Spacial Rend

Summary: At a young age, Jaune knew his parents never approved of his dreams. It was especially impossible for him to let them go after a close brush with death at their winter vacation home in Mantle when he was child. After his family recovered, he found he had secret powers that he tried to hide from everyone else. Apparently, his parents already knew. Dang it...


—{₍ₒ₎}—

"—Jaune! Jaune?!"

Panting heavily, nudging through the tall snow, a blond girl struggled to see over the growing blizzard. It had rekindled as she and the rest of her siblings were playing hide and seek.

Once she noticed the oncoming clouds and chilling gusts, she gathered the rest of her hiding siblings to their home.

All except their only brother was accounted for.

"...It wasn't that long ago..." she muttered, hugging her arms to herself, fighting back the shivers. Her brother couldn't have gotten far. "Jaune? Are you stuck in a tree?"

Her gaze shifted up before she shook her head. Chances are that her baby brother fell in the snow if nothing else. He was the Seeker this time around anyway.

"Jaune! The snowstorm is coming again!"

The worry gnawing on her intensified as did the white winds. There still was no answer aside from the biting frost.

However, nearby, a boy struggled to open his eyes, barely able to crack his eyelids open before squeezing them shut as the whiteness of the world blinded him and his nerves burned him from within. His veins felt frozen within him despite that. It was all so painful. Still, he mustered the will to raise a hand to show his sister he was awake.

His sisters' anger was no joke.

"What are you doing in the snow!" Oddly enough, whatever sister of his sounded further away than usual. Muffled too. "Come on, get out of there. This isn't time for games."

Wasn't he in bed, wrapped in blankets?

The boy's muddled mind was a glitching mess, confusing the crushing snow for the raid shifting of blankets. Just barely, he heard his sister's breathing and voice grow more desperate, but his warmth was beginning to flag—even the warmth from the pain within. His own breathing was shallow. It hurt a little bit too, but he tried not to focus on the uncomfortable feeling.

It was something his sister quickly noticed.

"H-Hey, Jaune, you're okay, right?"

It helped distract him from the fact he couldn't tell which sister was shaking him awake.

"Jaune! Stay with me, please!"

And yet, his body wasn't reacting. He could barely feel his sister's pull him from bed. His body was too cold and numb.

...Oh, right.

It was beyond cold out. His mind regretfully decided to remind him of the season. Almost resentfully. It was winter—well, it was almost always winter in Mantle, but the "cold" season had come. And, come terribly, it had. His family had gotten stuck in their home-away-from-home because no commercial Bullhead was willing to take on the blizzard.

Despite that, his sisters wanted to go out and play.

...Him too, but if he admitted that he would definitely get in trouble.

"Jaune! You're in so much trouble!"

That wasn't as terrible as being locked inside without being able to do anything. It was practically like being in timeout but much longer!

It got so bad that at one point his family were snowed in and boarded up the windows just in case the already fortified windows weren't enough. Before that, a chunk of large hail loudly cracked one, waking up his twin baby sisters in the middle of the night.

His mother had just put them to sleep!

They ended up taking refuge in his room.

"Jaune, House of Arc, you better not die on me!"

He could barely hear her over the slow thumping of his heart and howling of the biting wind.

He finally realized he had fallen asleep in the snow. That wasn't good. Both his mothers had told him to never do that, or he'll lose his fingers and toes, and end up looking very weird—or disfigured in their words.

His huffing sister clutched his body tight enough that he began to feel it, and whispered, "O-Oh no!" Even then, that was nothing compared to the thundering roar that followed.

It rattled through his bones, shaking his soul. He squeezed his eyes tighter, unconsciously gripping onto his sister. It helped bring her out of her frightful stupor. She was terribly horrified beyond anything he felt before. Despite it, she fought back her growing chills and fears to whisper, "S-Stay with me, Jaune. Come on, lil bro!"

She was scared for him. That couldn't be. He was a grown boy!

It inspired him to move.

It was only then could he muster the strength to raise his heavy head, open his eyes, surmount the blinding white world of snow by blinking it away rapidly, and stare listlessly as a black gorilla-like monster, covered in snow and external bone structure, found their position through the stillwood trees.

It was too late. His frozen heart thumped harsher at the realization. His sister's did too, he faintly felt.

Without any prompting, it bounded forward with another courage-crumbling bellow—one that sunk into him this time despite his numbness. The monster crushed everything in its path and landed a third of the way. That was when he was jerked away by his trembling older sister.

It was Aqua he finally surmised.

"Daddy should be home soon..."

The dead trees whipped past them. Each one looked the same, topped in ice-encrusted snow. The only thing that told him they were making any sort of progress were the holes his sister left.

And yet, the shade beast made short work of the air and closed the distance in a fashion that reminded him of his mother. With one final leap, it shot past them. He couldn't muster the strength to turn back. However, Jaune could tell the living nightmare was close. Its breathing was harsh and seemingly behind him. His sister sucked a sharp breath as well and nearly fell forward trying to stop.

Aqua succeeded for the most part.

The sudden shift of momentum flung his numb body from her weakening arms. For a split second, the girl could only watch with widening eyes until he crunched into unblemished snow.

Unbeknownst to them, the beast sneered, willing to loom closer since he noticed the prey slow dramatically. To it, one of them was even giving up one of its own. The freight would be juicy, and the sense of betrayal would be better yet...!

To give the girl some credit, the blonde decided quickly on her next choice of action. She leapt forward and turned her body into a shield as quickly as she humanly could. By then, the beast's rumbling footfalls were right behind her.

She squeezed her eyes and hoped her last act would be enough.

"—MOMMMM!"

Jaune felt his heart lunge forward as it suddenly jump-started. And yet, his body refused to listen. Since he had fallen into a pit of snow, searching for the rest of his hidden sisters, having accidentally wandered out of bounds, and became a victim to gravity atop inert powered snow.

With time seemingly slowed, the boy could only watch as the barreling fists threatened his strict, but no less beloved eldest sister.

Red hot rage bloomed as it crept closer. Still, his body that shackled his sister refused to move. The noble wish to save his sister overtook even that. Even then, his cold body that dragged his sister down refused to move.

He cared not about himself, never the cold, nor the hope his parents would come. His parents were impossibly strong, but he couldn't rely on them now. It was only his sister and the beast that mattered now. And right now?

The beast was close.

Too close.

His blue eyes narrowed with renewed life.

Anger reflamed within him even stronger. The heroic desire returned with a vengeance. Why couldn't it fall in the snow like he had! If it could sink, get crushed under the weight of the snow and of its actions, like he had, they could make it home!

It deserved no less for bullying his sister, who saved him from the unforgiving winter. He would see it done. His sister couldn't die on his watch. It would go against everything he stood for, inspired by the comics and cartoons he was allowed to watch! He couldn't break his promise to their father! There was no way he could just lay there and let it happen, no matter how unresponsive his body decided itself to be.

He would do it. He had to.

His hands were too small to force it down so.. he would need more magical means from the comics to do it, similar to the powers of his pseudo auntie.

And so, he collected every bit of whatever within him and demanded one thing.

Sink.

And for a moment, the world knelt to his will as the sound of steel eerily rubbing against another resonated through the air. The nerves within him returned to life whilst a yellowish aura encompassed not just the looming fists, but instantly the entire body of the Grimm beast within his sight.

In the next instance, it crumpled and sunk into the snow before disappearing past the trembling body of his crying sister with a deafening burst then with black ash and blood.

By then, his world was already as black as can be. With that, he could only smile in his thoughts. He had done it. He saved his sister.

Maybe, she'll stop treating me like a baby...


Jaune was wrong.

His eldest—actually, all his older sisters still babied him, especially Aqua. She went out of her way to escort him to school every weekday. She had done so for the next four years.

Still, he couldn't deny her request to hold his hand as they did so, despite the teasing it brought or the fact she'd be late to her first class in highschool. It felt off though. It didn't feel like her other hand? It looked exactly the same, but.. it was as cold as the faithful day. She rebuffed any questions he had about it. That it was nothing, it was his overactive imagination, or simply her aura interacting with his own oddly.

He had a feeling it was something else. It made him uneasy. However, as if sensing it, she would squeeze his hand or smile at him.

His eldest sister was the bestest.

Though, their routine may finally change with her job searching to help pay her tuition for her freshman year at Beacon for the next upcoming year. He felt sad about it. The mornings she spent dropping him and his sisters off became less and less frequent. At the same time, it gave him more freedom to play with his superpower on the trip there.

He didn't take much joy from watching any of his bullies trip on their feet. They had gained back their courage with his eldest's presence becoming increasingly sparse, so he reciprocated their ill intent by forcing the area over their feet to feel gravity grow stronger. They deserved it, but it did little to deter them completely.

Otherwise, he was forbidden from leaving home. No matter how much he begged his parents, no one would budge on the matter. He wasn't even allowed to play outside in the backyard.

His twin sister, Clarette, attuned to mind and soul, tried once to sneak him out. After punishment, she never did it again. She never told him what happened, nor had she been physically disciplined. Instead, all she could do was tearfully turn away, often running from him, so he stopped asking the one person who should be able to understand him the most.

Thankfully, she never seemed to reveal his superpower to their parents. The problem was whenever he tried to call upon them when at home, his mothers, father, or Aqua would come by to interrupt him. It left him with only recess to practice in secret.

Was there something wrong with him?

From the few wisps of conversations he could gather, his aura was too refined—whatever that meant—and a beacon for something. Aqua had her aura unlocked too! And still, she wasn't chained to their admittedly large home. If anything, his parents fully supported their eldest, training her firsthand between the three of them instead of enrolling her to a hunter prep school.

A pang of guilt at his festering envy throbbed within him. She was living his dream right before his very eyes. Being with his other sisters helped distract him from the fact, occasionally even the matter about being locked indoors. However, in the throes of night when left to himself?

Even his dreams reminded him.

The nightmares weren't of monsters but his parents and their home.

And this time, they were clearer than ever before.

Apparently, they would be pulling him from school soon. He could not remember when he heard it or the reason, but that was his last bastion of hope, his home away from home. He only kept up his aces, so they wouldn't ever dream of that.

Still, he failed. All the nights dedicated to his school projects or studies were null and void. Nothing he did mattered. It never did. Be it the snow he was buried in or the lack of control at home, Jaune was useless to turn the situation around.

It was that snowy day all over again.

!

Jaune woke with a startled gasp. Around him, his parents flinched but kept focus on their glowing hands, drifting all over him. His father broke off from them to hold him down, muttering apologies for waking him.

"D-Dad?"

"Shh! It's okay, Jaune."

"What are—" his head swung about, retaking the situation around him. "What a-are Mom and Mommy doing?"

"Just focus on me, Jaune." His dad held the boy's blue gaze with his own. "That's it. It'll be over soon."

In just a few more moments, the glow that filled their hands faded, and they half-collapsed onto his bed. Sweat matted their foreheads, but they sent him a reassuring but tired grin. It failed to divert his sequential panic.

"Moms?!" Jaune yelled, panicking between whether he should scramble to help them and why his father wasn't. Wasn't he a hero?!

Again, his dad grabbed his attention. This time, it was in a more literal sense. The man physically turned the boy's head to look his way. "They're okay, Jaune. They just need a breather." He then pulled his son into a hug. "Focus on me, Jaune."

"But M—"

"They're okay," the man whispered into his ear, tightening his hug. "They're okay, I promise."

"...You sure?"

"Absolutely. Arc's promise."

"Okay..."

Jaune relaxed into his father's arms, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried his best to ignore everything else and leave it to his father.

Still, everything came too suddenly. He still had no idea what was going on. He had just woken up from the start of a nightmare. He was glad it was over, but seeing his mothers collapse was a nightmare all by itself.

His hands curled into fists, tugging at his father's shirt, in accordance with his emotions.

"Jaune, just focus on my heartbeat."

The boy nodded against the broad chest. The said heartbeat was steady, calm, and strong as usual. After a few moments of listening, he could finally agree that everything would indeed be okay. Finally, he noticed the burning something that welled within him dying down. The feeling had gone away not much longer. He could breathe easier with it.

"I-I'm okay now, Dad," Jaune mumbled, half embarrassed and half contently.

The man only hummed before nuzzling his nose into his son's matching vibrant hair. He tugged the boy up, raising him into the air, like he had done when Jaune was but a babe. "I'm so proud of you, my son."

The boy didn't react for a moment, taken aback and still trying to process the situation after calming. The words threw him for a loop, and he tried to say something, but nothing came out. Weakness and exhaustion filled him, burrowing into him to force Jaune back to sleep.

"I'm sure you have many questions," his father stated. "We'll talk about it when you wake up."

Jaune tried to raise his head but to no avail.

"Sweet dreams, my son."

—{₍ₒ₎}—


Aes: I'll be writing a good bit of his childhood. Hopefully, it's not boring or overly cringey. This won't be another story of stifling parents nor one of incessant edge, I promise; just setting up stuffs right now. I would've wrote more, but as of late, I've been struggling to write and thought to post what I had on hand.

Edits: sum
Words: [2,918]


Alternative verse: Jaune awakes admist a cult ritual