oneizm - I read your review and first I want to thank you for putting in the effort to write a lot. I will admit that even I cringe at times at my own writing, I won't make excuses for that and slowly but surely I've been working to improve on it. But the way I see it, you came into this fic with expectations instead of trying to enjoy where the story would go. This is not a rehash of Pineapple, if you wanted something like that then you should reread Pineapple itself. This is a story that is currently starting with V1 Jaune having memories/dream of Pineapple. PineappleJaune did not suddenly possess V1 Jaune. To put it into perspective have you ever had a dream that you were badass like Master Chief from Halo and immediately thought you were strong, fast, and smart like a Spartan that you tried to do what he did in real life? That's what it's like for V1 Jaune right now, he only saw it in a dream which he is only now finding out that it is real in an alternate universe. This is the journey of Jaune trying to make dreamPineappleJaune into reality and eventually surpassing it. That means he won't start as a badass, he'll have the same confidence issues that V1 Jaune did, he'll have different problems compared to PineappleJaune. And if that isn't what you expected from this fic then I urge you to write your own and stop fitting your expectations with others.
Arsinis - Don't worry, my feelings are paltry compared to the quality of my story for me. While I understand your concern and review itself, I urge you to remember that this Jaune only got dreams of Pineapple right after Jaunedice from V1. By virtue of living different lives, they have different problems. And no, PineappleJaune did not possess V1 Jaune that's why this is different but if you stay with this fic hopefully you'll see what I have set up for the long run.
J. Theios. - Thanks for the criticism, don't worry, I don't use Sun as a point of conflict for long. You would've seen it by the end of chapter 18.
To my other readers! - Thank you for all the love and support you are giving this story, I started this as a hobby and seeing that a lot of people share it with me gives me great joy to continue writing. With that said, please continue and enjoy reading!
Chapter 21: The Docks
"Helloooo~"
No…no, no, no, no! Not her again!
"No….What the hell are you doing here you blonde bimbo?!"
The last thing Melanie expected to happen when she and her sister agreed to stand-in for Junior at the club was to encounter the same blonde who trashed their club months ago.
The day started out great. She had an extra round with that monkey Faunus Jaune brought last night, which was very enjoyable. Then she and her sister found out that the Pyrrha Nikos partied at their club last night, not to mention the juicy gossip that they got.
Pyrrha Nikos, four-time Mistrali Regional Champion is dating Jaune Arc, Beacon's faker of transcripts. While also having a night of debauchery with said boyfriend and another woman at the same time, not that Melanie could judge considering she did the same thing.
Wasn't that a shocker? Anyways, while they wouldn't be able to share any of those juicy secrets to outsiders, it's still nice to know that they're the first ones privileged enough to know about it.
The day only started getting better when Junior asked them to look after the bar while he went muttering about having to prepare the clan for something big. Left in charge without any supervision? Well, Melanie can think of a few ways to entertain herself with that kind of power.
So really, knocking back drinks and ordering some goons around, Melanie never thought anything could ruin her day.
She never should've tempted fate because that blonde brawler from last time came busting in their doors again.
"What the hell do you want, blondie?!" Melanie hisses, meeting the blonde in the middle of the dance floor as Militia glares from behind her.
"I want to know where my partner is." The blonde unhelpfully provides with an easy smile.
"I don't even know who your partner is!"
"Blake Belladonna, she partied here last night." The blonde flashes her scroll, showing videos of the dance party last night.
Seeing the cat Faunus Jaune brought with him last night, Melanie could only groan frustratedly at the coincidence. It wasn't even an hour since they separated and there's already someone looking for them.
"What makes you think we'll tell you?" Melanie sighs heavily, already feeling a headache because of the situation.
"Cause I'll wreck your club if you don't?" The blonde says flippantly with a raised eyebrow, as if destroying their property is so easy.
"Yang!" The short girl in the red hood who came with the blonde apparently named Yang rebukes her.
"What? Just saying it how it is, Ruby." Yang raises her arms placatingly.
Melanie would've probably been intimidated by the threat before today, but luckily, Jaune accidently gave them an idea on how to handle this kind of situation.
"Sure, feel free to spend the night in jail though." Melanie smirks at the surprised blonde, relishing the moment Yang dropped her smile.
"W-wha-what?!" The blonde screeches out in shock.
"Property damage is a criminal offense, what did you expect? Not to mention unprovoked assault of civilians could have your future as a huntress go down the drain." Militia adds in support of Melanie.
"B-but nothing happened last time!"
"Awwww, you sweet summer child. Did you really think your actions don't have consequences? You got away scot-free because Beacon covered for you." Melanie mocks Yang with a smirk.
"They told the police that you came to Vale to learn. That you'd learn restraint when you attend Beacon. Can't use that excuse now that you're a student though." Militia clarifies with a smile.
They don't really know that but neither would Yang or her friends, besides the important thing is that it sounds believable enough.
"Wha…but…I.." Yang stutters, flat-footed at the sudden wake-up call to her actions.
"Oh enough of this! My name is Weiss Schnee. We want information and we are willing to pay for it!" Weiss, the short white-clad girl steps forward showing her ID to confirm her identity.
Both Melanie and Militia look at each other with wide eyes. They don't need any fancy telepathic Semblance to know what the other is thinking. When a client flaunts their money and demands something, there can only be one result for the Xiong Clan.
Time to profit!
Looking back to the SDC with heiress with glints in their eyes, both twins speak at the same time.
""Alright Schnee, let's talk business.""
"Well that was a lot of nonsense for a very short answer." Yang remarks as the three members of RWY leave the club.
"You don't understand, Yang! It was a battle of the highest class! Pitting all of our verbal and negotiation skills against each other!" Weiss retorts, defending her actions.
"If that was a battle, I'd hate to see wars of that kind. I'd probably fall asleep." Yang snorts ridiculously.
"I don't know, Weiss. It did take a lot of time just to get two words from them." Even Ruby, who wants to support Weiss, feels like a lot of it was unnecessary.
The docks. Two words, yet it took them almost an hour just to reach an understanding.
"Hmph, you just don't have any appreciation of the finer arts of negotiation. If it wasn't for me you probably wouldn't have gotten anything out of them. We'd probably have to search the whole of Vale just to find them." Weiss says haughtily, reminding them of the twins' verbal evisceration of Yang.
"I…yeah, you're righ-" Yang starts to say but before she could finish her sentence, an explosion happens towards the docks' direction.
A moment of silence passes through the group as they witness the smoke rising up from that direction.
"Orrrr we could just follow that. Come on!" Ruby breaks the silence, running ahead of the two.
"Good thinking Ruby! Let's go!" Yang follows ecstatically.
"I…ugh! All those Lien! Wasted for nothing!" Weiss complains following after the two sisters.
Belladonna! What the hell have you done now?!
—-
The moment Blake jumped into the fray was the moment Jaune knew shit had hit the fan.
The plan was just to observe the White Fang, see if they're working with humans, then call the authorities on them. It was simple, easy, and safe. Yet it seems like Blake Belladonna does not want simple, easy, and safe. She wants something complicated, hard, and dangerous instead.
"SHIT!" Jaune couldn't help the curse that leaves his mouth.
He sees Pyrrha wince beside him and immediately feels guilty. Yet before he could react further, they hear Blake's shout.
"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!"
Jaune sees their chance for action when White Fang members pause and lower their weapons at the development.
"Alright, here's the plan. Ren, Nora, you guys distract the goons and secure our escape if things get hairy. Pyrrha, Sun, with me. We support Blake as much as we can before falling back if we get overwhelmed. Sun, pair up with Blake for now, no one fights alone." Jaune claps his hands as he gathers his team and Sun for one final planning.
"Got it." Pyrrha answers immediately.
"No problem, bro." Sun accepts the plan with a smile.
"Let's break some legs!" Nora exclaims enthusiastically.
Yet before he could even smile at his friends' enthusiasm and cooperation, Ren calls attention to some objects approaching the docks.
"Uhh, guys? We have more company." Ren points at two bullheads rapidly nearing their position.
Eyes widening in horror at the two bullheads, Jaune hears Roman Torchwick's reply from Blake's position.
"You didn't hear kitty-cat?! The White Fang and I are going in on a little joint business venture together now!" Roman shouts with cockiness in his voice before firing an explosive round at a distracted Blake's feet.
If Jaune thought shit had hit the fan earlier, then right now that shit has proceeded to spray all over them.
"BLAKEEEE!"
A scream tears out of Jaune's throat as he sees his friend be covered in a bright flash.
There's a moment where the world holds its breath and it feels like his skin is too tight. The moment eventually breaks when the light dies down and he sees Blake shake off damage from the attack.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jaune takes note of the situation and adjusts the plan.
"Alright, new plan. Here's what we do." Jaune rapidly gives off orders as he prepares something he's been excited to use ever since he got it.
Unsheathing Crocea Mors, Jaune leaps into action together with his friends.
—-
Blake Belladonna had a plan.
It boiled down to two stages. Take Roman Torchwick hostage and talk down the White Fang. It was pretty simple but most plans that work usually are.
Blake was just on her way to doing that. She had Torchwick by the throat and the White Fang's attention. All she had to do was talk. Easy, right?
Some people might be skeptical of her skills to talk terrorists down, but she had an advantage in this situation. She was with these people once, she knew how to talk to them.
She could already see it. She'd talk the White Fang down, they'd lay down their arms and go home without a fight. Blake would then give Roman Torchwick to the police.
Then she'd go back to Beacon and prove to Weiss that not all Faunus are crazy psychopaths. Weiss would have to apologize and Blake would graciously accept her apology. It was a pretty great way to end this whole affair if she does say so herself.
It would have already been happening too if she didn't let her guard down. Right now, instead of her plan going perfectly, Blake is being launched away from Roman Torchwick by an unexpected explosion.
Dazed but relatively unhurt, she shakes off the dizziness from the attack. She's never been more thankful for Aura in her life. If she took that attack without the protective benefits of Aura she'd have at least lost her foot.
"LOOK OUT!"
Heeding the unexpected warning, Blake rolls away to barely avoid Roman Torchwick's follow-up attacks as he launches explosive rounds at her. Blake continues to run away as flaming missiles continue to destroy the cargo behind her.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" She hears Jaune shout from above a cargo crate behind her.
Blake's eyes widen in surprise as a wave of fire comes streaking towards Roman. Taking the time to regain her breath, Blake sees Roman jump backward to avoid the fire only for him to be shot in the shoulder by Pyrrha's rifle.
"Blake, are you okay?" Pyrrha asks worriedly from somewhere behind Blake.
Looking behind her, Blake's heart swells at the sight of Pyrrha and Jaune jumping down a cargo crate to join her on the ground.
What was that fire? Did Jaune just use Dust?
"I'm fine, Pyrrha. Thanks for the help. I didn't know you could use Dust, Jaune." Blake smiles gratefully at the other girl and looks at Jaune curiously.
"Thanks, it's a recent addition." Jaune gives Blake a relieved grin as Pyrrha keeps a wary eye on their surroundings.
"Where's Sun, Ren, and Nora?" She asks, curious where their other friends could be.
But before Jaune could answer her, they hear Roman Torchwick clap at the sight of the three of them.
"Well, well, well. You just keep coming out one after the other, huh." Roman Torchwick taunts as he approaches them slowly, twirling his cane on the way and shrugging off the damage from Pyrrha's attack.
"It's over Torchwick! We're putting an end to your little operation!" Blake shouts back while brandishing Gambol Shroud.
"You forget kitty-cat, this isn't exactly a little operation, is it?!" Torchwick shouts back as White Fang reinforcements come from both the ship and the bullheads to surround Blake and her friends.
Torchwick might think he has them outnumbered, but Blake is still confident she can put her original plan in action. She knows these people. She fought with them and bled with them once upon a time. She's confident she could talk them down from helping a criminal that's just willing to exploit them.
"Brothers and sisters! Do you really want to work for a petty thief like Torchwick?!" Blake shouts, making the White Fang members surrounding them pause at their actions.
Blake could see it in their eyes, the hesitation and the questions rising up in their minds. Are they really doing the right thing? Emboldened by the reaction, Blake continues to speak to the White Fang.
"Please! You know this isn't really helping the Faunus! Torchwick just wants to use you for your own ends! He even calls you ani-!" Blake pleads to the White Fang as she sees their resolve weaken. Yet before she could even finish her speech, a loud familiar voice interrupts her.
"TRAITORRRRR!" A large grizzled figure barrels forward past the crowd surrounding them.
"LT?" Blake whispers in a shocked voice.
"You left Adam to die!" LT yells at her furiously, causing Blake to flinch.
"What? I..I..I didn't!" Blake shouts in a shaky voice, eyes wide at the accusation.
"..Blake?" Jaune tries to get her attention, but ultimately fails as her eyes continue to look at her once-comrade.
"LIES! What do you think would have happened when you abandoned him?! Did you think the SDC would just stop at arresting him?! NO! They would've ended a threat to their tyranny! They would've killed him if they caught him!"
Blake's blood freezes at that reply. It's not that she didn't know what the SDC was capable of, it's more of the fact that for the longest time she thought of Adam as the strongest. An invincible warrior capable of winning every battle.
To think Blake leaving him could have led to his death breaks her heart. With that, all hope of convincing the White Fang to stop what they are doing melts away.
"No..no..I didn't mea-" Blake stutters in denial but LT yells over her words.
"Don't listen to her, men! She is deceitful and untrustworthy!"
Adam may not have been the Supreme Leader of the White Fang, but he was a symbol of resistance to many of them. To know that someone who betrayed him is standing in front of them lit a fire of vengeance in their hearts.
"Traitors like you should be killed. But I'll leave that choice to Adam. For now, you're coming with us." LT growls at Blake, pointing his chainsaw right at her.
"Yeah, yeah. Treachery, betrayal, death. All so very dramatic. But don't forget people! We're still on a timetable! Just get them already!" Roman Torchwick interrupts, flourishing his cane and pointing at them.
"Grrr..Attack!" LT growls before ordering the attack and charging at them with a shout.
With fury in their hearts, the White Fang follows their lieutenant into battle shouting battle cries of their own.
Blake's heart drops at the situation. The reason she tried to talk them down in the first place was so that this doesn't happen. Seeing that she's failed to de-escalate things, Blake hardens her heart and prepares for battle.
Turning to her friends to apologize for putting them in danger, she is met by Jaune and Pyrrha's supportive smiles.
"I'm sor-"
BOOM!
Blake begins to apologize only for her to be interrupted by a loud explosion.
The explosion is so huge that it's enough to throw some of the White Fang to the ground.
"What the fuck was that?!" Jaune hears Roman Torchwick shout as a fire rages across the docks.
Right on time, Sun!
"That was the Dust you were trying to smuggle exploding. Everyone in Vale knows you're here now." Jaune smirks at Roman.
Was that arrogant? Give him a break! It's not everyday that Jaune Arc actually manages to get the better of someone. Not to mention getting one over the White Fang and Roman Torchwick himself!
The plan was simple in its entirety but complex in execution. It boiled down to distractions and running away.
Phase 1 was to get to Blake, distract the White Fang, and keep the attention on them. Easy enough to do once Blake started talking with them.
Phase 2 was to blow up the Dust to distract the White Fang again and get everyone in Vale to notice the trouble at the docks. A bit harder but nothing they can't handle.
Blowing up that much Dust is usually a dangerous endeavor, but they were lucky they could use Sun's Semblance from afar. Sun would hide somewhere safe and use his clones to blow up the Dust that the White Fang already gathered. It wasn't much but it could still produce a large enough explosion.
Phase 3 was run away while everyone was distracted. Would've been easy to do the moment the Dust exploded, but Jaune couldn't help it. The feeling of a plan going so well is enough to give him a confidence boost and that led him to start bantering with criminals.
That confidence boost died in its infancy when he saw Roman Torchwick's angry face turn towards him.
"Kid, I don't usually kill people because that's not really my style. But I just might make an exception for you."
In hindsight, sticking around after ruining a criminal mastermind's operation was a bad idea. Seeing Roman Torchwick rally the White Fang and focus on them, Jaune can't help but think that they really should have run earlier.
Though, it's not as if they are helpless right now. He's already proven he could use Dust to fight. Even if that wasn't enough, Jaune has two badass women with him right now. Still, even he would want to show off from time to time and not rely on them, right?
Ripping a vial of Ice Dust from his belt holster, Jaune prepares to replicate one of his dream self's feats during the festival. Crushing the vial like a badass (which hurts by the way, ow) to save time, Jaune throws Dust and glass shards into the air. He infuses Aura into his sword and swings, only for Roman to interrupt his move with a shot from his cane.
"Did you really think we'd let you use more of that?! You, Attack them already! The rest of you, get the Dust out of here!" Roman taunts as he orders half of the White Fang to resume the attack and the other half to leave with the remaining Dust.
Instead of forming frozen stalactites to throw against the White Fang, the Ice Dust falls uselessly to the ground. Jaune scrambles to avoid the shot, only for Pyrrha to block it for him.
Well, that didn't go according to plan. I guess the weakness of using Dust is that it takes me too long to use it compared to a gun.
"Jaune! Are you okay?"
"Yeah! I'm good."
"He's mine!" Blake shouts as she launches forward to intercept Roman, leaving the White Fang goons to them.
"No! Wait, Blake!" Jaune tries to stop her.
Damn it, Blake! Why do you keep rushing ahead?!
But before Blake could even go near Roman, she's intercepted by the large person who was talking to her earlier.
"No! Your fight is with me!"
Chainsaw meets Gambol Shroud in a clash of sparks. A tall white figure standing against a black shadow that keeps dancing around it.
Well, there goes Phase 3. Guess we'll have to go for Plan B. I guess we're really fighting now.
"Pyrrha, give me some cover! Time for Pl- Guh!" Jaune shouts, only for him to be interrupted by the sound of breaking glass and a boot to the face that drops him on his ass.
Reeling at the unexpected strike, Jaune looks up and sees a smirking girl with pink and brown hair the same colors as her eyes.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouts worriedly as she throws her shield at the unexpected offender.
The shield is blocked by a white parasol but the strength of the throw pushes the strange girl away from Jaune.
Green emerald eyes lock with pink and brown heterochromatic eyes in hostility as both women gather themselves.
One uses her Semblance to recover her shield and assume a defensive stance. The other opens her parasol and assumes a more relaxed, but taunting stance.
It takes them both a moment to clash in a storm of strikes, parries, blocks, punches, and kicks that Jaune thinks won't be out of place in an action movie.
With Blake and Pyrrha occupied, it seems it is left to Jaune to deal with the remaining goons and Roman Torchwick himself.
"I guess you're all alone now, huh?" Roman taunts him, advancing slowly together with the White Fang goons.
Jaune would've been worried if he didn't know his teammates so well. As it is, he already knows one of them would be rushing to join the action now that they didn't follow Phase 3.
"Who says I'm alone?" Jaune asks back with a smirk proceeding to stand up and raise his sword with one hand on his belt.
"Uhhh. You literally are. Kitty-cat is over there fighting for her life and Neo is handling your red-headed champion over there." Roman answers incredulously
Neo, huh? Nice to have confirmation that the girl who just kicked my face is the same girl who I thought was a civilian back in the Dust shop two days ago.
"...FOOOR JUNIPER!"
Right on time, the out of place battle cry distracts Roman enough that Jaune has the opportunity to get a pinch of Dust and throw it into the air. Jaune launches his fastest attack yet.
The sound of lightning tearing through the air causes Roman to dodge, but he isn't the target. The target is a figure falling from above. Normally, one would try to avoid getting hit by lightning, but this person? This person catches them.
Nora Valkyrie falls into the ground wreathed in lightning. The force of her hammer smashing into the ground is enough to throw everyone around her into the ground, Roman and Jaune included.
"I'm Queen of the Castle." Nora Valkyrie says slowly with a menacing grin from the middle of the crater she just produced.
"Just how many of you kids are there?!" Roman shouts frustratedly as he picks himself up with the rest of the White Fang.
None of them expect the strike from the back, but instincts born of experience saves Roman from getting overwhelmed.
"Enough." Lie Ren says seriously, locking his gun blades with Roman's cane.
Damn Ren, are you a ninja? I didn't even know you were there.
"Where the hell are you even coming from?!" Roman shouts, only to push Ren away and jump back to avoid a strike from above.
"Everywhere." Sun replies cheekily with a smile as he drops down from a crate agilely.
He tries to knock Roman out of the fight with his staff only for him to be pushed back with a kick from the experienced thief.
"ENOUGH ALREADY! What the hell are you animals for if you can't even fight a bunch of kids?! Attack already!" Roman waves his cane frustratingly, pointing at the White Fang to attack.
If this happened a few minutes earlier, Jaune would've been worried. As it is, with Nora, Ren, and Sun beside him? This would be a piece of cake.
Bringing out his shield for the first time in the fight, Jaune charges forward with his friends beside him.
"Nora, Ren! Keep Roman occupied. Sun, let's clean up the crowd and help them!" Jaune shouts with a confident smile on his face.
"Right on it, Fearless Leader!" Nora yells excitedly.
"Got it." Ren responds seriously.
"Alright! Let's do this!" Sun exclaims in agreement.
Seeing Nora and Ren flip over the White Fang members, Jaune and Sun are left to fight them on their own.
There's a reason why separated them the way that he did.
Ren and Nora have been together for so long that they already have great teamwork, no need to ruin that.
In contrast, he and Sun have only met two days ago and this would be the first time they would fight together. Better to have them fight the weaker member first then help those in trouble.
For the first time tonight, Jaune Arc clashes against the White Fang in melee.
There are two things Jaune Arc has not realized though.
The first thing is Jaune Arc has been sparring and fighting for months against Beacon students, not to mention he is being trained personally by Pyrrha Nikos. These are people with training and power by their side. That means Jaune Arc is getting good at fighting.
On the other hand, the White Fang here may be fighters but they've had no systematic training drilled into them. Most one-on-one fights between them should have Jaune as the winner.
The second thing is not all of these people have Aura.
The first person Jaune fights is a Faunus clad in the White Fang uniform with a mask on his face. A nameless and faceless figure to Jaune. The Faunus raises his sword too high for an overhead strike and Jaune's instincts born of training kicks in. Before he could even think about it, Jaune's sword sweeps to disarm his opponent.
It happens slowly for Jaune. First he was smiling at getting to actually fight, next his eyes were widening in horror. He sees the moment when his opponent's sword goes flying with a hand still attached to it.
"MY HAND!" An anguished cry pierces the night sky.
A/N:
Blake tries talk-no-jutsu. It is not effective.
Jaune tries disarm. It is super effective.
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