I would Like to point out that I am now trying to juggle about six stories where I only intended to be updating three. Plans change I guess. In any case, this me updating one of those stories. Anyway, on to the story!
"For the grace. For the might of the Lord. For the home of the holy~." Jaune sang of one of his favorite songs in a whisper. He was trying to keep his spirits high so that the Regi Gigantice couldn't find him so easily. There was hardly anything that tried to get at him as he walked through the forest area. He still couldn't see much with how the branches up above blocked out most if not all light coming through. He couldn't see if it was night or day, he only knew that he needed to get somewhere with other people.
"There has to be a small village, settlement, something. I can't be alone out here." Jaune told himself as he moved through a rather densely wooded area. He of course found nothing but more forestry. He sighed to himself before marking the nearest tree. He was smart enough to know that he should make sure to keep himself from going in circles. Seeing them would mean that he had been turned around in some way, but he hasn't seen them since he started making them. So that at least made him feel confident that he was going somewhere.
Jaune's footsteps resounded in the rather empty forest. Regardless of how hard he tried to keep his mood high, he still couldn't shake this anxiety that was steadily building in his gut. He still couldn't let that get to him though, he needed to soldier on. there was just too much at stake here to just let his fears overtake him. He had a promise to keep!
"I haven't heard the thing yet, so I'm sure that It's nowhere near me." Jaune said to himself as he carefully walked on. He was keeping a close eye on his surroundings. He may be one of the only things in this forest, but that doesn't mean that he should let his guard down. He was in the middle of Oum knows where with no idea where he was going. For all he knew, he could be stuck out here for the rest of his life...
"No! damn it! I'm coming back. I don't care what gets in my way, I'm going to see them again. Even if that thing gets in between me and my friends, I'll fight tooth and nail to get passed it." Jaune said resolutely, the ever present fire in his soul flaring up just a bit more as he slammed his fist into a tree next to him and marked it. However, what he didn't know or even notice, was that his pure will and determination had manifested itself into a physical form, if only slightly. His knuckles had changed color, as if they had been coated in something. Changing from what should have been purple, bruised skin, into a dark navy blue, almost black metal alloy. It only lingered for a moment before it receded back to his bare fist.
The man strode onward, his destiny residing within his own two hands.
Jaune had no clue what time it was now, only that he was getting tired and sleepy from how long he had been walking. It had to have been two or three days since he first woke up. However, whenever he even thought about trying to find a suitable place to rest for a bit, he'd hear something a little ways from his position that would get closer as time went on and he'd have to climb a tree to escape whatever it was. It always turned out to be either a small Beowolf or just a small rodent. He had to climb up those trees fairly quickly regardless. He needed to treat every encounter like that as if it were to be the Regi itself.
"I can't rely on my eyes here either. It's too dark." Jaune said to himself as he walked further on into the dense foliage. It was true. With little to no light here, his eyes proved to be useless. He had to rely on his other senses and his instincts to get around. Even now as his body was suffering from fatigue and hunger, he still had to make sure that he was devoting everything to his surroundings and not collapsing. He hadn't eaten anything since they arrived in that village to begin with. So that left him with an empty stomach in a place devoid of most life. Either he needed to find a settlement soon, or start catching whatever rodents might be out here.
He heard another rustling in the bushes next to him and grunted in light frustration. In his tiredness, he didn't catch whatever had been creeping up on him. His entire body ached for rest, but whatever was in that bush was coming strait for him. He knew for a fact that this wasn't a small creature that was trying to find a food source at this point. Especially not when it swiped it's sharp claws at him or growled in his face. It was only because of his instincts and something that he didn't realize he was using that he was able to effectively dodge and predict it's movements. He got into a weak stance, having no other choice but to fight. He was confident that he wouldn't be able to climb a tree fast enough to get away from the Beowolf that stood before him, and he certainly wasn't going to be strong enough to out run it. So the best he could do was fight it head on.
"Alright, come on you mangy mutt." Jaune taunted with eyes shut. In this environment, anything he'd see would most probably just confuse him. So with fake courage, he relied completely on his other senses.
The Beowolf, having found it's first source of food in weeks, had pounced at the chance of being able to feed. Most of it's pack had attacked the settlement when they were able to distract the Six Eyed Demon long enough. He stayed behind, knowing that the attack would not work. His encounter with another group of Hunters had taught him that trying to attack them head on within their settlements would not end well. He was correct of course, but it left him alone with no pack to hunt with. It was only because of it's agility and age that it was able to sneak around the Six Eyed Demon and catch whatever little creatures inhabited this place that it was able to survive. However, It had recently caught wind of a human wandering around here. It took a few days, possibly three, to find it due to the fact that the human seemed to be deterring it with positive emotions. However, with it's enhanced sense of smell, it was able to find them either way.
The Grim howled before swiping again at the human. However, it was surprised when it's prey had dodged seamlessly to the side. It would seem that this was no ordinary prey.
Jaune didn't know what happened there. In one moment, he couldn't tell if the thing was attacking or just sitting there, and in the next, he felt something within himself and could almost see what the Beowolf was doing. He didn't have time to think it over as that same feeling washed over him and 'saw' the attacks coming towards him and allowed his body to move on it's own. However, he knew that just dodging these strikes wouldn't win him this battle, so he mustered up his strength and tightened his fist, finding energy from his sheer willpower and threw his arm forward, that same navy blue metal covering his knuckles.
As the attack landed, Jaune heard a sickening crunch and would have wagered that it was his own hand breaking, but felt no pain. He looked confused for a moment before hearing the whimpering of his opponent and was surprised to realize that he had actually hurt it in some way. He shook off his shock and moved in for the kill.
The Beowolf had it's snout pretty much shattered after that blow. It hadn't expected it's prey to be so strong, especially since it had been days since it had last rested. It figured that it would have tired out already and that this would be an easy hunt, but that seemed to not be the case. It was also suffering from fatigue too though, having been starved for so long, it's strength was not what it should be. It's strikes slow and sluggish. However, for as weak as it was, it would not die without a fight.
'Just one more hit like that and It's-GAH!' Jaune thought in his mind before he felt the pain of the Beowolf's claw strike his side. It hadn't been able to do anything thanks to his Aura, but since he exhausted his Aura killing that Nevermore, his Aura has been critically low. Even after all this time, it was only slowly creeping back up to full. He had only just registered that the strike was coming when it hit, breaking his Aura and forcing him to back off. He touched the area where he was hit and only found that the area was slightly bruised if the dull ache was anything to go by.
He calmed down after a moment and really focused on the fight, knowing that his opponent was injured, but still ready to tear him to shreds if he let his guard down. With an unwavering conviction and a deep snarl, Jaune stepped forward and charged his foe. The Beowolf in turn charged him too and went to disembowel the human and force them to submit before feasting upon their flesh, the satisfaction of victory belonging once again to the darkness.
As the two weakened fighters drew closer and the Beowolf swiping down at Jaune's midsection, Jaune had a flash of what was happening and brought his left hand to block the attack at the elbow and swing his right arm with as much strength as he could muster to end this fight. However the Beowolf had simply bent it's arm, wanting to harm the human as much as possible and possibly cause them to flinch before finishing them off.
It's claw had made contact with his midsection, but since it was only at half the strength since Jaune had blocked the attack, it didn't completely bisect the young man. However, the claws still dug into the flesh, no longer protected by Aura, and made a trail of blood as it traveled up his torso.
Jaune grit his teeth, feeling his skin be torn asunder by the Beowolf, it's four claws leaving permanent damage as it scraped across his rib cage, the pain being almost unbearable for Jaune. He saw his life flash before his eyes, fully knowing that if he were to falter now, the Beowolf would capitalize it and finish him off. However, as he thought about his friends, his loved ones and the two redheads in his life, a new vigor arose within him and with his sheer willpower, he tensed his muscles, grit his teeth, clenched his fist, and swung as hard as he could muster!
The claw that had been digging it's way across his chest had stopped at his collarbone due to the blue metal that had coated the front of his body. Jaune's entire fist being coated in the same substance. The Beowulf could only look on in confusion and slight fear as it felt it's own claw get stuck in it's prey and the fist make it's way to it's face. The only noise coming out of it's maw before the fist tore through it was a single grunt.
With the damage done and it's face caved in, the Grim had been killed and was quickly dissipating.
Jaune was breathing hard, his arm still outstretched and his face strained. The metal that had coated his chest stopping the claw had gone now and was now bleeding freely. He let out a grunt, struggling to even stay standing before he heard a loud rumbling off in the distance. He figured that the emotions he was emitting would have drawn the attention of other Grim, including the Regi Gigantice. He frowned at that fact before trying to move. He found that even trying to move was unbelievably painful. He almost collapsed then and there. However, as he heard the rumbling of a stampede make it's way towards his location, he thought about his friends and how he needed to get back to them and made his way forward despite the pain.
Jaune had only made it a few blocks away when he felt the rumbling of the ground become even more prominent and realized that he couldn't run away in time. He sure as hell couldn't climb a tree like this either, but he knew that he needed to do something. And fast.
"There's got to be a hollowed out tree or something around here." Jaune whispered to himself as he tried to move forward, a hand trying to apply pressure to his wound to slow the bleeding. His Aura, or whatever was left of it, was also mitigating the amount of blood loss that was happening. Thankfully, he found what he was looking for. Bad news was, it was a hole in the ground with a bottom that he couldn't see. However, as the tumbling of trees became closer and closer to his location, he realized that he really didn't have a choice in the matter.
Hesitating on just jumping into the darkness, Jaune looked behind him, seeing that light was breaking through thanks to the falling trees, he realized that The Regi Gigantice was almost upon him. With no other option, Jaune quickly took a breath and jumped into the hole, prepared for the possibility of there being stalagmites at the bottom of his fall. He just hoped to god that his death would be quick if that were the case.
As he fell into even deeper darkness, he could hear the deep call of the Gigantice from above, undoubtedly trying to find him. He fell for a few seconds before finding that he was suddenly submerged in water. It would seem that he got lucky. This was an underground cave or river. He didn't think much on it as he quickly swam to the surface and tried to pedal himself forward. It was then that he noticed a patch of glowing fungi near a shore off in the distance. It was the only light source in this entire area, so he naturally swam towards it.
He was swimming towards the light source, one hand still applying pressure to his wound while the other pedaled, when he heard a loud crumbling from up above. He didn't have to be a genius to realize what was happening. Especially not when he heard the Gigantice roaring loudly.
It was trying to break it's way down to him.
"Leave me the hell alone already you god damn bastard." Jaune grunted to himself as he could hear the falling of cave rocks splash around him.
He had just reached the shore of the small cave when he heard a loud splash behind him accompanied by the prominent call of the Regi Gigantice. He knew that he didn't have much time before the thing would be on top of him and promptly moved as fast as he could. He scanned the area around him, given the limited amount of light, he could only see so much. Thankfully, he saw a crack in a distant wall and an opening that he could tell would just fit him. Only problem, it was a fair distance away and he couldn't move too fast with his injury. But, with the sloshing of water and another call from the giant Grim, he threw caution to the wind and went into a full blown sprint.
He could feel the injury flaring up in pain, the skin tearing again where the blood had clotted. But he bared his teeth and did what was needed to survive. A good thing too since he could hear the loud stomping of the Grim behind him. He dared not to look behind him as he heard the footfalls come closer and closer.
He had that same feeling from earlier flood through his system when he quickly sidestepped to the left when he heard the crushing of rock at his side. Once again not having time to think on it, Jaune took this opportunity to keep running. At this point, he had been numbed to the pain and ran even faster. He had just made it to his destination and was going to try and maneuver his way through the opening when yet another impact had exploded behind him, causing Jaune to fly through the crack roughly. He shouted in pain, having scraped along the rough rock before falling onto the floor. He looked up to see that the pathway between his entrance and the exit was a lot larger than he had realized, having the cave wall be even thicker than what he first imagined. Either way, he could hear the Grim trying to get at him even now, so he got up into a low crouch to accommodate the small passage and trudged forward.
"Come on, just a little further." Jaune said to himself as he saw more of those glowing fungi up ahead. He had been crawling for well over a few minutes now, with the sounds of the Grim banging on the wall becoming less and less prominent. However, Jaune knew that a Grim that advanced would realize soon enough that it could just go around and meet him at wherever this cave system ended. That meant that he would need to move fast and find that exit before it did.
So as he finally weaseled his way out of the small crevice, he stopped to take a breath, having gone from a draining fight, immediately to a grueling run for his life, and finally into a triathlon to make sure that he didn't turn into a smear on the ground. He looked up to see that he had come upon a large expansion of the cave. He could see a pond to the left that he could tell had some fish if the one jumping out of the water didn't tell him that much. He set that aside for later as he looked ahead finding something strange.
"What in the...?" Jaune mumbled to himself as he saw that not only was there a field of grass that looked like it belonged more on the surface of his home town than an underground cave, but there was a single tree in the middle of it all. It wasn't all that large, probably only a bit larger than Jaune himself. That wasn't what had caught his eye however. It was the single fruit that hung from it. The thing being out in the open, without any sort of leaves or other branches hiding or covering it. The fruit hanging at chest height, hanging on a thin stem. He would have questioned what such a thing was doing here. Or why the fruit itself looked to be an over sized pear that's skin was pitch black in color with deep blue arrows going from the base of it to the stem. or even how any of those plants were able to grow without any sort of sunlight whatsoever, But...
"I'm too damn hungry to care." Jaune groaned out as he quickly strode forward. He stumbled a few times with how weak he felt and how fatigued his body became, but his hunger had driven him to move on. He was breathing heavily as he stood in front of the fruit, his vision slightly blurry, but with a shaky hand, he took hold of the fruit and tugged, finding a surprisingly small amount of resistance, having pulled the fruit away, he never noticed how the tree along with the grass below him started to wilt as soon as he took it. He then quickly took as big of a bite as he could out of the thing and swallowed as soon as he finished chewing. It was only after two more of these bites that he registered the taste.
"Ugh! That's disgusting!" Jaune exclaimed as he nearly gagged at how bad it tasted. He lightly heaved before regaining control of his coughing fit. He took deep breaths, looking to the fruit in his hands and noticing that the insides were a light blue color with seeds dotting along the entirety of it not unlike a dragon fruit. He was going to throw it away when his stomach growled again, demanding that he ate it. He wanted to chuck the damned, vile thing to the floor, but with how long it had been since he last ate...
"It'll have to do." Jaune lamented as he reluctantly took another bite of the vile fruit. He could already feel his body giving up on him without the adrenaline finally starting to wear off, but he needed to get something in his system. Besides, his numbness actually helped him get the fruit down.
So as he finished the rather large fruit down to it's core, his consciousness was finally starting to fade out. He had stayed awake for over seventy-two consecutive hours straining himself the entire time and sustained a serious injury. His body was now forcing itself to shut down so that it could go to work in trying to heal him. He was about to collapse when he heard a voice from behind him.
"Oi!" The voice called out. Jaune was barely able to just turn his head before falling to the ground, not able to do anything else. He took a few deep breaths before slipping into unconsciousness.
Ozpin expected many things to happen when he had gotten an S.O.S today. He expected to see a team hurt, but relatively safe. He even expected them to be in critical condition, but all back in Beacon Academy where they could be treated. After all, they were his best first year teams.
However, seeing them arrive mostly unharmed was not one of them.
He almost let out a sound of relief when he saw the two teams come out of that Bullhead. He looked upon them with welcoming eyes. They looked sullen though. Probably because they had to come back so soon. It had only been a few days since they had gone out on that mission. Four to be exact. An extra day more than they were contracted, but he wouldn't complain as long as they came back safely. He looked upon all of them with analytic eyes to make sure that they were all safe, just as a precaution. Specifically team JNPR, mostly for their blonde leader-
.
..
...
"Where is Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked as a creeping sense of dread quickly made itself known. At the mention of the resident knight, all of them had various reactions. Though they all had the same undertone of intense grief. Pyrrha and Ruby had nearly broken down crying again as his name was mentioned. Rei was the same, but hid it better, which wasn't saying much considering a few tears broke out regardless. Nora had sobbed a few times as she looked down at the ground. Weiss looked away, having felt shame for not being able to do her job at protecting her friends. Regardless of what her relationship to Jaune was, she should have been able to protect him. He was a friend.
"He's..." Yang tried to choke out, but found it difficult to say. Her eyes were a crimson red, but from what? Her Semblance? From crying? A combination of both? Who knows, but she just couldn't say what happened. It was an injury that she just couldn't find the strength to push through. Her partner was the same, still trying to figure out why Jaune would sacrifice himself for them, or why he would feel that he was so much lesser than them. She hardly ever talked to him, but she could never have done something so brave...
"When the village was being overrun by Grim, we decided to evacuate and get to a safe location. However, as we were taking off, an Ancient Nevermore attacked us and nearly destroyed the engines. It was going to completely destroy the ship when the Team JNPR leader jumped off to kill the thing. It was thanks to him that we were able to barely make it to Patch. That's when the engines finally gave out and we crash landed into the forest. From there, we walked the rest of the way and were able to make it to town and call in another Bullhead." The pilot said, giving his report. He had already lit up a cigarette and took a puff as he stood a few feet in front of the teams. He let out a cloud of smoke as he said the next bit.
"In all my years, I've never seen such a young man do in a heartbeat what a veteran Huntsman hesitates to do." The pilot commentated as he walked off. He needed to get a drink.
Ozpin stood stock still as he heard that information. He turned to the two teams, seeing that they had started crying openly now, hearing it all brought the emotions back as fresh as the moment it happened. He saw Ruby with the Arc family Heirloom in her hands, clutched so tightly that if the Headmaster didn't know any better, he'd think that the metal was going to groan. Even still, he...he...
"We need to get a rescue team ready immediately." Ozpin suddenly stated, his expression serious. He turned on a heel and started strutting towards his office to make an order for the rescue of Jaune Arc. He was not going to let one of his most promising students die like this! Not a chance!
"Glynda, get as many Huntsmen as you can to go on this mission; I want every available Hunter going out there to rescue Jaune Arc." Ozpin commanded through his Scroll after his assistant answered. He was met with an affirmative before he hung up. He was still striding towards his office when he acknowledged the fact that the two teams were following close behind him.
"You need to stay here and rest. You are tired and weak from your long trek back. I do not wish to put you in danger when it is avoidable." Ozpin stated as he approached his tower. The two teams still followed him regardless, wanting to go out there and find their friend too!
"No! It's my fault that he's out there in the first place! I need to go out there and help find him!" Ruby cried as she spoke with a fierce conviction. She gripped the sword in her hands tightly and tried to stare down the older man, however, Ozpin was not in the least bit swayed.
"Ms. Rose, while it is true that you were the one to not only blackmail me into letting you go on that mission, to which I will be facing the repercussions as well for letting such a thing happen, it is also you who failed as the leader of both teams and allowed for Mr. Arc to fall into the Grimlands. However, this is much larger than simply pinning the blame on someone, your classmate and friend is within the most dangerous, hostile environment on the planet. Punishment will be dealt with if he comes back. Even if he does, there is no guarantee that he will do so alive." Ozpin said, laying out the cold facts to them. It was enough to shock the rest of her team and subdue Ruby into not wanting to go. However, it would seem that the rest of team JNPR were still hellbent on going. Ozpin was about to enter the elevator to his tower that Pyrrha shut the doors close with her Semblance and spoke with an angry tone that wanted to leave no room for argument.
"We are going to get my partner back. I don't care what it takes, I am going. I don't care-" Pyrrha started before being interrupted by the Headmaster himself, a hard glare meeting her own. She may have been powered by grief and anger, however, it was nothing in the face of Ozpin's own emotion of conviction and willpower to make sure that his students are safe.
"You don't care about what, Ms. Nikos? That you will undoubtedly just get in the way of other Hunters who are better than you? That you would purposefully jeopardize their mission of getting your leader back safe and sound?" Ozpin started, fully facing them all as he said this. It was enough to make most of them take a step back while Pyrrha only hesitated.
"I can still-" Pyrrha tried to argue, but was interrupted once again when Ozpin got his final points across.
"-Get you and others killed. Ms Nikos-no, ALL OF YOU, would only serve to get in the way of the mission. These Huntsmen are already going to be risking their lives to even be out there, looking for Mr. Arc. If even one of you goes out there, it would ensure the failure of the mission and possible deaths of good men and women. Men and women with families. Families that might never got to see them again. I send all of you, I would not only be sending those Huntsmen to their deaths, but you as well! I will not be sending ANY of you on this mission, AND THAT. IS. FINAL!" Ozpin shouted as he slammed his cane down on the floor, causing visible cracks to form on the ground. His Aura had flared up do to his emotional outburst and was causing a small gale of wind. He took a few breaths before calming himself and turning to the elevator. Pyrrha had unleashed her hold on it and allowed him to enter. He pressed the button that would allow him to go up to his office. However, he did leave them with one final message before the doors closed.
"Rest. And hopefully in a week's time, you will see your friend again. One way or another." Ozpin said ominously as the doors shut and left them all in silence.
There were no words.
As Ozpin exited the elevator and into his office, he could already see that Qrow was there, wondering what it was that summoned him here. The man was already in the area, just keeping an eye on his nieces, but when he got the message on his Scroll that was meant for emergencies, he quickly made his way to the Wizard's office.
"Oz, what's going on? Where's the fire?" Qrow lightly joked. Ozpin didn't seem amused, but responded to him either way.
"You along with a party of Huntsmen are going into the Grimlands on a rescue mission. One of my students fell into it as they were flying away from it while on a mission." Ozpin explained as he tried to contact The Council, and ask for a few Huntsmen to go on this mission. Besides, he needed their permission to both fund, and execute the mission in the first place. If he could get the permission of just one of them...
"Alright, who am I looking for?" Qrow asked. He wasn't going to question why it was a single student or why they were flying over the Grimlands in the first place, he just trusted his friend to know what he was doing.
"Jaune Arc. 6'1'', age: 17. Blonde, blue eyes. Last seen wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and brown, fingerless gloves. He has no weapon on him, so it is critical that you find him as soon as possible." Ozpin said, describing the blonde knight to the Huntsman. Qrow nodded, once again wanting to question why a First Year would be anywhere near the Grimlands, but brushing it off.
It was then that Ozpin finally got in touch with one of the Council members.'
"Hm? Ozpin? What are you calling for...on a Sunday? Who calls in on a Sunday?" The Council member questioned, agitated that someone would be trying to contact him on such a day. Ozpin brushed passed the comment and simply got to the point.
"Ferdinand, I wish to fund a mission into the Grimlands. A student of mine has-" Ozpin tried to say, but as soon as he mentioned the Grimlands, Ferdinand immediately looked put off and went to voice his opinion.
"That Grimlands? Absolutely not! Do you have any idea how much that would cost to even get a handful of Huntsmen out there? My answer is no." Ferdinand responded, frowning at the Headmaster. Ozpin's face scrunched up for a moment, before trying to reason with the man.
"Ferdinand, You must understand, one of my students is out there. If we don't send someone out there now, they are at even greater risk." Ozpin tried to argue, but Ferdinand was having none of it. He simply yawned, feeling tired of this conversation already.
"A student you say? Then they're already dead. There's no point in trying to find a dead body. Besides, that money could go to more important places..." Ferdinand trailed off, thinking of all the things he could do with that money for himself. Ozpin tried to argue further, but wasn't given the chance when Ferdinand shook his head.
"Drop it Ozpin, none of us will allow you to start this mission. And If I see that one of your Bullheads goes 'missing' in one of your reports, then there will be hell to pay. Now stop bothering me, I have things to do." Ferdinand stated before ending the call. Ozpin stood there for a moment in silence before quickly dialing up another Council member, wanting to see if they would be willing to give the green light on his request.
However...
"No."
"Are you kidding? That would be suicide."
"A single student!? Get real! As if we'd spend money for a single kid!"
"It doesn't matter if he's an Arc or not. They got plenty of kids already. They can just make another one."
"He's as dead as mud. I'm not spending a single dime on that brat."
"Let me put it in terms that you understand. I. Don't. Care."
He was met with only denials.
Every single one of them wouldn't allow him to even try to find his student. They couldn't care to see that he would get a proper burial either. Qrow stood there the entire time, cursing under his breath. He should have expected as much coming from the Council, but he'd hope that they would at least 'consider' it. But as he turned his head to see what Ozpin's next orders were, he heard and saw the older man crush his mug of hot coffee in his hand, not seeming to be bothered by the searing hot drink. His hair shadowed his eyes, but Qrow could still feel the malice and anger that he held regardless.
"Qrow." Ozpin finally said after a minute of silence. Qrow didn't need to be told anything else. He knew what to do.
"On it." Qrow responded, making his way towards the window. When he was about to jump out and turn into his bird form, Ozpin spoke up once again.
"Search as long as you can. I want him found, alive, if possible." Ozpin requested, not turning to look at the drunk. Qrow stood there for a moment before asking something.
"And if he's dead?" Qrow questioned, receiving nothing for a moment before Ozpin finally spoke up, not liking to think about it, but knowing that it was a very real possibility.
"We will host a funeral in his honor. I know that he wished to go out like a hero just as his ancestors have. And after saving teams RWBY and JNPR in his sacrifice, I believe without a doubt that he's done just that. I know he would have also earned his title as a Huntsman so I will personally give him that courtesy. Along with a statue that will be erected in his honor as his tombstone. Now go." Ozpin explained before sending Qrow off. The Huntsman stood there for a bit before nodding and flying off in his crow form.
As Qrow flew away, he thought about what the Headmaster said, and how this Jaune Arc had saved not only his own team, but also both of his nieces teams as well. He knew who Jaune Arc was, of course, both of his nieces talked about him and their other friends when they wrote home. It was mostly Ruby talking about him though. He could tell from a mile away that she had a crush on the guy, and he was going to give him a look-over when he came to officially visit during the Vital Festival, but now...
'If the kid would give his life for her...then I would have been okay with him.' Qrow thought as he flew through the sky. He knew that the kid was most likely dead long before he even talked to the Headmaster, but at the very least, he'd find the body to give his niece some form of closure. Further from that though, Qrow wondered why the Headmaster would go so far as to do all of that for what would be a dead kid. A funeral, yes, and a ceremony of course. But to give him a whole statue in his name?
'Make's you wonder what he was like in life.'
Yo, hey there my dudes. Just wanted to post another chapter this week, since it's been pretty slow lately. Worry not! I have already been working on another chapter of one of my stories. I'm like a couple thousand words in already, so expect it soon. Anyway, love you all, and I'll see you in another work of mine. Toodles~!