King: So... here's how September ended for me. My laptop ended up bricked due to a windows update scrambling my OS, so I had to send it in to get fixed. I'm without it for two weeks. Which meant no work during that time. Arc-Tale is moving forward, but I couldn't post it anyway. So, my motivation was shot to hell. I wanted something simple and quick to make up and this is where I went with it. Have fun with that.
Knox: And the other thing?
King: I'm getting there. We've got another vote. See the ending note for details. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Inspiration: Cult of the Lamb
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A quiet moment rings through the theater as thoughts of the previous world still held power in the viewers' minds. But the show, as any other, must go on.
The scene opened to reveal a dark corridor of stone. The rattling of chains rang out over the path. Soon, a light began to fade into the area and blinded the scene, allowing a transition to show a clearing in a dark forest with a stone altar at the center with a series of figures in red, hooded robes surrounding it.
Ruby couldn't help but let out a tentative groan, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"You and me both, sis." Yang tapped her foot on the ground, anxious about the altar and the sound of chains that accompanied the scene.
The camera fell into place as a duo of hooded figures led their prisoner toward the altar. Said prisoner had his head covered, dressed in what could best be described as old rags, his hands bound behind his back with chains that the duo held to keep him moving. As they approached, the guards pulled the prisoner to the altar and pushed him onto his knees as they held him in place. Soon, the ground beyond the altar began to shake and crack, pools of black goop rose up and formed into a set of four giant creatures. They seemed almost humanoid, and yet like beasts. However, each had one thing that the audience did recognize. Masks of white bone began to grow from each and took on the form of four familiar beings: a Nevermore, a Deathstalker, a Leviathan, and a spider-like Grimm they know as an Arachnus.
Ruby shuddered seeing the fourth being, "I hate those things."
"But what the heck are those things?! Some crazy Grimm type?" Saffron leaned away in her chair.
The Nevermore looked down to the scene before them and called out, "Remove his headpiece." It's voice was echoing and unnatural, like it spoke without grounding and existed without understanding. "Let him understand his fate."
"They talk?!" Nora shouted, voicing everyone else's thoughts in that moment.
One of the guards grabbed the head covering and yanked it off to reveal a head of fluffy blond hair and a pair of sheep's horns poking through. The camera fell to reveal a gagged Jaune Arc looking around in panic, only for his eyes to fall upon the four beings above him: the Four Bishops of the Old Faith.
"Jaune!" Saffron was instantly in big sister mode, "What the heck did he do?! What's going on?!" She was just as instantly pulling her brother into a protective hug.
Said brother was happy he had aura now, or he'd likely be losing air right now. Saffron was stronger than some, but not enough to get through his passive defense.
The Leviathan let out a growl, "With this death, the One Who Waits will never be free." It would pause with low growls every now and then, "This last lamb shall seal fate and ensure this."
The Deathstalker's eyes narrowed, "Kill him." He spoke little, but with a commanding voice, that echo ever present in his being.
The guards pushed Jaune onto the altar, his head positioned on an outcropping. Another of the robed figures walked over holding a large ax in his hands. His robe was more ornate and clearly embroidered. He walked up to the altar and slowly brought his weapon upward, blade held high. As his blade fell, the camera fell close to Jaune as he closed his eyes. A flash of light filled with the screen with an accompanying thunk, followed by a lighter sound.
Terra shivered upon the second sound, "Okay, the stuff before was crazy, but this was just cruel."
Oobleck, however, folded his arms in thought as he tapped his foot on the ground. "A thought occurs."
"What is it, Barty?" Port was intrigued by what his friend could be thinking now.
"From my understanding of old religious practices, sacrifice is common. Particularly, and I don't mean to offend in any way, the sacrifice of lambs. It is possible that, by taking Mr. Arc's life on that altar, that they gave this One Who Waits, what they wanted."
Port nodded in understanding. "An interesting theory. Guess we'll have to see where it goes."
The scene faded back to show Jaune's face in close up with his eyes closed. He slowly started to open them before they snapped open. The camera moved to show Jaune as he sat up, free of bindings and somewhere foreign. A world of clouds and crosses that poke out from their surfaces. He looked around before he beheld a sight he'd never experienced. Off in the distance was a cloaked figure, concealed by darkness in this world of lights. He found himself unconsciously walking along the lone path until he was standing before the being.
It looked down to him, its voice ringing out, "How poetic. My old siblings sought to ensure we'd never meet. And yet, by taking your life, they sent you directly to me." The being laughed at the irony of the situation. "Do not have fear, little lamb. Though your life is lost, your fate has yet to be concluded. I can return you to the mortal realm. Of course, this will not be free. All I ask of you is to start a cult in my name. But don't worry, little Lamb. You receive more than your fair share. With your life, you also gain the power to enact revenge. On your killers, who made you the last of your kind."
The camera was close to Jaune's face, hiding his eyes. He heard so many voices; some familiar, some unknown. All crying out in pain and fear.
The group felt a chill run through them. They hadn't expected it to be quite that bad. It wasn't just a sacrifice or even a murder. It was a full blown genecide. And that easily brought the souls of the viewers down. Only Cinder was left unaffected. Yes, even Tyrian was affected. Of course, the psycho was only affected in the way that he disagreed with the idea of genecide as being, quote, 'boring, and lacking in variety.'
Jaune grit his teeth and the camera returned to show his eyes, fueled with righteous anger. "I'll do it."
"That's a good little Lamb." The crown atop the being's head floated up before falling upon Jaune's head. "I shall allow you to borrow my Red Crown. With its power, you will have the strength to avenge your kin. Take your crusade to the Old Ones and free me, one Bishop at a time. Go, my little Lamb. And enact my will!"
The scene faded white before returning to the mortal realm. The camera was close to the altar, but conveniently hiding Jaune from his shoulders up. They saw four of the cloaked figures cleaning up the clearing.
Yang snickered to herself before saying, "So, they're… clearing the area?"
Tai was the only one to chuckle. Everyone else groaned. Or… so it seemed. Sienna had a small grin on her face. Maybe not laughing, but she didn't groan.
The camera went to one of the hooded figures, their face hidden in the shadow of their hood. He picked up a branch and turned to get a loose rock before looking up back toward the altar. "Wait… where did he go?" The altar was revealed to be empty, but the camera moved in front of the hooded man and showed a shadowy figure behind him, eyes glowing red and burning with a strange energy.
The sight caused the most mortal of souls among them to shiver.
The hooded figure felt an odd presence behind them, slowly turning and drawing a knife, only for their head to be cleaved from their shoulders. With the light now on him, they saw Jaune, head very much attached to his body, and now adorned in a red fleece cloak. His eyes seemed to burn with red energy that radiated outward like flames to either side of his face.
Those who have ever seen the magic of the Maidens couldn't help but draw similarities between the two. However, the Jaune on screen had his eyes hidden behind the power rather than having it frame his eyes.
As the other hooded figures realized what happened, Jaune charged forward, revealing a sword in hand. The camera got close to the blade and tracked it upward as it cleaved through the chest of one of the cultists before he swung his body around to impale the one next to him. He moved like a hellish wind, tearing through the cultists like a hot knife through butter. One of the cultists had gained some distance and turned, holding up his hand and unleashing a ball of fire out toward Jaune. Jaune used his cloak to knock the flame away before bolting toward the shooter. The scene showed as he landed just past the cultist with his sword held downward. After a moment, the cultist fell in two pieces, their own cloak hiding the remains.
Harriet felt a shiver run up her spine. "Yikes. That was pretty brutal."
"No kidding." Marrow couldn't help but thank the gods that the cloak was there on screen. That particular death wouldn't have sat well with his stomach.
Jaune stood up straight before noticing something flowing up from the body. A wisp of power was rising up in a black cloud. His sword morphed away to reveal a two-pointed crown that seemed to absorb the power. It then floated back up to rest on Jaune's head before a red eye opened at its center and seemed to look around.
"Okay!" Whitely raised his hands in clear uncomfort, "I think I've hit the limit by this point."
Terra felt similar to the young man, barely suppressing a shiver of fear.
As Jaune looked over the scene, a voice called out from behind him. "Impressive." Jaune swung around to find a new figure had snuck up behind him. It was revealed to be a rat man who raised his arms in surrender. "Hold, young Lamb." Though he wasn't quite as large, it was clearly Peter Port. However, he was elderly and missing an eye.
But one fact made Tai and Bart chuckle. Port, however, was not okay with this. "Why a rat?! They are bags of disease! Why not anything else?!"
Port almost fell, but caught himself on his wooden cane. "I am not of their numbers. I am, to a point, your predecessor. I served the One Who Waits with faith, but I never had the stomach or skills to bring His wrath onto the Bishops. But you are the chosen vessel! The Lamb of the One Who Waits. You have the power to bring them to their ends. And with the power of the Red Crown, you have more than you need. The exit of this forest is far, but a platform rests to the northwest. You can use that to escape to a base far from the eyes of the Bishops! Go, young Lamb! Quickly!" The land under Port opened beneath him and he slunk away out of sight.
Jaune watched the area before slowly starting to leave. After a moment of hesitation, he ran off into the forest toward his hoped escape. As he ran, he ducked behind various branches and stones, hopping around with ease, his mind running as fast as he was. How can I do all of this stuff? Is it the crown? It must be. But what was that smoke about before? The crown absorbed it, so what does it mean? He jumped onto a stronger branch and crouched down and looked over his hands, as if they could have his answer. Is this what it means to be his champion?
"Helpful, but I have the feeling this will be an issue later." Blake predicted, "That One Who Waits will probably betray him later."
"Possibly?" Kali agreed with her daughter. "Or ask him to be his sacrifice when the others are gone."
Jaune leapt again and landed on a stone path before his eyes widened and he ducked behind a tree. He leaned around it to see another pedestal, clearly not as important as the one he'd been killed on, but it was clearly the same system. He glanced at the altar and found a person tied up atop it.
Then, Port popped up from the ground to speak to Jaune, "Young Lamb, this may just be an opportunity."
"What do you mean?"
"Look to the altar. A sacrifice to be made. Save them from this fate and they will have no choice but to join with your cult. You shall be their savior and to defy you would be to return to those who would see them dead. You must grow your numbers, and so this is your chance."
"That's… concerningly appropriate." Glynda couldn't help but groan a bit. "A rock and a hard place doesn't begin to describe that kind of situation."
Jaune knew he was right, and some part of him thought it was a harsh outlook. And yet the crown's influence and his anger toward his captors overruled this. The crown flowed over his arm, his eyes gained their red energy again, and formed his sword before he charged the altar. As one of the hooded cultists noticed him, he jumped an arrow and swung his body around to slice through the attacker's arm and ripping it off with little difficulty. He spun around to impale the first as a second tried to charged forward, only to be met by his old associate being used as a shield. Jaune used this to swing the 'shield' before thrusting forward and adding the second cultist onto the bloody shishkabob. He put his foot on the group and kicked them forward and off his blade. As the third tried to attack him, Jaune spun around as his sword morphed back into the crown. The eye scrambled around before a fire ball appeared in front of it and shot out like a bullet. The fire blew through the cultist like a bullet as well. With a flourish, he rolled over the last of the cultists before slicing upward and decapitating them.
"Holy shit!" Yang tried to treat this stuff like a movie and not think about how he'd just slaughtered four people with ease. "That was nuts!"
Jaune turned back to the waiting sacrifice, who jolted up under his gaze. The figure was revealed to be Emerald with a pair of wolf ears on her head and a tail that was currently bristled with fear.
Something that the Emerald in the audience could understand. And she was thankful that she was saved. But she had to admit that seeing that would likely scare the shit out of her.
Emerald closed her eyes, as if expecting the end. Only for the swipe to follow, allowing her to fall properly to a lying position. She sat up and looked over her body to see the rope had been slashed. She looked up to see Jaune before he blinked and his eyes returned to normal. He reached down toward her to help her to her feet. As she returned to her feet, she looked up to him before jumping at the sudden appearance of Port.
The rat man spoke to Jaune, "Now, young Lamb. Send her to the base so that your cult may grow. Imagine the connection through the crown and feel out the pedestal in the distance. She will be safe there."
Jaune looked back to Emerald, not sure what to do, but ultimately followed suit. Closing his eyes, the energy returned and a pentagram opened beneath Emerald and let her pass through. With her gone, Jaune returned to normal and looked back to Port.
Port nodded with a grin. "Excellent work, young Lamb. Now go! To the pedestal beyond the treeline and to the base. I will meet you there." Port disappeared into the ground again.
"How does he do that?" Ruby asked.
Port grumbled, but had to acquiesce to reality on the screen. "It's likely a magical representation of a rat's ability to burrow and to go through small crevasses. Though why'd I'd be a rat of all things is beyond me."
Jaune looked toward the pedestal and stepped onto the surface. The pentagram over the center began to glow before a torrent of energy rose up over him and he disappeared, ending the viewing.
King gave a loud, single clap to get everyone's attention. "Alright! Break time."
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King: SO! Voting. Here's the kicker, you'll have three votes to cast if you desire to do so.
First vote: We're adding a new member to the Arc harem. You can decide who that will be. The rules still apply as before, though. No one too old, no one in an established relationship, and no one who's more likely to kill him. Other than that, go nuts for your suggestions. (Please note: the introduction of Saffron will likely throw more oil on the harem fire, as she wants her bro to have the best life possible.)
Second vote: A non-Jaune ship, who gets it. Will Qrow find someone to make him happy? Will members of the Ace Ops become less... professional? Who knows?! Vote as you desire. But, again, no breaking up relationships. This is important now, but no crossing timelines. I.E., if they were introduced after season 3, they are in a different timeline to those before it.
Third vote: What should I do with Neptune and Sun? Should they be with Weiss and Blake, like I expect? I have a method to stay in character and not have them get together, but this is a backup plan. I have nothing against either of them, and I actually like Black Sun as a ship, but I can't ignore the appeal of other ships as well. If they don't, what do I do with them? Happy alone? Find someone back at Beacon or Haven? I'm interested to see what you say.
King: Those are your voting sets. You're free to ask for whoever or whatever but remain civil. Both to me and the characters.