Published: 10 Oct 2024
(Present time, Beacon Academy, Year 2118 Remnant Domino)
Jaune Arc took a few deep breaths as he exited the bulkhead that had carried him from Vale Capital Airport to the landing strip of Beacon Academy, extremely thankful for his sister Saffron's advice on taking some air sickness pills before takeoff. He did not know why, but every male from the Arc family seemed to be cursed to suffer on any form of air transport available. His uncle and father were the most vocal over how the "flying coffins" seemed intent on making them redecorate the insides of the bulkheads with their meals, and his grandfather would insist on travelling on foot, car or boat if he had to travel to nearby towns.
Now Jaune understood the feeling, and knowing his luck and anxiety issues, Jaune would have hurled chunks of his breakfast and the previous day's meals on the day itself. His sisters were so mean to tease them on this!
With that in mind, Jaune was spared the troubles of his stomach and more importantly the absolute embarrassment he would have obtained like the one guy who had rushed past him to get to a rubbish bin only to vomit all over some hot blonde's shoes, sending her and a younger girl screaming for the hills. But Jaune still needed a while to keep his feet on the ground for his vision to settle before he could start moving. Jaune took the moment to look upon the school and thought about his journey to get here.
Jaune Arc had spent the last few years training his butt off in the journeyman method under the watchful eyes of his grandfather, uncle and old sisters, and while he would not be bashing heads anytime soon, at least he would have better chances of surviving whatever would be thrown at him from the entrance exams, instead of just arriving here and trying to bluff his way into the academy. His sisters had warned him of the entrance exams being different for each year so there was no point of reference other than Headmaster Ozpin having an odd sense of humour applied to the formation of teams that somehow worked over the years despite the numerous and sometimes vocal complaints of the Vale Council.
There was one thing that he did not get during the training, and that was the ability called Aura, some power that was meant to be the manifestation of one's soul and supposed to aid huntsmen as both protection and a means of attack further down the line. The sisters tried to unlock his Aura but failed to do it, and later his grandfather and uncle decided it was a good thing since it meant he needed more awareness training. His grandfather had told him that the reason Jaune was taught without Aura was because of how easily a huntsman could become complacent with the power seemingly there all the time only to fail at a critical moment and lose a limb or eye at best to their lives. The old towns guards were good examples of that and it certainly broke the idea of huntsmen being invincible.
That said, they were hoping for someone to unlock it for him sooner or later since he would need it once he got in, but for the time being they focused on his survival skills to better handle the tasks at hand. When it came to weaponry though, he ended up having a somewhat acceptable skill with the sword and shield, likely because they were only weapons readily available in the household. He won't be able to use some of the new generation weapons, and less said about guns the better.
Saffron was not happy with the bullet hole in the wall.
Of course, that meant Crocea Mors would be his weapon of choice since it was readily available, and if he were honest, he was quite happy about it. It was something he felt more familiar with growing up, and there were times it felt that Crocea Mors would try to cheer him up when he was feeling frustrated or depressed from his parents' thoughts about him being a huntsman. He took a breath to consider that line of thought that soured his mood a little.
Jaune had a few arguments with his father over his desire to become a huntsman, and while his mother did not really get into them, she was leaning more to keeping him safe. There was not a lot he could do even with the training, and it probably did not help that he was too old to get into the training schools. The most he could obtain was a general, if not slightly exaggerated, set of transcripts to show that he was trained in a journeyman method with his uncle's and grandfather's signatures.
But on the day Jaune got the confirmation of his application, Jaune had told his parents in hopes of some recognition. All he got was half-hearted congratulations and them saying it was fine for him to return if he did not get in. Jaune could only hold back his emotions and thanked them tersely before making back to his room to vent silently.
That partially contributed to his decision to leave the house and town earlier, even if he had plans to get there early since he did not know the layout of the place. His parents clearly tried to reduce his allowance to stop him from leaving, but he had been saving up his money for this moment and got a ticket for the earliest bullhead out of the town within the week and spent the remainder of the time getting to know the place before he came to Beacon. It was hard going but he was finally here, and he would make sure to prove to all who doubted him that he could do this.
"Time to do this, buddy." Jaune patted the ancestral blade on his hip partially to settle his nerves, and he could imagine it vibrating a little to calm him down. He was probably a bit too old to think of it that way, but it helped him to focus.
And who knows? Perhaps the entrance exams won't be as bad as his sisters had thought.
~ooOOoo~
He had to tempt fate.
He just HAD to tempt fate even in the confines of his mind.
That much he found out the next day in the form of the headmaster having a very weird sense of humour to launch them into the air by a cliffside without a parachute.
"DAAAAAMMMMNNN YYYOOOUU! OOOOZZZZPPPIINNN!" The young man's yelling echoed in the valley as he was catapulted into the air and tumbling about in disbelief about the man's idea of an exam. His older sisters were understating the man's craziness, that had to be it!
(On the cliff, the aforementioned Ozpin grinned while sipping his drink, while his headmistress merely shook her head at his antics to make his potential students suffer.
That, and the need to have new forms to fill for complaints. Again.)
~ooOOoo~
Thankfully for his survival and general health, Jaune was saved from his ordeal, all thanks to the one and only Pyrrha Nikos, someone who he recognized from the cereal that he and his sisters ate back home and was apparently famous for winning some tournaments in Mistral if the beautiful white-haired woman next to her was correct while deriding him for living under a rock for not hearing about her.
(That woman was rude to think all blondes were stupid. Beautiful, but rude.)
Anyway, Pyrrha had seen his attempts to fly without wings and threw her spear with such accuracy that it pinned him to a tree and saved him from becoming a bloody smear on the ground. Once she came to help him off the tree they continued to complete the initiation, all while having a light talk about each other's hobbies and bits of personal history. It was also thanks to her that he finally obtained Aura, and Jaune could finally understand why Huntsmen would feel invincible with the power. He felt energised from it flowing inside him, heck he could do marathons around his town with it!
He then spent the next few minutes talking with Pyrrha about a few inconsequential matters and the differences in their training, all the while thanking Saffron and his uncle inwardly that he did not listen to his father's advice about women liking confidence and trying to introduce himself with some cheesy catch line like "the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."
That was more likely to get him slapped.
And thus, they found themselves in front of a huge cave made in the face of the small mountain they encountered on the way.
"You think this is it?" Jaune turned to the red-headed girl next to him as he gestured to the cave opening.
"I am not sure if this is the place." Pyrrha looked uncertain as she looked at the opening while gesturing at the wall paintings next to them depicting several humans fighting off a giant scorpion. "The Headmaster said that we are looking for a temple, this looks more like a cavern. And I don't think the markings are for show." She turned back to him with a slightly uneasy expression. "I think we need to keep moving." Jaune bit a lip as he looked at the wall paintings before alternating his eyes between his partner and the entrance.
In another life, he would have foolishly suggested going inside, ignoring whatever warnings there were and likely get himself pummelling to the ground or thrown to some far-off place, and knowing his luck, somehow end up at some actual ruined temple and likely collide with someone midway in the air.
But having grown up on the stories told from his uncle, grandfather and his elder sisters who were all huntsmen, and learning of the risks and dangers their companions have faced over the years and losing their limbs or lives, and taking into account his current level, Jaune would heed the advice of a more experienced fighter.
"Okay, I think you got a point in that." Pyrrha visibly sagged with relief at his agreement. "But that just leaves us with a bit of a problem. We still need to find this temple fast." Jaune gestured with his thumb at the dark clouds that were gathering above them. "Looks like a storm is coming. Weird time for that, the weather report said it would be sunny for the next two days."
"True, but maybe this is why they are conducting the exams now, to see whether we are able to handle bad weather. We can't really do anything about it, we should make haste." Pyrrha barely finished saying that when a clap of thunder roared around them, making the two clamp down on their ears while wincing from the ringing. A second later a lightning bolt struck the hillside, destroying parts of the mountain and raining boulders down on the both of them. Pyrrha tried to move away but the suddenness of the lightning bolt and the resulting power that shook the earth forced her to the ground, leaving her open to the boulders heading her way.
"Pyrrha watch out!" Jaune, having the virtue of being exposed to the elements from town while growing up, recovered quickly to grab her and pulled her back in time to avoid one particularly big boulder that smashed the ground where she stood and embedded itself deeply. Without further ado, he made to bring her back to the entrance while activating the sheath to its shield form to knock away some of the smaller rocks going for their heads. But seeing the bigger ones coming from above, Jaune knew they would not be able to make it deeper into the cave and to safety on time.
With that in mind and a grimace, Jaune grabbed some string that he had forgotten to take out of his pocket and used it to tie the shield to his back, and then he held Pyrrha against the wall while using himself as a shield to protect her from the biggerrocks.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she struggled to be free and to stop him from hurting himself. "You need to let go!"
"Just hold on a bit longer!" Jaune winced in pain as some of the rocks hit his shield, the impact managing to make the back plates of his armour dig into his back through the thick shirt but ensuring none hit his head from the odd angles. It did not take long for the landslide of rocks to stop, but the result was the accumulation of debris that sealed them off from the outside world.
"Okay, not looking to do that again." Jaune slowly released his hold on her and looked at her in concern at her expression of fear, shock and something else. "Are you okay, Pyrrha?"
"I… I am fine, Jaune. Just a little shaken." Pyrrha spoke a little softly while looking slightly uncomfortable with a red face. "And Jaune, could you… you can let go of me now?"
It was at that point that Jaune realised their positions and the manner he had one arm wrapped around her waist protectively while the other was against the wall for supporting his body, thus putting them in close proximity with one another. With the few rays of light shining through the gaps of the blockade, Jaune could not help but notice her lightly curved face with pale skin, luscious red hair that seemed to flow naturally over his arm and emerald eyes that gleamed like actual gemstones. He could not help but note that she was a very beautiful girl…
And the fact that he was pinning her against a rock wall and thus unwittingly feeling her body against his own despite the armour.
'I thank the Lord and the Brothers that my older sisters aren't here to see this, they will tease me until the end of time.'
"I am so sorry!" Jaune quickly removed his arm around her and moved away a few steps to give her some room, scratching the back of his head while feeling the blood rush to his head. "I didn't mean to be so close to you, I was trying to make sure no rocks hit you!"
"It is okay. Thank you." Pyrrha assured him while lightly moving a stray strand of hair out of the way, making the gesture very cute to Jaune who almost had to punch himself in the face with his gauntlet to focus on other matters. Thankfully, she looked to the closed off entrance with a frown. "Well I don't think we can get out that way."
"Not for a while at least." Jaune winced at the sound of the thunder clapping and the rain now coming through the gaps of the rocks. "The way I see it, we have a choice to make, either we stay put and wait for the storm to go, or we try to find another way out of this place. Hopefully the storm ends by then."
"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed before looking at him woefully. "Looks like we will be exploring the cave after all."
"Looks that way." Jaune shrugged as he set about making a quick torch out of the few pieces of wood that got broken by the boulders and landed near them. In no time he was able to make two torches for the both of them, greatly increasing their vision in the dimming light.
"Thank you, you are pretty quick in making these." Pyrrha complimented him as she took the torch offered to her.
"I spent a bit of time outdoors with my grandpa while growing up." Jaune spoke as he adjusted his armour and weapon, slightly wincing from the bruising on his back. "He tends to give me tips on surviving the outside world, though it was not fully related to Huntsman training. Still at least he helps me a lot in my life, alongside my uncle and eldest sister."
"Let's see now." Jaune closed his eyes as he focused his senses and his mind for a moment, and then he placed a finger on some wet rocks to wet it and held it up briefly. "Okay, there should be another opening somewhere else. This type of cave should have multiple openings elsewhere."
"Another tip from your personal survival school?" Pyrrha asked as she checked her equipment.
"My eldest sister." Jaune nodded as he lifted his torch and checked the ceiling for leaks or cracks. Last thing they needed was an encore indoors. "If the paintings are correct, a creature of that size should have another escape route in the event this one is closed off. That much is certain."
"I see. How about your father? Any tips he gave you for this situation?" The moment those words left her mouth, Pyrrha knew she screwed up badly as she watched a shadow cover Jaune's face as all expression left it. He paused for a moment before taking a breath and answered her query.
"Dad did not teach me much for this." He then moved deeper into the cave, not wanting to talk more about it. "Or for that matter, he did not bother teaching me anything useful for my dreams."
With his back turned to her, Jaune did not see Pyrrha's expression turned a little guilty at his admission. Being around celebrities, politicians and other important people, she had to know how people react to certain words or actions to make sure she would not get taken advantage of, and Jaune was effectively broadcasting his strained relationship with his father at least, and there was the possibility his mother did not support him as well. In some manner, she could relate to him about family not being supportive of one's dreams.
They continued to move into the cave, the silence getting a little uncomfortable from earlier while they took the time to avoid slipping into the many puddles of water that had gathered. Then with a silent breath, Pyrrha plucked up her courage and walked a little ahead of him before turning and facing him in the eye.
"I'm sorry." She bowed her head deeply as she apologised. Jaune took the moment to process before letting out a sigh, feeling terrible for his mood ruining the situation.
"It is not your fault, you did not know about my situation." Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to look up. "If anything, I am the one who must apologise. I didn't mean for you to see me unload like that, and I must remember that having these types of feelings around these parts is bad news since Grimm would love to have a taste of this blonde scraggly guy with a side seasoning of negative emotions." Jaune waved his hand flamboyantly as he flicked his hair. The manner he did it while under the glow of the torch and reflecting from the water droplets around them made him look like a cheap vampire in the dark with sparkles about him, and that made Pyrrha cover her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle the laughter that was emitting from it, but she soon let her hand drop to her stomach as she let it all out, her laughter sounding like chimes in the cave.
"I think there should be some spices needed to be used for cooking in your case." She managed to speak after taking a few breaths.
"I believe you would know that better than me." Jaune remarked with a smirk. "Despite popular belief, I do not taste like chicken even if someone tries to catch me like a bird of prey with a spear."
"I am not going to be let off on that huh?" Pyrrha rolled her eyes in good humour.
"Nope~" Jaune replied while extending the 'p'. The both of them looked at each other before letting out another laugh, their earlier mood now lifted.
'ROOOARRR!'
The sound of a huge creature letting out a bellow in the cave put an end to their laughter and looked about them with pale faces. "Pyrrha, please tell me that was your stomach?" Jaune asked with a nervous tone as he gripped the torch tighter while grabbing the handle of his sword.
"Only if you tell me that was actually your stomach?" Pyrrha jabbed the end of her torch into the cracks of the wall and grabbed her weapons.
"Sorry, it is not my stomach." Jaune gulped as he did the same actions as her. "You know what I am feeling now?"
"Soul crushing regret?" Pyrrha quipped. The sounds of something huge and heavy started to fill the silence of the cave, the enclosed space making it echo louder and seemingly heavier.
"Yup~" Jaune said as the sounds got closer and harder. But it seemed that whatever the creature coming their way was, it was too heavy for the ground to support its weight, because cracks started to appear and widen on its approach, prompting the two to move back to the wall to avoid them. And that was when they could see the glow of something shining at them above their heads and then four pairs of red eyes appearing in the dark, all of which were staring at them with the sounds of clicking. The duo readied themselves, with Jaune trying to recall his sister's teachings for the situation they were in as the apparent Grimm started closing in on them.
It was about to close in on them enough that the glow was enough to show it being the tip of the tail and to reveal the mask of a particularly big Grimm under it, when the ground decided it was too much and broke apart completely, taking the two humans by surprise and unprepared for what to come next.
"OH SHIT!" Jaune yelled loudly as the ground gave out below them and they found themselves plunging down to the cavern that was evidently at the bottom of the mountain. They did not freefall for too long as they hit a gentle slope and started to slide down rapidly somewhere like some wet and dirty slide from the amusement parks. There were enough twists and turns to have Jaune start having his usual motion sickness and he was cursing at the luck they were having when the slope beneath them levelled up, shooting them out into the air before they hit the ground hard.
"GAH!" Jaune let out a pained grunt as he somehow managed to make the ground crack under his impact and get him stuck in it. "Oh, I am definitely going to feel that in the morning." Jaune grabbed the rock next to him, and with another grunt managed to push himself out of the crater he made. He looked around using the after-glow from the remains of his torch and started to panic at not finding Pyrrha around. "Pyrrha, are you there?!"
"Over here!" He turned around and immediately felt relieved at seeing her having landed in a relatively soft patch of dirt. Looks like she had a fair amount of luck on her side although she looked like she wanted to hurl from their ride.
"Are you okay?" Jaune mentally berated himself for asking that in a situation like this, but it seemed that Pyrrha did not mind as she wobbled slightly while getting up.
"I will live." Pyrrha winced as a bone popped loudly in the cavern while trying to straighten herself up. "A little sore in the back but I can move."
"That's good." Jaune looked up and around with a frown. "Weird to think that this opened up to another cavern."
"The ground seemed to be quite unstable. I guess the earlier lightning strike may have weakened it and the creature from earlier did the rest by pounding on the ground." Pyrrha said now being able to stand on her two feet without looking unsteady. "I guess we should count ourselves a little lucky that we are just at the bottom of some cavern, rather than dealing with whatever it was up there."
"You don't think it is down here with us, right now?" Jaune looked at the shadows with a wary eye as though he was expecting the creature to jump out from them.
"I don't think we have to worry about that, it was still a fair bit away from us when the ground collapsed so it is likely still up there but not moving." Pyrrha assured him as she dusted herself. "And if it were with us, it would have made a fair amount of racket to get out of this rock pile. That being said, I would like to leave this place."
"Agreed." Jaune let out a sigh before frowning as he touched his side. "Oh crap."
"What's wrong?"
"I dropped my weapons when we fell." Jaune cursed as he tried to search the area with the limited light he could get from the small flame that was dying out. "Considering the creature that is in the caves, I am going to be a sitting duck at this rate."
"Okay, let me help you with that." Pyrrha looked at her side and started to shift some of the rocks, subtly using her Semblance of polarity to find his weapon. "If I might comment, you are the only person I know outside of Mistral who uses such a classic weapon. Even for those back home, very few solely use a sword or a spear without some form of firearms."
"It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, passed down to my grandpa and previously on the mantelpiece back home." Jaune moved some of the bigger rocks while grunting from the effort. "Calling it a classic is a bit of an understatement, it was one of the first-generation weapons to feature some form of moving mechanisms that you see in current Hunter Weapons, and it was used during the Great War."
"Wait, the same Great War where the four kingdoms fought one another?" Pyrrha paused in her search to look at him in disbelief. "But that is over 200 years ago, no weapon should be able to last that long!"
"Well this one did." Jaune shrugged before continuing his search. "What little I know about it, weapons from that period were made with a special ore that resists rust and metal deterioration, and Crocea Mors had another ore that can handle huge impacts and actually strengthen its properties, so the combination works well." Pyrrha let out a light whistle of admiration for the blacksmith of that period and wondered if she could get those ores for her weapon. Despite Milo and Akouo's construction with some of the best materials available in Mistral, they still needed a fair bit of maintenance from all the combat they had endured from the arena and the odd Grimm.
Whatever thoughts they had were put on hold at the sounds of some clicking that echoed in the cavern. They turned to find small eyes of red glaring back at them, with more appearing by the minute.
"Oh crud!" Jaune backed away while grabbing the torch to add more fuel to the flames to get it brighter. He would have to make do with the torch while he tried to find his weapons. Pyrrha however had other ideas as she went ahead of him and held up her spear.
"Jaune, go and find your weapons while I hold them off!" She yelled out as the first creature came out to the light. The Grimm that came before them was some arthropod centipede with scythes for legs, alternating colored body segments of black and white and its mandibles seemed to be glistening with some type of acidic saliva as drops of it dripped to the ground and started to eat through the dirt while spewing smoke. Glowing eyes of crimson peeked through the holes of the white mask as the Grimm let out a hissing sputter with its mandibles.
"Great, just what we needed. Acidic bugs." Jaune grumbled as he shifted the rocks faster to find his weapon. It was more than just protecting himself right now, he needed to help Pyrrha in whatever way he could.
Pyrrha started to engage the Grimm in close quarters, using her shield to block the bladed legs and the mandibles, taking extra care to ensure the acid did not touch her bare skin. Her claim of being the four-time Mistral champion was certainly not an empty boast as she was able to switch between offence and defence in a split second while utilising her multi-form weapon to its best capabilities by alternating all of the forms.
From his angle, Jaune could see that the creature was favouring the right side of its face, using its giant feelers to swipe at Pyrrha while keeping her from hitting the left. When it turned to avoid a strike, he could see in the dim lighting that it seemed to be having issues looking at her from that side.
"Pyrrha, keep attacking the left side of its body! It is blind on that side!" Jaune called out to her while throwing a huge rock at the creature to draw its attention, thus exposing the weak side to Pyrrha. She took note and fired off a few rounds at that side of the face, making it hiss in agony and bumping its body against the cavern walls. Jumping to avoid the feeler aimed at her, Pyrrha switched her weapon form back into a spear and viciously stabbed it into the eye, causing it to roar out angrily and twisting its body in an attempt to shake her off, which was successful while causing the ground to rumble greatly.
"Shit!" Jaune lost his footing and slipped to the ground, dropping the torch and unfortunately gaining the attraction of the Grimm which hissed at him and pushed forward, ignoring the shots given by Pyrrha in a futile attempt to attract its attention.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out to him as the Grimm got closer. Jaune shuffled and scrambled on all fours, his eyes focused on the creature that was opening and closing its mouth quickly.
'I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need...'
His thoughts got interrupted when his hand touched smooth steel and wrapped around it. Without thinking about it, Jaune swung just as the Grimm leapt forward with its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow him whole.
'Shring!'
The sound of cold steel slicing through the air was soon followed by the painful roars of the Grimm as it thrashed violently all over the place with half of its right mandible and feelers removed rather brutally. Jaune got to his feet and brandished the weapon before him, now taking note of the item he had in his hand. And he frowned lightly at the sight.
"This is not Crocea Mors."
The weapon in question was a sword of a rather simple and somewhat unusual design. Its hilt was basically a long handle with a pointed pommel and an oddly shaped cross-guard that seemingly covered the entirety of the back and a good portion of the single-edged blade. The fuller had odd angled designs that separated the covering from the black edge of the sword, giving the weapon the overall look of a blade that was designed for heavy strikes.
Whatever, at least he had a weapon to defend himself.
"Jaune, look out!" His observations got stopped by Pyrrha who yelled as the creature stopped its thrashing and was now looking at him with distinct anger in its eyes. It let out a roar and lunged at him, now intent on crushing him instead of eating him. With a yell, he jumped to one side to avoid the hit, but got thrown back from the aftershock.
'Okay, got to make this work!' Jaune rolled a few times before coming to a clumsy stop, getting into a kneeling position while gripping the handle with both hands. Unknowingly for the both of them, the blade started to glow lightly in the cavern. The centipede Grimm wheeled around from its side and set about to attack. Jaune was about to move when a light tugging at the back of his head made him pause, as though to wait for the right opportunity. Then as though someone flipped a switch in his head, the Grimm seemed to slow down and for whatever reason, the creature had its colour tone reversed with vein-like patterns appearing all over its body with odd spots glowing a bright red. Without a thought, Jaune leaped forward and stabbed the blade deeply into one of those spots.
"RRRRHHHGGYYYYAAA!'
The Grimm let out a terrifying screech of agony as it tried to throw Jaune off. With a grunt, Jaune pushed the blade even further into its body while hanging on for dear life. With a final roar, the Grimm crashed to the ground and laid still, its eyes now losing the glow and the body starting to disintegrate. Jaune let out a sigh as he pulled the sword out of it and jumped off it, but he was not given reprieve as Pyrrha came over, grabbed his collar, and proceeded to pull him away quickly.
"Whoa!"
"Hold on a minute, I got to blow up the walls first!" Pyrrha temporarily lifted him and threw him to the far side before turning around and firing off a round at some raw deposits of dust in the wall, detonating them and demolishing that portion of the wall and parts of the ceiling, thus blocking them off from the Grimm that were just about to launch themselves at them.
"... Is it safe?" Jaune asked quietly, not wanting to move from his spot.
"We are okay now." Pyrrha let out a tired sigh as she leaned against the wall. "God, I want this initiation over with and get to bed."
"You have my vote on that." Jaune got up from his spot and moved slowly to her.
"I did not hurt you just now, did I?" Pyrrha turned to him with a concerned look.
"Nah, the Grimm was giving me more pain." Jaune winced as he felt one of his bones popped back into position with his Aura. He was really thankful for the unlocking by Pyrrha. "That was like riding one of the stable horses back home. That guy was a rough one."
"Still I am sorry for throwing you without warning. There was no time." Pyrrha bowed her head in shame.
"Hey at least you are able to keep them away from us now." Jaune assured her while placing his hands on her shoulders. "I think you may have taken them all out, as for me I could only take on one." That seemed to perk her up a little as she started to smile lightly.
"You say that, but you were the one who took on that creature when I couldn't even break the shell." She paused as she looked at the sword in his hand. "That is not your weapon. Where did you get that?"
"Found it when I was backing away from that centipede Grimm." Jaune lifted the blade and looked at it. "I am just grateful that this guy is around and that it is still sharp enough to kill Grimm."
"Hmm~" Pyrrha lifted a finger and lightly touched the black edge of the sword before flinching back in pain. "Ow!"
"Pyrrha?!" Jaune panicked while lowering the sword.
"I am fine. You were not kidding about its sharpness." Pyrrha lifted her hand to reveal a deep cut in her finger, her blood dripping from the wound.
"Oh no, hang on." Without hesitation, Jaune took her hand and brought it to his mouth, sucking on the finger and repeatedly spitting out the blood.
"Erm... Jaune?"
"Hang on Pyrrha, we have to make sure none of the rust gets into the bloodstream." Jaune remembered what happened to one of his younger sisters when she got cut with a rusty piece of fencing. It was a hellish afternoon as she got a high fever and the family scrambled to get a doctor to cure her.
"Erm... I can use my Aura actually?" Pyrrha's words broke his concentration and left him still sucking on her finger.
'Huh?'
Pyrrha slowly pulled her finger from his mouth and showed the light glow of Aura from her closing wound, leaving behind a light bruise and a trail of saliva that came from his mouth.
"My Aura can heal this cut and deal with the rust issue." Pyrrha said softly with a huge blush on her face, "and erm... You can let go now?" Once again, Jaune found himself in another embarrassing situation where he basically took the finger of a girl and sucked it.
'Now I am glad Uncle Alex is not here, he would try to give me some weird advice about women while flexing his muscles.'
"I am so sorry!" Jaune released his hold on her hand and got down on his knees while lowering his head to the ground. "I didn't mean to, I just remembered about my little sister getting cut and I just reacted!"
"It... It is okay, Jaune!" Pyrrha stammered as she attempted to calm him down. "It was a good gesture and..." She looked away with another blush. "It was nice."
"I see." Jaune got up from the ground and looked around awkwardly, thinking of a topic to dispel the situation. Thankfully she got one.
"So how did you manage to kill the Grimm? Aside from the earlier weakness you told me, I could not get my shots through." Pyrrha asked curiously. Jaune thought for a moment to the part where he saw the weird crimson spots and veins along the body, then recalled the moment when the vision passed and Pyrrha's earlier tussle.
"There were odd indentations and cracks that run along the armour. It seemed to flinch when even a pebble hit them, so I figured it must be sensitive there. I honestly did not think it was that fragile, I barely stabbed the sword in." Jaune answered as he thought of his answer. Best to not let her know about the odd vision he saw.
"I see. That is some good observation." Pyrrha praised him much to his embarrassment. "Good thing this sword was there to help." She motioned to the blade.
"Yeah." Jaune looked at it while shifting his grip to get it under better lighting, pausing as he felt something under his thumb and prompting him to lift it closer to the light. "Huh, this guy has some inscriptions on it."
"What does it say?" Pyrrha got closer to peer at it, unintentionally for him to smell the hint of lavender from her hair. Shaking his head from the random thoughts, he looked at the scripts that were etched in old Valean symbols. He was a little rusty with his translation, but if his lessons with his grandfather were correct, it said...
"Crimson Blitz." The moment the words left his mouth, Jaune could have sworn that the weapon seemingly hummed in response while the hair on the back of his neck stood up lightly. Then for whatever reason, the blade seemed to glow briefly before reconfiguring itself to a form more fitting of his figure with a shorter handle and the blade portion more obvious to him.
"Did it just reset itself?" Pyrrha blinked as she looked at the weapon with narrowed eyes. "Did you find the button to make it compact?"
"I don't think so, I don't see any button on this." Jaune held up the blade and looked around it to find no such item. "Maybe as you said, the sword reset itself. I guess after all these years, the mechanisms must be a little rusty and with that fighting we did, the sword just went to this state. Hopefully this does not happen too much, but I would like my weapons back."
"Hmm~" Pyrrha hummed as she looked around before pausing. "Oh there we go, I think I found it!" She moved to one pile of rocks and shifted some of the looser ones to reveal the familiar guard of Crocea Mors.
"Yes!" Jaune came forward to where she was. "Thank you very much Pyr!" He said as he turned to start removing the rocks from his weapon, thus missing the blushing Pyrrha had from his nickname of her. It took a while but he was able to get it out and inspect it for damage.
"Phew~ glad it is not damaged." Jaune activated the mechanisms and checked it thoroughly before he attached Crocea Mors to his waist. "Gramps would have my head if this got busted."
"Glad you got it back safely." Pyrrha petted his shoulder before looking to the side. "Well, it would seem that the explosion might have done something better than just trapping the Grimm." She pointed somewhere down the cavern where Jaune could spy a light coming at the end of it. "I think it loosened the rocks enough that they fell off the other side."
"Then let's not waste time." Jaune said as he picked up what looked to be a worn-out sheath and slid the newly acquired sword through. Surprisingly it fitted rather well and there was a good enough strap for him to sling to his body. That was a bit of good luck to have after the crap he went through.
The duo moved on towards the light, their hearts lightened from escaping the mess behind them and hopefully leaving this cavern they were in. Jaune could not help the thought of them being in one of those archaeological digs where the characters would try to go on adventures in search of treasure, and fancied himself with one of the hats and a whip. That got emphasised when they came to one part to have to drop down from the hole they were in, likely created from those Grimm, and on to the floor that was surprisingly paved and smoothened from years of walking.
But his introspection got interrupted when Pyrrha suddenly let out a gasp.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha pointed to an area of the cavern with one hand over her mouth, her hand clearly shaking from something that shocked her. With a bit of trepidation, Jaune moved the torch to her to get better lighting to see what it was that made her this way. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Before them in the light of the torch, rows upon rows of skeletons lined the walls of the area they were in, each clad in armour and holding on to different types of weaponry. Littered on the ground were more skeletons in similar garb, but with them being strewn all over the area with limbs or heads missing and with gaping holes in armors. The sight seemed to stretch all the way to the opening, giving off the grim impression of a last stand.
"Where are we?" Pyrrha was trying to keep calm but it clearly unsettled her.
"Not sure." Jaune shone his torch back from where they came, highlighting the broken columns and bricks that were now visible in the light. Now that he was nearer to it, Jaune could smell something familiar. He looked about and found what appeared to be a trough built into the wall. He stood on his toes to look over, his face scrunching up from the scent of oil. Looking at his torch, Jaune stood back while extending his arm to use the torch to light the oil. With a loud whooshing sound that seemed to take some of the stale air away from them, the oil lit up and extended all the way into the darkness, lighting up the entire tunnel to show the place.
"I think we are in a catacomb." Pyrrha looked around them with a hint of fear in her voice. "There are several in Mistral, but I never encountered one of this scale in my life!"
"Wait, I think I read up on this." Jaune wrecked his brain about the place. "There are old ruins littered around what is normally called old Vale, and before Beacon, there was a city built around this area that was reportedly destroyed in a cataclysm." Jaune lightly gripped the handle of the sword he had acquired, now feeling the true weight of it. "And if I remembered correctly, the city got attacked by the Grimm shortly before it."
"I think you are right." Pyrrha pointed to some of the more intact skeletons laying on the floor, with armour pierced with the same sharp legs the centipede Grimm had. "We were not the first ones to encounter those creatures. I guess the guards had to fend them off but failed."
"Then..." Jaune unsheathed and raised Crimson Blitz to his eye, peering at the reflection on it. "This is..."
"I am guessing a weapon used by one of the guards." Pyrrha nodded with a solemn expression. Jaune looked to the blade with a new found respect and sorrow, feeling somewhat unworthy to wield this weapon. As if she was reading his thoughts, Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, I think you should hang on to that for now."
"What?" Jaune looked at her with slight disbelief. "I am not sure if I should take this with me, it belonged to someone else!" He looked back to the weapon with slight discomfort. "I don't feel right holding this."
"Normally I would advise to put the weapon back where it should be as well, but I believe in this situation, we can make an exception." Pyrrha paused before continuing. "I don't mean to be rude, but currently I feel the sword actually fits you better than Crocea Mors."
"Huh?"
"I mean no offence, but there is a clear difference in the manner you handled both weapons. With Crocea Mors, you seemed to be struggling with both the defence and offence, and your stance is off by a fair bit. I think your training may have made a trade-off with fighting skills." Pyrrha gave her observations while unintentionally sending arrows into Jaune's already fragile pride and heart. "But with Crimson Blitz, you seem to have some form of control and with that quick thinking of yours, you are able to get the targets quickly. I am guessing your training involved just using a sword and mostly dodging?"
"Well..." Jaune paused as he thought of the few times his grandfather, uncle and his eldest sister tried to train him in various styles, and for the most part it was as she said, not to mention the odd feeling he had when wielding Crimson Blitz, "That is actually pretty accurate. I only started with the shield portion only recently, my grandpa insisted I learned how to dodge attacks first before using a shield. My sword skills are mostly for quick slicing or stabs."
"I see." Pyrrha nodded lightly. "I believe that for the time being, you should hang on to the weapon. I mean no disrespect to the previous owner, but as it is, Crimson Blitz has no one to wield it, and I would like to think that it would be happy to have someone using it again after so long."
"You really think so?" Jaune asked with a hint of confusion.
"In Mistral, there is a tradition and a bit of superstition that weapons are meant to be used for fighting and to fulfil the last wishes of the user." She motioned with her hand and with a solemn expression. "Although they have fought to protect the city, I imagine that they would have some form of regrets. In some parts of Mistral, weapons belonging to some of the old fighters were given to another group if they have both the aptitude and the same wishes as the previous users. I think in this case, the previous user of that sword would not mind you using it."
Jaune looked at her for a moment before directing his attention back to the sword, looking at his reflection and thinking of her words. He was a little uncertain about taking a weapon from someone, let alone one that had died a few years ago, but he could understand the reasoning for it. Right now he would need whatever edge he could get.
"Okay." He nodded slowly and turned to Pyrrha who was now smiling at him. "Just let me do one thing before we move on." Handing her the torch, Jaune walked a bit away from her before lightly stabbing the sword into the ground and bowing his head, trying to recall what his grandfather and uncle said for certain events.
"I know not your names, nor of your past, but this I promise. When we finish our tasks with this exam, we will alert the academy of your presence so as to grant you a proper resting place and hopefully a true passage to the heavens above. Perhaps I might return this weapon to your comrade, but until then I wish to wield it in his place. It would not mean much to you, but this I swear upon my name as an Arc." Jaune spoke the words while remembering what his grandfather had spoken at his friend's passing before bowing his head lower in respect. After a quiet moment, he raised his head and picked up Crimson Blitz, sheathing it on his back and turned to find Pyrrha with her eyes closed and her hands together with her head bowed, evidently paying her respects to the deceased around them as well. She opened her eyes and smiled gently at him.
"I think they would appreciate that greatly." Pyrrha said as they walked side by side to the opening. Jaune nodded in silence as he looked at her, and for a brief moment, he thought both Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz hummed in agreement. And thus they moved on, not realising what happened in that one moment they paid their respects to the long forgotten.
If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen a small ball of light coming out of the hole from where they came and melding into Crimson Blitz, glowing a light green briefly before dimming.
If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have noticed some of the other weapons on the ground behind them were glowing lightly with an array of colours.
If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen the skulls of the deceased lightly turning towards Jaune, with an unearthly glow of colours seen through their empty eye sockets.
But they did not do so.
And so, with this one event and action, Jaune had unknowingly altered his fate and that of his future companions. But that would be for later.
Right now, Jaune had an initiation to complete.
Author's Notes:
Here we go, the beginning of the revamps. Let's hope my creativity is up to the challenge.
For those wondering, the AO3 account is rwby1989, small letters.