Chapter One : Poor Decisions
Ozma had known a thousand names through a thousand lifetimes. But at one point he had been known as Augustus Arc. The first Caesar of Argus. Though he no longer bore that name, and Argus no longer reigned supreme over the East, Ozma did not forget the Arcs. He could not forget them for all that he tried. So it came as a great shock when the newest of the Arc line applied for his Academy with fake transcripts.
Ozma had, of course, allowed the boy in.
He simply wanted to see what the boy was capable of in terms of being a Hunter. And he was pleasantly surprised to find that the boy was a genius. Top scores in every academic field save for history, where he sat in the twelfth percentile. Tenth percentile scores in Leadership. And eighth percentile scores in tactics. But he was not without flaw. As he sat firmly in dead last in terms of combat ability, and only in the eightieth percentile in terms of Grimm Studies. So Ozma was faced with a possible conundrum. One that he was happy to ignore until one Cardin Winchester proudly marched into his office like the up jumped thug he was and declared that Arc's transcripts were fake. Which brought a slight frown to the headmaster's face and to the current events.
"Mister Winchester, you are expelled." Ozma stated plainly as he pressed the intercom button beneath his desk, "Miss Goodwitch, please bring Jaune Arc to me posthaste."
Cardin Winchester opened his mouth to protest but the words died in his throat as Ozma- Ozpin raised a hand.
"You sit in the eighth percentile in combat. Your history is firmly in the fiftieth. Your grim studies are in the eleventh but your academics are in the ninetieth. Marking you as an exemplary fighter but a poor student. Making you a poor, but passable Hunter. But your actions today have showcased your lack of solidarity as a Hunter, so you are no longer passable. Now please sit quietly until Mister Arc arrives."
The two did just that. Sitting in an oppressive silence until a nervous looking Jaune Arc slipped through the door and into Ozpin's office.
"You wanted to… to see me… sir?" He croaked. Looking almost as if he was abiut to cry. He probably was.
"Take a seat Mister Arc."
The boy did as he was told.
"Mister Arc, you are expelled." Ozpin stated plainly once again.
Jaune Arc did not protest.
"Yes sir.." He said glumly. Almost as if he expected it.
But Ozpin continued despite that, "You, Mister Arc, are a genius. But you hold absolutely no combat ability as you currently are now. Marking you as a barely passable Hunter… But your faked transcripts, which I have known about this entire time, have been brought to light. So to avoid you having to serve jail time I am expelling you. But there is an opportunity for you both. All you have to do is look each other in the eyes, and shake hands as men. Acknowledging that you both had a hand in each other's expulsion."
There was a pregnant pause with both boys not choosing to follow directions.
"I said shake hands and make amends. I have little time for such childish antics."
Reluctantly, both boys stood, faced each other, and clasped hands before sitting back down.
Ozpin sighed and took a small flask from beneath his jacket, screwed off the top, then poured a small amount of the whiskey into his coffee. He then took a long swig.
"Now, I have an opportunity for you both, but only for you both." He stated with a cool tone.
Both boys looked at each other before turning back and nodding quickly.
"Atlas Academy is run by my close friend General James Ironwood. And at my behest he will accept you both into his academy and train you from where you have left off. You will eat, sleep, fight, die, and even shit when you are told there. And you two will be partners. But you cannot be students of Beacom after this day… So what say you both?"
Both boys looked at each other again and nodded.
"Yes sir." They said in unison.
"Good. Now get out of my office and pack your things. A bullhead will leave in forty five minutes from now. If either one of you miss it then both your chances at being Hunters will be dashed. Go."
The two boys quickly arose and scampered off. Leaving Ozpin to his whiskey and coffee. And by the Brothers it was good. So good that he could feel the headache he was nursing begin to alleviate. But that was probably the alcohol talking.
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Jaune Arc stood at an impasse.
On one hand he could actually try to make amends with the bane of his existence. Mainly because it would benefit them both. They were stuck together.
On the other hand…
He could just ignore the fucker and try to make his way without Cardin.
With a heavy sigh Jaune looked to his ginger nemesis and spoke, "Look man. I don't like you. But we're in the same boat as one another. So let's try and get along."
Cardin nodded once and outstretched his hand, "I don't like you either, but we're stuck like this."
Jaune took his hand and shook it with a grimace, "Yeah…"
But before he could turn to leave Miss Goodwitch exited the Headmaster's office with a pensive look on her face, "Mister Arc. Before you depart we have received a notification from your family… They would like you, and the ancestral blade to return to the Arc homestead but… They will settle for just the blade… But we here at Beacon are not going to take it from you… That is all."
Jaune nodded once again, "Thank you miss. I really mean that," And for a second his expression softened.
Cardin whistled the moment that Miss Goodwitch left, "Well shit Jau- Jaune." Was all he could manage out.
Jaune winced, "I'll meet you at the airstrip, yeah? I've got to grab my things and say goodbye."
Cardin nodded, "Yeah… uhh- same…"
The two boys parted ways. Leaving Jaune to rush through the halls and to his dorm. Which he hastily opened and stepped inside. Only to find not just his partner and the rest of his team, but also all of team RWBY. Each with a look on their face that went between pensive and downright furious. But before anyone could say anything Pyrrha stepped forwards.
"Jaune," She began shakily, but Jaune was already in motion, "I- Well- We- Um- You see-"
Weiss cut in, "We know about your fraud. And we have all, mutually, decided that this must be reported. This is due to how-"
Jaune cut in, "Cardin already beat you to it… And look… I wish you all could see things from my perspective. But you can't, and that's okay," He was choking back tears, "Because all my life I wanted to be a hero. Someone that saves other people. And well this was my shot… And now Beacon isn't. So I'm just going to go… You all can be angry, say what you want to me, but I have less than forty minutes to leave so get it all out now… I guess…"
No one said a word as Jaune gathered up his meager belongings.
Once everything was grabbed Jaune stopped at the door and turned to face PNR and RWBY, "You can hate me or whatever but just know that I can't bring myself to hate any of you. I can't. It isn't in my nature so I won't fight it… Now I'm going to become a hero.. Bye."
And with that he was gone, not giving anyone a chance to say anything further. Which, in his mind, was probably for the best.
Jaune found himself crying lightly as he jogged through the hallowed halls of Beacon. He was giving up a lot by doing things. His friends… His comfort… And most importantly his family. All gone in the span of an hour. Like they had never existed before. Leaving him with an old sword, a promise at another shot, and his mortal enemy as his only friend… Jaune knew that his odds were not good. But he could only look to the future as he wipes the tears from his eyes.
"Yo- Jaune!" A friendly, familiar voice belonging to one Coco Adel called out to him.
Jaune skidded to a halt and wiped the last of the tears from his eyes, "H-Hey Coco, what's up?"
"Is it true?" The fashionista asked, strutting into view, "Did you really fake your way in?"
Jaune deflated further, which he didn't think was possible, "Yeah… Yeah it's true…."
He waited for the words of reprimand, but they never came.
"Bitchin'. Did old man Oz really kick you out?"
Jaune balked, but he managed to dumbly nod.
"Shit… That's some real tough shit kid. Is there- like- anything I can do?"
Jaune let out a small, mirthless chuckle, "No… I'm fine… I'm going to Atlas actually. The Headmaster there is giving me a chance."
Coco'a face Immediately perked up as she took a half step forwards, "Well me and the team got you a little something- Catch." And she threw a small, wrapped package at Jaune.
Who promptly caught it and tore through the paper, revealing a glass box holding a rather large pistol and three magazines.
"Figured you'd need some range, so we got you a handgun."
Jaune couldn't hold back the tears.
Coco chuckled and stepped closer, giving the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a small smile, "Chin up kid, you're going to be a right and proper Hunter. No two ways about it."
"Yeah… Yeah I am…" Jaune managed out, "I'm going to be a fucking Hunter… B-But I gotta go… Not much time."
Coco gave his shoulder one last squeeze before stepping to the wayside, "Go knock 'em dead kiddo. We're rooting for you… And uh- give us a call later, yeah? Velvet likes 'ya and so do the boys."
Jaune nodded and began to jog off, "Yeah! I gotta go."
Coco could only nod as the blonde began his trek through Beacon one last time. Passing by classrooms and closets. The lockers and the cafeteria. All the way to the airstrip which sat on the very scenic ramp to the academy where a bullhead and Cardin were waiting. The latter waved as Jaune closed In, slowing down to a power walk.
"Yo. Thought you weren't gonna show so I was getting ready to drag your ass here. Ten minutes on the clock." Cardin called out.
Jaune finally halted before the much bigger boy, "Nah. I'm here. You set?"
"Yeah, the boys were sad to see me go but I kinda realized that they're bland as hell… Not drive. No personality… And they were kind of assholes about it too."
Jaune raised a brow, as if to say 'You just now realizes, dipshit?' But he didn't say it out loud, he was nice like that.
Cardin received the message loud and clear though, "I'm kind of a dipshit." He said dumbly.
Jaune shrugged, "We can have this talk later. Let's get situated first..
"Got it… Guess you're in charge here?"
"What? No we just need to go."
"I see…"
Cardin seemed lost for a moment but he grabbed a rather heavy looking bag off the ground, "Ain't got much… Spent all my money on the armor and the training. Plus some back home, you know how it is."
Jaune did not, but he nodded regardless and began to walk up the ramp, his perspective on Cardin altered slightly. But that didn't stop him from taking a seat in the middle of the bullhead. Cardin followed suit, taking a seat a few chairs to the left of Jaune. He then pulled out a small bottle of pills and dey swallowed one before offering one to Jaune.
"For motion sickness," He stated plainly.
Jaune happily took one and dry swallowed it.
The two boys fell into an easy, but contemplative silence. Which Jaune was more than fine with. He needed time to think over some things. A lot of things.
He had probably pissed dad off, a lot… Well, a lot more than he probably was already. Which was unfortunate. But at least he'd be on a different continent than his family. It was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, Jaune wanted to see them and tell them all about his time in Beacon. On the other hand they were most definitely pissed. Which did not bode well for the boy. He was bad at dealing with his own emotions enough as is, the emotions of others were something else entirely.
And they wanted Corcea Mors back.
It was technically his father's sword, but Jaune remembered something his beloved Grandfather, Jona Arc had told him shortly before he died.
"Boy. I know you're smart, smarter than I could ever dream of being, but please listen to me now. This world is cold and it is cruel above all else. And for a thousand lives the Arcs have stood up and faced the world despite that fact… And I know your father's stance on it… But at the end of the day the decision is not his. It. Is. Yours. Take your life by the horns and do what you need to do. Do not just die like me. Save all you can and conduct yourself well. You are strong Jaune Arc, stand proud. So I leave to you my legacy, a blood stained blade with an old shield. And when you stand in the darkest of nights push your very soul into that sword. Let it light up your world and let it serve as a beacon for you. Do not yield my boy. Be the hero you always wished existed… But for now run along, you're young. Learn and be prosperous."
The speech had rang true with Jaune and had served as a fire inside of the boy's heart. Something to live by. He was going to be a hero. No matter the cost. His destiny was his own damnit. He was Jaune Arc and Corcea Mors was his sword.
But his family didn't see it that way. They saw him as some delicate damsel. Someone to be protected. Someone who was not going to risk their life. It was suffocating. Their love was welcome, but it was stifling. And Jaune knew he hadn't reacted the best to it, but who would. His dreams were discarded. And the only 'training' he had received was from his grandfather, save for one occasion that had burned itself into his very psyche.
Jaune's father, Nikel, had woken the boy up at three in the morning and dragged him to the front yard. Where he then put a practice sword in Jaune's hand and gave one harrowing statement to his own son. One that Jaune could not get out of his bed.
"I will show you the cruelty of this world. And your dream ends here boy. You are no hero. Just a boy."
The two had "fought" afterwards. In the loosest sense of the word.
Nikel had absolutely massacred Jaune. Beating him black and blue for an entire hour. Not stopping until Jaune's mother, Sable, had woken up and quite literally dragged her husband off of the boy. And at the end of it Jaune was sporting a dislocated jaw, four broken ribs, all his fingers were locked, his nose was broken, both of his arms were covered in stress fractured, he had bruises and he had fissures all over his body. It was a brutal affair that sparked a petulant loathing within Jaune. After that he no longer even addressed his father for the six months until he ran away to Beacon.
He had more than a few scars from that occasion. And his jaw had never felt the same… Until he got his Aura. Because with a mighty pop his jaw was fixed. But the emotional wound never quite healed. Jaune still loved his father, at least in theory, but it allowed for a certain degree of blame shifting to occur with the two. Because it was easy to blame the man for all his issues when Jaune knew he had some fault in the matter.
Jaune had only started 'training' about two years before the beating, but it wasn't much. Just some exercise and some katas he saw online. And he had bought his cheap, shitty armor around that time too. But other than that he was utterly unmotivated to do anything else. Resolving that he could just cheat his way into Beacon.
Which he did.
But it didn't feel quite right.
Someone had lost their ticket to Beacon because of him. And that was something Jaune couldn't quite reconcile within himself. Someone who had deserved to go to Beacon could not go because of him. And here he was, being shipped off to Atlas. Like a failure given a consolation prize, one he had happily lapped up, but a consolation prize nonetheless. It hurt. It hurt his already deflated ego. Sparking a baleful, loathing fire within him.
Jaune hated that part of himself.
He hated that he was weak. He hated that he was a liar, a cheat, scum.
He hated his father for not training him, and instead beating him into submission.
He hated his team for not backing him. But he hated himself for not being the leader they deserved. It was a horrid, gut churning and conflicting feeling deep inside of him. But it was baleful. It was deep. It was consuming.
Jaune found himself sucking in a bated breath and clenching his hands.
He hated that too.
He hated that he was so full of hate, so inadequate.
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For the first time in his life, really, Cardin Winchester felt conflicted about things.
He was mad at the Headmaster.
He was mad at Jaune Arc.
He was mad at the entirety of Beacon.
He was mad at himself.
He felt like a petulant little child who had finally been caught doing something wrong.
It was infuriating really. It really was.
But Cardin Winchester, contrary to popular belief, was not an idiot. He knew damn well exactly whose fault all this was. If he had just kept his big mouth shut the entire time he would've been fine. But no. He had to act like the big man on campus. He had to hide that he was just gutter trash hiding in fancy armor. It was maddening and Cardin hated it.
But there he sat.
Like an idiot.
Quiet and Alone.
So he spoke, "Hey… Jaune, can we talk?"
The blond seemed to be snapped of a stupor by the words, "Y-Yeah… Let's talk." He said unsteadily.
Cardin's face twisted into a grimace, "Look man… I was a- I was a dick to you. So you're owed a lot… Especially an explanation, so like- can I tell you some shit?"
Jaune looked conflicted for a moment, "Sure… Go off I guess."
Cardin sucked in a sharp breath, "I'm from the Drurey… You know, the slums. And for my entire life I've been kicked around. At home, at school, around the neighborhood… And yeah… I'm not good at this touchy feely bullshit but this is what I got. I saw you and I thought 'oh wow, he's pathetic like me'… No offense…"
Jaune actually laughed. The fucker laughed when he was called pathetic.
But Cardin comtimued despite his bewilderment, "So instead of like- being a decent fucking person, I was a dick to you. Which is a pretty bitch move, I know. And yeah. I'm not gonna give you my entire life story because this isn't a pity party. And this is all to say I'm sorry. I'm really sorry bro. I done fucked this up for both of us."
Silence reigned between the two for a minute, then another, and another, and another, but in the fifth minute Jaune actually spoke up.
"My team was going to rat me out regardless. You only beat them to the punch." He said simply before letting his head rest on the back of the uncomfortable ass bullhead chair.
Cardi couldn't help but chuckle at that. Of course Nikkos would be the one to do that. Little miss perfect really did have a stick up her ass. Just like the Schnee… And just like him. Which was the most infuriating part.
But Jaune continued, "I don't have any training either. It's just me… So I faked my way in. Because-" he looked pained for a moment, "Because no one really gave me a chance, save for my grandad. He was it. My parents, my friends, and especially my sisters. None of them really gave me the time of day. They blew me off. They thought I was just some damsel that they could save. So I tried to prove them wrong. I grabbed the family sword, some cash, and faked my way into Beacon where Headmaster Ozpin gave me a chance… Just like my grandad… And he's giving me another chance… He's giving you one too… So I guess I will too.. Friends?"
Cardin balked at the statement, but it made too much sense to be a lie.
It made way too much sense. Why he was so smart but so bad at fighting. All the time Jaune spent training desperately. All the late nights. It made perfect sense. Which hurt even more than it did before. He really fucked up someone's life, not just his own pathetic existence. It was like some great, fucked up, cosmic joke and he was the shitty punchline.
Cardin let out a breath and looked to Jaune, "Yeah. Friends, and partners too. Which means I'm gonna be whipping your sorry ass into shape."
Jaune smiled, "I'll help you with the academic side to… We can compensate for each other until we both can stand alone."
Cardin smiled back, "Hell yeah we can. We're gonna be the best damn duo those snow covered pricks have ever fucking seen."
Jaune's smile grew, "Hell, yeah we are."
The two boys continued to grim at one another, eventually falling into talks on how they could improve. Ideas were thrown in, shot down, modified, and made into plans. And in that moment Cardin felt like less of scumbag. Which was good. Really good. He felt like the kind of man his mother, rest her soul, would be proud of In that small moment. Which meant all the difference in the world to him.
Cardin loved his mother something fierce. But she was gone.
A rare disease of the blood they called it.
It was such bullshit though.
She was good, she shouldn't have died like that. Good people weren't supposed to die like that. Stuck in a bed for their last days. Unable to live the life they deserved. It was such bullshit and Cardin couldn't help but think about it. Because she made him into the man he was supposed to be… And her loss made him into the pathetic man he was.
Which wouldn't do. It wouldn't fucking do at all.
Cardin Winchester, in that moment, resolved to truly be a better man. He had to honor the memory of his mother that way. He had to be the shining bulwark that he told her he would be. There were no two ways about that fact. Gears within his mind started to turn. Improvements to his armor and weapons. Fast, sweeping improvements he voiced to Jaune, who met them with an ecstatic grin of his own. The blond was really shaping up to be a great friend. Far better than the boys at Beacon.