Cover Art: Solace O'Autumn

Chapter 37


Vacuo was going through a period of upheaval as the fallout from Crown's actions was fully laid out. There was probably a lot of news coverage, interviews and blame being flung about, but Jaune didn't see much of that. He kept away from the television and the internet, and away from work – away even from his guitar.

It had killed someone after all.

It was a weapon.

The person he'd killed hadn't been a good man, and Jaune knew Jax deserved to die. It wasn't the fact Jax Asturias was dead that terrified him, nor even the fact he killed the man, because no one was going to say that was anything other than self-defence. No, the real problem was that he'd killed without realising it. It was that his Semblance, which he'd assumed was a joke, was capable of murder.

And he'd never realised it.

How many people had he played songs for now? Millions according to his online views – tens of millions. What if he'd played a Discordant Note in those streams as a prank? What if he hadn't realised? Would there be heart attacks across Remnant, or would it be diluted across so many people? Had his Semblance always been capable of this, or had he hated Jax so much that it hit harder? Jaune didn't know, and that was the problem.

It was like he'd just realised he was a child playing with a gun that had gone off and shot someone.

Reality was crashing down.

The door opened and Cinder came in, closing it behind her. There was a tray of hotel food in her hand.

"Meera asked me to bring you this," she said. "The girl is worried about you."

Jaune smiled faintly. He wasn't surprised she was worried, and it warmed him to know someone was thinking about him. That was a good sign, he supposed, because it meant he wasn't so much wallowing in self-destructive pity as he was dealing with his thoughts. He accepted the food, a selection of fruits and nuts, and picked at them. Cinder sat on a stool nearby.

"The city has quashed any criminal charges against us and my team," she said. "No one was suggesting any would be made but making it official is their way of making it official. It turns out Crown were involved in human trafficking as well, including trafficking of children. The more their crimes come to light, the more people are grateful they're gone."

"That was fairly obvious when they decided to kill orphans to draw out an internet celebrity," Jaune mumbled.

Cinder hummed. A short silence passed between them, until the woman let out a quiet breath and said, "I'm not one for comfort. Tell me what's wrong."

It was an order.

And Jaune followed it. "I'm not upset at what I did or what came of it." That drew an approving nod from her. "I think this is shock. I didn't know my Semblance could kill and I've been using it for a while now. I didn't mean to kill him, and I did, and now I'm left wondering how many people could have died because I didn't mean to kill them, either. I'm angry with myself, and angry at my Semblance."

"That's a better reason than I expected."

"Is it?"

"Yes." Cinder smirked. "I was half-expecting some `woe is me, I took a life` nonsense from you. The man deserved death. It's good you recognise that. Surprise at discovering the lethality of your Semblance is far more reasonable, as is anger at a perceived loss of control."

"Loss of control?"

"You thought you had full control over your Semblance and you've been proven wrong." That was true. As much as he hated to admit it. "I understand more than anyone how important it is to be in control. I hate when things are outside my control. It lights an ugly fire in me. Control is safety, certainty. We should all strive to have as much of it as we can. But… sometimes that isn't possible. Sometimes we lose control."

"Like I did here…"

"Hm." Cinder regarded him curiously. "Semblances aren't easy to understand and even a small loss in control can cost us dearly. I lost control of mine once and burned my adoptive home down. Mercury lost control of his family situation and had his legs taken away because of it. Emerald didn't have control for the early part of her life, living on the street surviving off the generosity of strangers. You could say my whole team understands your frustration better than most."

"Compared to what they've faced, mine feels pathetic."

"It's not a competition. But it is a test. Or a learning experience, call it what you will. You've discovered an aspect to your Semblance you didn't realise. That's either foolishness on your part or bad luck. Now the question becomes, what will you do about it? Will you put effort into learning from this mistake and moving on, or will you hide away from it forever? Lock away your Semblance, even when it's a part of your very soul."

"I can't do that. Selfish as it sounds, music is a part of my life now."

Cinder wore a pleased smile. "Good. Your Semblance is a tool. It is something that can be used to grant you control. I would be disappointed in you if you cast it away the moment it reveals just how powerful it can truly be."

Power, huh?

"I want us to exchange contact information." Cinder held out her scroll. "We made for good allies here, and perhaps that will repeat itself in the future. If nothing else, I appreciate someone who isn't a simpering fool for an online celebrity who never even bothered to show up."

Ouch. Jaune wondered if Cutie's reputation would take a hit from that, even as he held out his scroll to Cinder's and let the devices connect via proximity. He was always happy to pick up new friends as well, and Cinder had saved his life. He supposed that was her paying him back for how he saved hers from that ambush before.

"No luck on meeting Guitar Cutie, then?"

Cinder huffed. "None. Worse yet, the online community seems to believe she did respond, and that she did so by sending us to save the children." The sheer absurdity of it made Jaune laugh, which drew a grunt from Cinder. "My thoughts exactly. Now we have people searching for us because they think we're secret allies of hers. I've even heard some say the reason we only publicly have three people on our team is because the fourth is Guitar Cutie."

Jaune laughed even harder.

"Only silver lining is Mercury and Emerald missing out on a kiss form their heroine," she grumbled. "Watching those two sulk is a pleasure."

"Y—Yeah. I guess it would be." Jaune wiped at his eyes. "Hah. I think I needed that. Thanks, Cinder. Will you be staying in Vacuo long?"

"A few days yet in case we can meet her. If not, we'll be gone by the weekend. You?"

"I'll be here a few weeks yet. The whole point was to explore and enjoy Vacuo and I want to do that away from Crown."

"Then you'll be returning to Argus, correct? When will you be coming to Mistral?"

"After. I promised I'd do Mistral after this, and then Vale last so I can head there with some friends of mine when they start Beacon. I'll be staying in Vale until the Vytal Festival, since that's kind of a big deal."

"Hmm." Cinder smirked. "We'll be there as well. I'll make sure to see us meet up in Mistral for a bit as well. You said you're travelling to find a career, hm? Something to focus your future on. I might just have an opportunity available for you, but we'll have to see. I'll need to talk to my employer first."

Given she was a student, he wouldn't have thought she had an employer, but part-time work was a thing and if she was an orphan – as the whole "accidental burning down of her adoptive home" suggested, then he could understand why she'd need to work and study at the same time to make ends meet.

"I'm always open to hanging out with friends," he said. "But I'd best eat for now."

Cinder stood. "And I'd best see to Emerald and Mercury. Call me if you need any advice on your Semblance. I know a thing or two about training with them, and I'm always open to helping a friend refine their own."

Was it just his imagination, or did Cinder seem interested in his Semblance?

Well… it wasn't like he could blame her. It wasn't everyday you ran into someone who could kill with music. Pyrrha had been just as interested in figuring out the ins and outs of it as well, so maybe it was professional curiosity common among huntresses and huntsmen. They were the ones who most commonly used Semblances in the first place.

"I'll let you know if I run into anything but for now I'll be avoiding doing what I did to Jax on anyone unless it's my life or theirs. I don't want any accidents."

"That's probably for the best. Good luck, then."

Cinder left, and Jaune ate his food in silence, considering his Semblance as the food helped ease his mood. The conversation had helped more than he expected it to, and mostly because Cinder made it seem like his problem was one a lot of people had to face. Maybe it was when you unlocked your Semblance and didn't know what it could do. Maybe he was overreacting in thinking his situation was so dire, and everyone had to face this. Probably not on accidental killing, but accidentally injuring friends or causing damage. At least his came with some degree of explanation.

I knew my Bardic Skills scaled based on my Charisma. They told me that when I unlocked them. I should have paid more attention and realised what that meant. I'll have to pay close attention to it in the future.

And the first start to that was to take a look.

-/-

Jaune Arc

Lvl 14

Title: Bard

HP: 360/360

MP: 85/85

Str: 9

Con: 26

Dex: 6

Wis: 8

Cha: 177 (178)

Aura: Locked

Semblance: The Game

.

Perks:

Speak with Animals.

Bardic Skills.

Jaune-dor Calls for Aid!

?

.

You have +25 points available.

You have +1 perk slot available.

-/-

The attribute points were an obvious, if unimaginative, choice. He'd almost died to Blake Belladonna, and now he'd almost died to Jax. While it felt like he was forever chasing a stable health pool, and throwing away points, the reality was he had to hit a critical mass where he would be sturdier at some point.

And if Charisma was going to be his primary method of defending himself, then there was no point spreading himself thin. He'd never be fast enough or strong enough if he tried to balance between multiple stats.

So, he threw all 25 points into Constitution.

-/-

HP: 360/870

Con: 51

-/-

"Oof." Jaune felt it in his stomach, the sudden lurch as his body paradoxically became less health by virtue of becoming healthier. "O—Ow. Man, I feel like I've been stabbed. Note to self, apply the points slowly when I have a lot at once."

Because while he hadn't become any more injured, he'd technically gone from full health to below half, and he was feeling the lack of his new total rather than his current health. It was an odd thing, but he felt it all the same.

More than doubling his Constitution felt good, though.

This would surely make him better at staying alive.

"Now for the perk. They were stat scaling last time, which means the Charisma one will always be best, but I do have more Constitution to play with and I'm going to be dumping all my points in there, so it might actually be worth a look."

-/-

Perks: You have (1) free perk slot available.

Available Perks:

Heavy Throw: Any object is a weapon if thrown with sufficient force. Gain double strength bonus when throwing items.

Iron Lungs: Your lungs are more powerful than most, and you can hold your breath for a time dependent on your Con stat. Current Time: 5min 10 seconds.

Danger Sense: You can sense danger coming your way. Radius is based on Wisdom stat. Current Radius: 5 inches.

Unnatural Grace: Your unnatural grace makes it difficult to stumble, fall, trip or take damage from the associated. You can recover with unnatural speed. Scales based on Dex.

Razor Wit: Your wit is sharp enough to pierce aura. Witty insults cause aura damage to those who have it. Scales based on Cha and wittiness.

-/-

Those were some perks all right…

Last time he'd had an option of passive hp regeneration, which he'd refused because his Constitution had been too low at the time. It would have been nice for that to come around again instead of the ability to hold his breath. Five minutes was a long time, too, and it would probably get to record breaking levels in a couple of level-ups, but he wasn't out to be a free diver.

"Damage to aura… I don't like the fact it scales based on both Charisma and witticism, but it clearly states it does aura damage. Does that mean it won't hurt normal people?"

That would be useful if so. A way to even the field against people like Jax, and without killing them at the same time. It wouldn't stop them kicking his ass, but he knew from his dad that most huntsmen would retreat once their aura got low. Even if he couldn't win in a straight fight, an opponent might not know that.

All they'd know was that Jaune took down their aura in a single attack.

They'd assume he could do worse with a second.

"It's better than Iron Lungs and my stats are too low to make use of the other ones. Let's go for it."

-/-

Jaune Arc

Lvl 14

Title: Bard

HP: 360/870

MP: 110/110

Str: 9

Con: 51

Dex: 6

Wis: 8

Cha: 177 (178)

Aura: Locked

Semblance: The Game

Perks:

Speak with Animals.

Bardic Skills.

Jaune-dor Calls for Aid!

Razor Wit

-/-

"Finally, let's take a look at this new title."

.

Champion Of Democracy: You stand up against those who would fight against democracy. Cause double damage via all means to monarchists.

.

"…"

Jaune's hands came up to cover his face.

"There aren't any other monarchists or monarchies in all of Remnant!" he groaned. "Every kingdom is a democracy! You stupid Semblance!"

/-/

"Pyrrha, look! Your boyfriend is in the newspaper!"

"Jaune!?" Pyrrha's head shot up. "I—I mean, he's not my boyfriend, mom!"

"And yet you knew exactly who I meant." Athena looked over the paper. "Oh, wow. It looks like he got caught up in a human trafficking ring and saved a bunch of children alongside some huntress and her team from Haven."

Human trafficking ring…?

Had Jaune gone and completed a Quest? It almost had to be, since she really doubted he'd just up and join the police over there. He'd mentioned something about a quest detailing a "crown" but he hadn't known the details himself so couldn't tell her more over their nightly texts.

"It looks like he's unconscious in the picture."

Pyrrha lunged for the paper. "Show me! Is he okay? Is he—" Pyrrha saw the photo, in colour, of a beautiful woman she recognised from a brief meeting in Argus, carrying Jaune in her arms out of a casino. "Who is that!?" Pyrrha hissed.

Athena chuckled. "Darling, don't be green."

"I'm not jealous, mom!"

She would never be jealous of a dead woman after all.

Cinder Fall, raids on a casino, human trafficking and something about being a close friend to an internet celebrity, though. The article was a wash of random information and theory crafting, most of it unconnected and fragile at best. Pyrrha knew what his Semblance was, however, and she knew it must have led him to this.

"You better have some answers for me, Jaune," she growled.

Athena Nikos giggled as she watched her jealous daughter fume.

So cute.

/-/

Sneaking out as Guitar Cutie wasn't easy with the city in uproar, but a lot of people were looking for Cinder now – assuming she was the best way to reach Guitar Cutie. It was enough to let her sneak to the new orphanage building where Sun and the kids should have been staying. It was late out, but one of Sun's boys at the entrance recognised her and waved her in. The building was huge, and even then, it was only meant to be temporary while a purpose-built orphanage was constructed.

Sun was talking to one of the older boys inside. His eyes widened on seeing her, followed by his smile. The other looked over and rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"And there goes any hope of getting any work done," he teased. "Hey there, Queen. Good to see you."

Jaune tilted his, her, head.

"Ignore Joss," Sun said. "He thinks he's witty. It's good to see you. I thought…" He trailed off. "Well, you heard what happened. I thought I'd be dead, or you'd be taken or… Did… Is it true what they're saying? Did you send those people to save us?"

Eh.

Technically, he kind of had. Cinder had gone there because he'd convinced them to, and he'd been there as well. Jaune shook his head to say no, but something in her face must have shown because Sun grinned.

"Keeping it a secret, eh? I can do that. We owe you so much, more than even before. Getting us this money, helping us buy this place, then saving us from being trafficked or killed by some psycho group thinking themselves the next rulers of Vacuo."

"He's not wrong," Joss said. "We'd be dead if not for you."

Jaune waved it off and then pointed between them.

Sun seemed to understand. "We're discussing the future. I know I'm some kind of symbol or figure here, but I always planned to leave and go become a huntsman. My goal was to make enough money to come back and support everyone, but that's kind of not needed now. Still, I worked hard for these skills, and it feels like a waste to not use them."

"Sun feels he'll be letting innocent people down if he doesn't risk his life to save them," said Joss, crossing his arms. "And I'm telling him there's no shame in staying here to look after our own. He's a stubborn prick, though."

"You'll be able to look after everyone in my absence, Joss."

"Oh, sure. Lump the responsibility for a whole orphanage on me. That's fair."

Sun laughed. "You'll have billions in lien, man. You'll be rich."

"Rich in money, poor in free time." Despite saying that, Joss smiled. "Look, I'll do it if you want – heavens know this is a better life for me than I ever expected, but are you sure? You worked hard as any of us, Sun, and you deserve to enjoy the fruits of it all. We just got off the streets. For the first time in forever, we can eat what we want, have anything we like, and spoil ourselves rotten. It just doesn't feel right for you to jet off to another kingdom to risk your life for fuckers who wouldn't have given a shit about us if not for the queen of pop here."

So, that was the nickname. Jaune rolled his eyes, but he kind of agreed. Sun had worked hard and deserved a chance to kick back and have fun. But, at the same time, Jaune knew what it was like to dream of being a huntsman. Sun's situation may have changed, but his ambition clearly hadn't.

"I'll make sure everything and everyone is settled here, but I'll be applying to the academies before the end of the year. I was thinking considering between Beacon or Haven." He flashed a grin her way. "Which do you think I should pick?"

Ren and Nora were going to Beacon, weren't they? Maybe they'd meet Sun. Jaune held up one finger.

"The first one? Beacon. I guess the Vytal Festival is happening there. Not sure I'd be good enough to get in my first year, but it'd be cool to attend it. Will you be visiting it?"

Jaune nodded. That was the plan.

"Now you've gone and done it," Joss said. "He'll pick Beacon just to see you."

"I will not!" Sun defended, blushing. "I'll pick Beacon because she said it'd be better."

"Oh, because that's any different. You're hopeless, man. But fine, I'll look after the place, but you're still going to count as employed. And you'll be getting a generous salary, too. You helped us win this money, Sun. I'm not letting you be poor again."

"But the kids need it more than me."

"The kids don't need seven billion lien, Sun. You can take a couple hundred thou without hurting he balance." Sun made to argue but Jaune placed a hand on his. He looked her way, shocked, and she smiled and nodded at Joss. "See! Even the queen agrees with me. Live a little, Sun. Go to Beacon or whatever, but you'll still be one of us. Just another street rat-turned-billionaire."

Sun snorted. "Yeah, that age-old story, right? Hey, man, can you…?"

Joss seemed to understand. "Yeah, I'll go make sure the kids aren't eating nothing but dessert. I know they've never had it before, but they still need to eat real food." He walked on by, sending her a wave. "Thanks for the save, queen. We owe you our lives."

The boy jogged away.

"Joss is just like that," said Sun. "He was really shaken by what happened and this is his way of coping. We're all shaken. To just have our will stolen away like that…" He trailed off. "I was aware for it all. I think we all were. I couldn't think, but I could perceive, and I was just standing there while those monsters talked about what they'd have us do. Kill some of the kids, sell others off. They even talked about using me to drain the orphanage dry or smuggle in more kids for them to sell off." He growled. "They were scum."

Jaune nodded.

"That's why, when I was under their control, I saw things happening. I saw the person who saved us, using their guitar to kill Jax."

Oh no. Jaune sucked in a breath. Sun knew. Sun had figured it out. His panic must have shown, because Sun placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I won't tell anyone," he promised. "I'll keep it a secret. But I want you to know one thing."

Sun took a deep breath.

"I'm not going to give up just because he won you first!"

What…?

"I won't push or get upset because it's not my business, but I won't give up either just because you already have someone."

Had someone…?

"I'll keep your boyfriend a secret," Sun said, flashing her a confident grin. "But I want you to know that I'm aiming to be worthy of your attention one day and seeing him do all that has just shown me how far I have to go."

No…

There was no way…

"So, give him my thanks for me – tell him how grateful I am – but make sure he knows we're rivals from now on. Rivals in love!"

It was a good job Guitar Cutie couldn't speak, because the long silence might have been unbearably awkward otherwise. Jaune searched for the closest wall he might use to bash his own brains out on. It was a fair distance away, but he figured he could reach it if he charged at it right now and launched himself like a missile.

But Sun took both his hands. "I understand you can't accept this confession. That's why I'm not asking you. But I wanted to make my feelings clear before I have to leave for Beacon. I'll become a man you can rely on."

It was stupid but it was earnest, and Jaune couldn't entirely hide his blush, nor could he maintain eye contact. When he went red and looked away, he meant it in raw embarrassment, but Sun obviously thought he was flustered by the confession. The boy smiled and rubbed the back of his own head, let go of her hands and took a step back.

"I've said my piece," he whispered. "Sorry if I made things awkward."

Jaune, Cutie, shrugged one shoulder and smiled weakly.

At least things couldn't get worse.

.

New Quest: Rivals In Love!

Sun Wukong has challenged you to an eternal rivalry for the heart of the fair maiden, Guitar Cutie. Prove yourself worthy of Guitar Cutie's love and steal a kiss from her before Sun Wukong can.

Success: -Rep Sun. New Title: Cassanova.

Failure: +Rep Sun. New Title: Fair Maiden.

.

Jaune's eye twitched.

Why was his Semblance like this…?


Uh-oh, Jaune. I feel like Sun has the edge on you on this quest – quick, kiss yourself! Hurry!


Next Chapter: 25th August

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