The Arcs had been riding for an hour, now out of a forest and on an open road.
As Jaune was driving, his ear twitched, and he began to sniff. Even with his helmet on, his senses were sharp, showing how dangerous Grimm can really be.
"Argent, get Crocea Mors ready."
Argent didn't hesitate to follow his father's order before something caught his eye. "Dad, at your nine!"
Jaune looked to see a shadow keeping pace with his hovercycle. Then, a strange hound-like creature ran out of the shadows.
"Kadaj," Jaune growled. He then grabbed Nimueh and slashed at his three, half of the same creature falling past the Arcs and turning to a black smoke not unlike Grimm.
"What are these things, dad? They're like Grimm," Argent said as he stabbed a lunging fiend, turning it to smoke. "But they vanish a lot faster."
"They're a Semblance."
"A Semblance?!"
"He calls them Shadow Hounds."
"He?"
The two then heard the roar of motorcycles and looked to see two of them jump over a rock and ride behind the hounds. "I should have known. If Kadaj is nearby, those two wouldn't be too far."
"You know them?"
"Unfortunately."
The two rode up, the one with the shorter hair pulling up to Jaune. "Long time, dad!"
"DAD," Argent yelled in surprise.
The man then tried to punch the cycle, only for Jaune to drift in time and try to slash back, only for the man to drift away.
Argent then held up his shield, blocking the shots of the long-haired man. "You know why we are here, father." He then shot more, Argent blocking the bullets before Jaune slashed at the shooter, the man barely avoiding the attack.
"Why did he just call you father?!"
"Loz and Yazu. A while back, I took down a gang of punks in Southern Mistral. Kadaj was the leader, with his brothers Loz and Yazu being his lieutenants. After I beat them, they obsessively called me father, because I apparently looked a lot like him. Wonder if I still do with my hair and eyes like this. Still, they're vicious. Don't let your guard down, especially around Kadaj."
"Especially near me?" The two looked to see the man drive up next to them. "Telling little brother stories about me specifically? I always knew I was your favorite, father." Kadaj then took out his double-katana and slashed at Jaune, only for him to block the attack.
"The mission was to destroy your gang. Though I may have technically accomplished it, I still consider it a failure, since I let you three get away." Jaune then deflected Kadaj's sword and slashed the man's tire, making him lose control and fall over. As they rode away, Kadaj was shaking his head, groaning a bit as his Aura sparked.
Loz then rode up. "It just gave us time to get strong enough to beat you next time we saw ya, dad!" He then tried to punch again, only for Argent to block the punch and perform a dropkick right onto Loz's face while holding onto his father's shoulder. As Loz was bouncing across the ground, Argent flipped back onto his seat behind his dad, stumbling a bit quickly regaining his grip.
Jaune then used Nimueh to deflect Yazu's bullets. "All this time, and you still refuse to use a gun, father?"
"Of course. Who needs a gun when you can do this? Arie." Argent then covered his arm in Aura and slashed down with the force needed to create the wind blade, which slashed the back of Yazu's motorcycle off.
Argent laughed when Yazu slid across the ground, his upper half of the motorcycle slipping out of his grip and slamming into a rock with a bright explosion.
Jaune smirked as he looked back at the easily beaten gang.
"Uh, dad?"
"Hm?" Argent was pointing. Jaune followed his son's direction. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me."
Many more motorcycles, trucks, and jeeps came rushing out from both sides of the clearing, rushing towards Jaune, with lots of cheering, whooping, and hollering. You could barely hear some of the battle cries.
"IT'S PAYBACK TIME, ARC!"
"FOR THE BOSS!"
"TIME TO COLLECT, BOYS!"
"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS, HERO!"
"YOU STOLE MY GIRLFRIEND'S HEART!"
"YOUR ASS IS MINE, PRETTY BOY!"
"YOU'RE OURS, ARC!"
"How many gangs did you take down," Argent asked.
"A lot. I'm pretty sure the Branwen Tribe is the only 'gang' in all of Remnant that actually likes me, and that's only because I've helped Raven from time to time."
"Great Aunt Raven? She makes really good tea. Think we can visit her while we're in Mistral," Argent asked as he activated his Semblance.
"Teh, if we can even find her. She finds us, remember, kiddo?"
"Oh, yeah."
As the two were talking, Jaune was riding into the sea of thugs. Then, the Arcs began to fight through hordes of bandits and thugs.
Both were slashing through tires and vehicles, breaking weapons into pieces with their own, and only getting hit a few times despite being totally surrounded. One thug was able to hit Argent in the back, but that small victory was short lived when Jaune added Aura to Nimueh, and she materialized to punch the guy in the face so hard, that before his Aura shattered, she had turned him into a living cannon ball that created a path through waves of bikers, plus one jeep. The jeep even exploded, taking out more thugs.
Jaune didn't hesitate to drift a full 180 and ride down the path. As they rode, the two continued to take out even more thugs, deflecting bullets and throwing back grenades as they did so.
Jaune then saw a patch of mud randomly appear, immediately guessing it was due to a Semblance. Jaune then sped up.
Right before he reached the mud, he leaned forward and kicked the ground hard enough for the entire bike to jump over the large mud pit. Argent gave a snarky peace sign to the thugs below them.
Yet, as soon as the bike landed, the ground began to glow before they could speed off.
"Oh, crap," the father and son said in unison.
Right before the massive explosion.
Earlier.
Ruby took a sip of tea and let out a content sigh. "So good."
"I'm glad you liked it," a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair and blue eyes said as she sat a plate of cookies down.
Ruby's eyes sparkled. "Weiss, I don't care what you say, you're never too old for cookies," Ruby said excitedly as she ate one and hummed in bliss. "You always make the best chocolate chip, Mrs. Arc!"
The beauty, who's only show of age were the parenthesis on her mouth, giggled. "Please, Ruby. You can call me Cereza. You're a family friend, after all, given how much you care about little Argent."
"Of course. It's my job to care for him. I am his godmother, after all," Ruby said with a smile.
Cereza giggled as she looked at her other guests. "Weiss, Silber, would you like anything else?"
"No, thank you. This tea is more than enough. It's quite delectable. You are very skilled, Mrs-"
"Cereza."
Weiss giggled. "Cereza."
"You're just as caring for my grandson as your wife. I am glad. Though, you seem to be a bit overprotective, Silber."
"Wha- How can I not? That cousin of mine is a magnet for trouble. You'd think it was his second Semblance," she said as she ate a cookie.
"Well, we Arc men aren't known for our good luck," a handsome and well-aged man said as he walked in. Jaune looked exactly like the man, save the gray streak running down his military-like slick back hair.
"We know, Mr-" Ruby began.
"Aurum. If my wife thinks you should call her by her name, I don't see why you shouldn't call me by mine."
"Thank you, Aurum. Trust me, I know how unlucky Jaune can be. He's one of my best friends, after all. Argent is also a little trouble magnet. It was so funny when he copied what I did, shooting different Dust bullets out of Crescent Rose, only for the Gravity Dust to send him flying like it did me. But in his defense, he was only eight and he didn't have nearly enough control over his Semblance yet. I really shouldn't have let him play with Crescent Rose, but he looked so cute. Too bad that was the last time he ever touched a gun."
"You seem awfully close to him," Aurum said.
"Of course. I'm his favorite aunt," Ruby practically bragged, Weiss and Silber groaning. "Though, I am only the second godmother. Still, as one of his godmother's, it's my job to take care of him when Jaune can't," Ruby said as she and her wife and daughter sipped their tea.
"Don't you mean it's your job as his mother," Cereza asked.
All three choked on their tea, with Ruby becoming stiff as a statue. She then rigidly turned towards the couple. "Y-You knew?"
"Jaune told us the truth a few months ago," Aurum said.
The room got awkwardly silent. "Are you... upset," Ruby asked.
"Well, honestly, I'm more disappointed," Cereza said as she sat down in a nice-looking chair, Aurum sitting in an equally nice one next to her. "After all, we thought our daughter-in-law was dead, leaving behind our son and grandson behind without us ever meeting her. Imagine my shock when he confessed that Argent's mother was not only very much alive but married to someone else."
"I was quite cross with him," Aurum said.
"Cross? You were furious that he had a child out of wedlock and took part in an affair. You lectured him for two hours straight," Cereza said with a giggle.
Aurum sighed. "How he conceived Argent was dishonorable and disgraceful. It tarnished the Arc name... but that didn't matter. That son of mine gave us a grandson that we love more than our anger could possibly withstand. After Jaune explained the whole entire situation, I grew to forgive him. At least he was man enough to raise his son."
"But I wasn't enough of a woman to raise him," Ruby said sadly and softly.
"Sweetie, like I said, Jaune explained everything. This was a decision made by the two of you, and you were still in Argent's life, right? How else would you be his favorite aunt?"
Ruby smiled a tiny bit before she looked melancholic again. "There are times where I wish I was a bit better to him. Good enough for him to think of me as a mother."
"You were put in a less than ideal situation. No one can blame you for how you've treated Argent so far. You love the boy. That's all that matters as of now. And in the end, though we are disappointed, we are also grateful to you for giving us such an amazing grandchild," Aurum said.
Ruby smiled. "He really is amazing, isn't he?"
Everyone in the room smiled.
"Well, I think we can afford a bit of television. I don't think Jaune and Arie are going to walk through the door any time soon," Cereza said as she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to their local news channel.
Everyone was shocked to see a motorcycle chase in the distance.
"Wait, is that the-" Ruby began as she stood up.
'DON'T LOSE HIM FOR A SECOND! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT POINTING THAT CAMERA AT ME!" As soon as that was yelled, the camera accidentally pointed down at Amanda, who was driving the jeep, before she glared at it, the camera shooting back at the action.
'BY THE GODS! LOOK FORWARD! LOOK FORWARD, NOW!' The camera turned to see waves of gangs and thugs riding towards the cycle.
'TO THOSE WHO HAVE JUST TUNED IN, THIS IS AMANDA LAVENDER! WE ARE CHASING THE VALE KNIGHT HIMSELF, WHO SEEMS TO BE ABOUT TO CHARGE INTO WAVES OF MOTORCYCLE RIDING THUGS AND BANDITS! NOT EVEN HE CAN HANDLE A FORCE THIS LARGE, LEAST OF ALL WITH HIS SON ON HIS BACK!"
"WITH WHAT ON WHERE," Ruby yelled.
'UNBELIEVABLE! DID YOU CATCH THAT!? NOT ONLY DID THE VALE KNIGHT CHARGE INTO THE WAVE OF CRIMINALS, BUT HE'S WINNING!'
The camera turned to see Jaune and Argent pushing the thugs back before riding on, slashing more alone the way.
'THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED! THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD IS TAKING DOWN LEGIONS OF BANDITS WITH THE AIDE OF HIS SON! HIS TEN-YEAR-OLD SON! RATIONALLY SPEAKING, THERE'S NO WAY ONE MAN AND HIS CHILD COULD POSSIBLE BEAT SUCH FORCES! BUT WORRY NOT, CITIZENS! I'LL BE SURE TO CAPTURE EACH AND EVERY LAST-"
BOOM
The camera panned to the sight of a massive explosion. 'By the gods. . . N-Not even the Vale Knight would be able to survive such an explosion.'
With blank eyes, Ruby fell onto the couch, every looking at her with shock and worry. "Arie? My Arie? H-He was in that?" Ruby then began to cry. "What happened to my baby," her voice cracked, Cereza also beginning to cry out of pure fear for her son and grandson, while Weiss tried to comfort Ruby and Aurum tried to comfort his wife.
Blake had stopped the car, the family staring at the radio in shock.
Nora was tearing up in the passenger's seat, fearing the worst for her godson and friend. Ren stared at the radio with absolute shock.
Both cars could hear the cheering of the thugs.
'To all the listeners, I'm sure you can hear it. The cheers of the criminals that caused the Vale Knight and the Vale Regional Champion to be caught in an explosion. The explosion shook the entire plain, making even the jeep we are driving nearly two miles away shake. Not even a man as powerful as the Vale Knight could possible-'
'Wait, Ms. Lavender! Something's happening,' the cameraman went, getting everyone's attention.
"TAKE THAT, ARC!"
"REVENGE, BITCH!"
"HOPE YOU AND YOUR BRAT ENJOY HELL!"
"THAT'S FOR MAKING MY GIRLFRIEND DUMP ME!"
"NOW NO ONE CAN STOP US!"
The thugs were laughing until they heard an engine roar.
Then, out of the fire came Jaune's hovercycle, the man and his son virtually unscathed. Jaune then turned his trusty stead to an angle where he slammed into the faces of four thugs before riding away, Argent slashing thugs and bikes along the way.
"How in the-"
"No way is he human."
"WHO CARES WHAT HE IS! KILL HIM!"
The thugs roared as they continued chasing after Jaune.
'The Vale Knight and the Regional Champion are alive! I say again, Jaune Arc and his son, Argent, survived the explosion and are fighting like nothing happened! These two are amazing!'
"DAMN RIGHT, THEY ARE," Yang went. "ESPECIALLY ARGENT! HE'S A XIAO LONG, AFTER ALL," SHE CHEERED.
"THAT'S MY GODSON," Nora cried as she hugged a relieved Ren before he continued driving. Lyra was silently sobbing tears of joy, happy to know that her uncle and crush were still ali-
She then blushed. 'Crush? Did I just call him my crush,' she thought.
Ruby was sobbing tears of joy. "My baby is still alive. My baby's alive." Weiss was hugging Ruby, just as relieved. "Jaune, if you don't get my son here in one piece, I will kill you in ways that would scare even Salem," Ruby said through her tears. She then looked up. "And you're not allowed to die either, Vomit Boy. Scare me like that again, see what happens," she said.
"Amen," Silber said as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
Jaune had just slashed a truck in half as he rode through it, Argent pushing up the visor on his helmet just to cheekily stick his tongue out at the shocked thugs before putting it back down.
"Man, I LOVE the King's Glaive! Your hovercycle is seriously tough, dad."
"I would hope so. Winter herself had the girl commissioned by New Mantle Science Division. She's powerful enough to take a hit from a Leviathan's breath, something I unfortunately know firsthand. The only one who could possibly make it even better would be Ambrosius if I had the right ideas for her."
Jaune then saw an actual Old Atlas tank drive towards him. "What a relic. Gives me a chance to show off the Glaive. Winter had a few tricks added to her."
"Like what?"
"I may not use guns, but the cycle does." Jaune then used his Semblance on the cycle, activating a transformation function.
"IS THAT A LASER CANNON," Argent (and his mom) asked with sparkling eyes.
"Yup," Jaune and Weiss said in unison.
Jaune then charged the cannon with Aura and fired, the beam speeding past thugs, but the force of speed sending a lot of them flying. It then struck the tank, making the entire thing explode.
"AWESOME," Argent and Ruby went.
"I had a beam struggle against a Leviathan with this. And another one against a Sea Feilong. Obviously, I won both," Jaune said as he rode off, Argent whoo-hooing at the time.
One thug growled before he had enough. "Tell 'em we need their help after all."
"Bro, you sure?! Those guys are nuts!" The thug looked at his comrade before holding out his arm. The other guy looked in time to see Jaune spin the hovercycle, his and Argent's swords out, the father-son team taking out hordes of thugs. "Good point."
When Jaune stopped spinning, he noticed that some of the thugs were riding and driving away.
Argent looked confused. "Is it over?"
"I doubt it." Jaune then smelled something. "Gasoline?"
Before Jaune knew it, he and Argent were riding down a path of fire. Jaune stopped and looked up to see that it completely blocked out the sky with smoke and flame. He looked behind to see that there was no easy path, but there was one in front of him. "That's not ominous at all."
A massive, heavily armored truck then appeared down the open path, speeding towards the two.
"Oh, boy," Argent went. "We might be in trouble."
The criminal driving the truck had crazy, wide eyes; no hair; pale skin; scars on his face; and lips that looked ready to fall off. "Oh, what a day. What a lovely day! A day where I get to kill the Vale Knight! WITNESS ME, HERO! WITNESSS!" The truck sped towards the duo.
Argent then had an idea. "Dad! Let's do THAT!"
"That," Jaune asked, looking confused. It then hit him. "Oooh. First time we used it out on the field," Jaune said as he and Argent got off the bike. He then raised Nimueh above his head.
Argent then held Crocea Mors to his side, ready to swing. "Oh, dad, can we do that, too?"
"Hm?" Jaune then realized it again. "Oh, what? Seriously? In THIS situation?"
"Pleeeease," Argent went with pleading eyes that even Jaune was weak to.
He groaned. "I'm beginning to think I let you watch too much anime."
"Pleeease?"
Jaune sighed. "Ah, what the hell. Why not?"
"YES!" Argent then activated his Semblance, his hands and arms glowing.
Jaune tightened his grip on Nimueh, readying a swing. However, he didn't notice that his arms were getting larger, not knowing that he subconsciously called on the Beringel's Strength.
The two were concentrating, getting ready for the swing. Just as the mad thug laughed triumphantly, thinking he was going to run over Jaune and his son, the two were ready.
Their eyes shot open, Jaune's glowing red with Argent's glowing silver. They then swung simultaneously with their collected strength. Jaune's sword barely missed Argent's, but that was part of the technique, for when the blades passed, it created a wind blade.
Not just any wind blade, but one of impossible strength that not even Dust could duplicate. The wind took the form of a cross and sped towards the madly laughing lunatic in the truck as the forces collided. It looked like they were evenly matched until the wind sliced through the truck and the diver, making it explode. And in that explosion, the father and son cried out:
"CROSS WAVE!"
"Whoa. That was incredible," Ruby said.
"A combined attack with such force, and they did it without using Dust. It was their Semblance and physical strength. Just how powerful ARE those two," Weiss wondered.
"ALRIGHT! THAT WAS AWESOME," Argent cheered as he jumped around.
Jaune placed his hand on his son's head. "Calm down, kiddo. We're not out of the woods yet." The fire then seemed to revert back to how it was before, the same path burning, yet even more fiercely. "See?"
"Uh, dad? I think it's worse."
Jaune looked behind him where Argent was pointing to see the fire quickly closing in on them. "Oh, crap. Get on the bike, get on the bike, GET ON THE BIKE," Jaune went as he placed Agent on the bike and reeved it up. He shot down the path as the fire charged towards them.
"DAD, IT'S GETTING REALLY HOT BACK HERE!"
"YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY ICE DUST ON YOU, BY CHANCE?!"
"SORRY! ONLY HARD LIGHT DUST FOR CROCEA!" Argent then looked up. "WHOA!" He held up Crocea, activating the Light Dust, holding the fire off of them. "IT'S COMING DOWN!"
"JUST WHAT WE NEEDED! NO IDEA WHERE THIS LEADS, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE BETTER THAN THIS!" Jaune then went full throttle and went as fast as the hoverbike could go. The fire was so close that Argent's back was beginning to burn. Jaune even saw some of his hair outside his helmet catch on fire. He didn't hesitate to slash it off with his claws.
"CAN'T YOU USE MAGIC?!"
"I'M NOT NEARLY GOOD ENOUGH WITH IT TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER THE HELL THIS IS!"
Outside the fire, the thugs were actually throwing whatever flammable substance they had on them: alcohol, gasoline, oil, fat from their burger they had at the greasy dinner a few miles away. If it could catch fire, they threw it at the tunnel of flame.
"BURN, HERO!"
"IT'S AN ARC BARBEQUE!"
"GO TA HELL!"
"NOW YOU'RE AS HOT AS MY EX THINKS YOU ARE!"
"WE'RE TAKING VALE AND MISTRAL BACK IN A BLAZE OF GLORY!"
Jaune was using every bit of power his cycle had to speed out of the inferno. He then saw an opening at the end. "THIS MIGHT BE BAD, KIDDO!"
"WHATEVER'S AT THE END CAN'T BE ANY WORSE THAN BURNING TO DEATH!"
"NOTED!" Jaune then throttled the engine, making it go beyond even its calculated speed, the father and son giving a battle roar as they sped through the inferno.
Then, they felt fresh, cool, clean air.
"WHOO-HOO," Argent went as he raised his arms in triumph, letting out a content sigh before looking down. "Uuuuh. Uh-oh."
"What," Jaune groaned. He saw Argent point down. He looked. "Oh."
Below then was a bottomless cavern.
"Ooooh," the two went before looking at each other. They then felt the inevitable falling sensation. "SHIIIIIIIIIIT," they both went as they fell into the abyss.
When the fire died down, the thugs drove over and looked over the cliff. They then began laughing, high fiving, playfully punching each other, or making out. One of the female thugs even took off her shirt and started spinning it around like it was a flag or something, not caring at all that she was flashing the others.
"ARC'S DEAD!"
"I DON'T CARE HOW TOUGH HE IS! NOT EVEN THAT BASTARD CAN SURVIVED A FALL DOWN TO HELL!"
"THE OTHER HUNTSMEN WILL BE CAKE COMPARED TO THAT GUY!"
'This can't be real. Of all the ways for the Vale Knight to be beaten, he falls to his death? And it's as the criminals say. Jaune was the one they feared the most, and they took him out in a combined effort. . . No, we have a chance. This reporter knows that the Huntsmen of Remnant would never let these criminals run wild. Even with the world's greatest hero gone, we still have others. We still have the Headmasters like General Winter Schnee, the Winter Maiden herself. Flame Goddess Yang Xiao Long. And the legendary Ruby Schnee herself.'
Ruby didn't even care that the reporter got her name wrong. She was just too shocked to see her son and friend fall to their deaths.
'We still have hope, Remnant. We still have-'
A loud screech was then heard.
"THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"
"I-IT CAME FROM THE PIT!"
"No. No! NO! NO FUCKING WAY!"
The screech came again.
"Wait, that sounds like a-"
Before anyone could say anything, a massive Nevermore, easily twice the size of the one Team RWBY first killed, flew up from the pit and screeched loud enough to make the ground shake.
The thugs were terrified, but then they saw it. In the talons of the massive Grimm was the King's Glaive. Then, they saw what was on the Nevermore's back.
Argent took off his Helmet, laughing his head off. "THIS! IS! AWESOME! I HAVE TO BE THE FIRST TEN-YEAR-OLD EVER TO BE RIDING A TAMED NEVERMORE!"
"Honestly, I was planning on growing Nevermore wings and flying us out of that." Jaune then finally took off his Helmet, showing off his Grimmified self for the first time to the thugs, shocking them... but weirdly turning the women and a few of the men on as well. "But this works just as well," he said as he tied his Warrior's Wolf Tail back.
The Nevermore screeched as it flung its quills at the thugs.
"Aw, screw this!"
"I KNEW HE WASN'T HUMAN!"
"NO WAY AM I FIGHTING THAT!"
"ALRIGHT, YOU WIN, HERO!"
"DAMMIT, HOW IS HE HOT AS A GRIMM?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COMPETE WITH THAT!?"
"THIS ISN'T WORTH IT ANYMORE! YOU WIN, ARC! I GIVE!"
The thugs were screaming their heads off as they rode away in terror at the powerful Grimm, not wanting to take it and Jaune on. Plus, if Jaune is riding it, they don't even want to IMAGINE how powerful that Nevermore is.
In mere moments, the area was clear of thugs. The Arcs had won.
The Nevermore then landed, gently putting the hovercycle on the ground, before giving a triumphant screech with its massive, awesome wings stretched out.
Argent laughed at the sight. "This is beyond amazing! Hey, dad!"
"Here it comes," Jaune sighed.
"Can we keep it?!"
"And there it is," Jaune said as he pulled his hand down his face. "Most parents have to worry about their kids asking if they can keep a stray kitten or puppy. I have to worry about my kid asking if we can keep a giant killer monster bird. Just my luck."
The Nevermore lowered to let Jaune and Argent off. They both jumped off.
"Good boy, Skyshadow," Argent said as he rubbed the Nevermore's face, the massive Grimm actually purring.
"You already named it?"
"Should I have named it Skyking?"
"That's not the-" Jaune just sighed.
"Skyshadow does seem like a good name," Ruby said thoughtfully.
"Please. It's a Nevermore," Weiss began. "It should have a more regal name, like Dunkel," she said seriously with her arms crossed.
Jaune looked at his hovercycle before looking up at the Nevermore, who turned its head in an admittedly cute way. "I honestly didn't expect I'd be able to control a Nevermore. I'd thought they'd be more stubborn, considering how large and powerful they are."
"Maybe it's because you've been using Nevermore wings," Argent suggested.
Jaune stared at the great bird before extending his own wings. The Nevermore screeched, extending its own wings, before bowing in respect. "Hm, seems to be the right theory right now." Jaune then looked past the canyon before looking around and seeing the closest connecting bridge was quite far off, even with his enhanced vision. He then looked back up at the bird. "It would honestly be a lot easier to get to Ansel on Skyshadow's back."
"Does that mean we're keeping him," Argent asked excitedly.
"I don't see why not. I'm the new Salem, so I might as well use the perks to my advantage. When I first met her, she was riding inside a giant flying whale bigger than an Old Atlas carrier. Why not ride a giant Nevermore," Jaune asked as he held up his hand, the Nevermore pressing its beak against Jaune's palm, cooing in a cute way.
"Whoo! We get a pet Nevermore! You're the best dad ever!"
"I'm also the ONLY dad who could make this happen." Jaune then looked at the beast as he began to rub its head, the creature enjoying it. "Still, it's a bit risky. The people of Ansel are gonna panic if they see a Nevermore this big fly towards it."
Argent then looked sad. "Does that mean we can't bring Skyshadow into the city?"
Jaune thought for a moment. "Amanda." The reporter and the cameraman jumped a bit, making the boulder they were hiding shake. "I know you're there. You too, Laurance."
The reporter and cameraman nervously walked out from behind the boulder.
"Um, H-Hello, Sir Jaune. Would you like-"
"I'm not doing an interview, Amanda. However, I do need your help. Laurance's, too." The reporter and the man looked confused. Jaune then turned towards them, patting the Nevermore's beak. "You're going to film us going to Ansel."
Amanda's grip tightened so hard that she almost broke her microphone. "PARDON?!"
"You heard me. You're going to put the people of Ansel at ease by reporting my and my son's arrival into my hometown."
"Uh, that's a good idea, Mr. Arc, but how? A Nevermore that size is bound to be faster than my jeep. And even if it wasn't, there would be way too many roadside obstacles that might make us lose you."
"And who said you're following me?"
"Huh?"
"You're riding with us."
Amanda and Laurance's jaws dropped, their eyes wide as dinner plates. They were frozen for a bit before Amanda pretty much warped in front of the camera, her first true on-screen appearance since they filmed the hovercycle battle. "You heard it here, people of Remnant! I, Amanda Lavender, will be the first reporter in all of Remnant's history, to ride a Nevermore, without fear of being attacked! This will be a historic moment, so don't change the channel for anything!"
Amanda then forgot her professionalism even more and squealed a bit, thinking it was in her head. She thought this was in her head, too: "And it's with the sexiest man in all of Remnant." Ruby's eyebrow twitched at that, the silver-eyed beauty looking annoyed. "Mom, I pray to any god that is listening for you to see this. I bet you'd be proud of your little girl."
Meanwhile.
Lisa Lavender was in her house, holding a cup of coffee. She sighed at her daughter. "Though I am proud of you, sweetheart, you still have a long way to go."
"Amanda, I can hear you," Jaune went offscreen, making Amanda blush.
"See what I mean," Lisa went before sipping her coffee.
Back to the plains.
"Is your jeep insured," Jaune asked.
"Huh? Oh, yes, it is. Why do you ask," Amanda asked.
Jaune then whistled, the Nevermore grabbed the jeep with its massive talons. "I can't guarantee it won't arrive at Ansel undamaged."
"I am about to ride on one of the most dangerous Common-Class flying Grimm in Remnant. I don't really care that my cheap but reliable jeep will get a dent."
"But I liked that jeep."
"Laurance," Amanda hissed through her teeth.
"Sorry, ma'am."
Jaune then whistled again, the Nevermore lowering its massive wing. "All aboard," Jaune went.
Amanda bravely walked up to the wing, Laurance looking nervous as he walked behind his boss, filming her. He then pointed the camera towards the Nevermore, the massive bird looking back at him. He jumped when he made eye contact before turning back to Lavender. He filmed her brushing her hand against the wing.
"I'm sure that Mr. Arc will allow any who ask to pet the Nevermore, but if I myself had to describe it, it's shockingly soft. As we know, the feathers of the Nevermore are as sharp as spears, able to peirce through even Old Atlas armored vehicles. But this wing has an almost velvet feel to it. Soft, supple, honestly almost addictive to the touch. I would never believe the Grimm were so cool and pleasant in touch sensation. Scientists would give anything to do what I am doing at this very moment."
"Don't give Winter any ideas," Jaune said off screen.
"Too late," Winter herself said, watching everything on her scroll while sitting on her office chair.
"Now, please get on the bird, already."
"Come on! I wanna see my grandparents," Argent called.
"Oh, sorry!" Amanda then walked up the wing. "Wow. It's so sturdy for a soft wing. It's like walking on stairs. Hm? Laurance, hurry up here, already. It's not going to hurt you."
"S-S-S-S-Sorry, ma'am. I'm t-t-t-t-too scared to move." Amanda then sighed in annoyance.
"WHOA," Laurance went as he was lifted. He then looked up with a blush to see that he was being carried by Jaune himself. The man then leapt onto the Nevermore's back.
"You alright?"
"Y-yes, sir," the cameraman went. 'I feel like I'm going to faint,' he thought, swooning while getting a closeup of Jaune. Something that no woman or man like Laurance complained about.
"Uh, so, are we supposed to grab a feather or something," Amanda asked.
"Just sit down," Jaune said, the two sitting. They both blushed when Jaune sat in between them. "Arie."
"Sure, dad." Argent then sat on his dad's lap. "Ready."
"Ready for wh-" Amanda began.
Jaune then extended his wings, holding them out behind Amanda and Laurance. Jaune then brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled.
The Nevermore screeched in response and took off.
"WHOA! THIS IS AMAZING," Amanda yelled.
"RIGHT?! THIS IS EVEN MORE AWESOME THAN WHEN WE LANDED ON IT," Argent went.
"LAURANCE, YOU'RE GETTING ALL THIS, RIGHT?!"
"YES, MA'AM! THE WIND PRESSURE IS CRAZY!"
"You'll get used to it," Jaune said.
"DAD, YOU'VE BEEN FLYING MUCH LONGER THAN WE HAVE!"
"I've only used these wings to float and fight. Haven't really gone all out flying, yet. I honestly have no idea how fast I can go. Oh, but I doubt I can go this fast. We're already almost at Ansel."
"WHAT!? IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER HOUR AND A HALF FROM WHERE WE WERE BY CAR," Amanda went. "LAURANCE?!"
"HE'S RIGHT, MA'AM! I ZOOMED IN TO MAKE SURE, BUT WE'LL BE THERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES!"
"PEOPLE OF REMNANT, I HAVE NO IDEA IF YOU CAN HEAR ME THROUGH THIS WIND, BUT YOU HEARD IT HERE! THE SPEED OF A NEVERMORE HAS TO BE AT LEAST MACH THREE, FASTER THAN EVEN A NEW MANTLE CARRIER! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE VALE KNIGHT'S WINGS, LAURANCE AND I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN PASTE BY NOW!"
"Probably," Jaune said.
"PLEASE DON'T SAY THAT," Laurance screamed.
Then, the Nevermore stopped. With a few flaps, it landed in the town square, where a cheering crowd was waiting. The Nevermore shook a bit and flapped its wings, making a small breeze before lowing its wings. Then, Jaune and the group walked off. Jaune was the only one who looked unaffected. Argent was jumpy and hyper, actually doing flips over his dad before Jaune caught the ball of energy by his collar and put him on his shoulders. Argent just responded with a peace sign.
Amanda and Laurance looked like the just came out of a tornado, their hairs sticking up, eyes wide, and clothes wind-blown.
"Wow," Amanda went. She then shook her head, somehow getting it back to the famous Lavender bob cut before turning towards the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen of Remnant, we made it. No causalities or difficulties to speak of. It's an absolute adrenaline rush but flying on the back of a Nevermore with Jaune Arc is most certainly safe. And look," she said while pointing in a direction. Laurance followed her finger to show the hovercycle and the jeep. "Barely any scratches on them. I'd say the Nevermore air services get a five-star review from this reporter."
"Welcome home, Jaune!"
"Good to see you back, hero!"
"You look good, boy!"
Jaune sighed at his fame in his hometown.
"Mr. Arc!"
"Hm?"
A bunch of kids ran up to him. "Can we ride on your Nevermore? Please?"
"Sorry, kids. The most I can let you do is pet him, WITH your parents' permission."
"Uuum." He looked behind the kids to see some bashful looking parents.
Jaune sighed. "Five minutes. That's it."
They didn't hesitate to run and pet the massive Grimm. It looked down at the tiny humans rubbing their hands against its legs, tail, and even its talons. Wherever they could reach, they tried to pet it. It looked at Jaune, tilting its head in confusion. Jaune just shrugged in response, earning a small squawk from the giant bird Grimm as it even sat down to let people pet it even easier.
"It's so soft."
"This is what a Grimm feels like?"
"It's kinda cold."
"More like cool. Not to cold, but not warm, either."
"I feel like napping on it."
"I never thought I'd ever get this close to a Grimm."
Jaune then clapped. "Alright, it's been five minutes." The crowd awed at that. "Na-ah. None of that. It's not a pet (I think). Let it go back to where it belongs (wherever that is)." The people moved away from the Grimm. When they were at a safe distance, Jaune whistled.
The Nevermore perked up and stood up. It then began to flap its wings, people recording the sight with their scrolls. The Nevermore screeched before it became airborne. Then, it flew off into the distance, people recording it as it became a black dot in the horizon.
"Truly magnificent," Amanda began. "It truly is amazing. When the Grimm aren't a threat to you, you can't help but analyze the creatures, see how majestic and darkly beautiful they are. This tamed Nevermore is perfect example of what may come to be if Jaune Arc really is meant to rule them all one day. Speaking of our international hero, might we get a few words with. . . Seriously?"
The camera turned to see that neither Jaune, Argent, or even King's Glaive were anywhere to be seen.
Amanda walked up in front of the camera and turned towards it. "Man, he's good. He's probably better at disappearing than May Marigold herself."
Jaune was leisurely riding down the calm and quiet streets of Ansel, Glaive barely making so much as a hum as it glided down the streets. Argent was leaning on his dad's back, looking up at the sky. "Will we see Skyshadow again?"
"Far more than likely. That Grimm got up here much faster than expected. Might help me out every once in a while, on missions."
"But you're going to be the Grimm King. Won't missions be easy or boring for you from now on? In fact, can't you just make the Grimm... NOT attack people?"
"If I had more control, probably. But Arie, I'm still nowhere near Salem's level. A single Nevermore is easy, but a flock? No way I could command that as I am now. I think it will be a while before I can take on the Dark Lands."
"Mm. Well, who cares right now?! We get to see grandma and grandpa again! I hope my aunts are there this time."
"You really do love my sisters, don't you?"
"Mhm. Aunt Jan likes to take me out camping."
"She always was the most outdoorsy of us."
"Well, well; there's a face I was hoping to see again."
Jaune abruptly stopped, Argent almost falling from the sudden stop before grabbing the sides of the bike. Jaune's eyes were wide as he took off his helmet. He looked around and saw a beauty he didn't think he'd ever see again.
"Come now, love. No need to look so shocked," the beauty said with her famously cute smile, and the beautiful gems she called eyes sparkling at our hero.
He still couldn't believe who it was.
"Neo?"