Symbiote Knight
Chapter 18: Lies and Truths
Jaune was feeling pretty good about today. Classes had gone well, and he had just finished with his combat class for the day and got another win. This time it felt easier than any other time, finally he thought, finally all his training was starting to come together. With some important help from his new 'silent partner' that is.
He was sure that he couldn't have gotten like this so quickly without his help. Jaune was finally believing that he could reach his dreams with Valor's help. Granted before he had been worried, that he wouldn't be able to become a Huntsman, he had tried so very hard every day, but that doubt ate away at him constantly as well. Now he felt much more confident in both himself and his abilities.
Jaune had just finished putting his weapons in weapons locker and was going back to his seat to join the rest. He was hoping to watch Pyrrha's match but by the time had got back to the arena it was already over.
'I guess she finished quickly.'
~I have noticed that she is far stronger than most in your class, even in older classes too~
'That's Pyrrha,' he grinned at the sight of his partner who was going to store her weapons as the student she beat was slowly making their back behind her. He felt sorry for anyone that went up against her, Pyrrha was like a force of nature out in the battlefield.
"Looking good out there Jaune," Yang gave him a thumbs up. "Too bad you missed Pyrrha, the girl just stumped that poor guy."
"It wasn't even close," Blake shook her head if she remembered that boy was part of team REDD, she didn't know much about them as the only other team hers interacted with was JNPR.
"No one beats Pyrrha," Nora stated her arms crossed proudly.
"Seems like it, doesn't it?" Jaune asked her as he took back his empty spot among them. The rest of the class went as expected, people were called up as Goodwitch would give them criticism on things they needed to work on. He didn't notice how Pyrrha was oddly quiet and giving him glances, although Valor did notice.
At first the alien thought that maybe he was right that the girl had an attraction to the host, but something was off about her look. It was more searching, like she was trying to see something that other people couldn't. It was slightly unnerving to the symbiote as he could feel something was up with the red head.
He was debating on if this was something to warn Jaune about or not. It didn't seem dangerous, but something was going on in her mind that the symbiote couldn't guess at. Now since they were sitting next to each other, the symbiote could send a small part of itself from Jaune's leg to her leg and try for a small link. It was something their kind could do to help pass information from host to another person or even offer a deeper connection to the host for someone the host was intimately close with.
The problems with that were it could be caught, she most likely would feel something and not sure what it was and look down catching him in the act. Also, there was the moral line that he would have to cross, and this was Jaune's friend and partner, and it would be a huge breach of trust to do this.
He would have to sit and wait and see what was going to happen.
When class was over for the day everyone went to the change rooms to get out of their battle gear and back into their school clothing. After a little shower and change he felt ready for the afternoon. He already planned to finish off his homework before dinner so that it would leave the afternoon open.
He walked out of the locker rooms to see Pyrrha standing across the hall like she was waiting for him.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.
"Hello Jaune, can we…can we talk?" She hated this strange feeling inside of her like Jaune was keeping her and everyone at arm's length about something. She was just hoping that if she gave him the chance he would open up to her at least.
"Uh, sure, where?"
"Our usual spot?"
Jaune nodded as the two walked to the balcony they always used. Jaune wasn't sure what was going on, he had never seen her like this before. She looked worried about something and Pyrrha never looked worried to him before. As they got there, they could see the sprawling campus as students were out of classes for the day. Some walking along the trim cut grass, sitting under trees with friends.
It was a nice view in the morning, normally they only saw this at night with the moonlight giving everything a totally different look than now.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jaune asked her.
Pyrrha gathered herself up, she had been practicing what to say during her time in combat class when resolved to confront him but when the moment hit, her mind went blank. So, she took a minute take a breath and start with he first thing that entered her mind.
"Jaune…are you keeping stuff from us?" She pointedly asked him.
~Uh oh~
'No kidding, what do we do!? Does she mean you or something else like my transcripts?!' Jaune panicked inside as he was avoiding her look. "W-well what do you mean?"
"Jaune you've been improving much more quickly than is normal," she started. "At first I thought you just had hidden gifts, but you also have been showing skills and techniques that I haven't taught you."
"Well, I learned some stuff from Weiss, and I like to read up on stuff." He tried to deflect.
"You had one lesson with Weiss, and you can only learn so much from reading, it's stuff that you have to practice and without someone to teach you, you can get bad habits or learn improperly without guidance." She really couldn't see any other way, he had to be learning from someone, but she couldn't fathom how he was doing it.
Jaune was silent as he tried to think of a way out of this.
'What do I tell her?'
~I'm not sure, did we do too much too soon?~
'Maybe, I mean we train all the time with Pyrrha.' He figured if anyone might have noticed something it would have been her. He just never really thought about it until now, he was enjoying getting stronger with Valor's help that he just started to get lost in the process.
Pyrrha could see the struggle Juane was dealing with, there was obviously something he wasn't telling her, and it hurt. "Juane…do you not trust me?"
Jaune had to wince at that, the way she looked and sounded so hurt by that one question. She was his partner the first person to really believe in him and to teach in him and in this moment, he felt like he had just betrayed her trust. Granted maybe he had, he didn't want to see her disappointed face if she learned he got in through fake transcripts. He didn't want her to maybe freak out learning that he was getting help from an alien bonded to him.
'If I lie here…would she even believe it?' he asked Valor.
The symbiote mulled it over. ~Not likely, at least if we can't produce evidence~
They were kind of in a bind here, Jaune didn't want to lose Pyrrha as both a friend and partner, but he knew this was an important moment. If he lied to her here it could ruin the bond that they had. Even if he told the most convincing lie in the world and she actually believed it, he would feel horrible because of it.
~This is a crossroads…tell her~
'Wait are you sure?' Jaune was surprised by that.
~In the time we've been joined I've gotten to know your friends, I believe we can start to trust some of them~
Looking back at Pyrrha with her green eyes looking at him with a sense that she was opening herself up here. That what he did in this moment would forever change their relationship either for good or evil. Also, looking at her eyes he felt the bond they shared, and he couldn't lie to her, not when she was looking at him like that.
"The truth is I have been getting help recently." Jaune told her.
"So, you are getting help," her theory was confirmed but she looked confused at him. "But when do you find the time and why keep it secret from…everyone?" She was about to say 'from me' but adjusted it last second.
"Well," he scratched the back of his head. "He's not exactly a…normal type of help. You remember when we went to find that meteor?"
"Meteorite" ~Meteorite~ Both she said, and Valor communicated with him at the same time.
"Yeah that," Jaune waved it away. "Well, it seems that it had kind of a passenger."
~More like prisoner~ Valor grumbled glad to be free of that rock.
"A…passenger?" Pyrrha wasn't following what he was getting at.
Jaune guess it was time to rip the band aid right off. "He's an alien."
"An alien," Pyrrha echoed flatly.
"Yeah, see he's this symbiote kind of thing that's attached to me and…you're not believing a word of this are you?" He could see the look on her face and honestly given how it sounded it did sound more at home in his comic books.
Pyrrha sighed in disappointment. "Jaune…"
"Wait I can prove it!" Juane stopped her. "Just, don't freak out okay."
"What do you mean-*GASP*" she took a step back seeing the white 'costume' flow over him and turn into a type of body armor. She stood there transfixed; she had never seen anything like this before. She was hesitant to touch it to see if it was real.
"It…it could be a semblance?" She wasn't convinced mainly because while she might have seen something somewhat similar semblances where a body part might be covered by something. The whole body and taking on a new form? She never seen or heard of anything like that before.
~Let me take over~
'Okay then.' Jaune communicated back.
Then a pair of lips grew on the mask part of the costume. "Hello there, Pyrrha. I am Valor."
"J-Jaune?"
"He is here but I am the one talking, I asked to take over so I could communicate with you personally."
"You're…the alien?" Pyrrha couldn't believe this, she was talking to an alien, an alien that was living inside of Jaune!? She had so many questions she didn't even know where to start with this. "This isn't hurting Jaune is it?"
"No," Valor shook his head. "My race, we call ourselves the Klyntar or more commonly we're known as symbiotes, we live in harmony with the host. Any damage to the host we would feel."
"I have so many questions," Pyrrha started to feel a little lightheaded as she grabbed the railing. "I think I need to sit down."
She slides down the protective barrier as her mind tried to process everything. She saw Jaune sit down next to her as the 'mask' part slid off his face. The suit looked so solid and yet it could move in an almost liquid way.
"Trust me this was a little strange to me at first too," he told her. "At first I wasn't sure what to do but as time went on and I got to know him, he's been very helpful to me."
"So how exactly is…he, helping?"
Jaune scratched the side of his face. "Well, things like he can remember every little detail around me, so he helps with my homework."
"Jaune," Pyrrha said in a ton he heard from his mother when she thought she was disapproval of something he had done. "Are you saying you're cheating by getting help?"
"I mean, it depends on how you look at it?" He shrugged but saw she wasn't convinced. "Look, he's a part of me now so anything he knows I know and anything I know he also knows. It's a two-way street, just think of it like I suddenly have a photographic memory, some people have that naturally I just got it from, well other ways."
She mulled that over she really didn't fully understand the relationship between Jaune and his alien companion so she might have to set this issue aside for now. She just had a very strong sense of right and wrong and she had seen so many people brought down by cheating scandals in the tournaments.
"Okay, what else?" She asked moving on.
"Every night I've been going into this kind of dream space, now sure how to really describe it but he's been teaching me things he's learned, and let me tell you, he's learned a lot."
"So that's why your skills have sharply improved," Now it started to make sense to her how he was getting in extra training and a few other things. "Also, the skills I never taught you yet, you've been using techniques I never seen."
"That's most likely because they're from another planet." He chuckled.
Pyrrha's eyes lit up at that thought. Her mind wondered just how many other life forms were out there among the starts. Just how many different combat styles could Jaune learn from his alien guest?
'Oh gods, aliens are real, that changes so much,' Pyrrha suddenly realized that there was proof that they were not alone in the universe. That there were other civilizations out there.
"Jaune, why haven't you told the world about this?" She asked him perplexed. "This is, this is the most important discovery since dust."
The symbiote reformed over Jaune as it spoke. "Your media and history don't exactly portray your kind as open to things that are different. How the divisions between human and Faunus as an example. Also, some might see me as nothing more than just something on the same level as your Grimm creatures. Can you say you were not shocked by my appearance?"
Pyrrha wanted to reject the movies about aliens out right but looking at herself if it wasn't Jaune but some stranger, she might have assumed the worst. Had films and media about evil aliens poisoned her mind to the possibility of peaceful aliens? Then she thought of the struggles between humans and Faunus and felt a sense of shame. Although she herself had nothing against them, she couldn't deny that not all humans could say the same just as some Faunus held prejudices against humans.
"I…I can see your point," She sighed in disappointment for her planet as a whole. Then something stuck out about what he had said. "Wait you said 'your Grimm', are the Grimm not everywhere?"
"Those things don't exist anywhere else as far as I know, they are unique to this world. They are artificial creatures of pure darkness."
"Wait, artificial?" She pressed.
Valor nodded. "They are not natural creatures, I tried to bond with one when I crashed as I was injured and weak but touching them was like a poison. I could feel how 'wrong' they were, they are not natural, but some kind of artificial creatures, twisted things that are a mockery of living natural beings."
Pyrrha couldn't believe it, this alien was telling her something that people had only theorized on. The fact that the Grimm were made somehow was yet another earth-shattering discovery. No one knew the origins of the Grimm but if they were made, then how and why and by what where they made?
The symbiote pulled back again leaving Jaune's surprised face. "He didn't tell me that."
~You didn't ask, and it wasn't important at the time~
Jaune made a face at the comment but moved past it. "Anyways Valor's been helpful as you can see. There's so much out there Pyrrha, I got to see so much." He looked up at the sky although the sun was setting the stars weren't out yet. "God Pyrrha, the things he's shown me. There are entire civilizations out there so old that we are nothing more than infants to them. Beings so powerful that, well honestly, they're like living gods. So many aliens of all shapes and sizes, I've seen worlds with three suns, nebulas, I've seen a star explode, worlds where the sky is everything from red to purple."
Pyrrha couldn't even image the things Jaune was talking about, she never had been into science fiction since she had just assumed it was all make believe but now with an actual alien next to her, maybe she should reevaluate the genre.
"You make is sound incredible." She said softly.
Jaune tiled his head as though listening to something which she quickly realized he was. He turned to face her as he held out his hand. "Do you want to see?"
"Can he? I thought you said you two were joined or something."
"Yes, we're stuck together," Jaune explained. "You see his kind apparently, they bond to a host and once fully bonded, like I am now, it's for life. As he explained it, he's connected to my nervus system so pulling him off would, well from what he said it would suck. I might just die from the strain of it, but I want you to know it was my choice. He gave me the option to say 'no' to him and he would have gone to find a new host. He doesn't believe in forcing this bonding onto another."
She felt a bit better hearing about that, then she looked at his hand. "So then…?"
"Oh, but he can still connect to others as long as he's still connected to me apparently," He explained. "Just take my hand and, well it's going to feel kind of freaky but just go with it, trust me."
She did trust Jaune as she placed her hand in his, she watched as the material of the white suit oozed over her hand. Then she felt it, a presence inside of her mind. She gasped feeling this alien presence, but it was gentle as thought gently asking permission to enter. She wasn't sure how, but she tried to relax and open her mind to this feeling.
That's when it flooded her, she felt Valor, but she also felt Jaune, she was Valor just as she was Jaune and they were her. Their minds merging in a way she/they never thought possible as she/he/they felt each other on such a deep intimate level she/he/they knew was only possible through this linking of minds.
Pyrrha could feel Jaune, could really feel him, the newfound confidence but the self-doubt under that layer, felt his need to try and do good in the world, it was a pure and honest need to just help others. Then felt Valor, he was old, so very old and yet she could feel the peaceful need to help Jaune in his core. She could feel and see the world through the symbiote, and it was like she had been mostly blind all her life and now she could suddenly see everything.
Then she saw it, she saw the universe. She saw the worlds that Jaune described and more so, saw so many alien beings, cities older than the history of her world, great works, space stations the size of planets roaming through space, great beings of power as they forged literal suns, she saw it all, even the horrors like giant insect like creatures, Beings that would lay waste to worlds for reason only they understood, the death of suns and the solar systems with them. She felt she saw the infinite and from this day forth Pyrrha would carry these experiences with her.
She would forever be changed by what she saw, the universe had been opened to her and for a moment she got a peek behind the curtain of what just really was out there.
When it was over Pyrrha was alone again, now Jaune or Valor in her mind and she felt less from it. Like she just hadn't realized just how alone she was until they were gone from her being. She felt like she had been blind but never knew it and for one brief moment she could see before it was just gone.
"I…I just…I have no words," she finally got out. The experience wasn't something she could put into words, it had to be felt to truly understand it.
"Yeah, linking with you like that, that was different." Jaune had gotten used to Valor being a part of himself but when he had linked with Pyrrha, having her being and his all mixed up like that, it was like on another level. He felt her drive, her determination, yet also how caring she was. He looked at her and he could remember the feelings of isolation she had from being the Champion, he had seen a few memories that slipped out of how she felt alone and even hated her fame at times.
There was a hint of something else, like on the tip of the tongue, feeling she had kept guarded. He wasn't sure what it was as it had been fleeting but he it had been like trying to grasp smoke.
"I never knew you felt like that about being famous." He told her.
Pyrrha was surprised but this but blushed slightly. "It wasn't all bad but at times I felt like I was living a lie, I had to be perfect all the time and I felt no one really saw the real me, just The Invincible Girl, The Champion, no one really saw me for me…until I came here.
"I guess me not knowing was a good thing then?" He asked.
She smiled at him. "Yes, it let us get to be, friends."
"That's good, I honestly can't picture my life without you Pyrrha, you've helped me so much that I wouldn't have made it past initiation."
She blushed deeper at that. "I knew there was talent in you, and I wanted to see that brought out, plus as your partner I had to help, although I guess I'm not your only partner now."
Jaune gave a small laugh, "Yeah, you could say that I got lucky having the two best partners on the planet and then some."
She smiled at him as he had a point with that.
Jaune's face fell a bit as he thought of another secret, he was keeping from her. He had gone this far so maybe he should just go all the way. "There's one last thing, you see it's how I got into Beacon."
He explained everything, how he got his transcripts and how he used them to get his way into the school with no training or knowledge. As she listened to his story everything started to fit into place, why he didn't have his aura unlocked or even knew about it, or anything about being a huntsman that should have been basic knowledge. She always knew it was very strange but now, now it was all too clear.
"Jaune, what you did was reckless, you could have been killed without aura." She scolded him.
"I didn't know!" He defended himself.
"Exactly," she pointed out. "If I hadn't thrown my weapon at you and stopped your falling at initiation you could have died."
"I wasn't expecting to be launched off a cliff," he hadn't known what to expect. Looking back, he had big dreams of being a huntsman but the more time in Beacon the more he realized just how underprepared he had been. More than once he had started to realize just how much it took to be a huntsman.
"Yes, well that was not exactly normal," She hadn't heard of any kind of test like that, but they all had been trained to deal with events that could happen. How to use your aura from preventing injury from falling was a standard in pre-combat schools. "Still, you should have researched a little before doing something so dangerous."
"I know," he moaned. "Believe me, I've learned my lesson on that."
"Still, I'm surprised that no one caught on," Pyrrha frowned.
"Maybe I'm just that good?" He joked but seeing her serious look he slumped a bit. "Well, I like to think I'm good enough to pass now."
"You are," she nodded. "Even before Valor showed up, I felt you had what it took. You were behind but you put in so much effort to try and become better. I could tell you were serious about becoming a huntsman so I wanted to help as best I could."
"And you have been, believe me." He nodded his head. "I would have been hopeless without you."
She smiled at his words she felt a lot closer to Jaune in this moment. He had opened up and shared with her two very important secrets, also through the joining she had never felt so close to someone before now. It was like they had been totally naked in front of each other, a thought that made her blush as suddenly a sharp realization hit her.
"Jaune," she asked slightly worried. "How much did you see when we were linked like that?"
He blinked not sure what she meant. "Well, nothing personal if that's what you're worried about, Valor told me he kept the memories more surface level stuff and nothing too deep, why?"
She mentally breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh I was just worried about, you know, private stuff going through it."
"Oh! Uh, no, I got nothing like that," He figured she meant really private memories like her dressing or showering. A thought that made him have mixed feelings of seeing her like that and respecting his friend and partner too much to enjoy such a thing.
Valor however did know what she was referring to, while he made sure nothing too embarrassing took place he did have to shift through things. He knew how she felt about Jaune, and it intrigued the symbiote. If things didn't work out with Weiss, then perhaps Pyrrha would make for a suitable alternative mate. Of course, he didn't know if his other choice of Yang felt so he would wait and see how this little drama played out. Besides, the people on this world valued privacy and unless he was asked by her, he wouldn't betray her. She was showing a lot of trust in him, and he wouldn't break such a thing.
Pyrrha was glad that her feelings were not sent through, she wasn't sure how she could feel if they were revealed, she just wasn't ready yet to tell him. Just the thought of it sent a sense of anxiety through her that she hadn't felt since her first ever matches when she began to compete. Now that everything was out in the open between them, she felt the pieces coming together. All the odd behaviors, the sudden knowledge and skills, his unrealistic growth. In fact, she was kind of relieved, yet also a bit excited.
"So Jaune, have you two been holding back?" She asked him. "In our training have you two been working together?"
"Yeah, sorry it can't be helped." He scratched the back of his head.
"So, what would it be like to spar with you when you both are able to let loose?" She was curious now, the suit she was looking at was a living being so what else could they do together?
"I mean, kind of, we can't go all out unless Valor is covering me like now," he gestured to the white suit from the neck down.
"Then for our next sparring session I want to see how you both handle things when you are not holding back."
"Seriously?" He asked as she nodded. "Well, I got to warn you, we got some surprises in store for you."
"I look forward to it," He smiled at him. She couldn't wait to see what they were truly capable of, not only that she was going to fight an actual living alien. How many people could say that they did that? "We'll have to find an area that no one will disturb us."
"Yeah, we were going into Vale to practice some stuff out of the way of the school." Jaune admitted.
"Oh, right the vigilante, that was you two wasn't it." It was more of a statement then question.
Jaune shrugged, "Didn't mean for that to happen we just came up on this guy robbing a dust store who turned out to be his major criminal."
"Still if we're going to have you go all out, we're going to need some privacy," she thought about it. "Maybe we can go into the wooded areas at night."
"What like into the forest?" Jaune asked her not sure he wanted to go train in a Grimm infested forest at night.
"Oh no, not there we might get interrupted by Grimm and students aren't allowed to go into the Emerald Forest after dark." She explained. "I mean the forested area on campus, there are trees along the outer edges and I'm sure we can find an open spot to train. It should have less of a chance to be spotted by other students since most would use the training rooms. I think we can use the trees behind the walls near the entrance. If we go in far enough it should be enough and yet still close enough to the school."
Given that Emerald Forest was below a cliff the school was save from Grimm in that area. In fact, she was planning to go in the opposite direction of the cliff face. They could in theory use the actual area where they had started the initiation, but she didn't like the idea of training next to a drop like that. It was just begging for something to go wrong.
Jaune thought about it, "So wait, why haven't we tried that before now?"
Pyrrha blushed a bit in embarrassment. "I didn't really think about it until now. We were only doing the basics, so I figured this was enough room. I believe that there is also a curfew at night for students to stay on campus grounds so we would have to…bend the rules."
"Well, I'm no stranger to that," Jaune laughed awkwardly in reference to his fake transcripts.
"I guess the only question is, what about Ren and Nora?" Pyrrha asked him. "I don't like keeping this from them, but I would understand. This is a huge secret and while I trust them, Valor would need to feel safe about this."
~This is a reason I like her~
'Yeah, she's always putting others ahead. But what do you think?'
Valor was mulling it over, the two seemed like trustworthy members of the team. It would make is much easier for them to continue on in Beacon if they had allies that could cover up for certain things. Like Jaune's new eating habits or his new growth. If Pyrrha figured it out it would only be a matter of time before others did, especially in the small group of friends that Jaune had.
Pyrrha had taken it well, although the shock at first had been a bit worrying. There was also the fact that he wasn't sure Nora could keep her lips shut about it. The girl did like to talk, mostly because she let her mouth run away from her. He was unsure that if she promised not to talk, she would still accidentally say something while excited. Ren was the quiet type so Valor felt his silence was guaranteed but also because of his quiet nature it was hard to get a sense of the young man.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked seeing him go silent.
"I asked, he's thinking it over." He explained to her.
~I think I made a decision~
TBC..
What do you think should or will Valor explain himself to the rest of team JNPR? Find out next update.