unless it was life-or-death, Shadow would not intervene, tempting as it was.
Pyrrha was slightly startled, thinking she heard something behind her, turning around to try and find the source of the sound, holding the jar of tree sap in her hands.
"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Ruby asked.
"Y-Yeah…" She replied, even though she couldn't quite shake this feeling something was wrong. But in her thoughts, she had somehow missed the sound of slurping until she noticed her jar of tree sap was now completely empty.
"Nora!" Pyrrha scolded to the girl in pink as she hid behind a tree with a guilty smile and sap all over her face.
Cardin hoisted Jaune up, his face covered in bruises as the rest of his gang surrounded him. "You think you're funny, Jauney-boy?" Cardin questioned. "You think you're tough? Well let's see how tough you are when I tell Goodwitch how you cheated your way into this school!"
"Not if I say something first…" Jaune winced, surprising Cardin before he laughed.
"Seriously? You'd just walk out on this school? On your crappy family legacy?" Cardin mocked. "Wow, you really are a loser!"
To Cardin's surprise, Jaune laughed back. "I'm a loser? I'm not the one who lost his pants in the middle of the cafeteria. Or who was so soar about it I'd try to humiliate somebody else who had nothing to do with it. You want to take it up with those guys, do it yourself. Or are you too weak to do it? So, who's the real loser?"
With every word, Cardin fumed even more. His face was so flushed with rage that he didn't even bother replying with words before punching Jaune in the face again. But when the fist made contact, something unexpected happened. There was a brief flash of yellow light around Jaune's body as Cardin felt his fist hit something harder than expected, forcing him to drop Jaune, who looked more than a little shocked himself.
Shadow blinked in minor surprise, having seen an energy field materialize around Jaune just before Cardin's fist made contact. Even all the bruises around Jaune's face had appeared to have healed completely.
'Was that Aura?' Shadow thought to himself. 'Did he somehow manifest it without even knowing? Hmm, perhaps there's more to him than I thought.'
A roar got everyone's attention as a large Ursa entered the area, having been drawn in by all the negativity. Jaune and the rest of CRDL were shocked to say the least as a serious expression formed on Shadow's face as well.
Most of the students ran for their lives while the Ursa set its sights on Cardin, knocking him down with its claws. Cardin tried to defend himself with his mace, but the Ursa smacked it out of his hands Even though Shadow didn't like Cardin in the slightest, he wasn't just going to leave him to die. He was about to step in and kill the Ursa in one shot…
But Jaune was already in between Cardin and the Ursa, using his shield to block the claw strike.
The roar was heard around the forest, catching Sonic's attention as he came to a stop from his search. "Think we found our boy." Sonic said as he zoomed in the direction, he heard the roar from.
Across the forest, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge had also heard the roar from their respective locations and quickly made their way to its source.
"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked her friends, having heard the roar as well. But they were surprised to see most of CRDL running for their lives past them.
"URSA! URSA!" Russel screamed before literally bumping into Yang.
"What?! Where?!" Yang questioned as she picked him up by his shirt.
"Back there! It's got Cardin!" Russel pointed behind him.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha knew he would be there as well, leaving her greatly worried.
Ruby immediately took charge. "Yang, you and Blake go get Professor Goodwitch, try and find Sonic too!"
"Ren, Nora, go with them. There could be more!" Pyrrha added.
"Weiss, you're with us!" Ruby told her partner, as she and Pyrrha drew their weapons.
"Understood." Weiss nodded.
Shadow continued to watch as Jaune defended Cardin from the Ursa. He honestly did not expect Jaune to stand up for his bully like that. He also had a feeling he wasn't doing this for any sort of glory, or to get one over on Cardin. He was protecting him just to protect him, nothing else. It seemed Jaune was capable of holding his own at the moment, using his shield to defend himself for the most part, so Shadow wouldn't intervene just yet.
'You want to be a hero, hmm? Let's see what you can do.'
Shadow noticed the arrival of Sonic and Tails, the blue hedgehog about to jump in, but Tails held out his hand to stop him.
"No, hold on." Tails told him. He then looked past the scene to see Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge arrive on the other side of the clearing. Tails shook his head to them, telling them not to do anything yet. They, as well as Sonic, need only take one glance at the situation to see what Tails was implying and nodded. Even Sonic sighed as he wouldn't step in either. Not yet anyway.
Behind Sonic and Tails; Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss had just arrived. Ruby and Weiss were also about to intervene, but Pyrrha stopped them. "Wait."
"What? But why…?" Ruby questioned, but Sonic coughed to get her attention. One look from his eyes said it was going to be okay. If things got bad, they would step in, just not right now.
Pyrrha and Tails exchanged glances as they both nodded to each other before focusing on the battle.
The still-hidden Shadow was satisfied to see they came to the same conclusion he did. This was Jaune's fight and he had to win it for himself.
Jaune ducked and rolled underneath the Ursa's claw strike before slicing at its side. He moved quickly on his feet, slicing around the Ursa's back and sides, making sure to avoid it's front as it tried to turn around and swipe at him.
Shadow observed his every move, impressed in how seriously he was taking this fight; making sure to avoid the Ursa's offensive weapons, attacking from behind where it's most vulnerable. But still, a lot of his strikes didn't have enough power to do any serious damage, so it didn't seem like this fight may end any time soon. Maybe Jaune did have potential, but he still had a long way to go.
That was proven correct as the Ursa turned around more quickly than before to swipe at Jaune again. Though he did protect himself with the shield, the force was still strong enough to knock him down. But he was quick to get back up and charge the Ursa again, trying to slice at its side once more, but the Ursa proved to be surprisingly adaptable as it smacked Jaune down again. But he still picked himself back up.
Jaune glanced down at the scroll within his shield, seeing his Aura was already in the red. According to Professor Goodwitch, now would be the appropriate time to fall back and take a defensive strategy. But there was no time, the Ursa was already on him. He had to end this now.
Jaune gave a yell as he charged at the Ursa, pulling back Crocea Mors for a final slice while the Ursa swiped its claw downward. Everyone watching knew this was a fatal mistake as Jaune's shield was being held down. The Ursa would strike first and it could be a near-fatal injury. However, before anyone else could intervene…
Pyrrha had lifted her hand and focused her Semblance on Jaune's shield to raise it up just as Shadow snapped his fingers to unleash a small burst of Chaos Energy at the back of the Ursa's head.
In that one instance, Jaune's shield had protected him from the Ursa's strike as the burst of Chaos Energy threw it off balance and left it open for Jaune to swing his sword and decapitate it. He was so caught up in the moment, he didn't notice anything else.
Ruby, Sonic, Weiss, and Tails looked towards Pyrrha in surprise, having seen her use her Sembalnce.
"Uh… what?" Ruby questioned.
"Was that your Polarity Semblance?" Tails asked, having seen it for the first time.
"Yes." Pyrrha confirmed with a smile.
"Metal powers, huh? Sweet." Sonic smirked. 'Eggman, I think I found your worst nightmare.'
"Very impressive, indeed." Even Weiss nodded with approval as Pyrrha turned around to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?"
"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened." Ruby added.
"No, I think it's best to leave it alone." Tails shook his head with a smile, to which Pyrrha nodded as they walked away, followed by Ruby and Weiss. Sonic looked to the other side to see Knuckles and Amy leaving as well with Rouge taking to the sky with her wings, coming to the same conclusion. Though Sonic walked away briefly at first, before stopping just before a certain tree to catch one final glimpse of Jaune helping Cardin to his feet.
"Holy crap… Jaune…" Cardin sounded genuinely impressed, but that smile faded as Jaune looked him straight into the eye and spoke in a firm tone of finality.
"Don't ever mess with my team, my friends, ever again. Got it?"
With that, Jaune walked away, leaving Cardin alone to think about what had just happened in this short amount of time.
Having seen everything, Sonic gave a nod of approval right before Rouge dropped by his side. "Looks like Jaune's gonna do just fine, don't ya think?" Sonic said.
"I think so too." Rouge said before leaning in closely. "You know who else helped him out back there, and was watching the whole thing, right?" She asked with a knowing smirk that Sonic matched with one of his own.
"Oh definitely. He might be rough and edgy on the surface, but he's got a big soft spot underneath. Right, Shadow?" Sonic asked aloud, even though the black Hedgehog was already long gone.
Later That Night
Jaune stood on the dormitory rooftop, waiting for a certain pair of people to arrive so he could give them a proper apology. Almost on que, Tails had descended from the sky just as Pyrrha walked out from the door.
"Got your text that you wanted to say something." Tails said to Jaune.
"No Cardin, tonight? I thought you two were 'best buds'." Pyrrha added.
Jaune gave a sigh, turning to face them. "Pyrrha, Tails, I'm sorry. I was a jerk. You guys were only trying to help and… I had all this stupid macho pride stuff in my head and…"
"Jaune, it's okay." Pyrrha stopped him, accepting his apology and assuring there were no hard feelings.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." Tails also assured. "Trust me, I've met way more stubborn people. We're good."
"Thanks…" Jaune smiled.
"But I will confess, I was surprised at how quickly you came around." Pyrrha said.
Jaune chuckled nervously. "I had some sense beaten into me… literally. Still sore in some spots…"
Tails had a pretty good idea who it was that taught Jaune such a lesson but choose not to say anything.
"Hey, speaking of… look I… I know I don't have any right to say this after what happened but…" Jaune began. "Would you guys… still be willing to help me… help me train and… even study? I want to become a Huntsman and… would you help me out with that?"
"Hmm, I don't know. What do you think, Pyrrha?" Tails asked almost playfully. She only responded with a teasing grin as she walked up toward Jaune and pushed him down.
"Hey!"
"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." Pyrrha told him as she offered him her hand, which he accepted with a smile. "Let's try that again."
"And when you're done, you and I are going to have a long chat in regard to physics and history, because you seem to be struggling there the most." Tails added in a similar teasing fashion.
Jaune couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks guys."
Professor Ozpin was in his office at the top of Beacon Tower. The only sounds filling the room were the cogs of the clockwork below and around him, as well as the pen to paper as he filled out various forms of paperwork. He suddenly came to a stop.
"I'm beginning to think that you and Sonic deliberately avoid using the door." He turned around in his chair to see Shadow standing on the balcony. "I do leave it unlocked; all you need do is knock."
"You knew from the beginning that Jaune Arc used forged transcripts to enter this school, didn't you?" Shadow questioned, stepping into the office.
"I wasn't aware the very second he enrolled." Ozpin answered. "But upon seeing his performance in the Emerald Forest, it wasn't difficult to figure it out. After teaching at this academy for years, in which many have pulled similar stunts, you tend to notice a few details that would lead to that conclusion."
"Why allow it?" Shadow questioned. "One could see that as a severe lapse in judgement. I feel I don't have to tell you what you are preparing those children for. Those who mistake their duties and responsibilities as ways to obtain glory and fame are often those that die first… and take others with them."
Ozpin gave a sad sigh. "You're not wrong about that. Even those that do enter this school through legitimate means fall into that same trap, leading to… unfortunate ends for themselves, for those they are meant to protect, and even teammates."
"But why do you allow it?" Shadow questioned one again.
"I don't." Ozpin answered. "As I said, many have tried to sneak into this school for one reason or another. Many of them, I was able to find and expel."
"But not Arc." Shadow pointed out.
"It is true that young Mr. Arc's combat methods… leave much to be desired." Ozpin admitted. "But I wouldn't say he is not completely hopeless or lacking in potential. If that were the case, I would have expelled him without hesitation. I'm certain you've seen it as well, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me now." Ozpin said, causing Shadow to narrow his eyes. "With the proper training and guidance, I believe Mr. Arc will grow into an outstanding Huntsman as well as a better person. He would not be the first who snuck into this school for their own personal motives and came out with a much better outlook on life."
Shadow stared for a few seconds before turning around. "Fine then."
"Is that all you wanted to see me for?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes." Shadow answered as he stepped back out onto the balcony.
"It has been sometime since you and your friends have arrived at Beacon, and yet we have not seen or heard anything from your enemy, Dr. Eggman." Ozpin asked. "Most peculiar, given what I've heard about him from Sonic. Do you have any ideas why that may be?"
Shadow stopped a moment before he gave his answer. "I can't say for certain. But what about you?" He turned to face Ozpin again. "Do you have any theories?"
Ozpin and Shadow stared at each other for a long time, neither of them answering as brown eyes met red, almost as if they were both trying to silently read each other. Ozpin then gave his response.
"You tell me. He is your enemy; I can't say anything as I've yet to meet the man face-to-face."
Shadow gave a slight huff before turning back around and leaping off the balcony, leaving Ozpin alone. He could tell that Shadow didn't completely trust him. One look in those red eyes said it all. It reminded him of somebody else who carried a distrustful look in their red eyes. Somebody else, like Jaune, who cheated their way into this school. Someone he once trusted and felt that trust was mutual… only for it to fall apart. Ozpin could only hope that things didn't turn out the same way this time around.
Done.
I'm certain there are many of you who had expected Tails to help Jaune out here and provide some bonding experience, alongside Pyrrha. And that did happen. But, can any of you say that you were expecting Shadow to have such a big role here? I think not. :)
Overall, I'm very pleased with how this chapter turned out. I enjoyed writing Tails and Shadow and how they handled the situation surrounding Jaune. I've said before how I had an issue in some of the recent Sonic games (everything post-Colors) in how they handled some of the main characters (such as making Tails into a coward and/or smart aleck, making Knuckles into a bumbling idiot, and Shadow into nothing more than Sonic's edgy rival). There is so much more to each of these characters and I want to do them justice with this fic. In this chapter, we got a pretty good handle on Tails and Shadow's characterizations.
Tails here is a kind and humble genius, always willing to offer a hand to those who need, having taken that from Sonic. He has learned much under Sonic, gaining so much experience despite being the youngest of the group. He's able to connect a bit with Jaune in the fact they are both considered underdogs and have been bullied, but Tails was able to move past that after meeting Sonic. Like his movie counterpart, he found that being weird or different wasn't all that bad, and he's going to help teach that to Jaune.
Shadow has always been one of my favorite characters in the franchise. There was more to him than just being Sonic's rival. He had a story that made you sympathize with him and understand where he comes from. Even though Sonic 06 was considered one of the worst games in the franchise due to its rushed development, I feel they handled Shadow's character perfectly there: he knows his past, he's rigid in his views, confident and assured. He may be rough and ruthless, but he also is capable of showing compassion in his own way (as he taught Jaune a much-needed lesson about responsibility). Though he is considered anti-social, he is also mature and capable of working with others. But he's not afraid to hold back in getting the point across. But, one thing I thought I should add to his character is his newfound perceptiveness of people. After many attempts at manipulating him (Eggman, Black Doom, and many others), Shadow has made himself more perceptive in trying to sense deception from other people. No, he doesn't fully trust Ozpin yet, getting the sense he's hiding something (which he is). But Shadow's not going to pry into it (yet), focusing on the more immediate threat of Eggman, but that doesn't mean he's letting his guard down around Ozpin and won't do some digging on his own.
(On a personal note, Jason Griffith was my personal favorite voice actor for the Ultimate Lifeform. And that's the voice I'm picturing in my head as I write this story)
And it seems like Team Dark has gotten their newfound weapons. Omega has begun to integrate Dust munitions into his weaponry. Rouge's new weapon, Purple Hearts (my own original idea) is like a pair of batarangs that cam combine into a sword. And Shadow's weapon, Arondight, is a sword that has a detachable semi-automatic machine gun that he can wield with his sword (he's got a gun and sword wrapped up in one. Pretty cool, huh)?
Up next, we got the final chapter of the Volume 1 Arc, and this is where the action finally kicks back up. I've got quite a few surprises in store and I'm sure you're going to love them. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you all.