Chapter 16: Argus, Sweet Argus
Robbeeyy: Jaune isn't going to be killing random people left and right, he just believes himself to be a monster who only kills. Right now, the only stupid thing that Jaune's done is leave Vernal, Oscar, and Maria. However, he may do some more reckless things in the future due to Jaune being in a similar Mindset as Guts. (Meaning he is afraid of Human connection and getting close to people and will put up walls).
blaiseingfire: Also got a good chuckle at that. Thank you for letting me know, I just felt a little hesitant to get a little more graphic with her backstory and her dream scene. Again, thank you for letting me know as I think I'll be more graphic with certain scenes in the future when necessary.
Guest: Thank you for your thoughts! However, if I may, I will say it wasn't unnecessary for Jaune to leave, he believes himself a Monster, who'll only hurt his friends the more he's around them. Yeah, I agree though that the Crossover was Meh, but still, I'd watch it in may sare time again, though I wouldn't say all 9 RWBY volumes were terrible, sure some had some major flaws, but they all had a lot of highlights and moments that made me tear up and twist my emotions.
Really: She's not exactly going to get the Casca treatment, yes she'll share a lot of similarities with what happened to Cascar (Minus the rape and losing her mind).
AverageReadingEnjoyer: Yeah, things are going to get worse for Jaune, the rule I have is happy things will be followed by dark and sad things (works for Berserk, hopefully, works for me). Also yes, gotta keep you readers on your toes, as for your guess on Cinder being the "Griffith" of the story, you're kind of right, however, there is another character who will do anything to get what they want and disguises themselves as a friend... (Hint, Hint) :)
Update 13:
So... I have some bad news...
I had to combine two Acts of the 2nd part of the story, the two Act I had to Combine are the "Beauty and Beast" Act and the "Blackbird" Act which will now just simply be combined into the newly dubbed "Blasphemous Act" Which may or may not be the 2nd or 3rd longest act.
The longest act so far is the "Shade Act" which is from chapters 32-51 which is about 19 chapters.
However, the "Blasphemous" Act as well as the 2 Acts in the 3rd part should be the longest in terms of how long they are Chapters (which are still unknown as of the moment since I'm still planning out the "Nightmare" Act)
So, here's the new Schedule of Acts in each Part:
Part 1 Acts:
Argus Act (Chapters 16-17) (18-19 on A03)
Atlas Act (Chapters 18-25) (20-26 on A03)
Patch Act (Chapters 26-31) (27-32 on A03)
Shade Act (Chapters 32-51) (33-52 on A03)
Part 2 Acts:
Beacon Act (Chapters 52-60) (53-61 on A03)
Nightmare Act (Chapters 61-?)
Blasphemous Act (Chapters ?)
Clipped Wings Act (Chapters ?)
Part 3 Acts:
The Ever-After Act (Chapters ?)
Sunshine Act (Chapters ?)
So yeah, that's the new schedule for the future acts in each part of the story. I hope guys wait eagerly for the future Acts as some of them already have a few details planned out that will make you feel.
But let's get back to our current Act! WELCOME TO THE ARGUS ACT! THE SHORTEST ACT OF THEM ALL!
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Back at Beacon, Pyrrha was on the roof, the spot where she and Jaune had trained since he had asked, however, now she was alone and her thoughts were on her leader and partner as she overlooked the city of Vale.
'It's not quite the same without him here, this was the only place that felt like our own... I wonder how he's doing?' she thought, 'I'm sure he's fine, I'm worrying too much, he has to be fine, or else I... I'll regret telling-'
"Hey Pyr,"
Hearing the sudden voice, Pyrrha turned around only to see Ruby Rose standing at the doorway that led to the stairs.
"Ah, hello again, Ruby," Pyrrha greeted with a soft smile.
Ruby joined her and sat next to Pyrrha, looking over the city with her. "So... this is where you and Jaune trained, huh?" Ruby asked
Pyrrha hummed her answer with a fond smile.
"I miss him too," Ruby said. "He was my first friend here and was the only person I felt like I could talk to about my team when I was stressed out, not to mention he made the best cookies," Ruby finished with a giggle.
Pyrrha giggled as well as she looked at the younger teen with a smile, "He did make the best cookies," she agreed, "I... I wished he was here, being up here and training by myself, isn't the same,"
Ruby nodded in agreement, "I miss him too, some of the comics he had were great and I started reading them on my own, and of course, beating him at Ninja Kombat 11," Ruby said fondly, "If it wasn't for Cardin, he'd still be here," Ruby said, her tone annoyed.
Pyrrha looked at her, "Who said it was Cardin?" Pyrrha asked her.
Ruby shook her head, "No one, but I mean, it's pretty obvious that he's the one who told on him," Ruby said.
Pyrrha remained silent for a bit but slowly nodded her head, "I suppose so," She replied, "After all, who else could it be,"
Ruby however shrugged and smiled, "But we don't have to worry completely, we just have to keep waiting till next year and he'll be back, I know he will," she said.
Pyrrha nodded, "Yes, until next year," She said. "I just worry that he's having trouble out there," She said.
Ruby put her hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and looked at the mistral champion with a soft smile, "I'm sure he's just fine Pyrrha," Ruby told her, "He's gotten better at fighting and he always gets back up when he's thrown down, and heck, I bet when he comes back, he'll be the same Jaune we know and love," Ruby said with a bright smile.
Pyrrha couldn't help but smile with Ruby, as her hopeful attitude was infectious. "Thank you, Ruby, I needed that," She said.
Ruby nodded, "No problem Pyrrha!" Ruby said, "And hey if you ever need someone to train with... I'm always free," Ruby told her.
Pyrrha nodded and still smiled at Ruby, "Thank you, Ruby," Pyrrha said, "Would you like to stay up here and talk with me? I could use the company,"
Ruby's smile widened and a small tint of red graced her cheeks, "Y-Yeah! I would love to!" She said quickly.
Pyrrha smiled and they began to talk about other things as they sat on the roof and still overlooking the city. However, the two girls were not the only ones thinking about the blonde knight, as three people across the sea in Anima also thought about the blonde.
'What the hell were you thinking you dumbass!' Vernal thought as she looked out the train's window.
Currently, she, Oscar, and Maria were on the train, The Argus Limited, a train that transports passengers and mainly cargo, between the City of Mistral and the port of Argus, which was the closest trading post between Atlas and Mistral due to the city being on the Northern Coastline of Anima. The three were trying to catch up with Jaune, but each of them knew they were no doubt too late as they were sure he had already made it to Atlas, but they were still determined to try to catch up to him.
Vernal turned away from the window and grabbed something out of her pocket, it was Jaune's note that he left them before he left, she didn't know why she kept it, but she did, and she re-read it.
"Vernal, I'm pretty sure this is gonna piss you off, but I'm heading toward Atlas alone, this is my journey, and so far, I keep hurting people along the way, so I'm going on the rest of this alone, I have to, to keep you all safe, I don't know when we'll see each other again, but at the end of all of this, you know where I'm heading... at least, where I hope I'm still heading at the end of this,"
Vernal glared at the note but she didn't crush it, despite how angry she felt, instead, she simply folded it up and put it back in her pocket, and stared back at the window.
Maria sighed as she saw Vernal return to looking at the snowy terrain outside of her window. "You've read the note 4 times young lady," Maria said with a small smile, "You won't find the answer in that note, trust me," She said.
Vernal turned and looked at her and let out a sigh, "I just..."
"Looking for a real answer as to why he left you and the boy behind?" Maria asked.
Vernal slowly nodded with a glum expression.
"I-I'm sure once we catch up to him, we'll know," Oscar chimed in sheepishly. "A-And I'm sure he had a good reason... right?" Oscar asked.
Vernal looked at him and nodded, "I... I don't know Oscar," Vernal told him truthfully, "I don't know of his reasons for leaving, but no matter what, he's gonna get it," Vernal said, her tone switching to slight anger.
Oscar looked at her with a raised brow, "What are you gonna do?" He asked.
Vernal gave him a smile, "Nothing big..." She began, "Just gonna punch him in the face for being an idiot," she finished.
Oscar actually chuckled at what Vernal said and he felt his mood pick up a bit, however, he too was worried about Jaune, after all, Jaune had avenged his Aunt and spared him from doing something that would change him forever, but he was sure that everything that the blonde did for him, affected Jaune more then it did Oscar.
Oscar's own soul may not have been blackened, but the younger teen was sure that Jaune's was blackened much more than it already had been.
The two teens could not help but worry about their friend, however, the older and more experienced woman, was not as worried, knowing why the young man had left as she had done the same when she let go of her revenge and anger, however, she also knew the two paths that the young man could go down.
The worse path was he would become what he feared, a monster who killed out of anger, and who cared little for the plight of others, simply killing to satisfy the anger and bloodlust they had deep within themselves, maybe even become just as evil as people who kill for money and power.
The 2nd and the hardest path to walk on was the one that she had walked when she was younger. The path that allowed them to realize that just because they had killed out of anger, or how deep they fell into the darkness, they could choose to embrace the light of the world, a path that showed that no matter how many stones you tripped over the road, one could still get up and walk again.
She hoped that if they really did catch up with the young knight, he would be ready to walk the path that helped her, because far too many people, some even she knew, walked the path that lead to the continuation of bloodshed and violence in the world, but she also knew that such a cycle could not be destroyed.
They all simply hoped that Jaune would be ok when they caught up to him.
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Finally, the three arrived at Argus at 6:47, and they quickly went toward the Bullhead docks to try and book a flight to Atlas, however, it would seem luck was not on their side as most of the flights heading toward Atlas for the time being we're only cargo flights, and the only way to get on one of those flights, one had to be of the Atlas Military. With that, Vernal reluctantly led them away from the docks and simply set out to explore the city for now before looking for a place to stay until they could get a flight to Atlas.
After getting a quick bite to eat, they took a rest at a local park in the city, Maria sat on a bench and was simply feeding the birds with some of the food she bought, while Oscar and Vernal ate peacefully next to her.
Oscar groaned, "Think we'll find a place to stay tonight?" He asked.
Vernal took a bite out of her food and nodded. She swallowed her bite before answering Oscar. "We still have enough money to rent a single room, so yeah, we should be fine," she replied.
"Still this place is completely new, we barely figured out where to go or the schedule for the streetcars," Oscar said.
Vernal let out a sigh and nodded, "I know, but I'm sure we won't have to be walking all day," She told him.
"Um, hello there,"
The two teens looked to their right only to see a blonde older woman who looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s. She had wavy, dirty blond hair and blue eyes. She wore an orange sleeveless top with a beige sleeveless vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. She had a wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.
Vernal looked at her with a raised brow, wondering why a stranger was trying to talk to them, "Hey..." she said.
The blonde woman gave them a small smile, "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you're looking for a place to stay?" she asked.
Vernal nodded, "Yeah," Vernal replied "Do you know a Hotel we could stay at?" she asked.
The woman nodded, "There's a Hotel up the road, should take you around 40 minutes to get there and it's pretty cheap," She told Vernal. "I stayed there for a few days while looking for a place to stay when I moved here from Vale," The woman finished.
Vernal smiled and nodded, "Thanks Ms...?" Vernal began, but realized the woman had not introduced herself, "Uh, what's your name?" she asked.
The woman realized that she hadn't introduced herself and scratched the back of her head and chuckled, "Ah, sorry about that, I'm Saphron, Saphron Cotta-Arc," Saphron introduced herself.
However, once Vernal heard Saphron's last name, her eyes widened, wondering if she was possibly related to Jaune due to the similar last name. "Cotta-Arc?" She asked.
Saphron nodded, "A combination of my and my wife's name," Saphron said, "Her last name is Cotta, and my last name is Arc," She finished.
Saphron then pointed over across the walkway to see a dark-skinned woman playing with a little boy on a blanket.
However, Vernal barely looked at Saphrons wife and son, as she heard what confirmed her suspicion, and she looked at the female Arc with a troubled expression, "Jaune's your brother..." She said.
Hearing her brother's name come out of Vernal's mouth made Saphron's eyes widen and her expression changed to surprise and then confusion as she looked at Vernal with a bit of suspicion, "H-How do you know Jaune?" Saphron asked.
"He's our friend and we... We're looking for him," She told Saphron.
"Looking for him?" Saphron asked confused, "Isn't he at Beacon training to be a Huntsmen?" She asked.
Vernal looked at Saphron, "It's hard to explain, but we need to talk, there's a lot you should know..." Vernal told her, "Do you have your own place so we can talk?"
Saphron was hesitant to trust them, but they had something to do with her brother, and she wanted to know what, so she responded with a quick nod, and told them to follow them as she told her Wife what was going on.
Vernal nodded and looked back at Oscar who looked a bit concerned about meeting Jaune's sister and telling her what had been going on with her brother, but he got up and told Maria, who was focused on the birds, about what was going on and the three followed Saphron and her wife, Terra Cotta-Arc, as they pushed their son, Adrien, home.
Vernal knew that she was about to tell Saphron things about her younger brother that would change her view of Jaune and no doubt be horrified by everything he's done, she just hoped that in some way, Saphron could understand...
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Oh, looks like Vernal, Oscar, and Maria are already meeting Saphron, Terra, and Adrien, but how will things turn out when they learn the truth of what Jaune has been through?
Also, interestingly enough, I am planning two new stories, (No worries, won't be coming out for a long while, I'm already overloaded as it is). One is a Dragonslayer story and the other is a rare pair story between Jaune and Gillian, both are pretty interesting and I'm trying to make the stories as interesting as possible and plan them out as much as I can, but I'm mostly doing those two stories in my spare time while I plan out the stories I already have published.
I kind of have a list of stories that will be updated fast and some that will be updated slower than the rest.
1. Sunshine, ENEMY, The Soldier & The Knight Pt.1 (Faster updates)
2. The Boy King, Jaune's Multiverse Madness, Warriors, and Forever Fall (Slower updates)
This should help me a bit because I'm very far with the first three in terms of planning but the other four are a bit behind in planning and need to be fixed in certain aspects to make them much more coherent.
Again, the other two stories I am planning out before I even think about publishing them that way I don't overload myself.