The Reviews!
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Phantom117a: That's amazing that you found that in a random YT video! Also yeah, Jaune and the others will tempt fate a lot, lol.
Reader: Thank you, and I actually totally forgot that Esdeath's trump card was freezing time, which is weird because like I have watched the Anime and read the manga, and yet I freaking forgot about it! How!? Esdeath is literally one of my favorite "crazy anime chicks".
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WOOO! WE GOT NEW STORY COVER! LET'S GO!
Anyway, let's get on with the story! Also, what do you guys think of the Chapter covers I've been doing up top? Cool or not?
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Inside Ironwood's office, Jaune, Neptune, Ciel, and Neon were in cuffs as they were looking at the General as he sat at his desk, standing next to him were both Winter and Elm, though they still had some bandages on them.
Ironwood looked at them with a stern expression, "You four stole a Bullhead, attacked military personal, hid from us, and then attacked two specialists," Ironwood began, "Do you have any idea just how much trouble you're in?" He asked with a stern tone.
Ciel stood tall as she looked at the General, "Punish us however you want, sir, but we did what we thought was right," She told him. "And I'd do it again if I had to,"
Jaune glared at him, "She's right, and I don't care what you do or what we say, we did this for Penny because someone had to," Jaune told him.
Ironwood looked at Jaune, "The situation was being handled, Mr. Arc," Ironwood told him.
"By who?" Ciel asked with a raised brow, "If you mean Specialist Schnee and Elm, or the rest of the Ace-Ops could handle the situation then you're wrong sir, we fought Hades and he destroyed us, he's strong, Sir, stronger than anyone in Atlas, including you," Ciel told him.
Neptune nodded in agreement, "She's right," Neptune said. "Hades wiped the floor with us in only a few minutes, I don't think those two were fair any better," Neptune said, pointing at Elm and Winter.
Ironwood gave them a peered glare, "And yet you think you could take him on?" He asked, "If I recall, Mr. Vasilias, You and Mr. Arc needed medical attention after your last fight with Hades, yet you still think the both of you stood a chance?" He asked.
Jaune looked at him, "We may not stand a chance, but that doesn't mean we won't fight," Jaune replied, "I don't care about Hades, or whatever his plans are, I just want to get Penny back... we all do,"
"She's our friend General," Neon said, "And we can't just stand by and do nothing when the bastard has her,"
Neptune nodded, "Yeah,"
Ironwood looked at the four and saw their conviction to help their friend and he thought back to something that Ozpin had said before he came back to Atlas...
Ironwood was heading to his personal bullhead and saw Ozpin standing in his path, simply drinking from his mug. Ironwood walked forward, trying to ignore the man.
However, Ozpin addressed the General. "James, despite what you may think, I sent Mr. Arc and Mr. Vasilias to Atlas to help bring Ms. Polendina back," Ozpin told him.
Ironwood stopped walking and looked at him, "And how is stealing a bullhead helping?" He asked.
Ozpin chuckled, "They didn't steal it, James, they merely borrowed it," he said, "As for how they are helping, well, I believe that this is another foe Mr. Arc must face,"
"Must or you just believe he has to?" Ironwood asked. "He may be Betty's grandson and shows great promise, but he's a child who as far as I've seen it, has just been lucky," Ironwood said.
"Luck you say?" Ozpin asked, "I don't believe so,"
"Why is that?" Ironwood asked.
Ozpin took a sip of his mug before answering, "Because Mr. Arc has proved time and time again to defy the odds," Ozpin told him. "The odds have always been stacked against him, he shouldn't have gotten into Beacon, yet he was the only one who passed, he shouldn't have been able to stand a chance against Roman Torchwick and Adam Taurus, yet he has and saved Vale, he shouldn't have beaten Merlot and his Grimm, yet he has done so, and the biggest of all is that he shouldn't have survived being dunked in Grimm essence, yet, he has and has become half Grimm and controlled that power," Ozpin finished.
"Your point?" Ironwood asked.
"My point, James, is that Mr. Arc should not have been able to accomplish any of those things, yet he has, and do you know why?" Ozpin asked.
Ironwood shook his head.
"Because he had something to fight for and he had friends," Ozpin said. "He pushed himself to be stronger because he knew he was behind and trained his hardest to get better, and when he had made his friends, he sought their help to get stronger and trained harder to help them, to fight with them, and protect them, Mr. Arc doesn't fight for himself, he fights for those he holds dear and believes that if he loses, they will suffer, so he fights and give it his all so that he doesn't," Ozpin finished.
Ironwood knew what his fellow headmaster was telling him, "So you believe that because of this desire to protect and help his friends, he'll overcome the odds when he fights Hades and save Ms. Polendina?" Ironwood asked.
Ozpin nodded, "Yes," Ozpin told him, "And I am sure, that if there is a single person who can beat Hades right now, I believe it will be Mr. Arc," Ozpi said.
Back in his office, he couldn't help but realize that Ozpin was right, Jaune Arc, had defied the odds, he and his friends beat two of Atlas's top specialists. So he let out a sigh, "I know you all do, and I understand why, and while I can't exactly condone what you've done so far... I can't blame you," He said. "Which is why I need your help," He told them.
He looked over to Winter and gave her a nod, she nodded back and Winter then walked over to the four and unlocked their cuffs. The four were surprised at what was going on as they looked at the General, who now had a soft smile on his face.
"With your help, I'm sure we can save Ms. Polendina and her father, so... your mission for now, get some rest or train because we'll be going after Hades soon," Ironwood said,
The four gave the General smiles and they did as the General suggested.
As the four students left the office, Elm couldn't help but chuckle, "Never thought I'd see the day that four students could get away with so much, especially under the tyrannical rule of Jame's Ironwood," She said. "Has the underworld frozen over?" she asked
Ironwood himself let out a small chuckle as well, "Perhaps," He replied, "But I believe for many different reasons, after all, both of you were defeated by a couple of students, I think the miracles have just begun," He said.
Winter smiled and nodded in agreement, "I think so as well sir," She said.
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In the training room of Atlas Academy, was training with some of the bots, and he would admit they were a lot tougher than Beacon's training bots but he could handle them, however, the bots deactivated and returned to their ports, Jaune got confused until he heard someone run and he quickly turned around and blocked a sword swing from his attacker.
It was Winter, with a small smile on her face. "Very good, Mr. Arc," She said.
Jaune gave her a smile before he released an Arcus Mortis point blank, sending Winter back, but she summoned a glyph in the air and stepped on it, as she looked down at Jaune.
"I think we require a rematch," She said with a smile.
Jaune looked up at her and was surprised to see her in a very reasonable mood, "Sounds good to me, but I as long as you don't pull that move you did last time," He said.
"Very well, but if we're being fair, then I believe you shouldn't use the Grimm Mask," She said.
Jaune nodded in agreement, "I can do that," He said.
Winter nodded before the Glyph disappeared and she fell to the floor, landing on the ground perfectly, before standing back up and walking toward Jaune, "But I believe that an apology is in order on my end," She told him.
Jaune was a bit confused as to why she needed to apologize to him, if anything he should be apologizing for what he's done recently and also her fight with Favnear. "You don't need to apologize, Winter, really, it's fine," he told her with an awkward smile.
Winter shook her head, "No, my behavior towards you was terrible, I treated you harshly and unjustly," she told him, "You are an amazing person, Mr. Arc, and a very fine fighter, not only that but your a kind and brave person, but most of all, you're a very hopeful person, and I admire that about you," She told him.
"You admire that I'm hopeful?" He asked, "Why?"
Winter didn't answer for a few minutes, finding the strength to speak what she felt for a long time while lowering her guard to the young man before her. "Because I wish I was like that," Winter said.
"Huh?"
Winter let out a sigh, "When I first started out training to be a Huntress, I was hopeful, hopeful that I could make a difference here in Atlas, that by joining the military, I could change things, I could be the person I wanted to be, but that never happened..." Winter said, "Reality hit me, as I got more into the job, I lost a lot of people around me, I saw a lot of death around me... and I... I became hopeless, worse, I became hard and stern and closed off, even a bit to my sister, but perhaps I don't feel that hopelessness anymore," She told him.
Jaune was saddened to hear what Winter had experienced and while she left out the details, he knew that the life of an Atlas soldier and a Huntsmen is never easy not the best life to live, but he was glad to know that she didn't need to feel that way anymore. "That's good, I'm glad that you don't have to feel hopeless anymore," He replied.
Winter nodded in agreement, "Indeed, and it's thanks to you,"
Jaune was surprised as his eyes widened, "M-Me!?" He asked.
"Yes," she replied. "During our fight, I told you that you never be able to beat me, yet you did, and even when you spoke about taking on Hades despite the fact that you may lose, you were willing to do all that to save Penny, you did and said all of that with a hopeful expression and oddly enough, that gave me hope, something I never thought I'd ever get back," She told him.
"Oh, well, I'm glad I was able to help you," he said, "But I have to tell you, there have been times when I felt hopeless," He told Winter.
"Really?" Winter asked with a raised brow.
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, like the first time I fought Torchwick and I overdid it, I thought I was a goner, then I went and trained with Ozpin and I thought I'd never win again, and then there was Adam, he nearly killed me too, then were was what happened to Arlsan, Merlot nearly killed her and for a moment I thought I lost her," Jaune told her. "All those moments made me feel Hopeless, Roman because I wasn't strong enough to take him on and could've killed me, Ozpin because he showed me just how strong people like him were and how weak I was, Arslan because I thought I nearly lost her... and Adam... I felt hopeless against him because it felt like I was fighting myself..."
Winter was confused by what he meant, "What do you mean it felt like you were fighting yourself?" Winter asked him.
Jaune thought about it for a moment and his fight with Adam underground replayed in his mind, more specifically, a question that he asked Jaune.
"Do you enjoy fighting?" Adam asked.
That question repeated a lot in Jaune's head, he still remembered the answer he gave Adam.
"No. I don't" Jaune told him.
But now, Jaune didn't think that was right anymore, after that, Jaune trained harder to be able to fight Adam should he reappear, but as he did, he found himself enjoying getting stronger, proud of his strength, and... enjoyed fighting, because during the fight he was able to push himself and see just how far he came. Fights were beginning to become something he enjoyed, something he longed for when confronted with an enemy.
"You should admit to yourself," Adam told him.
"Admit what?" Jaune asked with a glare.
Jaune pushed Adam back and Adam backed up but he then once again vanished and appeared to Jaune's left, Jaune quickly raised his shield up to block an attack, but Adam kicked his shield, causing Jaune to stumble to the side.
"That you enjoy fighting," Adam, "I see that gleam in your eye, you crave power, right, Jaune? And you like to measure that power when you fight, don't you?" Adam asked.
Jaune wanted to rebut but he stopped himself as he let Adam's words sink in. Jaune would admit, that he always got a slight rush when he fought, even during spars, but he always thought it was just a rush of adrenalin, but now... the more he thought about it when he fought against people he could measure his skills against, like Tai or even his friends, he enjoyed the fight.
"It's ok if you do, it's like this for everyone, even if they don't realize it! We, People like you and I, should never deny this part of us! You and I were born to fight! We're born to fight and we always will! We do it instinctively!" Adam told Jaune, "The question now is do we fight to gain more power? Or do we gain more power to fight?" Adam asked him.
'Am I fighting to gain more power or gaining more power to fight?' Jaune asked himself. 'Why am I thinking about this now?' Jaune asked himself.
"Jaune? Are you ok?" Winter asked.
Jaune came out of his thoughts and looked at Winter, "Ah, sorry, I um, got lost in thought," He told her, "Forget what I said, I'm just a bit tired," He replied.
Winter wanted to press him for an answer, wanting to know what he meant when he talked about fighting Adam but decided to let it slide, "Perhaps you should get some rest then," She told him.
Jaune nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, maybe," Jaune replied, "I'll see you soon, Winter," Jaune told her as he walked away.
Winter wanted to stop him and see if he was ok but let him walk away, and as she did, her heart raced and despite the fact that she only began to feel such emotions after her defeat and Jaune giving her back her hope, she knew what it was.
'Is this what love feels like?' Winter asked herself, 'How is it that I feel for him so hard?' She asked herself once again but with a soft smile.
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Later, after Jaune took a nap, he got up to look for something to eat, as he did, he was pumped into and the person who pumped into him revealed herself by rollerblading right in front of him with a cheeky smile, and her hands on her hips.
"Sup there Jaune!" Neon greeted.
Jaune smiled back at her, "Hey, Neon," Jaune greeted back, "What are you up to?" he asked.
"Not much, gettin' something to eat though!" she told him.
Jaune nodded, "Same here," he replied, "Wanna join me?" He asked.
Neon nodded, "I ain't got anything better to do," She replied.
Jaune nodded and with Neon, the two headed toward the Cafeteria, where they hoped they would get some good food and fill their stomachs. Once they got to the cafeteria, Jaune realized just how different Atlas Academy was from Beacon, as Atlas's cafeteria had almost everything made, and ready for them to eat. So the two grabbed whatever they wanted, Neon got 4 large burgers, a side of fries, and a large purple shake with whipped cream. Jaune got a large plate of chicken nuggets with mustard alongside a BLT and a yellow soda that tasted like gummy peach candy.
"You eat a lot huh?" Jaune asked.
Neon was in the middle of chewing but nodded in response, she swallowed and looked at him, "Yeah! I love eating a lot because of my semblance," She told him, "It burns fat rapidly, so I can eat as much as I want and still look hot as hell!"
Jaune chuckled, "That you do," he said.
Neon heard him and a sly smirk formed on her face, "Oh~! So you think I'm hot, eh Jaune~?" Neon teased
Jaune blushed, "I-I mean-! What I meant to say-!"
Neon chuckled, "I'm just busting ya balls blondie!" She told him, "But hey, you're quite the looker yourself, ya know," She told him.
"I-I don't really think so," Jaune replied with an awkward smile.
Neon shook her head, "Nah, for real, You've got this boyish innocence to you," She told him. "Makes me want to corrupt you~!" She teased
Jaune's blush grew as he still wasn't used to a girl being so forward with him, hell he dated Coco but that girl could make him blush!
As they sat down at a table, Neon quickly dug into her food, and she then looked at Jaune, "So, how was your fight with Specialist Schnee?" Neon asked, "Had to be a piece of Cake for the Hero of Vale, right?" She asked with a smirk.
Jaune chuckled, "More like one of the toughest fights I've been in," Jaune replied. "Winter was good, she was skilled with her sword far beyond me, Her semblance is amazing, and allows her to do so much, which is why I lost," Jaune said.
Hearing this, Neon was surprised, "You lost?" She asked.
Jaune nodded, "Even with a little trick I use, I lost, like I said, her Semblance is crazy," Jaune said, "But that just tells me I still got a long way to go," He said.
Neon nodded in agreement, "I know what you mean," She told him. "Our fight with Specialist Ederne was tough, she nearly had us, but we pushed through, and while we won, I don't feel good about how close it was," Neon said.
"At least you're not boasting about beating her with how close the fight was," He told her, "No matter how strong we get, there's always someone stronger... we can't stay at the same level we're at forever,"
Neon chuckled, "Is that why you keep training?" Neon asked.
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, with Aura Techniques and some new... tricks, I'm able to be on par with most, but Hades is a whole different level," Jaune replied. "If I wanna beat him, and if I wanna save Penny, I need to get stronger,"
Neon couldn't help but smile at Jaune's words, despite him being labeled a hero, he never let it get to his head, he continued to train so that he could protect the people he cared for and fight those that tried to harm them.
"You're one heck of a guy, Jaune, you know that?" Neon said.
Jaune smiled, "I've been told that, once or twice," He said with a chuckle.
"You've proved people wrong, and you keep doing it, and that's what I like about you, Blondie, you and I keep fighting because we want to keep doing the impossible," Neon told him.
Jaune nodded in agreement, "And I think that's what makes us awesome," Jaune said.
Neon giggled and nodded, "I think so too," Neon told him. "To doing the impossible," Neon told him holding her shake-up.
Jaune smiled and grabbed his soda and tapped it against Neon's shake, "To doing the impossible,"
The two continued eating and talking about whatever came to mind.
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Vytal Island, the island where the four Kingdoms negotiated and declared peace and where the Great War truly ended. Not only was it the place where peace was decided, but also where the concept of the huntsmen academies was first proposed, not only that but the island also lent its name to the Vytal Festival, a celebration of the peace and the diversity of the cultures of Remnant.
It was here that the Vytal Peace Accord was signed.
However, it was also here, that the unconscious bodies of SSS(N), ABRN, CFVY, and even BRNZ and NDGO. Standing over them with a smile, was Betty herself, her sword still sheathed, as she had no reason to pull it out as none of them made her draw it out.
"You still got a long way to go, but don't worry, we got all the time we need," Betty said with a smile. "Once you all wake up, we'll take a break and then we'll start again,"
Betty then took a seat on a nearby rock and turned her head toward the direction where she knew Atlas was and a smile came to her face.
"Hope my grandson's saving you're home, Nicholas... and I hope you're watching over him," Betty said.
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That's it for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! It looks like Jaune has gotten closer to Winter and Neon and it appears Betty has wiped the floor with the Students! Do they even stand a chance against the legendary fighter?
Here's what to expect for Chapter 42!
The group figures out where Hades may be. A fight between Hades' goons begins! Ironwood faces off against Hades in a 1-on-1! Does the General of Atlas stand a chance against the rouge Headmaster!?