First off I'd like to thank you all for being patient with me and my many problems. That being said I now have both good and bad new for everyone concerning my story. The good news is that yes I will be uploading again so yeah that's good. Honestly my hands have been twitching cause I haven't written in so long. As for the bad news...well my job is closing down so all of us are getting canned which means I now have to spend a good deal of time job hunting again. Haven't had to do that for nearly seven years.
Anyways my weekly uploads from before might not come on time until my lively hood is back on track. But I will upload when I can so you guys won't have to worry about me being gone for nearly two months at a time like recently. Now enough bad news and on with the chapter.
It had been at least ten minutes since he fully recharged his aura and yet all he could do was stare at his hand, completely lost in thought. "Is this all I can do"? He hadn't meant to say it out loud but the question had bothered him enough to speak out for the others to hear. Vine, Marrow and Clover were silenced by the question he posed. "Jaune we just discovered your semblance, there's no telling what else your capable of until we've further tested your ability" Vine assured him. A small smile spread across Jaune's face as he let out a content sigh. It was reassuring to know that there would be further testing, after all if there was more to his semblance then just restoring his aura he wanted that knowledge in hand.
"So what are we waiting for? I think since we still have plenty of time before I have combat class with Winter, we could experiment with my semblance and see what else it could do". The excitement in Jaunes voice was heard by the three Ace operatives. They quickly exchanged small nods with each other before turning back to their young student. "Very well then" Clover agreed "best to make the most of the time we have left. First let's see if we can use your ability on other people. There's no point in trying anything else if it's self contained to you alone".
Jaune nodded in agreement. "Okay so who is going to be my practice partner" he asked knowing that calling a person a guinea pig for his semblance was a good way to lose volunteers. Of the three that stood before him, two turned to the youngest member of the Ace Ops with a raised brow. Marrow leaned back a little under his teammates gazes before deflating entirely. "I'll help out" the dog faunus said with such a defeated tone that Jaune couldn't help but crack a smile.
Vine switched places with his junior and allowed Marrow to settle on the ground where he once sat. "Okay so what now" the dog faunus asked when he was finally comfortable.
"Now we'll attempt a direct contact transfer of aura between you and Jaune. Any other tests we could perform will come after once we know if Jaune's semblance can affect another individual". Vine turned to his young student and nodded once. "Please begin by taking one of Marrow's hands, that should be more then enough contact to test your semblance to see if it can effect another person's aura". Jaune nodded and reached out to take the dog faunus's hand when it was offered. "Now instead of trying to boost your own aura I want you to stream your aura outward and into Marrow, like when the general did it to you. Your semblance is a part of your aura so it should react in kind to what your trying to do".
Jaune took a deep breath and visualized the process, allowing his aura to flow through his body, into his arm and through his hand. Marrow felt it as soon as it happened. Their aura collided and slowly fused together, and when he thought that was the end of things the sudden rush of power that surged forth had him gasp in surprise. Jaune quickly let go of his hand in fear that he might have been hurting the dog faunus but Marrow quickly calmed him down. "Your semblance just caught me by surprise" Marrow assured him.
Jaune watched the dog faunus for a few seconds to make sure he was alright and let out a relieved breath when Marrow seemed just fine. Vine knelt down next to his teammate and observed the hand that Jaune had held. "Incredible" the Ace operative whispered to himself. Jaune heard his teachers words and felt a little confused by them. "What's incredible"? The blonde asked when it was clear his teacher wasn't going to elaborate since he was lost in thought. Vine looked over to the young Arc and explained in full detail. "What's incredible is the fact your semblance changes your aura to adapt to different forms of aura to allow safe recovery and restoration within another person. Normally that wouldn't be the case if I or even the general made the attempt".
To hear just how impossible it was to do what he did so simply blew the blondes mind. "Hold on a second! Ironwood used his aura to awaken mine, wouldn't that require him to link his aura with my own to draw it out"? Vine shook his head in response. "The process your talking about is far different from what you think. The General never linked his aura to yours, what actually happened was that he forced his aura into your body in order to cause your soul to respond. Aura is the soul of a person summoned forth to defend the body, but what do think happens when someone else's soul enters an already occupied body"?
The thought had never crossed his mind before but now that he thought about it. "I guess the hidden soul would fight back to protect itself" Jaune answered before he tilted his head in thought "doesn't that mean my aura reacted like a white blood cell"? Vine cracked a smile at the comparison. "That's about right" his teacher acknowledge "and that's why when your aura fought back the General was temporarily weakened".
"Hmm?! Wait a sec, I'm pretty sure you weren't there for my aura awakening, so how did you know that happened"?
"Because I've seen the process before. Numerous times in fact and every time the initiator is left weakened as a result".
Well he should have expected that from someone so skilled in aura manipulation. With so many questions put to rest, Jaune felt a little more confident in his abilities and cracked his fingers. "Right, let's see what else I can do". Vine nodded and took a step back to observe from a distance as Jaune started up his semblance once more.
/
The door to the training room opened and Winter let herself in to see how much progress the Ace Ops made with their special training. What she didn't expect to see was a bright light radiating from the center of the room nearly blinding her. She held a hand in front of her eye's and tried to find the other in the middle of this continuous...whatever it was and found several shadow coming from a few figures closer to where the light originated from.
"Alright Jaune I think you can stop boosting your aura now".
At the sound of what Winter believed was Clovers voice, the light in the room began to dim and recede back into the body of their young student. After a few minutes the light in the room had been extinguished and Jaune slumped forward and let out a sigh. "I feel like I could have kept going" he said once he stood up straight. Clover chuckled at the blondes words, "I bet you could have, but seeing as you boosted your aura to five times the normal amount I'd say there isn't a limit to how far you can go".
Winter blinked twice and mentally repeated what Clover just said in her before remembering that this was Jaune and that she really shouldn't be surprised by him anymore. Unfortunately she was. Jaune pumped his fist and laughed, "five times! That's insane! Just imagine what I could do with that amount of power".
"Not much I'd assume" Clover interrupted "It takes time for you to boost your own aura to such levels and besides that the light from your aura shines bright enough to give your position in the field. Power alone is not enough but how you use it defines the person you'll be, remember that if nothing else". Jaune took a breath to calm himself and nodded to his teacher. "Why don't you tell use what you noticed while you used your semblance"? Vine asked once the blonde was calm. Jaune cupped his chin in thought, "well off the top of my head I'd say moving was out of the question because of how much I had to concentrate".
"That could pose a problem" Vine mused.
"Then you just don't use your semblance to that extent, problem solved" Marrow said easily enough. Clover and Vine nodded their heads in agreement. "The power is indeed incredible to have but has too many drawbacks to be useful". Jaune had to give that one to Vine, being a sitting duck while broadcasting your position to potential enemies would only endanger him and those on his team. "Okay so what now"?
"Now you get ready for your next lesson" Clover answered before pointing to the new person in the room. Jaune followed the man's finger and saw Winter standing by the door to the training room. It took a second for him to realize that he'd been so lost in his training to even notice when Winter of all people entered the room. The White haired specialist stepped forward and cleared her throat, "I see your making progress on your semblance training. Am I to assume it's what we theorized"? Clover tilted his hand from left to right, "kinda. It does what we guessed and so much more then that. After we finish up here I'll write up a report for the General, which I don't question we'll all be discussing in detail later on".
Winter was curious about the details in general but decided against asking for them since more people brainstorming over possibilities was better then just her alone. She'd just have to wait for Ironwood to call a meeting then. "I'll look forward to it. Jaune take a moment to clean yourself up because I've just received word from Doctor Polendina that your weapons and armor are ready. We are to meet with the Doctor in the weapons testing area because he has something for you to test out...what he has, I've not been told".
Jaune wasted no time in getting himself ready, leaving Winter to talk to the Ace Ops in his absence.
"You've all done great work but please tell me you didn't go through with using live ammunition when you know Jaunes never once dealt with real firearms in his entire life".
The Ace operatives looked to each other and shared a Knowing smile amongst themselves, causing Winter to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Relax Winter, we're trained veterans and know how to handle a new recruit" Clover assured her before pulling his handgun out from behind his back. He took hold of the top half of the barrel and pulled back on it quickly popping a bullet out of the chamber and into the air before catching it with left hand. With a quick flick of his wrist, Clover tossed the bullet over to a confused Winter for her to inspect.
The single piece of ammunition rolled around in her hand and she quickly took notice of the tip of the bullet. It was rubber. Clover holstered his handgun and crossed his arm's as he leaned on his left foot. "As you already pointed out, Jaunes never dealt with firearms before so we swapped out and used these instead. Since he's never tanked a real shot before I doubt he'd notice in the middle of training. That being said I'd prefer to keep this bit under wraps around the boy. The possibility of getting shot by a real bullet is motivating him to get better in a short amount of time".
Winter looked to the others and saw them all nodding their heads in agreement. She hadn't been present for the training Jaune went through so she could only speculate at best. However, seeing how everyone could agree with Clovers assessment meant their young student showed promise enough to impress his teachers to the point where they'd make a method like this for him. That was good. It meant the words and promise they shared in the library was being fulfilled.
It was hard to find people willing enough to keep their words and mean it like that, enough so that a small smile formed on her face without Winter knowing it herself.
Jaune jogged up to their group and was ready to go when he saw Winter and asked, "did something good happen"? The mask of indifference quickly over took her face and she shook her head. "Nothing of the sort, I was merely thinking about something my sister said to me". Jaune looked a little surprised at the fact that Winter had willingly divulged some info on her personal life to him.
"Wow I didn't know you had a sister. Is she part of the military too or maybe a huntress at the academy"?
Winter let out a small sigh, "she is neither unfortunately. My sister actually has plans to join Beacon academy in a few months time". She would have said more but for an idea to suddenly pop into her head. "Actually my sister has been asking me to practice with her in preparation for her departure. With how busy I've been lately with your training I haven't had a chance to find the time. But if I were to say...merge your training with her's I could kill two nevermore with one bullet so to speak".
Jaune suddenly felt a whole lot more nervous then before. On the one hand he did appreciate the one on one training because it allowed Winter to point out his flaws and correct them without too much trouble. If he did suddenly practice along side Winter's sister, Winter herself would have to divide her attention between the two with her probably focusing more on family then him. And on the other he'd be cutting into Winter's time to spend with said family because of him. Personal feelings aside the choice was his alone to make.
Eventually the guilt won out and Jaune wore an uneasy smile. "That sounds like a pretty good idea" he said reluctantly.
Winter nodded in agreement, "I have my moments I suppose. This will also be a good thing for you as well since you'll see a close enough level of what's expected at the academies. Atlas academy is a place that demands perfection from their students and Weiss may just be a cut above the rest since she's received training from personal trainers since she was a child. Who knows? Some of her good habits may rub off on you".
He couldn't help but feel a little irked at the comment but knew he was only a beginner with the sword so it was kinda the truth anyways.
"Now that your ready let us be off. There is plenty of time left in the day and every second wasted only brings us that much closer to failure". Winter turned on her heels and headed for the door leaving Jaune to follow after her. The two walked in silence until they reached their destination and stood just outside the weapons testing area. The guards at the door saluted the specialist before being told to be at easy. Honestly the amount of respect Winter had from the atlesian soldiers was always a surprise to him but then again she was a specialist. Being special was kind of in the job description.
The weapon testing facility was bigger then he had pictured in his mind. With the budget that the Atlas military had at their disposal the facility was like having to giant warehouses combined into a single building. Even when they entered through the front door it took at least ten minutes to reach the center of the facility where Doctor Polendina was set up. On the table next to the Doctor laid Crocea Mors, newly crafted with the designs he and Penny worked over. Bronze edges over the shield with the normal white that the shield once had.
The dents and dings that once riddled the shield had been cleared to make it look as good as new while the sword was reforged to strengthen the blade. The new handle wrapping on the sword was kept with the color blue but the guard had an overhaul to make it more durable. Next to those were a brand new set of armor based on his previous ones and a few additional garments for him to wear. All of it looked incredible but the first thing Jaune grabbed when they reached the table was his sword.
It had felt like a long time since he held his ancestral sword in his hand, but the second his fingers curled around the handle it felt like they had never parted. Jaune lifted the blade and saw his reflection looking back at him. His hand tightened on the handle before he stepped away from the others. He took a breath in and then swung the blade, carving up the air with each swing of his sword. With a final swing downward, Jaune froze. Had his sword always felt this light? It hadn't been that long since they were separated but now it felt like he had changed a bit...maybe he became a bit stronger then before and that was why it felt lighter.
Doctor Polendina cleared his throat and drew Jaunes attention back to the other people present.
"Ah, sorry about that but I just couldn't help myself" Jaune said as he approached the two. Winter's eyes narrowed on him before she spoke, "regardless of being able to help it or not a greeting and a proper show of gratitude should have been the first and foremost thing on your mind". The young Arc chuckled nervously. "Your right" he answered before turning to the good Doctor, "it's good to see you again Doctor Polendina and thank you for the upgrades to my weapon. Even if I don't know what they are yet I'm sure they were chosen with care".
Pietro smiled warmly as he spoke. "It was my pleasure Jaune and if you could please drop the formalities I'd rather we be candid with one another".
Jaune nodded and put the tip of his sword on the ground and held the top of the pummel like he was using a cane. The Doctor turned to the laptop that was laying on top of the table and typed a few things in. When he finished several knight units with reinforced armor plating made their way down the firing range that was close by and stood with their arms crossed as if to guard themselves. Pietro picked up the laptop and motioned for them to follow him as he set off the firing range.
Once they were at the range the Doctor explained what was going to happen and what he needed Jaune to do before they began. "If you would go ahead and focus your aura into your blade we can get started" Pietro said. Jaune was a little confused at the request but decided to go along with it since he had no reason to refuse. He focused his aura into the blade for a moment and to his surprise the markings on the swords guard began to glow with a white light before the blade itself soon followed.
It turns out he wasn't alone in his surprise because Winters eye's widened and she gasped in surprise. "Okay, now what"? Jaune asked as he held his ancestral blade at arms length in case it somehow went off or exploded in his hands. Pietro chuckled at the display the young Arc was putting on before answering. "First try calming down a little, if your that nervous you might end up making a mistake and end up hurting yourself. Once you've taken a second to calm yourself go and face the armored knight units".
Jaune took Pietro's advice and sucked in a deep breath before exhaling. He repeated the process a few times until he felt confident and ready to see what the Doctor had added to his sword. Taking his position in front of the armored knight units he held his sword in his right hand and lowered his stance. "Alright I'm ready" he announced as his hand tightened around the handle of his sword.
"Good, when your ready I want you to swing your sword as hard as you can. What you should know is that the mechanism built into your sword will only fire when your sword reaches a certain amount of speed and when it's filled with aura".
The info was much appreciated since it meant his sword wasn't about to go off if he say...dropped it on accident. It took a few seconds but eventually one word was pushed to the front of his thoughts. "Fire"? Jaune looked down at the blade for a moment. "He said this thing can fire something out of it! How? And since when has it ever been able to do that? Was this some kind of crazy tech Atlas developed"? His ever growing mountain of dread only kept continuing to increase.
Jaune eventually shook his head to dispel those doubts before pulling his right arm back while also putting his left foot forward. Then in one quick moment he swung his sword from right to left and released a large white crest slash consisting of the aura he had stored in his blade. The white slash of aura flew towards the armored knight units and sliced them all in half with little effort. Such an attack was incredible...at first, but then when the white aura slash continued it's flight all the way to the other side of the range where...
"Oh my" Pietro said when the aura slash carved a large cut into the buildings wall that was several inches deep.
Jaune's face turned pale as he thought of what might have happened if he had used that against another living being besides the Grimm. He quickly walked over to Doctor Polendina and held out the sword for him to see. "I'm sorry but ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE ME EXECUTE EVERYONE I FACE WITH THAT"! He yelled with a hint of panic in his voice. His panic was understandable since that little display he put on left Winter speechless, stone-faced and looking like she passed out standing up.
"I-I don't understand...the test we performed prior to your usage didn't even come close to what you showed here" the Doctor said as he dabbed his sweating forehead with a rag from his pocket. Pietro quickly pulled over his laptop and typed away before turning it over for Jaune to see. "This is the recorded amount of power released from the sword when we tested it the other day" with a click on a key the screen changed, "and this was just a moment ago". The number all but confirmed that the attack he released was nearly three times as powerful as previously recorded.
"What's different between then and now...you know besides the wielder" the young Arc asked as he looked down at his families sword. Pietro turned the laptop over and stared at the screen for a moment in thought. "Maybe that is the difference" he said after a long moment of silence. The suggestion earned him a confused expression from the blonde and the specialist who had just recovered from her shock.
"Explain" Winter demanded.
Pietro cleared his throat before beginning, "keep in mind that without definitive proof this is mere speculation on my part but if pushed I'd say it's the only thing that fits at the moment". The two nodded along and Pietro continued. "First let me explain how your sword absorbs aura Jaune. The device that handles the process is based on the project Penny where we take a potion of your aura and stuff it into something else". Jaune was thrown for a loop, "a potion of my aura was taken from me"?
Pietro nodded to confirm he'd gotten it right. Winter stepped forward before anything else could be said, "Doctor Polendina I don't think I need to tell you that..." She leaned forward and whispered "what your saying is top secret". The Doctor chuckled at her words before informing her that Jaune had actually figured it out himself because of a movie. Winter cursed internally before looking to her student, "Jaune make sure you don't tell anyone about that project or I'll make sure your locked away in the deepest darkest cell I can find".
Jaune gulped and nodded in agreement.
"Now getting back to where we left off" the Doctor said "the portion of your aura that's absorbed is placed into the handle of your blade where it is safely locked away for you to use". Jaune and even Winter nodded along to Pietro's words. "This is where my hypothesis comes in and it has to do with something that usually happens in music mostly. Your aura and the aura in the sword are harmonizing with each other".
"Harmonizing" Winter repeated, then repeated it again as if saying it multiple times would gleam some new understanding. When it was clear Jaune and Winter were at a loss Pietro decided to provide an example. "It's easier if you think about it from a musical standpoint such as when you have a single singer and then having their performance backed up by backup singers". Jaune's thoughts instantly turned to choir and how their voices enhanced one another's by singing together. Was that what the Doctor was talking about when he said his auras were harmonizing? That they were working together to become stronger.
"Is that even possible in the first place? I mean it's the exact same aura that I normally produce on a daily basis so wouldn't it just be recognized as such" Jaune asked. Pietro, being the leader in aura study and development was already certain that aura did not react the way Jaune believed it did. "Aura separated from it's original host body naturally does one of two things either it disappears completely or it survives by finding another vessel to cling to. In Penny's case the new body created for her will have a portion of my aura implanted in it and with her mental connection she'll shape the fragment and allow it to grow till it becomes her own".
Winter cupped her chin and hummed to herself. There was just so much going on that she was sure the General would have loved to be a part of it. Her mind snapped back to what was already happening here. "So in order for the fragments that Jaunes essentially creating every time he uses his sword to remain the device that captures that fragment becomes the new host body I'm assuming"?
Pietro nodded in agreement, "and because the aura fragment found a new body it tries to adapt to that new form. Unlike with Penny though since the device cannot shape the fragment as it likes because it has no consciousness the fragment doesn't go through many changes. It's all so fascinating really but even more then that is how fast the fragment - yours in particularly - adapts to it's new host so quickly. For Penny it would take several weeks for my aura to adapt to her while yours only takes lest then a few seconds".
Jaune thought about it and gave his own two cents about it. "Maybe it has something to do with my semblance"? The Doctor and Winter eyed him and waited for the blonde to delve deeper into what he was talking about. "It's still technically my aura at the end of the day and because it doesn't change all that much doesn't that mean that my semblance would still be a possibility for that piece of fragment" the young Arc explained.
Pietro had been informed about Jaunes semblance before hand and felt some truth behind the young man's words. "Yes it is possible for your fragments semblance to be the same because it hasn't done any radical changes. And if that is possible the restoration aspect of your semblance would certainly help the fragment adapt far more quickly then anything else". Pietro dabbed his forehead with the rag once more because of how far his aura research was going to go thanks to this little hiccup.
"I am a little worried about the amount of aura being taken from me though. Is it really safe for me to be using if it's taking what is pretty much a piece of my soul away"? Jaune asked with a concerned look on his face.
They could understand his concern but Doctor Polendina assured him that thanks to his aura healing abilities that Jaune was probably the only person in the world who could use this tech safely. "With all this new information I need to return to the lab" the Doctor said happily "but before I go I already had this made just in case of anything". Pietro held out an attachment for the pummel of Jaunes sword. "This is essentially a limiter for how much aura can be released at one time, to be honest I thought it would go to waste but I guess now it's a good thing I made it".
Jaune accepted the pummel attachment but didn't put it on yet, "Doctor before you go can we do one more test first". Pietro didn't see any reason to but was curious as to why Jaune would want to have another go. "Sure I don't mind but first let me summon a few more armored knight units to protect the wall from your aura". Jaune nodded and waited for the Doctor to summon some more knight units and chuckled when nearly seven row of units were standing before him.
Taking his stance once more Jaune focused his aura into the blade and watched it shine beautifully with white light. "And now my own twist with a little bit of my semblance". Winter overheard Jaune's plan and tried to stop him before it was too late but unfortunately she was a second to slow in her in response.
/
Outside in the ice cold winds of Atlas a patrol unit parked their car and stepped out for a smoke. After lighting their cigarettes the two atlesian soldiers stared out into the distance to where a mountain top was covered by large clouds obscuring their ability to see the top.
"Just another dull day of guarding against nothing".
"Yup".
"I kinda wish something interesting would happen"
"Yup".
As if summoned by their desire the wall beside them exploded and a white aura slash flew off into the distance where if one squinted had enough they could see a plume of smoke rising from the mountain in the distance. The two patrolling soldiers dropped their cigarettes and ran over to the hole in the wall and looked inside to see lights flashing red and specialist Schnee giving a boy the scolding of his life.
"That's what we get for wanting some excitement in our lives" one of the soldiers said.
The other soldiers merely replied with one word. "Yup".
With great power comes great destruction lol. Oh Jaune you should have known that something bad was going to happen when you create that much power. Since rooster teeth hasn't come up with a name for that tech that manipulates aura why don't we just call it "Aura tech". Short sweet and to the point.
Anyways for those asking about my dog he's doing just fine and he's a boxer mix. This means he's going to be big, hairy and strong. oh and lets not forget that he can be one big pain in the butt when he wants to be. lol but I still love the little turd despite the problems and recently he started to lose his baby teeth so he's becoming a certified adult doggo.
