Chapter 4
The calmness of the forest was shattered by an ominous rumble in the distance. Dark grey clouds gathered overhead, making the Whispering Forest darker. The wind, once a gentle whisper among the trees, intensified into a frenzied howl, whipping through the branches with a ferocity that made it look like the trees were dancing.
Jaune quickened his pace, seeking refuge from the impending storm. He hoped that there would be some kind of shelter near by. But it seemed that each step only led him closer to the rumbling clouds.
As the thunders were getting closer Jaune was almost running among the tree trunks. He must find a shelter fast. His heartbeat was getting stronger in his ears, his breath was laboured, and his vision was getting darker at the edges.
His legs pounded against the hard ground as he searched for any protection against the storm, but the forest, with its labyrinthine paths and tangled undergrowth, offered him no solace. The time between the thunders were almost gone. The air was heavy with the scent of rain. Smaller branches and leaves were falling around him in the wind.
Desperation clawed at Jaune's chest as he stumbled through a particularly thick undergrowth.
When he reached its other side the first droplets started to fall, he was out of time. He franticly looked around anywhere to hide.
His eye caught a huge tree trunk with a small round hole leading inside of it. Most likely made by a forest animal which deserted it a long time ago, but space inside had grown along with the tree during the decades.
It would be an uncomfortably tight fit, but the hole was above somewhat the ground. He would remain dry, which could be lifesaving since he wouldn't be able to gather dry wood for fire. He quickly pulled out his sleeping bag to use it for padding and crawled into the nook. He couldn't lay down inside of here, but he could sit and be able to prop his legs up against trunk to rest.
Jaune was shivering slightly every time when the sky was rumbling while he tried to find a comfortable position. When he found it, torrents of rain cascaded from the sky in a deluge, turning the earth into a sodden quagmire beneath tree hole. Thunders rumbled through the trees like a war drums, shaking the very ground beneath him.
He shut his eyes and pressed his hands to his ears to block out the storm. His chest tightened with an all-too-familiar sensation. His heart raced erratically, each beat echoing like a drum in his ears, as panic threatened to consume him whole. Jaune repeated only one sentence to himself.
He must not think about anything. He must not think about anything.
He knew he can do it, just like many times before. Desperate for escape, Jaune pressed himself deeper into the confines of the tree trunk. But the storm raged on, lightning danced across the sky in jagged arcs, casting eerie shadows in front to his shelter that seemed to mock his torment,
His heart hammered against his ribcage like a wild beast desperate to break free. Jaune tried to focus on his breathing, maybe it would help to calm down. He commanded the muscles around his chest, slowly in, slowly out, slowly in, slowly out.
In the past this helped to calm down. This is just like any other ponderstorm he went through, the Ever After cannot supri –…. Wait a moment. He… wasn't in the Ever After anymore. He was out. This is Remnant, and this storm just a regular rainy one, not the existential nightmarish one.
This realization hit Jaune harder than any Boarbatusk ever could. He felt like an idiot, he ran across the forest in panic. He was scared, no… he was terrified from a little storm. Jaune got angry at himself. Why was he unable to understand? He was home. Why was he unable to leave the past behind? There was nothing he could have done about it. He tried his best as always. But his best was never good enough. People ended up dead.
Jaune fell back against the tree with tears in the corner of his eyes while he let out a long sigh. Why was he still punished? His two decades long penance in hell was not enough? Maybe he should have listened to his father, he was not cut out to be a huntsman. He should have been stay home and never set a foot in Beacon.
Maybe they would still be alive.
An hour later the rain has stopped and Jaune was able to move on. Unfortunately, he was a bit lost. Dashing madly through the forest was not a good idea. The path that he had followed was gods know where. His only hope was that his compass worked properly and that he didn't run too far. The general direction should be fine towards northeast. There was a lake in that direction and according to the map, a small town next to it.
As Jaune walked he tried to come up with a plan how to reach Vale the fastest. Best case scenario would be a Bulkhead trip, but he was nowhere close to a city with bullhead station. The other option would be train, unfortunately the major train lines were sparse in this region, and they all avoided the thick southern forests. If he viewed things realistically then this journey going to involve a lot of walking.
Suddenly a big amount of water droplets fell on him, enough to drench his hair. Jaune sharply looked up and saw a big bird of prey that just left the leaf rich branch above him. While he cursed the overgrown pigeon, Jaune noticed a thin smoke column in the direction where the bird flew.
The town had to be nearby.
After ten minutes he reached the lake.
Its waters shimmered in the breeze, giving a distorted image of the trees which surrounded the lakeside. The trees were tall and lush which were home to many birds that were singing their song, no doubt to try find their mate.
And on the other side stood Jaune's destination.
The town of Antlers.
The buildings were a pleasant mix of modern brick buildings in the inner districts and robust wood houses on the outer ones, protected by a tall stone wall which were divided by even taller towers. From this distance, the town appeared almost idyllic, a safe haven for any traveller like Jaune. A beacon of civilisation against the untamed wilderness of the Whispering Forest.
After a few minutes, as Jaune got closer the gates, smoky smell and the sounds intensified. The road was muddy and had many tire tracks and footprints in it. On the stone walls, above the gates, four guards stood. They wore light protective gears that would provide swift movement, but it would not give too much protection from heavy hits. Infront of them, four minigun were installed to the stone wall's edge. Jaune's eye caught signs that the towers that loomed over the walls, were housing some kind of automatic weapon system.
Interesting, unusually high-level heavy defences despite the settlement's size. He wondered what might have caused this.
When Jaune got close enough one the guard moved closer to the ledge, keeping his attention on Jaune. ''Who goes there?''
''My name is Jaune Arc, huntsman.
''What do you want here, Jaune Arc?''
''I wish to buy supplies and stay a few days.''
The guard studied him as much as he could, Jaune could see how carefully made his decision. They were wary. Why they need that many heavy weapons? What spooked them? The walls were relatively pristine, no sign of damage from an attack, only the weather and time left their mark on it.
The guard turned around and talked silently with his comrades, they spoke a few words among themselves while glancing Jaune's direction occasionally. The guard turned back towards Jaune. ''You can enter, but do not cause any trouble here, we have enough problem already. Welcome to Antlers.''
The town's thick steel gates slowly started to open up. Jaune gave a nod to the guard and moved inside.
The first thing he noticed was the people. Precisely, their numbers. There were too many people here. As Jaune walked further from the gates, the crowd size continued to grow. The people's face looked tired, bleak, sad. Some of them wore dirty, in some cases torn clothes.
There was some space between the town and the walls, an empty field that they left for future expanse. Now, it wasn't vacant.
Dozens of tents were erected there. Many looked like emergency tents, some looked like they were used for camping with their bright colours, but most of the tents looked used and weathered. The one that appeared to be the medical tent was full, all the bed were occupied by injured people.
Jaune mind was running wild. What happened with these people? The town itself looked alright, no sign of damage or any kind of destruction. Then where did they come from?
Jaune felt a gentle tug on his sash. He looked down.
It was a little girl.
Her blonde hair was in a mismatched twin tails. Her green eyes were staring Jaune, like he was the only one who can help her and solve all the world's problem. Her clothes were dirty. She had a few scratches on her face, but other than that she looked unhurt.
She couldn't be more than six.
''Have you seen my mommy?''
''I'm sorry?''
''My mommy, have you seen her? She said that we meet here but I can't find her.''
Jaune looked around, maybe someone was looking for her. But it seemed that no one was looking for a child or calling someone's name franticly. He sighed then asked the girl.
''When did you see her last time?''
''When the big monsters attacked. We had to run away, through the forest with the others but I couldn't find her or Daddy.''
''Uuh, let's go and find them. Okay?''
She gave him a brief nod. Jaune reached his hand out which the little grasped almost immediately with her tiny hand. Jaune looked around with his head hoping someone was looking for her right now and she was just lost her mother here. When he saw no one, he signed. ''What is your name'' Jaune asked gently.
''Mira''
''Well, it's nice to meet you, Mira. My name is Jaune'' he gave her an encouraging smile.
''Are you a huntsman?'' She was looking at Crocea Mors.
''Yes, I am a huntsman.'' Children often loves hunters and their stories. Stories about how they kill grimms, how they protect villages and saves people. They are heroes and idols to many children across Remnant. How could they not? People who fight with extraordinary abilities against scary monsters with mechashift weapons. They whoop in and save the day. Who wouldn't like that? But they never tell the horrible parts to the kids. When they arrive late and the only things they could found were ash and blood.
''Just like Mommy and Daddy!'' This gave Jaune a more optimistic mood. If Mira's parents were hunters, then they had a pretty good chance to survival. Hopefully they made it to here and they were looking for Mira.
''Just like them. Let's go and find them.''
They headed what for Jaune looked like some information point. Five stands were built next to each other and in front of them queues of people waiting for their turn. Refugees from the destroyed settlement. They looked tired, but they had enough energy to wait.
Jaune chose the shortest queue. He hoped that they have information about the pair of hunters. Hunters always were attention grabbers, whatever they liked it or not. In situations like this, the people always remain close to them for protection and leadership. He theorized that one of them led the main group of refugees to Antlers while the other was protecting the stragglers. At least he would do that. So, one of them had to be here.
After five minutes it was their turn. The man behind the stand looked tired like everyone else. He didn't look up from his papers while he called them.
''What is your name and where do you come from?'' He was still looking at his papers, waiting to write down the answers.
''Jaune Arc, but I'm not a refugee. I'm looking for this girl's parents, according to her they are hunters. Do you know where they are?''
The man looked up to Jaune then looked at Mira. ''If they are here then they must be with the city watch's captain. You can find him at the western gate, his office is there. Anything else?''
''No, thanks.'' The man gave only a grunt for them then called for the next.
Fortunately, they quickly found the captain's office. It was a tall building, towering over the wall. The barracks were next to it on the two sides. Not many people were there, they must be at the refugee camp or on the walls around the town.
Infront the building, there was an open sided tent in which several people stood around a table. Some of them were wearing the local militia's uniform, the rest wore normal, civilian clothes. But two people, a man and a woman had something that the rest didn't, mechashift weapons on their back.
Hunters.
Jaune prayed in himself to some higher power that they were Mira's parents.
When they got close Mira shouted. ''Daddy!''
Almost everyone at table turned their attention to the little girl. The two hunters froze for a moment then. ''MIRA!'' shouted both and ran towards Jaune and Mira. The daughter started to run too, as much as her short legs allowed it. When they met, the parents fiercely locked their arms around the girl. Even this far Jaune could felt their happiness, a family reunited, unhurt. That brought a little smile to his face.
''They are the lucky ones'' commented the captain the heartful scene next to him. Jaune didn't noticed him until now ''Many people lost their family.''
Jaune turned towards the captain and asked. ''What happened exactly? How did so many people get here?''
The captain moved his attention from the family to Jaune then he nodded with his head sideways. They moved a bit away from the reunited family, out of their earshot.
''The refugees are hail from three different settlement. All of them were attacked by grimms. The earliest one was a bit over a week ago, a small pack of Grimm appeared out of nowhere middle of the night. Sadly, there was no hunter nearby and they didn't have that many weapons.'' he shake his head a bit. ''The survivors went to the nearest village for help, a few days later that village was attacked as well, poor folks. According to them it was a smaller horde. They hit fast. Luckily those two hunters lived there. The casualties were light, but they had to abandon the village to escort the survivors here. Along the way they met another group whose home was also destroyed by the Grimm. They Arrived in the early hours in the morning. We are on high alert now, all the guards are on the wall or helping some other way. We even have volunteers to help. We are ready to defend ourselves if they show up here.''
''You've put up heavy defences.'' stated Jaune, remembering the front gate.
''Aye, Antlers was a strategically important town during the Great War. The army had stored here heavy weapons if the town comes under attack from Mistral. Luckily this never came to pass, the war has ended, and they left the weapons here. They're certainly not the newest ones, but they do their job just as fine, and we have plenty of them. If the Grimm decide to attack us, we'll make 'em regret it.''
The captain was certainly confident in their chances. So was Atlas. Jaune could only hope that Antlers won't share the same fate as the flying city. They had enough weapons to field an army, but weapons only take you so far. Without someone behind it they worth nothing. He knew that during a battle many people would rather run for their life than fight. And if they run the defences could crumble which would cost everyone's life in the end.
''I hope you're right but most importantly I hope that you won't have to make them regret anything in the first place. A horde is no joke, no matter how many guns you have.''
''I'm not going to argue with that, but a leader must show confidence to his people, no matter how dire the situation might be. If their captain doesn't believe in victory, then who will. Why should they fight when they could run away with their family.''
''Giving them false hope could be just as catastrophic.''
''Of course. But you forget something important, lad. False hope better than no hope at all. If this is what all they need to fight, then I'm happy to provide it to them.'' the captain sighed and looked down to his feet. ''My younger self would have punched his captain in the face if he had done something like this.''
''And now?''
''And now I know better. Burden of leadership. One of the many, at least''
''Captain!'' A guard appeared behind them with a notebook, he gave his superior a quick salute. ''Sir, the meeting with the council will star in ten minutes.''
''Thank you, Jacob. I'll be there.'' The guard saluted again then left. The captain turned back to Jaune. ''Well, mister…?''
''Arc''
''Well, Mr. Arc, I must take my leave. It was nice to meet you.'' He gave Jaune his hand which he shook it. ''Same here, Captain.'' Before Jaune could step away the captain grabbed his shoulder.
''Don't forget lad, no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.'' Jaune could only gave him a nod before Antlers's captain marched away.
One fool. A fool.
This hit closer than he liked it. After all, these two words could sum up Jaune's life so easily. A fool, who thought that he could just cheat his way into one of Remnant's most prestigious school. A fool, who went to a combat school without any kind of training. A fool, who wanted to be a hero for selfish reasons. A fool, who lost so many things. A fool, who still was willing to fight.
Deep down, he knew that he wasn't doing this for a noble reason. No. It was entirely a selfish thing. He just didn't dare to admit it to himself. If he did then the illusion would disappear like breath on a mirror. And then what would remain? A broken old man in a young man's body who was fighting a losing battle hoping that he was able to do this one thing right. Most of his life was a series of particular failures. Fall of Beacon. Mistral and Haven. Atlas and Mantle. Penny. Alyx. He had spent countless nights wondering if someone else had been in his place from the initiation, then perhaps things would have turned out differently. Someone more experienced, more competent. Someone better. He stole that place from someone worthy. How many people would be still alive? They would be here, alive, but thanks to him they were dead. This was his chance to make things right somewhat.
A fool's hope for penance.
''Sorry sir. Are you alright?'' asked someone beside him. It was a middle-aged woman in uniform. She looked concerned.
''Uh, yes. Sorry, I just zoned out for a minute'' answered Jaune, hoping that it would be enough for her.
''Yeah, I could see that'' she still held her concerning gaze on him. ''Did you arrive with the refugees, sir?''
''Uh, no. I'm heading to Vale, just stopped here. Do you know an—'' Jaune was interrupted by loud engine noises. Three Bullheads flew over them in formation. One a bit ahead while the other two flew dutifully on its two sides somewhat after it. They were all black which was a bit strange. Usually, they don't paint them black. Before the trio could disappear among the buildings during landing, Jaune noticed an emblem on their sides, but they were too far for him to properly see it.
''Who are they?'' asked Jaune.
''The OSC.''
''OSC?''
''Office of Security Coordination, OSC for short. They were created after the Grimm attack at the last Vytal Festival.''
''What do they do?''
''Pass, all I know that they sometimes show up after something happened, usually Grimm related, ask questions then disappear as fast as they appeared. Well, according to the rumours, at least. Dealing with them is above my pay grade.'' explained the woman before she changed subject. ''You were asking about something before they show up.''
''Oh right. Do you know any good hotel nearby?''
''Hmm, there is one next to the mall, and they have Huntsman discount as well.'' she said with a smile.
''Thank you'' smiled back Jaune and received a nod from the woman before she went away.
Getting some nice rest in a soft bed would be a divine gift for Jaune. He only slept in his sleeping bag since he left Searock, a bit over a week ago. He wished that he could have rented a room in every town he came across so far, instead of sleeping in the wilds on the chilly spring nights. But he didn't have the time for this. He couldn't just stop and looking for an affordable hotel when instead he could go further for a few more hours. Time was not on his side. When was it? It was running out slowly but surely, time that he needed. The time that he would win with this could be the different between life and death.
But there was another thing.
He was short on money. They didn't get too much payment in Vacuo. The city had enough problem with the Atlesian refugees. Feeding, protect and lodging that amount of people out of nowhere was not that easy, especially since Vacuo was never a rich kingdom. The hunters got little money for their jobs, but they were accommodate in Shade where they would get meal as well - thus they wouldn't need to spend on these for themselves. Jaune hoped that the room wouldn't cost too much even with the discount.
He was broke.
Well, not entirely, but almost. The hotel was not only next to the mall. No, it was in the main street, next to a lot of fancy shop. This naturally pumped up his expenses – even with that mingy three percent discount. He couldn't stay for another night. He needed more money because that little he had was only enough to buy a few days worth of food for his journey. After that he would be forced to hunt which was time consuming or starve a little which was dangerous. He had a solution though.
Huntsman job.
There were always Grimm related problems almost everywhere or something else. And for these problems a Huntsman was the most practical solution. That's why the kingdoms fund the academies after all. While the arm forces keep the cities save with their automatic defence guns and air fleets, the Huntsmen and Huntresses keep the frontier settlements relatively save from the Grimm and bandits.
The jobs varied from easy to extremely hard or suicidal, this highly depended on issue's root cause. The ones connected to the Grimm depended on the Grimm's kind, class, and numbers. Human related usually were the easy ones – except if it was a rogue Huntsman, that could become problematic. The rogues usually were dealt by a whole Huntsmen team, it was easier that way.
Of course, this system wouldn't work without the rewards. The higher the risk, higher the reward. The Lien was provided by the local kingdom because they were the ones who could afford it, a village barely could afford a hunter on their own.
Though the kingdoms only offered these money to those who were willing to join to their rule.
That was the trick to the governments to expand their territory, without Huntsmen, the independent settlements were destined to fall. The hunters were rare sight around these villages because they rarely offered anything for them, of course they're responded for emergencies but often they're too late for help.
Antlers belonged to Vale, therefor they should have well-paying mission for passing huntsmen at the local office with a mission board. If fortune favoured Jaune, then he could get an easy mission with enough money that would be enough until the next town.
''Sorry, sir. We don't have any active mission, right now.'' said the blonde woman behind the desk. ''Unfortunately for you, we didn't have any Grimm that the local militia couldn't handle on their own, and the last bandit sighting around here was three years ago.''
Jaune cursed his luck in himself. He had possibly managed to find the only town where there was no Huntsmen mission. ''Are you sure? Nothing at all?''
''Sadly yes. The last mission was picked up two days ago by a Huntress, leading a small group of people to Vale. They left yesterday after they received their provision, before the storm.'' The woman gave him a sympathetic look and continued, ''Even if we had something, we couldn't pay you right away. Our budget was redirected to the town's militia after those villages were destroyed, not to mention providing shelter and food for the survivors. At best, we only could pay you next month.''
Jaune didn't have a month to spare here or money.
''What about that Huntress? How will she get her payment?'' asked Jaune.
''She'll receive it when she had successfully led the people to Vale and checked in for it at the local officials. Vale most likely pays her immediately.''
Jaune sighed. This job would have been perfect for him. A simple escort mission to Vale. Looks like fate hated him more than anything.
If he hadn't been… frightened by the storm, he might have gotten here in time and managed to convince that Huntress to work together before she left with the group. He only missed them by a few hours.
Wait
They left only yesterday. They couldn't get that far. The group likely was made up from civilians – they're not used to travel in fast pace, and there's the storm yesterday, that definitely slowed them down, maybe even stopped them.
He could catch up with them.
Maybe they're just a few hours a walk from here. He could meet up with them and convince them to let him join. Two hunters better than one, he wouldn't even ask for payment, the Huntress could keep all of it. Just let him to accompanying them till Vale. From there, he would ask for help from Beacon's Professors.
This could work but he must hurry.
He thanked the woman and left quickly.
The thick vegetation of the forest around him started to thin out as he was getting higher on the hill. Since he heftily left Antlers, he has followed the road which – according to the guards, the group have used.
In the past three hours while he jogged on his way towards the group, he tried to figure out what to say when he finally reached them.
He didn't want to come across as a bandit but most likely this will be their initial thought. A random man shows up claiming that he followed them from Antlers. Then they will inevitably notice his weapon, a bandit would only have a gun or something – something easily used, but someone with a sword would give them a worse thought. A rogue huntsman who wants to rob them or worse, and this will be point where their Huntress joins in the conversation, probably violently, if he couldn't defuse the situation by that point.
The best option would be to show them his Huntsman licence at the beginning, but they'd let him that close? He hoped that the situation wouldn't escalate quickly out of hand to the point where he has to use Crocea Mors. A relatively relaxed conversation where he could explain to the group and that Huntress why he had followed them and why he wanted to join them would be the ideal scenario. Hopefully, his reasons will be good enough to them: a plus hunter to protect them, he didn't want money just a little food for his services. Not the most winning reasons but he would come up with something better before he catches up with them.
Jaune was almost at the top of the hill when he heard an explosion not far from him. When he reached the hilltop which was above the treeline, Jaune saw a column of black smoke was rising up among the trees a few hundred meters from him. Around the column, the trees were heavily moving and shaking.
Sounds of gunshots, roaring and screaming echoed through the distance.
Jaune started to run towards the fight. His leg pounded the ground so hard like never before. As he got closer and closer the gunshots and the screaming were lessened which could be a good thing or a horrible thing.
From the roaring Jaune guessed that the group had run into grimms, but the disappearing noises of the battle made him anxious, either grimms were dropping dead fast or the humans. The latter option made him to run faster, but there was no beaten path between him and the group that made the navigation among the trees complicated.
The ground trembled from another and Jaune felt the shockwave as well. It come from close.
He was almost there.
When he got close to what appeared to be a clearing, he dropped his back bag and pulled out his broken sword as he dashed through the treeline.
A camp welcomed him, or what remained from it. There was maybe a dozen tent in a circular form, most of it were destroyed. There were either torn apart or burned down. As he went closer, he started to find the camp's residents – or what's left of them. Men and women bodies scattered around the camp, rifles and shotguns were in their hand or near them – they didn't give up that easily. He could see a few grimms that didn't evaporate completely which meant that he missed the whole thing by mere minutes.
He was too late.
Again.
He could add another failure to the rest. It's like a never-ending cycle of hope and disappointment, for every time when he felt hopeful that he could help someone – to do his duty and job, would be replaced by the soul crushing disappointment of failure, that he was not good enough again, that he failed again. When will it stop? Never? Was he sentenced to fail forever? When wi–
A clattering sound behind him broke Jaune out of his thoughts. One of the collapsed tents was moving. No, something inside the tent was moving. A grimm? Jaune slowly moved closer ready to strike with Crocea Mors if it was needed. When he was just a few meters away, he heard it.
Sniffling, it was quiet and small, but it was audible to Jaune. He froze for a moment. This wasn't a grimm, someone was crying. Someone was alive. He was moving before he noticed it. He had to help to whoever was under the destroyed tent.
Jaune stabbed his sword to the ground before he knelt down in front of the brownish fabric. He didn't want to pull off the remaining of the tent too fast because he didn't want to scare further the already frightened person under it, but he didn't know that there was any grimm nearby, so he had to do it quickly. He couldn't waste time, if they were hurt during the attack then every minute counted.
He pulled away the fabric, his own blue eyes met with a frightened teary blue pair. They belonged to a little girl who couldn't be more than eleven. Her shoulder length raven black hair was messy and a bit dirty. Tears were running down on her cheeks from her bloodshot eyes. She looked absolute terrified, trembling like an autumn leaf; she sat on the ground holding her legs to her chest, her gaze was firmly sat on him.
She reminded Jaune to one his little sister who had nightmares when they're little. Lavender often came over from her room to his to seek safety from monsters that scared her during night. That her big brother would cast away the monsters from her room or she could stay in his till morning. The similarity started and ended there that this girl was scared and she needed help, here the monsters were real not imaginary, here he was a huntsman whose duty was protect her and destroy her monsters. Here he could help her, save her.
''Hey'' he started softly to sooth her. ''Its alright, I'm here to help. My name is Jaune, I'm a huntsman, see.'' he raised his arm slowly towards Crocea Mors. Her eyes followed his every move, she was still deathly scared. ''What's your name?'' he tried to do everything slowly and gently to calm her down, to lower her guard so he could help her.
''They said that I mustn't talk to strangers.'' she said, her voice was croaked.
He chuckled a little. ''That's true, but I told you who I am and what I do, so technically I'm not a stranger.'' he tried to convince her. ''You know, my mom always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, and she's almost always right about everything.'' he gave her a little smile. ''And if you don't say your name then I'm afraid that I have to give you one, and sadly on that front I'm really bad. So, what's your name?''
''Thana. Thana Keres'' she answered timidly.
As far as Jaune could see Thana didn't have any visibly injury but he couldn't be sure.
''It's nice to meet you, Thana. Please tell me, did you get hurt?''
She shook her head which gave Jaune a little relief.
''Ok, that's good. Can you tell –''
Jaune was cut off by a loud roar. He quickly turned around and grabbed Crocea Mors. The roaring came beyond the tree lines, he couldn't see what caused it, he positioned himself between the roar and Thana to protect her. He could feel how the ground rumbling under his legs, the sound of trees falling in the distance was unmistakable, and it was getting closer.
''Thana listen to me! Do you see that big oak tree on your left side? The one with the thick trunk.''
''Yes'' replied Thana.
''When I say run, you run there and hide behind it.'' Jaune still faced toward the source of the roaring which was getting closer and closer. ''No matter what you hear, you stay there! If I'm not there in five minutes, then you start running towards that big hill behind you. There will be a road, from there you'll see a lake, go that direction and you will be back at Antlers.'' Jaune could see how the canopy of trees was moving wildly. ''No matter what you hear or see, you mustn't stop! Do you understand me?'' pressed Jaune.
''Y-Yes''
He hoped that she had truly understood it because he got no idea what's coming to here but one thing was certain – it's big.
Jaune's grip on Crocea Mors was tight, every muscle in his body was ready to his commands, he felt like his heart wanted to jump out of his chest. The cracking of the falling trees was as loud as the sound of the lightning.
He was ready.
There was a big roar then a black thing was flying from among the trees and landing not far from him. It took for moment to Jaune to realize what was it. It was the Huntress who escorted the group to the city of Vale, she too was still alive. Jaune couldn't see her properly because she wore a black travel cloak which completely covered her from head to toe as he laid on her stomach, she tried to get up, but she fell back to the ground. He wanted to run to her to check on her, but before he could have moved, a mighty roar took all of his attention.
A big black creature emerged from the forest. It's big, clawed paws left deep marks in the soil, black fur and bone-like spines covered it except its feathery wings. The Grimm's body resembled a lion thanks to the large crown-like mane of white bone, a pair of massive bull horn adorned its skeleton skull. On the Grimm's other side there was a scorpion tail, waiting for to sting its victim.
It was a manticore.
Jaune hadn't seen one in decades, the last time he fought one was in Atlas's final days, and before that on Argus Limited. He knew that despite the size manticores are rather agile, in the air fast enough to catch up with an express train. The scorpion tail was obviously venomous, and deadly. And if he remembered correctly, they had a nasty habit to breathe fire. Fantastic.
The manticore finally took a notice of him and looked like it was ready charge at him in any moment, but he rather took the initiative.
''Thana run!''
Thana started to run to her hiding place behind the oak tree as he sprinted towards the Grimm. He wanted the manticore's undivided attention solely for himself. This way Thana was somewhat save and Huntress had some time to get up.
The manticore didn't move until Jaune got near it, he tried to position himself between the grimm and the Huntress to protect her from further harm. When Jaune was in striking distance, the grimm leapt in action and turned its body to sting Jaune but missed him by a few inches. The knight on the other hand was able to slash the manticore across its back while he jumped over it, when he landed the black creature let out an angry roar and tried to use its horns to stab Jaune.
He managed to block it with his shield but the manticore attack was strong enough to blow him against a nearby tree. Fortunately, his aura protected him from most of the harm, but he certainly felt the impact as tree shuddered into the impact.
Jaune knew that with a broken blade he couldn't take on a manticore, it was simply too short to kill it in one attack. Thankfully he had an idea.
''That's all you got, you overgrown fleabag.'' Jaune taunted the grimm, as if it understood what he's saying. The said fleabag let out a mighty roar and charged at Jaune.
Maybe it understood him.
Jaune had rolled out the way before the manticore could have use him as a decorative element on its horn.
The tree was not so lucky. The manticore hit the tree with so much force – where in front Jaune had stood moments before, that the tree snapped in two.
''Hah, you missed me, fatso!'' gloated Jaune.
Maybe it actually understood him because Jaune would have sworn that the grimm snapped its head at him and looked really pissed.
The manticore took a wider stance and took a deep breath, then shot a beam of fire out of its mouth. Jaune had fell to his back and let the fire passed above him. He shut his eyes. The heat stung his skin on his face a little, and the roaring of the fire dominated his hearing, shutting out the rest of the world for moments.
When the flames passed, he opened his eyes and rolled aside as he felt the trembling ground under him – the manticore was charging at him again.
He didn't know how long he could keep evade the attacks, he has end this. Luckily, it was almost ready. While Jaune kept avoiding the manticore's attacks, he could concentrate channelling his aura to Crocea Mors. He had read about this in Atlas and managed to accomplish this technique in Ever After. Aura Slash, when someone channel a part of his aura into his weapon and release it to create a powerful arc of aura. This was the only way that he could kill the grimm with his broken sword which now emanated a faint white glow, like the colour of his aura. At the next charge he would end this.
The manticore had another idea sadly.
It was now closer to the Huntress who was still lying unconscious on the ground than to Jaune. Looked like it had changed its target to an easier one and started to run towards her.
At this, Jaune leapt to action as well. He sprinted after the grimm, he ran as fast as his muscles were able to push him. Adrenalin was running through his veins, time seemingly slowed down, he prepared himself to let the aura out of his sword.
The manticore was almost at her when he decided to end this. As he swung Crocea Mors, the white light left the sword and turned into brilliant white arc which travelled towards the manticore. The black monster leapt into the air to jump onto the Huntress and end her life, but before it could had done it, the white arc slashed the grimm in half. Its parts flew over her and almost immediately started to turn into black smoke when they landed.
He did it.
Finally he was able to save people, to be someone's hero. He knew that he shouldn't think like that, but he was too eager to take this victory because he was beyond happy, he was ecstatic. He was a bit winded, but he let out a little chuckle. He couldn't celebrate just yet, he needed to check on his colleague who was still unconscious and collect Thana. She had to be terrified.
''Thana, you can come out now.'' Thana's head appeared from behind the tree's trunk as Jaune called for her. ''It is over, it can't hurt you anymore.''
Jaune dropped his sword and shield to the ground and knelt down next to the Huntress to see her injuries and heal her with his Semblance.
In the following weeks after they had returned to Remnant, he had some trouble with his Semblance. It hadn't worked reliably. Sometimes it had worked fine, sometimes less effective, and other times hadn't worked at all, no matter how hard he had tried. He hoped that he even had enough aura to help her, his Aura Slash was an overkill which cost him a large chunk of aura.
The Huntress was lying face down on the grassy ground in her black travel cloak which still covered her entirely. Jaune had seen her move before the manticore appeared, so he knew that she was still alive. The lack of blood around her gave him some relief.
Jaune grabbed her right shoulder to turn her on her back carefully. The cloak's hood moved away and revealed her face. The blood in Jaune's veins turned to ice, his entire being froze, like he was just an observer in his own body. He felt some kind of pressure in his chest which he couldn't identify but he didn't care. The triumph that he had felt earlier disappeared like a dream in the morning.
The unnamed Huntress whose job was to protect these people until they reach Vale was not a stranger to him, he knew her. He knew her name, who she was, what had she done to everyone, to him. He had dreamt about her many times. Usually she was his tormentor, a voice that always taunted him with his mistakes, a monster who was about to kill him among joyous laughs; but often their roles were reversed, those dreams scared him sometimes. Would he able to do it, to kill her, to become someone like her.
It appeared he was about to found out.
Because Cinder Fall was laying right before him.
Her raven black hair appeared to be longer than the last time he had seen her. She was a bit paler, no doubt because the fight with the manticore. Her eyepatch which usually covered her left eye was missing, her hair mostly hid her face's left side, but the scar was visible if someone focused on it. Her face was strangely calm and peaceful, no sign of her signature smug smirk which she always wore at every encounter.
Her breathing was shallow and short, a thin layer of sweat covered her exposed skin, maybe her paleness wasn't from the fight. Jaune eyes wandered to her right arm where her clothe was teared, she had a cut on her upper arm. It wasn't a deep one but looked bad, her red blood was slowly flowing out the wound with some purplish liquid. The veins near the wound started to appear clearly under her skin. Was it venom? What could –
The manticore.
It must have stung her with its scorpion tail during their fight. But why were they fighting? They're on the same side, both of them served Salem. Why was she escorting these people? This didn't make any sense for Jaune. But it didn't matter, whatever her plan was he could end this here and now.
His body slowly thawed from its previous frozen state and his arm find Crocea Mors's hilt. The ancient sword felt heavier than ever before as he lifted it up from the grass. He rested the sword in his lap.
He didn't know how many times he had wondered about this moment as a young man, when she was finally at his mercy. A part of him thought that this day would never come. He always thought that there would be a battle between them that he wouldn't survive, back then he fine with it, he wanted revenge more than anything.
Now, it would be strangely easy.
A singly move and she would be dead.
Jaune slowly started to raise up Crocea Mors from his lap. A thousand thought were running across his mind, mostly about those people who were dead because of her. When his mind reached Pyrrha, his hand stopped mid-air. He remembered why she had died.
The Fall Maiden.
Pyrrha would have been next host for the Maiden powers. The powers which go to someone else when its current host dies. If the current Maiden didn't choose an inheritor, then the power would go to a woman who was in the right age. If Jaune kills Cinder now, the power of the Fall Maiden would go to a random woman.
He would curse a total stranger with this power. Salem and her minions were hunting the Maidens. He would basically sign someone's death warrant with Cinder's death. She would be hunted until they find her, from there she would have two choices: join or die.
''Are you going to hurt her?'' asked a timid voice.
Jaune looked to his left. Thana stood there, watching him. She was hugging a plush toy to her chest.
''N-No'' answered Jaune with a shaken voice. He was surprised because he forgot about Thana entirely for a minute, he didn't even notice her until now. He saw that she was eyeing his sword which was raised at same height as his head, when he noticed this, he immediately lowered his arm.
Gods, what was he thinking? He almost killed someone in front of a kid. What's wrong with him?
''I just… need to cut her shirt at her wound to see her injury.'' He tried to give Thana a believable answer, the last thing he needed now that Thana run off to somewhere because she thinks he is a bad man. ''See?'' said Jaune as he cut the fabric at the wound and put down Crocea Mors.
Thana slowly moved closer to see it. ''Are you going to heal her?''
Was he?
This woman was Cinder Fall, the Fall Maiden, one of Remnant's most wanted. She was responsible for countless deaths and unprecedented destruction across the world. Leaving her alive would be a stupid thing to do. Healing her? Downright crazy. But he couldn't kill her in front a little girl, and he was close to be crazy anyway.
''Yes, I can heal her with my Semblance. You know what's a Semblance, right?'' Thana gave him an uncertain nod. She probably only heard about it, but she didn't know exactly what it is.
Jaune hovered his hand above the wound, he hesitated. He was unsure whether this was the right thing to do or not. He dreaded to think what the consequences for this would be.
Thana still watched him, waiting to see his Semblance. Jaune made his decision, hopefully the right one.
He put his hand on the wound, the other one to her stomach. He closed his eyes and concentrated. His aura started flow from across his body to his arms which caused his hands to shine in white, then Cinder's aura flared up in orange colour, first close to his hands, then slowly spread across her whole body.
His Semblance – due its nature, let Jaune to feel someone's aura. He could approximately tell a person's aura level when he used it. Right now, it was a giant void that he felt inside her. What little aura she had was weak, desperately tried to heal her wounds, with his help the process would accelerate.
The wound's edges on her arm started to coalesce, but after some point, it stopped, no matter how much arura he had given to her. He almost ran out aura when he decided to stop. The manticore's venom wasn't allowing him to close the cut.
Damn it.
She needed a doctor, fast. They had to go back to Antlers, there should be a doctor, maybe even a hospital.
He scooped her up carefully into bridal style. She was lighter than he had expected, he ensured her head rested against his chest, her body supported securely against his own. Even through his armor, he could feel how warm she was.
She must have a fever.
''Thana'' Jaune called, ''We have to go back to Antlers, she needs a doctor.''
''Will Miss Cinder be okay?''
''Uh yes, of course. But we need to hurry. That won't be a problem, right?''
She shook her head.
''Alright then. Let's go''
Hello there. A bit late but I'm here with a new chapter. Sorry for the delay, I was a little busy lately, but you get a long chapter in exchange, the longest one yet. Our main characters finally meet, sort of.
Hope you'll like it.
You can find this story on ao3 with the same name, if you like that platform better.
Fun fact for the last chapter: the Malaluxes (Mala lux) means bad light(s) in Latin. The creatures had no name in the series, and I thought that this would a good one.