Chapter 15: Come Join the Murder
"I'm the Hunter and you're the hunted, that's all there is to it," - Thorfinn.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!
Robbeeyy: Believe it or not, Jaune actually won't be in the Argus Act, however, Saphron, Terra, and Adrien will, and Jaune isn't going to be pulled out of the darkness for a while, he still going to go through a lot more pain but he will learn some important things in both the "Atlas Act" and the "Patch Act", what those lessons are, I can not say just yet, you'll just have to wait and read them when it comes to that point.
AverageReadingEnjoyer: I am glad you figured that out, a lot of events in the first 7 acts will affect the events in Part 2 of the story, Specifically the Acts you named, the "Beacon Act" and the "Nightmare Act". This is a Jaune X Vernal story and I am pairing them up in the future, but trust me when I say that it won't be for a while (but it will happen!). And yeah, here's the last chapter of the Act! I hope you enjoy it!
EmperorSnorlax: Yeah... things are going to get heavier as the story progresses.
CriticaofRandomness: I give some of the grunts/mooks backstories because it kind of shows that while these people don't matter in the grand scheme of the story, they are still people with lives and they have hopes, dreams, and problems. But... I also do it to torture you! HAHAHA!
blaiseingfire: I got a good laugh at that! Thank you! And yeah, maybe Jaune did do that guy a favor, but I wonder how his girlfriend will do?
hapyjohn: Thank you and I hope you enjoy today's chapter!
Update 12:
Good news! The planning for the 1st act of the 2nd part of the story, The "Beacon Act" is finished! The "Nightmare Act" is being planned out as we speak! Anyway! Here are the Updated Acts:
Part 1 Acts:
Spider Act: Chapters 12-15 (13-16 on A03)
Argus Act: Chapters 16-17 (18-19 on A03)
Atlas Act: Chapters 18-25 (20-26 on A03)
Patch Act: Chapters 26-31 (27-32 on A03)
Shade Act: Chapters 32-51 (33-52 on A03)
Part 2 Acts:
Beacon Act: Chapters 52-60 (53-61 on A03)
Also, I finally watched the RWBY and Justice League crossover movie, and I have to say, it was actually a fun watch but I need to get something off my chest...
How does Jaune have so much Rizz!? Like first he pulled Pyrrha! CRWBY's clearly going the WhiteKnight angle, meaning he's pulling Weiss! And now in the DC crossover, he's pulling Jessica! THAT'S MY FUCKING BOOOOY! Like, over on Tumblr, (Yes, I have Tumblr) there's some Jaune X Jessica stuff and I love it! Now I wanna write Fanfic about them! Seriously, there are so much good things about the Duo that I am now invested in the ship!
Also one of the ship names for them is KnightLight and I think that fits! Why am I such a sucker for DC/RWBY ships! UGH!
Anyway, let's stop talking about how happy I am to have a new Jaune Ship, and let's get back to me, twisting your emotions like a rag!
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Vernal was running through the woods, she didn't know why, all she could feel was fear, fear of whatever was chasing her, she ran, and ran as fast as she could, but something, but she could still feel the presence behind her.
"I-I have to find Jaune! I have to Find Oscar! I have to find Maria!" Vernal cried to herself as she continued running.
She looked back only to see what appeared to be a Beowulf chasing her, and at first, she thought about just facing it, it was just one Beowulf, but when she tried to reach for her daggers they weren't there. Vernal was confused and shocked that they weren't there, and due to her surprise, she tripped over herself and fell to the ground hard.
Vernal groaned and rolled onto her back, only for Beowulf to pounce on her and fear entered her body, she froze and she couldn't move. Vernal's survival instincts kicked in and she grits her teeth and growls in anger as she kicked the Beowulf off of her and quickly got up.
"Get away from her!"
Vernal turned to her left to see Oscar with his sword raised and charing at the Beowulf.
Vernal's anger quickly turned back to fear, "OSCAR! NO!" Vernal cried as she ran to stop him.
Oscar went to swing at the Beowulf but it clawed him across the chest, and blood sprayed out of the younger teen's chest as he fell to the ground. Vernal's eyes widened with fear and she quickly kneeled down to look at the young boy as she held him in her arms.
"Oscar! Oscar talk to me!" Vernal pleaded. "Wake up pine tree! Come on! Open your eyes!" Vernal cried as tears began to form in her eyes.
She then heard the Beowulf growl and Vernal turned around and glared up at the beast as tears fell from her eyes, she then grabbed Oscar's sword and got to her feet. "Bastard!" she shouted.
She swung at the Beowulf and sliced it across the chest, however, it seemed unfazed. Unexpectedly, the Beowulf's form evaporated, and in its stead was Jaune. He stood there with his sword and shield activated, and both were covered in blood, as was he. His eyes were blank and he looked like he was angry and that was all he was... blind with anger.
Vernal was horrified and she stood there frozen and she didn't realize that she allowed the sword to lower. "J... Jaune?" Vernal asked, shocked.
Jaune gripped his sword and walked toward her menacingly.
"Jaune? What are you doing?" Vernal asked, her tone shakey.
Jaune was getting closer and he looked more feral than Vernal had ever seen him and she began to back away. Then Jauen began to speed up and Pull his sword back, ready to strike her down, and Vernal dropped Oscar's sword and shielded herself with her arms.
However, she wasn't slashed by Jaune's sword, instead, she was pushed back to the ground and had her arms pinned down. Vernal looked up only to see Jaune over her, and her fear returned as she felt as if she was back to being the small powerless girl she was all those years ago.
"J-Jaune...?" Vernal asked, her voice full of terror. "L-Let me go...!" Vernal cried.
Jaune's grip tightened and his head lowered to his neck, much to Vernal's fright.
"JAUNE! PLEASE! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Vernal cried in fear as tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Don't fight it... you remember the more you fight the more it hurts"
Vernal's eyes turned to see her younger self. She was frail with raggedy long hair that draped over her shoulders, bags under her eyes due to staying away, making sure he didn't come into the room, and wearing a simple white nightgown that a child would wear.
"I-! I DON'T WANT THIS!" Vernal cried
Jaune suddenly bit into her neck hard, piercing her skin and drawing some blood and she remembered that's how his kisses use to feel like, like a vampire biting into a person's neck.
"I know... but it's how we survived one monster... and how we'll survive a new one," her younger self told her.
Vernal then felt anger as her younger self said that and glared at her past self. "Jaune... Jaune isn't him! He won't be him!" Vernal cried.
Vernal then saw Jaune's form shift into his and she glared at her abuser and then used all her strength and pushed him off of her and he fell on his back, Vernal then grabbed Oscar's sword and quickly stabbed into him like she did when Raven first gave her the option.
She stabbed him over and over again, blood spraying her face and her clothes, eventually she grew tired and dropped the sword to her left and then looked down only for her eyes wot widen in horror.
She wasn't stabbing him.
She was stabbing Jaune.
Vernal jumped back in horror and crawled away before turning back around and looking back at Jaune's body, covered in blood and full of stab wounds.
Vernal grabbed her hair as she was so baffled at what she had done. "I-I...! I didn't mean to...! I killed him! I killed him not Jaune! Wh-What's going on!? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" Vernal asked.
Her younger self appeared in front of her, now covered in blood and holding Raven's sword in her hand. "He would have become just like him... he would've become another monster," she said.
Vernal shook her head rapidly, "NO! NO! NO! HE ISN'T A MONSTER! JAUNE ISN'T LIKE THAT!" Vernal cried as tears fell.
Her younger self "He would have hurt us! He did! Raven did! They all hurt us! HE WOULD'VE HURT US JUST LIKE EVERYONE IN OUR LIVES HAS!" she cried.
Vernal glared at her younger self, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Vernal cried.
[RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!]
Vernal's eyes opened and she sat up quickly, and looked around, wondering where her Scroll was and eventually found it and saw it was a call from an unknown number and she was confused at first but answered it.
"Hello?" Vernal asked, still a bit tired.
[Morning, darlin']
Vernal's heart almost stopped when she heard Malachite's voice on the other end of the call but tried to remain calm, "Miss Malachite? How did you get this number?" She asked.
[I have my ways] Malachite replied in a pleasant tone. [I thought I'd give you the best news you could ever hope for]
Vernal was a bit confused, but then her mind quickly came to the realization of what she was hinting at. They had Jaune. "Do... Do you have him?" Vernal asked.
Malachite chuckled on the other end, [I do indeed] Malachite told her, [Come on down to the bar and you can do what you wanna do, and I have to tell you to make sure it hurt, he killed a some of my men, after all] Malachite told her.
"Oh, I promise you, it'll be the most painful thing ever," Vernal said in a dark tone.
Malachite hummed in approval, [Good] She said [See ya when you get her darlin'] Malachite said as she ended the call.
Vernal stood up and went to go wake Oscar and Maria, however, she stopped for a moment as she remembered her nightmare and then remembered what her younger self said about Jaune, and her hand balled up into a fist.
"He isn't a Monster," Vernal said. "He won't become a Monster," She finished.
Vernal then went to go wake Oscar and Maria and inform them that the next part of the plan was set in motion which means that before they went to Malachite's bar, they had to go to one more place.
A Dust Shop.
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Vernal, Oscar, and Maria arrived at the Bar, Oscar and Vernal were wearing their cloaks, and when they approached the front doors, there was a large red stain near the front doors, both Vernal and Oscar wondered if it was Jaune who caused that blood stain to be there.
They then walked in and when they did, they saw fewer amount of Gangsters than they did before, but they walked all the way to the back, where they saw Little Miss Malachite at her desk, working on something, but then they approached, one of her bodyguards tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up to see Vernal and she smiled at her.
"Ah, you made it," Malachite said, "And lookie what I got here," Malachite said.
Suddenly, two gangsters dragged Jaune out and when the three saw him, he looked a bit beat up, as he had a busted lip and looked ragged, his hands were tied in front of him, and then, Jaune was then forced to his knees in front of Vernal, Oscar, and Maria.
Vernal stepped forward and looked down at him, glaring at him as best as she could with mock anger, but Jaune looked at her with a smile, and when she saw that, she knew what she needed to do, and Vernal then delivered a kick to his stomach and jaune groaned in pain and fell forward, and the guards then picked him back up.
Vernal turned to Malachite with an angry look, "Where's his sword?" Vernal asked.
Malachite smiled at her and snapped her fingers and in a few seconds, one of the gangsters brought over Jaune's sword, which was sheathed, and handed it over to Vernal. Vernal took it and unsheathed Jaune's sword and a sinister smile graced her lips.
Vernal looked at Jaune as she continued to smile sinisterly. "You know, I've been really itching for this moment," She told him.
Jaune looked to the ground and a sinister smile also formed on his lips as well, "So have I," Jaune said.
Vernal raised the blade up and then swung it down, but Jaune then raised his hands and used her swing to cut his bonds. Malachite and her goons were shocked, as they saw Jaune become free. Vernal tossed Crocea Mors at Jaune and he grabbed the sword and the sheath and shifted it into the shield, and Vernal then pulled out one of her daggers and shifted it into its pistol form, and then in her other hand, she pulled out a large red dust crystal and then threw it toward some of the gangsters.
"GET DOWN!" Malachite cried once she saw the dust crystal fly across the room.
Vernal fired her pistol and then a large explosion happened, killing a few while blowing back almost everybody. Once the explosion was over, and the smoke began to clear, Jaune slowly got up to his feet, and all he heard was high-pitched ringing. However, paid no mind as she gripped his sword and shield tight and looked around to see Vernal getting up, and she grabbed her other dagger and kept it in its dagger form. She looked at Jaune and he looked back, both gave each other a nod and prepared to fight.
Vernal looked back to Maria, "Watch Oscar!" She said.
Maria grumbled at her, "If your so worried about him why'd you even bring him here in the first place!?" She asked as she turned her cane into a scythe and stood in front of Oscar who reached for his sword and unsheathed it.
Jaune and Vernal jumped into the fray and began killing gangsters just as they were getting up. Jaune stabbed one gangster in the back before moving on to the next and slashing him across the chest.
One gangster got up and grabbed their gun and aimed it at Jaune and shot at him, but he was then shot in the head by Vernal. One gangster with a bat charged at Vernal from behind, but she turned around and shot him in the leg, causing him to fall to his knees, Vernal then stabbed him in the side of his head. Vernal pulled it out and took aim at two other gangsters getting up and shot one in the chest twice and then shot the other one in the neck.
Malachite sat up, however, she felt dizzy and she touched her forehead only to feel something wet, and she looked at her hand to see blood, she turned around only to see Jaune and Vernal killing her men, she then looked around more and saw Maria was easily dodging attacks from her men and killed a few of them as well. Malachite then stood up, and walked away from the fight, heading toward the 2nd floor.
Jaune blocked a few shots from a few gangsters but closed in and bashed one with his shield, causing them to fall to the ground. He turned to one and stabbed them in the chest, quickly turned to the next one and slashed them across the face, he then turned back to the one he bashed to the ground and stabbed them in the gut and twisted the blade. He pulled out his sword and saw one of the gangsters with a shotgun aimed at him, and Jaune jumped to the side just as he shot and avoided the spray of pellets, and he quickly used his shield to bash the gun out of their hands and then stabbed them in the side.
Jaune was then shot in the back, but thankfully his aura took the blow and he turned around to see a few other gangsters with their weapons trained on him, and Jaune glared and charged at them, boosting his aura in the process.
With Vernal, she shot one goon in the side and then shot them in the chest, she then turned around and saw some other gangsters with their guns pointed at her and she quickly ran as they fired, avoiding their shots, but as she ran, she fired back, managing to get one in the side and another in the eye. Vernal then shifted both of her daggers into their ballistic knife forms and rushed at the gangsters.
Once she was closed, she aimed her dagger at one and fired off a shot, getting them in the head, she then stabbed one in the side before firing off a shot, spraying blood out. Then the stabbed another with her other dagger in the chest and she fired off another shot, killing them and sending them flying back.
Oscar saw as Jaune and Vernal were dealing with the gangsters, and he looked to see Maria also dealing with a few, he then looked around only for his eyes to land on Malachite, who was going up the stairs to the second floor, and he felt anger rise up in him as she saw that she was trying to escape or do something else, and so Oscar sheathed his sword and ran after her.
Jaune kicked one gangster away before he turned around and slit one's throat, he then turned back to the gangster he kicked and slashed downward, cutting into their head. He pulled out his sword and turned his head to look for more enemies, however, his eyes fell on Oscar, who was running toward the stairs, he was confused as to why but then he noticed Malachite entering a room and closing the door behind her, and his eyes widened with fear. He quickly turned to Vernal, "Vernal! Oscar's going after Malachite! Stop him!" Jaune cried.
Vernal looked at Jaune before she looked up to see Oscar on the second floor running toward a room, and Vernal's eyes widened and she quickly ran after him, and Maria joined her.
Jaune ran after them but a bullet whizzed past him and he turned around to see some Gangsters with guns aimed at him and some had machetes, bats, and other blunt objects in their hands.
"You think we'll let you walk away you son of a bitch!?" Cried one. "You're outnumbered! You won't make it out of here alive!"
Jaune looked around and slowly, he smiled sinisterly, as he looked at the gangsters. "I think you made a mistake... I'm not the one in trouble here,"
The Gangsters looked confused.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Cried another one.
Jaune chuckled a little before he began to walk forward much to the confusion and shock of the gangsters. "I only count 19 of you... and you'll need more than that," Jaune said, still smiling sinisterly.
The gangsters felt a wave of fear as he muttered those words and Jaune then charged at them, boosting his Aura as the Gangsters with guns fired at him, but Jaune was affected by the barrage of bullets and kept charging forward.
On the second floor, Oscar finally arrived at the door that Malachite when through, and he busted it open and entered the room only to see Malachite behind a desk. Oscar then pulled out a gun he had picked up off the bar floor from under his cloak and aimed it at Malachite.
The older woman froze and looked at Oscar. "Listen, kiddo, you don't wanna do this," Malachite said.
Oscar glared at her, "You don't know a damn thing about what I want!" Oscar cried. "Do you have any idea who I am!?" Oscar asked.
Malachite looked at him with a serious expression, "Kid, I've wronged so many people, that all the names and faces become a blur," She told him.
Oscar growled, "My name is Oscar Pine, and you took my Aunt Melissa away from me!" Oscar cried.
Malachite knew she wasn't going to reason with the kid and quickly tried to make a run for it, but Oscar aimed the gun quickly at her and pulled the trigger.
Outside the room, Vernal and Marai heard the gunshot, and fearing the worse, Vernal and Marai quickly entered the room, and saw Malachite leaning against the wall, a hole in her right shoulder and Oscar had a gun pointed at her, his expression was horrified.
Vernal looked at Oscar and slowly walked over to him, "Oscar... listen to me, you don't wanna go through with this," Vernal told him, "Please, Melissa wouldn't want this for you,"
Oscar still held onto the pistol, still pointing it at Malachite.
Vernal was hoping he didn't fire another shot and got closer to him, "Listen to me, this won't bring Melissa back, all this is going to do, is blacken your soul, and you don't want that, trust me," Vernal told him. "I won't let you do this to yourself, Oscar, I won't let you blacken your soul," She said, her voice pleading.
Oscar heard her words and his heart began to break, he thought he could do it, he thought he could kill Malachite and avenge his aunt, but when he fired that gun and saw Malachite bleeding, he felt... nothing. He looked to the gun and a part of him cried for him to finish Malachite to end this, but another part of him begged him to stop, to do as Vernal said and not blacken his soul.
Oscar then remembered the conversation he had with Maria when he tried to kill the two guards outside the bar.
Maria looked at him with a bleak expression. "Hm," Miria hummed, "Your young... so very young that you've got a bright future ahead of you, and that hate that you carry in your heart... it'll turn you sour, it'll consume you if you let it, Oscar,"
Oscar looked at her with a confused yet angry look, "How would you know?" he asked sternly.
Maria sighed and looked to the sky, "I once felt just like you when I lost my eyes, but I had already killed the person who took them, but I still wanted revenge, but there was nothing to satisfy me, and my anger, so I was angry at the world and in my job I sought out people I could take my anger out on, but I never felt satisfied, nothing could satiate my hatred..." Maria told him, "But eventually, someone who cared for me deeply pulled me out of my anger, someone who I cared deeply for as well, and they helped me see the light, but my hands were already stained in blood and realized that I stayed angry because I could not stand my sadness, and I realized that I needed to atone, so I tried to be a better person, I tried to be a much kinder person... I still am," Maria told him.
Oscar was taken aback by her story and he could not help but feel the impact of the story she told him.
Maria smiled and turned back to him, "I learned that hate is a place that we all go to when we can not stand our own sadness," Maria said, "But we have to face that sadness, young man, either for ourselves or for the ones we love, like those two that you were with, they must really care about you if they are willing to follow you and stain their hands with blood," She told him.
Oscar was so lost in thought that he failed to notice Jaune approach him, but he did notice when Jaune's hand rested on the gun, and Oscar looked at him and he looked back at Oscar.
"You do this, you become a Monster, and I don't want that for you," He told Oscar. "You don't want to become like her... you don't want to become like me,"
Oscar looked at Jaune and tears began to fall from his face, and finally, Oscar dropped the gun and began to cry, Vernal brought him into a hug and tried to calm him down. As she did this, Jaune turned to Malachite who slowly walked over to the desk, blood stained her hand and her shoulder, Jaune unsheathed his sword and prepared for her to do something but she only sat down in the chair at the desk.
This was it, the moment he had fought so hard for. Malachite was injured and vulnerable, however, he looked over at Vernal and Oscar, and he knew what needed to happen. "Vernal, take Oscar back to the Hotel," Jaune said.
Vernal looked at him and knew what he was going to do, "I'm not leaving you here to do this alone," Vernal told him, "We made a promise, to do this together," she reminded him.
Jaune turned to her with a somber expression, "I know... but he can't see both of us be monsters," He told her.
Vernal's expression became saddened, "Why...?" she asked sadly.
"It has to be me,"
"Why does it have to be you!?" She asked.
When Jaune looked at her, he saw that her light blue eyes were begging for an answer. "It just has to be," He told her.
Vernal looked at him sadly before turning away and leading Oscar outside of the room, Maria followed them but turned back around and looked at Jaune.
"You're not a Monster, young man," Maria told him.
Jaune didn't answer but watched as Maria turned around and walked out of the room. Jaune turned back to look at Malachite, but she remained seated at the desk, still clutching her wound. "Do think, that after all these years, Spider would be taken out by three teens and an old woman... what a joke this is going to be," Malachite chuckled.
"Do you know why we did this?" Jaune asked her.
Malachite nodded, "Melissa Pine," she said. "The boy was her nephew and if I had to guess, you and Vernal were the two huntsmans-in-training working on her farm," Malachite said.
Jaune nodded.
Malachite chuckled and looked at Jaune. "You may kill me and most of my men, but do you think that really matters?" Malachite asked, "Others from my organization will either reform Spider or a whole new gang will grow-"
"I could care less about that," Jaune said, as he glared at her, "I'm not doing this to be some hero, I'm far from one, and I'm not here to save the city... this is about revenge," Jaune seethed.
Malachite just looked at him, still smiling, a part of her felt good to hear this wasn't something as stupid as trying to save the city or bring her to justice. This was revenge, plain and simple.
Malachite chuckled once more, "I suppose you're doing what you Huntsmen do best... killing monsters," She said with a smile. "But then again, what does that make you? Shouldn't those that hunt monsters be careful not to become them?" She asked with a smile.
Jaune glared at her before he looked around and that's a question popped into his head. "Why did you come up here?" Jaune asked. "There are no windows, no other doors for you to escape through, so why did you come up here?" he asked again.
"You're a smart cookie," Malachite said, she then grabbed a photo frame on the desk and turned around to show him.
Jaune walked over to the desk and grabbed the picture and looked at it, once he did, he saw that it was a picture of Malachite standing next to a man with black hair and a bright smile, in both his and Malachite's arms were two young girls, who looked rather similar, and they also who smiled brightly at the camera.
"You... You have kids?" Jaune asked.
Malachite nodded, "Twins," she told him, "Melanie and Miltiades, there around your age now, and are in Vale city with a dear friend," She told him.
Jaune looked at the picture and he felt terrible as now he knew he was going to be taking a mother away from her daughters like she had done with Oscar, but when that thought entered his mind, he remembered why he was here and why he did all this. He set the photo back down on the desk and looked back at Malachite, "I'm stilling going to kill you," Jaune told her.
Malachite nodded, "Oh, I know, there's no stopping that," She told him, "But... if I can, may I ask you to do something for me?" she asked.
Jaune's brow raised in confusion and decided to hear what she had to ask. "What is it?" he asked her.
"Can you take that picture to my daughters?" She asked, "I know you despise me, and hell, I don't blame ya, and you don't have to do it, but call it an ol' lady's dying wish," she told him.
Jaune looked at her and then looked back at the picture as it face him and he simply nodded, agreeing to her request.
Malachite smiled softly, "Thank you," she said. "They're at a club called Juniors in Vale, and when you see them, tell them that I told them not to do anything stupid, don't make the same mistakes as I did, and to... live the best lives they can... I don't want them leading the same life I have," Malachite said.
Jaune remained silent, so many emotions were swirling inside of him. Anger. Sadness. Regret. Self-loathing. Everything he had ever done, just led him deeper into the abyss and blackened his soul, however, he couldn't stop, not yet.
Jaune gripped his sword and walked toward Malachite, he moved past the desk and looked at her as she sat down. She looked up at him with a soft smile, and Jaune just looked at her with a blank expression.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Malachite asked.
Jaune looked at her for a few more seconds before he pulled his sword back and stabbed her in the chest. Malachite spat up blood from her mouth and her body sized up for a few seconds. She kept eye contact with Jaune and Jaune did the same, but then her eyes looked past him, and that's when she saw her husband smiling at her softly. Malachite smiled softly back at him, and her body relaxed and she slumped back in her seat, still smiling softly.
Jaune looked down at her still with a blank expression and he wiped the blood of his sword before sheathing it.
Jaune stood there for a few seconds before he saw the Beowulf appearing behind the chair and looking at him, it laughed loudly at him.
'WE HAVE FINALLY DONE IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING GREAT!' The Beowulf cried with glee.
Jaune just looked at it, however, he wasn't angry. He was empty. 'Is this what Grimm feel?' Jaune asked himself.
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Back at the Hotel, Vernal, Oscar, and Maria were waiting for Jaune to return. When they returned they took showers to wash whatever blood they had on them off, and once finished and redressed, they waited for Jaune's return. It had been a few hours since they had destroyed Spider and right now, it was getting dark, Oscar had fallen asleep rather quickly on the second bed and Maria told her she would be returning to her room to rest after everything that had happened today, saying she wasn't as young as she used to be, but Vernal thanked her for her help and said she would see her tomorrow.
Vernal couldn't sleep, not when Jaune hadn't returned. A million thoughts were going through her head. Where was Jaune? Why hadn't he come back yet? What was going through his head? Was he ok? Did something happen at the bar when they left?
As another hour passed, Vernal had trouble staying awake, her eyes felt heavy, but she shook her head and tried to remain awake. Vernal shook her head, 'Not yet,' Vernal told herself, her eyes getting heavier. 'I have to wait for him to get back, I-I need to stay awake,' Vernal told herself.
Despite what she was telling herself, Vernal's body grew tired, and her eyes fluttered, as she could feel her fatigue grow stronger. Eventually, her tiredness won, and she slowly lied on the bed and fell asleep.
It was now completely dark, and Jaune had entered the hotel room through the window like he had done last time. When he entered the room, he saw Oscar and Vernal asleep, and with no Maria in sight, he assumed she had returned to her room. Jaune looked over to the table in the room and he set down 3 stacks of Lien on the table, and Jaune then pulled out a folded piece of paper and set it down next to the stacks of Lien.
He looked back at Vernal and Oscar and saw how peaceful they were sleeping and a small smile graced his face before disappearing as he pulled out a Bullhead ticket that would be leaving later that night.
It was going to take him to Atlas.
'It's good you're leaving them,'
Jaune turned to his right to see the Beowulf looking at him.
'They'll only hold you back from what you could be!' The Beowulf told him. 'Have you admitted it to yourself finally? That you are a killer... A murderer... A Monster?' It asked before chuckling.
Jaune looked at the beast with a blank expression, "I have," Jaune said.
With that, the Beowulf began to laugh so loudly that when Jaune left the room, he could still hear it. Jaune had accepted what he had become. He was a monster, and monsters were lonely things...
PART 1 - SPIDER ACT END
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Yeah, that fucking happened! Jaune left them behind! But I wonder what will happen next? What will Vernal, Oscar, and Maria do? What will Jaune do now that he has no one to watch his back or to support him? Well... let me just tell you right now, it ain't gonna be pretty!
Also, let me just tell you that Vernal's dream scene was supposed to be so much darker but I decided to dial it back a bit.
As for why I did it, well, in the last Chapter, Vernal was worried about becoming a monster like her adoptive father and Raven, and so she had a dream about Jaune becoming what she feared.
I hope it wasn't too much because that's what I was afraid of while I wrote it. I didn't want to make people feel too uncomfortable that they had to stop reading. If it was too much, please let me know, your guys feedback helps me be better, know what to do and what not to do when writing, and how you guys feel about certain subjects in this story.
Also, just read the latest Chapter of Berserk, and let me tell you, My plans for Vernal's future is not going to be good for her and let's just say... I know who the story's Griffith is going to be~!
Thank you and I hope you enjoyed today's chapter.