A/N: Chapter 9 of REKT. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, those belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE and DAZE.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 9: Forever Fall
That same night...
After leaving Jaune on the rooftop thanks to a few harsh words on his part, Pyrrha returned to the dorm room and casually found herself sitting next to the window. She stared out of it in a gloomy fashion and release sighs every now and then. Nora was currently jumping on her bed while Ren was busy cleaning his weapon, both of them noticed the change in the girl's demeanor the moment she stepped into the room but didn't bother to ask her about what had happened.
"How come Jaune gets home so late?" Nora decides to ask as she continued to jump up and down on the mattress of her bed.
"He's become rather scarce ever since he's been fraternizing with CRDL." Ren replied, finishing up his maintenance work and tested out his weapon thoroughly.
"That's weird. Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow?" Nora questioned, expressing her concern that the leader needs to get some sleep before their field trip to Forever Fall. Forever Fall is a mountainous location in Remnant that was covered with a forest of red-leafed trees, allowing the whole area to appear as a dust-red color. Even the grass was the same color. There were also hints that it houses lots of cliffs and other critters.
"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing". Pyrrha stated bitterly, almost borderline aggressive as she continued to glare out the window.
"Hmm..." Nora frowned as she stopped bouncing, sharing a look with Ren. "I guess so." Outside their room, Jaune happened to overhear their conversation. Coming back from doing weird tasks from CRDL, he didn't expect to hear his teammates talking about him in such a manner. Releasing a sigh, he closed the door quietly so he didn't alert them of his presence.
"Hey Jaune!"
"Guh!" He freaked out, turning around to see Ruby standing behind him in her pajamas. Because he was so preoccupied with a lot of things whirling in his head, he barely noticed the girl sneak up on him.
"Long time no see. Did you lock yourself out again?" She teased him.
"Oh uh, nope!" He recovered quickly and showed her his scroll which also functioned as his key card. "Heh, got it right here!"
"So, where have you been lately?" Ruby asked out of curiosity.
"I uh..." He looked off to the side for a minute, trying to find an excuse. Finding none, he hung his head and sighed. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have and now Cardin's got me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me...I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." Leaning his back against the door, he sat down with a sad expression. "I'm a failure."
"Nope."
"Nope?" He asked, gazing up at Ruby in confusion.
"Nope." She repeated. "You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure."
"But, what if I'm a failure at being a leader?"
"Mmm..." Ruby pursed her lips together in thought before replying. "...nope."
"You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." Jaune admitted with a small laugh.
"Nope!" She said as she sat down next to him. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid, and you might have even been a failure the first day we met, but you can't be one now. You know why?"
"Why?" He mumbled. "Is it because-"
"Because it's not just about you anymore." Ruby told him. "You've got a team now, Jaune. We both do and so does Reina. If we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second."
Teammates first...then myself second...Jaune thought about it as Ruby stood back up.
"Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you. Ask Reina and she'll tell you the exact same thing...well almost the same thing but she'll convey the same message. Have a good night." Saying good bye, she disappeared back into her own room leaving the boy with even more doubts in his head.
Standing back up after thinking about what Ruby said, he turned to walk into the room when his scroll received a new voice message. Pulling it out he could see that he received a new message and it was from Cardin.
"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin." The boy's voice floated through in the video message. "I know you're probably busy with that Dust project I gave you , buuuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of rapier wasps. And make sure they've got some reaaaally big stingers. It's important, so don't screw this up!"
"Gah. Of all the things..." Jaune groaned as he put the scroll away. Looking at the door before him one last time, he trudged away to do Cardin's bidding. What a rapier wasp is is that it is a small wasp-like creature with a 'rapier-like' stinger. Apparently they are attracted to really sweet things.
The next morning...
"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful." Glynda Goodwitch was saying as she led us down a trail covered with red leaves. The teams that were present were RWBY, JNPR, CRDL and yours truly; there were a lot of first years but that didn't stop them from gazing around at the magnificent beauty of nature. "But we're not here to sight-see. Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest. And I'm here on his behalf to make sure that none of you die while doing so."
"Woah!" Jaune accidentally bumped into Cardin, his arms loaded with various equipment.
"Each of you must gather one jar's worth of red sap." Glynda explained as she held one up as an example. "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun!'
"C'mon, buddy!" Cardin said as he grabbed Jaune by the back of his shirt. "Let's go." Jaune glanced up in time to see Nora and Ren walking away while Pyrrha glancing back at him in wonder. He lower his gaze and trudged after Cardin's team instead. The red-head released a sigh before following her teammates further in.
There's obviously something wrong here. I frowned when I noticed Jaune's presence still lingering a little too close to Team CRDL. What are they planning? Miss Goodwitch even ordered us to stay close to our teammates...
"Hello? Earth to Reina."
"Huh?" I said, sounding perplexed before running into Kairos. I took a step back and rubbed my nose with a hand. "Ouch, don't just stand there."
"You're spacing out again." She informed me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, really!" I smiled at her. "Let's do this." Making sure that I was indeed okay we made our way to where the rest of the teammates were. Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss were also walking around in search for a tree that could potentially have a substantial amount of sap.
"Now then, which tree looks it has the greatest amount of sap..." Efram rubbed his hands together with glee as he looked at the line of trees that stood before him. "Hmm...I don't think these have any potential of producing enough sap for the jar."
"Wanna look over there then?" Yang asked him, pointing in a random direction with her right hand. "I'll help you out. I'm a great tracker when it comes to this stuff!"
That's a load of baloney...Ruby frowned when she heard her sister's claim. I remember that one time she couldn't find one of her socks for a few months...I found it hidden in my drawer for some reason. Ever since, I would find Yang's socks in my drawer.
"Sure why not?" Efram said before flashing us a huge grin. "Stay out of trouble ya'll hear? Me and the Misses will be over there of ya'll need us." Chuckling, the two of them disappeared with two empty jars in their hands.
"Hmph. I just don't see why he's so excited about getting sap from the trees." Kairos huffed. "Also why is he going off with her? Didn't Miss. Goodwitch say that we're supposed to be with our own teammates?"
"Well I guess as long as our two teams are going to be scavenging together, I don't think there's any reason why we can't do this." Blake replied before giving the girl a small smile. "Shall we get going then?" Shrugging her shoulders, I sensed Kairos walking away with her potential new friend.
"Reina!" Ruby said as she sauntered up to me with a jar in her arms. "I found the perfect place to get sap!"
"Out of all the trees here you found the perfect place?" I laughed as she eagerly tugged at my hand. "Okay okay. I'll be right behind you! Lead the way!"
"Great. That just leaves us then, huh shorty?" Weiss asked as she looked at Timber from the corner of her peripherals. The two of them were standing awkwardly in the empty clearing. "This should be interesting."
"...c-c-come again?" He squeaked.
"I said, you're with me shorty!" Weiss said, pulling Timber behind her in a similar manner that Ruby had become accustomed to. "Let's go. No more dilly-dallying!"
"Wah!" Timber yelped as he stumbled behind the ice princess. "I-I'm coming! I'm coming! There's no reason for being pushy!"
Elsewhere...
While the other teams were out in the field, Cardin and his team were busy lounging about in the nice cool shade like bums. They obvious didn't need to do any of the hard work when they had a helping monkey doing their chores for them. As if on cue, Jaune staggered in with six fully-filled jars in his arms.
"Hey. Great work, Jauney boy." Cardin praised him as he collapsed on the ground, exhausted from doing his errand. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"
"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." The blond replied groggily, indicating it with a stuffy nose.
"Great, great great. So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'"
That is a good question...Jaune thought, looking at the jars before looking up at the orange-haired boy. Why is that?
"Well, come with me and you'll find out." Helping the boy up, CRDL lead him to an area where they could spy on the other groups who were hard at work gathering sap. Nora already had a full jar while Ren was busy filling up another one. The problem was that while he was filling up the jars, Nora would casually drink the sap straight from another container. Giving her a stink eye and making sure she doesn't drink anymore, he proceeded to refill the jar.
Yang and Efram came back with their filled jars while Weiss was helping Timber with his, the tree that he chose had a much thicker bark so he had a difficult time getting the sap out. Blake and Kairos were both successful in their little outing and Ruby was screwing the lid tightly around mine since my hands were covered with sap juice. I licked my fingers clean to get the substance off.
"Cardin, what's going on?" Jaune asked, unsure on what the plan was.
"Payback." The boy answered, setting his sights set on Pyrrha who managed to fill up her jar and was reaching for another.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune whispered in realization as he watched her walk over to another tree. "What are you-"
"That's the girl." Cardin interrupted with a growl in his voice, eager to humiliate the girl after she made him look like a fool the other day in class. "Red-haired know-it-all thinks she's so smart. Alright, boys." He reached around and pulled out an old cardboard box with the letter 'W' written in sharpie. "Last night ol' Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of rapier wasps." They could hear buzzing coming from within. "And now, we're gonna put 'em to work."
"Nice job there." Russel said as he patted Jaune on the back causing the blond released a nervous laugh.
"Now, according to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these nasty things looooove sweets." Cardin continued just as Pyrrha finished filling up the extra jar, perhaps for Jaune himself. "I'm thinkin' it's time we teach her a thing or two. And you're gonna do it."
"Do what?" Jaune asked when he was handed the jar filled with red sap.
"Hit her with the sap!" Cardin stated. "Either that, or I'll have a delightful chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon." Jaune hesitated as he looked at the jar of sap in his hands. He looked up to see CRDL grinning evilly at him and awaited for him to make his move. He took aim, staring at his teammate's back and remembered what Ruby told him. Teammates first...then the leaders second. He couldn't hurt a fellow member...if he did, that'll mean he was not fit to be a leader.
"No." He finally states, categorically refusing to harm Pyrrha and lowered his arm.
"What did you say?" Cardin asked, unsure if he heard Jaune right.
"I said...NO!" Turning around he chucked the jar of sap at Cardin which shattered upon collision with the breastplate. The bird emblem was drenched in the red liquid, infuriating the leader greatly.
"Oh-ho-ho, you've done it now." said Cardin as he ordered the other members of CRDL to hold Jaune in place. Cracking his knuckles with glee the leader started to viciously beat the boy up. The sound of his fist hitting flesh repeatedly echoed off the surrounding trees but none of them were loud enough to attract attention from the other students.
"Oof!" Jaune grunted when the boy's fist connected with his face, knocking him to the ground.
"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy." Cardin said before pulling the blond up by the front of his shirt. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny, pieces."
"I don't care what you do to me." Jaune spoke as he glared at the bully. "But you're not messing with my team."
"What? You think talking to me like that makes you tough? Huh? You think you're a big strong man now?"
"Heh." Jaune smirked, mocking Cardin's attempt to intimidate him. This caused the bully to growl with anger.
"How dare you smile at me like that? First it was that other girl and now you! Hrrah!" As Cardin punches Jaune once more, the blond unconsciously blocks it with his Aura, instantly healing his bruises as well. The shield that Jaune's Aura provides him with is so strong that Cardin drops him and grasps his hand, crying out in pain.
"Huh? What's this?" Jaune stares at his hands, stunned at the glow from his Aura before falling face down against the ground when Sky kicked him from behind.
"Let's see how much of a man you really are." Cardin states after getting over the pain in his hand. However they didn't get very far when an Ursa Major arrived at the scene, causing a few trees to topple over as it bursts out from the woods. It stood there glaring at the five boys before lifting its nose into the air, attracted by the sweat scent of sap...which happened to be on Cardin's armor.
"That's a big Ursa!" Russel screamed as he, Sky and Dove took off running as the creature unleashed a massive roar. Realizing that he was alone, Cardin tried to defend himself but was swatted away easily by the bear's large paws. Ignoring Jaune, the Ursa continued after Cardin and even disarmed him. Hastily getting to his feet, Jaune debated whether he should fight or abandon Cardin, his eyes darting between the bear or a chance to escape.
Meanwhile...
"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked as the distant roaring caught her attention. We all stopped what we were doing just as the pattering of feet reached our ears.
"Ursa! Ursa!" Russel wailed as the three men of team CRDL ran past us.
"What?" Yang asked when he ran into her, prompting her to lift him up by the front of his shirt. "Where?"
"Back there!" Russel exclaimed, pointing in the direction. "It's got Cardin!" Wrestling himself out of the girl's grip, he scrambled away and disappeared like a whipped dog.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha gasped with horror, dropping a jar she just held in her hand. Seeing how worried the red-head was, Ruby was spurred into action.
"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" Nodding their heads in agreement, the two of them ran off.
"You two, go with them!" Pyrrha ordered Ren and Nora who were on standby. "There could be more." They agreed and rushed off after the two RWBY members.
"Efram! Timber! Catch the members of CRDL and make sure they get back safely!" I ordered firmly. "Keep an eye on them too and protect them from any Grimms that show up."
"I'm going with you." Kairos and Weiss said simultaneously and I nodded my head before following Pyrrha and Ruby. While that was transpiring, Cardin was attempting to run from the Grimm but got knocked to the ground like a rag doll.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!" The boy yelled just as we arrived on the scene, crawling away on hands and knees. The Grimm attempted to finish Cardin as it stood up on its hind legs, aiming its claws at the boy. Cardin closed his eyes and awaited for his end.
BAM~
"Ugh!" Jaune grunted as the massive paw slammed into his shield. Cardin looked up in surprise to see the boy standing in front of him. Protecting him from the Ursa's claws.
"Wait!" Pyrrha spoke when she noticed that Weiss was about to intervene. She looked at the rest of us to make sure that we also followed her orders. "Please...just wait."
"Ha!" Jaune threw the paw off before slashing at the Ursa with his sword. Roaring with rage, the creature retaliated and swiped its claws at the blond again. Surprisingly, he manages to fend off the Ursa for a short time, blocking its blows with his shield while counterattacking with his sword. However, after being knocked down twice by the Ursa, he checks his scroll and realizes that his Aura is now dangerously low and in the red zone.
"Groarrrrr!" The Ursa growled as it faced off against Jaune, baring its teeth menacingly. Seeing as there was no other way, both combatants charge at each other one last time; however, upon noticing that her leader had left himself open to the Ursa's claws, Pyrrha intervened at the last minute, using her Semblance to raise his shield.
"HAAAAAA!" Successfully blocking the Ursa's attack, Jaune regained his stance and in one fluid motion, beheaded the Ursa. The body collapsed to the ground as the head rolled away, spewing blood into the air.
"Uh, what." Ruby asked, baffled at Pyrrha's ability which she witnessed when she saw the girl raise her hand.
"How did you..." Even Weiss was confused.
"Well, Ruby has her speed, and you have your glyphs." Pyrrha says with a smile. "I'm not sure of Kairos' or Reina's since I've never seen their Semblance in action yet."
"Semblance?" Kairos asked, tilting her head to the side. "What's that?"
"I'll explain what Semblance is perhaps another day but to answer the question, my semblance is polarity."
"Ah, you can control poles." Ruby said quietly.
"No, you dunce!" Weiss frowned when she heard what her leader just said. "It means she has control over magnetism."
"Magnets are cool, too." Ruby commented, causing the ice princess to roll her eyes.
"Wait, where are you going?" That's when we noticed that Pyrrha was preparing to leave.
"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened." Ruby added.
"We could." Pyrrha smiled an all knowing smile. "Or, perhaps, we could just keep it our little secret." Liking her answer instead, the three of them turned around and left the scene.
"Shall we get going too?" Kairos asked.
"Hang on." I said, standing with my arms folded to watch the interaction between Jaune and Cardin. "I want to know what happens in the end." The blond approached Cardin and held out his hand. Looking at it for a minute, Cardin finally allowed the blond to pull him up to his feet.
"Holy crap, Jaune?" He said, flashing a smile in hopes of getting on Jaune's good side but realized that the blond wasn't in the mood. On the inside, he had gained a new found respect for him.
"Don't ever mess with my team, my...friends, ever again." Jaune ordered in response. "Got it?" When he wasn't getting a response, he walked away, leaving Cardin to stand there looking both intimidated and apologetic all at the same time.
"Great job Jaune." I said when he approached us. "I'm proud of you!"
"Fantastic display of swordsmanship. I wouldn't have handled that situation any better." Kairos added. He smiled wearily at our praises and we walked back to where the rest of our teams and our professor were waiting for us.
Beacon Academy...
After the tiring field trip and a heartwarming dinner, Jaune excused himself and made his way up to the rooftop. He was dressed in the usual school uniform and he gazed out towards the glowing green tower in the distance.
"No Cardin tonight?" Pyrrha asked when she joined him. "Reina told me about you and Cardin's conversation the other night."
"I didn't know that she eavesdropped on that..." He said, sounding a bit scared.
"Mind you I was a little upset that she didn't tell me sooner but she promised that she won't let anyone else know." Pyrrha told him, watching him release a sigh of relief at the piece of news. "Besides, I thought you and Cardin were best buds?"
"Pyrrha, I'm sorry." He told her, hanging his head with shame. "I was a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and...I...I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"
"Jaune. It's okay." Pyrrha said with a smile, accepting his apology right then and there. "Your team really misses their leader, you know. You should come down, Ren made pancakes~" She twirled around and started to walk away. "No syrup, though, you can thank Nora for that."
"Wait!" He exclaimed, stopping her in her tracks just before she reached the door. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but would you still be willing to help me?" He was so shy that he couldn't make himself look at her in the eyes but he summoned his inner courage to ask his teammate for assistance. "To help me become a better fighter."
Oh that's cute. He's absolutely adorable when he fidgets like that. Pyrrha thought as she turned around, a growing smirk spreading across her face. This is gonna be fun!
Uh oh, her back's turned. I hope she doesn't reject me. Jaune thought, watching the girl think about his request for about a minute or so. Oh! She's coming over. "Hey!" He said when she pushed him to the ground, looking up at her with a hurtful expression.
"Your stance is all wrong." She told him as she placed her hands on her hips. "You need to be wider and lower to the ground." After giving him that advice, she reaches down, takes his hand and helps him back to his feet. "Let's try that again."
"Yes ma'am." Jaune replied as he held her hand with a smile on his face. The two of them began their training together and still managed to return in time for Ren's pancakes before Nora devoured them all.
