The Reviews!
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AutoHunterJ49: Still, Thank you! And all the Greek stuff with Neptune's family is really fun! But a lot of Greek mythos is pretty cool!
Reader: Thank you and I'm glad you liked the fight!
X3runner: Thank you I'm glad you like the previous chapter and I didn't even think about Neptune pairing up with another nun-chuck faunus with a tail thing until you pointed it out! But I think it worked in his favor! And I am trying to stick close to How certain characters are portrayed, as Neptune and Neon were students and Elm was one of the top specialists in Atlas, They couldn't overpower her so they had to think smart, and yes, elm will take a liking to the two, after all, it's not every day someone like her is beaten.
Phantom117a: Thank you, I'm glad you liked Nep's backstory, despite the clear inspiration. As for how I'm gonna get Neon and Winter in on the Arc Action, you'll see later down the line and there's a bit of a hint on how Jaune can help Winter in this chapter, but their time will come to get to know Jaune as the Arc progresses.
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On the other side of Mantle, far from the fight between Elm, Neptune, and Neon, an airship arrived in Mantle, and on it was Ilia Amitola, a spy for the White Fang and the person May Zedong had fought back at Mt Glenn.
Ilia turned around to look at a cloaked figure with a small smile, "Never thought I'd be back here," She told him.
Sitting on the bullhead was none other than Adam Taurus himself, draped in a black hooded cloak, and instead of his white and red mask, he wore a black ribbon around his eye, however, that was a faint sight of scar tissue exposed.
Adam looked over at Ilia, "I know how hard this must be Ilia, but that man is here," Adam said.
Ilia let out a sigh, but looked at her leader, "You still haven't told me why you're after this guy?" Ilia asked him.
Adam looked to the floor of the bullhead and let out a sigh, "A long time ago, when Sienna took charge and put me on a mission to free some of our brothers and sisters, however, when I got there, he obliterated us in an instant," Adam said, "We fought with all our might, but... it was pointless, he killed everyone, leaving me alive, saying I had potential and wanted me to live with the despair of being weak, and since then I never got his face out of my head, he's one of the reasons I train so hard and wish to gain more strength," Adam told her.
Ilia nodded, "I see..." Ilia began, "But how did you know he was here? We don't have any agents in Atlas anymore," Ilia told him.
Adam looked back at her, "The Witch told me of a man who attacked Beacon recently and was able to take on Black Betty herself, she showed me the footage and I saw that man," Adam told her, "I demanded to know where he was and thankfully some of her sources told her where he was and you know the rest," Adam said.
"Just be careful Adam," Ilia told him, "That woman can't be trusted, and be double careful, if this man was able to take on Black Betty and attack Beacon without being caught, he's obviously a Headmaster level Huntsman," Ilia finished.
Adam nodded, "Indeed, but there's no need to fret, Ilia, I'll win," Adam told her, "After all... I still have things in this world that I need to do," Adam replied.
Ilia smiled, "We'll be waiting for you Adam, just give us the signal and we'll pick you up," Ilia told the bull faunus.
Adam nodded and walked out of the Bullhead, and out into the chilly air of Mantle. 'The last time we met I was weak and foolish, but this time... I'm much stronger and more powerful,' Adam thought, 'I'll make you pay, and I'll take your head this time, Hades,' Adam thought with a glare as he walked into the city.
Meanwhile, up In Atlas, the fight between Jaune, Ciel, and Winter continued.
Ciel fired some hard light arrows at Winter, but she easily avoided them only for Jaune to appear in front of her and swing Crocea Mors at her, however, the oldest Schnee blocked his attack and quickly pushed his blade away before jumping up and spinning only to deliver a swift kick to his chest, sending Jaune back. Ciel quickly changed her weapons into blades and charged at Winter and swung her right blade at Winter, but Winter backflipped over the attack and landed on the ground, quickly summoning a purple glyph in front of Ciel, which sent her shooting forward toward the edge of Atlas, however, Jaune appeared behind her and caught her.
Jaune looked at her with a worried look, "Are you ok?" Jaune asked.
Ciel nodded, "I'm fine," Ciel said through ragged breathing.
Winter looked at the two with a bit of a glare, "Are you two ready to surrender?" Winter asked, "Because this is becoming tedious if you really think you can beat me then you are sorely mistaken, I am the granddaughter of Nicholas Schnee and one of the top Specialists in Atlas, it's impossible to defeat me," Winter told them.
Ciel looks down with a sad expression, 'Perhaps she's right... she doesn't even look tired, she's been toying with!' Ciel thought, 'Maybe... we should just surrender...'
However, Jaune used Aura Step to appear in front of Winter again, however, and swung at her, but once again, she blocked the attack, however, Crocea Mors glowed white and Winter's eyes widened as Jaune released a point-blank Arcus Mortis. Winter was sent flying back but quickly caught herself as she used her glyphs to skate across the ground, before standing up and glaring back at where Jaune stood.
Jaune glared right back at her, "You really think what you said is gonna affect me!?" Jaune asked with rage, "Do you know how many times people like you said I couldn't do something!?" Jaune asked.
Winter sneered at him, "Maybe you should listen to them," Winter told him, "Without that friend of yours that lives inside of you, you can't overpower me, not even with your Aura techniques could you get the upper hand, between you and I... there is a wall that you'll never break through," Winter said.
Jaune growled, "Then you're just gonna be another name in a long list of people I get to prove wrong!" Jaune cried.
Jaune charged up another Crocea Mors, pushing as much Aura into the attack as he could, and shot it toward Winter, however, winter summoned many blue glyphs and shot ice shards toward the attack, however, the shards of ice were completely destroyed by the attack as it still shot toward Winter. Seeing this, Winter quickly leaped out of the way, dodging the attack with ease, however, behind her Jaune appeared and manage to hit her with a swing of Crocea Mors, causing her to flinch and back away.
Jaune backed up and still glared at Winter, "If we're leagues apart, how was I able to land a hit on you?" Jaune asked.
Winter glared at him, "Luck," She seethed.
Jaune smirked, "Right," He said, "If you really think there's a wall between us, then I'll have to break down that wall, and I'll beat you!" Jaune declared.
Winter glared at him and summoned Glyphs on the ground and skated on the ground and charged toward Jaune. As she did, she couldn't help but be irritated by Jaune's seemingly naive way of thinking.
'Why does he still believe he can win?' Winter asked, 'Just because he landed a single blow to me, he believes he can still fight and win, it's impossible, he's just a student, I'm a specialist, a title given to the best of the best in Atlas, why does he believe he, a Huntsman-in-training, someone ranked far below me, can win?' Winter asked herself
Winter swings at Jaune with her saber but Jaune blocked the attack with his shield, however, she hit him with her secondary weapon in the side, causing him pain, she then elbowed him the face, causing him to stagger back.
Winter was about to strike Jaune again, however, five arrows shot toward the Schnee girl, and seeing the attack, Winter quickly deflected the attacks, only for Ciel to appear in front of her, and the younger girl swing both of her blades upward, with Winter narrowly avoiding the attack.
Once she stepped back she quickly stepped forward, intending to go for a jab with her saber at Ciel, but Ciel saw that attack and quickly blocked the attack with her blades, and then Jaune appeared and kicked her in the side, sending Winter tumbling to her right.
Winter quickly got up and glared at the two, who took fighting stances.
'How can they hope to beat me? How can... how do they even have hope?' Winter asked herself. 'Even if they beat me, they would have to face Hades next, and he is far beyond me, and far beyond them, how can they even hope to beat them?'
Arslan appeared in front of the Schnee woman, and Sun swore she had her semblance activated because he could feel the heat radiating off of her as a scary expression graced her facade.
"How dare you!" Arslan growled, "Jaune's been fighting with everything he's got since he's got here! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here! Nor would any of us! Jaune's faced Adam Taurus and lived, captured Roman Torchwick which no one else has done, saved Vale from a Grimm invasion, and stopped a madman from releasing a pack of Mutated Grimm on the kingdom! So don't you dare say he isn't anything special!" Arslan told Winter with a glare
'How can someone like her believe in him?' Winter asked herself
"As for little Ms. Speacialist over there," Betty said pointing her thumb at Winter, "Hell she isn't even close to her Grandfather or her mother, which is a damn shame, her grandfather was one of the best fighters I knew, and her mother, well, It's a shame what my god-daughter turned into," Betty said.
'How can the Black Betty herself believe in someone so weak?' Winter asked. 'Is it simply a grandmother's love? Or is it because is his naive way of thinking? The hopeful words he speaks? How is it that he can have such hopes when mine... my hopes had been crushed long ago?' Winter kept asking herself.
Winter thought back to when she started out as a Huntress, how happy she had been, how she thought this was her chance to restore her families name after all the bad her father had done, but... it was all for nothing, as every time she tried to be like her grandfather, tried to make people not see her as the daughter of an evil man, but no matter what she did, her peers and many others simply saw her as just spoiled brat who was simply trying to play the hero.
Her hopes to restore her name were crushed, and after that, she never hoped for much, simply expecting the worse of things, and afraid those hopes would be crushed by the reality of the world.
'Who needs hope,' Winter said in her head, 'Hope is a flickering candle in the night, a candle which can easily snuff out,'
Ciel charged at Winter again with both of her hard light blades at the ready, and when she was close she swung her right blade but Winter blocked the attack with her secondary weapon, but Ciel then swung her left blade, but Winter blocked that as well, but despite her attacks being blocked, Ciel smiled at the Speacialist which caused Winter to raise a brow in confusion, only for Jaune to appear right above the two with an Arcus Mortis charged, he released it, and Ciel jumped away and Winter then looked up to see the slashing attack coming right at her, and she quickly summoned layers upon layers of Glyphs in order to stop the attack, and while it broke through some of the layers, eventually, the attack was stopped, but once the attack was stopped and the Glyphs faded away, she realized that Ciel was in front of her and Jaune was behind her.
She was surrounded.
Winter breathed in deeply and then let it out, calming herself, and she stood tall and pointed both of her weapons at the two Hunters-in-training. Ciel and Jaune glared at her and prepared to fight once again, Ciel's blades changed from blue to dark orange, and Jaune raised his shield and prepared his sword for a slashing attack.
'If they really believe they have any hope of beating me, then I'll have to crush that hope,' Winter thought. 'I'll show them the harsh reality of the world, and teach them the same lesson I was taught' Winter thought.
Once again, the fighting between the three began.
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Meanwhile, back In Vale, team ABRN, C(FV)Y and Sun had returned to Beacon only to be informed by Ozpin and Betty of what had happened to Penny, why Fox and Velvet were in the infirmary, and where Jaune, Neptune, Ciel, and Neon as well as who they would be facing up in Atlas.
"An Ex-Headmaster! On par with you!?" Coco cried. "Do they even stand a chance!?"
Sun looked at Her, "I'm sure they'll be fine, if anyone can beat this Hades guy, it's Jaune," Sun said.
Reese looked at the monkey faunus, "Sun, we are talking about a Headmaster who is able to go toe to toe with Jaune's Grandmother, which none of us here can do!" Reese said, "Worse, what of he goes all Grimm in Atlas!?"
Arslan looked at her teammate, "While I worry about him as well, we have to have faith in Jaune and Neptune," Arslan told her.
"Not to mention, if he manages to beat a former Headmaster, then he's definitely surpassed all of us again," Nadir said with a smirk.
Sun nodded, "Yeah, but that's a bit of a problem," Sun said.
Yatsuhashi looked at him with a raised brow, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Let's say Jaune manages to beat Hades all by himself, that's cool, he's gotten stronger, way stronger than us, but what if someone like Hades appears again and Jaune isn't around to fight whoever they are? What do we do?" Sun asked.
Ozpin smiled and nodded, "Mr. Wukong is right," He began, "Mr. Arc is now something unlike any of you, as he is now a Hybrid of human and Grimm, something unheard of, and while I'm sure that will help in the future, he can not be the only one to deal with powerful threats in the future," Ozpin said.
Coco looked at her headmaster, "What are you trying to say?" She asked.
Betty smiled, "What Oz is trying to say is, how would you guys like to be able to match up with my grandson?" Betty asked with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Bolin asked.
Betty chuckled, "What I mean is that for now, I'll train you all if you want, I'll teach you everything I know," Betty said. The older faunus looked at Sun and Arslan, "Both of you are the closes people to be on Jaune's level, not only that, you two have King's Aura but don't have perfect control over it, so I can teach you how to control it and use it in a way you never thought possible," Betty told them.
Sun and Arslan looked at each other and an agreement was shared amongst them as they looked back at Betty with a nod. Seeing those two agree quickly agree being trained by Betty, the others also accepted, after all, this was a chance to be taught by one of the greatest huntsmen in history.
"Don't think we won't join,"
Hearing the voice, the group turned around to see Velvet and Fox, walking toward them. Coco and Yastuhashi rushed over to them and Brought the two into a group hug only to hear the two wince and the other two stopped and broke the hug quickly.
"Still sore," Velvet said with a chuckle.
Sun looked at the two, "Are you sure it's a good idea?" he asked, "Your guys are still recovering,"
Fox nodded, "Of course," He said, "We need to do this, we couldn't do anything to Hades,"
"We got our butts handed to us, but were not letting that happen again," Velvet said, "If another person like Hades shows up, we wanna be ready and give them one helluva fight,"
Betty smiled, "Now that's what I like to hear from this generation!" She cried with joy. "Now then, if you're all feeling up to it, we'll begin training today!" She told them.
All of the students smiled as they gave Betty determined expressions.
Arslan smiled at Jaunes Grandmother, "So, what's our first lesson?" She asked.
Betty smiled back at the lioness, "Meet me at the cliffs, and there, we'll see what your all made of," Betty said ominously.
All of them felt a slight sense of dread when she said that, but they were determined to train with the legendary heroine, so they pushed away the dread and prepared themselves for whatever Betty had in store.
Ozpin smiled at the group of teens, glad that they accepted training under Betty and glad that they wished to become stronger. He knew that in the future, Jaune and the friends he made, would need to be strong for what was sure to come in the future. After all, he had no idea if he'd make it out of this alive, and like he had told Betty before, he never knew when he would reincarnate next...
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That's it for this chapter! I'm sorry it was short, but I hope you guys enjoyed it as now Adam is in Atlas and Betty is training the others! Also, a little character development for Winter! She and Jaune, along with Neon, will get their chance to have a 1-on-1 conversation with the blonde knight/Grimm Hybrid!
Here's what to expect in Chapter 40!
The Final showdown between Jaune, Ciel, and Winter begins! Ciel remembers why she became a soldier and Jaune reveals a new power-up that he got from Favnear! Can the two students beat Winter!?