Final chapter in this transition arc, finally!
Short Story at the bottom and without further ado.
Enjoy the chapter.
Cover art by: Notgustiarp
Chapter 12
He couldn't stop trembling.
Breathe, just breathe.
If only he'd just listened to Summer, things wouldn't have ended up like this. Then everything would've stayed the same, but now…
She'd told him to stay in his room and away from the stairs. But he'd let his curiosity take control, and now he'd heard things he definitely wasn't supposed to.
I'm not an idiot. I knew something happened to their kids, but it was never my business to pry…
He still remembered Summer's old study from when they lived in Beacon's faculty housing. The news clippings and printed articles all haphazardly posted on the walls told just how diligent they were in searching.
He hadn't gone into the new study, but he'd guess that the same global map was there. Though they haven't gone hunting in a while, it must have stayed relatively the same marking wise.
Yet that man claimed he searched all of Mistral and found nothing. How was he even connected to them? Was he related or just a family friend?
Well, he doubted he was much of one now.
The violent crack of someone being slammed into the living room wall reverberated through his memories. Making him doubt they'd be welcome in this house again.
Yet it reminded him so much of that other time. Where once again, his home was invaded. Those memories weren't what had him quivering, though—he was stronger than before.
Clutching his left hand, he tried desperately to stop the trembles. But the numbness spread throughout his limbs as his mind raced with what was said.
The part that changed everything—or maybe it just revealed how things actually were.
"But I mean, c'mon! How lucky could you guys be to find a kid who wanted to replace his family too?"
That words crept up his spine and took over his thoughts, trailing a throbbing ache into his heart. The pain was so deep it bellowed and had him grasping at his chest.
Replacing his family was so unthinkable that he should've scoffed at the mere accusation. But that pain in his heart only seemed to worsen the more he dwelled on it. As if maybe—just maybe there was some truth-
No! It's not true at all. They were everything to me, and I'd never forget—let alone try and replace them!
The thought comforted him as he looked back to the earlier parts of his childhood. To the beautiful village they lived in, Ansel. It was nearly a full fledged town compared to those around them and was thus considered one of the safest places on the frontier.
Ironic, wasn't it?
He focused on other aspects of his home instead. Like the friends he made and the neighbors he'd interacted with daily like…l-like—he clenched his hands and tried desperately to remember his neighbor's names and faces.
They were all obscured by a thick haze of shadows hiding their every feature. Just like in his dream…
N-No, I didn't forget them.
He remembered being homeschooled, playing in his yard and the parks his family would visit—that same fog also covered those areas, erasing entire swaths of once treasured memories.
Or maybe they'd already been forgotten, and he was only just now realizing?
"How lucky could you guys be to find a kid who wanted to replace his family too?"
Pushing past those thoughts and ignoring the gnawing feeling wondering if those words might hold water, he focused on something he could never forget—his family.
Mom was gentle in appearance yet stern when needed making her the bedrock of the home. Flashes of his sisters and their odd quirks that defined them went through his mind.
The shadows consumed them too.
N-No, I haven't forgotten…I couldn't have…
The trembling was uncontrollable now, overwhelming in its intensity. Closing his eyes did little to tune out the dark thoughts floating through his mind.
I'm not replacing anyone!
That was the mantra he repeated, slamming it into his psyche over and over again until even the doubting voices believed him.
Until he believed himself.
In his mind, shards of remembering's drifted along. Ones of a familiar warm home with voices of long gone loved ones permeated. Then visions of those exact figures obscured and eaten away by the void made their way through.
"That dream…" He mumbled.
The very one he'd had last night. He hadn't forgotten—all day, it festered in the back of his brain, only now finding footing in his panicked mind. That blackness…was that him forgetting them?
He tried to picture them. It was like they were mere wisps in his head, less real people and just…memories. That couldn't have just happened though he refused to believe it.
Losing them kept him up at night and bathed him in despair whenever he thought himself almost happy again. Or at least it used to, didn't it?
Not in a while, at least. When did he stop dwelling on their deaths, he wondered?
And why?
"A kid who wanted to replace his family too."
He felt his fingers dig into his skin as he stood in the middle of his room.
My new room. It's bigger than the one I slept in at Beacon…closer to the one in Ansel.
Yet still, it was only filled with photos and souvenirs from moments he'd spent with Summer and Tai. Did he even have anything to remember his family by—was that another sign of him subconsciously moving on?
"No, wait—there's one thing I have left of them!" The realization brought about a wave of desperate relief as he faced the closet.
And then a wave of dread barreled into him.
It was just like in his nightmare. Waves of negativity were seeping out like a tsunami freezing him in place as he just stared.
What is this? It's so foreboding and yet familiar?
Pushing past that instinctual fear, he started taking step after shaky step closer to what felt like despair incarnate as wave after wave crashed into his senses. Only sheer willpower allowed him to reach out and grasp the door handle throwing open the closet and retching as the stench hit him.
"Gods, something died in here!"
...
...Oh wait, that's just my laundry.
Tai would have his head if he saw how Jaune being told to clean his room meant he just kinda shoved everything in the closet. The only thing that was sort of neat or orderly was the present Summer gave him hung up on the only hanger in the closet.
And he'd been so excited to wear it today too.
That regret only paused him for a second before he realized the ominous aura was emanating underneath the crusty clothing. A bulge that couldn't be any other item he possessed was poking its way out of the mess.
Gingerly, he dug through the mess, pulling loose and discarded laundry away. Each piece of clothing he removed got him an extra dose of negative emotions as he finally removed the last junked board game covering the source—
I'm an awful person.
He fell to his knees as all his fears were proven true. Lying forgotten in his closet, buried beneath a mountain of new clothes, souvenirs, and even newer memories, laid his father's sword.
And an even more worthless son…
Buried and forgotten about, he'd only barely remembered placing it here. Remembering why didn't ease the pain, even if it was from not wanting to upset and potentially have Tai hurt himself. Wasn't that ironic?
Cause when he tried to remember his father, all he could picture was a mop of blond hair and tired yet loving blue eyes.
"Dad's eyes were green though, weren't they? He didn't have blonde hair either. Besides, it was supposed to be cut way shorter…wasn't it?"
The fact that he couldn't be certain—that his mind could only conjure up false pictures of the previously most important man in his life was unbearable.
Like I…like I…
Already replaced him too.
/-/
He needed answers. Wisdom, advice, or anything close to it to stop this internal agony. But facing Summer and Tai right now…if he even saw them again, he knew he'd never be able to give up what they'd come to cobble together.
The mental map of vale he'd made over the year came in clutch as he charged after the only other person who already knew of their situation and could be of use.
At first, he'd thought of Ozpin but he knew the man was already biased. He needed someone to tell him the truth, and Summer's dad wasn't it.
Dashing through the crowds of people, he was a red blur bobbing and weaving through shortcuts and alleyways while his destination loomed overhead.
They said he was going to meet with Ozpin, right? Maybe that guy lives in Beacon like Sum and Tai did before I came along.
It was his only way to meet this mysterious stranger. In the distance, towering gothic spires grew as he came closer to the landing pads where the airships waited to ferry people to the school. Usually, the sight would make him ecstatic to visit, but now it had such a foreboding air to it all.
"Hey, kid…"
He twirled around at the familiar voice calling out to him. Meeting that gaze halted him in his tracks and froze him to his core.
Color seemed to bleed away as his senses screamed at him. His vision narrowed as his mind focused on the hand reaching out towards him and its intent.
Death.
"Where'd you get that cloak?"
He couldn't describe just how cold the world got as the fingers neared his neck or what was tied around it. His world faded away, and he was transported to that battle a year ago with that monster.
Instincts flared, and his body finally responded, bursting with light as his Semblance activated, surging him with Aura. The feeling helped his brain catch up with his body as he dashed away. Coming to a screeching halt a second later, he'd managed to put a few feet between them. Even then, that killer's intent permeated his senses.
Here next to this busy street, two stood opposite each other. One, an aged man easily recognizable as a Huntsman, and a boy who only a year ago hadn't even touched a weapon stared off.
He hoped the whizzing of cars next to them masked just how out of breath he was. He wasn't tired, far from it but the sheer bloodlust was enough to knock the wind out of him as the strange man from earlier appeared unfazed. His hand that had previously been reaching for him stopped though that same threat hung in the air.
"Where'd. You. Get It?" It was like the man was in a trance, eyeing him up. "Before I do something, I'll regret."
He couldn't help the gulp he took as he clutched his cloak's scarf like wrapping.
His ruby red cloak.
"I-it was a gift. From Summer…" Why did saying her name suddenly feel like ash on his tongue?
The man—Qrow, seemed to be taken aback, finally breaking eye contact with the piece of fabric. A stumble and a quick throwback of his head had the man oddly enough staring distantly at the sky.
"Heh, yeah I guess that makes sense" The man chuckled darkly. "Those bastards…"
Qrow refocused his gaze on him, peering down at him with a mix of bitterness and disdain. Enough so that his death grip tightened on his dad's sword.
"I'll be taking that. But first, what's a brat like you doing out at a time like this? Accidents are bound to happen out this late all by yourself." He feigned concern, but the threatening step he took forward clued him into that falsity—no fancy abilities required.
"You shouldn't make mommy or daddy worried now. So gimme that and get lost-" He blurted out his first thoughts more out of instinct than conscious thought.
"My family's dead!"
His shout attracted the attention of those scattered few still out this late. If the blatant use of his flashy Semblance hadn't already done just that. But he didn't care, nor did it matter when he needed answers.
"I-I lost them…I watched them all die. I'm not trying to replace anyone!" He just wanted all these confusing feelings to stop. To wake up and be home again.
"I just wanna wake up from this nightmare…." Tears pricked his eyes as the tension left his body. Exposed before a man whose aura promised nothing but pain, the deep internal ache promised an even worse fate if he did nothing.
It was like he was being pulled apart at the seams.
Silence was his only answer. He watched as the man seemingly stared through him at his words. Maybe he'd hit a nerve again. To be honest, he didn't really care anymore. He was done running.
"…Not all nightmares can be woken up from." His hand slowly lowered its menacing reach. "Sometimes you gotta be forced to wake up to reality."
He watched the man's eyes gain this misty look as his senses were swallowed in the man's oh so familiar despair. "And sometimes you find that reality is worse than those nightmares."
Wholly frozen in negative emotions, he couldn't do anything but watch as Qrow turned, lumbering away closer and closer to the gothic towers in the distance.
"I'll let you hold onto that for now, seems like you'll need it, but I won't be responsible for what I do next time."
"Wait! W-what if I'm too scared to wake up? If the truths too terrifying, what then?" He managed to mumble out.
Qrow didn't bother to stop, stumbling further and further away.
"Then pick a lie and run away. Throw everything away and run, kid. Just know, no matter how hard ya want it, a lie's just that." His cape flapped in the chill breeze while his shoulders slouched with an enigmatic weight.
"A distraction."
With that man's departure, so too did that choking cloud of negativity, yet still he was rooted to that spot, words passing through his head a mile a minute.
"Pick a lie and chase it? W-What does that even mean?" He mumbled.
The cold air blew as the sun finally set, casting him and thus his mind in further darkness. Cars whizzed by with neon trails of lights highlighting the night that had fallen as passerby's milled about all unnoticed by each other.
Clutching his cloak tighter only made that inner cold grow more noticeable. He knew he couldn't stay here forever, yet the path back home seemed to be an even worse fate than staying and losing himself to this uncertainty.
Even now, he could feel them. Those dark thoughts and implications grow again, trying to take hold. No matter how much he clenched his eyes and begged them to just go away, they didn't fade instead building up into a crescendo.
The only thing that kept him from falling into that abyss again was those words masquerading as advice replaying repeatedly.
Pick a lie and run….
He didn't know why but that thought brought a modicum of relief to his heart. It eased swimming in the swirling whirlpool of doubts in his head like a piece of driftwood that he clung to.
A lie, though? He didn't know any and definitely knew better than to pin his hope on something he already knew was wrong. Why would anyone ever chase something as hopeless as that? But maybe…
Maybe finding something to chase after wouldn't be such a bad idea. Like finding a purpose—something that could help everyone!
"Didn't Tai also tell me to find a purpose? Did I forget that too, or was I just too dumb to really understand..." He mumbled.
Yet two people mentioned the same solution filling him with more confidence than he could ever explain. Just the thought of it gave him a weird feeling inside. Like he'd had an epiphany that wasn't entirely his own yet one that spoke to him so deeply it rattled his very soul.
A purpose or just a goal that could make up for everything he'd messed up. Maybe that's what that man meant—But he wouldn't be running!
I'm done being a coward!
It felt like that grip on his heart eased a little, and with it so too did his grip on Crocea Mors.
The sun may have set today, but it felt like the future was brighter than ever. All he needed now was a purpose to take up and the resolve to do so.
No, I've always had one right in front of me. I was just too blind to see it.
He looked back where the false home he'd made for himself—no, it was a home. Just not his home, not really. He'd lost his, and it was all his fault.
That was reinforced as memories of his old family…his real family flashed through his mind. Memories that even now we're beginning to fade, replaced by ones cobbled together by hurt and damaged people.
These moments…weren't meant for me, were they? This love was meant for other kids, ones who hadn't thrown there's away…
Those voices in his heart agreed, and he couldn't bring himself to argue with them anymore. It was too late for him. The chance for a happy life was gone, and no matter how much he wanted to believe that lie, he couldn't bring himself to cast aside the past and chase after it all over again. Like he said, why bother chasing after something that isn't real…it was…
"Pointless. Just a cruel distraction."
That family wasn't meant for him. Glancing past that home into the vast horizon, he wondered about the kids it was meant for then…
Memories of emotions so hot and vicious that they burned their way into him even in his near unconscious state.
"Give them back!"
Conversations so touchy he'd wondered why they were shared with him flashed through his mind. Ones complemented by photos lovingly framed yet caked in dust also sprung up. Of little girls lost to evil people—whisked away in the dead of night while none were around to save them.
They matched so well with his own path of horror that it was shocking, but now new emotions arose in him. He clutched at his crimson cloak out of the sheer injustice that welled up, no longer feeling the cold air that swept his body.
Only cold determination as he figured out what he needed to do. What he had to do.
I have to save them…it's too late for me, but they still have a chance!
The enormity of this task weighed heavily on him, yet it gave him a sense of purpose he hadn't had in a long time. Even if he had no idea where to start, he'd find his way.
With hope, he grasped the cloak in his left hand and clutched his father's ancestral sword in the other. Taking one last glance back to the place he desperately wished to call home, he turned away and marched deeper into the shadowed future ahead.
As a new sense of iron resolve grew deep inside.
Author's Notes:
Holy...
This chapter was like pulling teeth. Trust me when I say I stared long and hard at every line, and still, I'm left absolutely defeated. This is officially the end of the transitional arc and now marks the beginning of the main story, so you'd better believe it mattered a whole lot and thus took me a while to crank out.
Can you tell I'm really not proud of this chapter yet? Cause man am I not. Though I couldn't make you guys wait any longer, there wasn't much I was changing with each revision anyways.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy it, but I've already got plans to revise the chapter much later in the future. So sorry if it's not to your liking, guys.
Otherwise, this chapter was the culmination of a lot of built up pressure in Jaune, just like the last chapter was focused on the breakdown of Tai, Summer, and Qrow—told ya he'd be back!
Just wanted to point out that this 'breakdown' of Jaune is purposefully meant to mirror another character's breakdown earlier in this story. I even used similar wording and phrases/descriptions for those observant enough.
Give you a quarter if ya can guess who's...
Otherwise, we now understand precisely what Jaune's goal and purpose is for the rest of this story. Find and rescue Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-long—hence the bad story summary.
They all can't be winner's folks...
Quick clarifications yes, Jaune does have Ruby's cloak, and does Jaune have his Semblance back? Well, maybe this new Short Story will shed some...light on that.
...i'll see myself out.
Short Story
The sun's light pierced through the blinds landing squarely on his eyelids, bringing him out of his relatively uneventful sleep.
His home being consumed by a dark shadowy void aside compared to the other vivid nightmares, that was nothing.
Eyes fluttering, they blinked away the exhaustion he'd carried into his sleep the night prior. He had to take Tai's advice and ask Sum to tone down the training.
…but she's always so happy when I make progress. Even if she doesn't admit it!
Either way, he'd have to do something about what's turned into a grueling regiment, for what she promised would just be a simple self defense class. What kind of home schoolteacher taught their students to fight anyways?
Admittedly, they said they'd be learning right beside him too, but still!
No point complaining. He'd just have to just deal with it. He threw aside the blanket and pushed those thoughts away to begin his morning ritual. He got ready to jump in the shower, but before that he'd make his way to the window to start the day off in his favorite way possible.
Pushing the window up, he had to squint not to be blinded by the sun's rays as myriad sounds flooded his room.
Birds chirped, and cars zoomed around in the distance as the sounds of footfalls took center stage. With his eyes finally adjusted, he was taken aback—like he always was every time he saw this view.
The city of Vale just sorta had that effect on a sheltered country bumpkin like him. Even having moved here from Beacon a year or so ago had little impact on just seeing this view every morning. Speaking of…
"Hi, Mr. Shop Keep!"
Head stuck out the window, he waved at the passing old man wearing a red apron and sporting a wicked bald spot. The older man's hearing might be shot, but he had a way of just knowing when he was being hailed down.
The man even smiled and waved back, not glancing his way or even opening his eyes.
"Still kinda creepy..."
The guy was a local shop owner and next door neighbor to them, so he'd had a lot of chances to get to know him—in all his unsettling ways.
He really should learn the guy's name, though…
He stayed an extra minute or so, lost in the sight of the sun rising, casting its rays on the towering skyscrapers in the distance. Man was he glad they lived far away from the crowded and noisy streets—plus, everything they needed was just a short walk away.
Having his fill, he closed and triple bolted the window as per Summer's instructions and made his way to the restroom across the hall.
Sum was probably already on the roof training away. Mercifully, he didn't have any lessons today, so he'd be fine until midafternoon. Where in his body would be tormented and destroyed in the most grueling training—no.
First brush teeth, then deal with crushing dread and existential crises.
"One problem at a time, thank you very much."
The bathroom was thankfully empty, so he started his morning ritual with a new sense of resolve. Well, more like the one he copied from Tai, that being the one he wasn't allowed to say aloud—at least the first part.
Completing the first two S's in the three part rhyme left him with the only one left, shaving.
He stared at his reflection, then at the razor, then back to his reflection.
This world really is unjust, isn't it?
"Talk about a kick in the teeth or chin, I guess." To be fair, most twelve year olds didn't shave either, nor did he have classmates to compare to or envy anyway, being homeschooled and all.
But one day they'll see—they'll all see!
The rest of his reflection checked out, at least. His teeth were clean, and his hair was cut down to its usual mop if a little soaked from his shower.
Only thing that'd stop him from blending in with others his age was something he honestly couldn't control no matter how much he tried.
"Aw man, did they get brighter again?" How was he going to live a normal life with this dumb Semblance getting in the way all the time?!
His reflection stared back with a set of glowing white eyes only barely illuminating his facial features. Thankfully Sum says they're nowhere near as bright as when they first met. His original blue eyes still being visible through the passive glow they constantly emitted.
He didn't even want to think of Sum and Tsune's explanation for why he has them right now. He only cares that there's pretty much no way of getting rid of the annoying light show.
"Yep, they definitely got brighter, ugh." It'd taken a month or so, but they'd returned with a vengeance. Now he'd have to deal with the fact that the issue would most likely continue to worsen for the rest of his life.
He knows expending all his Aura using his Semblance would fix it, but Sum hard vetoed that idea.
Rubbing the last bit of sleep out of his eyes, he decided today he'd earned a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's for breakfast. He'd need it for Sum's training today.
Otherwise, today promised to be a pretty typical day, all things considered.
Oh, how cruel fate can be.
This Short Story begins right after the nightmare sequence in chapter 10, and trust me, Jaune remembers it well.
See ya next chapter.
Date Published: 2022/05/29
