Jaune had managed to stop glowing by the time Blake returned from her scouting mission looking deeper into the cave, looking harried and haunted as she did so. She told them of a strange structure they should check out, if only to have some proper shelter rather than a dank, damp cave.
Jaune agreed, even though he was exhausted to the bone, hungry and thirsty. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, and the severely depleted food rations he'd brought with him from Snowmire had been left behind at the little island where he and Yang had slaughtered the bandits and Ren…
Jaune hadn't really had the chance to think about Ren. Apparently his old friend had a last minute change of heart, saving them both from Ruby and allowing them to escape. If what Yang and Blake both said about the storm, about its severity, unnaturalness and fierceness, was true then it was likely both Ren and Ruby were now dead, trapped and frozen in the cold.
That was another thing that shocked Jaune to the bone. Part of him had assumed that Ruby would at least be willing to hear out her long lost and thought to be dead sister, but to hear how she had apparently attacked the minute she saw Yang made Jaune feel sick. Yang wasn't a threat, she wasn't a danger. She didn't deserve to be put down as if she was a mad dog just because she was a dragon. The fact Ruby had so easily went from zero to 'kill the evil dragon' shouldn't have surprised him, especially considering her profession, but it did. He had believed, wanted to believe, that someone who could be as sweet and as kind as Ruby could at least be reasoned with before she tried attacking her sister just for said sisters heritage.
It was safe to say Jaune was feeling pretty crappy right now. His armour was heavy and chafed against his skin, his body was aching with pangs of pain from his stomach and his throat was scratchy and dry. Two people he had called friends were either dead or freezing to death and he was following a torch-bearing Blake to an underground structure that immediately seemed ominous to him. Who even built things underground?
He shook his head. At least he'd been healed from the wounds he'd taken during his fight with Ren. Oh wait. That was yet another thing making him feel pretty crappy right now.
Sure he felt good from the fact all his wounds had healed themselves, but how in the name of the gods had he actually done that? Sure, he knew how to activate his…magic? It had to be magic, there was no other explanation for it. But that didn't explain how no-one else in his family had been magic, nor how it had suddenly activated. Magic was something you were born with, not something you just stumbled upon.
It wasn't natural. Wasn't right. But that didn't change the fact that whatever had happened had happened, and he couldn't do anything to change that.
Now he just had to figure out what in the name of the Otherworld was wrong with him and whether he was a threat to others. If he accidentally hurt Yang or Blake, or gods forbid his family, then he'd never be able to live with himself.
"How much farther to this…temple, did you say it was?" Jaune asked, hoping to start a conversation to distract from his thoughts. Blake shrugged.
"Not too far. I think at least. And I never said it was definitely a temple. I just…assumed that because of its location. Who else would build a big underground structure, if not for some weird religion?"
"Makes sense." Jaune wondered aloud. "I wonder if the temple is dedicated to our gods, some sort of ancient deity or was built by a cult. Demon worshippers even! Did it look creepy?"
"It did." Blake answered quietly. "There were glowing crystals. It made everything look purple. It was eerie, as if I was disturbing some sort of holy place or demonic ritual ground."
"I feel it." Yang said,a worried look on her face as she stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, making him stop. "We should not enter it."
"Feel what? How?" Jaune asked, and he saw Blake step closer to them, a frown on her face.
"I don't know. It's the same way how I use my fire, I do not know how I just do." Yang explained, giving him a serious look. "This place is evil. It reeks of it."
"It's either this or a cave that could have snow collapsing in it at any moment." Blake interjected. "Besides we can always just take a look then head back. If this place really is as bad as you seem to think then it needs to be destroyed."
"Blake's right." Jaune shrugged, wincing at the frown on Yang's face. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but if we can all say we saw it be evil then I can convince Weiss to have it destroyed or the cave collapsed in so no-one else can stumble on it."
"Now can we please get going? I'd rather get this over and done with." Blake said, seemingly asking at first until she turned around and walked onwards without waiting for an answer.
Jaune smiled at Yang awkwardly and shrugged before following after her, hearing Yang follow closely behind him. It was comforting, and Jaune was just glad he wasn't the one at the back or the front of their little marching line. Either way meant he wouldn't be the first to be attacked by some sort of monster, but knowing Yang had his back was doubly reassuring since he was convinced she could beat the living out of whatever attacked them.
Eventually a glowing purple light heralded the end of the tunnel, and Jaune felt his hand fall on the hilt of his sword as they neared an elevator of some sort.
Blake stepped into it without fear, but Jaune took his time to examine the chains that presumably would lower it and to take in the glowing cavern. True to what Blake had said the walls of the humongous cavern were lined by rows of glowing purple crystals jutting out from the earth. A waterfall tumbled across the way and fed into a small lake at the very bottom of the cavern. There was a strange structure surrounded by a layer of ice that looked purple from the glow of the crystals. It seemed ominous, dark even, something that wasn't helped by the unnaturally purple shade it was cast in.
"I really do not like this." Yang said as she peered into the cave next to him. "We should turn back."
"We need to scout it out." Blake retorted, and the two glared at each other. "We can't get authorisation or support to destroy this place if we don't identify there is something wrong with it apart from 'it looks scary'."
Jaune sighed and stepped onto the elevator, knowing that the argument would only escalate unless he intervened or the two of them overcame their apparent differences. Unfortunately for him, only one of those two options was actually likely.
"If you want to stay here then you can, no one will judge you." He told Yang reassuringly, trying to seem as neutral as possible so it didn't seem like he was taking sides. "But I think we should have a look down there so we can get a better look for it."
"Fine." Yang snapped, stomping onto the elevator and folding her arms over her chest, a frown on her face as she glared at the wall. "But if something bad happens I will destroy this place."
"Just make sure we can get out of the way first eh?" Jaune teased, smiling weakly, as he nudged her arm. She gave him an irritated look so he coughed into his fist and turned to Blake. "How do we get this elevator started?"
Blake didn't answer, instead she leaned forward and pulled a rusty looking lever, causing the chains to creak and groan before they lurched and gripped onto the railing of the elevator as they slowly descended into the purple-shadowed gloom.
The silence was awkward and oppressive thanks to the eerie atmosphere. Jaune swayed with the elevator cart and almost instantly felt regret at not siding with Yang.
'That place looks creepy, it is literally glowing and cannot scream "I am evil" more unless it had a sign saying so. Let's go back, make a fire, and have some food.'
Jaune's belly rumbled and he felt himself flush as both Yang and Blake gave him amused looks. At the least it meant he hadn't pushed Yang into the dreaded silent treatment his sister's would give him if he ever pushed them too far.
"Now of all times? Seriously?" Blake asked, brow raised and a smile on her face. He shrugged helplessly.
"I've had a few fights, have been wandering the wilderness and haven't had a properly cooked meal in a few days now." Jaune replied, before nodding at the lake to their right. "I'm kinda thirsty too. Think that's safe to drink?"
"Should be. Not like it can get polluted if it's underground." Blake answered, this time her being the one to shrug. "If you get sick or die it's your own fault for drinking it though."
"Yeah…" Jaune murmured, trailing off as he noticed that the glowing purple crystals spread into the water and revealed a myriad of submerged tunnels and weird looking fish. "I think I'll take my chances on second thought. At least I know what dehydration is."
"Dehydration?" Yang asked curiously.
"Not drinking enough water." Jaune explained. "It can kill you."
She gave him a worried look before nodding, a determined look on her face.
"When we get back to the cave I will turn back into my Armoured form and burn us out. Once you have found food and water for yourself, you will need to feed me so I have enough energy to turn back." Yang told him, and before he could reply he heard Blake shift so she faced them.
"Armoured form? What are you talking about?" Blake asked with a frown.
"Erm…" Jaune mumbled, staring at Yang who shook her head slightly at him. "Yang's magic. It's a fancy magic term she uses. Basically she creates a massive flame knight but it takes up a lot of her magical energy, hence why she needs lots of food afterwards to recover."
"Is that so?" Blake retorted, clearly sceptical. Yang just nodded.
"That is so." Yang replied, before pointing below them. "We have nearly reached the bottom."
Jaune peered down and true to Yang's word they were nearing the bottom of the cavern. As they got closer and closer, he could see the indent left behind where the elevator cart would land, having been stuck there for an untold amount of time before they had stumbled upon it.
Finally the elevator came to a screeching halt, making him wobble and grip the railing for balance. The cart shuddered before it fell still, the echoing sounds of it's screeching landing echoing upwards hauntingly, as if it was the call of numerous, distant monsters.
"Well then." Jaune swallowed nervously. "Here we are."
"Here we are indeed." Blake muttered, staring at the strange structure before giving him a strange, indiscernible look. "You're a good person Jaune."
"Huh?" He asked, turning to face her. She smiled, swallowing as she did so. Wait. Was she…?
"Nothing. I'm just glad we got a chance to be friends."
"Don't tell me you're that spooked out already." Jaune teased, calming when he realised it wasn't the most awkwardly timed confession in the world. What would he have even said? He shook his head. "This was your idea, you know."
"You supported it." Blake retorted without heat, stepping off the elevator cart onto the shiny looking ground. "Besides, that place looks a lot more creepy up close."
"I still think we should turn back." Yang grumbled, but she followed Blake and stepped off the cart. Jaune did so, feeling the ground crunch as he stepped on it.
"Is it frosty down here?"
"Crystals." Blake murmured, leaning down and scraping a few broken shards onto her hand. "Not the same as the glowing ones it would seem."
"I wonder if they're worth anything." Jaune wondered, as Yang fell to her knees and brushed her hand against the ground, eyes wide as they reflection of the crystals glittered against them. "Yang?"
She blinked and shook her head, standing up quickly as she seemed to notice the both of them giving her curious looks.
"Sorry." Yang said, face flushing slightly. "They're just really pretty."
"Huh." Jaune said, though he stopped himself from speaking the rest of his thoughts out loud. It seemed like the stories about dragons and gold were true at least. "I guess they are."
"Let's get going." Blake said, stepping forward and towards the steps leading to the structure. "The sooner we get this over with the better."
"Yeah." Jaune agreed, following her quickly. "I wonder if they'll be-"
"Arc."
Jaune froze, his eyes widened and the breath left his chest as if he'd been punched in the gut. Every muscle tensed and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the smooth, baritone voice spoke in his ear, even though no one was next to him and the only people nearby were Yang and Blake, who definitely did not sound like this.
"The time has come. Pieces are being placed on the chessboard. Remnant's fate is to be decided. So many of the descendants of the heroes of old have fallen already, yet you stand strong. For now at least. Find me. Wield me. Together we can destroy the darkness before it can return to its full strength."
"Jaune?"
He blinked and took in his surroundings. They were at the top of the stairs, and both Yang and Blake were looking at him with scared, almost terrified expressions.
"I-I'm okay. I think." Jaune replied, sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes. "What happened?"
"You've been standing still for about a minute or so." Blake explained, whilst Yang stepped forward and looked him over for wounds. Jaune let her do it, knowing she was only worried and would likely calm down once she realised he was fine. "You just stood still with this terrified expression on your face, like you'd been possessed. Are you okay?"
"I…Yeah." Jaune lied, swallowing whilst he did so and averting Blake's eyes under the guise of rubbing his eyes. "Just a little out of it. I think I'm just tired."
"We can rest if you want." Blake offered, but he shook his head. He didn't want them down there any longer than they had to. An ominous looking underground cult-temple building now voices in his head? Yeah, that's definitely a good sign.
He didn't really know why he told them what had happened. He trusted them not to think he'd gone over the deep end, but after literally hearing a complete stranger's voice speak to him and only him he couldn't even trust himself not have done so. He didn't want to worry them or distract them, but hurry up their scouting mission so they could leave and never come back.
"Let's just hurry up and check this place out." Jaune replied. "Then we can go back to the cave, start trying to decipher whatever we find and then sleep."
Blake nodded in agreement, though there was a haunted look to her eyes as she did so, and she looked away from him as if she couldn't bear to look at him. Did she know somehow? Had he done something during his stupor?
Yang finally stopped patting him down and gave him a narrow, stern look.
"We should leave now." Yang reiterated. "This place is evil. I do not wish to repeat myself again, so do not make me. If we go in there…bad things will happen. I know it."
"What are you? An oracle on top of a magician?" Blake snarked, and Yang snarled at her, making her blink and Jaune shift nervously.
"I am not fooling around. I am serious. This is serious." Yang snapped, and in the eerie purple gloom Jaune could've sworn he saw her eyes flash the same crimson colour they had been when she was in her more…draconic state.
"We'll be quick." Jaune offered placatingly. "In and out just to see what's here. Then we'll head straight back to the cave alright?"
Yang huffed, folding her arms over her chest and giving him a look that said 'I'm angry and disappointed'. He winced and shrugged helplessly.
"Look, we're already here. We might as well have a quick peak inside just to confirm our suspicions." Jaune pressed on, turning to Blake for some moral support. "Right Blake? Blake?!"
"Here!" Blake called, and he turned around and peered over Yang's shoulder to see Blake at the doors to the cult-temple building thing. "If you don't want to go in then you don't have to, but I am. Wait out here for me to come back if you aren't coming with me."
"Wait for me!" Jaune exclaimed, hurrying after Blake, who entered the building without a second thought. "Damnit Blake you can't just-oof!"
Something grabbed the back of his armour like a mother with an unruly child and started forcefully dragging him away from the doors of the temple, unbalancing him and making him wobble precariously.
"What the!? Yang! What are you doing?" Jaune cried, yelling as almost fell completely onto his back if it wasn't for Yang's incredible and frankly terrifying amount of strength.
"She may have a death wish but I don't." Yang retorted. "Neither of us will die in there. I won't allow it."
"Yang no-one's going to die! We'll just have a quick look around and-"
"No!" Yang roared, stopping suddenly and throwing him backwards onto the ground. "I will not lose you to your own insolence and stupidity. There is something wrong with that place! There is something wrong with that girl! Stop whining and come back to…Jaune?"
He didn't reply, instead groaning as he pulled himself up into a more comfortable position on the steps, hand touching the back of his head and feeling for blood.
"Jaune!" Yang cried, surging forward with a worried look and reaching out with hands he swatted away, before scrambling up the steps in a dazed surge of adrenaline. She froze where she was, staring at her hands as if they'd just been cut off and with a look of fearful horror on her face. "J-Jaune?"
"I…I don't feel any blood." Jaune groaned, panting and slowly dragging himself to his feet. "What the hell was that Yang? Who do you think you are?"
"I just-" Yang protested, only to be cut off by Jaune's angry words.
"No you don't get to speak right now!" Jaune bellowed, making her flinch and take a step backwards instinctively. The sight of her tear filled eyes, wobbling lips and the terrified look on her face as she stared at the ground made his anger wash away as quickly as it came. To an extent. "Just…Look. Yang, look at me."
She looked away, a single tear falling and he cursed quietly.
"There's no need for that. I'm not going to punish you or anything." He grumbled, stepping forward and wiping the tear away as softly as he could with his armoured thumb before cupping her face in his hands and gently making her meet his gaze. "You made a mistake. You were worried, you were stressed so you got angry. It happens. I get it."
He saw her throat bob nervously and she nodded, and she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. He'd be more furious if it wasn't for the fact he knew Yang hadn't been around people much so was probably not the best at people stuff, not to mention he could only feel a sharp pain that was already fading as he pushed his weird white light energy there with mental directions from his mind, confirming that even if it was evil then at the least it had some sort of benevolent, healing properties.
"We're a team. This won't change that. But you have to learn stuff, and part of that stuff is that we can't always get our way, and that when that happens we don't lash out and hurt our friends. Do you understand that?"
"I-I'm not an idiot." Yang grumbled quietly, wiping her eyes before giving him a watery smile. "I was just angry. I'm sorry Jaune. I mean it, I am."
"I know." Jaune smiled, only a hint of teasing there. "Which is why you're going to help me and Blake have a very quick, brief look in the evil cult temple."
"So you do see that this is evil!" Yang exclaimed triumphantly, following him up the steps towards the temple.
"I mean, it's underground, looks like it's glowing purple and just looks evil. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck."
They bickered their way up the rest of the steps and were so relaxed they hadn't even realised they entered the temple until they stumbled into Blake, who gave them an unimpressed look as she brushed dust off a wall.
"Took you two long enough." Blake said waspishly. "I'll pretend for all our sakes I didn't hear the lover's quarrel."
"L-Lover's?" Jaune stammered, feeling a nervous lump in his throat and weird feeling in his chest. "We-"
"Not now." Blake sighed, gesturing around them at the ominous gloom. "Normally I'd appreciate the entertainment but we should hurry. The artefact should be deeper inside."
"Artefact?" Jaune asked. Yang narrowed her eyes and shifted defensively next to him.
Blake blanched, before she slumped and a loud sigh exhaled from her, echoing around them like the breathing of a monster.
"I think this temple might contain the artefact I've - we've - been looking for." Blake admitted, looking away and rubbing her arm, ears flattening against her head. "If we can find it then we can focus…focus on clearing your name with the Inquisition so…so you can go home…"
Blake had trailed off quietly, and the odd behaviour worried him, before he realised Yang was doing her best to kill her with a glare and that she probably expected them to be mad she'd technically deceived them.
"Sure." Jaune shrugged, stepping forward and taking an ancient torch off the wall before offering it to Yang. "Do you mind lighting this?"
"What?" Yang asked incredulously, and Blake just lowered her head further to stare at the floor. Read the room Yang…
"We'll help Blake. I was doing it anyway and it's really lucky we found the right place." Jaune laughed awkwardly, which did nothing to dispel the awkward atmosphere like he'd hoped. "Kinda like fate if you think about it. Let's just be quick about it. In and out."
"Fine." Yang grumbled, but the look she gave him told him she was decidedly not happy. Jaune decided that he'd make it up to her later. He'd already promised Blake to help her find the artefact or relic she was looking for, and an Arc never goes back on their word.
"Do you know where to look?" Jaune asked Blake, remembering she said she'd spent a long time looking for whatever it was and had been all around the world searching for it.
"Vaguely." Blake replied, pointing ahead of her. Jaune angled the torch in that direction and saw three hallways. "The middle one should lead to the main atrium where what we need is located. The other two lead to a gateway. We need to activate the two levers there at roughly the same time, meaning we need to split up. Those corridors are long."
"Which way will be more dangerous?" Yang asked, huffing before she did so.
"The right. Why?" Blake answered, a confused look on her face.
"I'll go that way. You and Jaune can survive less than I can. What should I expect?"
"Booby traps. Potential golems. Anything really."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Jaune interrupted, waving the torch to emphasise his presence and objection. "You can't just run off on your own! What if something happens?"
"Nothing will happen." Yang replied, smiling at him. "Not much can harm me. You know that. Trust me."
Jaune met her gaze, feeling himself crumble under the pressure of it before he sighed explosively.
"Just be careful." He asked, practically begging. "Promise me that. Please?"
"Of course." Yang grinned, stepping towards the hallway on the right with a pep in her step. "Don't be too slow!"
With that she disappeared into the darkness, her footsteps echoing behind her and leaving him behind with a flickering torch and stomach that felt sick with worry.
He jumped when he saw a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Blake giving him a raised brow and almost amused look.
"Let's get going shall we? If we aren't quick enough to do our lever the system will lock itself down. It'll take a decade to be able to open it again."
"How do you know that?" Jaune asked, jogging after Blake as she hurried into the tunnel to the left.
"Someone I knew had to wait ten years to get into a temple like this after his partner failed to open the lever in time." Blake explained, and he thought for a minute, letting the sound of his jangling armour echo around them.
"Was it Tyrian?" He asked, and Blake shook her head, facing determinedly ahead of her.
"No." She said, and after she didn't elaborate further he took the hint and dropped it, following after her in silence as they raced to the lever.
They faced no hurdles, no obstacles and no booby traps. It was almost disappointing, but then again it made sense. Who would just stumble across an underground temple and decide to enter it?
Regardless they made good time, and after two minutes came across the room, with a big lever in the middle of it. Murals dedicated to dark figures with red eyes and white face's that look almost animal-like dotted the walls, and he surveyed them briefly whilst Blake fretted over whether to pull the lever or not.
"Do it." He said, making her stop her pacing and glance over at him. "Yang'll be there. Trust me."
Blake's eyes flickered from the lever to him, until settling on the lever. She leaned forward and pulled it tentatively, and they cheered when they heard a loud, grating noise that could only be a wall of stone opening up.
"Let's hurry before-" Blake began only to pause as the lever lowered into the ground and the tiled floor began to shift. "That's new."
"Is it good?" Jaune asked nervously, sliding closer to her. She shook her head, making his heart sink in his chest.
"Considering where we are? Probably not." Blake said, and they watched quietly as a small podium was raised from the floor. On it was the lever, except it was shifting and moving as if it had a mind of its own, until it slid into its final form with a soft, metallic click.
An ornate dagger rested on the podium, with elaborate carvings and curved inscriptions Jaune couldn't make head nor tails out of.
"No." Blake gasped, though it was more akin to a breathless scream. "Oh nonononono."
A/N: Next update on 20/12/22