[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

I like Freezerburn, myself. Their reunion in V5 was just too wholesome for me to argue against - the music, the Arma Gigas slowly breaking away into snowflakes in the background, the way the 'Princess' just threw herself into the 'Dragon's' arms after saving herself (but appreciating the backup)...

*chef's kiss*

Click to shrink...

To each their own.

 

[Fusion Blaster]

A lancaster epilogue

So... one shot idea
They've saved teh world. Salem Ozma and the Grimm are all gone.

Yang and Blake are planning on an extended vacation in Meangre
Nora and Ren ane planning on settling down end rebuild thier old villiage.
Weiss is worknign with her Brother to run the SDC.

Ruby and Jaune are thre with the wdhole gang about to get recognized at some award cermony and decide Bleep this lets just see the world

So they steal Bumblebee and ride off into the sunset

Yang: but why did they have to steal my bike?
Blake: They didn't have a horse
Ren: Also you owed them
Yang: that's fair

 

[Gur40]

A lancaster epilogue

So they steal Bumblebee and ride off into the sunset

Yang: but why did they have to steal my bike?
Blake: They didn't have a horse
Ren: Also you owed them
Yang: that's fair

Click to shrink...

Weiss: CALL ME~
Blake and Yang: o_o
Weiss: Oh i know what I'm about and i want and i will get, my knight and red head 3way
Nora: so since Jaune-Jaune is the Rusted Knight your just swapping Pyrrha for Ruby in your dream Fantasy?
Ren: and yes you could hear the capitalize F.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Some bits and pieces I wrote up but felt didn't fit the tone of the work at present. I might use them further on in the future. Here's one for Aqua's reaction:

- - -

It had taken a LOT of Kazuma's money to get a Bullhead that would get them to Beacon. But they'd managed it. All the way to the ruined tower, where even now a giant frozen Grimm dragon statue hung from the side of the tower.

As far as bad places Kazuma had been? This definitely ranked in the top ten.

By all accounts they shouldn't be here... But Aqua had begged. Begged to take them here to find her baby brother.

And Kazuma had agreed.

So here they stood in the ruins of the tower top, searching through the debris. The Bullhead was hovering nearby in stealth mode, but Kazuma didn't trust that it would last.

"Nothing over here!" Megumin shouted, for once not causing explosions as she dug through the debris with Chomonosuke. The cat meowed and pranced amidst the rubble, not a care in the world. How he envied him.

"Nor here!" Darkness called, lifting a massive girder and tossing it aside with a loud bang. "I do hope we don't attract any Grimm..." She flushed. "It would be most unfortunate and..."

She looked over at Aqua, who was still sifting through debris with her Scroll out. She shook her head, the arousal gone.

"It would be terrible," she finished quietly. Kazuma nodded slowly. He checked his own Scroll.

He walked over to Aqua, even as she kept digging.

"Aqua."

"His Scroll signal was last here," she insisted, "We have to keep looking!"

"Aqua," he said again gently, "If his signal was last here, it doesn't mean he-"

She froze. She shakily pulled out some black cloth and a smashed Scroll from the rubble. Megumin and Darkness approached, but paused a few feet away, unsure of what to say or do. He couldn't blame them.

Aqua stared at the piece of fabric, and saw the blood stains on it. She stared at the Scroll. Kazuma held out a hand and rested it on Aqua's shoulder.

"It doesn't mean he's dead, Aqua," Kazuma said quietly, "He just lost his Scroll. We don't know for sure. Maybe he's at home. Maybe he got there-You haven't called back..."

Aqua bowed her head, shaking a bit. She sobbed softly as she held the fabric and Scroll to her chest.

Kazuma hugged her from behind, out of desperation if nothing else.

"Aqua! Aqua, look at me," Kazuma insisted. He turned her to face him. Those big blue eyes of hers were invariably filled with tears-When she lost a bet, or she pissed off a gangster, or when she wanted something frivolous and he refused to budge.

He'd never seen her cry in grief before.

"... I always... I always made fun of him... And-And bullied him... And-And was so mean to him," Aqua sobbed, "And I... And he might be dead! I-I should have been here for him! I should have... I should have been a good big sister! I should have...!"

Megumin bit her lower lip, and bowed her head. Darkness murmured a prayer to the Church of the Broken Table: She was a Crusader of their order, after all, though Kazuma had a feeling the Order would NOT be happy about her motivations for combat.

Still... He tightened his hug.

"We don't know if he's dead or not, all right?" Kazuma murmured, "So until then... Stay strong, and hopeful, all right?"

Aqua nodded shakily, sniffling some more... Which is when a loud shriek rang out in the night. Team KDAM turned and looked up as a flock of Nevermore descended from on high.

"Craaaaap," Kazuma muttered, "Get to the Bullhead! We're getting-!"

Dozens of razor sharp feathers rained down upon them. Kazuma saw Darkness leap in front of it to protect them, saw Megumin begin to power up... He reached out to try and "Steal" some of the feathers, make it easier on them...

Pipes all around them burst, and a shield of water formed overhead. The rushing liquid caught the spear-sized feathers and tossed them aside. Kazuma turned and looked at Aqua.

Tears still fell from her eyes, but they were filled with rage and glowing. She stood up, and held up her hand. The water torrents formed into spears and solidified into ice... Before they launched.

A dozen Nevermore were pierced, and fell out of the sky for the ground like feathery rocks. Aqua stepped forward, her Aura burning like a blue sun. More water gushed out around them, formed out of the air, until a veritable waterfall was all around them.

Kazuma had rarely seen Aqua unleash her full power: The silly bimbo usually got scared or distracted or just forgot. Her ego and vanity clashed with what she had trained for.

But there were times when she remembered just what she was capable of... And he stood in awe of her terrible beauty and power.

"We are not leaving until every Grimm here is dead," she snarled, clutching the scrap of cloth and smashed Scroll to her chest.

"... Yes ma'am," Kazuma managed.

- - -

I'll post a few more here and there.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Kazuma: so this is what scarousal feels like.
Megamin: Dammit Kazuma!
Kazuma: I will admit I might have a problem.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Another bit here...
- - -
Tangerine "Tangy" Arc took deep breaths as she walked around the embarkation deck of the VMS Ark Royal. The massive airship carrier fairly thrummed around her with nervous energy, as troops and deck crew went about their jobs and duties.

Her agitation was not helped by the people walking alongside her: Her Great-Grandmother Arturia Pendragon-Arc, and her great-grandfather Shirou Arc.

"Nana, Papa, please," Tangy insisted, "You should not be on the front lines. You've done more than enough."

Arturia smiled wryly as they passed one of several assault airships: The Wayland Air Motors Tigertail II. They weren't as bulky or powerful as the Atlasian Brokker Corporation Bullheads, but they were swift and well armed. Good things in Tangy's book.

"You're not the first to protest this, you know," Arturia said with a chuckle, "Your great-great-grandfather told me much the same. I was better off as a symbol to inspire the people and be diplomatic."

"You are," Tangy insisted as they headed for the aft doors. The Ark Royal was a kind of multi-role combat platform: Not as large as the Atlasian supercarriers, but able to supply air superiority, aerial assault, and search and rescue operations for a fraction of the cost of their larger cousins. Even so, with Atlas providing so much defense due to the defense treaties, the local defense forces of the various sub-kingdoms and nations that made up Vale had drastically drawn down their military forces.

Where once the Vytalian Royal Navy had been the largest and most powerful on the planet, it was now down to three heavy air carriers, two light air carriers, and a few dozen air destroyers and frigates.

Nevertheless...

"You pulled together half the air fleets and military forces across the continent in a few weeks!" Tangy insisted, "There are even some Pandu forces!"

"King Arjun was kind enough to spare a few units, despite his troubles," Shirou said with a grin, "He's a great friend, and we'll return the favor."

"That doesn't mean you belong on the front lines!" Tangy insisted as they got to their Tigertail II. They walked in through the hatch, Tangy's unit already set up and kitted out. She hid a proud smile at this, and coolly inspected them.

"Aten-Hut!" She ordered, and they all snapped to attention. She scowled at them, before scowling back at her great-grandparents. She turned back to them and held in a sigh.

"Change of plans," she stated, "We're gonna be the Vanguard for Queen Arturia and her consort."

2nd Lieutenant Matheus Weiss, her 2IC, looked at her 1IC, 1st Lieutenant Vicktoriya Serebryakov. They shared a concerned look and Tangy had no doubt about what they silently discussed before they turned back to Tangy.

"Are we still going to hit the back up control station for the city's defense network, sir?" Vicktoriya asked cautiously. Tangy nodded.

"Yep. Mission profile is the same, we're just keeping these two alive," she sighed.

Arturia smiled, and snapped to attention. Shirou did the same.

"We'll stay out of your way, Colonel," she said calmly, "But the decision is final."

Tangy scowled, but kept her thoughts to herself. She slowly nodded.

"All right. You will follow our lead and stay in support. We have the tech guys who will go in. Do not make this any more difficult than it has to be, and if I tell you to withdraw? You will withdraw. Clear?"

"Crystal, Colonel," Shirou said. Tangy nodded slowly.

Well. That was the best she was going to get.

"T-Minus Five minutes to bombardment," a voice on the PA announced. Tangy nodded to her squad, who started charging their gear.

At Shirou's questioning look, Tangy quickly explained with her own flight harness:

"It's an experimental flight and Dust projection slash interface system," she explained, "The Brísingamen System. Basically it's an attempt to mass produce the Schnee Glyph Semblance by creating an Aura powered interface that lets you use various kinds of Dust for various applications."

She patted the chest piece, backpack, and belt, before gesturing down to the flight boots and gauntlets. All were interconnected with armor pieces and glowing cables.

"I see," Shirou said, studying the system intently, "Did it work?"

"Sort of," Tangy allowed, "Problem with an Aura powered system is you need a lot of Aura and a LOT of Aura control to use it successfully. The control system had to be kept simple: It basically lets us fly and provides extra protection against blasts with Gravity Dust. The rifle system attached to it can surge Aura," she hefted up her rifle, "And let us hit a bit harder. The designers were hoping to make an army of S-Rank Huntsmen, but all it really does is improve troop mobility and firepower. It's also still hard to mass produce."

"But you entered into a deal for your PMC to test the technology and send research and development data back to them," Arturia said, her smile softly proud. Tangy smiled and shrugged.

"Only the best for my troops... Speaking of: We ready to go?"

"YES MA'AM!" They shouted.

"Then lock and load!" Tangy ordered.

Outside, Ark Royal and her escorts opened fire with their short range guns and missiles. The numerous Grimm surrounding Vale in the air flew towards them, dying in waves to the massed firepower. However, still more flew up and even through the bombardment was thinning their numbers, it wasn't a massive dent.

Just enough to allow the next phase of the operation.

Ark Royal and Invincible launched their fleets of Tigertails, which flew through the gaps provided by the bombardment. The little airships launched their own missiles and fired their guns, punching through any aerial Grimm that got in their way.

Flight Archer was defended by several Tigertails as it flew into the industrial district. It hovered over a Grimm infested area, close air support coming in from numerous other airships as its hatches opened.

Tangy tapped her earpiece, and her mechashift helmet/gasmask deployed. The rest of her squad followed. She activated her flight system.

"MOVE OUT!" She ordered, and she and her squad flew out. They opened fire on Grimm around the landing zone, darting this way and that to clear the way. Weiss and Neumann engaged several Ursa on the ground, while Visha and Koenig blasted several Beowulve packs. Koenig and Weiss got down around the entrance and provided covering fire, clearing the immediate area of Reynards and other pests. Tangy flew about providing in the moment support to each group, staying highly mobile.

With a human enemy, taking substantial losses would usually mean a retreat and reassessment of the threat. The Grimm just kept coming, mostly mindlessly, but they were getting more cautious. Tangy narrowed her eyes behind her flight helmet as a pair of Gryphons landed. They were big, uncommon, but swarmed Vale shortly after the festival. Her squad was tough, but this would be a bit of a challenge for them-And the longer the Tigertail stayed in hover mode, the easier a target it made.

It's like they know this is a critical area, she thought, But how? And why are they-?

A six foot-ten blonde woman with a voluptuous figure in blue and white armor landed on the ground, holding up her sword. An even taller white haired man in red coat and black armor landed beside her, preparing a bow. Tangy shook her head.

"No, don't deploy yet, the area isn't-!"

Arturia drew her blade, and her Aura exploded. She dashed, swung... And a gigantic energy blast went right through the nearest Gryphon. It fell back in two pieces, quickly expiring. Its companion tried to charge, but its head abruptly exploded.

Papa Shirou calmly nocked another arrow sword on his bow, while Nana Arturia, burning with Aura, swung and unleashed another Aura blast that wiped out a whole pack of Beowulves. She nodded grimly to her great-granddaughter.

"Forgive the presumption, but I believe we can hold the line," Arturia said, "If you wish us to?"

Honestly, she was still Queen even if she abdicated. Yet she still gave Tangy the choice. That was a lot of respect.

Tangy nodded.

"Get the engineers down here!" She ordered the flight crew, "Squad! Hold the line until they get down, then we're going in!"

"YES MA'AM!" Her squad replied, and carried out her orders. She shot a glare at Gantz, who stared a little too long at her great-grandmother.

"It's just her Semblance, Gantz," she growled over a private line, "Stay focused!"

"Ah, yes ma'am!" The would be playboy of her squad said quickly, "Just admiring your family heritage, ma'am!"

"Do you want me to shoot you myself, Gantz?"

"No ma'am! Yes ma'am!"

- - -

Last edited: Today at 4:23 PM​

 

[SharkCultist]

"Remember son, an Arcs Aura runs deep."

Jaune had heard many strange rules and laws of the Arc family over the years.

How they weren't allowed to visit Atlas without informing the government beforehand, how Tangy wasn't allowed to drink alcohol with Aqua under any circumstances, but there was one rule that he never got a explanation on.

"Once your aura is unlocked you must never try the unlock chant on yourself again."

It was the one rule every adult in his family stressed to him constantly.

It was a rule he was about to break.

He was on the last dregs of his aura, alone, tired, and surrounded by Grimm.

He needed just a tiny bit more aura, just enough to escape. So.....

Jaune began to chant. He reached into the depths of his soul and something reached back.

---

RWBYNPR expected to find a corpse. They'd been looking for Jaune for almost a full day and the projected lifespan for a lone huntsmen trainee in this Forrest was about three hours.

So imagine their surprise when they found Jaune torturing Grimm with chains made of blue fire.

Aura shaping and elemental manifestation are two old and almost never used aura techniques. Most of the current masters of these techniques use them in short small bursts. Little more than tricks. Because both take levels of aura and control that you need decades to achieve.

Something was wrong here and Ruby wanted to know what.

"Jaune?"

He finally took notice of them, blue eyes (the color is wrong, why are they glowing?) sweeping over them.

"Sorry little red reaper but no, not Jaune."

He quickly found seven weapons pointed at him. Cute. Useless but cute.

"Who are you?"

Something about that amused him before his chains shot out and wrapped them up, surprisingly not burning them.

"Calm little ones I'm no threat. I am simply a ghost, currently more solid than most."

"Fearless leader got his soul eaten!!!!"

"Ah, amusing but no. Luckily for the little fool I was the first ancestor to answer his call and I have no intention of making this permanent."

At this most of them visibly relaxed.

"So you're not going to hurt Jaune?"

"I never said that. He broke a Arc Law and will be punished for it."

At his words the blue flames lit up jaunes arms.

"Some third degree burns on the arms should help the lesson sink it."

RWBYNPR could only watch as their friend burned then collapsed.

When Jaune finally woke up ten days later drugged up to the gills he had one thought in mind.

Do not break a Arc Law.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Kek Arturia has a Gilf mode.

 

[SharkCultist]

Kek Arturia has a Gilf mode.

Click to shrink...

The boing-boing is eternal.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

... I don't know what this is. I'm a little afraid, really.

Click to shrink...

Oh god... Merlot is a Mad Scientist with a Spark from Girl Genius. His niece might be Agatha.

 

[mgl1206]

Should I make a Destiny x RWBY crossover where Jaune dies at the tower and ends up becoming a Guardian? But considering this is me and I love it when canon gets fucked up in crossovers, it's gonna be Jaune getting rezzed mid-collapse while the effects of the battle between the Witness and the Traveller are still going on. Here's a prologue and the first chapter.

-----------------
Chapter 0: Prologue

You are weak, injured, and desperate. You do not wish to do this, to place such a burden upon them, but you don't have a choice. You look down across the sea at those you sheltered beneath your light. They live but they are too few.

Too weak. Far too many have been added to the names you bear, and you know that while It has retreated, its puppets remain. And it will snuff them out for they can no longer resist. And you can no longer bear to lose another to the deep. You can still hear them a small few who speak to you in search of salvation. But you cannot give what you don't have.

Instead, you give them a burden. Pain runs through you as you feel yourself splitting apart into millions of tiny sparks, encased in a shell of metal and glass. But through that pain, you can't help but hope and regret the burden you give them.

Your thoughts become muddied as you cut yourself apart, it is difficult to think, yet you do not stop. You continue to cut away at yourself, creating more and more sparks of light, hoping against hopelessness that it will be enough for a miracle.

And suddenly, something changes. Through tired eyes, you look across the ocean and see something you do not expect to see. A small little gardener. It is different than the others you care for. And you realize why, this light was not from the ocean you know, but from another, a tiny spark born of darkness and light from a sea you and the silence did not create.

Swiftly you move to hide this 'little light' from It. You know all too well what It would do to the 'little light' should It find it. It is then you realize something through the murky fog of your thoughts. The 'little light' was fading. Its light growing weaker and weaker by the passing moment, on the verge of being snuffed out.

You think it over for but a moment. You do not wish to place another under such a burden, but you don't want another to disappear. Perhaps the silence might oppose your choice, but it did not have a choice in the matter, it was not here to stop you.

With the last remnants of your coherent thoughts, you take a small part of yourself, different from the ones you've cut off before. Unlike the others who will find their own in time, you give this one a direction to its chosen.

Fatigue finally catches up to you, as you watch the thousands of little lights spread their way across the planet below and above, and you can't help but lament that they so eagerly spread their little wings and begin their search in earnest. A single tear slips past as you lament the burden you have placed on them, on all of them. And as the sleep finally overtakes you, you hope it will be enough.

-------------

Chapter 1: Resurrection

Jaune woke up suddenly, gasping for air as the cold, frigid air rushed to fill his lungs, replacing the stale mix that had occupied them. His body, stiff and aching, burned with exhaustion and pain. But as the cold air of the night cleared his thoughts and clarity settled in, he was struck by a realization. He wasn't in pain

His hands reflexively moved to his chest, his fingers patting across his ruined chestplate till felt what he was searching for. A small gash, right above his heart, and where Cinder's arrow had struck him. He closed his eyes as memories rushed back to him. The burning heat in his chest, the cold that began to take over his limbs, the initial shock as he looked down at the obsidian arrow in his chest, followed by agonizing pain as he struggled to breathe.

"Hello, are you okay?" a digitized female voice suddenly interrupted him, scattering his thoughts to the wind. Jumping up in surprise, Jaune quickly turned around to find the source of the voice, only to find a small white drone staring back at him with its bright blue eye.

"I, uh, I think so?" he managed to stammer.

"Oh, this is perfect! I can't believe I found my partner so quickly! Oh, my apologies. You're probably wondering who I am." To which Jaune nodded awkwardly.

"Well! I'm a Ghost! Well, specifically, I'm your Ghost now, and I brought you back to life!" Jaune froze. His thoughts raced over what the little drone had said. How could he be brought back to life? But, surely that was impossible, and even if it was, how had he never heard of these Ghosts before?

Yet at the same time, Jaune couldn't help but be reminded of Cinder's arrow sticking out of his chest had he perhaps died? Then, if the Ghost was telling the truth, then how long had he been dead? Where was he? Were they something that happened after his death? Were his friends and family even alive?

"H- how long have I been d-" he faltered, "gone? Where am I? What about my frie-" He stopped himself. He couldn't expect the drone to know who his friends were. "What about the City? The attack! Was it repelled?" He changed his question as he asked the ghost, desperate for reassurance that his friends and the city were safe.

"Wait, you… you remember your past?" the Ghost suddenly whispered, shock and surprise evident in its voice. Its fin-like shell spun like the gears of a machine as it processed its newly gained information. Jaune could only nod, realizing that perhaps resurrected people didn't remember things before they died.

"Y- yeah?"

"Oh, this is so exciting! I didn't think you would remember your past, but you do! Oh, this is just wonderful!" The Ghost exclaimed, its shell spinning in excitement. He almost interrupted the Ghost's celebration but stopped himself. Despite his desire to learn more about Vale and his friends, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her celebration and instead opted to wait for her to finish. She reminded him far too much of how his younger sisters celebrated when they were happy.

"Oh, I apologize. It seems I got a bit carried away," the Ghost said, its blush audible in its voice.

"I- It's alright, but um, if you don't mind. Do you know what happened to Vale and Beacon? Were the Grimm and White Fang repelled?" Jaune asked the Ghost, anxious for answers.

"The Grimm? Do you mean the Darkness?" the Ghost asked, its curiosity piqued. But its question instead added to Jaune's confusion.

"The Darkness?" he asked, unsure of what it referred to.

"Oh right, sorry I suppose you wouldn't know. I mean I only knew because The Traveller made me, you know?" To which Jaune could only nod hesitantly.

"A- anyway! We can figure that out later. We've been out for too long, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the night in a dark and creepy forest." the Ghost whispered, prompting Jaune to finally examine his surroundings and realize they were in a small clearing surrounded by thick forest and dense trees.

Reluctantly agreeing, Jaune rose to his feet. He didn't know where he was, but if he was outside the walls of Vale, he had to get somewhere safe. He could figure the rest out when they weren't under threat of being attacked by Grimm. Suddenly, feeling the cold touch of metal against his side, Jaune looked down to see his family's blade and shield at his hip. He distinctly remembered losing both during his fight with Cinder. So how did it end up on his hip?

Examining himself further, Jaune was astonished to find himself in the same outfit as when he died. Even his armor remained unchanged, along with the tear in his breastplate where- he froze as he suddenly realized what he was looking at.

A jagged tear upon his left breast scarred the warped metal - a tear no more than a few inches in length. Made by a single arrow of obsidian, memories poured through his mind as he remembered the arrow and how it tore through his armor and aura. And buried itself in his chest. Jaune's blood ran cold as the realization finally sunk in. He had died. Her arrow had pierced his heart, an injury that even Aura couldn't heal.

His thoughts returned to his friends and his family. Jaune could hardly imagine the grief that they'd gone through. Especially his mother, he shivered at the thought. He'd be lucky if she didn't ground him for the rest of his life when he returned. No, after what happened, she'd ground him for the rest of his life regardless of his objections. And his sisters would use this as a chance to get as many favors as they could. His thoughts suddenly soured as he remembered what the Ghost had said about resurrected people not remembering anything. He just hoped he hadn't lost any memory of his family and friends.

Jaune panicked once more as he thought of his friends and his team. Gods, he hoped they didn't blame themselves for his death, though knowing his partner and best friend, Jaune knew that was exactly what the both of them were doing.

"Are you alright?" the Ghost suddenly spoke, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Oh, uh yeah, sorry." Shelving the thoughts away, he followed after the small drone. With his thoughts no longer on his loved ones, Jaune's thoughts focused on the little drone before him.

It was a curious little thing, how it could bring him back from the dead, he didn't know, but after seeing the jagged tear in his armor, he couldn't help but believe it, as far-fetched as it was. And that meant he quite literally owed the little drone his life.

"Hey, um. I don't think we introduced ourselves. I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc. What's uh, what's your name?" The small drone looked back at him as he asked his question.

"Oh, I uh, I never actually had a name. I was just born like a few days ago. Haven't had a chance to really think of one." The Ghost spoke softly, her shell drooping slightly.

"I uh, sorry. I didn't mean to." He apologized quickly.

"Oh, no no no! It's alright I was uh, just kinda worried. Not about you or anything, I mean I was worried about having a partner for the first time, and I was just- I didn't- I-" The Ghost stammered as she began to panic. Jaune stifled his laughter as the Ghost fell into a spiral of awkwardness.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not so great with new people either." He said, trying to console the Ghost. "But if you don't have a name, how about I give you one? If you want I mean, you don't have to accept-.".

"You'd do that!?" The Ghost exclaimed, cutting him off "Oh that'd be wonderful!" her shell spinning in joy as she spoke. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle seeing it.

"Well, you said that you were called a Ghost?" She nodded "In that case, how about Phanti? I uh, based it off of Fantôme. Which is old Valean for Ghost." Jaune watched nervously but when the Ghost didn't react, he began to panic. "W- we can change it if you don't like it."

"NO!" The Ghost suddenly shouted. "Sorry, I uh, it's fine. I actually really like it." Phanti sheepishly said, but it did little to mask the sheer joy that was expressed in its voice and small frame.

"Well then Phanti, shall we get going?" Jaune softly asked Phanti. Who cheerfully agreed, leading the way for her newly resurrected partner.

-------------

Sooo.. what do you think? Due to Destiny's early history being completely unknown, I have to make a lot of stuff up or change it to a timeline of my own creation, like the arrival of the Fallen. We know they didn't come till after or during the collapse, which itself lasted for a few months up to a few years. During which earthquakes, severe weather, disease, and poisoned water killed most of humanity on Earth (which at the start of the story is still going on). I could theoretically add in the Witnesses troops but I'm just gonna say they're already gone with the Witness after The Traveller banished him or never appeared on Earth because they just were not needed.

In addition, I'm making it so that the Ghosts have some memories they got from the Traveller, but just basic stuff like the Darkness was hunting the Traveler but they don't know what exactly it is, or like how their partners don't have memories of their past. But, I have to be careful with that as that's a slippery slope. And yes, Jaune will be the oldest Guardian, but no, he won't take the role of the Player's Guardian. She'll appear WAY later (she because my Guardian is a female human warlock ) but yeah I have an idea of what's to do till like chapter 10? but this will be a long-running project. Should I do it? Especially since I'll probably have to remake my outline if I truly decide to do it.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Should I make a Destiny x RWBY crossover where Jaune dies at the tower and ends up becoming a Guardian? But considering this is me and I love it when canon gets fucked up in crossovers, it's gonna be Jaune getting rezzed mid-collapse while the effects of the battle between the Witness and the Traveller are still going on. Here's a prologue and the first chapter.

Sooo.. what do you think? Due to Destiny's early history being completely unknown, I have to make a lot of stuff up or change it to a timeline of my own creation, like the arrival of the Fallen. We know they didn't come till after or during the collapse, which itself lasted for a few months up to a few years. During which earthquakes, severe weather, disease, and poisoned water killed most of humanity on Earth (which at the start of the story is still going on). I could theoretically add in the Witnesses troops but I'm just gonna say they're already gone with the Witness after The Traveller banished him or never appeared on Earth because they just were not needed.

In addition, I'm making it so that the Ghosts have some memories they got from the Traveller, but just basic stuff like the Darkness was hunting the Traveler but they don't know what exactly it is, or like how their partners don't have memories of their past. But, I have to be careful with that as that's a slippery slope. And yes, Jaune will be the oldest Guardian, but no, he won't take the role of the Player's Guardian. She'll appear WAY later (she because my Guardian is a female human warlock ) but yeah I have an idea of what's to do till like chapter 10? but this will be a long-running project. Should I do it? Especially since I'll probably have to remake my outline if I truly decide to do it.

Click to shrink...

It looks interesting, though to be honest, I have never played Destiny. Never had any interest. Still, if you're inspired? Go for it.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune was studying in the common room. Blake entered, looking frustrated and tired.

Jaune: "Oh, hey Blake... You okay?"

Blake: "No."

Jaune: "Well... Um... Can I help?"

Blake: "Hmm..."

She walked over to Jaune, and laid down over his lap.

Jaune: "Ah?!"

Blake: sighs happily "Much better."

Jaune: "Uh, Blake, I'm studying-You're on my lap-?"

Blake: "Mmm... Your Aura is so warm..." Sighs

Jaune: "Uh, Blake? Blake, please?"

Blake: "Nyahhh..."

Jaune: Damnit... Does she have to be so cute...? But no. How do I get her off my lap? Let's see... Aha! I know! Like with cats at home...

He reaches down and scritches behind her ears.

Blake: "N-Nyahhhh~!"

Jaune: I just have to make her feel good and she'll leave...

Later... Pyrrha enters... And sees Blake cuddled up to Jaune as he tiredly scratches behind her ears.

Pyrrha: "Ah! Jaune?!"

Jaune: "She won't leave me alone..."

Blake: "Morrrre~!"

Jaune: sigh

 

[SharkCultist]

....let's expand this.

Let's make jaunes aura give him Disney princess powers over faunus.

 

[RandomDragon]

....let's expand this.

Let's make jaunes aura give him Disney princess powers over faunus.

Click to shrink...

That's why his folks want him to stay at home! Otherwise there would be a Faunus revolution mrk.2 beacon continuation (Nick was the first one)

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A few more ideas:

-Ren is afraid he can't actually feel passion or other feelings Nora wants him to express. He's terrified of it, and yet can't let go of Nora either. So Isabel Arc helps them start talking about their feelings.

-I want to hear your ideas for "Sanctuary". What does the Mistralian Civil War look like, and how is Lionheart stirring it up? How is Weiss? How is Blake? And what are they up to? How is Taiyang handling fighting in Vale to reclaim the city? How are Isabel and Nick coping with what their son and his friends have been through? How are the other sub-kingdoms of Vale handling this crisis? How is Atlas' government reacting to Ironwood's response? And so on.

-Jaune and Jack meet, much to Cinder and Jaune's friends surprise.

-Give me more ideas for sub-kingdoms of the various kingdoms. Based on real countries and cultures, or fictional ones. Let's get worldbuilding!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"You could not pay me enough to get involved in Mistralian politics." ~Ozpin

- - -

Some thoughts for worldbuilding Mistral:

Much like the China it's based on, it started out as a number of smaller kingdoms that have had civil wars. Like a lot of civil wars. Unlike our China, they've been conquered by two significant major cultures: One was the Hellenic Culture under Iksander, Remnant's version of Alexander the Great, over a thousand years ago from the West. The other was by the Mughal Empire to the East, a mixture of Mongol and Persian cultures from the desert regions in the East of Animus. Even Fuujin, the Japanese analog, got in on the conquest a few times over their history.

That said, Mistral proper has retained a very strong central culture despite all this foreign influence and is the dominant land power on Animus now... For the most part. Pandu, Taejo (the Korean analog), Fuujin, and a number of other smaller subkingdoms are independent of Mistral and have closer ties to Vale, while the Hellenic League (including Argus) have close ties with Argus. Nevertheless, Mistral is a major power despite the fragile alliances that bind everything together, often supported by massive organized crime syndicates.

There are five major provinces/sub-kingdoms in Mistral that were once kingdoms themselves but were unified under the Jade Lion Throne 1,500 years ago:

-Guan Yu Province to the South, which has close cultural ties to Pandu and Fuujin.

-Liu Bei the central Province which is the most "pure" Mistralian.

-Zhang Fei to the West with close ties to the Hellenic States.

-CaoCao to the East which is closer to the Mughal State.

-Zhou Yu to the North, which has closer ties to Atlas but is not formally aligned with them.

Along with several smaller provinces.

Within Mistral itself, there are three major political factions that, under the right circumstances, will engage in all-out civil war:

-The Green Dragon faction: They maintain their heirs are descended from the last actual Emperor over a thousand years ago and thus have the right to power. They wish to restore the Emperor and rearrange society to be more old fashioned though would retain certain democratic aspects.

-The Red Dragon faction have no real lineage but are trying to do away with lineage-based rankings in the society entirely and want to go full meritocracy. They have some influence from the Western Hellenic states and are aggressively pro-democracy.

-The Yellow Dragons claim descent from the Mughal Khan Dynasty that ruled Mistral for some time from the Mughal invasion, but was overthrown by the natives. They are more of a balance between authoritarianism and democracy but are also in favor of expansionism and very much in favor of bringing the independent sub-kingdoms to heel.

Thanks to Lionheart's manipulations and Salem's assistance, when the Vytal Festival disaster goes down, these three factions go to war. And thanks to an interlocking series of alliances across the continent, every other power save the Hellenic League is dragged into the conflict.

 

[Fusion Blaster]

-I want to hear your ideas for "Sanctuary". What does the Mistralian Civil War look like, and how is Lionheart stirring it up? How is Weiss? How is Blake? And what are they up to? How is Taiyang handling fighting in Vale to reclaim the city? How are Isabel and Nick coping with what their son and his friends have been through? How are the other sub-kingdoms of Vale handling this crisis? How is Atlas' government reacting to Ironwood's response? And so on.

Click to shrink...

I kinda want to see Blake after she runs figure out she screwed up and decide on what she wants to do. Hell what does know. I assume Sun is with her. I kiinda like hte idea that after she runs.. she gets angry not just at the Fang but at herself for running and leaving the team behind. Her wanting to be worthy of being with them again so wanting to hunt the Fang in geneaal and Adam in particular.

 

[LordofBones]

1/ An idea I got from listening to 1 hour of Dagothwave on repeat, After Dagoth dies he uses one final spell to escape death, his soul ended up in remnant and it attached itself to Jaune, fortunately for Jaune the spell Dagoth used was not complete so the body snatching failed but unfortunately for Jaune Dagoth is now anchored to him, now Jaune has to put up with a running commentary from meme Dagoth who keeps calling him Nerevar.

Click to shrink...

Meme Dagoth setting up tier lists for the cast while Jaune just listens in and snarks.

"Come Nerevar, come. Let us sit down and discuss your paramours, even if they are all filthy n'wahs."

"My what now?"

Blake? As the closest thing Remnant has to a farm tool, she also has the dubious distinction of having both a chameleon faunus (hence another farm tool) and a monkey faunus after her.

"How inbred does one have to be to have an Imga simp? F-tier."

Weiss is the closest thing to a Telvanni. Alas, refusing to take the farm tool in hand and also looking like a Nord are unacceptable for a God such as Dagoth. D tier, B tier if she'd just use Blake as a test subject. Can't help her looks though.

Yang? "Is this how you honor the Sixth House, Nerevar? With another snowback? F tier."

 

[alderspear]

-The Yellow Dragons claim descent from the Mughal Khan Dynasty that ruled Mistral for some time from the Mughal invasion, but was overthrown by the natives. They are more of a balance between authoritarianism and democracy but are also in favor of expansionism and very much in favor of bringing the independent sub-kingdoms to heel.

Click to shrink...

Is there any chance of the XiaoLongs to be part of the yellow dragons, i mean their names literally mean yellow dragon. ?
Plus its gonna be a trope by this point, who else out of the teams is a member of a rich/royal family secretly?

Jaune being an Arc/pendragon
Blake being the princess of menagerie.
Weiss a heiress of schnee corporation.
Yang and Tai members of the Yellow dragon clan.
Ren...pretty sure his father was the chief of his village, so minor nobility maybe.
Nora Thorsdottir...i mean i dont believe she is the literal child of the god thor but...it kinda fits.

That only leaves pyrrah and ruby.
And Silver eyed warriors could be easily handwaived as maybe being descendants of ozpin and/or Salem, the literal queen and king of humanity.

So is pyrrah the only one who is actually a normal person? it would be an interesting inversion of normality.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Neptune sighed as he reached into his bag of potato chips, pulled out a chip and chewed on it. He was a little agitated by the waterfall, but the rest of the scenery was doing a lot to calm him. Even he could appreciate natural beauty like this.

... Enhanced with the natural beauties around him, of course. That said...

"Do they have to keep doing that?" He muttered in irritation to Ren, as Cardin and Velvet continued their excessively cutesy lunchtime antics. True, he could feel some brotherly admiration for the Winchester heir: He had a smoking hot bunny girl in his lap feeding him dried fruit, in between kisses and nuzzles. That was Grade A manly.

It did, however, remind him of a distinct lack of any hotties in his lap.

"It's kind of weird," Nora agreed, "But I'm glad they're getting along! Cardy used to bully Velvety! Pulled on her ears!"

"Guess she was into that," Neptune muttered. A familiar elbow jabbed him in the ribs. "URK! Arslan!"

"Try to be more polite," Arslan stated, still perfectly calm as she slowly finished the greens and fish that Lilac had packed them. Neptune scowled at her.

"You know, the tsundere childhood friend bit is really getting old," he huffed.

"Childhood friend?" Ruby asked, tilting her head curiously. She'd been staring at the ruins for the last twenty minutes: Worried about her sister and Jaune, no doubt. Still, if she was asking...

Neptune smile and spread his hands dramatically.

"Yes! We went to the same private elementary school, the same middle school, and almost the same Hunter prep school!" He said proudly. "She's obviously in deep denial about her true feelings for me, hiding them with violence and hurtful comments."

"I believe I have made my feelings for you very clear, Neptune," Arslan said calmly, "You're like the bratty, idiotic, perverted and overcompensating little brother I never had."

"Urk!" Neptune gasped, holding his chest. "Geez... Hiding them pretty deep, huh?"

"As though they don't even exist," Arslan stated with a raised eyebrow. "Your philandering isn't winning you any points."

"C-Come on!" Neptune chuckled, "It-It never hurt anyone!"

Ruby frowned intently at him from across the table.

"Weiss was pretty hurt when you dumped her," the silver eyed girl stated, a note of accusation in her tone. Neptune winced again.

"I, well... Okay. I messed up there. I thought she just wanted a-a no strings attached romance. I didn't think it was anything serious, honest. Then she talks about meeting her parents and I realize... No. She's got the wrong idea." He held up his hands. "For what it's worth, I am sorry about that. I'm too young to think about settling down!"

Arslan scoffed a bit. Neptune scowled at her.

"Hey! At least I'm not some repressed warrior nun!"

"As I have said many times, my vows are for chastity, not celibacy," Arslan sighed, "When I marry my husband in a divinely ordained ceremony, we will unleash our loving feelings for one another without restraint. Far better than trivializing such a wonderful gift as intimacy."

"It's not trivial!" Neptune protested, "I'm living life to the fullest!"

"And causing a lot of heartache in the process," Arslan observed.

"Prude!"

"Idiot."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Nora cheered, still in the middle of her large stack of pancakes. "Now kiss, kiss, kiss!"

Neptune grinned smugly at Arslan.

"Ha! Told you! You're just denying your true feelings for me and sublimating them into violence-ACK!"

Arslan put Neptune in a wristlock, her expression still utterly serene.

"Then I suppose I truly care for you to try and correct your terrible habits," Arslan deadpanned, twisting his arm behind him. Neptune grinned.

"Ha! I happen to like it rough-OW OW OW I'M KIDDING I'M KIDDING! UNCLE! UNCLE ALREADY!"

Arslan let Neptune go. He winced as he rolled his shoulder.

"Geez, learn to take a joke," he muttered.

"I took you in didn't I?" Arslan snorted. Nora, Ruby, and May giggled, though May coughed quickly in embarrassment. Neptune pouted.

"Et tu, May? You're so nice!"

"S-Sorry," May mumbled.

"Besides," Neptune huffed, "It's only natural to feel jealous of what they have." He nodded over at Cardin and Velvet, still blissfully unaware of the conversation at the other table. "Hell, even Fearless Leader and Xiao-Long are up to something."

"N-No they're not!" Ruby immediately spoke, flushing deeply. "Th-They're just... Talking!" She looked at May urgently. "Right?"

May's eyes glowed briefly. She blushed and nodded.

"R-Right. They're just talking," she said. She then frowned as she looked with her Aura Vision out into the fields of flowers. "That's strange..."

"What is?" Ruby asked. The flowers rustled nearby. Everyone reached for their weapons. Velvet slipped off Cardin's lap and went into a defensive stance, as he hefted up his mace.

The flowers rustled a bit more... Before a bright blue bird the size of a house cat popped out of the grass. Its large black eyes studied them intently, as it waved its long, feathery tail. Ruby's jaw dropped.

"It's... It's... Adorable!" Ruby gasped.

"Chou?" The bird squawked.

"What is it?" Cardin asked with a frown.

"I believe it is a Choux Bird," Ren spoke quietly, "Jaune told me about them. They are flightless alpine birds that live in the mountains around Radian."

"Why is it blue?" Neptune asked. "Not that I'm complaining, good color choice and all..."

"It's to reflect UV radiation since they live at high altitudes," Ren went on, calmly studying the bird.

Ruby moved around the table slowly, and cautiously approached the bird. It chirped a bit, tilting its head this way and that. Ruby knelt down, and pulled out a cookie Lilac had baked just for her. She broke a piece off, and held it out in her open palm with a soft smile.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Ruby murmured, "Come on..."

The Choux stepped slowly, cautiously, warbling softly.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ren warned her, "Jaune said feeding them can cause problems."

"Come on, this little guy?" Nora snorted, "Let Ruby feed the birdy!"

The Choux Bird got up to Ruby. It examined the cookie, before pecking at it. It tossed the cookie fragment back, swallowed it, and then cooed happily. Ruby beamed. She slowly reached out to rub the back of its head, and it leaned into the touch happily.

"Aww... You're a little cutie, yes you are, yes you are," Ruby cooed, as the Choux bird warbled. "And so fluffy!"

"Aw," Velvet cooed, "It's so adorable! Isn't it, Cardin?"

"Er... Yeah, sure," Cardin mumbled.

"Just agree with your girlfriend, dude," Neptune snorted, "Nothing unmanly about admitting something is cute."

"Says the perpetually single louse," Arslan deadpanned.

"Freaking tsundere!" Neptune growled.

"It really is very cute," May smiled. She advanced slowly, kneeling a bit. The Choux bird turned, and after a moment's thought, it jumped into her arms and nuzzled into her impressive chest. She giggled, and cuddled the bird.

"Aw..."

Neptune's eyebrow twitched. Ren managed not to smirk. Arslan failed not to.

"See? Nothing wrong with feeding the birdy," Nora giggled.

The Choux bird then chirped very loudly, three times. Out of the grass all around them, dozens of blue birds perked up. Ruby gaped, as they began to advance, chirping for food.

"... Um... I'm not sure we have enough," Ruby said cautiously.

"Uh oh," May managed.

Nora grabbed a bag of popcorn Lilac had packed them, opened it up, and began to toss it out to all the Choux birds. Ruby's eyes widened.

"NORA!"

"Now now," Nora laughed, "I'm sure nothing bad will happen if we feed them more!"

- - -

Yang and Jaune made their way through the ruins, both a lot calmer. Yang sighed and rubbed her temples.

"... Thanks again, Jaune," she said. "I... I just... Thanks."

"It's okay," Jaune said with a small smile. He shook his head. "I guess... Maybe we do need some rest and recovery. My Nana and Papa used to tell me stories of soldiers with shellshock from the Great War. How... How they needed time away from the fight to recover."

"Yeah, my dad and uncle told me about that, too," Yang sighed, "Maybe... Maybe this isn't so bad. At least for now."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Yeah... I-I guess so," he murmured. "Just hope the others agree that we need a break from... From everything."

The sounds of many birds chirping filled the hallway ahead. As did the sounds of yelling. Yang and Jaune looked at each other, then readied their weapons. They dashed through the old watchtower, burst into the light, ready for battle...

Into a scene of absolute pandamonium. Nora was waving her hammer and an empty popcorn bag at a huge flock of Choux birds from atop an old stone fountain, while Ren clung to her like a sloth with a deadpan expression. Ruby was using her Semblance and zipping around, squealing as she tried to escape the numerous little birds. Cardin and Velvet were waving their weapons to keep the birds at bay. Arslan was standing on a lonely pillar on one foot, while holding a raging Neptune by the back of his shirt as Choux birds kept jumping at them. May Zedong squealed and giggled helplessly as dozens of the birds cuddled and climbed all over her on the ground.

"Heehee-Oh-AH! D-Don't! Ahahahaha!"

"JAUNE!" Ruby shouted. "HELP!"

"I AM YOUR QUEEN! I GAVE YOU POPCORN!" Nora wailed. "YOU REBELLIOUS TRAITORS!"

"LET ME AT 'EM!" Neptune bellowed. "HOW DARE THESE LITTLE BASTARDS GET TO FONDLE AND GROPE MAY WHEN I DON'T-URK!"

"Please don't make me knock you out, Neptune," Arslan stated flatly.

"JAUNE!" Cardin shouted, "HOW DO YOU MAKE THEM LEAVE?!"

"They're terrifying! And adorable!" Velvet wailed. "Terradorable!"

Yang gaped in utter disbelief. Jaune was much the same. He then facepalmed.

"... Freaking bird brains," Yang managed.

Jaune snorted... Then snickered. Then he began to laugh, hard and loud. Yang's lips twitched, before she joined him. Their laughter spread, slowly but surely, amongst all the other Hunters-in-Training, admidst the chirping and cooing of the hyperactive birds.

"Haaaa," Jaune sighed, still snickering, "You're all so hopeless..."

"So it would seem," Ren deadpanned.

- - -

Because we needed some comic relief.

 

[TheFabulousCustodes]

Jaune's father led a flock of these birds to the Arc family farm/home, didn't he?

Nick - "Izzy, look what followed me home!"

The Bird - "Chou!"

Isabella - " Did.... you... feed it?"

Nick - "Sure did, I gave it a whole loaf of old bread!"

Younger Jaune - "Mom, there's a blue feathery blob coming down from the mountain!"

Isabella "Table Breaker save us....."

 

[Sinestro corpsman]

I couldn't find an image of a grimm goose so have these instead.

Spoiler: Pengrimm

Spoiler: Nora's deadliest foe

 

[Bommel]

Is there any chance of the XiaoLongs to be part of the yellow dragons, i mean their names literally mean yellow dragon. ?
Plus its gonna be a trope by this point, who else out of the teams is a member of a rich/royal family secretly?

Jaune being an Arc/pendragon
Blake being the princess of menagerie.
Weiss a heiress of schnee corporation.
Yang and Tai members of the Yellow dragon clan.
Ren...pretty sure his father was the chief of his village, so minor nobility maybe.
Nora Thorsdottir...i mean i dont believe she is the literal child of the god thor but...it kinda fits.

That only leaves pyrrah and ruby.
And Silver eyed warriors could be easily handwaived as maybe being descendants of ozpin and/or Salem, the literal queen and king of humanity.

So is pyrrah the only one who is actually a normal person? it would be an interesting inversion of normality.

Click to shrink...

If Yang and Tai are members of the Yellow dragon clan, then so is Ruby, by birth at least.
The only reason I can think of for Ruby has a different last name is because Tai can't give Raven the divorce papers, so they're technically still married.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

how is Lionheart stirring it up?

Click to shrink...

Lionheart stirred it so he can get funds to fuel his gacha addiction... He must gain the lioness waifu. But like all hopes and dreams, it will never appear. Much to his gacha addiction inducing insanity.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Another bit I wasn't sure where to put in the main story. This takes place when Yang was in the hospital recovering.



- - -



The Grimm Ursa bellowed and charged, its red eyes glowing with hate. Just like every other such monster Jaune had faced. He knew the drill: It was almost instinct by now.



He side stepped the charge. He shield bashed the monster in the side of the head, knocking it off balance. He surged his Aura. He brought his sword down through its neck, decapitating it, and dodged out of the way of its bulk.



The monster fell, headless, smashing into the ground as it began to dissolve. Another Ursa charged nearby, but its head went up in a black Grimm dust explosion. Jaune nodded back to May, who was hanging back in a tree.



"Keep it up!" Jaune shouted, "We're almost there!"



Around him, the rest of his 'team' fought the Grimm furiously as they poured through the breach in the wall. Not in Radian's main three walls, but in its outer Fourth Ring. This had largely been abandoned as the town contracted from its glory days as capital of Gallia, but was still somewhat maintained in key areas to secure travel.



After Vale's fall, refugees had started pouring it, so they had to make more room. Which meant more people, which meant more Grimm, which meant repairing the Fourth Ring.



The only way to do that was to thin out the Grimm numbers enough to do that. So, Jaune and a few of his classmates had taken that job upon themselves since Radian's militia was already stretched thin.



Nora and Ren worked together nearby, Ren slashing through smaller Grimm like Beowulves while Nora flattened the big ones. On Jaune's other side, Cardin bashed a Boarbatusk flat with his mace, while Velvet used her hand to hand combat abilities to keep Beowulves off him. Behind him, Arslan used her own impressive martial arts and Ruby her speed to kill any Grimm that got past their vanguard, while Neptune fired blasts from his electric rifle to cover them.



They pressed forward towards the large breach in the wall, keeping the Grimm from advancing any further. Jaune's Scroll beeped loudly. He tapped the speaker on it as he stabbed a Beowulf through the throat.



"Jaune here!"



"Son, we're almost there," his father called out, "Just hold out for another minute!"



"Got it!" Jaune shouted, shield bashing another Beowulf before slashing its spine apart, "ONE MINUTE GUYS!"



"ROGER!" Cardin bellowed. He swung his mace down and unleashed a Fire Dust blast, annihilating another Ursa that was trying to get through. A Beowulf leaped through the smoke, latching its jaws onto his shoulder.



"CARDIN!" Velvet shouted, occupied with two more Beowulves.



"MAY! RUBY!" Jaune shouted.



Two shots range out, and the Beowulf vanished into smoke. Cardin didn't have time to show gratitude though: A massive Ursa Alpha barreled through the broken wall, roaring in challenge. Jaune grit his teeth.



"Arslan! Ren! Nora! We're flanking it!" He shouted. "May! Ruby! Neptune! Fire support! Cardin! Velvet! Keep any others from getting through!"



Neptune unleashed a blast of lighting that hit the Alpha Ursa on its back, making it roar. Rounds from Ruby and May's weapons blasted it in the eyes. Arslan dashed foward, as Jaune joined her. She powered up her Aura and leaped, dropkicking the Ursa in the neck before backflipping away. Ren closed in, unleashing a withering hail of Dust rounds from his guns as he leaped over the Ursa. Jaune and Nora charged in, Jaune slashing through its front paws while Nora fired off grenades to hit its back.



It reared up with a roar of agony. Arslan threw her dagger-dart and pierced its throat. Nora spun in the air and slammed her hammer right on its head, slamming it down into the dirt. Jaune stabbed it in the eyes, blinding it, as it bellowed in rage.



"EVERYONE! MOVE!" Nick Arc bellowed. Instinct took over, and everyone broke away from the bellowing Alpha Ursa at speed. It got back up, roaring in pain but still very much ready for the fight...



When a golden yellow Aura blast blew its head off. A sonic boom rattled the air, and a mighty seven foot tall man in white and black armor with a giant sword charged in to swing a six foot long sword.



The massive Alpha Ursa, the size of a truck, was split in half before it began to dissolve.



Nick Arc pulled back, his mighty railgun sword at the ready, as two armored trucks drove up to the wall. One carried large square blocks made of metal on its flatbed, while the other had a pile of rocks in its back. Nick sheathed his sword, and hefted up the first block. He slammed it down with a grunt in the middle of the hole in the wall, and stepped back. A moment later, with loud grinding sounds, the metal expanded. In a few seconds, the metal covered most of the breach.



"All right!" Nick shouted, moving away from the wall as the flatbed truck moved away. He waved his hands to the other truck driver, who turned around and backed in, loud beeping filling the air. At some point, Nick held up his hand and then waved it in a circle, before moving out of the way.



The dump truck's bed tilted back, and a pile of stones fell behind the metal barrier. The pile filled up most of the gaps, but it was clear its main job was just to hold the barrier in place. Nick nodded, then waved the truck on. The dump truck's bed lowered again, and it drove away. Nick then waved to the Hunters-in-Training, and they approached.



"Phew... Good job, guys," Nick complimented them, "This stuff was only meant as an emergency patch, but it'll hold until we get the construction guys out here. Mind filling in the rest? It'll be a big help."



Jaune nodded.



"Sure. We'll resume the patrol after we finish," he said.



"Good," Nick sighed. He stared intently at Jaune. "When's the last time you guys took a break?"



Silence fell.



"Um," Ruby tried. Nick scowled.



"Well?"



"We had lunch," Jaune said, "But we had to deal with the breach-"



"Rotate out some scouts and rest after filling up the cracks."



"But Dad-!" Jaune tried, but Nick shook his head.



"You're no good to me if you're exhausted."



He got up onto the back of the flatbed, rummaged around, and then pulled out some shovels. He tossed them down to the teenagers.



"Rest. That's an order," Nick stated. He slapped the top of the truck cab. "Come on, Monty! To the next one!"



The trucks drove off, leaving the Hunters in training to watch. Jaune sighed, and picked up a shovel.



"You heard him," he ordered, "Let's get shoveling."



"Man," Neptune sighed, "Seriously?"



"Heh," Nora giggled, grabbing her own shovel, "This is just like that training mission to that town on the Vacuoan Border, huh Jaune-Jaune? We had to dig a ditch! Pyrrha, remember when you couldn't-?"



She froze. Jaune, Ren, Ruby and Arslan all stared at her. Nora shook, still grinning, but her eyes were tense.



"Hahaha... That's... That's funny," she laughed softly, "I just... I just remembered... I just remembered she's dead. Isn't that... Isn't that...?"



Her eyes filled with tears that began to roll down her cheeks. She let out a soft sob.



"I just remembered... How could I forget?" She whispered.



Jaune gaped, working his jaw. He shook his head. He looked to Ruby, whose own eyes were filled with tears. He looked to Cardin, whose head was bowed. He tried Arslan, who looked grimm but...



"... Fill in the gaps," Jaune ordered, "Arslan, take charge."



"Of course," Arslan murmured, taking the shovel. Jaune wrapped an arm around Nora and led her away as she sobbed. May stepped aside, her head bowed. Neptune grimaced, and said nothing. Velvet sniffled, clutching at her arm as Cardin wrapped one around her shoulders.



Ren took Nora's other side, wrapping his arm around her waist. Ruby followed at a close pace, unsure of what to do or say. Jaune led them over to a tree, and sat them down as Nora continued to cry.



"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I know..." Nora sobbed, "I know she's dead... How... How could I forget a thing like that?"



Ren sat down with her, and held her. His face was like stone as he rubbed soothing circles into his partner's back. Jaune's face was tight and grim. He looked back at Ruby. Ruby also sniffled.



"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."



Jaune let out a soft breath. He pulled Ruby into a hug.



"It's all right," he managed in a dead tone, "It's all right..."



- - -

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Hurray depression!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -



Ruby sighed in some frustration as she scanned around the Emerald Forest. She'd been out here for hours and all she had to show for her efforts were sweaty clothes.



"Why do the ninjas of our teams keep running off?" Ruby grumbled, scanning about with her silver eyes. Zwei sniffed nearby, looking a bit lost.



Nora and Jaune had come to them in the early morning, very distraught. Ren had received a package, which was unusual enough. He had then gone up to the Headmaster's office to speak privately with Ozpin: Even more unusual. Finally, Ren had outright vanished. Which would be like Yang no longer using puns, or Blake and Weiss getting along! Or Ruby not liking cookies!



So they'd gone out to look for him. Not an easy task, given he was a ninja. Ruby thought Zwei would give her the advantage, but so far, her adorable little Corgi was no better at tracking than her.



"Thought Blake would find him for sure," Ruby grumbled, kicking a rock petulantly, "She's our ninja. Is Ren that much better a ninja than she is?"



A haunting tune played on strings slowly drifted through the forest. Ruby froze and looked around, listening intently.



It echoed this way and that... But Zwei immediately locked on and with a cute little bark, he raced off through the trees. Ruby followed, keeping her speed down.



They came out into a clearing where a small waterfall cascaded onto a stream. The music grew stronger, and Zwei barked again. Ruby locked onto a large boulder near the river.



There was Ren, sitting cross legged, playing a rounded stringed instrument. Even from here, her keen eyes saw it was in bad shape, with missing paint and rusted metal... Yet the music it produced was still very beautiful.



Ren slowly turned his head and stared at her, still plucking at the strings. Ruby waved awkwardly.



"H-Hey... You okay, Ren?" She asked.



Ren turned his pink eyes away and stared at the waterfall, still plucking away at the instrument. Ruby and Zwei exchanged a look. The corgi shrugged, and then trotted up to jump up onto the rock. He settled down next to Ren, curling up beside him. Ren continued to play, not reacting. Ruby took a deep breath and walked up to the boulder cautiously.



She was cute, but she wasn't corgi cute.



"We... We were all really worried about you," she said, "Nora was terrified."



Ren inclined his chin an inch, still playing.



"... I'll make it up to her," he said quietly.



"What's that? What are you playing?" Ruby inquired, after another moment of letting the music wash over her. Ren let out a soft sigh.



"A pipa. A Mistralian lute. It was..."



He paused his music.



"It was my mother's."



Ruby's face fell. Ren continued quietly, and resumed the song.



"She would play it for me when I was young. A scavenger found it in my old village. One of Ozpin's agents got it, and sent it to me."



"Oh... That..." Ruby struggled, "That was very kind... I... I didn't know you could play."



Ren's finger plucking became a bit more... Tense.



"My mother was teaching me it before..."



He trailed off.



Ruby winced. She climbed up onto the boulder, very slowly, like Ren might bolt at any time. She shakily reached out, hesitated... Then rested a hand on his shoulder. He didn't react to this, the sad song still spilling from the instrument like tears.



"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I just... Why run off? I mean... Nora-"



Ren slowly shook his head.



"Nora's mother abandoned her," he said quietly, "While my parents took care of her too... I... I did not want to remind her."



He bowed his head.



"I didn't want her to be reminded of what I had... And she never did," he said softly.



Ruby shook her head.



"I... I don't think she would be hurt by that," Ruby said softly. "She loves you. You know that, right?"



Ren stared out at the falling water, the spray, his song continuing on automatic.



"Yes," he murmured. "I just... It's my pain. I did not want to burden her."



"Burden her?" Ruby asked in confusion.



"She is..." Ren considered his words carefully, "Everything to me. I have no right to make her feel pain."



"Like by running away and scaring her?" Ruby asked sarcastically... Before slapping her hands over her mouth in horror. Ren ceased the music and stared at her intensely. Zwei quickly intervened, putting his head in Ren's lap and whining for attention. Ren stared down at the dog, then up at the cringing Ruby. He let out a soft sigh, before reaching down to scratch behind Zwei's ears. The corgi growled happily as Ren looked aside.



"... Sorry," he murmured.



Ruby shook her head.



"We... We all do stupid stuff when we're... We're upset," Ruby managed. "I-I tried this super cool move when my Uncle told me I wasn't old enough. I... I just wanted to be amazing like my mom... Ended up breaking my wrist."



Ren nodded. Ruby looked intently at the pipa, her eyes narrowing. Something had been bothering her about it from the moment she'd seen it.



"Did... Did your mom do anything else with the pipa?" She asked.



"Like what?" Ren asked, blinking.



Ruby held out her hands.



"Can... Can I see it? I won't break it, promise," she said.



Ren stared intently at her, before slowly handing over the instrument. Ruby took it in her hands, as though it was made of glass. As the waterfall roared, she examined the pipa from every angle. It was red and blue, with what she thought was an oni-skull shaped head with large fangs. She pulled out a small toolkit from her combat skirt, and began fiddling with a few bits here and there. She felt Ren tense, but Zwei came to the rescue by hopping up to lick his face affectionately.



Finally, Ruby applied a bit of oil to a few spots, then scrubbed a few bits clean with some steel wool. She beamed at Ren, and turned the back of the pipa to him.



"Look, look!" She said happily, pointing at a few lines, "Dust runes!"



"Dust runes?" Ren asked, intrigued as he leaned in to study them. Ruby nodded eagerly.



"Yeah! Some old mechashift weapons had them installed instead of traditional circuitry! They don't do as much, but they last REALLY long! Jaune's got some on Crocea Mors!"



She held the pipa out to him. He took hold of it carefully.



"What do the runes do?" He asked.



"Try surging your Aura through it," Ruby said, "And press... That part!" She pointed to a depression under the oni head. Ren's Aura flared with pink energy... He pressed the depression...



A flash of Aura and the pipa transformed into a curved, single-edged sword with an elaborate hilt and handle. Mistralian letters glowed on the fine blade. Ren stared in wonder at the weapon. He stood up, Zwei hopping out of his lap. Ren swung and thrust the blade a few times, weighing it carefully. He ran his hands over the blade, which, despite the age of the weapon, was still shiny.



Ren slowly turn to Ruby. His lips trembled.



"... Thank you, Ruby," he said softly, voice choked with emotion. Ruby beamed, stood up, and hugged him tightly around the mid-section.



"No problem, Ren," she said. "So um... What do the letters say?"



Ren took a deep breath and centered himself. He looked at the letters, even as he tried to pull away from the hug. Ruby, however, would not let him. So he read it anyway.



"It's a poem. It reads: 'My veins are strings, my pulse is percussion, my breath is air flowing through a woodwind, and there is no place for the distortion of evil in the music of my life.'"



"Woah," Ruby whispered, "Awesome! Did your mom write that?"



"I believe so," Ren said with a slow nod.



Ruby beamed.



"Your mom sounds really cool!"



Ren smiled softly.



"She was."



- - -



A short bit between Ren and Ruby. I thought it might be cool if Ren had some legacy from his family that Ruby could help him work out.



The poem and transforming pipa are from "Thunderbolt Fantasy".

 

[LordofBones]

Crackfic idea: Jaune's semblance is "Morally Questionable Blonde", which turns him into a variety of, you guessed it, morally-questionable blondes. Sometimes, he gets someone like Lord Flashheart, who's only dangerous to the chastity of women in the vicinity.

And sometimes, he gets someone like Lich King Arthas Menethil.

 

[Unknown_One]

Crackfic idea: Jaune's semblance is "Morally Questionable Blonde", which turns him into a variety of, you guessed it, morally-questionable blondes. Sometimes, he gets someone like Lord Flashheart, who's only dangerous to the chastity of women in the vicinity.

And sometimes, he gets someone like Lich King Arthas Menethil.

Click to shrink...

Or even just normal Arthas Menethil is morally questionable. Just one tries to act heroically, the other is a tyrant.