Surprise second chapter! I figured I could give you all a gift for the Holidays. It's a short one, but I hope you all don't mind!
If you're confused about why nothing in this chapter makes sense, you probably missed 58, which was uploaded Yesterday!
Start Chapter 59
Summer's recovery consumes them for the next week or so, during which time Jaune and his allies do very little aside from busywork.
Well, Jaune says busywork, but really, they're doing the duties that a Huntsman or Huntress should expect to partake of. Helping kids to cross crosswalks, escorting teams of engineers to and from their postings near the wall, and just generally keeping the peace.
Jaune wishes, really, that he had a bit more time to spend just hanging out with Ruby, Yang, and Raven – that friendship never ceases to be a bit weird, but eh – but he's kept rather busy.
However, finally, he manages to actually get the time to go and check in on how Summer's doing.
Her condition is… well, it's far from ideal, in truth.
She's down an eye, down both legs, down three fingers on one hand, and a large chunk of her other arm. She's lost her voice seemingly entirely, unable to speak, and from being asked questions about her time as the Big Bad Wolf, it's evident that Summer has, at best, tertiary memories of the last fifteen or so years. Her internal organs have been damaged, and if she's ever to have a career as a Huntress again, then such a process will be long and painful.
Still, it's not all bad.
"You should've seen us!" Ruby laughs as she makes wild hand gestures towards her mom, who looks up at her with a smile both proud and the smallest touch melancholic. "We took on Roman Torchwick on the freeway, and fought off a giant mech – oh, and Yang punched Torchwick out of his bot at the end all like 'Ka'pow!'"
Weiss, off to Ruby's side, rolls her eyes fondly. "We ended up getting in some rather… severe trouble at Beacon, but in the end, luckily, no one was killed."
Summer chuckles silently, before reaching for her notepad and writing something. Jaune's not quite able to see what it is she's written, but when she holds it up for Ruby to see, his best friend goes a bit teary-eyed, though she does her best to play such emotions off with a laugh.
"We do our best to stay as safe as we can!" She claims, before Weiss groans and shakes her head. "Or… uh… Weiss does her best to keep us as safe as she can!"
Yang cackles at that, and Blake chuckles under her breath as Summer watches her daughters' team joke around with one another. It's… oddly sad, in a way, to watch the woman catch up with her daughters. After all, it's been fifteen years since she last saw them, through no fault of her own.
And Ruby and Yang are not the children she remembers. They are huntresses. Two women who have seen the wrongs of the world, and are working to right them.
They are not her little girls anymore, and Jaune can see it in Summer's eyes; how that hurts her.
Still, it's not like he can do anything about it, and so he'll simply do the best he can.
He knocks on the side of the doorframe, finally catching the attention of the gaggle of ladies inside.
He actually hadn't noticed, but Taiyang is there too, albeit tucked into a corner.
"Excuse me," He bows his head as he enters in. "I don't mean to interrupt you guys, but I'm here to flex Summer's aura."
Taiyang, Yang and Ruby all nod, quite used to this routine by now. Weiss and Blake haven't been around while Jaune has done this yet, so they don't quite know what's going on, but in truth, it's not particularly complicated.
Jaune steps forward, and makes sure that Summer is comfortable. Then, he pushes his aura across her body, until he has a solid grasp of Summer's own aura. It takes about a minute, and during that time, Weiss asks him just what it is he's doing.
Jaune explains.
"Basically, I'm making sure that Summer's aura recognizes the new pieces and parts of her body as… well, as part of her body. The metal plates they installed to cover her chest are right now only tangentially covered by her aura. If she were to take a hit there now, I imagine a substantial enough blow could pierce right through her aura."
About thirty minutes later, Jaune exits out of the room and sort of expects that to be it. After all, he'd wanted to leave the family to themselves, and allow them as much time as they can to catch up before they go off to confront the Gods.
And such a thought is terrifying, in a way. Because while Summer is healing, Ozma, Qrow, Winter and several of their other major Huntsman and Huntresses have set off to retrieve the last two Relics; Choice and Destruction. In theory, they'll be returning with them sometime in the next few weeks, and then…
And then they'll be facing a God.
Hopefully, they'll be talking to a God, and not actually, well, fighting one. Jaune's not entirely sure such a thing is physically possible.
They'll make it work, however. They don't exactly have much choice in the matter.
Except, as he makes his way out into the hallway, a way's away from where he himself had been standing, but still able to see into the chamber holding Summer and her family, he sees a familiar face lingering.
Raven is standing there, watching on with want.
And Jaune…
Well, he can't help but want to interject.
"Y'know, you don't just have to watch her from a distance."
"Hah… spying on me, now?" Raven tries to deflect him, pushing herself off of the wall she'd been leaning on to shoot him a raised eyebrow. "I'd think you'd have had better things to do."
"I do." He says with a laugh. "But eh, you seemed like you needed some help."
"Did I, now?"
"How have you been feeling? Relating to the lack of the Spring Maiden, and the Corvid transformation?"
"I've been… fine." Raven says, and though she's being cagey, Jaune's kind of used to that at this point. "It's odd, suddenly feeling like I'm so much weaker… I hadn't realized how much I'd begun to lean on the Spring Maiden's power in my fighting style, but now without it I feel like a shell of my former self."
Jaune nods. "Well, you've got time to shore up your skills."
"Mm." Raven hums noncommittally, looking not at him, but at Summer, and the others.
Jaune smiles absently.
"You should go over and talk to her. Be honest with her about how you missed her, and how you feel."
Raven's eyes widen, and she rounds on Jaune with a look of annoyance in her eyes.
…and a blush on her cheeks, which sort of negates any intimidating factor she might've been aiming for.
Eventually, she caves, and lets out a breath as she shakes her head. "I… I can't. She and Tai… they deserve to be happy together. My feelings – they… they don't matter. Not with this."
Jaune frowns. "Haven't you done enough running away from the way you feel, Raven?"
"You…" Raven half snarls, half laughs. "You're a cocky son of a bitch, you know that, kid?"
"…No?"
Raven looks at him out of the corner of her eye, before sighing after a moment.
"Right. I forget that when you talk shit like that, you're genuinely doing so from a place of wanting the best for others." Raven almost scoffs. "I suppose there are worse character flaws to have. "
"So…?"
"I'll… I'll talk to her. And to Tai. About everything. Heavens know they both deserve it. I just… they were husband and wife."
"Exactly; were."
"You're really encouraging me to go over there and break up two lovers who haven't seen each other in two decades? And for what, so I can satisfy a twenty-year-old what-if?"
"Maybe I am. And hey, maybe that's just because I've never really met Tai Yang, and I have met Raven Branwen. But I guess I'm in your corner."
Raven stares at him a while, just sort of drinking in his words.
"You've got to be the absolute weirdest friend I've ever made."
Jaune laughs. "Same here, although I think that's a compliment, coming from you."
"Yeah." Raven says, smiling even as she turns towards Summer and the others. "I'm pretty sure it is."
"And besides, don't you owe him a conversation, too?"
"Oh, don't you start on that, too."
Jaune laughs as he shrugs. "Just saying. So, go on. Go get your girl."
Raven flips him the bird – hah – as she makes her way away from him, and off into the room housing Summer. Jaune can't hear what it is that's said as she steps in, but she seems to be welcomed by everyone who isn't Yang or Taiyang, and even they don't seem openly hostile, just more… wary.
Still, for the moment, Jaune's seen enough. He turns himself around, cracks his neck, and resolves to get back to work.
/
The Relic of Destruction is the first to arrive in Atlas, on the back of Qrow, who's currently holding the thing like it's a bomb waiting to go off. Jaune would find that weird, but he's heard just what it is that the Relic of Destruction is capable of; the tale that Ozma had used it to annihilate the vast majority of life on Remnant in order to prevent Salem from conquering all of it.
So, he more so respects the fact that Qrow is showing such care with a terribly dangerous weapon.
Jaune also feels the smallest bit bad that Qrow had been one of the people sent out to retrieve the Relic. He knows why, of course. Aside from Ozma himself, no one on Remnant has as much authority in Ozpin's old inner circle, among whom the headmaster of Vacuo, Theodore, had been a member.
Qrow had been one of the few who could go and retrieve the Relic without perhaps being misconstrued as a thief, or traitor; which is an angle that a few people around the world are currently aiming at many of their band.
Still, he wishes Qrow had been allowed to see Summer more than he has. In the time he's been gone, she's been able to more freely move around, being wheeled about by her daughters in a wheelchair. She's also had the first few limb-based implants installed into her body, what with three artificial fingers on her left hand, and an artificial section of the upper right arm. After all, she's already taking immunosuppressants for the implanted plate in her chest; she might as well get as many new limbs or limb replacements as possible.
She's scheduled to have two robotic legs installed within the month, which will, hopefully, allow her enough freedom to actually move around. Despite the doctors insistence that Summer Rose stay confined to her room for the most part, Jaune's beginning to see just where it is that Ruby has gotten her boundless energy and – even if he loves Ruby with all his heart – her refusal to ever listen to those who probably know better than her.
Because despite her doctors' words, Summer Rose is up and out of her wheelchair far, far sooner than she should be, largely supported by Raven, who seems to be glued to Summer's side during most of this time. Jaune's not entirely sure what's going on there, but he has some guesses that will remain mentally undocumented.
He in fact comes in on Summer and Raven exercising one day, which he knows for a fact that Summer shouldn't be doing. She's doing push-ups to try and regain some strength in her arms and core, and Jaune almost wants to lambast her for so thoroughly ignoring her doctors' orders, and throwing her own long-term recovery away, but then…
Then he asks Summer the why of what she's doing, and once she can pull herself aside and write her answer down…
Jaune's not sure he can find much fault in it.
'Believe me when I say I would like nothing more than to relax, and enjoy time with my family.' Summer writes. 'I would love to be able to talk with Ruby, and Yang, and their teammates. To catch up with Tai, and Qrow, and Raven. But from what I've heard, this entire world is at risk, and soon, a battle to determine its fate may commence.'
'I want to rest. I think I've earned it, frankly," Summer grins as Jaune himself chuckles at that line, more than agreeing with the sentiment. 'But right now, I believe that Remnant will need every silver-eyed warrior it can get. I must be in fighting shape.'
"I understand what you're saying; really, I do…" Jaune sighs, "But if something happened to you, Ruby and Yang would be inconsolable. That's not to mention Raven, too, as much as she won't admit it."
Raven flips him off, but doesn't argue his point.
Summer listens to his words without interrupting them – though, to be fair, it would be hard for her to, given her lost voice. Eventually, however, she shakes her head, and writes something else on that same notepad.
She hands it to Jaune, and as he reads it, he finds his eyes widening.
'Perhaps they will be inconsolable, but if my death were to keep them alive, I would not hesitate to make that sacrifice. I've made it once already. No matter what happens, I will not hesitate to make it again."
And against that…
What can Jaune truly say?
/
The Crown of Choice arrives a few weeks later, held within Ozma's grasp.
He handles it gingerly, not donning it or doing anything notable with it. It feels almost as if there is a part of Ozma that is frightened of the Relic.
"The Relic of Choice," Jaune asks the man as he filters into Atlas Headquarters. "It shows potential fates, correct?"
"It does indeed."
"Did it show you anything about the future?"
Ozma's expression is grim.
"No. It showed me nothing. As if the future itself was obscured from view. Obviously, such is the work of the Gods, only… I am not entirely sure what it is to do about that."
They're going in blind, then.
Still, they're not going off to face the Gods just yet. At this point, they're readying themselves as much as they can for a potential battle for the fate of Remnant; no matter how hopeless a prospect such a battle would be. That means that they're gathering as many allies as they can.
And if that's the case, then…
Jaune has a call to make.
/
Sienna Khan, leader of the White Fang and spokeswoman for the entire Faunus race, receives quite a few calls on her scroll during the average day. Of course, she has long since handed off such duties to a secretary – nowadays a team of them, seeing as how traffic has increased more and more – so that she could maintain some semblance of peace in her day-to-day life.
Still, normally, she's left unbothered by all but the most important communications.
So, when one of her secretaries comes blazing into her throne room, with a questioning gaze and their scroll held up towards Sienna, Sienna herself can't help but cock an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Uhm… someone named… Jaune Arc is calling?"
Sienna's eyes widen, and she reaches out and takes the scroll from her compatriot, speaking into the device a moment later.
"This is Khan."
"Hey, Sienna!"
Sienna's brow furrows. "So, it really is you."
"Yeah, it's really me."
"I'm assuming you're not calling to catch up?"
"Yeah, you're assuming correctly."
Sienna nods her head. It had been quite some time since Arc, Fall, and the rest of their band had been in Menagerie, and yet she had not forgotten the words she'd last spoken to the man when last he'd been there.
'Know this, Jaune Arc. Although we will for now swear fealty to your mistress, I, personally, owe you a greater debt. You saved my life, and helped to bring my organization back under my domain. Call upon me in your hour of need, and I shall answer.'
So, Sienna stands from her throne, motions towards her secretaries to begin readying the Fang for travel, and then says…
"What is it you need?"
/
Sienna and the White Fang aren't due to arrive in Atlas for at least another week or so, which gives Jaune and his compatriots an expected timeframe as to when they're going to be going ahead with their plan to confront the God of Light.
Added onto that is the last piece of Summer's recovery; her robotic legs. It takes her a surprisingly short period of time to get used to them, and before Jaune knows it, Summer Rose is running up and down the halls, showing again just where it is that Ruby gets her seemingly endless well of energy.
Raven and Taiyang are both smiling about it all day, clearly overjoyed to see Summer so active and alive. Jaune knows, of course, the reason behind Summer's newfound agility. He knows that she's preparing to fight the same war they are, to sacrifice everything again, even after she'd done so once already.
And so, a week later, Sienna arrives, the White Fang on her heels. She and Ironwood have a lengthy stare down before Ozma reminds the two that they're currently fighting for the sake of the world, and thusly they can handle such worldly matters another time. Both grumble under their breath, but seemingly resolve to do just that.
Finally, there isn't anything left to do. There's nothing holding them back. They hold within their grasp the four Relics; they have a force a thousand strong ready to aid them in whatever it is they'll need to do against the Gods. And…
And that means its time.
"Tomorrow, then?" Jaune asks, and the rest of the group nods their heads.
"Tomorrow, we will join the Relics together, and we will summon the Gods." Ozma nods his head. "Our hope is that they see us united, able to work together, and they simply cancel whatever world-ending plan they have scheduled. But of course, I believe we are all aware that such sounds too good to be true."
Cinder, sitting beside Jaune, nods her head. "It won't be that easy. Jinn already told us that the Gods have forgotten about Salem and Ozma. They won't care that we've been able to make peace."
"Yes. I fear as much as well." Ozma sighs. "Well, we hope that we are able to speak with them, and convince them outright to stop whatever it is they mean to do."
"And if that fails as well?" Sienna Khan, who is the least in the know about what it is that's going on right now, questions. "If they decide that we're an annoyance? Bugs to be squashed?"
"Then we hope the God of Light's hypothesis when he created the Silver-Eyed warriors was on the mark." Jaune says, and the entire group turns to him as he takes a deep, steadying breath.
"We hope the fragment of the Brothers' power that we've been granted can indeed slay a god."
End Chapter 59
Alright, that's that!
As you can see, we're speeding things along to the final battle. In truth, that's simply because my character arcs are all almost finished, or finished outright. Every loose thread has been dealt with. I could, if I wanted, make more, but there's no real point. So, we get Destruction and Choice offscreen.
I wanted to let everyone know in advance that neither Destruction nor Choice will be having an impact in the final fight, mostly because we know so little about them in the main lore. So even if it might make sense for them to be used, they will not. Sorry about that.
And that's that! I will see you guys next week on Saturday! I hope you all have a very nice Winter Season. If you're celebrating Christmas, then I hope tomorrow/today is wonderful for you, and if you're celebrating anything else, then I hope your Holidays are just as joyous! Have a great day everyone!