Ch. 71 Dragon Maiden versus Arsenal

When team RNJR took over a spare room in the Haven dorms after the party they were all briefly overwhelmed by nostalgia. Soon though they began making the room their own in their own way.

Ruby and Jaune pushed all their beds together much like they did in their old room at Beacon, though Ruby didn't hesitate to eliminate any gap that used to be between her and Jaune's bed.

Ren doing the same to his and Nora's bed was noted by everyone, but safe for a barely noticeable dusting of blush and a wide grin on Nora's face nobody reacted. Or at least nobody did until Ruby dropped a bombshell of a reminder on everyone.

"Uhm! As team leader I feel obligated to remind all of us that as this is a shared dorm room, rules we had in place apply. That goes double for you Jaune."

"What!? Why me?"

"Because unlike Ren and Nora, we are "together together." I'm the one reminding everyone so clearly I don't need the reminder."

Jaune was catching up to what Ruby was doing. As a covert attempt to get Ren and Nora to hurry up and get together it wasn't a bad one. It certainly put the image of them together in their head. No reason not to have fun with it then, Jaune thought.

"Did my sister or her wife… actually no, they'd be thrilled to become aunts. Qrow…? I wouldn't put it past him to put the idea in your head… I don't think Yang would have the capacity to imagine us -ugh!" a blow to his stomach ended his fun though.

"Stop being a dumbass, it was just nostalgia. Now then, we have a fight to plan for!"

Nora piped up upon hearing that they would be planning Jaune's strategies together.

"This is kinda nostalgic too! Shame Cardin isn't here, then you could both participate in a proper rematch!"

"I won't want to be anywhere close to the fight when both of these dumbasses get going and I doubt Cardin would either. Yang is a full fledged maiden now since Cinder is dead and Jaune… is Jaune. I mean just that spear that he lent you alone is devastating."

Nora deflated a bit at the mention of the spear she grew so attached to but Jaune's next words quickly put a stop to the melancholy.

"Speaking of that spear, I have some ideas on how to use it in a fight and I expect you to take notes Nora. You'll get far more use out of it than I could. And now that I'm around I can give it proper maintenance with my semblance. Oh that reminds me, Ren do think about what kind of weapon I should make for you to use, you don't have to use it all the time, but its good to have a backup weapon always available for you."

Ren thought about it for a minute before a memory surfaced. He was thinking of how they fought the Nuckelavee and made a connection with a much older memory of his.

"I would like a bow. I have some training and having a silent long range option available couldn't hurt I'm sure."

=O=O=O=

The next day people gathered at the largest of Haven's combat arenas. It was usually used to teach combat classes but Neptune had spread the word of the match and most of the student's in the city showed up to watch.

The professors present at yesterday's party were present too though they left most of the organising to students. Other than them the staff from Dragon's Bonsai also showed up, mostly because the bulk of their clientele would be at Haven now since the school was retaken from the headmaster's control.

The sitting area was packed. Though thanks to Neptune the rest of team RNJR, Pyrrha, Qrow and Oscar had front row seats. Raven didn't sit with them, instead choosing to sit back as a bird and observe from a distance.

Yang was the first to enter the arena and met with loud cheers from the audience. Some even started changing the word dragon over and over. Yang didn't shy away from showing off, walking into the middle and making a show of activating her upgraded gauntlets and waving at the audience with her armoured arms.

Then a loud sound silenced the crowd. It was the sound of a jet engine and those who met Jaune and Ruby on their way to the academy knew what that meant.

Jaune's entrance was about as showy as Yang's as he rode into the arena and made a show of doing a handstand on the bike before shifting it to its hammer form. The steering column unfolded and the hard light projectors folded in turning the blue wheels into a striking surface. The script that covered the bike lit up with Aura as Jaune landed on his feet and hefted the oversized warhammer above his head.

"Hey Yang!" Jaune screamed over the cheering "Were going all out yeah? I want to see what a full fledged maiden can do!"

Jaune took advantage of the fact that no-one in the audience could hear what they were saying to make sure Yang would go all out.

"You bet! I still have to make a good attempt at killing you!" Yang yelled jokingly.

"Your dad gave it his best shot and failed, what makes you think you'll do any better?" Jaune taunted.

As Yang's maiden powers ignited the air around her and her eyes started spewing magic Jaune did what they planned out with his team the night before.

There was a reason behind the madness. Yang just jumped up in power and those that knew what she could do would inevitably notice, so Jaune planned to give them an explanation and a spectacle of his own.

"Virga Fulgur!" Jaune yelled out as he gripped the spear in his off hand and let his Aura fill the spear with electricity.

The audience gasped as they felt both the heat from Yang's firestorm and the static charge filling the air. Both of their bodies were covered in flames, Yang's yellow and Jaune's white gold.

Neptune, who tasked himself with commentating, gave a countdown "Three! Two! One! Battle start!"

Both shot forward and Equinus di Ardera Ventis met Ember Celica with a loud clang that sounded even over the roar of the engine and fire. Gouts of flame and electric discharge accompanied every exchange of blows and soon Yang started using ger semblance to hit with the added payback of every blow she received.

Despite her best efforts though Jaune's Aura metre showed how little damage she did to him, or rather how much more she would need to hit him. Every hit of her's could be called a finisher in most other fights but Jaune could take far more than any huntsman alive.

That wasn't to say that Yang was getting nowhere. The heat from the fire was a lot even for someone used to the heat of a forge. And to add to Jaune's mounting discomfort, the jet engine was overheating. No, that wasn't quite apt, the engine was in fact burning itself from the inside.

The air was filled with magical fire on par with the power of Dust and the engine only added to the heat. Jaune needed to change tactics fast.

Yang dodged out of the way of Jaune's spear, keen on avoiding another painful electric shock, only to step into the way of Jaune's wide arching swing of the warhammer.

As Yang flew back from the blow, Jaune dismissed Equinus di Ardera Ventis. The crowd gasped in surprise as Jaune's Aura shot from teetering on the edge of red, to well above where it started.

As lightning and white gold flames roiled off of Jaune, Yang once again used her semblance to empower her strike. Ruby's upgrade triggered and the armoured plate pushed out, adding to the force of the blow

Unfortunately for her, with both hands now free to hold the spear, Jaune blocked with Virga Fulgur.

The shaft of the spear broke under the immense force but as it did Yang could see the smile on Jaune's face. The bastard planned for this to happen.

In the moment that the Lighting Rod broke, a massive discharge of lightning happened between the two halves, blinding the combatants and most of the audience.

When the audience regained their sight they saw Yang, sparks of electricity dancing across her armoured muscles, but still standing and Aura still in the yellow zone.

Jaune was smiling as he let the two halves of his spear fall from his hands and return to his Aura, pushing it to just under half of where it started. Then he glanced at Ruby.

Yang was still recovering from the shock but she too noticed where Jaune was looking and turned to Ruby as well.

Ruby then took her weapon from her back and motioned it as if handing it to Jaune. He in turn reached his arm to her and despite the twenty metres between them grasped it.

"Lunatum Cor Rosae."

The audience was shocked at what just happened and those that were guessing at the mechanics behind Jaune's semblance theorised about the importance of what they just saw.

Yang though, she saw red. At first figuratively, then literally as Jaune closed the distance between them in an instant with a burst of rose petals and in one fell swoop knocked her Aura down to almost nothing.

The arena's system sounded the end of match tone and displayed Jaune's image as the winner, conveniently hiding that his aura was nearly in the red too from using Ruby's semblance.

=O=O=O=

Raven left as soon as she saw Jaune won.

For a moment she thought Yang was simply weak, but quickly dismissed the thought. Yang was a Maiden and from what Raven saw she wasn't really holding back in power.

Sure she wasn't affecting the weather like a more skilled maiden could, but the magical fire burned with power.

That was another thing she had to consider. Maidens weren't just Ozpin's magic, they were pieces of his divinity. Maiden magic was somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of Infinity. And if Raven understood how that worked correctly, so long as there was enough of it to tap into the domain it would never run out and be at its full potency. Ozpin had barely any left and so his magic was leaving him and Maidens couldn't use the more delicate magics without significant training despite having the power.

Then what the fuck was Arc. Going head to head with a Maiden was a feat of its own but not only winning, but doing it by using someone else's semblance? Could it have been the Relic?

No that shouldn't be the case… or could it? Okay, maybe it was the relic then? But Knowledge didn't empower those using it, that was supposed to be Creation and Destruction…

Plus Jaune could use his wife's semblance since before he fought Taiyang so that couldn't be it. Maybe it was whatever happened in Forever Fall? Dammit! Why didn't the brat want to talk about that one? Who was that mysterious friend of his…

Maybe it was time to visit Forever Fall sometime soon. For now she needed to return to the tribe though, before some smartass decides to go through her stuff. The last guy didn't survive going through her underwear chest but that would hardly stop the next one.

=O=O=O=

"So you're saying Jaune beat me in front of everyone, for my own sake." said the understandably irritated Yang.

"Yes! That's exactly what I've been saying Yang! You have honest to gods magic now! That paints a target on your back… It may not fool everyone but if we say that it's not your power alone but also the experimental equipment I made making your semblance that much more powerful maybe we can have… what was it called? Posli…something deniability?

"Plausible deniability? That's why?"

"Okay, maybe we also wanted to see how you match up against Jaune. He's been growing in power and… we're both kinda concerned about it…"

Yang looked over to where Jaune was exchanging pleasantries with Oscar.

"We have reason to believe that Jaune could become something closer to what Ozpin is." Ruby continued "Not a soul parasite or anything just… a demigod of some kind? An immortal is how Keel put it."

That brought Yang to face Ruby once more.

"What? Who the hell is Keel?"

"Ah, shoot, I wasn't supposed to say that! Forget I said that!"

"Ruby…" Yang said sternly in a low voice.

Ruby sighed in defeat. They were going to explain to her team later anyway so she might as well tell her own sister.

"Okay, he's… like Ozpin, immortal but cursed just very differently. And Jaune thinks it wasn't the gods that did it either."

"Okay, so how is that a bad thing? Your hubby will be with you forever. That doesn't sound like a bad deal."

Ruby pulled a face for a moment as Yang grimned in perceived victory.

"Well someone changed their opinion of my hubby awfully quick. But that isn't the point. First of all, we wanna grow old together if at all possible not, you know me growing all old and wrinkly while Jaune stays the same young dork he is now. And what happens after I'm gone hmm? He's just stuck here forever like Ozpin or Keel? Plus there's the problem of the curses. If it's the gods, maybe he can hide from them for a while, but if it's just something that just happens? What then…?"

"I say maybe focus on the now. What are we going to do tomorrow, kinda thing you know?"

Ruby nodded, though she didn't seem convinced. The conversation slowly turned elsewhere. Like Ruby showing it in Yang's face that she's a full fledged Huntress now. Pyrrha joined them soon enough, having heard all she could stomach of Nora's retelling of the fight they just all saw.

Jaune meanwhile spoke with Oscar. Mostly about growing up outside of the kingdom walls and their past plans for a completely mundane future. Oscar aspired to have his own farm one day but that was little but a dream now unless Ozpin decided to just disappear…

"Wait… Ozpin wants to talk."

"Sure I don't mind."

Oscar closed his eyes and when he opened them they had that golden green glow to them that signalled Ozpin's presence.

"Mister Arc…"

"Hello Oz."

Oscar's face twitched in slight irritation though Ozpin remained fairly stoic as he rebutted.

"I see you've taken to calling me by my nickname since James told you about me. As much as I understand Oscar's body is younger than you, I don't appreciate being addressed quite so familiarly."

"Oh it has nothing to do with that, Oz. In fact I believe you played your role as professor Ozpin quite well. But… I've had some thoughts since I learned of your… condition, let's call it. Later though I have seen quite a few things you did Oz, quite a few names and men you wore… I can feel your soul now… which is admittedly a very new development, but the point is I've been shown that just like you aren't Oscar, you haven't been professor Ozpin and the many before him… not in a long time." At that point Jaune felt the tickle of knowledge freely given by the Relic on his belt. "You… are Oz, perhaps not quite the original Ozma, but sure as hell not Ozpin. Do not tarnish the memory of a man you've ceased being."

Oscar or rather Oz showed a frown which didn't belong on such a young face. The frown only kept growing deeper the longer Jaune talked.

"I see… I assume the Relic enlightened you to my previous lives?"

Jaune took a moment to contemplate before nodding in agreement. It was no lie though perhaps only true to the wording not the spirit of the question. Jinn only showed him one of Oz's past lives along with small tidbits, but the bulk of them came from the Relic of Creation… and even the first reveal of Ozpin being more than just a dead headmaster came from Keel, who too, in a sense, was a relic of his own age.

"That is barely important right now. Have you given any thought to our next move?"

"I was thinking of visiting the good General and hiding the relic in the Atlas vault."

"No. Frankly I do not like the idea of burdening the people of Atlas with twice the danger, let alone the Winter maiden. No, think of something better, we're staying here until you do, or someone else does."

Jaune turned away from Oscar who was suddenly left in the pilot seat of his body as Oz retreated into the depths of his mind.

=O=O=O=

Author's note:

Now were delving deeper into the Ozma problem. Though more of that will come in time there are some things that need to be addressed first.

Oh how I long for the early days where I just wrote what came to mind with barely an outline of where the story would go. Now I have these islands of written parts and ideas scattered over the timeline of the future of this story and it makes keeping track of it all and actually writing while trying to connect those islands together kinda difficult.

I've also killed the weekend with other work that needed to be done then, so I'm finishing the chapter later than I would have liked. Oh, woe is me I guess...

But hey if you want to support me you can do so on P a treon . com (slash) OlympianScribe

Anyway I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter: Ch. 72 Project Phoenix