The Phases of Remnant
ESKK: Here we are the chapter I've been both looking forward to and dreading the most. This is the make-or-break part of this fanfiction and before we continue a few things I'd like to put out. First and foremost, this chapter is not friendly to Jaune in the slightest and if you find this to be distasteful then I'd suggest you leave now because during Forever Falls well lets say the story will be changed extremely so from the RWBY Cannon. Now let's start the chapter.
(Begin)
-Insert Dot Hack ROOTS OST Silly Go Round by Fiction Junction Yuuka (TV SIZE)-
-Yume kara samete mo-
The song began with the images of Aura with Haseo and Ruby reaching for the Twilight Bracelet. Aura was holding the bracelet in what looked like a forest of fantasy.
-Kono te wo nobasu yo-
The next image showed two hands reaching out towards each other but without any distinguishable markings it was impossible to tell those to whom they belonged. In turn the music picked up to show the title of the story.
"Phases of Remnant."
The next image showed four balls of energy with the images of winter, fall, spring, and summer flying through with the Twilight Bracelet. The song then continued as the image changed once more.
-Onaji tsuyosa de yobi au-
The next image showed Haseo running across the screen but the image of Skeith the Terror of Death behind him taking up the background.
-Kokoro ni nareru no naraba-
The next image showed Atoli walking across the screen with the image of a broken sword and what appeared to be Balmung in the background.
-Nanninbun no kizu demo-
The next image showed Ruby walking down a path with a smile as behind her was the image of the Twilight Bracelet in the hands of the Silver Eyed Kite and Black Rose.
-Boku wa uketomerareru yo-
The following image showed Ozpin as he looked upon a mimic form of Ruby walking off with her own scythe dripping with fresh blood. Accompanying this was an endless void as this figure showed itself to be something beyond human.
-Mou sukoshi datte ki ga surunda-
The next images was a montage of Ruby with team RWBY, Haseo with Team HAKE, and Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora looking at a saddened Atoli as Jaune was found lying in a hospital bed with monitors all over him.
-Kono kabe ga kuzureru Reimei-
The images that showed next was that of the Beacon Clock Tower before four Azure Flames flew by and began to take shape. The shapes taken were Azure Kite, Azure, Balmung, Azure Orca, and finally what appeared to be an Azure form of Summer Rose. It then showed Haseo, Ruby, and their teams preparing for battle against these foes. It then switched with the riff of a guitar and the surge of Dust blowing through.
-Yume kara samete mo mada minai yume no hou made-
Next was shown a montage of images starting with Ovan in a Library reading a book with one hand. Following this was Ozpin as he stood inside the Beacon Tower with his cane in hand. Then showed Haseo and Ruby charging in with weapons drawn for battle. Their foe was the blue and white knock off of Ruby as Ruby attacked first with the image of her teammates showing. Haseo went next as his images showed his own teammates as well.
-Bokura wa hitori de hashiri tsudukeru shika nainda-
The following image showed Pi and Glynda hard at work as well as the images of Sakubo jumping into her mothers' arms before being replaced by Gorre and then back to Sakubo and Glynda. The next images showed Haseo and Ruby charging into battle before they ended up falling through the ground to reveal the forms of AIDA hovering about.
-Korogari mayotte tsukuridasu boku no inryoku ga Itsuka Kimi e-
The next images showed Ruby and Haseo falling into the abyss before tightening their grips on their weapons. What followed was Skeith appearing and the Twilight Bracelet shining to life before Skeith and Ruby proceeded to fire off a Data Drain at the images of AIDA, Salem, and the shadowy force behind the Ruby mimic.
-End OST-
(Start Combat Class Beacon Academy)
It was time for combat class, currently overseen by Glynda Goodwitch where students would take turns to spar against one another, be it one-on-one matches, team battles, or on the rare occasion of a team facing off against one opponent. Pi was off overseeing Sakubo's safe transportation to Beacon silently and strategically while Ozpin was making sure that it would not arouse suspicions from Amber's attackers. They would rather not have Sakubo mistaken for a Maiden and forced to prematurely used Gorre to defend herself. Currently, it appeared to be a one-on-one spar between Jaune and Cardin Winchester, and so far, it did not appear to be going in Jaune's favor as he already appeared greatly exhausted while Cardin didn't seem to have even broken a sweat, evident by his chuckle as he held his mace, the Executioner, over his shoulder.
"Come on… come on…" Jaune muttered to himself as he picked up Crocea Mors once again and charged Cardin with a battle cry, but Cardin easily dodged the vertical slice to strike Jaune with his mace and send him flying across the ground. Though Jaune was quick to pick himself up, having dropped his shield to grip his sword with both hands and go on the attack again, but Cardin blocked it rather easily.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said knowing he was about to win again.
"Over my dead…" Jaune began but was cut off as Cardin drove his knee into his gut, causing him to keel over. Cardin raised his mace to finish him off, but the sound of the buzzer stopped the match.
"That's enough." Glynda stepped forward, revealing the status on each combatant's aura via holographic screens above them. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red." Glynda began as she typed in the commands into her Scroll. "In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." Glynda said before she then addressed Jaune directly.
"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now, please try to refer to your scroll during combat." Glynda said as Jaune saw his scroll on the inside of his shield. "Gauging your aura will help decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more defensive strategy." Glynda reminded both Jaune and her class as Atoli and Pyrrha both gave Jaune a deeply concerned look. Jaune gave a sigh, sparing a glance towards Pyrrha, as well as Team RWBY, who also attended the same class with the other students present, Pyrrha looking the most concerned for him. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?" Glynda said while directing that one more towards Jaune then her class.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin muttered as he picked up the Executioner and proceeded to step off the arena.
"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away." Glynda began as she addressed the students again, this got all the students, especially Team RWBY, excited. "It won't be long before students from the other Kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing." She said as Haseo smirked, to this, Kuhn laughed, and Atoli just gave the boys a concerned look. "Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament, will be representing all of Vale." She reminded just before the bell then rang, signaling the end of the class. With class over this allowed for the students to pick up their belongings and leave, all except Jaune who could only hang his head at his own poor performance.
"Well, that was... sad." Haseo said after he got a good gauge of Jaune's abilities and skills.
"No kidding, was he always like this, Atoli?" Kuhn asked but Atoli was silent. "Atoli?" Kung asked again but then Haseo moved in on her.
"Hey Atoli." Haseo said tapping her shoulder getting her attention.
"Oh uh... yes?" Atoli asked which got the guys worried.
"You were spacing out there, is everything ok?" Haseo asked with concern for Atoli.
"It's just… that whole fight." Atoli said as she looked to Jaune who left the class and then back to her team. "I don't think Jaune really knows what he's doing." Atoli said which had her concerned for him as she recalled his track record in this sort of thing.
"A lot of those attacks were that of an amateur." Endrance said as he spoke as a former Demon Palace Emperor. "I get that some of our schoolmates here are more talented than others, with us knowing a few of them, but Jaune?" Endrance said before Kuhn spoke up.
"Either he had poor training, or none at all." Kuhn said as he saw where this was going.
"More then that I don't think I've seen him use his Semblance at all." Haseo added as he found this to be of concern as well.
"Maybe he has a passive Semblance like you do Haseo." Kuhn suggested but Haseo didn't think so.
"No, I don't think that's it, if it was, we would have seen some kind of clue about it." Haseo said before turning his attention towards Atoli. "Any ideas, Atoli?" Haseo asked and thus Atoli had one idea starting from the incident with her acceptance letter.
"I have an idea... but I'm really hoping that I'm wrong." Atoli said as she didn't want to think that Jaune did something not on the up and up to get into Beacon.
Just then Kuhn's stomach growled as it cried out for food. "Well let's talk about it later, for now chow time." Kuhn said clapping his hands together ready to eat some food.
(Later in the Cafeteria)
After class, the members of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and HAKE were gathered in the cafeteria as Kuhn was already eating. "There we were, in the middle of the night…!" Nora began her story in dramatic fashion, telling it to the rest of Team JNPR, Team RWBY, and Team HAKE.
"It was day." Ren corrected.
"We were surrounded by Ursai…!" Nora continued, with Yang, Haseo, and Kuhn listening intently; while Blake seemed more interested in reading her book, Weiss was filing her nails and not even paying attention, and Endrance was admiring his cat, Mia. Jaune didn't seem to be paying attention to anything, just depressingly picking at his food, much to the concern of Ruby, Atoli, and Pyrrha.
"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected once again.
"Dozens of them!" Nora exclaimed despite Ren fact checking her.
"Two of them." Ren said yet again making sure Nora told the truth.
"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skinned rugs!" Nora finished proudly which Haseo gave a skeptical look on his face.
"I'm calling your bluff on that last part." Haseo said as he wanted facts not fiction. "How can you sell the skin of a Grimm if they disintegrate completely upon death?" Haseo asked causing Nora to get upset about that.
"Killjoy!" Nora stuck her tongue out at the Terror of Death.
"Hey if you're going to tell a story then you tell it right." Haseo said before putting some more food in his mouth to continue his meal.
Most of the group together laughed at Haseo's quip, all except for Jaune who continued to absentmindedly pick at his food. "Jaune… Are you okay?" Pyrrha tried to get his attention. It didn't seem to work at first, that is until Atoli, who was sitting next to her brother, nudged his arm.
"Huh, what? Oh, yeah. Why?" Jaune asked trying to play it off.
"It's just… that… you seem a little… not okay." Ruby said until Kuhn butted in on this.
"Dude no offense but you are NOT ok." Kuhn said as he saw right through it.
Jaune saw that nearly everyone around him was giving him concerned expressions, and he tried to put on a brave face. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He gave a thumbs up and a forced smile.
"Jaune." Atoli said as she looked to her brother knowing full well that he was lying. "We all know that Cardin's been picking on you since the beginning." Atoli said as she knew something was bugging Jaune.
"Huh? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune asked as he tried to divert it.
"Yeah, you know the loser whose ass I had to kick during initiation?" Haseo asked with a raised brow to Jaune while jumping in on the intervention. In fact, Cardin and his team still refused to come near Haseo after the ass kicking, he gave them in the Emerald Forest.
"Nah, he just likes to mess around, ya know? Practical jokes." Jaune said as he still tried to dodge it.
"He's a bully." Ruby said bluntly seeing that beating around the bush won't work.
"Oh, please. Name one time where he's 'bullied' me." Jaune said as he tried to deflect his issues.
"He knocks down all your stuff when you pass by in the halls." Ren answered as he saw what had happened that day.
"There was also the time he put up your shield and got you stuck in the doorway." Nora answered adding her own two cents to it.
"And that one time he shoved you into your locker and launched it." Yang added as she recalled when that had happened.
"I didn't land far from the school." Jaune said to the last one, but Haseo begged to differ.
"Yang and I had to go out looking for you." Haseo said recalling that day well. He and Yang had to drop what they were doing to look for him and give him a ride back to Beacon.
"Jaune if you have problem's, you know you have friends and teammates you can ask to help you." Atoli said trying to figure out why Jaune won't ask for help.
"Guys, really! It's fine!" Jaune said as he tried to insist that he was ok. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone." Jaune said until a cry of pain was heard.
"Ow! That hurts!" A voice Kuhn knew well enough was heard as they all turned to see Cardin and his whole team harassing a female Faunus student with rabbit ears, pulling on them and laughing the whole time.
"Please, stop!" She said as she tried to get free from Cardin's grip.
"I told you guys it was real." Cardin said as he laughed with his team.
"How repulsive." Endrance said as he moved his left middle and index finger to his forehead looking away and closing his eyes. "The brute will always seek the weak to oppress." Endrance recited and thus Haseo sighed to this.
"Yeah, until a bigger fish shows up." Haseo said and thus stood up. "I'll be right back." Haseo said before he made his way over to Cardin's table.
"Uh what is he doing?" Blake asked with concern in her voice.
"Being the bigger fish." Ruby and Yang said at the same time as they watched to see what Haseo was about to do.
Haseo then got to Cardin and before he could retort slammed the larger students head against the table much to his teams shock. "Hey Cardin remember me?" Haseo asked as the Terror of Death smirked at the Winchester.
"Shit." Cardin said as he saw Haseo was here. "Y-you can't do anything without your weapons now!" Cardin stuttered as he pointed at Haseo who didn't seem bothered.
"Wanna bet?" Haseo asked and in turn Cardin glared at his teammates.
"Well... get him." Cardin said and nervous the three members of Team CRDL went after Haseo. Haseo dodged the first punch as Velvet got away as all the students saw what was happening. Haseo easily weaved through the initial strike before weaving through another. Not wanting to waste his time with them he grabbed Rush and Sky's heads before slamming the two heads together and bringing them down. Haseo then dodged another attack from Cardin's henchman and proceeded to block his punch. Haseo smirked as he then grabbed his arm and flung the student onto the table leaving only Cardin standing.
"Forget this!" Rush called out as he and the other two ran off.
"Hey get back here!" Cardin yelled but then heard Haseo chuckling. Looking towards Haseo Cardin saw that Haseo was cracking his knuckles ready to let Cardin suffer a deserved beating from Haseo.
"You got five seconds to say your prayers or run like hell." Haseo said and thus Cardin saw he was outgunned and did the only thing he could do; he ran for it. "Wuss." Haseo scoffed as he then returned to the table.
"Nice going bro." Yang said as Haseo sat back down.
"A brute will always target the weaker until a stronger brute appears to target him." Endrance said which Weiss smiled to this.
"Elegantly put." Weiss said as Haseo sat down to eat his food.
"We're not done yet." Kuhn said and thus signaled to the rabbit girl. "Hey! Why don't you come sit with us?" Kuhn called out with his offer as he moved over slightly to give room. The girl walked over and sat down with her food surprise that Haseo's group would do this.
"It's Velvet, right?" Ruby asked when the girl arrived.
"Yes." She confirmed. "Is, this alright? Me sitting with all of you."
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Ruby said as she assured Velvet it was ok. "Sorry about what happened to you." Ruby said making it clear Velvet was free to sit with them.
"I'm used to it…" Velvet looked away slightly with a sad expression, something that Blake noticed as she scowled inwardly.
"That is absolutely dreadful." Kuhn spoke putting the charm on. "If those guys bother you again Haseo and I will deal with them." Kuhn said as he then chuckled to this. "After all a beautiful princess such as yourself should not be harassed in such a manner." Kuhn said only to be smacked upside the head by Haseo.
"Don't mind him, he does this to everything in a skirt." Haseo said causing Kuhn to scowl at him. "See, Jaune? Standing up to jerks isn't all that hard." Haseo said as smirked to Jaune.
"Guys! It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Jaune said as he still insisted as he stood up with his tray and walked away, much to the group's concern, particularly Atoli and Pyrrha as they shared eye-contact with one another. It was clear that Jaune was not fine and was trying yet failing to hide it and Atli knew it after living with him their whole lives.
(Scene Break Later Ooblecks Class)
Later in the afternoon, Jaune attended Oobleck's history class along with many of his friends and teammates, as well as Cardin. Though in the case of Cardin he had a bruise on his forehead where Haseo had slammed his head into the table. However, it would seem that Jaune had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the professor's lecture.
"…Yes, well prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, or more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite, adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." The Professor explained to his class, a large map of Remnant displayed behind him with multiple papers attached to it and connected by red wiring. The professor took a sip of his coffee before speeding along with his lecture.
"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events." Oobleck said as everyone was trying to take notes of it all with Atoli and Weiss being chief amongst them. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day." Oobleck said as he continued to zip around his class while drinking his coffee. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?" Oobleck asked and in response a couple of his students did raise their hands, including Velvet, who also attended the same class.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." Oobleck continued, taking yet another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang." He said as Endrance would agree on that seeing as he recalled participating in many of their rally's much to his father's annoyance. "Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war." He asked and in response Weiss raised her hand.
"The battle at Fort Castle." Weiss answered which was in fact the correct answer. Atoli would have answered as well but Weiss beat her to the punch.
"Precisely." Oobleck responded to Weiss correct answer. "And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?" Oobleck asked as he waited for someone to respond.
Meanwhile Cardin, who hadn't been paying attention at all, flicked a folded piece of paper onto Jaune's head to wake him up.
"Hey!" Jaune yelped at being awoken like that.
"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class!" Oobleck said as he zoomed in front of him. "This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He asked and thus Jaune was put on the spot.
"Uh…" Jaune began but he was drawing a blank on the answer. "The answer… The advantage of the Faunus had…" He tried to piece together but then heard a subtle cough. With this Jaune began glancing past Oobleck to Pyrrha, who pointed toward her eyes. "Over that guy's stuff…?" Jaune said as Pyrrha then made a circular gesture with her hands around her eyes, which he clearly misinterpreted. "Binoculars." He said and in response nearly everyone in class either laughed, particularly Cardin, or shook their heads, while Pyrrha couldn't help but smack her own forehead. Atoli saw this and buried her head in her hands at her brothers answer.
"I'm so sorry." Weiss said as she felt bad that Atoli had a brother like Jaune.
"Very funny, Mr. Arc." Oobleck said sarcastically as he zoomed back to his desk, sipping his coffee again. "Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject." Oobleck said while looking to the student who laughed the loudest.
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said, causing Oobleck to shake his head.
"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"What? You got a problem?" He questioned as Haseo looked ready to jump in if needed.
"No, I have the answer. It's night vision." Pyrrha said for the class so they can understand. "Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha said and thus Blake cut in.
"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake added to the answer as she sounded like she knew it personally. "His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." Blake said to which Oobleck nodded, indicating that was the correct answer. "Perhaps if he paid more attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." Blake said to Cardin specifically. That really got to him as Cardin stood up, looking ready to punch someone as Haseo stood up to intervene should it come to that.
"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Oobleck said as he quickly defused the situation. He then noticed Jaune snickering and zoomed over toward him as well. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Oobleck said as this caused Jaune to groan before Oobleck resumed the lecture.
(Later after Class)
Class was dismissed as Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora walked outside. "You two go on ahead, I'll wait for Jaune." Pyrrha told her teammates who both nodded.
Meanwhile nearby Team HAKE were out of hearing range when Atoli noticed that Nora and Ren were heading on ahead of Pyrrha. "Hey, I'm going to wait for Jaune mind if you guys go on ahead?" Atoli asked as she needed to confirm something with Jaune.
"Sure thing." Haseo said and thus he, Kuhn, and Endrance took their leave planning to catch up with Atoli later.
Atoli waited nearby with plans to tail Jaune and see if he was hiding something or at least corner him and demand the truth. 'Ok Jaune... what aren't you telling me?' Atoli mentally asked as she wanted the truth from her brother.
(Back in Ooblecks Class)
Back in the classroom, Oobleck sipped his coffee for what could be the hundredth time as he addressed the two boys sitting in front of him. Jaune had the decency to look ashamed while Cardin looked more annoyed with his current situation than anything else.
"You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is… it stops now." The professor said to the two both with a tone finality in his voice. "You've worked hard to gain entrance into this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it." Oobleck said as this caused Jaune to look away slightly.
"History is important, gentlemen. If you can't learn from it… your destined to repeat it." Oobleck said somewhat dramatically. "Pages fifty-one to ninety-one. I want an essay on my desk by next class. Now, run along." He said and thus zoomed out of the classroom.
(Later outside the class)
Pyrrha saw Jaune and Cardin leave the classroom, only for the later to push the former to the ground in annoyance. Pyrrha glared at him as he left while she helped Jaune to his feet.
"You know, I really will imitate Haseo and become a Terror of Death against him." Pyrrha said her tone showing how much she disliked Cardin, while Jaune could only hang his head with a sigh. "I have an idea." Pyrrha said as she knew how she could help Jaune. "Here come with me." Pyrrha said and thus she pulled Jaune away with her.
During this Atoli came out of her hiding spot and looked to the scene with concern. She then followed after Jaune wondering if Pyrrha will get through to Jaune.
(Later on, the Dorm roof)
The duo arrived at the roof of the dorms as it was night, and you could get a clear view of Beacon. "Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now but I'm not that depressed I can always be a farmer or something." Jaune said as he looked down to the ground which caused Pyrrha to freak out.
"NO!" She yelled before pushing Jaune away from the edge. "That's not why I brought you up here." Pyrrha said at Jaune. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters so I wanna help you." Pyrrha said as Jaune looked to her.
"What?" Jaune asked as he was shocked.
"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us." Pyrrha said as Jaune looked.
"You think I need help?" He asked solemnly as he scratched the back of his head.
Pyrrha seeing that what she said made him feel bad about himself quickly tried to fix this. "No, no that's not what I meant." Pyrrha said as Jaune looked to her.
"But you just said it." Jaune said as Pyrrha looked to him and began to explain herself.
"Jaune everybody needs a little push from time to time, it doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon that speaks volumes of what you're capable of." Pyrrha said as Jaune then turned around before speaking.
"You're wrong. I don't belong here." Jaune said as he figured the truth needed to be said.
"That's a terrible thing to say of course you do!" Pyrrha said as Jaune got angry turned around and glared.
"No, I don't." He began as his voice tone was raised a bit before regaining his cool. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." He finally admitted before turning around.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked her voice dripping with concern.
"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any test, and I didn't earn my spot in this academy." He began before turning to her. "I lied, I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied." Jaune said as Pyrrha was shocked by those words. But it seems that fate was conspiring against Jaune as a new voice spoke up from the door.
"YOU DID WHAT!?" Atoli was heard yelling out and wide eyed Jaune and Pyrrha looked and saw Atoli at the door.
"A-Atoli I can explain." Jaune said hoping to appease his sister like he always did. But by the look of how upset Atoli was appeasing her was not going to fly not this time.
"It's always perfect little Atoli who can do no wrong!" Jaune spat as he ranted over his misfortune. "She should have kept her mouth shut she should just mind her own business!" Jaune yelled as she he went back and forth. "Maybe if I hurry, I can stop her, I can keep her from going to Ozpin." Jaune said as his thoughts began to grow darker. "She's the villain now and I'm the hero so it won't be bad if I take her out." Jaune said but just as he got to the door he stopped.
"No... I won't be able to beat her I've never been able to beat her in a fair fight." Jaune said and then roared again as he slammed his fist into the wall injuring it further.
Just then sinister chuckling was heard as this got Jaune's attention. "Well, isn't that just a tragedy." Came the voice that reminded Jaune of Ruby. Looking to the source Jaune saw Sapphire Thorn standing stop the roof door. "It seems that you can never become a Hero now." She said while jumping down.
"Ruby?" Jaune asked confused as to why Ruby was here.
"No... but I can't blame you for the mistaken identity." Sapphire said revealing herself. "Sapphire Thorn at your service." Sapphire said with a small bow to Jaune.
"What do you want?" Jaune asked as he looked to Sapphire as she gave him the creeps.
"I can taste it... you want revenge you want to make Atoli pay for betraying you." Sapphire said as Jaune stood there in shock. "I can give you that revenge, but it comes with a price." Sapphire said as she then produced an egg like object from a flurry of black dots. "Though you may want to run for it while you have the chance." Sapphire said as she smiled to Jaune.
(Later with Atoli)
Atoli was making her way to Ozpin's office as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. She hated doing this she hated taking her brothers dreams from him, but she knew he was not ready for Beacon and now he may never be ready. She tried dammit all she tried so hard to be a good sister for him but like her old life she let everyone down again. But it was clear Jaune at this level was not ready and Atoli did not want her brother to die. No, she couldn't let him die and this was why it was so hard for her to make this call.
Doing the right thing hurt more than anyone would truly know when it affected your loved ones in a negative way. Atoli hated this, she hated having to make this choice, but there was no other alternative. So, entering the lift to Ozpin's office Atoli knew she had to do what was right for her brother, for her family. There was only one thing on her mind as she was standing outside a door.
'You have to do this. For Jaune.' Atoli mentally told herself as this was for Jaune's own good. But still her body was stiff, so it took a minute for her knuckle to hit the wooden door.
"Come in." The voice on the other side called out.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion." Atoli said as she entered the office of Ozpin. "But I really need to talk to you, sir." Atoli said as she had no other choice now.
"It's no problem at all, Miss Arc." Ozpin said as he noticed that Atoli had been crying recently. "Are you okay?" Ozpin asked when he had noticed the troubled look in her eyes. More so Ozpin saw light bruising on Atoli's arm like she had been in a struggle recently.
"I learned something… something important… I think you need to know…" Atoli said and thus there was no turning back now.
(Scene Break Pyrrha)
Sitting outside her dorm room, Pyrrha Nikos, for what felt like the first time in forever, wasn't sure what to do. Beacon Academy was a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training. It was a place for young men and women to learn how to combat the creatures of Grimm; Mindless, soulless, agents of darkness who existed solely to eradicate Humanity, and, despite certain claims some bigots might have about the different races, labels such as 'human' or 'Faunus' made no difference to the Grimm in their slaughter. To attend a huntsman academy like Beacon, one had to be capable of facing such monsters, and those few who were capable of such were often trained from a young age through the combat schools or by a licensed Huntsman. Jaune hadn't experienced either of those things.
'It all makes sense now…' Pyrrha thought.
Looking back at Beacon's initiation, she remembered when she had learned about Jaune's aura, or lack thereof, and how she'd unlocked it for him. Aura, often called the physical manifestation of one's soul, was a shield used to protect oneself. It gave a person enhanced physical abilities, as well as a typically invisible barrier against harm. Once one begins to understand their aura truly, they might even discover their semblance, a power that was almost always unique to an individual.
The thing that had stuck out most when she'd unlocked Jaune's aura was the sheer amount he possessed. Pyrrha's own reserves were nothing to scoff at, both thanks to years of training and self-mastery, as well as pure luck, and yet Jaune's own reserves were over three times her own. Even among professional huntsmen, that amount would be incredibly rare and unusual. However, being in the middle of their initiation at the time, she'd hardly had time to process why he didn't have it unlocked before then or how he had such impressive amounts of Aura. Especially not with the giant Death Stalker they'd ended up fighting.
Of course, even during that fight, the signs were there. His form had been sloppy and overall technique was that of a novice, but he had managed to use his shield well enough to survive, and his leadership skills spoke for themselves when he'd directed what had become their team in combat and led them to victory.
"But is that enough?" The words came out of her mouth in a hushed whisper.
Having watched him fight in combat class for weeks now, it was as plain as day to see that Jaune's fighting skills weren't just subpar. They were worse than that. He was able to hold onto his shield, but all the basics one would learn within a month of training were utterly absent. His center of balance was off, he couldn't switch between offense and defense without leaving himself open, and his attacks were so weak that most people could completely brush them off without a second thought.
"Jaune… why?" Pyrrha asked herself to try, to make sense of it all. But she knew why he did it he wanted to be a hero, but he didn't consider the consequences nor the effort he needed to put in.
Back home, Mistral was quite strict in these kinds of things. A student forging their way into an academy needed to be reported immediately. It was actually a criminal offense and while Pyrrha wasn't sure what the laws in Vale were, she assumed it was probably similar. At the very least, the offender would be kicked out of Beacon.
She didn't have to make the choice in the end, Atoli made it and it got Pyrrha angry about it. The girl had gone and turned her own brother in but then again, she was doing the right thing for Jaune. Pyrrha wanted to be angry at Atoli and she would have if she had not seen the girl walking by just then. Atoli looked solum and depressed as she went to her dorm room and Pyrrha was reminded that Jaune was her brother and while she wanted to help him doing this to him hurt her more than anyone would know. In that moment Pyrrha could not help but feel pity for Atoli that she had to betray her brother in order to make sure he lived a long and healthy life.
Atoli stopped and looked ready to speak but then stopped before she continued to walk away. Pyrrha hoped Atoli would pull through when all was said and done.
(Later Team HAKE Dorm Room)
The guys were getting ready for bed as they were all in their pajama's. Kuhn was already under the sheets with a face mask on, Endrance was in his sleep robes as he held Mia in his arms, and Haseo walked in with sweatpants and a white t-shirt on. Haseo saw that Atoli was not back and was about to grab his Scroll to call her when the door opened, and Atoli walked in. "Hey, Atoli, welcome back is Jaune doing ok." Haseo asked but then he saw the look in her eyes. "Atoli?" Haseo asked and she then walked over to him but without paying attention she just stopped with her head in Haseo's chest. Soon the tears began and thus all Haseo could do was hug her close as Atoli broke down. The last time he saw her like this was back when Sakaki had betrayed her trust in him.
"Haseo." Atoli cried out as she wept over what she had been forced to do.
Haseo saw that clearly something big had happened to Atoli and it was affecting her deeply. "Atoli..." Haseo began and was about to ask her what happened but not now. He simply just held her and let the girl cry her eyes out he'll ask her what happened once she had time to calm down. Whatever had happened Atoli was clearly left upset by it, but Haseo swore that he'd find who did this and make them pay for making Atoli cry.
(Scene Break the next day Team RWBY)
Team RWBY were sound asleep when they suddenly heard movement outside their dorm. Getting up Ruby yawned and looking around trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What's going on?" Ruby asked as she yawned a bit.
"No clue." Yang said and thus the members went to their rooms door and opened it. Once they peered outside, they were caught off guard by the sight of Police Officers standing outside Team JNPR's room as they had a scroll with Jaune's picture on it.
"What happened?" Weiss asked as she didn't think there was a murder recently.
"Jaune happened." Haseo said as he stepped in dressed for the day. "Last night Atoli found out he forged his transcripts to get into Beacon." Haseo said making it clear that shit had went down while everyone was asleep. "After Atoli left to report it Jaune vanished and now the cops are looking for him." Haseo said as he explained what was going on to the girls.
"We have to find him I'm sure this is just one big mistake." Ruby said not wanting to lose a friend.
"I'm sorry Ruby." Atoli said as she had bags under her eyes. "But it's true, Jaune... Jaune used my transcripts to forge and lie his way into Beacon." Atoli said saddened that her brother would do something like this.
"Look we're all in a bit of an emotional state here." Haseo began and thus he knew it had to be done. "Let's just rest and let the police do their job so we can get our answers about Jaune then." Haseo said as they could agree that acting out would solve nothing. Though while he wanted to punch Jaune for making Atoli cry now as not the time. Parting ways Ruby got worried because Jaune was on the run, and no one knew where he went. This only made him look more guilty and Ruby didn't want to see her first friend at Beacon go. Unaware to Ruby a darkness was afoot, and the darkness had a nasty way of corrupting even the noblest of people.
(Scene Break Forever Falls)
Sapphire grinned as she sat on a tree branch while watching her little experiment. It was so easy to manipulate and warp the wannabe hero into her tool. Now she got a firsthand look at her experiment as AIDA spread across his body. "Now let's see how much I can break the Epitaph User and the Twilight Bracelet bearer." Sapphire said as she grinned sadistically excited to see what sort of chaos her little tool will cause to this broken world.
(TBC)
ESKK: Ok here we are the chapter both dreaded and anticipated but this is just the beginning my readers. If you want to know more leave a review and let the anticipation, take you whole. Now its time for me to bid you adieu, ja-ne.