Disclaimer: I don't own anything about RWBY and its properties. The only thing I have in this story is plot, all other things belong to their respective owners.
Disclaimer 2: "Choice of Redemption" story does not belong to my "Legend of The Silver Blade" series. There will be a story of that series in RWBY universe with name of (it can change but) "The Wish of Saint's Descendant".
Beacon… One of the most prestigious Huntsman Academies of Remnant. After a long day, inquisitive minds of many Huntsman and Huntresses would be put to rest, after a whole day of suffering through many boring lectures (especially the ones who passed through the fires of Port), it was time to gather their strength for the hardships of the following day.
Or it was supposed be like this…
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
In the infirmary of Beacon, strapped on the one of the beds of infirmary, a tall, blonde boy was screaming with his lungs. His onesie pajama was torn to make the nurse's job easier. His hair was damp with sweat and tears were pouring from his closed eyes. The situation was so horrifying that even the multi-functional sadist of the infirmary, Doctor Tsune was looking serious for once. She was running around to change serum bags and her eyes were on the machine that were measuring several of his life signs like heartbeat and aura, both of which were rapidly fluctuating right now.
"NO! NO, PLEASE! I-I-I WOULDN—"
His delirium was interrupted by another highly intense screams, it was so intense that if Jaune's aura hadn't been unlocked before, then his vocal chords would be torn apart.
Yes, this boy was Jaune Arc, the weakest student of the year and the leader of team JNPR, and his team was waiting at the doors of infirmary just outside with team RWBY accompanying them.
"Renny, I cannot take it… What is happening to Jaune-Jaune?" whispered the usually energetic and boastful member of their team. Her eyes were red and tear stains were marking her cheeks. She was pressing her pillow to her chest "Why is he screaming like that?"
"NONONONONO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! I CAN'T…*sob*"
Team waited for a few seconds while his sobs continued, no one had strength to talk.
"*sob*… I… I don't want to! H-HOW CAN I CONTINUE?! NO… DON'T GO THERE!"
Team flinched outside by the tone he used while screaming the last sentence while the only adult in the vicinity was rubbing the bridge of her nose to gather her thoughts.
It was not a good night for Glynda Goodwitch.
"I ask one more time…" she said, her tone was different than she used in the academic life. It was hard to be angry or not sympathetic to these children while they can hear the torturous screams of their team leader behind the doors. "…What happened? And team RBWY, why are you here?"
"It's hard not to, we are staying at the room next-door, and his screams were not exactly subtle." Yang answered, her tone was slightly irritated but whether it was due to this situation or something else, it was not known.
Pyrrha tried to explain "Professor, we don't—"
"Please… D-Don't! DON'T LET HER GO THERE YOU IDIOT! I—"
"Please continue, Miss Nikos…" Professor Goodwitch prompted gently. Pyrrha stood there for a few moments while looking to doors of infirmary and took a deep breath, it was clear she was suffering too.
"E-Everything was normal, Professor…" Pyrrha began. "We have finished our work, and after saying goodnight, everyone went to sleep. After a few hours, I woke up to some voices and it seemed like Jaune was talking in his sleep. But it didn't take long before the talk turned into scr—"
"I can't! Please, Pyrrha!" Pyrrha's head snapped towards infirmary. "I am sorry! Please, don't *sobs*"
"What is happening to Jaune?" Ruby asked with a hoarse voice. Glynda couldn't help but sigh "I don't know, Miss Rose. This is not similar to anything I have seen. It can be a mental attack but I don't think so."
"He would be a poor target, that's for sure."
"Not now, Weiss-cream…" Yang hissed.
Glynda cleared her throat "I had spoken to Kitsune-chan, she is doing whatever she can right now—"
"HOW?! HOW CAN YOU KILL HER?! THIS ISN— DON'T YOU DARE!"
"He must be living in a nightmare…" Ren commented for the first time. The others could only nod. It was hard to speak more than a few words at a time, because his scream attacks was getting frequent.
They waited a few more moments as he cried. Interestingly, Ren thought, while he called all of his teammates, he called Pyrrha's name often than others. While it was tearing their souls apart, every scream was about him trying to prevent something. They became less powerful as time slowly moved, and after some time they finally ceased.
They waited with bated breath.
Finally Kitsune appeared on the door, she seemed tired. The effort she poured was evident by the sweat on his uniform and the bags under her eyes. She looked at the students before reaching and pulling ear plugs from her ears.
"I am sorry… After some time, I couldn't handle it." She said while putting plugs back to her pockets. Then she straightened up "His situation seems to be finally stabilized a bit. His aura levels still spiking too much, but at least his screams are stopped, but I don't know whether it is because of aphonia or something else. We will see."
Glynda nodded "Thank you, Kitsune-chan," then she turned back to students "Now, there is nothing else you can do here. Please, go to your beds and try to sleep. I will inform you if something changes."
Nora tried to object "But—"
"Miss Valkyrie, I understand you but right now there is nothing we can do. I will contact the headmaster and we will do everything we can to help him." Her gaze softened. "Now, go and get some sleep."
No one wanted to leave, but Miss Goodwitch was right. There was nothing to do at this point.
One by one they left, until only Pyrrha remained. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts before she spoke "M-Miss Goodwitch?"
"Yes, Miss Nikos?"
"C-Can I stay with him? Please."
Glynda couldn't help but sigh once again "Miss Nikos, as I have said there is not—"
"Please Professor!" Pyrrha said, her voice was slightly higher than she intended. "I-I know I cannot sleep if I am not with him at least. M-Maybe if he saw someone he knows when he wakes up it would be better for him."
Glynda looked at her for a few seconds, later she nodded "Okay. You can stay with him as hospital attendant for tonight. But I expect you to come on classes on time tomorrow. Understood?"
After Pyrrha nodded Miss Goodwitch left while Kitsune reached to her pocket to pull some sort of a calling device. "If any of the machines give alarm or if he wakes up, press this button. I would come as soon as I can." Then she smiled "I hope he gets well soon."
Pyrrha nodded and waited until doctor left to finally pushed the doors of infirmary to enter.
Except Jaune's bed, other beds were not covered with screens and easily visible. She didn't give too much thought to them and moved to the last bed in infirmary with slow steps.
First observation she made was that he was still crying. So either the doctor lied to them about stabilizing, or it restarted. His whole torso was covered with sweat, his pillow was damp with tear and sweat he poured. He seemed pale and while his heart rate seemed stable, aura levels were still highly spiking.
It seems Kitsune's guess about aphonia was true though. Jaune's voice was barely hearable, but his body was shaking with the power of sobs. His mouth was slightly moving, Pyrrha approached to him to sit near his bed…
"Pyrrha…"
Her heartbeat became faster again. It was the tenth time Jaune had called her tonight. He called the names of his other friends too, of course, but he specifically called her name more than a few times.
"Too hard… Too hard to continue… Pyrrha…"
She couldn't hold herself anymore, she approached quickly and held her hand.
"I am here Jaune…" she whispered. "I am here."
"I am sorry…" Jaune continued to cry. "Sorry for being a fraud… Sorry for being weak… Sorry for…" he couldn't speak more before he cried again.
Pyrrha stood there, not sure what he meant when he said he was sorry for being a fraud, despite having a pretty good idea.
She stood there for a few more seconds, but something horribly wrong began then.
His aura levels began to drop too fast without showing any signs of increase.
"No point in continuing…" she heard his whisper with horror. "I cannot—"
"JAUNE!" Pyrrha yelled this time and she held his shoulders a milsecond after she pressed the button of the caller. "Listen to me! I don't know what you are going through, but you must hold on! Please…"
"I will fail anyway…"
"No! You will not! I know you won't—"
"I am not needed… They can—"
"JAUNE ARC!" Pyrrha couldn't help but yell with fear. "IF YOU GIVE UP WHATEVER YOU ARE FIGHTİNG RIGHT NOW, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
Jaune went silent while Pyrrha waited with bated breath, so much so that she didn't notice when doors were pushed open again and doctor entered once more with fast steps. "I haven't even gone for— Oh my god…"
His aura levels were still declining.
"…A new path?" Jaune whispered. Pyrrha just waited.
Then…
His aura levels showed zero.
Kitsune's eyes widened "Impossible. His heart is still beating!"
Pyrrha hands lost their strength. What was happening?
"Doctor, what is happening?"
"His heart is still beating, but his aura levels hit the zero. He is… just a civilian right now."
They stood there silently. Pyrrha was waiting for something, anything to reverse whatever that was happening.
However, the surprises for the night was not over because suddenly she was standing in the dark.
"An electricity cut?" Kitsune commented and they stood in the darkness for some time.
Then…
"For it is in pain we find experience…"
It was not a whisper but spoken from a hoarse voice that was screaming and yelling for hours.
"…Through this we see the pain of others and sympathize with them."
His body was covered with a bright white light, different than what Pyrrha had seen in their initiation.
"…Restrained by an oath of redemption and unbound by the power of light, may you release my soul and may your hand empower me."
Pyrrha's eyes widened.
"Impossible… No one can awake their own—"
"And you bear witness to my oath, Lord of the Brightness."
It wasn't done yet, however.
"I shall embody the path to betterment with all my being. Show that there is a brighter future, free from the pain and pull of the vengeance…" His voice was becoming clearer, his newly re-awakened aura was healing his wounds. "… I shall bring the wrath of heavens to the creatures of abyss while protecting the people. I swear that no human or faunus will die by my hand unless they too became a creature of the endless night. Guide my sight, guide blade and my way, accept this vagrant sinner to your service. Make me powerful enough to show mercy to those that deserve it…"
Pyrrha had passed the point of surprise anymore, yet maybe the strangest thing in the night happened at that moment.
In the clear sky, they heard the echo of a thunder.
They stood there for a while the room became illuminated again.
"Oh, electricity has returned…" Kitsune said.
"Miss Kitsune, what happened?" Pyrrha asked, but her worries were alleviated as devices come back online. Jaune's aura levels and heart rate had returned to normal and Jaune seemed relaxed for the first time in the night.
"I don't have the faintest idea, dear…" Tsune answered. "But it seems your boyfriend has returned to normal."
"H-He is not my boyfriend…" Pyrrha mumbled while averting her gaze.
"Hmm? Interesting then, he called your name more than once. Maybe there is something to be" Tsune teased her and by the look of the blush on Pyrrha's cheeks, she was successful. Then she became serious "Okay, I don't think things will go bad after this. You can stay here if you still want, if too tired you may use one of the beds in here. See you tomorrow," she said before changing the serum bag of Jaune and leaving the infirmary.
Everything hurt.
'As they should be…' he thought unconsciously. Many things were at stake and certain events needed to be catalyzed if things would go for the better. The Lord knew he deserved it.
'The Lord? What am I— Oh, right…'
He remembered that his grandfather told him a story once. It was told that a man was imprisoned in an enemy camp during a huge battle. There he showed tenacity, and with the help of a bit of luck, he managed to survive throughout the war, and they let him and his other surviving friends leave after the peace treaty. To find a place to stay for a while, he and his friend were had to go to nearest town.
During their travel, while passing through a corps field, while one of them shows care to not step on the corps while his friend shows no care at all. Most importantly, when he warns his friend of this, his friend answers "Back there they did every kind of torture on us. I don't care, it is my right do anything I want in this damn country and to its people!"
At this point his grandfather had stopped and said "That's why, the pain does not necessarily make a person good or bad. It is catalyzer, and only speeds up the process. A good person will become better after such an event while an evil one would only be unmasked after such a tragedy."
He remembered all the things he had seen and felt. It was the pain incarnate, not only his but many others. He felt their suffering and walked in their shoes.
Now, he knew he was many things. He was a liar, a fraud, an idiot, a coward, an idiot, a know-it-all and an idiot. Did he say he was an idiot? But despite all of these shortcomings, Jaune knew deep within his heart that he was not a bad person and could only hope that this… 'thing' he lived through would make him a better one.
He opened his hand and concentrated just as 'he' had instructed him to do. With a small, thin line of light slowly appeared at his hand, and this thin light converged just under the palm of his hand like he was holding a necklace. When the light faded, he was holding a circular symbol, in the middle of it were silver angel wings, carved with an downward looking crescent. He looked at the symbol for a while…
"…Restrained by an oath of redemption and unbound by the power of light…"
He could feel his aura was responding those words, his essence, the very nature of his power was dependent on those words. His strength…
His semblance.
"Look's like you finally awoke."
He turned his head to right to see a fox faunus with lab coat…
"…I swear that no human or faunus will die by my hand…"
He shook his head "Yeah. I am sorry if I have given you so much trouble."
Tsune chuckled "My, what a gentleman. Don't worry, except for the first night, you slept soundly."
Jaune felt his blood froze in his veins.
"First night? H-How much time had passed since I came here?"
Tsune smiled nervously "You were sleeping for four days. It is Friday morning."
'Dear Lord…'
"I-I see…" Jaune looked in front of him and absentmindedly scratched his cheek. He could feel the stubs of his newly growing beard on his face. "What happened to me?" he asked, despite him having a pretty good guess.
"To be honest, I don't have any idea. I did not see or hear anything like this before. I can tell you if you allow me to run some—"
"No, no, no! It's okay!" Jaune said in a hurry. He may be new to this school, but he already heard from the upper classes about the infamous Tsune. "I am feeling fine. Can I…"
"Of course. Your partner had left some of your stuff here, should you needed it." She pointed the clothes and his bag near the bed.
He closed his eyes and felt a stinging sensation in his chest.
'Pyrrha…'
"Thanks for everything, Miss Tsune."
"No problem, dear. I am so glad that you are fine. Even I who… have seen so many cases of pain, this was one of the worst…"
'I am going to kill that baby that you call naivety in you with the harsh truths of the world you want to get in!'
He flinched at the memory, but luckily Tsune had turned her back at him to walk away, so he didn't have to explain it. He reached out and pulled the covers, then he began to take out the hospital gown on him. He briefly stopped when he saw several of the new scars on his arms, but he just continued later. After he put all his clothes on, he knew that this would be the last time he was wearing like this. Seriously, he needed a new style and new clothes.
"We had discussed many things, and many plans. I need to execute them correctly." he mumbled to himself. He looked at Crocea Mors for a second before lowering his gaze in shame.
'…There is no legacy to follow on this word. You are the first. And stealing from your father? It is unacceptable.'
After a long hesitation, he picked up his sword and sheath, promising himself that he would sent it to home with a letter as soon as he got his own weapon. Then he finally left the infirmary.
Tsune looked behind him for a second from her table, then she dialed the number on her scroll "He's awake."
He stood in front of the doors of cafeteria.
He was nervous, and he had no idea why. It had only been four days, his friends would be happy to see him. Yang would make a weird comment, Ruby would hug him, Nora would break his bones while hugging him, Ren would give him a high five, Blake would nod and Weiss would not care. Though at this point, the last part was not the one he was caring or thinking.
It would what Pyrrha would do interested him the most.
He took a deep breath and pushed the doors of cafeteria. Gazing to trays, he decided to take his food after he meet up with his friends first. So he slowly moved to the tables his team and team RWBY would frequently sit.
"JAUNE!"
Yep, he guessed it.
Soon he was looking at the roof of the cafeteria. Wait, was that melted cheese dried at there from the last fight? He should tell that to, you know what, never mind.
"Easy Nora…" he spoke fondly. "I am fine, but—" he made a chocking sound on sudden increase of hug's power. "Soon I won't be."
"Oh, sorry! It's good to see you awake and not screaming, our Fearless Leader!" Nora said while getting up. Jaune smiled "Yeah, I think it is good too. Thank you, Nora." He raised his head to look at Ren "How are you doing?"
"I suppose we should ask you that, Jaune…" the collected boy answered. "You were gone for the four days, how are you feeling?"
"Good, still a bit sore from laying for four days."
"It's good to see you again, Jaune!"
"Thanks Ruby."
"Yep, it is good to see you, and man, your lungs are really powerful."
So I've been told…" Jaune said while scratching his neck to Yang's comment. As he expected, Blake and surprisingly Weiss gave him respectful nods, which he responded in kind. And finally, his gaze met with the person he wanted to see most.
As one would expect from such a kind girl, she was giving others the time for asking how he was. His gaze met with her emerald eyes, and he felt his breath left his lungs.
Lord, he was an idiot.
"Welcome back, Jaune. It is good to—"
Her words were cut short by the hug she received. After a brief surprise, he smiled and reciprocated his gesture.
"I am very glad to see you again, Pyrrha." He subconsciously hugged her tighter. He wanted to take it further, and never let it go, but everything has its time. While the things he had seen opened his eyes, he wasn't sure where she was at the affection meter with him yet.
He slowly let her go then smiled at her before turning back to his other friends "Okay, let me go get my tray. I'll be back soon."
When e returned to table, things seemed to return to normal somehow, where the talks were going as usual, and he could see the usual team dynamics. He smiled before siting near his partner, and began to eat his food, it has been four days since he last had his food.
He was so lost in his food that he didn't notice that his friends had slowly gone silent and was looking at him. After a bief glancing match at each other, finally Pyrrha cleared her throat "Umm, Jaune?"
"Yes, Pyr?" Jaune answered while taking another bite from his pancake.
"Do you remember what happened to you?"
Jaune stopped and looked at them.
'… Believe it or not, you are the most normal person among them. Two orphans who were forced to survive, one champion that lived on a pedestal, one heiress who were shaped by other people, one terrorist on the path of change, one woman who threw away her childhood for her sister and one wannabe hero who doesn't know her ideals will be shattered in the real world if they are not tempered…"
"No, I don't remember anything," Jaune lied, thanking himself that he did not choose the devotion as a path. But then he decided to let them a little more "Though I think it was my semblance."
They looked surprised. Yang decided to break the ice with a joke "What, screaming? With your lungs it will be a useful skill, I am sure."
Jaune shook his head with a smile "No, it's more like—"
Then, they heard a noise that actually they heard everyday but they did not give much thought.
THONK!
A pull he felt in his heart turned his gaze instantly to the source of the sound.
Cardin Winchester and his gang was once again bothering the faunus, Velvet. For some reason, Cardin was obsessed with making that girl's life miserable as he could. Now he will—
Peace. Violence is a weapon of last resort. Diplomacy and understanding are the paths to long-lasting peace.
He flinched, then cursed. He had almost forgotten what his oath was about. He reigned his anger and instead focused on saving Velvet first. He reached forward and plead to his lord.
Before Cardin could push the Velvet again, his hands were stopped with a golden bubble. The sick enjoyment on his face was soon replaced with confusion as he tried to push the barrier. Jaune approached to them while maintaining the concentration of Shield of Faith. "That's enough, Cardin."
The attention of team CRDL turned on to him. Now, he must—
Innocence. All people begin life in an innocent state, and it is their environment or the influence of dark forces that drives them to evil. By setting the proper example, and working to heal the wounds of a deeply flawed world, you can set anyone on a righteous path.
He flinched again. Right… This would be fun.
"What are you doing here Arc? Want to have some too?"
Jaune approached, and put himself between Velvet and team CRDL. "Velvet, can you leave here? I must have a talk with Cardin."
"Hey, we are not done with her yet!"
"But she is…" Jaune replied. God, it was so hard, especially knowing now he could wipe the floor with those four. He should have chosen vengeance.
Velvet left quickly and Jaune ended the concentration. Cardin seemed to be fuming "What do you think you are doing, huh? Think you are some kind of hero?"
Jaune looked into his eyes without answering. His mind was trying to use the things he had learned to solve this problem. How should he proceed?
"I asked you a question, Arc…" Cardin said while walking. He could see in the corner of his eye that his team and team RWBY were slowly approaching. He needed to finish this before they involve in this.
"I wanted to ask you a question, Cardin…" Jaune answered with a mask of calmness. His answer surprised the bully who suddenly stopped. After a brief confusion the anger returned back to his face "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Why do you bully an innocent student every day?"
He could hear the gears in Cardin's head was slowly turning. He prepared himself for using some defensive measures if they are needed.
"Do I need to give you an answer? They are animals, not—"
"So you say…" Jaune said. His eyes hardened "But I don't see you kicking cats or dogs around the school all day. Try again."
He did. By throwing a punch on his face, or where he though his face would be before Jaune swiftly dodged the punch. "I see that your words fail you. Then let me help you in explaining your problem."
"Shut up!" Cardin shouted before turning to his team. "What are you waiting for? Get him!"
"Jaune!"
"Don't interrupt." Jaune turned to his teammates after he used another abilities and suddenly Cardin's teammates seemed to lost their wills to attack him. Jaune breathed a huge sigh of relief inside.
Sanctuary.
"What are you doing, you idiots?! Trash him!"
"Cardin…" Russel said. "I don't know why, but I don't want to."
"Yeah, I cannot find any strength to do it Cardin."
Cardin seemed surprised "What?" before turning back to Jaune. "What did you do, Arc?!"
Jaune shook his head "Let's do this again. You bully everyone in this school, but it seems you have particular distaste for faunus? Why? Bullying usually shows insecurities, but it seems like another problem. Is it vengeance?"
"Shut up, Arc!" Cardin shouted, but for some reason he seemed just as unwilling to attack him, like his teammates.
"I see. But I am sure you've never met Velvet before the Beacon, so it must be some sort of a vengeance against something she represent. But what can it— Oh…"
"I am warning you, Arc…" Cardin sneered. Jaune remembering the things he saw when he was away softened his gaze. "It is White Fang, isn't it?"
Unknown to him, the whole hall was listening to them. Cardin's eyes widened.
"H-How…"
Jaune walked near him and touched his shoulder, using the dimming effect of the Sanctuary. "Listen to me, Cardin. I don't know your past with them, but you cannot attack innocent faunus for the reasons they have no control over. With what you are doing, you can cause a bigger damage to society than them."
Cardin seemed gobsmacked "Wha-what are you—"
"Think about it…" Jaune pressed on. "With your actions, you may ruin the dreams of a young woman to become a Huntress. Then what will happen? It can sound like we have lost only one person, but think about all the lives Velvet may save. And, with doing this, aren't you causing more harm to them? How is it different than what White Fang is doing right now?"
"It isn't the same! I am not—"
"You may not…" Jaune gave him a little leeway before pressing again "But don't forget, Cardin. Road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in the end, we may not loose one but two promising Huntsman candidates. How long do you think you will find new reasons to justify your other actions? And then, one day Cardin you will eventually pass the red line and from there, there will be no turning back…"
Cardin seemed stupefied and the whole hall was listening to them. Blake had flinched for a few times when White Fang was mentioned but otherwise she stood silently, like rest of them. Well mostly…
"Jaune looks so cool right now!"
"So, go now Cardin. To speak further in here would do more damage than good. Then, when you are ready, find me and tell me about this…" There he turned to hall "You may hate each other, but we are all that Remnant have. We need to stick and stand together against the endless tide of Grimm, because like this, one by one at each new generation we will grow in numbers and finally one day, our numbers and strength will be enough for us to not fear of Grimm any longer!"
A short silence ensued and was disrupted by another blonde.
"Hell yeah! Nice talk, vomit boy!"
Hall exploded in applause while Cardin threatened him silently "It is not over, Arc! I will get you—"
"We can, whenever you want…" Jaune responded "I will not raise you a hand unless you pass that red line. And when you are ready, Cardin… I will be there to listen."
Cardin couldn't speak and had no desire to raise a hand against Jaune, even though the effect of Sanctuary ended. He did the only thing he could do…
He left with his team.
While Jaune was approaching him, even Weiss seemed to be surprised. "Where the hell did Arc learn to talk like that?"
A/N: Hello there and welcome to the first chapter of "The Choice of Redeemer". For now I will leave some of the terms I have used unexplained, but I am sure some of you already understood them :) Basically, if you are really curious, Jaune's semblance allowed him to choose a Paladin oath and he chose "The Redemption". There will be a few other abilities later on but he will mainly lean on his paladin abilities.
For now, I don't plan to update this story that frequent, but if you love the story this may change. In either case, I will be writing this story. I will be waiting on your thoughts, please don't hesitate to share.
Hope to see you eventually and have fun :)