AN: Rock On!

Chapter 6: A Knight's Duel

The badger lived in a burrow nearby, whether they liked it or not. It was contempt as long as Jaune gave it food on a plate. It had to be on a plate, or else it would raise hell. It didn't have a name per se, but Glynda would rather ignore it for her sanity. One of the most vicious animals that would always swing above its weight class with aura to boot didn't make her feel safe. When she heard padded footsteps outside her room's window, she shrugged it off as if a random animal was approaching the home.

The following night, she snooped around to find anything that would assist her in escape, and once again, she heard the padded footsteps. She looked out her window, and there was the badger again. However, instead of an animal whose head wasn't bigger than a dinner plate, there was a head that filled her window. The massive predator stared her down. It's eyes shining in the darkness.

Slowly, she clambered back into bed. Glynda didn't bother to peer through her sheets to find whether or not the predator had left its post. Morning came, and she was surprised when she snapped awake at the rapping of her door. The Badwitch didn't know when the Sand Man took her to visit his lands, but she could feel it wasn't for very long. With a stumble and a shake, Glynda rushed for her door.

She peered over her shoulder to confirm the monster was gone. Sure enough, the giant head stalking her was gone by morn. Her door rapped once more, so with a deep breath, she opened it. Jaune stood there half-dressed in plate armor with a nervous look in his eye. "Glynda Goodwitch! Yes, it's well past breakfast, so you missed it, criminal." His manner of speech was odd, considering he was usually so informal about their relationship. "Come now, I can't let you out of my sight." Nor did he take his job this seriously.

While still in her sleeping rags, he forced her outside to face only the wretched bird man and a fair-skinned sorceress. Her snow-white hair flowed like a pristine waterfall, accentuating her cute round face. Her robes were baggy and elegant. The sleeves especially so her hands could cast without being seen. Gems were dotted across the clothing and no doubt enchanted her body. A bit of red could be seen from the inside of the clothing so she wouldn't look like a blob of white and gray. To top it off, a pendant with a capital W hung from her hip.

She sneered in Glynda's direction, and the Badwitch rolled her eyes at the pompous woman. "Alright, kid, it's time for you to get your ass kicked. Which is something I would like to do, but Mini Winter is here to take my spot. Which means," he drawled out the last syllable for an inane amount and quickly took Glynda's other side. "I'm her bodyguard until you recover from whatever scrap you kids get into."

"Right, just let me finish getting fully suited up." The white hair sorceress rolled her eyes as he rushed into their home to finish dressing. The banging of metal and the squawk of a human found their way outside as the trio looked back at the brick building in confusion. The Man of Misfortune shrugged as he dragged Glynda to the east side of the home.

"Come on, Mini Winter, he'll be out when he's ready. Let's get the field set. So, have you given the kid some action yet?"

"A little more dignity in front of the prisoner, Senor Hunter Qrow. Also, why should you hope that would be happening? If Knight Hunter Jaune fraternizes with the prisoner, he will have to be removed, and all of his progress will have been for naught." Qrow laughed at her short tirade. She raised her hands in front of her as white energy glowed from her fingers. The trees in front of her glowed with the same power. It extended to the visible roots, and they started to shift like snakes. The roots slithered towards others as the timber joined for the ride. 12 trees formed a half oval with the opening greeting the 3.

Jaune's footsteps pounded on the ground as he moved in his suit of armor. His brown tunic and black trousers were gone. In its place was a full plate armor that covered her guard from head to toe. It wasn't a shining suit of protection. Dirt and smudges could be seen all over his armor. It was dull, and she supposed it was like that so Grimm wouldn't smell the young knight out in the field. His shoulder pauldrons flared at the top, protecting the flanks of his head. The left had two faded yellow crescent moons that consumed the entire thing.

On the right was dressed with a bleeding heart inside a red shield. The right must be another creed that he aspired to or something similar. The rest of the armor was an odd thing as well. Within the light, it gave off a rainbow halo, and the strange thing was that there didn't seem to be an opening in the armor. The metal suit fully encased the human within, each piece of metal seeming to interlock another.

The only pieces that weren't covered were the space between his chest and helmet. A black mesh covered his neck, but she bet even that would withstand an empowered gunshot. He raised his kite shield, which had crescent moons painted on the front. The sorceress flared her hand, and a staff materialized in her fingers. "Alright, kids. I want a clean fight. Nothing lethal, first to yield wins."

Weiss pointed her staff forward while bending slightly at the knees. Energy shimmered around her as Jaune rushed forward with his shield held in front of him. Fireballs met him in the middle and exploded upon the strange steel. However, that didn't stop him as he rushed past the smoke, aiming his sword to take a bite out of her leg. She leaped backward, but the sword was faint as he continued to rush forward and smashed against her body.

She slammed against the tree ring, and through her daze, she tapped the ground. It moved like water beneath their feet. The sudden shift of earth threw away his balance, and he stumbled to find any footing. Another tap and ropes of earth pulled at his weapons. The metal that contained his physical form bulged from his muscles and acted like a bounded demon wrestling against their chains.

She shook her head at the idea and returned to the moment. Every attack almost seemed lethal. The sorceress waved her staff forward, and two giant vicious icicles manifested. They rocketed forward, aiming at what Glynda thought was to kill her guard. Jaune's body shimmered, becoming a blur that weaved through the ice chucks. Weiss tapped the ground again to throw Jaune off his feet, but the blur disappeared.

Jaune appeared on a tree to the right like a crouching demon. He skyrocketed towards his ally with his sword held high, but the weapon's flat only slapped the ground. Weiss moved seamlessly into the spell circles beneath her feet. Glyphs were a complex set of spells. While they were basic in the beginning, condensing Aura into physical spell circles created by the Schnee family of wizards.

From there, they gave birth to a myriad of results. At that moment, it made her as fast as Jaune as she ascended into the air. Her guard sighed and mumbled, "I hope I don't get sick with this." He shot himself into a tree and leaped around the circle of trees to reach his opponent. They clashed in mid-air, and Weiss's stance faltered. Jaune rushed in, but she only brought him into a trap.

She was already circling her staff in the air before Jaune realized what was happening. The air became turbulent and then slammed Jaune into the ground. She came down with the force of the wind, and as the gust of force pinned him to the ground, she tapped the ground once more. Ropes of earth held the knight spread across the ground like a captured game animal.

"Do you yield?" She questioned.

"Yes, I yield," Jaune said through his helm.

"Well, what did you do wrong, kid?" Qrow questioned from the log he was on.

"Uh," he pulled off the strange helmet with alien movements. From her position, she could see the helm opened from the back and then shifted closed. "I chose to wear this weird armor that is still pulling at my Aura."

"Well," he knocked back a drink from his flask, "Your aura control does need to be better. Considering I can see how much this enchant armor requires for you to be proficient within the armor, but no." He got up and walked over to Jaune. He threw a lazy punch that Jaune made to block, but the Man of Misfortune transitioned into a knee.

It dinked into the stomach as his kneecap touched the armor on Jaune. "You were too straightforward. Most Grimm and other mindless creatures might be fine with the straightforward approach, but anyone with more than two brains can figure out what you're doing." As the two men devolved into a discussion of the different ways, he have done better. Weiss made her way to Glynda.

Weiss Schnee was the only true sorceress in the current generation of the Schnees. She was coming well into her ability, and if she had been born ten years earlier in her generation, then she would have been just as powerful as her. To perform spell casting on the move without speaking a word gave way to her great skill.

Then there was her semblance, a feature mostly exclusive to people who bound their souls or were born without the ability to cast magic. There were exceptions to the rules of life. Nothing was truly hard and fast when the soul was involved. The Schnees were just the most blaring outliers.

A whole family could do both. "So you're Glynda Goodwitch?" The young mage asked as she looked her up and down. "I must admit your study into teleportation and telekinesis is impressive. That was before you became a witch. How could you tarnish the name of spell casters everywhere?"

Glynda huffed in frustration at her indignant opinion. "You think I care about some child's drivel?"

"Pah," she stepped back, hand on her chest. "I am 25, you old woman."

"If you think 35 is old, then you're in for a rude awakening. Because these," she pointed to the few lines on her face, "will be coming soon."

"Yes, they might come sooner, considering you destroyed a good section of Solomon's Library. I swear, do you know how much trouble you caused the world? Centuries of knowledge gone all for what?" Glynda didn't say a word as she just stared at the angry midget. She wondered what she could do to throw off this annoyance or gain from her in general. "Now you have Jaune watching over you like the dog you are."

"He's doing so well, and then you just had to come along. I mean, seriously, you could've followed the rules. But now, all of your experiences and the life you lived are dashed away. " Glynda looked to Weiss and then looked to Jaune. That was an idea.

"Last I checked, child, you haven't even found a partner." Weiss looked to Jaune and then back to Glynda. She opened her mouth, but Glynda beat her to it. "Yes, I know. Familiars have lives as well. The old gossiping things that they are, why don't you make a move?"

"Wh-what, does that have to do with anything?

"I could drip feed you information? Things he enjoys and push him to be with you alone?" Weiss bloomed into embarrassment. Any visible skin became bright red, and she became nothing but a stutter. As she blabbed into nothingness, her soul's energy flared across her body, and her head poured steam out of her ears. She collapsed onto her knees in a daze and almost seemed to burn out. "Well, I wasn't expecting an aura flare, but that works."

The two men ran over to the pair with worry in their steps. "What happened? Did you do something, witch," Jaune barked. Qrow scanned the mage with a keen eye and looked for any sign of injury. "If you don't say anything, I will put you on the ground." He lifted her from the hem of her tunic as fury morphed his pleasant face.

"I did nothing; I simply conversed with her, and then her Aura flared uncontrollably."

"Bullshit!" He raised her higher with the extreme force his abilities gave him.

"I didn't have a hand in her devolving into a mess. I talked to her, and then this happened!" She gestured to the immobile woman. Glynda faced off with the man covered in armor of unknowable make. "I'll do my best to atone for my crimes, but this certainly isn't one of them." There was such brazenness within her reply Jaune's metal gloves grew tighter around her clothing.

"I think she's right," Jaune stared Qrow down with murder in his eyes. "I'm serious, but," he rose with Weiss in his arms. "If she gives us anything to think otherwise. You'd be lucky to have a cell that isn't one by one." Qrow strode away with a robust pace. Jaune dropped Glynda on her ass and stood there, bearing a hole in her with fury.

"You are to march to your room and not to leave until I say so, do you understand?" Glynda gave him a quick nod and marched to the home. She reached her door and fumbled with the knob. She finally found her grip and rushed into the home. Her door flung open, and then she disappeared into her room.

AN: So I beta-read while streaming. Really, I had some housekeeping to do today. Plus, I wanted to do a third stream, so I decided to devolve into doing this. From this, I'll be working on videos. I'm still working on the . When it is made, you'll be able to see chapters early. I believe by a month but keep in mind that they are subject to change since that is the rough draft. EVERYTHING WILL COME OUT EVENTUALLY, SO DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO IT. But they have to be vetted and checked for grammar.

I am also considering making a discord for anyone who wants to get notifications about the story. It will also be a place where we can talk about the chapters as a whole. The would give you a special role and channel for the corresponding levels. Oh, and I am thinking of voicing over the chapters. Unless, obviously, I can pay someone to do it, but I can't. I don't have that kind of money. I am also considering whether to publish the voiceovers on YouTube. They would just come later. The whole idea is in the air, so we will see.

Leave a review if you have the time. I read them and do my best to interrupt them neutrally. If you like my work, you can find me on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook under DragooFire. Thank you for reading, and I hope I made you smile.

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Next Chapter: April 19th