Cuts of RWBY
A RWBY Fic Collection by AndrewJTalon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.
Just a collection of plot bunnies and ideas for RWBY fics. Free for you to take and make use of.
For instance...
What if Jaune and Adam met before Beacon...?
Godsdamnit... GODSDAMNIT...
"GODSDAMNIT!" Jaune bellowed from inside the rocket locker. He slammed his fists into the insides, as hard as he could. He didn't know where he was flying to. He didn't know where Pyrrha had sent him. All he knew is that he didn't want to go there!
"C-Come on, come on...!" He pulled out his Scroll. Maybe the CCT was down, but the local network... Maybe...!
He activated the App and tried to log into it. Pyrrha and he had shared passwords-Pyrrha, damnit-maybe she hadn't changed it-!
The app turned green. Jaune tried to access the controls.
"Come on, come on, COME ON!"
He tried to turn the locker back towards Beacon... But something hit the side. He was slammed back and forth against the insides of the locker, crying out. He managed to get eyes on his Scroll again: He couldn't read where it was going to land, but it looked like it was somewhere in Beacon proper-
CRASH!
The door popped open. Jaune tumbled out in a heap. He ached all over, there was a ringing in his ears, and he felt his Aura flicker.
"Uggghhh... Damnit..." He staggered to his feet. His vision was blurry. He could hear screams, fire, the roars of Grimm... And his vision cleared.
It was a nightmare. People were fleeing in terror. Fires were everywhere, bodies too. Grimm roared.
Jaune stared in shock. His heart pounded in his chest and ears. He felt sick. He was filled with pain...
I always wanted to be a hero... I wanted to help people...
He took a deep breath. Focus... Priorities.
First priority: Don't die.
Second priority? Keep other people from dying.
He pulled Crocea Mors out, opened his shield, and charged for the first Beowulf he saw. He cut it down, using the same technique Pyrrha had drilled into him, over and over and over again. Bash, then slash through the neck.
The Grimm died with a loud whimper. Jaune saw another Beowulf, snarled at an older couple. He charged it, getting its attention by bashing his sword on his shield. The Grimm turned and charged. Again, he followed the technique: Bash and Slash. Another Grimm died. He turned to the terrified couple.
"RUN!" He shouted. They clambered up and ran as best they could. Jaune looked around, spotted more Grimm. He got his weapons up as the Beowulves charged. Over and over again, bash and slash, bash and slash...!
He found himself outside of the library. As people ran around him, he looked in the windows. Fires were spreading, tables were wrecked...
Blake was confronting some tall redhead man with spiky hair, a White Fang mask, and... a red katana...
"I'm... I'm not running!" Blake cried out.
"You... Will," the man growled.
Jaune's eyes widened in horror... And recognition.
No... It can't be...!
Blake's blade was locked with the redhead. He shoved her back with his greater strength, driving her to the floor. He held up his katana, ready to plunge it down-
"ADAM!"
The redhead paused. He looked up. He... Stared at Jaune. Jaune approached slowly, sword and shield out.
"Adam Taurus," Jaune gasped, "Adam..."
"Jaune, run!" Blake screamed, even as Adam stomped on her stomach. "UGH!"
Jaune winced. He heard the sound of cracking ribs. Blake whimpered in pain. She stayed still.
If Adam could do that to her... Then Jaune stood no chance in a fight. Even if he hadn't already been banged up by the rocket locker flight.
And yet... There he stood, despite every instinct telling him to run.
"Jaune Arc," Adam said, voice rough. "You're here too, huh?"
"What the hell is all this?!" Jaune demanded. "Why are you doing this?!"
Jaune could feel the glare through Adam's visor, even as childhood memories popped up.
The Faunus boy had been brought with his mother from an SDC mining camp to the Radian hospital. Jaune was hanging around, since his mom and dad were here and his sisters were busy. He'd seen the small, redheaded boy with horns sitting outside the operating ward. The boy looked up at him, sniffling and trying not to cry.
"Your mom's gonna be fine," Jaune said brightly. "My mom's a really great doctor! Don't worry!"
"You... You mean it?" The boy asked. Jaune nodded happily.
"Yeah!" He held out his hand. "I'm Jaune! Jaune Arc!
The boy stared in some fear and confusion at him... Before slowly extending his hand.
"I'm... Adam Taurus..."
"That's a cool name!" Jaune said happily. "You're like a bull! That's so awesome!"
"You... You think so?" Adam asked.
"Yeah!"
Weeks went by. Adam stayed at the Arc Farm. They had a lot of room for guests, and the workers had children of their own. Adam and Jaune played a lot while Adam's mother recovered. They explored streams, fished, played at swordfighting (Adam always won), and lots of other things.
Yet despite all this, Adam was still... Sad. Sad and angry.
"It's not fair," Adam said, "Why do the Schnees treat us like this? Why are they so cruel? My dad... My dad died in the mines. They worked him so hard, and he died."
Jaune hugged Adam, because... What else could you do when you heard something that sad?
"When I get older," Adam swore, "I'll... I'll change the world. I'll make it better. I promise..."
"I'll help you!" Jaune said cheerfully. Adam stared at him.
"You'll help a Faunus?"
"I'll help a friend!" Jaune said with a big smile. "And that's what you are!"
"You mean it?" Adam asked. Jaune nodded, eyes narrowed.
"My dad says a man keeps his promises. An Arc never goes back on his word." He spit in his palm, then held out a hand. "I'm with you, Adam. To the end of the line."
Adam stared in shock... But he smiled softly, spat in his hand, and they shook.
It took a while, but Adam's mother healed. They went back to Atlas, to work with a group of Faunus to peacefully protest the camps. Jaune and Adam exchanged letters for a long time after... But at some point... They just stopped. And Jaune wondered what had happened to his friend...
"There's only one way to change the world," Adam stated, "And that's with blood, and fire."
He moved, and it was by pure luck Jaune was able to block the blow with his shield! The impact slammed him against the wall. Adam drove his Katana against Crocea Mors, the ancient shield groaning under the strain. Still, Jaune tried to talk.
"You didn't believe that," Jaune insisted, "You were going to make things better, peacefully-!"
"And the SDC showed me how well that worked," Adam snarled. "Humans... Humans can't be trusted."
"You trusted me!" Jaune insisted. Adam snorted.
"We were children," he stated.
"Your mother would have-"
"My mother is dead," Adam snarled. "Killed by humans-!"
"And saved by humans!" Jaune shouted back.
"You did it to torment us! To keep us as slaves-!"
"You know that's not true!" Jaune cried out. "We did it because it was the right thing to do, Adam! My parents cared for you! Just like they did me!" He shook his head. "Please, Adam... Don't do this!"
Adam clenched his fists. He punched Jaune in the face and then seized him by his shoulders. He threw him across the library, slamming him through the desks.
He stalked towards Jaune, even as the blond still got up. Adam breathed hard.
"You'll die like all the others," Adam stated angrily.
Jaune glared back. He tightened his grip on his weapons. Adam struck again furiously, Jaune barely able to keep up with parries and deflections. Sparks flew off his shield and blade with every exchange. Jaune was forced back, back...
"Why aren't you fighting back?!" Adam spat.
I couldn't hurt you if I tried, Jaune thought sardonically. But outloud...
"I won't fight you, Adam," he said. "I won't... I won't fight a friend."
Adam sneered. He swung again, and again. Dents appeared on Jaune's armor, sword, and shield. Cuts were slashed across his arms and face.
He was slammed back by another powerful blow, right against the wall.
"Stay down," Adam growled.
Jaune shook all over. He stood right back up, breathing hard.
"Just lay down and die!" Adam roared, swinging his blade. A red crescent of energy erupted. Jaune fell, as his sword and shield took the brunt of it.
Jaune watched his family's legendary weapons fall apart-His sword cleaved in half, his shield losing one big quarter. If he'd stayed on his feet, he would have been dead.
Adam loomed over him, and seized him by the throat. He lifted Jaune up with one arm, and choked him.
"I'm not your friend... I was never your friend," Adam seethed, "You're just like all the others. Another lying, stinking human!"
He couldn't save Pyrrha... He couldn't save Blake... He couldn't... He couldn't save anyone...
Jaune closed his eyes. It felt like something broke inside of him...
I can't save anyone... All I can do is...
He opened them again and clutched onto Adam's forearm. He looked him in the face and forced a breath through the bull Faunus' iron strong grip.
"Then... You'd better... Finish it... Because... I-I'm with you... Adam..."
He choked out his last words as his vision grew dim.
"To the end... Of the line...!"
He saw Adam's jaw drop. He felt his fingers slacken, just a bit... Before everything went black.
"... Jaune... Jaune... Jaune...?"
Jaune groaned. He felt pain all over... And smelt antiviral cleaners and hospital laundry detergent. He could hear faint beeps.
He forced his eyes open. A pair of blue eyes greeted him, with bags underneath. A shock of orange hair shone in faint sunshine.
"Nora...?" He managed. Nora sighed in relief. He looked around slowly, as his head really hurt.
It was a large white hospital room, with sheets diving many, many cots. All sorts of people were in the beds, with varying levels of injury. Nurses walked up and down, talking with other medical professionals. All looked exhausted, overwhelmed.
He tried to sit up, but Nora and an intense stab of pain throughout his body made him go back down. She looked away towards some point in the distance only she could see.
"Woah, easy there, Jaune-Jaune," she said quietly, "You need to rest. Your stupidly large Aura is doing a lot of work, but you still got wrecked."
Jaune saw she had her arm in a cast. He looked at her intently.
"Ren? Is Ren-?"
"Renny's fine," Nora sighed, "He's checking on everyone else. Ruby's in the next room over, she's okay. Weissy got scooped up by her dad's people, back to Atlas."
Jaune didn't know how to process that, so he just kept going.
"Blake?"
Nora shook her head with a frown.
"Kitty Cat vanished. No idea where," she said, "She dropped you and Yang-Yang off at the hospital before she disappeared."
"Yang?!" Jaune asked in shock. Nora winced, and bowed her head.
"She... She saw you fighting that redhead guy," she said softly, "Tried to stop him... Got the crap beaten out of her. She's alive but in bad shape. That guy... He ran off after. Along with the rest of the White Fang."
Jaune shut his eyes tightly. Well... He and Yang had something in common, then.
Gods... Gods, Adam, why...?
He hesitated.
"... Pyrrha?"
Nora sniffled. She hadn't been looking his way throughout the conversation.
"Nora...?"
Nora turned back to him, tears in her eyes. She began to cry, as she reached out and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
Jaune found the strength to reach up and hug her tightly, as tears burned in his own eyes. Yet he didn't sob. He didn't make a sound. He felt dead inside, and utterly worthless.
Pyrrha... Pyrrha, I'm sorry... Blake, Yang... Adam... I'm... I'm so sorry...
I couldn't do... A damn thing...
It was a location Adam barely put in the thought to remember. A base in the wastes of Solitas, far away from the chaos of Vale.
He sat in his private room, silent. Trying to meditate. Trying to focus.
Yet there was something in his pocket. Something he had found among his meager belongings. Something he had missed, long ago.
It haunted him, hanging over him like a cloud.
An assistant entered, bowing low.
"Sir... Cinder Fall demands to know why we retreated from Vale," he asked.
"Ignore her," Adam snarled, "And any other communications from her."
The assistant, terrified, bowed again and scurried out. Adam went back to staring at nothing. He sucked in a breath. He reached into his pocket. He pulled out the item.
It was... A photograph. The only one he had missed, when he had burned anything that he couldn't carry from the SDC camp. Anything that would distract him from his mission.
In the photograph was himself as a young boy, smiling as he hugged his smiling mother in her hospital bed. On the other side of the bed was Jaune, grinning at the camera too. It was the day his mother was released from the Radian hospital. The day they parted from Vale, to go back to Atlas to work with the nascent White Fang.
And no matter what Adam did, he couldn't forget that day.
"You're not supposed to cry," Adam, the older boy, smirked at Jaune as they stood on the airship landing platform. Jaune wiped his eyes.
"Nuh uh... These are manly tears!" Jaune insisted. "You shed them because you're just too awesome to keep your hot blooded feelings of friendship inside!"
Adam blinked back some tears of his own. He was older, more mature... Yet he couldn't help but like Jaune. He had been a constant little ball of sunshine the whole time he'd been here.
He reached out and hugged Jaune. Jaune returned it.
"Then... Have a manly hug, between friends," Adam said. Jaune grinned up at him.
"Brothers!" He said happily. Adam smiled softly, and patted the younger boy on the top of his head.
"Brothers," he said firmly, "to the end of the line."
We aren't brothers... We never were...
Adam tensed. He should shred it. Burn the photograph. Banish any thoughts of that life from his mind.
Jaune Arc was nothing. He should have killed him when he had the chance.
He was no different from Blake. An enemy. An obstacle to his path. Him and his family.
He took hold of the photo between his hands. He tensed to tear it in two...
He gritted his teeth. He couldn't stop seeing that last moment...!
He'd dropped Jaune to the floor. He crumpled like a broken puppet. He was breathing, but only just.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He heard the attack, felt the intensity of the Aura... He sidestepped Blake's human partner. He was going to swing, take her arm off... Yet... At the last possible moment, he turned the flat of his blade around and hit the blonde woman HARD across her head and back.
"AAAAHHH-!"
She tumbled and slammed through the nearest wall. Even her Semblance wouldn't let her get back up from that easily. She was already struggling to get back up, shaking, even as blood dripped down from her forehead. She collapsed again, panting. He'd got in a good hit on her spine, she wouldn't be on her feet for a while.
He could kill her... He should kill her... He should kill Jaune, too. He was utterly helpless. He pulled up his sword, prepared to plunge it into his chest...
That face that had been filled with nothing but smiles and grins so long ago was now bloodied, gaping... Just like Blake's, though hers was filled with fear...
Looks he had thought he had wanted to see, for so long... But when he saw them, there was no satisfaction. Only pain and regret that churned in Adam's gut.
Adam seethed. He tried to strike... But his body wouldn't listen...! WHY WOULDN'T IT LISTEN?!
He turned and fled, trying to keep those faces out of his mind-!
"GRAAAAAAHHHHH!" He dropped the photograph, and punched the concrete floor hard enough to crack it. The photograph fell nearby, fluttering like a leaf from a tree. He stared at it, breathing hard through his nostrils like a raging bull.
He stared at the photograph. He slumped back, and looked up at the ceiling.
"... I have to kill them," he whispered. "I have to... All of them..."
Silence. He shook his head.
"I will kill them... Kill them both... Kill them all, next time! NEXT TIME!"
Yet the words sounded as hollow as the empty room.