The Boy Who Talks to Machines
By The Good Life Creator 678
Chapter Five: Stranger in a (Not So) Strange Land
"Subject one zero three zero two. Classification; humanoid EVO. Name; Jaune Arc. Subject description; blond human male teen, fair skin, seventy-two inches in height, one hundred and sixty pounds in weight. Subject appears as a normal teen of approximate seventeen years of age with no additional appendages. EVO capabilities are as followed; technopathy limited to direct contact, EVO cure limited by direct contact, biomechanics created at will by both ambient and internal nanites.
Subject has displayed several biomechanic machines designed for combat. First inspection concluded that biomechanic creation was limited to imagination. Further investigation has proven otherwise; eternal blueprints and size dictates further analysis.
EVO cure appears to be limited by several factors relating to the afflicted; both faunus and human EVOs having a higher cure rate than those of animals and plants. Will and consciousness of the afflicted appear to also be a factor. Further testing is required for a more substantial analysis.
All abilities appear to be tied to emotions and concentration. Broken concentration or high stress appears to highly impact all machines built and communication to any electrical device, nanites or otherwise. All EVO capabilities appear to run independent of the subject's aura, similar to all other documented EVOs."
"Subject one zero three zero three. Classification; animal EVO. Name; Rebekah. Description; female raccoon, twenty four inches in length, twelve pounds in weight. Subject appears as an average female raccoon with no additional appendages. EVO capabilities are as followed; heavily increased intelligence, increase in abstract and sentient thought, increased complexity of vocal cords."
"Both subjects have shown unlocked aura and semblances."
Thumbelina groaned in exasperation as she stared at the reports on her screen. She hated looking at it. Every line she had written down, every instance she had documented with the two, mocked her. It was all too clinical, denying them their rights as people and regulated them as mere science experiments to be poked and prodded.
She knew she had to do this; to better understand what made them the way they were. She had to find out just what were the limits to their abilities, to observe if those limits can be pushed further, and to find out whether or not their abilities can be replicated.
But the two weeks she had spent with the two had shown they were so much more than what she had documented. Jaune was a genius, highly creative and highly driven in all that he attempted. He was also unsure of himself, filled with self-doubt. Rebekah was also creative, curious of the world around her. She was brash and slightly antagonistic as well. All the reports she had written down made them so lifeless.
The two of them were so much more than whatever the lines of the report had said.
--The Boy Who Talks to Machines--
"Uh, who are we looking for?" Jaune questioned. He and Ruby had made it to the amphitheater, a large crowd of Beacon hopefuls chatting amongst themselves. It was easy enough to find, just follow the stragglers as they wondered in.
"Yang," she responded as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Now help me look for her!"
Jaune shook his head, trying to think of exactly who they were looking for. Yang was Ruby's sister. They were related. How different could they look?
"Oh! There she is!" the younger teen exclaimed as she pointed out the waving hand of a girl with long blonde hair and lilac eyes. Okay, he was wrong. They looked nothing alike. Ruby favored blacks and reds while Yang favored browns and oranges. Ruby had her hair cut short and Yang's was a long blonde mane. Ruby was short and petite and Yang was definitely not either of those. Even their faces had no resemblance to their apparent hereditary relationship.
Ruby gripped him by the wrist and started dragging Jaune through the crowd of people. "Come on!"
Jaune gulped in nervousness. His heart thudded against his chest. Something in the back of his head was telling him that this was a bad idea. "Uhm, you sure that this is a good idea?"
Ruby simply shrugged his concerns off as if they were nothing. "Nah, it's cool; Yang wants to meet you anyways."
This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea and all avenues of escape were dwindling as we met up with the blonde bombshell grinning as if she were a fox in a henhouse.
"So, that little push was all you needed to make more friends? And another boy, too! Not who I'd go for, but still, good for you. You know how to make your older sister proud!" Her voice held a teasing tone as she wiped away a crocodile tear of pride.
"Yaaaang!" The name was drawn out in a long whine. "You ditched me and I exploded!"
Lilac eyes widened upon hearing that her younger sister exploded. "Meltdown? Already? And in front of your new friend?"
Ruby stared at Yang in bewilderment. "What? No, he isn't new. This is Jaune." She motioned to Jaune offhandedly.
The blond EVO waved awkwardly at the introduction giving the older sister a sheepish smile. "Hi, I'm Jaune and she kinda did explode." How did the blonde girl missed the loud boom that had resonated throughout the campus earlier?
That comment only vindicated Ruby more. "See? I literally exploded a hole in front of the school!" There was a small crater when Jaune had arrived. "And there was fire, and lightning, and I think some ice?" That the teenaged EVO could not verify. There was definitely something combustible involved as he could still smell singed hair and soot.
Yang cut off her sister's ramblings as she pointed at Jaune. "Wait, this is your prison buddy?" If she believed anything about her sister exploding she didn't show it. "From what you described I was expecting a hulking man with mechanical fists. Not a lanky boy with noodle arms."
Jaune cringed at the comment. That hurt right in the confidence. "Actually, I create those…" The response didn't grab the girl's attention. Then again Jaune was fairly certain that Yang didn't even hear in the first place.
"And didn't you say that there was a talking raccoon that I would totally love?"
Yup, Jaune was right. This was a very bad idea. Rebekah did not need to meet this blonde girl. Nothing good could come of it. It was time to make his leave and try to keep some of his dignity intact.
"Yang, you're scaring him!" Ruby gripped his wrist, keeping anchored to his spot. Escape was no longer an option.
"Says the girl who blew herself up!" Yang shot back. Her Cheshire smile just begged for her sister to respond. Ruby fell for it hook line and sinker.
"It was an accident! There was luggage and a crabby girl and dust. All she did was tell and shake dust everywhere!"
"You!" a new voice bellowed out, catching the three's attention.
"Not again!" Ruby scurried behind Jaune, using him as a shield from the newcomer's wrath. To the blond boy she was beautiful in a porcelain kind of way and held the grace of a ballerina. The air around her was off putting as if nothing around her held up to her standards. This had to be the girl crazy enough to bring dust in regular luggage. She looked just like Ruby had described.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" the white haired girl exclaimed, anger burning in eyes of ice. All the thoughts of beauty that Jaune held shattered. Did this girl not know how to take in her own faults?
Yang let out a low whistle. "You really did explode." Did she really think they were making it up?
"It was an accident!" Ruby reiterated.
The white haired girl grunted as she held out a pamphlet. Jaune timidly grabbed it, Ruby reading the title from behind him. The title looked a bit derogatory; Dust for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals.
"Accident or not, you should read this."
"Uh, what is this?" Ruby inquired, attempting to make sense of the thing as her and Jaune read it.
The white haired girl glared at Ruby, turning her nose up at her. "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible fo-" Her speech hastened as she went over the rehearsed lines. So that's what the pamphlet was, a verbal absolvent clause. This girl was a related to the Shnees? From some of the stories Jaune had heard from traveling with Rebekah, it tracked.
Ruby didn't have such luck trying to keep up. She knew what the girl was saying was common tongue but with it might have been some ancient language with how the girl spoke. "What?" the young reaper questioned.
The white haired girl sneered at the three. "You really want to start making things up to me?"
"Absolutely?" Ruby's voice was unsure of how to respond. On one hand, she didn't like people being angry with her. If she could make amends, she would. On the other hand she had done nothing wrong. All that happened was she bumped into a white trunk. Ruby wasn't the one that decided to wave ground dust in the air.
"Then read that and never speak to me again." The words rolled out of the white haired girl's mouth like a snarky. With a practiced twirl she left into the crowd, leaving the three in wide-eyed shock. With any hope she had stepped out of their lives forever.
"I, for one, agree with Ruby," Jaune spoke first. "That girl is a total Ice Princess."
"Right?" Ruby nodded in agreement.
"Not the words I'd use," Yang said. "At least you have Jaune?"
Silence fell over the amphitheater as Glynda and Ozpin made their way to the podium on the stage. The green man was the first to speak. "I'll keep this brief." His tone of voice was monotone, sounding as if he wanted to be anywhere else but before them. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft, and to acquire new skills. When you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people who cannot defend themselves." His eyes glanced over the Beacon hopefuls. It was more than he didn't want to be there. It was as if something else was drawing his attention. "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted potential, desperately in need of direction. You assume that will free you of this, that it will guide you along the right path. Your time in these halls will prove that knowledge can only do so much. It is up to you how to take the first steps." Ozpin stepped away, not even glancing at the students as he made his way off the stage and out of the area. His mind was definitely somewhere else.
Glynda gave a side-eyed glance of concern as she took to the podium. "You will gather in the ballroom for the night. Tomorrow, your initiation begins at seven in the morning. Be ready. You are dismissed." With that she followed after the green man.
Hushed whispers flooded over them, young teens trying to make sense of the speech Ozpin gave.
"Well, that was… uplifting?" Jaune was still unsure of what to make of the speech. This was nothing like the man that he, Rebekah, and Ruby had met.
"He seemed kind of off." Yang spoke out.
"As if he wasn't even there." Ruby's voice held a hint of concern.
--The Boy Who Talks to Machines--
After Ozpin had 'raised' their spirits the Beacon hopefuls were led deeper into the campus building, a large ballroom with a quick guided tour of places that faculty thought they needed to be aware of; mainly the bathrooms and lockers. After stating that lights out was at twenty-two and that their initiation would start at seven they turned the students loose to see how comfortable the wooden floors of Beacon really were.
It now made sense why Thumbelina was so pushy about buying a sleeping bag. Jaune had stated that he and Rebekah had been camping many times before but the Peach simply gave a knowing smile and told them to get it anyways.
It also made sense on why they were brought in on a Thursday. They would bring them in on the first day, have them sign a stack of papers stating that Beacon was not responsible for any accidental death or dismemberment that happened during their tenure as Beacon students, and give them lockers to store their gear for the night before letting the students test the floors.
The next day would be the initiation exam, supposedly a whole day affair that only rumors provided some information about what fun expect. Jaune heard all types of theories from drawing straws to being divided by numbers. The most outlandish one was being catapulted into a forest. That one made Jaune actually laugh.
The only thing that they had in common though was that all students would be divided up into teams of four named after colors.
The weekend would be spent getting uniforms and resting to get used to the teams that they were going to be in. All Jaune could hope for was to end up on a team of people that got him and his tag along.
"I miss my old pajamas…" Jaune complained as he stared at himself in the mirror. He had been standing there for about five minutes after the students were given a rundown of their next few days. His old ones were warm with fleece lining, had a hood that kept the cool air from nipping at his ears and even kept him from ever getting cold feet. His new set of a simple scratchy black tank top and an itchy pair of thin blue pajama pants let cold air nip at places he didn't like. He even had to wear socks to keep his feet warm. "These things are horrible."
"Oh, come-on, these look better than that thing," Rebekah interjected, her head peaking over his shoulder. In spite of it being a gross invasion of privacy and the fact they were standing in the middle of a male bathroom, this wasn't the oddest thing to ever happen between the blond and raccoon.
"But these are sooo itchy," Jaune whined out, head dropping at his sullen mood. Was he being overdramatic? Probably. Did he feel justified at his complaints? Yes, yes he did.
Rebekah scoffed at the complaint. "Wear that and you would be known as both the boy who blew chunks AND sleeps in a bunny onesie. Instead of Vomit Boy, you'd be…"
"Wait, you heard that one?" Rebekah stared at Jaune with deadpan eyes. "Right, they were calling me that before we even landed." The blond was sure that the trigger happy raccoon started that nickname. Taking another glance at the mirror before leaving something caught his eye. "Hey, where did you put your weapons."
"I put them in our locker."
Jaune quirked an eyebrow. It wasn't at the fact that she commandeered his space. He was used to that. They had an unspoken agreement when it came to sharing bags and containers, the locker wasn't any different. No, it came from the fact that she willingly put them away when she committed a major felony to get them back from the evidence locker back at the police station.
"Why?"
"Peach said that I would cause more a panic than I normally do." That explained it; Peach made her. "Oh, speaking of which, there's a couple surprises in there." Wait, really? I just put my clothes in there and it was vacant.
"Really? What are they?"
"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you."
Jaune shook his head as he moved to leave the bathroom. He knew that he wasn't going to get any answers from her. He could probably get a hint, she did like toying with his anticipation every now and then. "Any hints?"
"Yeah, you're gonna have to give a few of them to our team. Ya know, if you pass."
"I don't think you count."
"Of course I count; we're a packaged deal."
The blond had no idea how to respond to that. She wasn't going to be a student. He wasn't even sure she could be. She was also now faculty, being taken in by Thumbelina as her lab assistant. Yet they had spent the last year and a half together, never separating since the first day they met. Where ever he went she was sure to follow and vice versa.
--The Boy Who Talks to Machines--
"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang exclaimed in joy, falling into her sleeping bag. Everyone around them were staking their claims to sections of the floor and conversing with everyone.
"I don't think Dad would like guys being here, though," Ruby interjected, continuing to write. Her face was contorted in focus, trying to figure out the best ways for her to make a superhero. She had finished watching the videos of Jaune's weapons, admiring the way their mechanical functions worked. He was clumsy and unrefined, just like the first time she saw the video of his grocery store brawl but that was expected. She could work with it, by the time she was done he'd be a bona fide grimm slaying, EVO curing superhero.
"I know I do." Yang took in the sight of where the majority of the boys had corralled themselves. Most were either shirtless or in tight tank tops arm wrestling in an attempt to stave off boredom and show off. To her, it was exciting to see. Muscles toned with limited experience flexing and glistening under chants of excitement. She wanted to join.
Then she saw a familiar messy mop of blond hair walking towards them, sleeping bag under his arm and raccoon chatting away on his shoulder. It was kind of hard not to notice them; outside the preoccupied boys, the two had almost all eyes on them.
"Is that Jaune?"
That got Ruby's attention. She wondered where the boy had ran off to. He wasn't so good with people so the red reaper had at first thought that he found a different spot to sleep without so many eyes. Then she remembered that the faculty were adamant about all the Beacon hopefuls had to sleep in one area for liability reasons.
"Can we sleep here?" Jaune asked, pointing towards and empty spot beside them. "People are kind of staring and it's creeping me out." He pointed a thumb to the crowd as hushed whispers flooded around them.
"It's okay to tell them you're afraid of the dark; they won't judge," Rebekah spoke out, earning a glare from Jaune. Yang snorted. She was definitely going to get along with Jaune's fuzzy companion.
"Sure, I saved you a spot." Ruby patted the spot next to her. There was so much she wanted to ask. What were his limits? did he have his semblance? Could she dissect his builds?
"I thought dad wouldn't like all the boys," Yang whispered towards Ruby, waggling her eyebrows. A pillow flew in her face at high-speed.
"It's not like that! We're just going over how I'm going to make him a superhero!" Ruby's cheeks burned crimson. Sure, he was a boy but he could make weapons in the fly.
"You're still on that?" Jaune asked, unrolling his sleeping bag.
"Well, duh, you have literal superpowers." The young reaper was not going to let it go anytime soon.
Rebekah chuckled slightly as she scurried off of Jaune's shoulder. "Whatcha writing, Hood?"
"Just some notes about Jaune's builds. I can't believe he never named them. That's like superhero rule number one." Ruby held out the notebook she was writing. Rebekah let out a low whistle as she inspected the writings. They were extremely detailed, scaled drawings of weapons with measurements and a stand in figure scrawled down in movements that she intended on him learning along with names that she believed were fitting.
"Oh trust me, he's tried naming them," Rebekah offered. "They just suck."
Jaune squirmed a bit at the remark. "Rebekah, no." He could feel his cheeks burn in embarrassment.
"You wanna know what he named the giant metal fists?"
"Rebekah!" Jaune moved to stop Rebekah from speaking. This had to stop. Now.
Rebekah jumped through Jaune with Phantom Gait, planting herself on his back as the blond boy fell face first onto the floor. "Smack Hands," she said in a victorious tone, tiny arms outstretched and nose tilted to the air before being flung off the larger EVO's back.
Ruby and Yang just sat there wide eyed at the remark, watching as Jaune wrestled with Rebekah. The blonde sister just leaned in to her sister. "And you thought me trying to name Ember Celia 'Fire Arms' was bad."
And Ruby still stood by that statement. That was a bad name. What Jaune had came up with just happened to be worse. It was that night she came to a conclusion that she believed was for the best.
Jaune Arc wasn't allowed to name anything. Period.
A/N- And we're coming up to Initiation. I swear, this will pick up. I'm not that bad at writing action scenes. I have the teams written up, dynamics I want to play, and scenes I want to write. While this will loosely follow some cannon events, there will be a lot of differences. Some of the plans that have happened in the series would happen regardless, how they happen is a different story.
Onto the pairings. So this isn't going to be a harem. Part of it is that I don't think I'd be able to write it. It's not that I doubt my abilities to write a compelling harem story; it's how I view relationships. I don't believe I'd be able to do it justice when all I want is the focus of a singular girl. So yeah, while I definitely do have my leanings, if it hasn't been evident already, I do have plans.
Other than that, I do want to start a bit of a game with no reward. Simply put, let me know if you can figure out what some of the songs are, who they're by and if you like 'em. By songs I mean the chapter titles. Fair warning, some of them will be altered slightly. Like, for example, I'd change Over the Hills and Far Away to Over the Hills and Close By or something of the sort.
Onto the reviews.
The Grey Wolf of the Arks: I agree with you on all accounts. That and Rex was definitely a ladies man. I believe I'll get it sorted out, eventually. It'll be a hell of a ride getting there.
Knight of the Thorn crown: Thanks for the well wishes, I hope I don't disappoint.
Toroendo325: Honestly, my first aim was for Peach to be more like a maternal figure. The more I wrote her like that, though, the more it felt bland. I wanted an eccentric character to fill the role of Doc Holiday, kind of like how Rebekah fills Bobo's character without being him fully.