It's that time of the week again!
Welcome back to Remnant Light!
When Jaune came too, the first sign that something was off was how cold he felt.
As his eyes slowly opened and his other senses came back online after his nap, he blinked and looked around, patting himself down. The room he is in is dark and cold, and he quickly realised the reason for his coldness as he figured out that he was wearing a hospital gown.
"Hello?"
He got no response as his croaky voice echoed around the room. As he looked around, his eyes adjusted to the light level and he started being able to make out more of the details of the room. It took a little while, but eventually, he realised that he was in the Beacon Infirmary.
Pushing himself into a sitting position, he pulled his bedsheets up to keep the little warmth he had trapped around his legs in place. A small burst of panic rose from his chest as he tried to remember how -and more importantly why- he was in the Infirmary.
It took a short while for him to wake up properly as memories of the battle flowed through his mind, like a clip show. From him and Ruby finding the sabotage, to informing the teachers, to entering their Arks and fighting the Grimm, realising one of the Grimm was smart enough to think and strategise… And then -finally- to his Ark failing him and the giant golden body made of energy meeting his call to save Ruby instead.
He can feel his breathing picking up as the absurdity of the situation hits him like a Bullhead at full speed. How was he supposed to react to this? He didn't even know how the big golden body even happened, let alone the intelligent Grimm… Reaching his hands up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, he felt a touch more there than usual…
'How long have I been asleep? A day or so, maybe?'
His question was pushed to the side however when he heard a shuffling noise from his right. His eyes immediately darted over, but he felt himself calming down slightly as the sight of a sleeping Ruby Rose's back reached his eyes.
She… She was okay. He had saved her. He didn't know how he had done it, but all that mattered was that Ruby was okay, for now. He could figure out what was going on at some point, he was sure, but for now… He was happy just to see her safe.
"I hope the others are doing alright, as well. I was so focused on saving Ruby, and then fighting that Grimm… That I never got a chance to check if they had pulled back or not…'
The Humanoid Grimm.
An image of it flashed through his mind and Jaune raised a hand to his chin, holding his head up and causing his teeth to clench together. He had pushed his concerns about the fact that it was intelligent to the wayside at the moment, simply accepting that it was and figuring he could worry about the why later, but now was later.
As he replayed the fight in his head a few times, he vaguely wondered if it was some stress-induced dream he had given himself by using the Simulators too much. But, the fact that he was here in the Infirmary alongside Ruby told him for sure that it wasn't.
Jaune didn't know how long he sat there, futilely trying to figure out what the hell had happened to him while lacking any amount of information whatsoever. It was so long, however, that the universe seemed to have heard his prayers for answers, the door to the Infirmary creeping open slowly. This allowed the fluorescent lights of the hallway to spill into the room for a moment before the door shut and the lights in the room itself came on.
Jaune blinked in shock as he made eye contact with Admiral Ozpin. The man said nothing as he entered the room, taking a brief look towards Ruby and realising that she was still asleep. With a small nod of his head, he walked over to the foot of Jaune's bed and smiled at him in a way that seemed warmer than most he had seen from the man.
"Good to see that you're awake, Mr Arc. How are you feeling? Do you remember why you are here?"
Jaune ignored the question outright as he latched onto a source of answers instantly, sitting up a little straighter and trying to get the croaky undertone out of his voice as he spoke. "Where is the rest of my Fireteam? Are they alright?"
Admiral Ozpin seemed amused by his question, chuckling to himself softly even as he nodded in response. "I'll be glad to take you having so much concern for others as a sign of you feeling better, at least."
Jaune just continued to stare at him as Admiral Ozpin trailed off for a moment, but he seemed to realise what Jaune wanted a moment later, tapping his forehead. "Ah, right, yes. Your Fireteam is alive and well, Mr Arc. By the current count, Beacon has taken zero casualties from the attack by the Grimm."
Jaune's eyebrows raised rapidly at the news, but Admiral Ozpin kept talking before he could comment on it. "While I am a faithful man and do believe in miracles, I feel it would be a disservice to attribute such a fact to something so coincidental. In truth, we have you and Miss Rose to thank for it, Mr Arc."
Jaune knew that his face lit up at that, even as he noticed that Admiral Ozpin didn't seem to share his outright enthusiasm for the news. But it was likely something he had known for a few hours now, and there were probably a myriad of other issues he was dealing with to bring him down.
Admiral Ozpin's head bowed slightly as he spoke, his bright green eyes entirely visible from behind his tinted glasses at the angle he sat. "For what the two of you did yesterday, you have the thanks of Beacon, Vale as a whole, and of course, my thanks as well."
Jaune blushed bright red at that, the absurdity of Admiral Ozpin bowing his head in thanks to a no-good cheater piling on top of his awkwardness rising at the sincere gratitude the man radiated. Admiral Ozpin raised his head a moment later, clearing his throat.
"I am curious what led you to investigate the Ark Hangar Bays, but I doubt you have a true answer for me anyway. Sometimes a gut instinct is all a Huntsman needs, as you and Miss Rose have demonstrated."
Admiral Ozpin stopped, then, and met his eyes. Jaune's focus was stolen by them, and he could tell that the man was making sure he felt the gravity of his words. "Mr Arc, you and Miss Rose might have only been following your gut, but it led to us having the time and forewarning to mount a proper defence and evacuate the civilians from the area. The two of you just might have stopped one of the single greatest disasters that Vale has faced in all of modern history from happening."
Jaune nodded slowly, unable to stop the small, proud smile on his face even as his throat went dry from the realisation of how bad the attack could have been. "How is… I think I passed out at the end, after the fight. What happened after I blacked out?"
Admiral Ozpin paused for a moment, smiling. "It prides me to say that there truly wasn't much left for the teachers to do when we arrived. It is heartening to see that, even in the most dire of circumstances, students can rally together and cooperate as you did."
He hummed to himself, his eyes shutting as a smile graced his features. He stayed like that only for a moment, however, refocusing a short while after. "After you collapsed, Professor Goodwitch, myself, and your classmate Pyrrha Nikos were able to quite swiftly deal with the stragglers. To my previous point, that number was low to begin with."
Admiral Ozpin's smile grew into a grin, even as he shook his head. "Of course, Miss Nikos' Semblance is the only reason she was able to remain combat effective, and thus was a rather singular case, but the results speak for themselves."
Jaune nodded at that, vaguely remembering the swarm of seemingly angry metal charging straight at the Grimm the instant the Humanoid Grimm turned its attention on him. Admiral Ozpin continued talking, however, either not noticing Jaune's nod or ignoring it for the moment.
"Once the Grimm were cleaned up, I took you back to Beacon in The Long Memory myself, while Professor Goodwitch -and eventually the other staff, once their Arks were operational again- immediately started clean-up efforts. It takes a lot of work to remove the debris of almost 50 Arks from an industrial area, you understand."
Jaune blinked in surprise at that. He had never really thought about the fallout of an Ark losing before. Even just his own Ark -which had literally fallen to pieces around him as the Golden body spewed out of him- would have left a level of debris that could take weeks of work to clean, let alone the rest of the First-Years who had parts severed or Arks completely shattered.
Before he could say anything else, however, a memory flashed through his mind from the day before, his eyes widening as he met Admiral Ozpin's gaze. He'd never actually spoken one-on-one with the Admiral before today, and that fact was fresh in his mind as he attempted to rally himself, his voice escaping him in a slightly-less-croaky tone than before as he woke up further.
"Admiral Ozpin, sir?"
The man blinked at his interruption, having been about to speak again. Nonetheless, Admiral Ozpin went quiet, an eyebrow raised in Jaune's direction as he motioned for Jaune to speak.
"Hmm?"
Jaune gulped and felt his hands fidget with his hospital gown. He had been remembering yesterday more clearly as the talk went on, and he could remember the look on Admiral Ozpin's face when he had seen Jaune in his giant golden body, and how… Excited the man had looked.
Not confused, nor scared, or even worried for him… Excited.
"Do you… Do you have any idea what happened to me out there?"
Admiral Ozpin paused for a moment, and Jaune was worried he said something wrong… But eventually, the man moved to sit next to Jaune, dragging a chair over behind him as a glint entered his eyes and a small smile grew on his face.
The man was silent for a moment, and when he talked, it was slowly and deliberately, as if he was picking his words carefully. "Throughout my life, Mr Arc, I have collected a great deal of information, primarily regarding Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales. I would wager that my collection is one of the largest on Remnant, in fact."
Blinking at what he feels is a sudden change in topics, Jaune frowns. "That's, uh, good for you, sir, really. But, what does that have to do with what happened to me?"
A small amount of confusion appeared on Admiral Ozpin's face. The man leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other, resting his hands on his knee. "Tell me, does the word 'Arcsoul' mean anything to you?"
Jaune took a moment to think but ultimately shook his head, having no clue what Admiral Ozpin meant by that. "Other than the fact that it obviously has my last name -or maybe my family's last name, at least- I don't think I've ever heard of it before. You clearly seem to think I should have, though."
Whereas Admiral Ozpin had looked confused before, Jaune was surprised to see him look outright perplexed at his words. Admiral Ozpin took a moment to recover, quickly schooling his expression as he leaned forward in his chair, his fingers knitting together in front of his chin. "I must admit, I would have expected your father to have at least explained the basics to you, Mr Arc."
Two bolts of shock run through Jaune at that moment. One; from the fact that he hadn't known Admiral Ozpin knew his dad. Two; from the sudden spike downwards that his mood took at the mention of his father.
"Admiral Ozpin, sir? My father… He died when I was young, soon after my youngest sister was born. In truth, I… Barely remember him, let alone anything we talked about, unfortunately. He, uh, he went into town to get supplies for my mother during her most recent pregnancy and just… Never came back."
Jaune felt his hands clench into fists at that and took a deep breath. "He was originally just labelled missing, but after 5 years or so… Most of us gave up hope, except for my mother. I don't believe his status has been officially changed to deceased, but I think that's only because the man who does so in Domremy is an old family friend, and he didn't want to crush my mother's spirits."
Jaune couldn't even appreciate the sheer look of shock on Admiral Ozpin's face at the moment, something far removed from the usually calm and affable look the Admiral held at all times. Still, he felt that it was right to let Admiral Ozpin know, seeing as they had apparently known each other.
Admiral Ozpin's head ducked to the floor after a moment, and Jaune could see a hand come up to his chest -over his heart- as the older man mumbled what was likely an old prayer for his father. "I… Argent Arc is dead? My… Condolences, young man. I apologise for bringing up bad memories. I was… Unaware he had passed."
Shaking his head, however, Jaune waved off his concern. "I did just tell you, he wasn't marked as deceased. There was no way for you to know."
Still, Admiral Ozpin looked worried by this news, letting out a sigh, as he shook his head. "It would seem I have overestimated your knowledge on the subject, young man. My apologies. I also seem to have underestimated your courage, as well. To think you would cheat your way into my Academy, even without knowing your heritage."
Admiral Ozpin let out a small chuckle at that, but Jaune could feel the traces of grief in his voi-
"Wait, WHAT?"
Admiral Ozpin's chuckle -which had seemed more like a way to move past the knowledge of Jaune's dad passing than from true amusement- shifted into something more genuine as he tapped his cane onto the floor next to him, a smile on his face again.
"Mr Arc, I am almost insulted that you thought so little of me. I have been the Admiral of Beacon Academy for a very long time now. It would be quite ridiculous for a fake to slip through the cracks. To be honest, I was under the impression your father had just wanted to signal to me that you were his son by forcing my attention to your application, but now that I know the truth, well..."
Admiral Ozpin took a moment to laugh further, shaking his head and letting out a sigh. "If I had known to begin with that you were truly untrained, I would have likely approached you far sooner. That being said…"
He then winked at Jaune, a sly smirk on his face. "I will say, that while Glynda was initially suspicious of you due to the disparity between your transcripts and actual skill, she seems to have backed off a bit. You seem to have improved enough over the last few months to satisfy her."
Jaune just stammered at that, trying to find any words to say at all, and Admiral Ozpin just continued to laugh under his breath. Shaking his head, he continued talking, the smile on his face being able to be heard in his voice.
"I assure you, Mr Arc, you are not in trouble. In fact, you have my full support… Now, more than ever."
Jaune was confused. Way out of his depth. And most of all, still reeling a little from telling the story about his dad, as he wasn't as good as the seasoned Huntsman at compartmentalising and moving on from the memories and grief he felt. So, instead of the much longer list of questions he had for Admiral Ozpin, Jaune stuck to one.
"Why?"
Admiral Ozpin raised an eyebrow at his question, tapping his cane onto the floor again as his eyes raised to the roof as if remembering something. After about a minute of silence, he started to speak.
"I told you about my collection. It also happens to contain many Historical Records that I have obtained, on subjects ranging from the ancient tribes of Remnant to what kind of cloth was used in the upholstery on the very first Ark's pilot seat. They contain information from the hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands -maybe even more- years before the Arks were invented when Grimm were the uncontested rulers of Remnant."
Admiral Ozpin's tone changed to one that Jaune heard similarly used by teachers during an important lecture, and could feel himself start paying more attention to the man just out of instinct.
"Back then, Humanity had only a few pillars that helped to maintain their survival. The Schnees were a major one, with their Hereditary Semblance and the ability to bring forth abilities some might compare to magic, as well as create summons of former enemies to fight for her sake. They could turn the abilities of the Grimm upon themselves with their Semblances, pushing back what could not be stopped by walls alone."
Admiral Ozpin paused for what seemed to be nothing but dramatic suspense, and Jaune could feel himself leaning in slightly, showing that it -at the very least- worked on him. "And in a similar sense, with a similar level of power and influence back then, according to the Records, at least… Was the Arc Clan, those who could stand on equal footing with the creatures of Grimm, acting as walls and protectors both."
"Pardon?"
Jaune frowned at that, his forehead creasing in confusion. He knew that his family had been a big deal in the past -with every generation having at least one renowned warrior, and eventually Ark pilot- but he had lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere for most of his life, living off the land itself. It had never felt real that his family's importance went back more than a few generations, so to hear that they were apparently on the same level of influence as Weiss' family in the past…
It was absurd, but something in the way Admiral Ozpin spoke had him convinced it was true, against all of the odds.
Admiral Ozpin continued, his head bobbing side to side slowly as it seemed like he was re-reading the text from memory and giving him the cliff notes. "The energy body that you formed yesterday… It is referred to as an 'Arcsoul' in the records."
"I do also have to stress to you -and I must ask you to simply trust me for the moment, but I promise to prove it to you once you have recovered- that in all stories about the Arcsoul, it is implied throughout them all that the Arcsoul itself is not a hereditary Semblance akin to Miss Schnee's… But something more. Something rather magical, if I had to choose a word. I know that is quite a sudden revelation, but I promise to go over that more later. There is still much for me to say."
Before Jaune had the chance to register that Admiral Ozpin was trying to tell him he had some kind of magical ability, let alone the fact that MAGIC WAS A THING, Admiral Ozpin continued with force, clearly doing it on purpose to not get bogged down by the endless questions Jaune had clearly been about to ask.
"Everyone projects their Aura outwards, in a sense. The force-field-like shield is used on a personal scale, as well as being able to be pushed outward into an Ark… But the Arcsoul takes this to its extremes, and pushes the user's soul out on a gigantic scale, allowing the warriors of the Arc Clan to fight the Grimm on even footing."
Jaune realised that Admiral Ozpin seemed incredibly well informed about these, especially for having only read 'historical documents' about them, but curbed his suspicion, wanting to hear the rest of what the man had to say. "How have I never heard about any of this? Why doesn't anyone in my family seem to know that this was a thing? My mother certainly never mentioned it…"
'Actually, now that I think about it, even if she did know, would she have told me about it? Probably not…'
Admiral Ozpin sighed, but it had no anger within it, only a feeling of contentment. "Because, Jaune. As of today, you are the first Arc to awaken an Arcsoul in over 200 years. Do you know how much history can be forgotten in a mere 200 years? Far more than you would think. Your father did know about it, and was actually brought to Beacon at a young age to try and unlock his Arcsoul. But… it failed to awaken even after he graduated, and over the years after his graduation, his drive to be a Huntsman eventually faded from the lack of results."
Admiral Ozpin closed his eyes and let his head roll backwards for a moment, looking up at the roof and stretching his neck before letting it fall again and meeting Jaune's eyes. "Argent eventually retired early after marrying your mother. Truthfully, I had expected to hear from him at some point after they had children, hoping to try to unlock the Arcsoul again with the next generation of Arcs… But, well, you know what happened in regards to that, better than I do."
Jaune realised something at that moment, and his mouth fell open from shock, even as a small peal of laughter escaped him. Admiral Ozpin let him into Beacon even knowing he was a fake because he wanted Jaune to unlock his Arcsoul.
Quelling his laughter as best as he could, Jaune shook his head. "So, wow… I have been worried silly over keeping my cover, over improving enough to keep my spot at Beacon for so long now… I would almost feel stupid for all of the effort I put in, now. But…"
Admiral Ozpin noticed as Jaune's eyes landed on Ruby -who was still asleep- for a moment, a small, proud smile on his face. The older man even seemed a little sheepish at Jaune's fake complaint, but after a moment started to laugh alongside Jaune. "All effort put towards self-improvement is worth it, Mr Arc. Even if it is born from a grand misunderstanding such as ours… You should be proud of the progress you have made."
Admiral Ozpin chuckled as well, looking rather smug. "Plus, I am truly just glad that everything has worked out. And not only just in regards to the battle, yesterday. To tell the truth, I have… I have had a far more direct hand in your experience here at Beacon than you likely believe, young man."
A little confused by Admiral Ozpin's words, Jaune cocks his head to one side. "Pardon, what exactly do you mean by that, sir?"
A smirk grew on Admiral Ozpin's face as he leaned back in his chair, fiddling with the handle of his cane. "Oh, you know. Simple, fairly minor things."
"Such as?"
Admiral Ozpin seemed to realise that Jaune was going to get the answer out of him one way or another and simply sighed, counting on his fingers as he spoke. "Let's see… I overrode the testing program to get you in a partnership with Mr Lie Ren, as I believed his Semblance would help keep you calm and collected in battle. I also made sure to put both Miss Rose and Miss Schnee on your team as well. I was hoping that the close proximity to the Schnee Semblance and Miss Rose's own magic, her Silver Eyes, would lead to you unlocking the Arcsoul faster… And, well, you can't argue with the results! For the first time in generations, an Arcsoul has been brought out."
Jaune was… Jaune was still reeling from the revelation that his whole team being put together was to get this complicated, delicate series of events in motion… And then he paused, as he finished registering Admiral Ozpin's words completely. "Wait, did you just say that Ruby's eyes are supposed to be magic, too?"
Admiral Ozpin blinked, his eyes darting over to Ruby, who was still asleep. "Wait, were you unaware? Brothers above, is she unaware?! I really need to stop assuming that you children are in the know about all of their family's secrets, don't I? Anyhow… Now that you are aware of your Arcsoul, and have awakened it, I believe it best that we start honing your skills with it soon. I will have Glynda made aware that you will have time dedicated to such practice tonight. Other than that, well… I'm sure you have much to think about, so I will take my leave. "
Admiral Ozpin got up even as Jaune stared at him with wide eyes. He reached the door before Jaune could think of what to say, and before he could even ask the man to wait a moment so he could thank him, Admiral Ozpin paused, snapping his fingers and laughing to himself a little.
"Oh, and since you didn't know about the Arcsoul, you are unlikely to know this either. Just a fun little tidbit, an interesting quirk of language evolving and the like… Did you know that from my studies, the name 'Arks' for the mechs is a bit of a mistranslation? I believe they were originally referred to as 'Honourary Arcs', referencing their technological mimicry of the Arcsoul! How fascinating!"
Admiral Ozpin left him with that mind-boggling 'fun fact' and promptly exited the infirmary, the door sliding shut behind him. All Jaune could do was stare at the door Admiral Ozpin left through as thoughts aplenty ran through his mind like a raging river. Even if he was tired, both emotionally and physically, he struggled to sleep due to the sheer amount of questions, answers, and even more questions he now had…
But he eventually succumbed to his exhaustion again, his head hitting his pillow as dreams of Golden Knights filled his mind.
Thank you to everyone for reading so far, and thank you all so much for enjoying the last chapter!
I continue to be excited to bring more Remnant Light your way for as long as I am able!