Once again
The following events did not go as Jaune hoped they did, which to say, it went badly.
The moment the leviathan grimm got killed, everyone was relieved, from civilians to soldiers, to even the team themselves.
That was until one soldier noticed Adam had his blade, and was not restrained, and decided his comrades lives were more important than his and jumped Adam.
To his credit, Adam dodged him on reflex, and when he realized it, he quickly walked towards him to be captured.
"As we agreed." He said when he gave Jaune the blade, Wilt and Blush, and strapped them on his waist.
"Thank you." Jaune met Adam's eye, he didn't respond, allowing Atlas soldiers to take him to prison, and was probably the last time he'll ever see the sunlight.
"Kids, what happened?" Qrow walked towards them, behind him was the Operative of this Atlas base, she gave him a smirk when she saw Adam arrested.
"Remarkable work, even though you are huntsmen in training, you managed to help Atlas and captured a dangerous terrorist, although sparing his life is an odd choice." She glanced at Blake. " At last, there's always sympathizers."
Blake glared at her, and even started walking towards her to give her a piece of her mind, until Weiss interjected.
"Of course, after all, I am the one who demanded his arrest instead of execution, the Schnee are sympathizers like that." Weiss said sarcastically, but with a little edge, that made the Operative cowered away.
"So, what about our deal?" Jaune asked, changing the subject about Adam, he saw in the corner of his eye how Blake and Yang glared at him and Weiss, he sighed, knowing what will happen later.
"But of course, we asked and you delivered, even more than I wished for, don't fear, the moment your friend awake, the bullhead will be ready for you-" she glanced behind him.
She saw Nora resting on her hammer, Oscar standing next to Ren who held Ruby on his back, the old lady standing next to Qrow and a girl with two colors waving happily at them.
"I see you have a new companion, fear not, she would also get the Privilege to go to Atlas." Neo looked at her, then looked at Jaune, she shook her head then shattered.
"Is she an anti-social or something?" Weiss asked from besides him, she looked half confused, half tired, he couldn't blame her.
"If everything set, I would like to go rest now, and see my friend if she's OK?" He gestured to Ruby, who's still out of it, she only hummed.
"Understandable, with a semblance like her, it would take a toll on her, no wonders she stopped to take a breather." Jaune was confused for a moment, but recovered quickly.
"Her semblance, oh yes yes, she just unlocked it, she still hasn't got used to it." He assured her, waving goodbye as they went back to rest.
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The first thing that came to Ruby's mind when she woke up, that she was thirsty.
She opened her eyes, pain coming as the blinding light hit her silver eyes, she felt a headache coming, before someone pushed a cup of water into her mouth.
"Drink up kiddo, you got hit hard huh." She looked to her bed side and saw Qrow pushing the cup with a smile, she accepted it.
"W- What happened?" she asked after finishing the water, looking around, she found herself in the sister Arc house, in the bed she used yesterday.
"A Lot, I'll explain later, what's important now is that the leviathan is dead, and we got our tickets for Atlas." He smiled at her.
"Wait, we killed it, did I kill it?" She thought hard, trying to remember, she vaguely remembered using the silver eyes, but it didn't work, she needed more time but the grimm struck her down.
"Not this time Rubes, let just say, we got help from unexpected place and leave it at that, everyone is fine, you are the only one who fell, thanks to the maiden power, you exhausted yourself fast." Qrow explain.
"Where's everyone? And how long have I been out?" She asked, finally realizing the sun was setting.
"Just few hours, the kid helped with his semblance, useful thing huh, and about the other…" He trailed off, and just as she raised an eyebrow, the sound of shouting came to be.
They shared a look, then Ruby got out of the bed to check it, she stumbled but Qrow caught her, and went down together.
It was a shouting match, between Weiss and Yang of all people while Jaune and Blake exchange glares, clearly picking a side.
"He murdered people." Yang voice bombed and Ruby winced, she looked around to find the Arc family missing, she looked at Qrow who understood immediately.
"They went to visit the Nikos family with Ren and Nora, to avoid this."
She nodded in understanding, at least Adrian won't see this.
"And he will pay for his crime, we are not executioners Yang." Weiss shot back.
"The white fang and his allies will just break him free, and he will go back to before, do you want another Beacon fall? Or the breach?" Weiss recoiled at that looking away, Jaune stepped in.
"Yang, we can't just go and kill whoever we like, everyone deserves a second chance." He said, still none of them noticing her and Qrow.
"Oh, that rich coming from you, tell me, what about Cinder, did she get a second chance when you stabbed her to death." Everyone stepped back in shock, Blake in disbelief, and Weiss in anger, but Jaune.
"She's different, she deserved it, I couldn't let her go and do the same thing to Atlas, I had to stop her." He said in a low voice, and she noticed how his hand started to shake, Weiss held one and smiled at him assuredly.
"So Cinder deserved to die and not Adam, I don't know if you noticed Jaune, but that fucker cut my arm" she gestured with her robotic arm.
"You don't understand Yang, you won't handle it, the guilt, the pain of knowing you robbed someone life, how it feels stabbing someone and seeing the light leaving their eyes." Jaune went still, his eyes distanced.
Everyone went silent, Yang noticed and didn't say a thing, Weiss tried to look into his eyes, but he didn't meet them, couldn't, he looked like he was trapped somewhere else.
And Ruby knew where.
"Alright let's wrap this up, we won, we captured the bad guys and got tickets for the floating City, how about we go out drinking? On me?" his hand landed on Jaune's shoulder, he tensed, and Qrow thought he would attack him, but he forced himself to relax like always.
"Sure, why not."
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"You know, I sometimes wonder how anyone considers you're a responsible adult." The kid said from beside him, he had a glass in hand, and he kept looking at their youngest member.
"You clearly haven't met Ozpin Jaune, he agreed to this, I'm 15." Oscar complain, he had a soda in hand.
"Come on you two, light up, it's not everyday I can take you to a bar."
"Why did we agree to this." The blonde complained again.
"You rather go back home and continue the shouting match?" Qrow deadpan, and Jaune gave up.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He stood up and walked away, Qrow's eyes never left them until he went inside, and after it, he turned to Oscar.
"Mind if I talk with the old man?"
"Sure, why not." Oscar's eyes started to glow green and his back straightened up, his shoulders relaxed, and he held his soda like it was a cup of coffee.
"Qrow"
"Oz"
"It's good to talk to you again." Ever since the truth came out, he couldn't even look at Oscar, but now he needed to put this to the side for now.
"I'm not ready to talk to you about that, it's about the kid." Ozpin nodded in understanding.
"I see, but I'm not sure how can I help with that."
"Come on Oz, you saw him didn't you, he's breaking down, after he took fall, he has never been the same, he isn't the kid I helped in the middle of Mistral forest, he's distant, always has something to do, and act like the world is counting on him."
"And he's right, even though there isn't a way to kill Salem, we still need to protect the Relic and keep them away, it is our responsibility."
"I've tried to help him with the only thing I know, and surprisingly, it's not working, any advice?" He finished his glass and gestured for the bartender for another.
"He just needs time, and people to talk to, I understand his feelings, wanting revenge, and when he got it, he felt empty, and the fact it was his first kill too, it's no wonder he fought to bring Adam Taurus alive, he couldn't bare the idea of his friends being in the same situation."
"So what now, how can I fix it?" He took a drink from the new glass.
"You can't, you can only be there for him, you did good, you kept him company, keep on that, he may not show it, but he appreciated it." Ozpin smiled a genuine smile at Qrow.
"You grow a lot since team STRQ, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of you all, except Raven of course." He added the latter, but Qrow still froze on those words.
"Thanks, I hope I'm doing right with the kids, they have a lot of potential."
"They do." A long silence followed, only to be broke by Qrow angry scowl after he looked at his scroll.
"What's going on?" Ozpin asked, eyebrow raised, in answer, Qrow showed him his scroll, it was a text from Jaune.
"I need to be alone for a while, don't make Oscar drink"
"That Bastard." He growled.
"He is responsible, but not by much, seeing he left a child with you." He got a glare for it and chuckled.
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Jaune wondered off in the street of Argus, feeling the cold air and trees around him.
He needed to be alone, he couldn't understand what happened to him, and why his decisions were so irresponsible.
"We could have killed Adam, it wouldn't have changed a thing, so why." He looked at his hand, shaking.
Let me choose this one thing.
He shook his head, it started to get worse, his dreams, his nightmares of that moment, the moment he took a life, the moment he took a friend's life.
He kept walking without any real decision, because of his actions, Ruby got hurt, and they barely survived the attack because of Adam sudden turn of hearts.
He couldn't rely on that, he needed to focus.
"Come on Jaune, you know she still alive, just one day, just one and you'll meet her."
He found himself at his sister's house, he heard the chatter, he knew the moment he walks in that it will be gone, he pissed off Yang and Blake.
His hand settled on the new blade on his side, Atlas soldiers assured him he could keep it as a trophy.
It was a reminder, that he couldn't kill someone, he couldn't kill a villain, he would admit, Yang was right, it was the right choice to kill him, yet he still didn't know why he didn't.
/-/
"Yang, what the hell." Ruby waited till her uncle took Jaune and Oscar out to confront Yang, she couldn't talk with Jaune, and barely made any eye contact, he looked hurt.
"He asked for it, it's not my fault he's a hypocrite."
"You know full well why he acted like this." She didn't, nobody did, except her, going by what he told her, it probably had something to do with the future, Cinder wasn't the first person he killed, and she dreaded to know how he had to Kill.
"So what, he can take his revenge and I can't?" Yang asked, her red eyes glowing.
"You saw how he was before Haven, he would have killed himself if it led to Cinder's death, and it clearly effected him." It was Weiss's turn to join in.
"And do you mind explain why did you let him live? He would hesitate for even a second to kill a Schnee." Blake said, crossing her arms."
"Did you know?" Ruby was confused by the question, Blake too, but she realized what Weiss meant a second later, she didn't meet her eyes.
"Tell me, did you know." Weiss insisted.
"Yes."
"How long." Weiss asked.
"Weiss.." Blake said gently
"Just tell me." She screamed at her.
"It is a long story, Adam and the people he knew were the first, it got shut down immediately, but a lot of SDC camps used it anyway, so they'll make sure no one raised their voice." Weiss gritted her teeth.
It was one thing to know your family business was undercut a group of minority, but it turned another shade when she discovered what happened to the person who wanted to destroy it.
"With a good reason." She thought to herself, she could remember fragments of that time, back when her mom cared, she remembered her coming home one day with blood allover her, she told them it wasn't hers, then went and crying herself to sleep that day.
Weiss forced herself to forget it, it was one of many signs of how bad her parents marriage was.
"I need to look into this, at least, just to take it off my chest." She looked back at her team.
"I won't ask you to forgive him, I'll be mad if you did actually, but I want to understand his point of view, I know how it feels to be scar for life, and I want to make sure it will never happen again." Her team smiled at her, and it was Yang who gave her a hug.
"I- I'm sorry for punching you, I just lost it when I saw him, I felt hopeless." The hug tightened.
"Don't worry, we are a team, we stick together, we fight together until the end."
Ruby looked at her team happily
she was glad they could make up, and wished it would be the same with Jaune.
"Dammit, I need to get the detail of what's gonna happen next." She groaned to herself.
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"I have unfortunate news for you I'm afraid, after I got in contact with General Ironwood, he asked to send him Taurus as soon as possible, so you'll be acting as an escort, until you reach Atlas airspace, then a bullhead will provide support." The Operative didn't sound sorry at all, yet she managed to look it.
Blake and Yang glared at the prisoner who was cuffed and restrained, he only glanced at them, then sent a nod towards him and Weiss.
"Great, any chance you can send another team?" He knew the answer, but he still needed to hear it.
"I'm afraid not, all the men here are helping rebuild the defenses that this scum terrorist destroy." It went unsaid that the terrorist was the one who saved their lives too.
"Fine fine, let just get this over with." Qrow said, gesturing for the guards to follow him and secure Adam on the bullhead.
They followed too, Jaune pointedly not looking behind at his two angry friends, the bullhead was different from the one he was on last time.
This one had more seats, and everyone took one, they had an Atlas soldier as a 'guard' in case Adam decided to escape from a flying bullhead above the sea.
The ride was mostly silent, and half of team RWBY not looking his way, Jaune decided the safest choice is to do the same, and chat with Weiss, who happily chatted with him back.
"How're you feeling?" She asked him.
"Good, just a little tired from yesterday." He glanced at the window behind her head, seeing how the sea started to come to land of snow.
"I am sorry for yesterday, I was the one to start the argument with Yang, yet you were the one to get hurt because of it." She didn't meet his eyes, her expression filled with sorrow.
"It's ok, I'm sure Yang didn't mean it, besides, she was right, it would have been easier to just kill him, but I didn't even consider it, and when I did i-" he felt his body started to tremble, but he quickly got it under control, but Weiss saw it anyway.
"You know, you can always talk to me about things, I'm always here for you." She held his hand, comforting him, yet his eyes traveled to the edge of his vision, seeing a red dot getting closer.
His eyes widen, he shouted for Qrow, the soldier, to watch out, but he was too late, as the sound of an explosion rocked the bullhead.
"What the hell was that?"
"We've been hit." Qrow said.
"By whom?" Ruby's eyes widened, the bullhead was falling fast, and she saw what awaited them.
A group of white fang with rocket launchers stood in the snow, waiting for them to fall, her eyes traveled back to their prisoner, who had no reaction.
"GET READY." Qrow screamed, everyone used their aura to protect themselves.
The crash wasn't bad, aura protected them alongside the safety measurement, but it didn't just crash, the bullhead kept moving forward, dragging it's on the snow, breaking it stomach to make sure it won't fly again, even though the missing wing would have been enough.
"Is everyone OK?" He didn't know who asked, Weiss was the closest to him, so he tried to cover her with his bigger body, which saved her from the shard of metal that hit his shoulder.
"Jaune?" Weiss asked in confusion, but when she saw what happened to him, she screamed.
"JAUNE" she quickly used her semblance to move away any debris that fell, she took a deep breath and looked around for the others.
Thankfully, they were fine, seeing everyone was in one piece except him, he gave a sigh of relief.
"d- don't worry, I can heal it, I just need to remove it."
"We still need to give you medical attention, where's the first aid." Everyone started to look around.
"Here." a voice from the back called, which made everyone realize they have forgotten about their prisoner.
Nora quickly snatched it, giving it to Ren, who removed the shard and bandaged the wound.
"Get ready everyone, those guys have a lot of military grade weapons on them." Qrow called back to them, and they saw vehicles coming all around them, weapons on the ready.
"Hand over Adam Taurus and you will live." One of them shouted, they all turned to the man in question.
"You can free me if you want, but I do not care anymore." He said, his eyes never leaving the floor.
The white fang didn't wait for an answer and started shooting, trusting that Adam would survive using his aura.
Everyone went on the attack, Nora used her grenade launcher to limit the enemy vision, while Yang and Blake went in with a surprise attack
It worked, but soon more and more white fang appeared.
"How many are there?" Blake asked
The team started to get overwhelmed, more and more white fang with more dangerous weaponry started to come in, using bullets that usually could be shrugged off with aura, now were powerful enough to leave blood.
"Any idea, if we stay here we're gonna die." Yang said.
"We can't just leave, Jaune is hurt and we need to take Taurus with us." Weiss said.
A powerful explosion went behind them, and Ruby decided she had enough, building an ice cocoon around them.
"This won't hold long, any idea?" She asked, holding the ice.
Jaune rocked his brain for an answer, yet again, he was left In a new situation without any idea for why it happened, the cocoon soon crumbled.
"You're done." One of the white fangs said, he was about to shoot, until a green sword cut it in two.
"Move out, take down the white fang, secure the target." Someone ordered, he couldn't see, but he felt he knew the voice.
The white fang didn't wait, running at them at full speed, which resulted in everyone getting separated.
Jaune found himself fighting off a white fang member who had a katana blade, much like Adam's.
"Give back our leader's weapon." She screamed, even though Jaune was hurt in his arm, he used his other to disarm his opponent and knocked her down, he tried to see where his friends were, but three others jumped him.
"Shit." They all were on top of him, he tried to struggle but to no end, until he heard a scream and they all were blasted away.
He looked up, his vision blurry.
"Friend Jaune, are you ok?"
Let me choose this one thing.
Trust me
Penny extended a hand to him, smiling Cheerfully, but Jaune could only stare at her stomach, seeing red liquid pouring out of her, he made to scream yet passed out as his head started to bleed.
Note: a little chaotic, but I had to put this cliffhanger here, because I wanted to finish with Argus, if you ask, why the white fang attacked, and how did they know, be ready for next chapter then.
Now that we reach Atlas, things gonna be different, especially that the story will end here too, Salem came to Atlas, which mean Jaune's goal is coming to him, is a simple matter of when she comes, she'll die, or will something else happen? I'm definitely going to make something, haha.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please leave a review, it's fun to see people reaction to this.
Free Palestine.
And goodbye.