[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

In the large lawless frontiers of Remnant, in the dark places between the lit islands of civilization, criminals of every description hide in settlements, bandit camps, railroad towns, and even in the major cities in the underground. Regular police and the Rangers are insufficient to handle all this criminal traffic. Thus, it falls to the bounty hunters to bring them in.

The requirements to become a bounty hunter are much lower than those of a licensed Hunter or the Rangers, but it is still a difficult, deadly and dangerous job. The local guilds do have laxer policies on Aura activation than the military or the Rangers though, which makes it a popular draw. That said, mortality rates for bounty hunters tend to be high unless they had military, Hunting or other combat experience beforehand.

In the dark places of Remnant, these men and women seek out criminals to bring to justice for lien. Some are noble warriors seeking justice. Some are fighters who seek a challenge. Some are little better than the criminals they hunt. All need to make money to keep going, and just happen to be good at this profession.

Their backgrounds tend to be ex-military, failed Hunters, ex-Rangers, mercenaries seeking a quick buck or more stable employment, and others. Support teams range from normal accountants seeking a thrill to mechanics who want to get out and see the world. The life of a bounty hunter is seldom glamorous: Mostly it is long hours of investigation, preparation, and boredom punctuated by brief moments of violence. Some bounty hunters turn it into a lucrative business by televising their adventures, others live from paycheck to paycheck.

Yet one thing remains certain: Even in a world of soulless monsters trying to devour all of man and Faunuskind, among them are worse monsters. So long as there are criminals the police cannot tackle alone or the Rangers cannot track down, there will always be jobs for bounty hunters.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A bit more of a proper bio for Katy Sith:

Spoiler

She is an optimistic sweetheart of a girl who was content doing some online modeling then becoming a farm wife for Jaune in Radian.
She's blonde, fit, busty, and a bit of an unintentional tease. She's fun, optimistic, and a bit simplistic in her outlook but very sweet. She also hates Menagerian Faunus. She and her family have been proud Valeans for generations and allies of the Arcs. They own their own farm next to the Arc grounds and have so for centuries. They are not second-class citizens and think The White Fang and Ghira Belladonna can go to hell.

She's basically the hot girl next door. Think Luanne from "King of the Hill" for how she's a bit of a ditz but very sweet and kind. She's also very religious and works for charities in the Church of the Broken Table. She and Jaune were childhood friends, very close. She was always a ray of sunshine in his life, and he was a steadying influence in hers. They were very close even before dating. Her big brother, Mercer Sith Jr, was very protective of his little sister so trusting her with Jaune was a big mark of respect he held for the Arc scion.

Main issue though is that Katy was content to live in Radian and for Jaune to become her husband as a farmer or Doctor. She wants to run a farm and have lots of children right where she is. Jaune wasn't content to do that. They argued over it a lot. Katy isn't stupid or controlling, she just knows what she wants out of life: To be a bride to a good man and mother of his children in the town she loves. Jaune wants a wife and kids someday, but he doesn't want to follow his mother's dictates.

So again, they did argue, but they were friends before they were in a romantic relationship. So they agreed to break up but stay friends.

Narratively speaking she's supposed to represent the temptation Jaune had for a simple, non-heroic life, to just follow what his mother wanted him to do. But he couldn't. So there's a slight element of tragedy to the relationship.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

@LordofBones Here's a fun concept.

Mercer Sith Junior (Katy's older brother and Jaune's friend) is a fiercely stubborn and hot headed farmer who is very loyal to Vale, Radian, and the Arcs. So he argues constantly with Blake the moment she shows up on politics. However, he has an ulterior motive...

Mercer Sith Jr yells at Blake, she yells back, they argue a lot...

Mercer: "You wanna settle this at the pub?!"

Blake: "FINE! I'LL BE THERE!"

Mercer: "I'LL BRING FLOWERS AND BUY GOOD ALE AT SIX! DON'T BE LATE YOU SPOILED PRISSY PRINCESS!"

Blake: "FINE YOU BRAINLESS BRUTE!"

Mercer heads off, but he's smiling. Jaune sees this and realizes...

Jaune: "... Oh... Crap..."

Blake: "That bastard, I'll make him see how things really are! The nerve of him, insisting I come out into public to keep arguing-!"

Jaune: "Ummm... Blake? He wasn't... Arguing. I mean, not entirely."

Blake: "Huh?"

Jaune: "He was... Flirting."

Blake: "Flirting?!"

Jaune: "Yeah. Katy used to argue with me all the time before I asked her out. It's how the Sith family does things."

Ruby: "Woah, seriously?!"

Jaune: "I mean she wasn't very good at it but it was super cute."

Yang: "HA! Looks like Sun has competition!"

Blake: "N-No! I mean... I didn't... He kept shooting down every one of my arguments and insulting me!"

Jaune: "Yeah, and the fact he kept it up so vigorously meant he thought you were into it."

Blake: "But I-!"

Jaune: "I think you really got his attention when you called him a 'knuckle dragging farm cat with the sense of a mule.'"

Yang: "Oh yeah, his eyes totally lit up then."

Ruby: "Wait, does this mean Weiss and Blake have a thing with how often they argue?"

Weiss: "Certainly not! Besides, who am I to step in the way of Mercer Sith Junior?" smirks "He's been a perfect gentleman to me this whole time!"

Blake: groans
- - -
As for what Mercer Sith Junior looks like? Well, I tried to find art that works for him. But all these blond catmen or catboys look way too effeminate.

Mercer Junior is a bluecollar kind of catman, a good old country boy. Works hard on his farm. Has a muscle car. Has muscles, period. Loves Valean NASCAR. But he's not an idiot: He knows his business, and he knows politics. Also knows how to hotwire a car or tractor and how to plant crops properly. I imagine Blake thought he was just a rural simpleton who needed educating, which irritated him. But the fact she's also pretty stubborn, brave and hot would definitely attract him to her.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Katy: sees RWBY and P, looks back at Jaune "Oh, I see. You wanted a battle harem."

Jaune: "Wha-No I didn't!"

Katy: "I completely understand Jaune! I just wasn't enough for you!" smiles "You're too much of a man for any one civilian woman!"

Jaune: "No, I am absolutely not-!"

Katy: "I wish you well, sweetie! In fact! I'll help you!"

Jaune: "No, you don't have to-!"

Katy: "I absolutely do!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Yang stares at Isabel. Isabel stares back. An old clock ticks in the background as the silence stretches on.



Yang: "I mean... Look. So I've gotten some juvenile charges here and there. That doesn't mean I'm crazy or anything!"



Isabel: "Therapy is not just for crazy people, just as medical care isn't just for people who are dying. Your mind needs healing like any other part of you."



Yang: sigh "So, what, you think I need healing? I'm a problem child with a lot of issues so we need to talk things through to fix me?"



Isabel: "It's really up to you how this goes, Yang. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do. If you think you don't have any problems, then we don't need to discuss them. We can sit in silence or talk about the weather..."



Yang: sighs "But we're gonna have to do this anyway, huh? Fine... Let's just get through the obvious BS as quickly as possible. You knew my mom, right?"



Isabel: "Yes."



Yang: "And you can shapeshift, right?"



Isabel: "To a limited extent, yes. Why?"



Yang: "Let's just... Go outside, you turn into my mom, we fight, we make up, and we call it good. How's that?"



Isabel: "That's not how therapy works, Yang-"



Yang: "You said we could do what I want, right? Well, let's do this! I'll make some actual progress or whatever, not that I need any, you get to report I'm not crazy, everyone's good!"



Isabel: "Yang, this is really not how it works-"



Yang: scowls "This is what I want, got it?! So we're gonna do it!"



Isabel: sighs "All right."



They go outside to a training ground. Yang warms up and stretches a bit. Isabel does the same.



Yang: grins "Besides... You were one of the strongest Huntresses in Vale. I wanna see how I stack up!" Poses "Especially since I don't have to cheat!"



Isabel: deadpan "Haven't heard that before."



Yang: "All right... Come on... Let's go!" She charges Isabel, fist raised, grin wide...



Isabel turns into Summer Rose. Yang falters and trips, falling to her knees.



Isabel: In Summer's voice "Yang? Are you all right? What's wrong?"



Yang: "You... But...!"



Isabel: "Yang? I... This is what you wanted, right? Your mother?"



Yang: sobs "... I-I'm sorry!"



Isabel: alarmed, she kneels down and pulls Yang into a hug "Yang?!"



Yang: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-I wasn't good enough! Why did you leave me?! WHY?!"



Isabel realizes, too late, that Yang wasn't thinking of Summer.



Isabel: holds her tightly, and rubs her back "It's all right, Yang, it's all right... I'm sorry I left you. I didn't want to... I love you, Yang. I really do. I'm very proud of you, Yang. I'm so proud..."



Yang continues to sob, a broken wreck.



Isabel changes back to her true form, and gets Yang back to the office. Yang sits on the couch, looking miserable. Isabel keeps holding her.



Isabel: sigh "I'm sorry, Yang. This is my fault. I was completely unprofessional. I should not have done that."



Yang: "... I'm sorry... Please, don't..." sniffles "... I-I didn't know... It would hurt so much..."



Isabel: "I know. I know. I'm sorry, Yang."



Yang: "Am... Am I crazy or-?"



Isabel: "No! You are NOT crazy. There is nothing morally wrong with you, Yang! You've just suffered a lot of trauma. There are very few people who haven't! But that's why therapy, real therapy, isn't like how it is in the movies. It's not something you can just punch your way through."



Yang: sniffles "... Will... I mean... Will you help me?"



Isabel: "Yes Yang. Of course I will."



Yang: "Thank you..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The old farmhouse still had a picturesque quality. Like something out of a fairy tale or a travelogue.

Glynda Goodwitch could only hope the owner was in as picturesque a mood. She steeled herself as she walked up onto the porch. She took a moment to appreciate the many wind chimes on the porch, most clearly made by children, before she knocked on the door.

A few moments passed, before a large figure approached the door. Said figure slowly opened it. Glynda blinked in shock, an emotion shared by the giant man staring back in a messy apron.

"Gynda?"

"Nick?" She gasped.

Nick held up a finger to his lips and shushed.

"He just got to sleep, please... Come in."

He led her inside. Glynda had to step carefully over several discarded toys and children's clothes in the messy living room. On the coffee table sat a baby carrier, where a tiny infant lay sleeping. Nick bent over and, despite the sheer size of the man, he gently checked on his sleeping son. He smiled in relief, despite the bags under his eyes.

"Just stay quiet, please," Nick murmured, slowly sitting down on the couch. Glynda cleared off a few sweaters before she sat in the opposing chair.

"It's good to see you, Glynda," Nick said, smiling warmly. Glynda sighed.

"And you. I'm sorry I missed the funeral." She shut her eyes tightly. "I didn't even hear about it until I got back from the semester end training mission... I'm so sorry-"

"No, no, it's okay," Nick sighed, gently rocking his sleeping baby, "It's okay. Arjun and Saia couldn't make it due to a terrorist attack. Can't blame them for not getting away."

Glynda frowned in deep concern.

"Nick... Are..."

She was so terrible at this...

"Where are the other children?" She settled on.

Nick shrugged.

"I asked Nana to look after them. She and Papa took them out to the swimming hole. Not many of them were enthusiastic. Jaune here has been crying all the time he's awake. We don't get a lot of sleep."

He smiled despite this at the tiny baby. Glynda felt her own heart melt as she looked upon his squishy, innocent features.

"You're not taking care of them all by yourself, then?" Glynda asked carefully.

Nick shook his head, though it looked like it took him a lot of effort. His eyebags had bags under them, yet he still stayed erect and mostly alert.

"No... No. Everyone's been pitching in. Tex, the Sarge, Caboose, Church, they all stop by. The Siths too..." He yawned. "Saphron's been trying to help too... Sweetie's only seven but she's so mature."

He sighed.

"She's hurting though. They all are. Even Tanya knows what's wrong..."

"... And you?" Glynda asked gently. Nick looked up at her, and shrugged.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," he mumbled, "What do you say when... When your wife dies?"

The big man slowly looked back at the door, and let out a shaky sigh.

"I keep expecting her to walk back in here. Yell at me for not cleaning up. Letting the girls stay up too late..."

He shut his eyes.

"Then I remember... She's dead. And she won't come back. And..."

He shrugged.

"She did most of the thinking, you know? She was the smart one. Me? I..."

His shoulders sunk.

"I love my kids, Glynda. I really do... And a month without her I just..." He shrugged helplessly and held his hands out. "I feel like I'm mowing in circles, you know? Between the farm, and-and everything, I just..."

He shut his eyes tightly.

"... Is it normal to feel like you have no idea what you're doing? Like you're completely lost?" He whispered. "I grew up never knowing my family. My master, Grandpa George-He died too, but... But I could handle that. Losing Izzy... I..."

He shook his head slowly.

"I know what to do but... This isn't something I can just swing a sword at. Punch through. Or... Or anything. So..."

He sagged back on the couch.

"I don't know if I'm doing well... I don't even know if I can do 'well' at this. Because she's not coming back, but my heart doesn't know that yet."

Glynda frowned deeply. Nick had always been honest and forthright. Almost hopelessly so. For him to not have any of his usual confidence...

It was wrong to her. Deeply wrong.

She lifted her riding crop, and waved it around. With a surge of purple Aura energy, everything was cleaned up, all the clothes were neatly folded into piles. Nick opened his eyes and blinked rapidly.

"No... She isn't," Glynda said quietly, "But, if you're open to more help? I... I would be willing to pitch in."

Nick slowly shook his head.

"You live all the way in Vale, Glynda. It's a heck of a commute-"

"I'm two years into teaching at Beacon, and... And I've realized that that's all I have," Glynda confessed. "My apartment outside the school barely gets used. It's just a pretense that I have a life outside of it."

She looked down at the still sleeping Jaune. The idea was... Was wild. Impulsive. But seeing one of her oldest friends like this, so lost...

"I can come during the semester breaks at least, and maybe the weekends," Glynda went on, "I can at least help you, Nick. You two were some of my oldest friends... It's the least I should do."

Nick opened his mouth to answer. What it would have been, Glynda didn't know-Jaune perked up and began to cry. Nick sighed, rocking his baby carrier.

"Sorry... Hang on."

He gently pulled Jaune out of the carrier, and held him out to Glynda. Her eyes widened.

"I-what-?"

"Just hold him for a bit, I'll get his bottle," Nick explained, setting his son carefully in her arms, "I'll be right back!"

He turned and headed into the kitchen, as always, quite quick despite his large size. Glynda carefully tucked Jaune's head under her bicep and rocked him, as she distantly remembered how to hold a baby. It had been so long.

He's so warm, Glynda thought faintly, Did Isabel unlock his Aura...?

If she was in so much distress during the birth that she'd had to do that... It must have been with the last of her energy. Even in her final moments, she was trying to save someone's life.

"There there, little one," Glynda murmured, as Jaune whined, "It's all right. I'm here... I'm here..."

She flared her Aura gently. Thrumming it in time with her heartbeat. If his Aura was activated, he would feel it, and hopefully it would soothe him...

His cries lessened, until he was simply cooing up at her with those big blue eyes. She smiled down at him, and felt her heart melt even more.

"Hello... Hello, I'm Glynda. It's nice to meet you, Jaune," she murmured.

She heard a creak in the floorboards. She looked up. Nick was staring at her in amazement, eyes wide, jaw dropped.

"He... He stopped crying!" He gasped.

"I... I um, I think his Aura is active, so he can sense it," Glynda said, "So I thrummed my Aura... It seems to calm him down and..."

Nick laughed. It was exhausted and hoarse, but it was a real laugh. He staggered over to her, and handed her the bottle.

"Here. You'll need this."

"Nick?" Glynda asked, as Nick staggered to his large armchair. He collapsed into it, his head bowing deeply. Glynda allowed herself a small smile.

Poor man's exhausted, Glynda thought. She looked back down at Jaune, who was reaching up to grasp for her.

"Your father is working very hard," Glynda told him, "When's the last time you had a break, Nick? ... Nick?"

A soft snore greeted her. She sighed, and summoned up her Aura. She wrapped a blanket around the sleeping giant. She smiled warmly at him.

"Rest," she said quietly, "I'll take care of things... As much as I can."

She turned and continued to rock Jaune. She sighed as she spotted one out of the hundreds of photos on the wall. It was a class picture: Isabel's team had been out on the grounds, and had found her. Nick had dragged her into the photo in front of the fountain.

Arjun had scowled. Saia had smiled nervously. Isabel smiled in a perfunctory manner, but Nick had just outright grinned. And despite herself, her smile had been genuine. Team SANI had been a complete menace... But Glynda would admit? That knowing them had made her life a lot more fun.

"I'll take care of them, Izzy," Glynda murmured quietly to the smiling Isabel, "I promise."

It was the least she could do for them.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

On Aura and Jaune not getting his Aura unlocked before he goes to Beacon...

Honestly, it is more bad writing that really needed to be fixed by an editor. The solution I gave in White Knight Errant is that Jaune did get his Aura unlocked by his mom and had been training himself. He then ran off and got overwhelmed because even with his massive amounts of Aura, he's not trained to use it properly in combat.

There are lots of fanon theories about Aura. Me? I go with the idea that not everyone has the same Aura potential. It's not unlike the Old EU Jedi: Everyone alive has Force energy, but not everyone is Force Sensitive. And even those who are have different levels of potential. Training can help some become stronger or make better use of what they have, while others? It's just not going to get any stronger. That would be the best solution, I think. Some people when they have their Aura unlocked can become incredibly powerful combatants, and some just get a little stronger and tougher. Maybe a little luckier. Also, not everyone unlocks a Semblance. And even if they do? It's not always useful in combat.

People with unlocked Auras and training in using it can sense how strong other people are, locked or unlocked. Hence why Pyrrha told Jaune he had large Aura reserves: She could sense it from him. It would require a LOT of training to get that good and to be able to properly unlock another's Aura. As well as sense if they had the potential for it to be worthwhile. And Pyrrha could very easily have gotten such training as part of becoming a champion.

This would also fit in nicely with Jaune's struggles at the start: Despite his enormous Aura power? He has no idea how to use it properly or how to fight effectively. So while he has, in essence, a very large HP and MP pool to draw from, it does you no good if you can't DO anything with it. He's rendered a punching bag who just lasts for a while.

But if you stick with the canon that Jaune didn't get his Aura unlocked until Beacon and his parents let him leave home without that happening, there is a simple explanation:

At the Arc dining room, breakfast, a few days after Jaune left and went to Beacon.

Isabel: "I still can't believe you let him run off!"

Nick: "It's what he wanted, Izzy. Besides, he'll be fine! Between you and me, his Aura levels should be staggering! He'll do all right with some proper training and experience!"

Isabel: sighs in relief "Oh thank the Emperor Above, you unlocked his Aura before he left!"

Nick: blinks "... Nnnno, I thought you did. For his medical training?"

Isabel: "I wasn't going to unlock his Aura until he was actually at medical school! Wait... If I didn't unlock his Aura, and you didn't...?"

Nick and Isabel: "..."

A second later, the panicked parents punch through the front door and rush for the airship dock.

Isabel: "BABY, MOMMY'S COMING!"

Nick: "SON, HANG ON, YOUR DAD'S ON THE WAY!"

Because being oblivious at times can run in the family...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune adjusted his tie and then ran a comb through his hair. He squinted at himself in the bathroom mirror for what felt like the millionth time. He sighed and adjusted his tie again.



There was a knock on the door. Jaune cleared his throat.



"Be right out!"



He turned and walked to the door. He prayed to the Table Breaker for strength, and opened it up.



He held back a sigh of relief: It was just Ren. The stoic Mistralian raised an eyebrow as he looked Jaune up and down.



"You actually shaved," he observed.



Jaune nodded.



"Yup. Still usin' safety razors but ya know, they're practical."



Ren nodded back.



"Indeed," He stated. "Coast is clear."



Jaune smiled.



"Thank you," he said in genuine thanks. He turned and headed to the door to the common room. He opened it... And was greeted by all of RWBY and the rest of JNPR, all standing ready.



Jaune's eyes narrowed. He looked back over his shoulder at Ren.



"Et tu, Ren?" He muttered.



The Mistralian martial artist shrugged.



"Purely self preservation," he murmured back.



Jaune looked back and forced a smile on his face. A smile nearly as brittle as Pyrrha's, though the redhead was blushing.



"Wow Jaune, um, you clean up... Very nicely," she complimented him. Jaune coughed and nodded.



"Thank you, Pyrrha. There is a dress code, after all."



"Yes, a very strict one at the Minerva," Weiss observed, boldly walking up to examine him. She hummed.



"It's a bit cheap-"



"Says the richest girl on Remnant," Ruby muttered. Weiss ignored that.



"-But well tailored," she complimented him. Jaune nodded back.



"Thank you, Weiss."



"Yeah, but your tie's a bit crooked," Yang chuckled. She brushed Weiss aside (ignoring the heiress's squawk) and reached up to adjust it. She smiled up into his eyes, her fingers lingering a bit too long as she undid and redid his tie. He gulped and blushed.



"There. That's better," she winked, "Gotta keep you on the straight and narrow, don't we, cowboy~?"



"Uh, um, y-yes," Jaune stuttered. Ruby shoved Yang aside, using momentum to make up for her smaller stature. She beamed up at him.



"You're using hair gel, too! What about your hat?"



Jaune winced.



"Er... Well... They apparently don't let hats in. Or ponchos."



He scowled.



"Or guns."



"Aw, it's like you're going in naked~," Yang cooed, leaning in. Ruby scowled at her. Pyrrha tactfully reached out and led Jaune away from the glaring sisters.



"No cologne?" She asked, sniffing the air. Jaune shook his head.



"Ain't nothing but a friendly dinner. So no need," he stated.



"Still, a bit wouldn't hurt," Weiss suggested. She held up a spray bottle and squeezed the bulb. Jaune coughed at the very strong musk that entered his nostrils, and he waved his hand in front of his face. Pyrrha, despite her impeccable manners, grimaced.



"Landsakes, Weiss! What in tarnation is that?!"



"'Essence of Stallion'," Weiss said with a smirk over at Blake, "It will keep Miss Scarlatina from getting any ideas, given she is a Faunus and thus has a heightened sense of smell. Isn't that right, Blake?"



Blake, who was sitting on the couch, nodded.



"Just to keep things from getting awkward," Blake added.



Yang, Ruby and Pyrrha looked at the smug Weiss with some grudging respect. Jaune sighed and nodded.



"Well, thank you, but again: It's just gonna be a friendly date. I'll be back in time for movie night."



"You'd better!" Nora shouted from the projector set up on the other side of the room, "I still haven't gotten all the subtitles off this movie!"



"The subtitles come with the movie, Nora," Ruby said in concern. Nora frowned and tilted the holoprojector upside down.



"Really?"



"Have a good time!" Pyrrha said, her smile extremely brittle, "We'll be counting the minutes until you return!"



"So don't take too long," Yang said with a cocky smirk, "You'd better hop to it, got it?"



"That's racist," Blake muttered.



Jaune nodded slowly.



"Sure thing," he said. "Jest as long as none of you follow me."



All the women gained looks of innocence that might have fooled a nun.



"What? Follow you? What for?" Weiss asked.



"You on a dinner date with Velvet? Totally boring!" Yang added.



"We would never violate your trust and privacy like that, Jaune!" Pyrrha contributed, "Even if we thought it was for your own good."



"We can just track you by your Scroll!" Ruby added. The other girls glared at her, and she coughed. "I-I mean... Just in case of any trouble?"



Jaune rolled his eyes. He reached out and patted Ruby on the head.



"She's just a friend. We're all friends."



He did his best to ignore the hurt in their eyes. Honestly... He wasn't some kind of Adonis! The sooner they realized that, the better.



Still, he caught Blake's intense look, I shouldn't be so dismissive of their feelings.



"Honestly, you have nothin' to fret over," he said calmly, "Any of you."



That mollified most of them, though Pyrrha still looked concerned. Jaune patted Ruby on the head again, before he turned and headed out the door.



He walked down the hallway, down the stairs, and for CVFY's dormroom.



Maybe I should have gotten flowers or-or something-NO! This is just a friendly outing, nothing more, He thought to himself. He knocked on the door, and stood back respectfully.



A moment later, Coco Adel opened the door up. She looked Jaune up and down with an accomplished fashionista's eye. She sighed.



"Well, it could be worse," she said, "That tie is terrible though."



Jaune looked down at the red and blue tie, and shrugged.



"Is it? Thought it went well with my eyes-Hey!"



Coco yanked the tie off, and quickly replaced it with a bolo tie inset with aquamarine. She then produced a white Stetson, which she placed on Jaune's head.



"My little Bun-Bun is expecting a cowboy," she stated firmly, "So don't disappoint." She glared at him and grabbed his lapels with some truly impressive strength. "Got it?"



"G-Got it!" Jaune stuttered.



"Coco? Is it him?" Velvet called from inside the dorm. Coco set Jaune down and dusted him off.



"Yup! He's all set, Bun-Bun!" Coco said, sing-song. She glared and jabbed Jaune in the chest. "You make sure she has a good time!"



Jaune shook his head rapidly, still mystified as to how Coco knew his hat size, before he responded.



"Don't you worry, Miss Adel. I will not take advantage of her, nosiree."



Coco's eyes narrowed dangerously.



"Oh yes you will, Mister! If she wants it, you're giving it to her!"



Jaune gaped, his cheeks flushing red with blood.



"I-Wha-?!"



"Hey! Sorry it took me so long!" Velvet apologized. Coco stood aside and let Velvet be fully framed by the door. Jaune's jaw dropped and his heart seemed to freeze.



She was blushing and utterly radiant in a sleek red dress. It had a slit going up the side, showing off her gorgeous legs, while the neckline was low enough to tease her cleavage without being obscene. Red straps went up around her neck, and she smiled bashfully as she held her purse in front of her.



"So um... Y-You look nice," she complimented him. She sniffed the air, and blushed harder. "N-Nice cologne!"



"Oh, uh, th-thank you, you look... V-Very nice," Jaune stuttered.



Coco waited for a moment, before she elbowed Jaune. He coughed as his manners came to the forefront. He held out his elbow, and Velvet shyly took hold of it.



"Shall we?" Jaune asked. Velvet nodded eagerly. The two set out, her hips bumping against him with every step.



He looked back over his shoulder. Coco was scowling at him. She then made an obscene gesture with her hands, and pointed at Jaune menacingly. He gulped, and nodded, even as Velvet strayed a bit closer to him.



"So uh, I hope we're not late to the Bullheads," she said.



"D-Don't worry, we'll be on time," Jaune managed.



Table-Breaker, give me strength, he mentally groaned.



- - -



Cardin Winchester turned the corner and walked towards CFVY's dorm. He had some wildflowers he had picked-Nothing fancy, just enough for an apology. He stared at Coco Adel, who was standing outside the dorm.



"Uh, hey Adel," he greeted. The fashionista turned around and glared at him.



"What do you want?" She demanded.



"Er... Just wanted to apologize to... Velvet," Cardin managed, wilting a bit under the intense glare.



"Why should I believe you?" Coco demanded.



"Because... Because I screwed up and I want to make things right," he said, spreading his arms wide. He grimaced. "I don't know if an apology can make up for it but... But I wanna try. I want to fix my mistakes."



Coco glared at him in silence. Cardin twitched a bit, but was able to hold his ground. In hindsight, maybe picking on a Faunus girl with such an intimidating team leader had been a bad idea.



Finally, Coco relented and shrugged.



"She's out on a date with Arc," she said. Cardin's eyes widened.



"Wait, what?!"



"So," Coco said with a grin, "You wanna apologize to her? You're gonna have to wait... Or go after her."



"Well, uh, I can wait," Cardin said with a shrug. Coco glared.



"The hell kind of conviction is that?!"



Cardin blinked rapidly.



"Huh?"



"After what you did, you should chase after her and dramatically beg for forgiveness!" Coco growled, "Make it clear how sorry you are!"



"But I-"



"I will not accept anything less!" Coco declared. She hefted up her handbag, and released her Gianduja. The minigun spun up ominiously.



"So, either you chase after her and declare how sorry you are, or Gianduja here will make you sorry. What's it gonna be?"



Cardin wisely ran for the door, clutching the flowers tightly as he sprinted for his very life.



Coco smirked.



"Well..."



She went over to a window to look down at the entrance.



"That was lucky... Now... Three, two, one..."



Team RWBY and Pyrrha emerged from one door, clearly intent on the Bullhead landing pads... When Cardin barreled out the other door, right into them. A very large and loud argument broke out between them.



People wondered if Coco Adel was just a pretty face with a broken Semblance and a minigun. Truth be told, in order to be effective with her fire, she had to be good at math. And while she was no Steven Falconing, she was able to make calculations on the fly that would impress an Atlasian Fire Control Officer.



Paired with her mastery of social fu... And it was little wonder she'd become not just a team leader but the queen bee of Beacon.



"That should keep those thirsty girls out of Bun-Bun's hair," Coco chuckled. "She'd better appreciate all of this..."



- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Blake had been assigned a dual project with Jaune Arc. At first she had been leery of the young knight, given how often he seemed to slack off on studying. However, when it came to studying, he did actually pull his weight. He had scheduled their meeting at the library and already had a selection of books and holodrives ready to go for the study project.



He did have a tendency to babble on and think out loud, but... Well... She didn't mind it too much.



"... Flanking maneuvers during the Faunus Revolution cost General Winchester a crucial victory at Green Meadows Pass," Jaune murmured, writing down some notes. He frowned thoughtfully.



"I think my Nana might know some things about it. If you'd like to call her as a source?"



Blake blinked.



"Your nana?"



Jaune smiled a bit nervously.



"Um, yeah, my great-grandmother. She was... A military advisor, of sorts, to the Valean Defense Force during that time. She fought in the Great War so they brought her on as a consultant. My Papa too."



Blake hummed.



"Having an eyewitness would be a great reference," she allowed. She scowled. "Though I think you should handle talking to her."



"Huh? Oh, no," Jaune shook his head, "She actually resigned after a few months. Said it was disgusting how things went. She's fine with Faunus, trust me."



Blake hummed.



"... I've been trying to trust more people," she allowed, "It... Hasn't been easy."



Jaune nodded back.



"I... I guess not," he murmured. "But... There are people who would accept you. My nana is one of them. One of her most trusted friends was a Faunus, my great uncle Percival. He's a dove Faunus."



Blake blinked.



"Wait... A dove Faunus named Percival...? Military advisor...?"



Her pupils shrank in disbelief.



"Your great-grandmother is Queen Arturia Pendragon?!" She hissed in disbelief. Jaune winced, and looked around in worry. A few people looked their way, but then went back to their studies, reading, or gaming. Jaune sighed in relief.



"Yeah. She abdicated a long time ago so it doesn't matter. Just... Keep it to yourself, please?"



Blake slowly nodded, though she stared at Jaune in shock for a while longer. Sure, she'd head of the Arcs. Their history was fascinating (and had inspired more than a few of her historical romances). But to know that Jaune was a direct descendant of The Empress of Knights!



Weiss would blow her top... Which was an amusing thought.



"I... I will," Blake said softly, "I know how complicated things can get when... When your lineage is revealed."



Jaune smiled back kindly. He did look a bit handsome when he did that-



"Lady Blake Belladonna," whispered an urgent and painfully familiar voice.



Blake's stomach bottomed out as dread filled her entire body. She looked to her right to see a smug looking rabbit Faunus boy. He looked like he'd stepped out of a Greenwood movie: With his slicked back hair, high cheekbones, pointed chin, devilish good looks, and fit and lithe body. HIs eyes were black as coal, and he had dispensed with the tie to unbutton the top buttons of his school uniform shirt to show off his chiseled chest.



"Hex Skvader," Blake greeted the Faunus boy neutrally. He grinned.



"I get that you want to keep a low profile," he murmured, "I totally get it. But it wouldn't hurt if you had an ally in your corner, would it? A loyal, fantastic boyfriend?" He posed with a smirk.



"Think about it... We'd be the perfect power couple. My family's got connections. Connections that can help you and Menagerie. What do you say? You deserve only the best... And that's me."



He shot a sneer at Jaune.



"Especially compared to some smelly human oaf."



Jaune winced. Blake's eyes narrowed.



"I'll thank you not to say things like that about my boyfriend," Blake stated flatly. She reached out and took Jaune's hand over the table. Jaune blinked in shock, but fortunately he wasn't quite as dense here as he was in most social situations.



"Yeah. So... Beat it," Jaune stated. Hex scowled.



"Oh please. She's related to Menagerie's ruling family! Part of the Belladonna clan!" He smirked at Blake in a condescending way.



"I realize you're keeping a low profile, but no need to lie to me. Now, how about you ditch this hairless ape and we can work on multiplication? ... Of our assets," he quickly added.



Blake's sour mood turned to anger.



"Jaune, how about we study somewhere else?" Blake asked. Jaune nodded, collecting all the books and drives.



"Sounds good to me."



Hex gaped as Blake and Jaune walked away. He reached out to seize Blake's wrist.



"Now hang on a second! What's he got that I don't-?"



Blake had been all set to grab Hex's wrist and snap it like a twig. Jaune however moved between her and him and glared.



"Are you deaf with four ears? She said beat it," Jaune growled.



Blake blinked rapidly. Sure, she could take care of herself. She'd done that for so long, it was hard to imagine not doing it.



But someone standing up for her, between her and a threat? Well... It was kind of nice.



Yet the tension in the air was rising. If they got in a fight, it would lead to questions. Questions that might make things difficult-



The librarian, Professor Mombi, cleared her throat significantly. Hex slicked his hair back, and shrugged.



"We'll talk about this some more later, my Lady," Hex said, pointedly ignoring Jaune as he turned and stalked off.



Blake let out a breath she'd been holding. Jaune turned back to her, arms full of books.



"You okay?" He asked.



Blake nodded.



"Yes... He's been trying this routine for a few weeks. I'm... You know... Part of the Belladonna Clan back on Menagerie, and-and all..."



"Ah," Jaune said with a nod, "That sucks..."



His ears then turned bright red.



"Um... Did you tell him I'm your boyfriend?"



Blake's pale skin went red.



"I um... I kind of panicked," she admitted, "Could... Could you just go along with it? Just until he backs off?"



Jaune slowly nodded.



"I... Sure." He shrugged. "Not like I was making a lot of progress with Weiss anyway."



He looked so down at that, so defeated. Blake bit her lower lip.



"... It might make her jealous," Blake suggested.



Jaune frowned.



"I... I mean... I don't think I want to win her heart like that," he admitted softly. "It feels... Ya know... Insincere."



Blake stared at him for a bit.



"Same reason you didn't tell her about your lineage?"



"Kind of," Jaune admitted with a shrug, "I-I mean... I want to earn things on my terms. Not because of my family reputation, you know?"



Blake... Smiled softly.



"I think I understand... All too well..."



- - -



So, how else can Hex Skvader make a nuisance of himself?



And yes, I figure making a Belladonna Clan that Blake could be part of as disguise is the only way her infiltration would really work. Hex would just have figured out she's part of the Menagerie Belladonnas. So he thinks she's an in for him.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

That said, sometimes you just want to write a fucking asshole.



- - -



Hex sidles up alongside Weiss Schnee in study hall, smirking.



Hex: "Hey Schnee."



Weiss: doesn't even look up from her book "Skvader."



Hex: "I'm worthy of being known by the great Schnee Heiress herself, huh? Good to know."



Weiss: sighs "What do you want?"



Hex: "I just wanted to say... I get where you're coming from. I know how you feel."



Weiss: "Huh?"



Hex: "Truly, I do. You want to change things, make up for everything your family has done to Faunus, right?"



Weiss: "I... Yes...?"



Hex: "Well. Why don't you start off by getting to know us better? Talk to a Faunus, like, say... Me? One who doesn't have a grudge against your family."



Weiss: "You don't?"



Hex: "Nope! I mean, so what if some rats were worked to death in the mines. Not your fault... And not a huge loss." Confident smirk



Weiss: "That's horrible!"



Hex: "That's life, sweetheart. Besides..." He smirks and leans over the table, getting in her face "You know you want to hear these things. You feel and think them yourself. You just don't want to let them loose."



Weiss: sucks in a breath



Hex: "Me? I'm free. Free to say what everybody is really feeling and thinking. Some Faunus are trash. Some humans are trash, too. Like those losers on your team. How did you not get the leadership position, but Ozpin's good little pet did? It's totally unfair."



Weiss: "I..."



Hex: "Come on. Get to know me. Be free from your cage for a while. I guarantee, I'll help you feel all sorts of things you've denied yourself, Princess... All you have to do... Is cut loose..."



He leans in for a kiss... And Weiss kicks him in the balls with her Aura enhanced foot. Hex goes down to his knees.



Hex: "HURK!"



Weiss: "Huh. You're right. I do feel better."



She gets up and walks out of the study hall, as Hex wheezes.



Hex: "B-Bitch... What the hell...?!"



Weiss: "You think that pathetic little display is enough to make me swoon? Don't make me laugh."

 

[mgl1206]

Jaune was terrified. He knew the consequences of his actions would be dire, but he had no other choice. The fate of his future depended on it. Sure he may suffer in the short term but if he didn't, then he'd only suffer in the future. Therefore he had no choice.

He turned to stare at the accursed Scroll. A familiar number on the screen just begging to be pressed. Like a temptress calling him to his doom. A shiver ran down his spine as he imagined what the witch would do to him. If he pressed that button and summoned the devil, then no one, not even his eighth sister would be able to rescue him from her wrath. But he had no choice.

For a moment he wondered if he should find another to call upon before he shook his head. The other sister witches would be even worse and the coffee huntress? Jaune shuddered to even think of what she'd do to him if she got the chance. No, he had no other choice.

With a deep breath, Jaune hardened his bleeding heart and pressed the accursed button. The scroll barely hummed once before it was picked up and the voice of the devil sister came through.

"JAUNE! MY SWEET, ADORABLE, HUGGABLE, AND TOTALLY DEAD BABY BROTHER! What do you need help with?" Jaune shuddered at her forcefully cheerful tone. She was planning something, something that while he certainly deserved it, he was most certainly terrified of.

"Hey Saph… So uh…" he gulped "I kinda need your help with-" another terrified gulp "with-" he paused as tried to regain his nerves. His sister remained silent, waiting patiently for him to finish. He could already feel the malice coming off her through the phone. 'Might as well' he thought to himself before finally sighing.

"I need your help buying new clothes." He finished rapidly. He waited, in silence for her response. 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds passed before he heard something.

"YEEESSSSSS!!!""""

An ear piercing scream erupted from the scroll, causing Jaune to cover his ears in pain.

"Oh this is gonna be great! I should call the others. Ohh we could all go over and visit while we're shopping. And I get to meet your te-"

"SAPH!" Jaune cut her off. "You guys can't meet my team! And what about mom and dad? And the travel costs? I just need your help really, and please don't tell the others." He pleaded desperately, but as Jaune looked at her wonderful sister, all he felt was dread at the sight of the smirk on her face.

"Perhaps little brother, you should have thought of that before scaring us half to death."See you soon baby bro!" And with a taunting kiss, she ended the call. Leaving Jaune alone to wallow in his despair. His entire family was coming… and his sisters were coming with a vengeance. He had underestimated the effect he had with leaving and he was screwed because of it.

With a deep sigh, Jaune stood up and went to his desk, pulling out a sheet of paper and writing upon it, his last will and testament. Because he knew all too well there was no way he was going to survive.

Brother's help him.
——-

Edit: feel free to continue it. My idea was to have his sisters take their vengeance by using Jaune as a dress up doll, and drag his team along with to do it. (Ren may get caught in the crossfire because Nora. RWBY and CFVY (or rather Coco and Velvet) also come along because Coco has a 6th sense for shopping sprees.

Edit edit: more funny stuff would be they punish him further by dressing him up in a dress along with wigs and Jaune just decides to go with it because he may as well have fun with it since he can't oppose his sisters. Revealing his skill with hairstyles and makeup.

Edit edit edit: even more funny would be Neptune hitting on Jaune

Oh btw, the eight sister is Terra. and coffee huntress should be pretty obvious.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -



Everything went black as the Grimm closed in... She heard Cardin screaming her name, saw his terrified face as the darkness enveloped her...



And a second later, she felt someone tugging on her ear. She yelped in shock and pain, and looked around desperately.



Beacon? Beacon's cafeteria?! She thought in disbelief. She could see so many friends, so many gone for so long. Coco staring in anger, Daichi frowning, Fox scowling...



Another tug on her ear, and raucous laughter filled the air. Familiar laughter.



"Well well, so they are real!"



Velvet turned and looked up, eyes going wide. There was Cardin. Young, unscarred, and grinning nastily.



It hadn't been the most auspicious first meeting for both of them. He'd worked really hard to earn her forgiveness, and then love...



How... Am I hallucinating? Velvet thought in disbelief. Another painful tug, and she winced.



No... No... This is real... It... It's real... But how...?



She looked up into Cardin's face, her eyes now streaming tears. Cardin laughed cruelly again.



"So, you're just a freak, aren't you?"



This... This is REAL.



THIS.



IS.



REAL!



Velvet laughed loudly. She leaped up into Cardin's arms and kissed the surprised bully. She held onto him for dear life, relishing his warmth and familiar body.



"Mmmm~... I love you~," she crooned.



"Uh... Um... W-What?" Cardin stuttered, completely thrown by the turnaround.



"Let's get married!" Velvet cried in her joy.



"WHAT?!"



"SCREW IT! I'M NOT WASTING THIS SECOND CHANCE! LET'S JUST MAKE BABIES! NOW!"



"WHAAAAAT?!"



"Huh," Jaune Arc observed from nearby, "Why didn't I think of that?"

 

[Grrrrrrr]

isabel: alright Tanya you should be all better.

Tanya: thank you, mother. *exits "the house sick bed"

Isabel: Good luck with rehearsal

Tanya: * freezes*. What. Rehearsal.

Isabel: Why the rehearsal for Cinderella of course! You'll make a perfect Cinderella! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Tanya: *twitches* (oh they are deadmeat!)

*At the rehearsal location*

Tanya: I CALL IN SICK FOR ONE FUCKING DAY! ONE. DAY! AND YOU INGRATES HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CAST ME AS A FAIRY TALE PRINCESS!?! AND NOT EVEN THE ONE WHO GETS A SWORD?!?

Verdy: N-Now T-t-tanya, you know we can't trust you with sharp objects anymore… but i got the prince role so… at least some stranger won't be trying to kiss you.

Tanya: WHO PUT ME UP TO THIS!?!

Orchid: I did!

Tanya: *grabs Orchid cheeks and pulls with all her strength*

Verdy: TANYA! Please! Peace, over violence! Remner what dad always said!

Completely taken from this. Thanks to Grimjack, and thanks to B-Town of spacebattles for reminding me to always give credit

- YouTube

Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.

youtube.com

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The man in black with redhair stood over her. She screamed in pain, the stump where her right arm was bleeding and burning with agony. She scooted back away from the man as he advanced, his red katana gleaming ominously.

"Time to finish what I started," he hissed. He held the sword up, brought it down upon her-

"AAAHHH! AAHHH! AAAAHHH!"

Strong arms held her shoulders against a bed as she thrashed. She opened her eyes, frantically looking around as a woman spoke to her.

"Calm down! Calm down! It's all right, it's all right, you're safe, you're safe..."

Yang Xiao-Long looked into blue eyes. They were kindly and compassionate, outlined by black framed glasses. She took deep breaths, her chest heaving as her heart threatened to beat right out.

"That's right, that's right, calm, calm," the woman said softly, "You're safe, you're safe."

The panic slowly subsided. She managed to focus her eyes as her heartrate slowed.

She was in a warm room, covered in red wood paneling. A large window, covered in blinds, was to her left. She was in a hospital bed, with several beeping machines on either side of her. The woman was older, curvy, but beautiful. Her light golden hair was tied in a bun. She wore green scrubs underneath a white labcoat. Her chin was pointed, her lips red, and her cheeks rather round with light freckles from the sun scattered across them.

She looked a few inches shorter than Yang, but her grip was so strong Yang couldn't even think of breaking free.

Then again, she thought, the ghostly feeling of nothing under her right shoulder, I... I'm not exactly in good shape myself...

The thought made something inside her break. Tears began to pour from her eyes. She clutched at her stump with her remaining hand, as sobs began to tear their way out of her throat.

The woman wrapped her strong arms around her, and hugged her tightly. She stroked her back, then rubbed circles into her shoulders.

"It's all right, it's all right," the woman murmured, "It's all right, I'm right here. You're safe..."

"... R-Ruby?" Yang gasped between sobs.

"She's safe, she's all right," the woman said, "Jaune got you, her, and a few others here. You're all going to be all right, I promise."

"Where... Where's here...?" Yang whispered.

The woman smiled against Yang's forehead.

"Radian, Gallia Province. North Sanus."

She held Yang as she cried, comforting her. It might have been drugs, it might have been the emotional exhaustion, but Yang slipped back into unconsciousness.

At the very least, she didn't have any bad dreams this time around.

She woke up some time later. The blinds had been opened, and sunlight streamed in. She blinked back against the glare, and her eyes slowly adjusted. Again, her hand went to her stump. Her heartrate skyrocketed again but she forced herself to calm. She breathed again and again, as deep as she could. She grit her teeth huffing and puffing through her nostrils.

C-Calm... Calm... Calm... Calm...

"Yang?!"

Yang opened her eyes. She looked at the open door. A small form in a blue sundress and ill matching black boots stood there with wide silver eyes and short black hair with red tips.

"Ruby!"

Ruby sobbed, and practically tackled Yang in her hug. Yang wrapped her arm around her, tears pouring down her cheeks. Ruby was ugly crying, loudly sobbing into her hospital gown.

"Y-You were so pale--I-I couldn't hear your heartbeat and-!"

She broke down into incoherent sobs, but all were very thankful and relieved. Yang hugged her little sister tighter, resting her chin on the top of her head as she cried too.

"It's okay, it's okay... It's okay... A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Ruby looked up and shook her head. She glanced over at Yang's stump, and winced. She buried her face in Yang's chest and sobbed again. Yang sniffled, but held her tightly.

"It's okay... I-It's okay," she managed, her voice choked with emotion.

The two sisters cried for a time. Yang didn't really know how long, but Ruby finally pulled herself together long enough to look up into Yang's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I... I should have-"

As painful as it was... Old instincts came to Yang. She shook her head.

"This isn't your fault, Ruby," Yang said firmly, "O-Okay? This-This isn't your fault..."

"I... I could have... I should have..." Ruby whimpered.

"It isn't. Your. Fault," Yang said firmly, even as her voice wavered, "It isn't... It isn't, okay?"

Ruby still whimpered and hid her face in Yang's chest again. Yang found her fingers going through her short hair, just as she'd comforted her little sister when she was much younger.

"It's okay, it's okay," she whispered. "It's okay..."

"Hello? Can I come in?"

Yang and Ruby looked back at the entrance. The blonde woman from before stood there, smiling gently.

"S-Sure," Yang managed. Ruby smiled and looked up at Yang.

"Th-This is Isabel Arc. Um, Doctor Isabel Arc," she said, "Jaune's mom."

Yang's eyes bugged out as the older woman walked in and began to check on the various machines plugged into her hospital bed.

"Y-You're Vomit Boy-Um, I-I mean, Jaune's mom?"

"Guilty as charged," Isabel said wryly, taking Yang's remaining wrist and checking her pulse. She then shined a penlight in her eyes. "Good, good... May I check your injury?"

Yang winced, but managed a nod. Isabel kept her eyes locked on hers, a kind, gentle smile on her face.

"It's all right, I'm just going to examine it," she said softly. She pulled up the sleeve, and ran her hands over the bandages that wrapped the base up. She sighed softly as she pulled some up, and checked the stump itself.

"Good, good... No infection," she said, "It's healing properly. We'll be able to attach the prosthetic properly."

"Prosthetic?" Yang asked, shocked. Isabel nodded with a small smile.

"Yes. We're relatively close to Atlas, so we get good rates on Hunter and Military-rated prosthetics. The neural interfaces take some getting used to... But you'll adjust, and be back to 100 percent."

Isabel nodded and squeezed Yang's other hand.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now. And it will take time to heal in... Other ways..."

Yang winced. Isabel reached up and squeezed Yang's shoulder.

"But I promise... You're going to be okay again," Isabel said softly. "Okay?"

Yang looked down at Ruby. She managed a nod.

"O-Okay," Yang whispered.

"You-You mean it?" Ruby asked. Isabel again smiled warmly, and reached down to rub Ruby's head. For a moment, Yang saw another woman in her place. A redhead with silver eyes and different features, but the same kind, maternal warmth radiating from her.

"I mean it," Isabel said quietly. "Now... Do you feel up to another visitor? He's been very anxious since he brought you all in."

Ruby gave Yang a pleading look. Yang managed a slow nod.

"I... Sure," she murmured.

"Come on in, Jaune!" Isabel called. A moment later, a tall blond young man walked in.

For a moment, Yang was confused.

"Jaune?" She asked quietly.

The young man looked... Different. He wore a long brown coat over his armor and jeans, but his sneakers were replaced with muddy boots. His face was covered in thin stubble. There were bags under his eyes... Eyes that looked so hard for a moment.

Then, relief flooded his features.

"Yang? Y-You okay?"

He walked over to stand at her side. Yang managed a slow nod.

"I... As much as... Yeah," she finally decided on. "Mmph!"

Isabel shoved a straw into her mouth, a straw attached to a water bottle.

"Sip, sip, sip," Isabel ordered, and Yang obeyed. Ruby scooted out from under her arms to stand by Jaune. "Good, good... You're being hydrated by the saline but the old-fashioned way is best. You'll be getting meals from now on and you're going to eat everything you get, understood?"

"Mmph... Y-Yeah," Yang agreed, after sipping the entire bottle down, "How long was I out?"

"A week," Jaune said grimly. Ruby sniffled, and Jaune wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Ruby barely left your side when she woke up."

Ruby flushed. Yang managed the tiniest of smiles at her little sister.

"The nurses will be bringing your food," Isabel said, sighing as she checked her watch, "We've got a lot more patients to look after."

She turned and hugged Jaune and Ruby tightly.

"Take it easy for a while you two," she ordered, "Or I'll find out and make you."

"B-But, Mom-" Jaune tried, but Isabel's steely glare shut him up.

"No excuses. For either of you," she stated. Ruby winced, but nodded.

"Y-Yes ma'am," she said weakly.

Isabel smiled, and strode out of the room. Jaune slowly walked to some chairs near the far wall, and dragged them to the side of Yang's bed. Ruby sat down in one, and Jaune took the other. Yang stared intently at Jaune, this feeling of disbelief still strong inside her.

"I... What happened, Jaune?" She asked. "How the hell did you get us all here?"

Jaune sucked in a breath, and rubbed his face. Ruby squeezed his other hand.

"Well... Pyrrha..." He paused for a moment. He gritted his teeth and didn't look her way.

"What... What happened to Pyrrha?" Yang asked. "What happened to everyone? What happened to Vale?!"

"Yang, I..." Ruby bowed her head and looked at the floor. Jaune forced himself to sit up straight and looked into her eyes.

"Beacon... Beacon was overrun by Grimm," Jaune continued, "Vale is... Vale is in bad shape. The CCTNet was hit pretty bad. We're getting reports from it sometimes, and the radio networks still work, but... It looks like at least half the city's been wiped out. The police, local militias and Hunters are being organized by the surviving members of the government and Professor Goodwitch. We're doing what we can, so are other provinces, but it's ugly."

Yang stared intently at him. Jaune shook his head.

"Pyrrha... Pyrrha went to fight Cinder on her own," Jaune continued slowly, as though he was trying to force the words out, "Shot me away in a rocket locker. I landed near the library. Some... Some of my friends from Radian had brought their own airship here to watch the Festival, and managed to get to me to lead us to where they'd landed. Nora and Ren met me, they'd fought their way with a few of the other students. We... We found you in the wreckage of the library with Blake. She'd bandaged your wounds as best she could, then handed you over to me before she ran off. I uh... I carried you to the Bullhead."

"I... I see," Yang murmured.

Jaune sucked in another breath. Ruby pressed her face into his shoulders and bit back a weak sob.

"Pyrrha... Pyrrha fought Cinder on the top of Beacon tower," Jaune said quietly, "But then a Grimm dragon broke out of Mount Axis, attacked the tower and..."

He bowed his head, before looking back up and staring right into Yang's soul.

"Pyrrha's dead. Cinder killed her," he muttered, his voice dead and empty of anything.

"Gods, Jaune," Yang breathed.

Jaune fell silent. Ruby hugged onto his arm, and he held her close, trying to comfort her.

"I... I saw her kill Pyrrha," Ruby whimpered. "I... S-Something happened, and... I-I blacked out..."

"The dragon turned to stone after that," Jaune took over quietly, "We managed to get to my friends' Bullhead. We crammed as many people as we could into it... Then your Uncle Qrow showed up and handed over Ruby. She was unconscious. He told us to take care of her, and he'd meet back up with us later."

"He-He has," Ruby said quietly, "He's helping us out. Dad's gonna come and visit soon."

"G-Good," Yang managed. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah..." Jaune took a deep, slow breath. "A-Anyway... Ren and Nora made it with us, along with Velvet, Cardin, and a few others from the other schools. Weiss got taken by her dad's people to Atlas. Blake... No idea where she is. I'm sorry."

Yang shut her eyes tightly and slowly shook her head.

"I... I'm sure she's all right," Yang muttered, but her heart wasn't in it. She was a little grateful to Blake but... Where did she go?

"Anyway... Um..." Jaune tried, "We've been working with the militia. My dad runs it here in Radian. We've been rebuilding the outer walls, taking in refugees, fighting Grimm... Ruby was sleeping at my family house."

"They uh, they loaned me this dress," Ruby mumbled.

"The outer walls?" Yang asked. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah. Uh, Radian... Radian used to be a lot bigger when it was the capital of Gallia. We've got the current walls but outside of those are the old walls which we stopped using. But there's a lot of ruined houses and fields for people to stay in, so we've been rebuilding the old walls and clearing out any Grimm. We've been getting a lot of refugees. The CCNet sabotage and the panic caused by Vytal caused a lot of Grimm attacks. We have't been the hardest hit but... It's rough."

"I see," Yang whispered. Jaune managed a small smile.

"It's going to be all right. I promise," he said.

She knew the look in his eyes. It was a look she was familiar with. One she'd seen on her face in the mirror, dozens, hundreds of times, when Mom died and Dad just... Checked out.

He was holding it together. He was hiding his pain, and his fatigue, all for the sake of everyone else.

"I..." Yang shakily reached out her hand to Jaune. He stared at it for a moment, as though not sure what to do. He then reached out and squeezed her hand.

"Thank you," Yang whispered. Jaune shook his head.

"Don't," he said quietly, "You-You don't have to-"

"I do," Yang insisted, her eyes flashing red for a moment, "I do."

Jaune met her gaze, then slowly nodded.

He squeezed her hand back, tightly.

"We're going to make it through this, I promise," he said.

He said it with such conviction. The same conviction that was in his mother's voice.

Despite how empty and wrung out she felt right now, it was like a little candle lit up inside her.

"I know," she murmured. "I know..."

- - -

Bit random, but... How would this work out? What would happen? How would these characters manage in this situation?

Click to shrink...

- - -

One week later...

Yang winced a bit as the neural cuff was slipped over her stump. It felt cold to her skin for a few moments, before the Atlasian technology shrank and tightened. She grunted as nerve connections were made, and grit her teeth as feeling emerged on her stump for the first time in weeks.

Doctor Isabel Arc checked the flat screens monitoring Yang's vitals, and checked over Yang herself. She smiled comfortingly as the morning sun through the window lit up her face.

"I know it hurts, but it's a good sign it does," Isabel said gently, "Means that the interface is working properly."

"Y-Yeah..." Yang managed, taking deep, calming breaths. "Haa... Haa... Haa... Where did you say you got this from?"

"Your Uncle Qrow dropped it off," Isabel explained, making some notes on a paper pad before looking back at Yang, "He then had to leave."

"I see," Yang sighed. Her shoulders drooped a little.

Isabel shook her head slowly.

"He and your father are fighting in Beacon right now. Trying to regain control."

Yang winced.

Great. Now I feel guilty...

"But," Isabel said, resting a hand on Yang's shoulder, "It is perfectly all right to be angry with them. You can't help your feelings, after all."

"I..." Yang nodded and sighed. "Yeah... I mean, it's not my eighth grade birthday party but... Still..."

Isabel squeezed her shoulder again with her ever present comforting smile.

"I know," she said quietly. There was a knock at the door, and both blondes looked towards the entrance to the hospital room. Jaune and Ruby stood there, Ruby looking very nervous while Jaune looked tired.

But then, he always did.

"We didn't miss it, did we?" Ruby asked in worry. Isabel shook her head.

"No. In fact, I'll need some help. Jaune!"

Jaune stood at attention. Looked like it was a reflex from having his mom bark at him for all these years.

"Yes Mom?"

"You're going to hold Yang's hand for this," Isabel ordered. Yang blinked incredulously but Jaune just nodded, walked over to her side, sat down, and held out his hand.

"Good. Ruby? Please hand me the rubber cylinder on the nurse's table over there," Isabel said, pointing to it. Ruby picked it up and carried it over to Isabel. She took it and sterilized it with a spray.

"You're going to help me by wiping sweat off your sister's forehead, and helping to keep her calm," Isabel ordered. Ruby nodded quickly, and dashed over to get some paper towels. Yang raised an eyebrow.

"You know... If you're trying to set me up with your son, there are less obvious ways," Yang managed. The joke made Jaune smile a bit as Ruby blushed.

"Yang!" Ruby growled.

Isabel smiled back. She turned, reached down, and opened a very secure looking case. It slid open with a hiss. She pulled out a yellow and black metallic arm, and set it on the small table between herself and Yang.

Yang felt an ominous chill. Isabel shook her head.

"We're just going to be making the initial hook up and calibrations so the arm will respond like your original," Isabel said calmly. "I can't use anesthetic because it will dull the responses. So... It's going to hurt."

Silence fell. Yang felt her heart pound. She sucked in a breath. She looked at Jaune. He was stone faced, but determined. His hand was still held out to her. Ruby bit her lower lip in worry.

I... I can do this... I can do this...

She took Jaune's hand, and slowly nodded to Doctor Arc.

"Okay... I'm ready."

Isabel nodded. She held up the cylinder to Yang's mouth. She opened up then bit down.

"Okay. Just try to stay as calm as possible..."

Yang nodded back.

She was ready. She was ready...

Several minutes later, she realized she was not ready.

"NNNNGH! GNNNGH-HNNNNGH!"

It took every ounce of her willpower to stay put. She was squeezing Jaune's hand like her life depended on it. Ruby had given up wiping up her sweat, and was holding down her shoulders as best she could.

The whole time, as Isabel knit flesh and metal, her voice was calm and even.

"You're doing great Yang, you're doing great... Just a few more left..."

Yang winced, holding back her Semblance with all her might. She shut her eyes, trying to hold back tears but it hurt so much!

Even losing the arm hadn't been this painful!

"Y-You're doing fine, Yang!" Ruby whimpered. She could feel her little sister's tears fall onto her face. She breathed hard through her gag, holding back the instinct to thrash and run with everything...!

Please... Please... Make it stop, make it stop just end JUST END...!

"Yang! YANG!"

Jaune's voice broke her focus for a moment. She looked at him fiercely, her eyes burning red. He stared back into her eyes, both of his hands around hers.

"You're doing great. You're going to get past this. Don't give up, we're right here, we're right here, don't give up...!"

Yang bit down on the gag harder... She forced her legs to stay still...!

"You can do it! You can do it! We're right here!" Jaune urged her on.

"You're okay, you're okay!" Ruby chanted with him, gripping her shoulders almost painfully.

Please end please endpleaseendpleasened-!

The pain stopped. An arm appeared in its place. Yang gasped as she dropped the gag, and breathed hard and deep. She saw Isabel smile kindly.

"I've never seen such a brave patient," Isabel complimented her. She tapped something on the arm, and it closed up. "Go ahead. Try it out."

Yang held up her new hand to her face. She turned her arm this way and that, studying it. She gaped in disbelief.

"It... It feels like... Like it's real," she murmured. Isabel nodded, and held out her hand.

"Let me do some tests first. I want to make sure the Aura Synch is operating properly."

Yang lowered her arm into Isabel's grasp. She poked and prodded it a bit, making Yang twitch and even jump.

"Ah!"

"All right, that's a sensitive part," Isabel murmured, tapping some commands into a computer, "There, that should be better."

She tapped the same spot.

"How's that?"

"It... It's fine," Yang murmured. Again she lifted her hand up and just stared. Isabel smiled warmly. Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang's neck in a hug from behind. Jaune squeezed her real hand comfortingly.

"It will take some getting used to, but like I said," Isabel stated, "You'll be back to 100 percent. This was the worst part... Pain wise, anyway."

"I-I..." Yang blinked back tears. "Thank you..."

She felt exhausted and sore as hell but... She also felt a little more whole.

"It's all right," Isabel said with a smile, "It's my job. You being my son's friends helped a lot though."

Jaune blushed.

"Mom!"

"Now now... Laughter can be the best medicine," Isabel chuckled. "Jaune? You should escort these ladies to the house. They need rest..."

She gave Jaune a stern stare.

"And so do you."

Jaune shook his head.

"I need to get back on patrol-"

"And they need a guide," Isabel stated firmly, "I can't spare anyone else."

Jaune looked at Ruby. She had her puppy dog eyes out. As for Yang, well... She could crush bricks with her fingers. The fact Jaune hadn't so much as flinched while holding her hand made her more kindly disposed towards him.

That and saving her and Ruby's lives, of course.

"All right," Jaune sighed.

"Wonderful!" Isabel said, clapping her hands together. "I'll get them ready, you get the carriage."

"Carriage?" Yang asked.

- - -

Twenty minutes later, Yang was sitting in the back of an old horse drawn carriage, Ruby clinging to her as they headed out of the Arc-En-Ciel Hospital. It really was a castle: She'd left her wheelchair and been loaded up in a courtyard, before Jaune had whipped the reins and made the chestnut mare hitched to it trot off.

They went through the tall wooden gates, and down a small hill on a paved road. It was here Yang got her first real look at Radian.

The entire town was encompassed by three rings of gray walls, with four gates at the cardinal points. The mountains loomed all around the town, beautiful and majestic. The town itself consisted of three main sections, like slices of a great pie graph: Red, Yellow, and Blue roofs, all radiating along four roads from a central roundabout.

Jaune took the carriage into the traffic circle, joining several other carriages and a few cars. In the center of the roundabout, standing tall on a pillar, was a statue of a woman wearing armor and wreathed in frozen flames. Yang looked up in curiosity. Something Ruby noticed and beamed at.

"Oh! That's a statue of Joan D'Arc! Jaune's ancestor! She killed the Witch Queen of Argus and liberated Gallia from her tyranny!"

"My direct ancestor," Jaune tossed back, eyes on the road.

"Wow," Yang murmured. She stared back at Jaune as he took a turn, heading down a road. He waved at townsfolk eating at an outside cafe, and they waved back. A few yelled his name in familiarity.

"Hey Jaune!"

"Good to see you, Jaune!"

Jaune nodded back politely, his hands tight on the reins. They kept going through a few rows of blue roofed buildings, ranging from shops to houses. That didn't last long, as soon they broke out into farm land. The green fields went in every direction, right up to the walls. They passed by cows lowing and grazing, and people working in the fields. Jaune waved to many of them, and most waved back.

It's like something out of a freaking fairy tale, Yang thought to herself, her eyes fixed on Jaune's shoulders.

It wasn't like she disliked Jaune, of course. He could be a fun, easy going guy. And a pretty nice dancer, too. She was also glad he was Ruby's best friend: He was reliable, kind, earnest, and just as dorky.

They just... They hadn't really talked much, had they? Despite all the opportunities to do so, Yang hadn't taken many to just... Get to know him.

And he carried me and Ruby to a Bullhead to save our lives,Yang thought, shame rearing its head. She squeezed her new mechanical fist.

I get my ass handed to me, maimed... Lose... And the dead last loser saves us all.

Self loathing filled her, as she bowed her head.

Some sister... Some friend I am... To anyone...

Ruby frowned, then squeezed her shoulder.

"H-Hey! Yang? We're here!"

Yang looked up. They had turned off the main road onto a dusty dirt drive. She glanced back: A rusty sign stood over the steel gates. They were cut out of the metal, and even backwards she read:

"ARCADIA FARM."

She turned her eyes forward. A large farmhouse soon came into view. It was pained in white with green shingles and roof that seemed to blend into the smattering of trees that surrounded it. A tower with a widow's walk dominated the front of the house, while the rest was fairly boxy but long. Opposing it was a large aluminum barn, and surrounding it was a partially paved staging area. A well tended garden ringed the structure, green foliage and colorful flowers helping to conceal the porch that girded the farmhouse.

Jaune brought the carriage to a stop, and smiled softly.

"Welcome to my home."

The front doors opened. A tall blond man with short hair and an impressive beard stepped out. He was dressed in a long brown duster, that covered up very thick, elaborate white and black armor. A gigantic twin-pronged sword hung from his back. He walked out, his tall boots making the porch creak. A few more men and women in militia battle armor, all wielding guns, followed after him. Jaune tensed up a bit as they came out.

"Dad," Jaune greeted.

"Son," Jaune's father returned with a tired but genuine smile, "Good to see you."

"You too," Jaune replied, stepping down out of the carriage after securing the reins. "Um... I'm dropping off my friends. Then, I'll go with you to the perimeter and-"

Jaune's father walked up and rested a large hand on his shoulder. He shook his head, as the rest of his men all stood at attention.

"The rest of your friends are in the house. I want you to take charge and rest here."

Jaune's eyes widened.

"What?! But you-!"

"We've gotten some reinforcements from Doremy," his father said, "I'm having all the students you brought with you stand down. You need the rest."

Jaune scowled.

"But Dad, we're not even that tired-!"

"Son," His father stated, a bit more firmly, "Am I or am I not the Captain of the Militia?"

Jaune ground his teeth a little, but nodded.

"You are."

"And you're to follow my orders?" He pressed.

"... Yes sir," Jaune managed tightly.

"Then follow them now," his father stated calmly, "You need rest."

He looked up to the two sisters and smiled.

"Hey! I'm Nick Arc, Jaune's dad! You must be Yang, Ruby's sister! It's great to meet you!"

"I uh, yes, thank you, sir," Yang managed awkwardly. Nick elbowed his son.

"Come on, Jaune. Remember your manners."

Jaune scowled, but nodded.

"Right, hang on..."

He held out his hand. Yang took it, and let him guide her down to the ground. He did the same for Ruby, though she jumped into his arms at the last minute. Nick got all their luggage out, and set it on the ground. He nodded in approval to his son.

"Rest up, Son. If we need you, we'll let you know. Promise."

"... Yeah, sure," Jaune sighed. Nick hugged him, and Jaune returned it. The militia members all looked respectful, though it was hard to tell much of anything given their tinted helmets.

"All right!" Nick barked. "Hop on! We're not burning Dust just to get back to the perimeter!"

Nick hopped into the carriage, taking the reins. The rest of the troops clambered in. One in green hopped up onto the horse, and sat side saddle.

"Tex, what are you doing?" Nick asked wearily.

"Being lady like," the woman in armor replied.

"That'll be a first!" One of the men in the back laughed. Nick shook his head and whipped the reins.

"YAH!"

The horse pulled the carriage slowly, turned, and headed back down the farm drive. Jaune, Yang and Ruby watched them go. Jaune then sighed, and hefted up the luggage.

"Well... Let's get you guys inside, huh?"

"Yeah, sure," Yang managed. She shook her head as Ruby helped guide her to the front doors of the house. She noted the tension in Jaune's shoulders, and winced in sympathy.

Guess I'm not the only one with parent issues...

But a small, bitter part of her noted that at least his stuck around.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -



Well, Doctor Jaune "Knowall" could certainly appreciate Ozpin for one thing: He kept his assembly speeches short. He sat in the front row of the auditorium with the other teachers, the huge masses of students all staring, enraptured, as Ozpin finished his spiel.



"... So remember: The time may come when everything will be asked of you, and more. You will find your courage then, if you seek it out," Ozpin concluded. He waited for the applause to die down, before he nodded.



"There are a few staff changes this year," he announced, leaning slightly forward on his cane, "To start with, Professor Peach will be leaving on maternity leave at the end of the semester. Let us extend our congratulations."



More applause followed, as the blonde, pink-wearing professor blushed with a proud smile. Knowall contributed to the applause politely.



"Nurse Tsune will be taking a leave of absence to finish her doctorate," Ozpin continued, "So our new Head Medical Practitioner will be Doctor Jaune Knowall. Please come up, Doctor."



He nodded to Jaune. The time traveler hesitated, then looked to Glynda on his right. The combat instructor nodded in encouragement, again giving him a small smile. Knowall stood up and walked up on stage.



He scanned the crowd. He immediately noted many young ladies were staring intently at him. Several were gossiping quietly, shooting him looks and giggling. Mentally he groaned. That was the last thing he needed.



He found his younger self in the crowd. Even from this distance, it was easy to tell that the younger Jaune had definitely toughened up: His shoulders were a bit more broad, his armor was a bit worn, he wore proper boots instead of sneakers and there was a more confident look in his eyes.



So he befriended Ruby Rose, Knowall thought, That's good.



On his left side was... He frowned a bit at the cat Faunus girl who was badly disguised with a hair bow. She stared back at him in some confusion with her yellow eyes.



Blake Belladonna? That's a surprise.



On his younger counterpart's right was a small girl in red with black hair and silver eyes. A very familiar girl, who grinned happily back.



Ruby Rose? Right, this is where she went, Knowall thought. He paused.



Wait, if she's here then that means...



He found a shock of blonde hair in the audience. His heart nearly stopped.



She was younger. Had both arms. Was shooting him a cocky smirk.



Yang...



He clenched his fists briefly. The memories just seeing her caused him to recall...



She's not her, he reminded himself firmly, She's not her. You can't do anything with her here. Nothing but save her. Save everyone.



He took a deep breath and looked out at the crowd. He used a calming technique his mother had taught him to suppress his emotions, and keep control.



"I'm Doctor Jaune Knowall. I look forward to working with you," he said in a calm, even voice. He added a small, crooked smile: "But let's hope I don't have to see you too often, unless you're training to be medics."



It was a corny joke his mother had told often. It got some laughs, which broke some of the tension. He nodded, then turned to walk off the stage. The meeting broke up after that, and Knowall made for one of the exits.



"Hey! D-Doctor Knowall!"



Damnit.



He turned to his younger self. The teenager grinned and waved in a friendly way.



"I see you made it to Beacon," Knowall said quietly. Jaune nodded.



"Yeah. That-That training really helped!" He said enthusiastically.



"Good," Knowall stated firmly. Jaune flushed.



"Though uh... I had some help along the way," he said. Blake Belladonna walked up, stopping at Jaune's side. She studied Knowall carefully.



"Blake Belladonna," she introduced herself. "Jaune and I travelled here together."



"And she helped me train," Jaune continued with a grin, "She's really good!"



"That's good to know," Knowall replied in a neutral tone. He nodded to her. "You two should go and rest up for the Initiation tomorrow."



"Already?" Jaune frowned.



"It's going to be tough," Knowall stated firmly.



"A cat nap sounds good to me anyway," Blake said with a soft shrug. "Nice to meet you, Doctor."



She walked off with Jaune in tow. Knowall watched them go, and then shook his head.



"I take it this is going to be difficult for you," Ozpin asked, walking up behind Knowall without making the slightest noise. Knowall nodded curtly, his eyes again finding Yang in the crowd.



"You might say that," Knowall said quietly.



Ozpin leaned on his cane, and hummed thoughtfully.



"We all have our demons," he said gently.



"Some more than others," Knowall muttered.



"Let's get to the office," Ozpin said quietly, "We're going to need every scrap of information you can give me."



Knowall nodded.



"Understood, sir."



- - -



"Seriously," Yang enthused to Ruby as they headed for the ballroom, "I think I'm gonna catch a fever with Doctor Knowall around!"



"Yang, ew!" Ruby gagged, "He's like, old!"



"Mature is more like it," Yang giggled, "And did you see the way he looked at me? So intense!"



"Isn't that kind of weird though? For a teacher to be staring at a student?" Ruby asked. "I mean, if he actually did anything, he'd be a creep!"



"Pfft, please, a guy like that couldn't be a creep if he tried!" Yang scoffed.



"Well, he's not a creep but he is... Weird," Jaune contributed, walking behind with Blake in tow. Yang looked back over her shoulder at the strange pair.



"Really?" Yang asked with a grin, "You know him?"



"Course he knows him," Ruby stated, "Jaune told me about him!"



"He just helped me get to Beacon and trained me a little," Jaune said, a bit nervous with Yang's intense scrutiny on him.



"So, what, is he like a relative of yours?"



"He does look very much like you," Blake opined, her frown deepening. Jaune shrugged.



"He might be? My family's big enough I've got cousins I don't even know about."



"Well then," Yang grinned, taking Jaune's arm and leading him towards the ballroom, "You're gonna give me all the deets on Doctor Studly, understand?"



"Er, sure?"



Ruby and Blake followed, both looking rather annoyed with the blondes. Though for different reasons.



- - -

 

[SharkCultist]

Once again I've been hit with dark inspiration!


It wasn't often that Ozpin got to meet dead people.

But the girl sitting across from him was surprisingly pleasant, if a bit different from what people had been expecting.

"So miss xaio-long."

"Rose."

"Ah of course my mistake, Miss Rose. You and your sister have been missing for quite a while, ten years in fact, care to tell us where you've been or where she is?"

Silver eyes stare into his soul.

"A bad man picked us up and he took us to a worse lady. She hurt us, for a long time."

That certainly sounds like Salem.

"We got out, or they let us out, and we ran while they chased us and then...."

She wildly shakes her red streaked hair as if she can shake out the bad memories

If only it was that easy.

"And then I ended up here."

I see.

And he did, in more ways than one.

Ozpin had been alive for a very long time and had picked up quite a few tricks. Including the ability to see souls.

And before him sat a woman with two. One soul, the original based on how it tied to the body was pretty much catatonic. It flickered like a ember and seemed to only be kept stable by the younger soul wrapped around it like a blanket.

He took another look at her body. The soul influences the body after all. Bright silver eyes had replaced purple and red streaks invaded the blonde hair, there were patches of skin on her body that were lighter than the rest.

"Miss rose may I ask how you ended up like this?"

Again her eyes unfocus taking her somewhere in her memories.

"The bad man cut yangs eyes and my back and I couldn't run anymore. I just wanted to get away and for us both to be fixed. And then we were gone, alive and whole."

According to reports she had appeared in downtown vale in a swirl of red and yellow rose petals. Given what she said about the desires that seemed to trigger her aura awakening and semblance and what he knew about summers semblance Ruby probably had some kind of movement semblance that turned her into flowers. And it looks like when she used it she got mixed up with Yang.

"I see....well miss rose I think I know a dusty old Qrow who would like to see you."

He didn't mention the girls father. Better to save that subject for when they're a little more stable.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The Arcadia Farmhouse doors opened up onto a modest wooden hall, dominated by a staircase going up to the second floor. Warm brown wooden baseboards ran about the walls, and a few simple knit carpets sat on the hardwood floors. A simple brass chandelier hung from above, shining in the sunlight the many windows let in. The wallpaper seemed to be a plain white... At least, Yang thought it was white. There were hundreds of picture frames covering the walls, ranging from images of Jaune and his many, many sisters with their parents at various ages, to black and white photos of relatives and friends, and several paintings.

Despite herself, Yang felt a bit more... Homey.

Jaune led Yang and Ruby into an adjacent living room. This was at the base of the round tower-like part of the farmhouse, and had a wide panorama view of the barn, fields, drive, and a CCT repeater tower in the distance. It was filled with worn but comfortable furniture: Couches, arm chairs, two coffee tables, and bookshelves filled with books and knick knacks. A player piano made of warm cherrywood sat in a corner, with a few swords hanging over it on the wall.

Yang's eyes focused against the glare through the windows. Her jaw dropped. She honestly would not have expected these people to survive the fall of Beacon, and yet... Here they were.

Velvet Scarlatina, that shy rabbit Faunus a year ahead of them, sat on a light green couch. She was leaning against the tall form of Cardin Winchester, who was fiddling with his huge mace. Velvet had gotten some combat pants, a T-shirt, and a brown jacket with a tac-vest-They were a bit big on her, suggesting she'd been loaned the clothes. Cardin was in his usual armor, though it had some touch-ups obviously made by a welding torch. His hair was a bit shaggier, and he had some stubble on his chin and cheeks. Velvet looked exhausted, but definitely comfortable sidled up against her former bully.

A dark skinned, red-headed girl (May Zedong, from Shade, she vaguely recalled) was dressed in her usual hoodie and jeans. She worked on a sniper rifle, doing some maintenance with the guts of the weapon spread out on a coffee table. Neptune Vasilias, looking a bit shaggy and unkempt himself, was nevertheless bent over May's weapon with her, fiddling with various components and talking softly to her.

A dark skinned, blonde girl in nun's robes sat on a pillow on the floor, deep in meditation. Arslan Atlan: RWBY had eliminated her team in the Vytal Tournament. She'd been tough, but ultimately no match for them.

Nora and Ren were on another couch, Nora solemnly working on her hammer while Ren sat in repose with his eyes closed.

Everyone's eyes focused on them as they entered. Cardin, Nora and Ren got to their feet. Velvet, May, Arslan and Neptune soon followed.

"Hey Jaune. Hey Ruby. Hey, Xiao-Long," Neptune said, putting a bit of his old cockiness in his voice. "Nice to see you back up and about! Knew a babe like you couldn't be kept down for long!"

"It is indeed good to see you well," Arslan added, bowing slightly, "You were formidable opponents."

"H-Hello," May greeted softly, her eyes unable to meet Yang's.

"Xiao-Long," Cardin greeted with a simple nod. Velvet smiled a bit tiredly.

"It's... It's good to see you again," she said.

"It is," Ren agreed, giving Yang the slightest of smiles. Nora gaped in shock, then grinned.

"YANG!" Nora leaped over the coffee table and embraced Yang tightly. She tensed up, but relaxed as Nora sniffled and sobbed genuine tears.

"I missed you! You look great! Ooh, you got your new arm! That's great!" She grinned. "It has a gun in it!"

"... Really?" Yang asked, blinking.

"Totally!" Nora enthused. "That's what your Uncle said!"

"He visited you, huh?" Yang asked, eyes narrowing a bit. And not me...

"He did say something about that," Ruby agreed, smiling at Yang, "I-I can take you through the features-"

"Later," Yang grunted. Ruby frowned, but nodded.

"S-Sure... It's been a long day," she said.

"So Arc," Cardin cleared his throat, "Your dad and his troops visited. Told us to wait here for you. What are your orders?"

Jaune paused. He sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

"We're on stand down," he said at last, "Dad wants us to take a break."

Velvet's eyes narrowed.

"Did he say for how long?" She asked, a hint of anger in her tone. Yang had never heard anything like it from the generally meek Rabbit Faunus.

Jaune shook his head.

"No. They got reinforcements from Doremy, so they want us to take it easy for a while."

"Jaune," Cardin growled, "The walls aren't fully secure-They can't just exclude us! We've been fighting since we got here, damnit-!"

"We have our orders," Jaune stated flatly, "We're going to follow them."

Cardin grit his teeth. Velvet's eyes narrowed. The two of them united in anger like this was strange.

"Jaune, those monsters-!"

"I know what those monsters did, Cardin," Jaune growled, so deep and angry everyone stared in shock. Yang's jaw dropped as she beheld the transformation.

Gone was the goofy blond noodle. In his place was a hardened soldier, full of cold rage and steel.

Breaker Above... When did that happen?! She thought in shock.

Cardin ground his teeth, still glaring at Jaune.

Ruby cleared her throat nervously.

"M-Maybe... Maybe it's a good thing," she suggested, "We've been fighting without a break for over a week. Some of us longer."

"It would give us the chance to catch up on things," Arslan said, soft but firm, "And to recuperate. We will do no one any good if we're fighting our fatigue and the Grimm..."

She looked at Jaune knowingly.

"Among other things," she finished.

"H-Hey, I am totally fine with a break," Neptune said, laughing nervously, "Um... I mean, your sister-Hey, Orchid!"

A girl a little shorter than Yang walked out of the kitchen. Her blonde hair was cut short in a utilitarian pageboy. She wore jeans and a T-Shirt with the "Achieve-Men" logo over her chest. A pair of square glasses adorned her tired blue eyes, as she absent-mindedly tapped on a Scroll. Yang could see some kind of interface projected onto her glasses.

"Hello all. Hello Jaune," she said in a monotone. She walked up and hugged Jaune tightly. He returned the hug, rubbing her back.

"Hey Orchid. What are you doing here?" He asked, a small smile on his face.

"I live here," Orchid replied, her tone not shifting a bit.

Yang fought a snicker. Orchid blinked at the stares, then shrugged.

"You asked."

"Right, right, tell us what you told me!" Neptune said eagerly, "When we were at the repeater tower!"

Jaune glared at Neptune. He coughed and held up his hands.

"I was escorting her, I swear! May, you can vouch for me, right?"

"Y-Yes, he didn't... Um... We just did our jobs," May managed. Jaune slowly nodded.

"All right. Orchid?"

Orchid held out her Scroll and activated a holoprojector. Several technical diagrams and windows of computer coding appeared above them. None of it made any sense to Yang. Nora actually stood on her head to try and make sense of it.

"In essence, while the main CCT Network is down thanks to the virus implanted by the terrorists," Orchid stated, "Several regional networks are still mostly operational. The Gallian and Albion networks in particular."

"How did they avoid the virus?" Ruby asked, intensely curious.

"Twelve years ago, the system was due for a major upgrade," Orchid said, "As it was a joint venture between Albion and Gallia, both sub-kingdoms' Councils would have to agree on a unified upgrade plan."

"... Which would require both Councils to agree on something," Neptune deadpanned. Orchid nodded.

"Correct. Add in a scandal regarding embezzlement from the Modern Arts Grant, and the Councils of both nations collapsed in their respective elections to be replaced by new ones. They ultimately decided to save upgrading the servers for the regional repeater system for the year after this one."

"So we have communications?" Jaune asked. "Can we reach Vale? Beacon?"

Orchid shook her head, flipping through a few more holographic pages of what may as well have been hieroglyphics to Yang.

"Only intermittently. In addition, global communications are still down. We did get a call from Uncle Arjun over the radio.""

"Uncle Arjun?" Yang asked.

Jaune coughed.

"He's our godfather. He uh, he lives in Pandu, south-eastern coast of Animus."

"Well, what did he say?" Neptune urged Orchid.

She adjusted her glasses. "It appears that Mistral has fallen into civil war. Mistral itself, Pandu, Temujina, Fuujin-They're all at war since the CCT Network collapsed."

"Oh Breaker, no," Arslan whispered. Neptune gaped.

"What about Argus? Anything on Argus?!"

"I do not have any news on that," Orchid said in her monotone, "Though he did say that Atlas was holding to its treaty and had forces still stationed in Argus. Other than that? There is little to report. I am hopeful that we'll be able to get more as we work with other engineers across Gallia and Albion: Enough to get direct communication back with Vale to some extent. There is talk of reactivating the old cable networks, though most of those were destroyed by the Grimm."

Jaune sighed in relief, and hugged his sister again.

"Thanks Orchid."

"You are welcome. I am going to bed now, as I have been up for forty-eight hours straight rewriting IP Protocol codes for the region. Excuse me."

Orchid headed off towards the stairs, and climbed them out of sight. Cardin sagged a bit.

"Well... Maybe I'll get to call my dad," he sighed.

"Same," Velvet sighed, "They're up in Atlas. I... I'm glad they didn't come to see my fights. Not after all this."

"Agreed," Arslan said, "It was lucky for them..." She bit her lower lip. "After calling my family, I am hoping to get back in contact with my team. We were scattered during the fall."

May winced, and remained silent. The pain in her eyes reminded Yang of what had happened to her team.

"Same," Neptune sighed, "I lost Scarlet and Sage when we were evacuating to the airships. They took another but I don't know where to." He shook his head. "And of course, Sun ran off after Blake again."

"Blake?" Yang perked up. "Blake Belladonna?"

Neptune snorted.

"You know any other Blake Belladonnas he'd chase after? I did get a message before the CCT went totally down: That they were headed to Menagerie-"

Velvet seethed.

"Of fucking course they were," she growled.

All eyes went to the normally timid rabbit Faunus. Cardin was grim, but didn't move away from her.

Yang frowned as well.

"So... She's okay. That's good, right?" Yang asked. She was glad Blake was (probably) alive, but what was Velvet's deal?

"Sure. Two traitors running off together," Velvet sneered. Neptune gaped. Ruby frowned.

"H-Hey!" Neptune said, "Sun's not a-!"

"Oh, so the princess of the White Fang and your buddy just ran off to, what, elope?!" Velvet demanded angrily.

"I-I mean, I'm sure she had a reason-" Ruby tried, but Velvet angrily cut her off.

"She straight up abandoned you! Abandoned her partner!" She pointed at Yang. Yang grimaced and gripped her artificial arm with her real one.

"I-I mean... She-"

"She used to be White Fang!" Ruby insisted, "She wasn't anymore-!"

"And the White Fang attacked and destroyed a city," Velvet snarled, "Just as she conveniently gets away!"

"She-She's not like that!" Yang responded, though doubt tinged her words. "She was fighting against them-!"

"Well she did a HELL of a job, didn't she?!" Velvet spat, fists clenched, cheeks red, "A bunch of their goons caught my team! They shot Coco! They blasted Yatsuhashi and Fox away! I would have been next if Cardin hadn't charged in!"

Cardin grimaced and rubbed his chest. His other arm stayed around Velvet's waist, offering support and security as she raged.

She fixed a glare on Yang and Ruby.

"They murdered my team and their princess runs off?! Convenient, isn't it?!"

"She didn't have-She saved my life!" Yang shouted back.

"No," Velvet snarled, looking at the grim faced Jaune, "Jaune saved your life. Jaune carried you to the airship! Where was Blake, huh?!"

"She didn't have anything to do with this!" Ruby insisted. "I-I know Blake! She just... She..."

"She ran off with the rest of those murderers," Velvet seethed, now being restrained by Cardin's arm. "I hope Atlas invades and flattens them! I hope Atlas kills them all-!"

"That's enough!" Jaune barked. Velvet grit her teeth and scowled at him. Jaune shook his head slowly.

"That's not going to help," he stated. He looked at Cardin. "Cardin, Velvet... Go chill out. Relax. Get some air."

Velvet shot another venomous glare at them all. Cardin nodded slowly.

"Come on, Velv," he said softly, "Let's go chill out. All right?"

"... Fine," Velvet stated slowly. She narrowed her eyes at Yang and Ruby.

"But if I see her again? I'm putting a bullet in her head. The same thing her thugs did to my friends."

Cardin and Velvet walked out, Yang, Jaune and Ruby parting for them. The doors shut behind them, leaving only the clock ticking away.

"... I'll get started on dinner," Ren said quietly, rising and walking to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Arslan contributed, walking after him. Nora followed, though not without giving Yang, Ruby, and Jaune tight hugs.

"Um... I-I need to finish reworking my rifle," May mumbled, sitting back down with her head bowed.

"Y-Yeah, sounds good," Neptune said nervously, "I'll help."

Jaune hefted up Yang's luggage, his face stony.

"I'll show you to your room," he said to Yang.

"It's-It's mine too, Yang," Ruby said with a smile, "It's great. You'll see!"

"... Sure," Yang whispered, staring at her mechanical hand in silence.

- - -

Well, that got rather dark. But what do you think?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Jaune was working diligently in the training simulator room. He practiced his sword swings, keeping pace, and trying to make the movements as smooth and natural as possible.

One, four, five... Five, three, one...

Pyrrha's lessons were ingrained into him like they'd been burned into his soul. He wanted to make it so refined he wouldn't have to think, to make it based on instinct...

The holographic knight countered his strikes, thrusting furiously. Jaune quickly parried and moved around, his footwork getting him around to flank the hologram. He lashed out with a shield bash, knocking the hologram back. Jaune thrust forward with his blade, and Crocea Mors went right through the knight's chestplate. The hologram winked out, and Jaune was left panting hard for breath.

Okay... Okay... Nora was right... Dancing like I want to win is the best way...

"Bravo! Bravo!"

Jaune froze and looked over his shoulder. He held back a grimace as he saw Hex Skvader standing there. Even through the black motorcycle helmet he wore, he could feel the rabbit Faunus' smirk.

"You move like a dancer... If he was drunk," Hex said mockingly.

Jaune scowled.

"What do you want, Hex?" Jaune demanded.

Hex shrugged. He held up a black chakram... And then split it into two. Both ignited.

"I was hoping for a challenge," Hex stated, "But I found you instead. So... How about a friendly little spar, huh? After all, I've got five minutes to burn. I could use a warm up."

Jaune bit down on his anger. He slowly shook his head.

"We're not allowed to fight outside of combat training," Jaune stated. It was a distraction, but it bought him time. Time to analyze things.

He's just after humiliating me, right? Right... Which means...

Hex laughed.

"What fight? This... Is a little friendly sparring!"

He leaped up into the air. A green hexagon made of energy appeared underneath his feet. He jumped from the hexagon and swung his chakram right for Jaune's head!

If it had been at the start of his time here... Jaune would have been down with just one hit. But he pivoted on his feet and dodged out of the way. Hex though was built for agility, and pirouetted to swing his blazing chakram right at him. Jaune got his shield up, taking the first hit and swing his sword out to parry the next.

Hex backflipped up over the strikes, artfully landing in front of him with a flourish. He laughed.

"That the best you got, Dead Last?" He asked mockingly. He threw a chakram, and it buzzed like a hive of angry bees! Jaune got his shield back up, but the blade slashed through the side of his thigh.

"GAH!" Jaune winced as he saw a bit of red through his jeans. "What the-?!"

"PAY ATTENTION, LOSER!" Hex shouted. He dashed forward, summoning another platform to leap up off off. He reformed it behind him, and kicked off to spring right at Jaune. He swung his chakram and knocked Jaune's sword right out of his hand.

"AUGH!"

Jaune fell back, as Crocea Mors clattered to the ground. Hex chuckled, and caught his other chakram as it circled back to him.

"See, that's the difference between talent, and some punching bag, Jauney-boy," Hex laughed. He held his chakrams out to either side. "Next one's gonna really hurt."

Damnit, damnit...! Jaune knew he should call for help. Call for back up. But he didn't know how this guy was going to react!

Okay... Okay... He's been toying with me... He can hit me from range all he likes but he's been getting up close... Up close... So...

Jaune got his shield up, and held a hand over his wounded thigh. Hex laughed again.

"Here we go~!"

He charged, forming a hexagon underneath his feet to leap up high. He dove like a falcon, both Chakrams burning with Dust and ready for the kill!

Jaune managed to block one chakram with Crocea Mors' shield. The other, Hex punched into Jaune's side... And Jaune was ready.

He wrapped his free arm around Hex's, and yanked him in. Remembering a move Nora taught him, he held up his knee and rammed it into Hex's stomach. He heard Hex grunt loud at the impact. Jaune followed through, pivoting like Ren taught him to drive Hex down into the floor!

Hex's fancy helmet fell off. He looked shocked... And even more shocked when Jaune swung his fist into his nose.

"URK! YOU-YOU SON-URGH!"

Jaune punched him again and again... Before he felt purple Aura surround him. He was yanked back. He looked and saw Glynda Goodwitch standing there, looking furious.

"Mister Arc! What is the meaning of this?!"

"He assaulted me!" Hex whined. Jaune's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?! He started it-!"

"I was offering him some pointers and he just decided to wail on me!" Hex added, blubbering through his bloody nose, "He called me a filthy animal, too!"

"That's a lie!" Jaune shouted angrily. "He-!"

"Enough!" Glynda growled. "Detention, both of you! Until I find out more, get to your dormrooms!"

Jaune glared angrily at Hex. Hex got up, pulling his helmet back on. And once again, he was sure the rabbit Faunus was smirking.

He clenched his fists. He picked up his sword, and under Glynda's scowl and Hex's helmet, he left.

Goddamnit...

- - -

This is a bit of a cliche, but hell, it can work if you do the plot properly. So, how would this be resolved?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Seriously guys, I went to all the trouble to create a REAL hatesink character. Let's try some other things with Blake for a while.

To that end:

• Name: Hex Skvader
• Allusion: The Skvader and the Hare from Aesop's Fables, a bit of Rinzler from Tron: Legacy
• Naming Process: Hex means "to cast an evil spell, bad luck" or "six", Skvader refers to a bird/rabbit hybrid creature created as a hoax by a Swedish taxidermist.
• Age: 19
• Background: Born in Vale City to rich Rabbit Faunus parents who own a computer company, Hex has lived a carefree life and only trained to become a Huntsman because it was expected of him (and it would let him get chicks).
• Race: Rabbit Faunus
• Emblem: Hex Bunny
• Weapon: Twin Dust Chakrams named "Stolthet" (Swedish for "Pride"). He can ignite Dust on the rings to give his punches, slashes and throws with the weapons an elemental attack element. He can throw them and bounce them back to himself precisely.
• Semblance: "Six Step"
  • Creates a translucent hexagonal platform out of Aura that he can jump on, jump from, or jump to. Has a range of only twenty meters and he can only make one or two at a time.
• Appearance: Lithe, runner's build, black neatly coifed hair, black rabbit ears, black eyes, high cheekbones, pointed chin, pale skin, white tufts on his ears, cocky smirk.
• Outfit: Black bodysuit with green glowing lines, pointed motorcycle helmet with holes for his ears, black outer jacket resembling a biker's, tall black boots.
• Personality: Deceptive, arrogant. Seemingly kind and understanding but betrays his prejudices and desires due to his pride. Is only out for himself, considers himself the elite and all others lesser. Sly, manipulative, untrustworthy. Popular thanks to his wealth, looks, and talent, but otherwise despised. Socially apt and cunning. Vengeful and petty. Racist towards humans and despises lower class Faunus. Narcissistic. Thinks he is the hero and everyone else is a side character.
• Notes: The consummate elitist jerk, Hex Skvader is spoiled, petty, and narcissistic. He must have things his way, and if he is blocked, thwarted, or stymied, he will keep at it but via another way. A bully who believes he deserves only the best and his whims are law. Despite his talent as a Hunter, his poor leadership of his team and arrogance holds him back. Has an obsession with Velvet Scarlatina: While he will use and then dump girls for fun or pleasure, the fact she has never once fallen for his charms and is dating a human means he thinks he's doing her a favor by pursuing her.

Spoiler

• Name: Kupa Manduka
• Allusion: Kupamanduka, the "Frog in the Well", with a bit of Asui Tsuyu from My Hero Academia
• Naming Process: Language expression "Kupamanduka", literally "frog in the well," meaning someone whose experience and view of the world is so narrow and small they are akin to a frog sitting at the bottom of a well.
• Age: 19
• Background: Born in Vale City to Pandavan immigrants who did well in the post-Faunus Revolution economic boom, Kupa is fairly well off. He became a Huntsman-in-Training due to family expectations, as his mother was a warrior who once served the Kauravas family before they were overthrown. His father was an engineer who invented a new kind of microchip that made them rich, and then were bought out by the Skvader family.
• Race: Frog Faunus
• Emblem: Bold Frog Symbol
• Weapon: A gada (mace) named "Hanuman" with a Dust charge. Can mechashift into a hand cannon, and has an attachment to shoot harpoons underwater.
• Semblance: "Amphibian"
  • Is able to breath underwater by absorbing oxygen directly into his skin and even if he's gagged.
• Appearance: Short, a bit potbellied, round headed. Bowlcut dark green hair with pale clammy skin. Green eyes. Wide lips. Gangly arms and legs. Large feet and long fingered hands. Despite this, is quite nimble, agile, and of course, a fantastic swimmer.
• Outfit: Green diving suit with white belt that has many pouches, goggles he wears almost all the time. Barefooted.
• Personality: Shy, underconfident, and gloomy, Kupa enjoys tinkering with his weapon and various gadgets. Has a genius level intellect for mechanical devices. Due to his frog-like appearance he was ostracized a lot despite his wealth, and so had very few friends. Has very little willpower to stand up to anyone. Really does want to help people, but is too timid to try. Often has to be bullied into doing things. Is enthusiastic about praising Hex, as he's been well trained into doing so and thinks Hex is really his only friend.
• Notes: He thinks he is the closest thing to a friend Hex Skvader has, as Skvader's family bought out Manduka's family company but treated them well. In reality, their relationship is more like master and servant. Hex will sometimes throw Kupa a bone to keep him from getting too depressed, but he mainly gaslights and manipulates the poor kid into being his virtual slave while thinking Hex cares about him.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The White Fang took hostages as a regular matter of course. In this case, Adam personally handled the operation, seizing a woman from Radian and bringing her to their HQ.



Adam: "Her mother is holding three of our agents in her hospital after they were captured. We use her to compel their release. Keep an eye on her, but do not harm her."



Guards: "Sir!"



Adam headed off to handle another mission... Leaving the guards with a surprisingly calm Lilac Arc.



Guard 1: coughs repeatedly



Lilac: "That sounds bad. I know a remedy for it, if you have a kitchen."



Guard 2: "Ha! Nice try! What's the remedy, rat poison?"



Lilac: "No, of course not. It's too salty."



Guard 1: keeps coughing "Ugh..."



Lilac: "You can keep suffering or you can feel better. I much prefer people to feel better. Besides, I would never poison someone."



Guard 2: scowls harder



Lilac: "Also, all I would do is poison one person. That won't let me escape now will it?"



Guard 1: coughs more piteously



Guard 2: sigh "Fine..."



They take Lilac to the kitchen. She gathers some local herbs and cooks up some tea. She looks over their other ingredients.



Lilac: "Hmmm... You all look like you could use a good meal." brightens "Do you have any venison? I can make a great stew!"



Guard 2: "Oh please, like we're going to fall for that!"



Guard 1 drinks the tea... Sniffs...



Guard 1: "Wow! It... I can breath! Cough's gone! And... And it tastes great! Try it!"



Guard 2: "Oh come on, you can't be serious!"



Guard 1: "Serious as a heart attack. Besides, she's one woman without her Aura activated. What could she do even if she poisoned it?"



Guard 2 drinks the tea... Blinks in disbelief.



Guard 2: "It... It's amazing!"



Lilac: "Old family recipe! Like this stew!"



She's already cooking it. Other members of the White Fang come in, drawn by the smell.



Lilac: "Oh! Hello! Grab a bowl, it should be done soon!"



Guard 1: "Hey, hang on a second, even if it smells good, we should test it!"



Lilac: "Come on. I would never poison food! Then you wouldn't get to enjoy it!"



Guard 2: "You... Do realize you're our hostage, right? If you don't cooperate, we'll kill you?"



Lilac: "I am cooperating."



Guard 1: "She's got a point."



Lilac: "Wonderful!"



When Adam returns... The guards all look a lot more relaxed.



Adam: "Sitrep?"



Guard 2: "Oh! Lord Adam! Uh, everything's fine, sir! The hostage is safe and compliant."



Adam: "Good. Her mother is proving difficult. We'll need to make a video to show how serious we are."



Guard 1: "Errr... I see, Lord Adam."



Lilac: "Hello Lord Adam! Let me take your coat. It's freezing out there, hm? Here, have some hot tea!"



Adam: "Ah, thank you."



He sips the tea... Then spits it out.



Adam: "Wha-Why are you out of your cell?!"



Lilac: "Well, I couldn't finish my knitting in there, My Lord." She hands him a red scarf "Here you are! Goes with your hair."



Guard 1: "Aw..."



Lilac: "I didn't forget you, sweetie!" She hands him a green scarf with a wink "Goes with your scales!"



Guard 1: "Oh, sweet!" At Adam's furious glare "I-I mean, um... Thank you, you pathetic human!"



Lilac: brightly "You're welcome!"



- - -



Lilac is modeled after Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess! She is thus a strong willed but ultimately kind and selfless woman who is REALLY good at winning people's hearts and minds with kindness. You let her into your HQ she's gonna turn your troops with gentle kindness, understanding, and REALLY good cooking.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -



Cinder grit her teeth. The Grimm had not been a major issue-After all, Salem gave her the means to command them. But these magical guardians around the ancient tomb were a different beast altogether!



Mercury spun through the air like a shuriken, knocking off the heads of two of them. Emerald let loose shots from her dagger-pistols as she bobbed and weaved through the other constructs, resembling piles of smooth stones bound together by nothing. Cinder's fire blasts took down more... Yet they just kept pulling themselves back together!



"Why is that idiot taking so long?!" She seethed, slamming several flame enhanced arrows into one of the constructs.



At last, a mop of blond hair emerged from the temple. His black jacket was charred and dirty, along with his matching pants. His white undershirt was dirty as well. He was swinging his single elegant blade around himself as he ran, the artifact underneath his arm.



"I'VE GOT IT! GO GO GO!" The blond young man shouted. Cinder waited until the blond ran past her, then unleashed a firestorm. The magical guardians were driven back by the intensity of the heat for a moment, before they began to push through it.



"RUN!" Cinder roared. Emerald and Mercury followed the blond, and Cinder brought up the rear. They ran through the stone ruins, up towards the cliff they had rappelled down here in the jungles of South Mistral. The blond young man ushered Emerald and Mercury up first, before he began to climb. Cinder followed, grabbing onto the rope and climbing fast.



Emerald and Mercury made it to the top first, throwing themselves over. The blond young man made it third. He then immediately turned around and reached out for Cinder. She grunted, climbing faster... Then rocky fingers wrapped around her ankles and pulled back hard.



"AAAH!"



"CINDER!" Emerald screamed. Cinder unleashed hell on the rock guards, but to her horror, they had joined together into a gigantic structure like army ants. They were pulling her down, tightening their grip as hundreds of additional rocks rolled up to join her.



"ACK! DAMNIT!" She fired off more fire blasts, but the stones were seemingly immune. She felt her grip slacken, she heard Emerald screaming her name.



Damnit... No, no, not like this, not like this, not like this...!



The blond shouted a few things, she couldn't hear him... Then she saw him. He had jumped off the cliff, and plunged his sword into the cliff face to slow his descent. He grabbed onto her around her waist, and heaved with all of his strength. She held onto him for dear life. He looked up and bellowed:



"NOW!"



A boulder rolled down. The blond leaped to the side, yanking out his sword and slamming it back in to provide leverage. Cinder clutched at him tightly and winced as the boulder dropped down, toppling the magical guardians. The blond watched this handiwork, nodded, then leaped up, slamming his sword in again. Emerald threw down a rope, and Cinder grabbed onto it. The boy yanked his sword out, and together, they climbed up.



They reached the top. Cinder breathed hard, but tried to hide it. She couldn't... She wouldn't show weakness...



"You okay?" The blond asked.



He was holding her still... There was a part of Cinder's mind that wanted to linger...



She shoved him away instead, and rose up to her feet.



"You kept the artifact, I hope?" Cinder demanded. The blond nodded, pointing to Emerald. The green haired girl held it up.



"Yes, he handed it off to me-"



"While I got the boulder and kicked it down to save you," Mercury drawled. "You're welcome, by the way."



Cinder snorted.



"Then mission accomplished," she stated. She took the artifact with reverence. Obtaining this meant pleasing Salem. Pleasing Salem? Meant power.



That was all she needed.



She glanced back at the blond, his face as impassive as ever. She worked her jaw.



"... Good work," she managed.



Emerald beamed. That morsel of affection lit her right up. Mercury snorted, looking unaffected.



And the blond...



"It was the mission," he said.



Mercury laughed.



"Cold as ever, Jack."



Jack Arc shrugged, and sheathed his blade.



"I'm starving. Let's get some food," he said, walking past Cinder into the jungle.



Emerald scowled after him.



"Who does he think he is, giving orders," she groused.



"Salem's son," Cinder reminded Emerald, "And you'd best remember it."



"Yes ma'am," Emerald immediately recanted, as Mercury snorted. They followed the tall blond, soon reaching the trail that led back to the town and their inn. They checked back in, and took their rooms. Cinder had Emerald and Mercury take one, and Jack meet her in the other.



She sat down, regal as a queen, on the bed with her legs crossed. Jack stood at attention before her, almost like a soldier.



He waited. She ground her teeth.



"... So," she stated, "What do you want?"



Jack blinked.



"Miss Fall?"



"You saved my life," Cinder said with a shrug, "You must want something."



Jack blinked again. He shrugged.



"Dinner?"



Cinder glared at him.



"We were getting that anyway. Why did you save me?"



Jack hummed.



"... Did I need a reason?"



"Yes, you did," Cinder growled, "Nobody does anything for free! So what do you want?"



Jack shrugged.



"I wanted you to not die."



"Why?"



"Because you're a great asset to Mother," he said. His blue eyes fixed themselves on hers, so focused and intense Cinder was taken aback, "You're a great asset to me. And..."



He hesitated. Cinder leaned forward.



"And?"



"... We're alike," he decided. Cinder growled.



"What do you mean alike? How?"



"... The world discarded us both," Jack stated, "My family abandoned me... Yours..."



Cinder's eyes narrowed dangerously. Jack wisely moved on.



"... Salem found us. Took us in. Raised me as her own," Jack said quietly. "I swore... I would never let someone else be abandoned like I was. Especially someone I... I consider important. To me... And my mother."



She was not blushing. She was not.



Jack Arc was the adopted son of Queen Salem herself. Yet in contrast to her darkness, he was... He was so bright. So kind. Stoic, yet always quick to act to protect someone. He even did that for Emerald and Mercury... And unlike Tyrian, Hazel, and Salem's other minions? He never belittled them.



He had to have some game, some scheme... It wasn't something Cinder had been able to figure out yet. What he really wanted.



It was almost like... Almost like he cared.



Impossible, Cinder's mind thought, Utterly impossible...



"Very well," Cinder said. She rose. "If I am important to you? Treat me as such. Take me to dinner."



Jack nodded, the ghost of a smile on his face.



"As you wish," he said. He turned to the door, but Cinder cleared her throat.



"You offer your arm to a lady when you want to treat her like she's important," Cinder stated. Jack coughed.



"Of course, Miss Fall."



He extended his arm. Cinder took it, and let him guide her out the door down the stairs.



She would play along for now. Figure out his game. If he wanted to overthrow his mother... Well, she'd be there in a heartbeat.



Nothing said she couldn't enjoy playing along, now did it?



Just a little.



Until she figured Jack Arc out...



- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A few thoughts discussed with @The Sleepless One :

-The sheer size of the countries of Remnant means there would be thousands of Hunters at bare minimum for each Kingdom. That means that Beacon, Shade, Haven and Atlas Academy cannot provide the needed numbers alone. Therefore, they are the most elite Hunter Academies around: There would be Hunter Technical schools and Hunter trade schools. Lower priced, less training, less prestigious, but still viable.

-Hunter license exams are state run. People sign up, pay the fee, and take the exam. And the Proctors decide if you're good enough to be a full Huntsman. They have some law enforcement authority across all four Kingdoms, most likely by mutual treaty.

-That said, these Hunters could effectively become militaries for their respective Kingdoms in a crisis situation. Atlas just has an actual military with the logistics and flying battleships/carriers to back theirs up, but that fact is probably not lost on anyone. There's also probably a fair amount of tension if you're a Hunter in a Kingdom that used to be enemies with your own, and sub-kingdoms/nations in the various Kingdoms might stretch the law here and there to keep a larger body of Hunters loyal to them on standby in times of tension.

-Hunters who are not just part of a Kingdom's unofficial military probably have other side gigs. Aura-enabled individuals run the range in power from "Slightly stronger and faster than a normal human" to "Straight Up Shonen Anime Hero", and there would be lots of opportunities for people with those abilities. The Hunter Ranking System also plays a role. D-Rank Hunters need other skills to pay the bills, while S-Rank have a lot more options. Such Hunters would have a lot of picks for careers, from bodyguard to the rich and powerful to celebrity stardom.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Weiss: "YANG! Yang, look... I need a favor."

Yang: "Okay, what?"

Weiss: "Arc's driving me crazy!"

Yang: "He asked you out twice. Maybe three times-"

Weiss: "It's so irritating! Just... Flirt with him? Draw him away? Distract him?!"

Yang: SIGH "Fine... But you owe me."

Later, in the common room, Jaune is cooking breakfast as RWBY comes in to join them. Nora is eating pancakes happily while Ren meditates and Pyrrha reads a book. Jaune's eyes brighten at Weiss... And Yang moves in for the attack.

Yang: "Hey, VB! You tired?"

Jaune: "Not really-?"

Yang: "Because you've been running through my mind all day."

Jaune: "Huh?"

Silence. Blake blinks. Weiss winces. Ruby and Pyrrha stare in disbelief. Nora grins.

Jaune then falls back on instinct from having an extremely dorky dad, and...

Jaune: "... Well, your Semblance isn't going off. Which is weird."

Yang: "Huh?"

Jaune: "Because you clearly fell right from heaven." Wink

Nobody punned at Yang Xiao-Long without her punning right back.

Yang: Oh it is ON. "Are you a vegetable? Because you're a cute-cumber."

Yang edged closer to Jaune. Jaune refused to back down.

Jaune: "Are you a Wi-Fi Signal? Because I am definitely feeling a connection."

Blake: "... What is happening right now?"

Yang: "Do you have a name? Or can I call you mine?

Jaune: "I must be a snowflake because I've fallen for you."

They learn in closer to one another, their gazes locked.

Yang: "Can you lend me a kiss? I promise I'll give it back."

Jaune: "Is your dad an artist? Because you're a masterpiece."

Everyone else is staring in quiet horror and/or amusement. Horror especially for Pyrrha. They lean in even closer, their noses nearly touching.

Yang: "I must be a magician, because every time I see you, everyone else disappears!"

Jaune: "I'm no cardiologist, but I think you just made my heart skip a beat!"

Yang grabs Jaune and kisses him.

Jaune: "Mmph?!"

Weiss: "... That... Worked better than I expected..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Yang and Blake were walking down a hallway. Yang was excitedly describing something with a lot of arm gestures.

Yang: "No seriously, its head was that big!"

Blake: "I doubt it."

Yang: "It absolutely was!" She spread her arms out "It was totally this-!"

Jaune comes around a corner. His eyes meets Yang and Blake's.

Yang: "-Oh, hey VB!"

Jaune: Eh? She's got her arms out for a hug? She wants a hug? Well, she is Ruby's sister, so...

Jaune: "Nice to see you too, Yang." He moves in and hugs her tightly.

Yang: Freezes "Ah... Huh?"

Jaune: beams at her, squeezes her gently but away from anything naughty "Hope you have a great day!"

He looks over at Blake.

Jaune: Don't want to make her feel awkward...

Jaune: "You too, Blake!" He hugged her tightly and squeezed, even as she stiffened in shock

He let her go and smiled, waving at them.

Jaune: "See you guys later!" Man, hugs are NICE... Especially with Yang-NO! No, don't think about that!

Yang and Blake stare after Jaune in silence.

Yang: "... That was... Weird."

Blake: "... Yeah."

Yang: "..." blush "Kind of nice..."

Blake: "That's his Aura. He has such bad control over it that it just kind of radiates out of him. Like a space heater."

Yang: "So, wait, I feel this happy because it's him?"

Blake: "Yes."

Yang: "... I'm hugging him more."

Blake: "I'm fine with being on his lap."

Yang: glare

Blake: "I didn't mean it like that!"

Yang: GLARE

Blake: "... Yes I did."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Her vision was dimmed, like shadows were creeping up around her. She saw trees, heard snarls. White masked monsters descended on her, even as yellow fire burned. She heard Ruby cry out… Ruby, where was Ruby? She brought her here, it was her fault, it was all her fault! Mom! MOM! MOM-!

"Yang! Yang! Yang!"

Yang Xiao-Long struggled back to consciousness, struggling against an intense fatigue and pain that seemed to permeate her body. She thrashed about furiously in the bed she lay on against someone holding her down.

"Wha-LET GO-!"

"YANG!"

She felt someone cover her mouth. She forced her eyes open. Desperate blue orbs bore into her lilac, as messy blond hair stuck to a familiar forehead. She breathed, training hammered into her after hundreds of bouts with her father forcing her to calm down.

"Jaune?" She mumbled against his hand. The knight nodded slowly, looking relieved. He had a bruise on his cheek, and his clothes were in rough condition, covered in cuts and a few stray leaves. He slowly released her mouth as he muttered soothing things.

"It's okay, you're okay, it's okay…"

Yang turned her head to look around-And then grit her teeth as pain screamed in her head. She reached up to the side of her head, finding bandages wrapped around it tightly.

"Ugh… Fuck… What happened?"

Her Aura barely responded, a weak spark compared to the usual immense flare. The room was barely illuminated by the fading sunlight through curtained windows, and a fire lit hastily in a small fireplace nearby.

Jaune sighed, and rubbed his forehead.

"Grimm attacked the student camp," Jaune said quietly, "We all got separated."

Yang winced for reasons unrelated to her head.

"Right… Then… I… Fought them…"

A huge monster Grimm, covered in bony plates and spines, had barreled out of the woods. It had charged, she had charged back. She'd unleashed the full might of her Semblance, taking hit after hit and dishing it back…

She heard Ruby screaming for her as she managed to break through the thing's facemask, her Aura near the breaking point but the hits kept her going… Then… Blackness.

"What happened then?"

Jaune leaned back just a little, pulling up a canteen. He held it out to her, and she pressed her lips to it to drink. The cool water was very refreshing as he spoke.

"Well, you got side tackled by a Boarbatusk," Jaune said, "I think your Aura broke when you were knocked out. I managed to hurt that one while the big thing was reeling, and I just ran. Everyone else scattered too. Last I saw they were all running off in different directions."

Jaune lowered the canteen. Yang licked up the excess water from her lips. She looked around a bit more closely at their surroundings: Wooden walls with some generic nature photos up, a desk in the corner, a few more cots and cabinets nearby. It helped distract from her headache and her worry over the others.

"Where are we?"

"Ranger Station. I ran into it after we fell off the cliff-"

"Cliff?!" Yang gasped in disbelief. Jaune smiled and waved his hand, even as his Aura flickered around his injuries.

"It's okay, it wasn't a big one. I took the brunt of the impact for you. Anyway, I got us here. Good news is there's a radio, since Scrolls don't work great out here."

Yang sighed in relief, but the tension remained in Jaune's eyes.

"Bad news?"

"It's busted," Jaune sighed. Yang groaned.

"Well, that's great."

"But I might be able to fix it," Jaune offered. Yang shot him a disbelieving stare.

"Might?"

Jaune shrugged with that embarrassed little smile of his. It was not very reassuring.

"Yeah, I know the basics. It's a struggle to remember some of them but I'm pretty sure-Oh geez, right…"

He pulled out a flashlight, and clicked it on.

"Okay, just look at the light for a second…"

Yang grimaced, but did so. Jaune nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay… Now. What's your name?"

"Yang Xiao-Long," Yang replied with a scowl.

"Name of your sister?"

"Ruby Rose."

"Okay, and your partner's name is…?"

"Blake Belladonna," Yang grumbled, "I wasn't hit that hard."

"You wouldn't know," Jaune stated firmly, "All right, pupil response is normal. How's your headache?"

"Still… Pretty bad," Yang mumbled.

"Dizziness?"

Yang lifted her head, trying to get to her feet… Then dropped back against the pillows, a wave of nausea washing over her. Jaune scooted out of the way and held up a bucket to her. She retched into it, feeling cold and clammy. He helpfully held her hair up, as he lowered the bucket back down. She moaned.

"Right," Jaune sighed. He offered her more water, which she accepted with some reluctance.

"Okay, just sip… Your Aura should recover in a few hours, and you'll be just fine. You just need some rest. Try to relax."

"Stuck in the middle of nowhere surrounded by Grimm? Sure, I'll be able to relax," Yang grumbled. Jaune sighed and shrugged.

"Yeah, well…"

Jaune slowly got up, and went over to the table. He set up his Scroll to illuminate it with its flashlight, and he started fiddling with it. Yang groaned softly, leaning back on the cot. She studied him for a bit.

"Stay with me, Yang," Jaune said quietly. "You need to rest but sleep might still be dangerous. Tell me something. Anything."

"I…" Yang frowned. Her memory was still a little hazy. Probably not a good sign.

"How do you know… Field medicine?" She asked. "You went through the same checks my uncle did with me during training."

"My mom's a doctor," Jaune said, eyes on the radio, "She wanted me to be a doctor, too."

Yang stared at him in disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Jaune said.

"You uh… Study for it?"

"Passed the exams to get into Thorndyke Medical School," he went on, without a hint of pride. Yang's eyes widened.

"That's… That's a really high brow school, huh? You passed the exams?"

His shoulders tensed a bit.

"Yeah. I mean, my mom's got connections so that helped but I did. Just before I left home for Beacon."

Yang snorted in disbelief.

"And you chose to become a Huntsman over a Doctor, huh?" She asked. Jaune sighed and nodded.

"Yeah…"

"Why?"

Jaune looked back over his shoulder. He shrugged.

"It's not what I wanted. It's what my mom wanted," he said. "I mean, she was a Huntress before she got her doctorate. She and my dad were partners. They fought all sorts of monsters, helped save so many people… I-I mean, she does great work, but…"

He shook his head, looking a bit self conscious.

"I wanted to help people. Save them. Protect them, like all my ancestors did. Like my parents did before they settled down. Not be stuck in school for eight years and then have to deal with bureaucrats and bosses and other crap like that."

He looked back to the radio, avoiding her gaze.

"I guess… I guess I'm kind of stupid, huh? I'm not even that good at this."

"I mean… No," Yang admitted, and then amended it when she saw him slump, "Not yet. But I think you made the right choice. Ruby's a lot happier to have you as a friend, for one thing. You're getting a lot better. And hell, if you did go off to be a doctor, you wouldn't be enjoying a stay in a tiny cabin all alone with me."

She managed a wink, though it gave her a headache. Jaune shook his head and his ears burned brightly in a blush.

"You'd have been okay-"

"Jaune, if I was Aura broken in the middle of a melee with Grimm, I would not be okay," Yang stated firmly. "Okay? I… Thank you. I mean it. Thank you."

He turned back and smiled at her.

"Well, I mean, you'd do the same for me," he said warmly.

Yeah. Yeah, she would. Yang grimaced for a second. Her thoughts were so cloudy…

"Still… I mean… You got into medical school?" Yang ventured. "You're always such a… Well…"

"Dolt? Yeah," Jaune winced, "Academic stuff I can handle. Juggling other stuff at the same time? A lot tougher. I honestly really admire you. You're able to get good grades and be good at fighting."

"Yeah, well, I do have a lot more practice at it," Yang said. She stared up at the ceiling, wincing against the headache. A bit more silence followed, which Yang broke.

"You know… We haven't really just… Talked like this."

"Sure we do! We uh… We…" Jaune frowned as he looked up. "... Well, no. I guess we haven't."

"Like, I didn't even know your mom was a doctor," Yang said.

"Well, I didn't know… Um… Well, Ruby told me a lot but that… Yeah," Jaune sighed. "Did… I mean, I know I can be a little, uh…"

"Dorky? Nah, I don't mind that," Yang said, staring intently at the ceiling boards, "You making goo goo eyes at Weiss did tend to dominate things when we met up before."

"Oh. Yeah," Jaune sighed. "Yeah, I was… A total ass about that."

"Why'd you go so hard for her, anyway?" Yang asked.

"Well, she's beautiful, she's cool, she's smart, and well, she's kind, despite everything," Jaune said. He paused. "Though she did leave me pinned to a tree during Initiation."

"Wait, she did what?!" Yang asked in disbelief. Jaune nodded.

"Yup. Pyrrha had pinned me to a tree, I was hanging from it, Weiss walked in, looked at me, and turned right around and walked away."

"God, geez," Yang muttered, "You crushed on her for that? If you didn't have Aura, you'd have been killed!"

"Oh… Yeah… Eheh… If I didn't have Aura," Jaune managed nervously, "Um… Well… I mean, I did some thinking. I realized, with some help, that well… I was trying too hard to make up for… Being me. So, uh, the Dance, I just… I decided that her being happy was more important than trying to win her heart. That… That wasn't fair to her. I was being an idiot."

Yang stared at him for a while as he worked on the radio.

"Well, I mean… Weiss is kind of used to gold diggers going after her," Yang said, "So uh… I mean, she saw it like that. I just thought you were a little corny but… It was fun."

"Yeah, that's me, regular class clown," Jaune muttered.

"You really gotta stop being so down on yourself," Yang advised, "It's a real turn off."

Jaune blushed.

"Yeah, well… I'm used to it," he muttered. "Your dad encouraged you to become a Huntress, right? Trained you himself?"

"He did, yeah, but he was against it at first," Yang said, "He and Uncle Qrow tried to talk me out of it. Scare me out of it. My mom… Ruby's mom… She died on a mission."

"I'm sorry," Jaune said, automatic but sincere. Yang nodded.

"She was… She was basically one of my heroes. So I… I wanted to be like her."

She paused, the memories between the fight today and that terrible day back then…

"And, well…" She shut her eyes, "I wanted to be… To be free, I guess. Go out on my own on Bumblebee, explore the world. Make money punching monsters, saving people. Get out of that house."

Jaune looked over at her in concern.

"Why? Your dad…?"

Yang sighed.

"He… He just… He fell apart after Mom died," she admitted. "I mean, my biological mom left him when I was a baby. Then Ruby's mom died. And… And I had to take care of things. He'd just sit there for days sometimes. I had to take care of Ruby, make the food, do the cleaning… I was like a single mom at the age of seven."

She trailed off.

"He got… He got a little better after…"

"What?" Jaune asked, eyes away from the radio entirely.

Yang bit her lower lip.

"... I heard this story that my bio mom was still around on Patch. Or maybe… Maybe I just made it up. I don't know. Anyway, I put Ruby into a wagon and pulled her with me. I… I wanted to find her. I wanted her to come home, make Dad happy again. Fix everything."

She sighed.

"I… I got us deep in the woods. I found this old cabin. I knocked on the door… And a bunch of Grimm came out to attack us. They'd… They'd been stalking us. They were going to tear us apart. My… My uncle came just in time. Killed them all. But…"

She grimaced.

"I hated… Hated that I'd gotten us into that mess. Hated my dad for getting so bad it happened. Hated myself for being weak… I was so stupid."

Jaune slowly nodded.

"Yeah. You were. But I mean… We all make stupid mistakes. You didn't die. Ruby didn't die. You're both okay… And-And your dad got better after, right?"

"Yeah," Yang sighed, her eyes flashing red briefly, "But he still has… Had times he couldn't get his shit together. So… Yeah… Ruby's like my sister-daughter."

"You did a good job," Jaune said encouragingly. Yang snorted.

"No, really! I… I think you'd be a great mom," Jaune said earnestly.

A bright blush came over her face.

"G-Geez…" She tilted her head away, the headache distracting her from the sincerity in his voice, "Moving a little fast there, aren't you Ladykiller?"

Jaune's cheeks burned like stoplights.

"Er um, I didn't mean it like that! I swear!"

Yang snickered, despite how much it hurt.

"Yeah, I know you didn't…"

He really was kind of cute… Though that might have been the concussion talking.

- - -

First part. May be expanded into a smutty version at some point.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

While Glynda was metaphorically (and somewhat literally) flaying Ozpin alive, Isabel took Willow aside to have some coffee in an outdoor cafe. They watched the violence unfold as they sipped their lattes.

"Honestly, she really does have a lot of issues, always did," Isabel observed.

"Not like we can talk," Willow sighed, "Half your children ran away from you."

"They didn't run away from me," Isabel growled, shaking her fist furiously, "They went to pursue their different dreams from what I wanted for them! And anyway, two of your children ran away! That's two thirds! I'm still doing better than you!"

Willow looked even more depressed, staring into the depths of her coffee. Isabel frowned, the mood shifting away from wild anime slapstick.

"Willow?"

Willow sighed harder.

"You know... If I'd married Nick, my father would have had a hard time accepting him... But he would have eventually. My father never fully approved of Jacques. I thought he was being overly protective. Jacques was so warm and charming..."

She scowled.

"Turns out he was a bastard. A total bastard!"

Isabel frowned.

"How... Big of a bastard?" She asked cautiously. Willow glared at her.

"What do you care?"

"Willow, I'll admit," Isabel said carefully, "I am EXTREMELY irritated with you for still carrying a torch for my husband all these years but..." She shrugged. "I did want you to be happy. With someone else. Anyone else."

Willow sighed.

"Well..."

Five Minutes Later

Isabel rose, her eyes blazing with fire.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" She swore.

Willow gaped in shock.

"Y-You believe me?!"

"You are a worse liar than Nick! You have this twitch when you-ANYWAY!" Isabel glared. "That's just not right!"

Willow bowed her head.

"It's my fault, too. I fell into despair and ignored my own children-"

"Well, you're here aren't you?! You're not drunk!" Isabel cried. She grabbed Willow by the shoulders and pulled her up to her feet. "You're making a lot of progress!"

"Actually it's because Klein bullied and guilted me into being out here," Willow sighed, but her eyes narrowed. "But you're right! I've done nothing for far too long! I... I need to be more like you and your husband!"

"Yes!" Isabel declared. "We're going to help you, Willow! Both of us, together!"

Willow's eyes sparkled.

"Then, will you let me have Nick-?!"

"LIKE HELL!" Isabel shouted, bonking Willow over the head.

"OWWWWW! Why do you have to be so rough?!" Willow whined.

Klein appeared at his mistress's side, and handed her an ice bag.

"Doctor Arc is a very direct kind of person, Mistress," Klein said, "It is how she handles things."

"Damn straight!" Isabel smirked. "It's how I got my husband and my hospital! Totally direct!"

Glynda walked up, deadpan expression firmly in place, as a contrite Ozpin followed behind her.

"This from the woman who denied she had any romantic feelings for her future husband for years."

"I DIDN'T DENY THEM!" Isabel growled. "I-I was just waiting for the right moment and kept any thirsty whores away from him!"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses... Then realized they were no longer on his face. Indeed, given where Glynda had put them, pushing them up any further was a bad idea.

"As I recall, Isabel, you very publicly proclaimed, and I quote, 'Nick Arc is too stupid to be my boyfriend. He is too stupid to be anyone's boyfriend. You're not taking advantage of my idiot partner.' Unquote."

Isabel flushed a bit.

"W-Well... It was true!"

"More like you were hording him for yourself," Glynda huffed.

"Well! It worked, and you're gonna be a single childless hag who puts baby clothes on her cats!" Isabel snarled. Glynda's eyesbrows twitched, as every stepped away from the two blondes.

"Stuffy arrogant witch doctor!"

"Lonely spinster!"

"You don't even need glasses! You just wore them to look smart!"

"Look who's talking! At least I AM smart and don't pretend to be!"

Ozpin sighed again.

"I'm going to have to halve the coffee budget again, aren't I?"

"Based upon how much damage they did the last time they fought? Probably," Klein observed. "Ice pack, sir?"

"Thank you. I desperately need one."

"For your balls-?"

"That was implied!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A shoebox was set down on the table Yang Xiao-Long was eating lunch at in the Beacon Cafeteria. She looked up with a cocked eyebrow at Jaune Arc, who stood there with a nervous smile.

"Yeah Yang."

"VB... What's this?" She opened the shoebox... And her eyes went wide. She pulled out a pair of combat boots, custom-built. She turned one of them over in her hands, eyes wide.

"Wha...?"

"I uh, I asked Ruby for your measurements..."

At Yang's smirk, Jaune shook his head quickly.

"You know what I mean! I asked my sister about it, and uh, well, she knows an Atlasian armorer."

"Huh...!"

Yang swung around and pulled her shoes off. She pulled on the boots, and they fit perfectly. She smiled and patted the sides of her boots. She looked up.

"What brought this on?"

"I did vomit on your boots when we first met," Jaune pointed out with a shrug, "I finally got enough money to replace them. And well..." He smiled nervously, "I just... I wanted to make up for it."

Yang studied the boots intently, well aware that the rest of their teams were staring intently. Yang looked over at Weiss, who was gaping.

"Wha... That's a Frau Holda piece!" Weiss sputtered. "Your sister knows Frau Holda?!"

"The top designer for Atlas' military?!" Ruby gasped. "WOW!"

She knelt down and studied the boots intently.

"Do they fit well?" She asked her sister.

"Perfectly," Yang managed. She stared up in shock at Jaune. "How much-?"

"Uh, um, don't ask," Jaune said, waving his hands, "B-Besides! Again, I owe you and I couldn't exactly just go to the Spend Less Shoe Store, right?"

"Nope," Yang said with a grin. She stood up, and took Jaune by the arm. "So, let's go try them out, huh?"

"Uh, sure?" Jaune asked with a smile, "A nice hike around campus?"

"To start with," Yang agreed, leading Jaune off. Weiss scowled after them. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"You seem unhappy," she observed.

"What? No!" Weiss scoffed. "Why would I be unhappy Arc can act considerate around others? He's finally growing up!"

"Mmhm," Blake said.

"Shut up!" Weiss growled.

"I didn't say anything!"

Pyrrha's smile was extremely brittle as she watched them go.

"I... I could have recommended some boots, Jaune," she mumbled.

Nora sighed, and patted her fellow redhead on the shoulder.

"There there... They're just boots!"

Yang and Jaune talked happily. They were silhouetted against the open door. Yang leaned over and kissed his cheek.

All of the metal around them began to bend ominously.

"Just boots! Just boots!" Nora emphasized, waving her hands frantically.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The Arcadia Farmhouse doors opened up onto a modest wooden hall, dominated by a staircase going up to the second floor. Warm brown wooden baseboards ran about the walls, and a few simple knit carpets sat on the hardwood floors. A simple brass chandelier hung from above, shining in the sunlight the many windows let in. The wallpaper seemed to be a plain white... At least, Yang thought it was white. There were hundreds of picture frames covering the walls, ranging from images of Jaune and his many, many sisters with their parents at various ages, to black and white photos of relatives and friends, and several paintings.

Despite herself, Yang felt a bit more... Homey.

Jaune led Yang and Ruby into an adjacent living room. This was at the base of the round tower-like part of the farmhouse, and had a wide panorama view of the barn, fields, drive, and a CCT repeater tower in the distance. It was filled with worn but comfortable furniture: Couches, arm chairs, two coffee tables, and bookshelves filled with books and knick knacks. A player piano made of warm cherrywood sat in a corner, with a few swords hanging over it on the wall.

Yang's eyes focused against the glare through the windows. Her jaw dropped. She honestly would not have expected these people to survive the fall of Beacon, and yet... Here they were.

Velvet Scarlatina, that shy rabbit Faunus a year ahead of them, sat on a light green couch. She was leaning against the tall form of Cardin Winchester, who was fiddling with his huge mace. Velvet had gotten some combat pants, a T-shirt, and a brown jacket with a tac-vest-They were a bit big on her, suggesting she'd been loaned the clothes. Cardin was in his usual armor, though it had some touch-ups obviously made by a welding torch. His hair was a bit shaggier, and he had some stubble on his chin and cheeks. Velvet looked exhausted, but definitely comfortable sidled up against her former bully.

A dark skinned, red-headed girl (May Zedong, from Shade, she vaguely recalled) was dressed in her usual hoodie and jeans. She worked on a sniper rifle, doing some maintenance with the guts of the weapon spread out on a coffee table. Neptune Vasilias, looking a bit shaggy and unkempt himself, was nevertheless bent over May's weapon with her, fiddling with various components and talking softly to her.

A dark skinned, blonde girl in nun's robes sat on a pillow on the floor, deep in meditation. Arslan Atlan: RWBY had eliminated her team in the Vytal Tournament. She'd been tough, but ultimately no match for them.

Nora and Ren were on another couch, Nora solemnly working on her hammer while Ren sat in repose with his eyes closed.

Everyone's eyes focused on them as they entered. Cardin, Nora and Ren got to their feet. Velvet, May, Arslan and Neptune soon followed.

"Hey Jaune. Hey Ruby. Hey, Xiao-Long," Neptune said, putting a bit of his old cockiness in his voice. "Nice to see you back up and about! Knew a babe like you couldn't be kept down for long!"

"It is indeed good to see you well," Arslan added, bowing slightly, "You were formidable opponents."

"H-Hello," May greeted softly, her eyes unable to meet Yang's.

"Xiao-Long," Cardin greeted with a simple nod. Velvet smiled a bit tiredly.

"It's... It's good to see you again," she said.

"It is," Ren agreed, giving Yang the slightest of smiles. Nora gaped in shock, then grinned.

"YANG!" Nora leaped over the coffee table and embraced Yang tightly. She tensed up, but relaxed as Nora sniffled and sobbed genuine tears.

"I missed you! You look great! Ooh, you got your new arm! That's great!" She grinned. "It has a gun in it!"

"... Really?" Yang asked, blinking.

"Totally!" Nora enthused. "That's what your Uncle said!"

"He visited you, huh?" Yang asked, eyes narrowing a bit. And not me...

"He did say something about that," Ruby agreed, smiling at Yang, "I-I can take you through the features-"

"Later," Yang grunted. Ruby frowned, but nodded.

"S-Sure... It's been a long day," she said.

"So Arc," Cardin cleared his throat, "Your dad and his troops visited. Told us to wait here for you. What are your orders?"

Jaune paused. He sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

"We're on stand down," he said at last, "Dad wants us to take a break."

Velvet's eyes narrowed.

"Did he say for how long?" She asked, a hint of anger in her tone. Yang had never heard anything like it from the generally meek Rabbit Faunus.

Jaune shook his head.

"No. They got reinforcements from Doremy, so they want us to take it easy for a while."

"Jaune," Cardin growled, "The walls aren't fully secure-They can't just exclude us! We've been fighting since we got here, damnit-!"

"We have our orders," Jaune stated flatly, "We're going to follow them."

Cardin grit his teeth. Velvet's eyes narrowed. The two of them united in anger like this was strange.

"Jaune, those monsters-!"

"I know what those monsters did, Cardin," Jaune growled, so deep and angry everyone stared in shock. Yang's jaw dropped as she beheld the transformation.

Gone was the goofy blond noodle. In his place was a hardened soldier, full of cold rage and steel.

Breaker Above... When did that happen?! She thought in shock.

Cardin ground his teeth, still glaring at Jaune.

Ruby cleared her throat nervously.

"M-Maybe... Maybe it's a good thing," she suggested, "We've been fighting without a break for over a week. Some of us longer."

"It would give us the chance to catch up on things," Arslan said, soft but firm, "And to recuperate. We will do no one any good if we're fighting our fatigue and the Grimm..."

She looked at Jaune knowingly.

"Among other things," she finished.

"H-Hey, I am totally fine with a break," Neptune said, laughing nervously, "Um... I mean, your sister-Hey, Orchid!"

A girl a little shorter than Yang walked out of the kitchen. Her blonde hair was cut short in a utilitarian pageboy. She wore jeans and a T-Shirt with the "Achieve-Men" logo over her chest. A pair of square glasses adorned her tired blue eyes, as she absent-mindedly tapped on a Scroll. Yang could see some kind of interface projected onto her glasses.

"Hello all. Hello Jaune," she said in a monotone. She walked up and hugged Jaune tightly. He returned the hug, rubbing her back.

"Hey Orchid. What are you doing here?" He asked, a small smile on his face.

"I live here," Orchid replied, her tone not shifting a bit.

Yang fought a snicker. Orchid blinked at the stares, then shrugged.

"You asked."

"Right, right, tell us what you told me!" Neptune said eagerly, "When we were at the repeater tower!"

Jaune glared at Neptune. He coughed and held up his hands.

"I was escorting her, I swear! May, you can vouch for me, right?"

"Y-Yes, he didn't... Um... We just did our jobs," May managed. Jaune slowly nodded.

"All right. Orchid?"

Orchid held out her Scroll and activated a holoprojector. Several technical diagrams and windows of computer coding appeared above them. None of it made any sense to Yang. Nora actually stood on her head to try and make sense of it.

"In essence, while the main CCT Network is down thanks to the virus implanted by the terrorists," Orchid stated, "Several regional networks are still mostly operational. The Gallian and Albion networks in particular."

"How did they avoid the virus?" Ruby asked, intensely curious.

"Twelve years ago, the system was due for a major upgrade," Orchid said, "As it was a joint venture between Albion and Gallia, both sub-kingdoms' Councils would have to agree on a unified upgrade plan."

"... Which would require both Councils to agree on something," Neptune deadpanned. Orchid nodded.

"Correct. Add in a scandal regarding embezzlement from the Modern Arts Grant, and the Councils of both nations collapsed in their respective elections to be replaced by new ones. They ultimately decided to save upgrading the servers for the regional repeater system for the year after this one."

"So we have communications?" Jaune asked. "Can we reach Vale? Beacon?"

Orchid shook her head, flipping through a few more holographic pages of what may as well have been hieroglyphics to Yang.

"Only intermittently. In addition, global communications are still down. We did get a call from Uncle Arjun over the radio.""

"Uncle Arjun?" Yang asked.

Jaune coughed.

"He's our godfather. He uh, he lives in Pandu, south-eastern coast of Animus."

"Well, what did he say?" Neptune urged Orchid.

She adjusted her glasses. "It appears that Mistral has fallen into civil war. Mistral itself, Pandu, Temujina, Fuujin-They're all at war since the CCT Network collapsed."

"Oh Breaker, no," Arslan whispered. Neptune gaped.

"What about Argus? Anything on Argus?!"

"I do not have any news on that," Orchid said in her monotone, "Though he did say that Atlas was holding to its treaty and had forces still stationed in Argus. Other than that? There is little to report. I am hopeful that we'll be able to get more as we work with other engineers across Gallia and Albion: Enough to get direct communication back with Vale to some extent. There is talk of reactivating the old cable networks, though most of those were destroyed by the Grimm."

Jaune sighed in relief, and hugged his sister again.

"Thanks Orchid."

"You are welcome. I am going to bed now, as I have been up for forty-eight hours straight rewriting IP Protocol codes for the region. Excuse me."

Orchid headed off towards the stairs, and climbed them out of sight. Cardin sagged a bit.

"Well... Maybe I'll get to call my dad," he sighed.

"Same," Velvet sighed, "They're up in Atlas. I... I'm glad they didn't come to see my fights. Not after all this."

"Agreed," Arslan said, "It was lucky for them..." She bit her lower lip. "After calling my family, I am hoping to get back in contact with my team. We were scattered during the fall."

May winced, and remained silent. The pain in her eyes reminded Yang of what had happened to her team.

"Same," Neptune sighed, "I lost Scarlet and Sage when we were evacuating to the airships. They took another but I don't know where to." He shook his head. "And of course, Sun ran off after Blake again."

"Blake?" Yang perked up. "Blake Belladonna?"

Neptune snorted.

"You know any other Blake Belladonnas he'd chase after? I did get a message before the CCT went totally down: That they were headed to Menagerie-"

Velvet seethed.

"Of fucking course they were," she growled.

All eyes went to the normally timid rabbit Faunus. Cardin was grim, but didn't move away from her.

Yang frowned as well.

"So... She's okay. That's good, right?" Yang asked. She was glad Blake was (probably) alive, but what was Velvet's deal?

"Sure. Two traitors running off together," Velvet sneered. Neptune gaped. Ruby frowned.

"H-Hey!" Neptune said, "Sun's not a-!"

"Oh, so the princess of the White Fang and your buddy just ran off to, what, elope?!" Velvet demanded angrily.

"I-I mean, I'm sure she had a reason-" Ruby tried, but Velvet angrily cut her off.

"She straight up abandoned you! Abandoned her partner!" She pointed at Yang. Yang grimaced and gripped her artificial arm with her real one.

"I-I mean... She-"

"She used to be White Fang!" Ruby insisted, "She wasn't anymore-!"

"And the White Fang attacked and destroyed a city," Velvet snarled, "Just as she conveniently gets away!"

"She-She's not like that!" Yang responded, though doubt tinged her words. "She was fighting against them-!"

"Well she did a HELL of a job, didn't she?!" Velvet spat, fists clenched, cheeks red, "A bunch of their goons caught my team! They shot Coco! They blasted Yatsuhashi and Fox away! I would have been next if Cardin hadn't charged in!"

Cardin grimaced and rubbed his chest. His other arm stayed around Velvet's waist, offering support and security as she raged.

She fixed a glare on Yang and Ruby.

"They murdered my team and their princess runs off?! Convenient, isn't it?!"

"She didn't have-She saved my life!" Yang shouted back.

"No," Velvet snarled, looking at the grim faced Jaune, "Jaune saved your life. Jaune carried you to the airship! Where was Blake, huh?!"

"She didn't have anything to do with this!" Ruby insisted. "I-I know Blake! She just... She..."

"She ran off with the rest of those murderers," Velvet seethed, now being restrained by Cardin's arm. "I hope Atlas invades and flattens them! I hope Atlas kills them all-!"

"That's enough!" Jaune barked. Velvet grit her teeth and scowled at him. Jaune shook his head slowly.

"That's not going to help," he stated. He looked at Cardin. "Cardin, Velvet... Go chill out. Relax. Get some air."

Velvet shot another venomous glare at them all. Cardin nodded slowly.

"Come on, Velv," he said softly, "Let's go chill out. All right?"

"... Fine," Velvet stated slowly. She narrowed her eyes at Yang and Ruby.

"But if I see her again? I'm putting a bullet in her head. The same thing her thugs did to my friends."

Cardin and Velvet walked out, Yang, Jaune and Ruby parting for them. The doors shut behind them, leaving only the clock ticking away.

"... I'll get started on dinner," Ren said quietly, rising and walking to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Arslan contributed, walking after him. Nora followed, though not without giving Yang, Ruby, and Jaune tight hugs.

"Um... I-I need to finish reworking my rifle," May mumbled, sitting back down with her head bowed.

"Y-Yeah, sounds good," Neptune said nervously, "I'll help."

Jaune hefted up Yang's luggage, his face stony.

"I'll show you to your room," he said to Yang.

"It's-It's mine too, Yang," Ruby said with a smile, "It's great. You'll see!"

"... Sure," Yang whispered, staring at her mechanical hand in silence.

- - -

Well, that got rather dark. But what do you think?

Click to shrink...

- - -

Yang was no stranger to faking being asleep. She'd had to keep an eye on Ruby for most of her life, after all. Oblivious and innocent, her little sister would sneak off in the middle of the night to mess with a new gadget, a new weapon, or look up technical facts on the CCTnet. Things Yang had had to manage, because God knew Dad was only fifty-fifty on it.

It was easy to tell when Ruby fell asleep this night though. It was when she stopped crying. Yang watched her from the twin bed on the other side of the small bedroom. It had belonged to one of Jaune's sisters, and the walls were covered in posters of old boy bands and pictures of the ocean. A few seashells sat in a glass bowl on a wooden desk, the only bit of debris left from her departure.

Yang slowly got out of bed, and stared down at her sleeping little sister. She clenched her fists. She reached out her hand... Her biological one, her real one. She tried to touch Ruby, to offer her some kind of comfort...

She grit her teeth. She pulled away. She turned and softly walked out of the door, silently shutting it behind her.

I'm fucking useless... Completely...!

Angry restlessness filled her. Something bitter and painful. Something she had to get away from, something she had to escape.

She stalked down the hallway. She could hear Neptune snoring through one door. Saw a light shining through the crack of the door where May and Arslan slept. Soft voices still carried to her as the two talked, though Yang couldn't make anything out. She passed by Cardin and Velvet's room, which was empty. They still hadn't come back yet. Orchid's room also had soft snoring coming from it. A few other doors were closed, but she couldn't tell how many were occupied. Not that she cared that much, as long as they didn't notice her.

Yang finally made it down the stairs, the steps creaking uncomfortably loudly for her. She made it to the ground floor, and wandered out the door. She closed her eyes as she felt the cool night air. She looked up at the silent stars, breathing slowly. She trembled as she stared at the moon, the broken form familiar but... Not in the least bit comforting.

She wrapped her arms around her, trembling in the sudden chill.

"Yang?"

She looked over. Sitting on one of the old rocking chairs was Jaune: Still in his armor and duster. A nearly empty bottle of whiskey was in his hand. He stared blearily up at her.

"Jaune? What...?"

"Couldn't sleep," he slurred. He looked back out at the stars. "You?"

"... Same," she decided on. Jaune nodded, rocking back and forth silently.

"No squeak," he said.

"Huh?"

"Chair. Doesn't squeak," he elaborated, rocking back and forth a bit faster. "Used to... They fixed it. Doesn't squeak... I... I liked the squeaking."

Yang stared at him for a bit, before a snort left her nostrils.

"You're drunk."

"Am not," Jaune replied maturely, swigging down another gulp of whiskey, "Been... Been drinking wine since I was six."

"Bullshit," Yang returned. "My uncle's a drunk. You're a lightweight."

"Nooo... Just... Haven't drunk in a while," Jaune protested. "Sides... Bet you can't handle a shot."

Yang's eyes narrowed.

"I could too!"

Jaune snorted in juvenile laughter, shaking his head. He leaned back with a smug smirk that just infuriated Yang further.

"You drink strawberry sunrises. No booze in 'em!"

Yang growled. She stalked up to Jaune, grabbed the bottle, and tilted it back. She gulped down a few mouthfuls, before she let it go with a gasp. She glared back at Jaune, even as the alcohol hit her system and lit up her cheeks.

"Not all the time," she snorted.

Jaune stared.

"Huh... Cool," he mumbled. He reached up and pulled the bottle towards him. Yang held on. Jaune scowled up at her.

"What?"

"I mean... Your mom's not gonna-"

"Fuck my mom," Jaune snarled, "And my dad!" He wrestled the bottle back, even as Yang held onto it.

"Jaune! What the hell are you-?!"

The bottle snapped under the pressure, and the remaining booze splashed onto the deck. Jaune groaned, and glowered up at her.

"Oh great. Thanks! Thanks a lot!"

"Well excuse me for being concerned about you!" Yang snarled. Jaune drunkenly glared back, grabbing onto the armrests of the rocking chair to rise up. His footing was unsteady, but he used his height to try and loom over her.

"I didn't ask you to-!"

"Well too bad! I am now!"

"I don't need anyone's concern!" Jaune barked. "You just got a new arm! You go back to sleep-!"

"Like hell I am!" Yang grabbed his arms. "You go to sleep! You're exhausted!"

Jaune tried to grab her wrists, but he stumbled and lost his balance. He slammed against her, and Yang surged her Aura to keep him upright. Jaune shook his head.

"No... No, you go. I'mma... I'm fine-"

"Oh really?" Yang asked with a glare. "Fine. How about the Uncle Qrow test then?"

She let Jaune go, and stepped back. He wobbled as she glared at him.

"If you can walk, you can stay out here alone," she stated. "Go ahead."

Jaune glared at her. He took a shaky step... And fell over again. Yang caught him with a grunt, and glared at his sullen face.

"... Fine," he mumbled.

"All right," Yang nodded, "Let's get you to bed."

"Why do you care?" Jaune mumbled. Yang started, and glared at him in complete shock.

"Why do I-You want a list, Jaune?! Is that what you need?!" She demanded. "You saved my life! You saved Ruby's life! You got us all here to safety!"

"You're not happy about it," Jaune mumbled, "And... And Pyrrha would have done better. Pyrrha would have done it... Super better..."

His head bowed. His eyes went blank. His tone was empty.

"Pyrrha should be here... Not me," he muttered.

Yang's jaw dropped. Her anger evaporated.

"H-Hey... Hey... You didn't kill her," Yang tried, "You didn't-"

"When she went to fight Cinder... I was gonna go," Jaune husked, "I was gonna fight with her... She told me she loved me. She kissed me... Then she shoved me in a rocket locker."

Yang felt a chill. The shame in Jaune's voice, the way he stared down at the porch... It was all too familiar. Horrifically familiar.

"J-Jaune... You... There wasn't anything you could've-"

"I could have died for her," Jaune said bitterly, "I could have been a distraction... Anything... I didn't deserve her love. I didn't deserve... Anything. I should be dead... I deserve it. Fucking deadlast loser fraud. I should have died for her..."

Yang felt tears come to her eyes. Her mood was all over the place thanks to... To her depression. Isabel warned her about it.

Probably why punching Jaune came as a surprise to her. He was slammed down into the porch. He looked up in disbelief, as she panted for breath. She clenched and unclenched her artificial fist.

"Don't you fucking say that again," Yang snarled, "You stupid bastard! You get it?!"

"I-!" Jaune tried to protest, but Yang grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up in the air.

"Your parents love you! Your sisters love you! I can see it, I can tell! And you-You're just acting like they wouldn't care if you died?! What about Ruby? REN?! NORA?! What about everyone else?! HUH?! What about PYRRHA?!"

The tears were flowing freely now. She didn't care though. All that mattered was that Jaune's eyes were wide in fright and shock and he needed to listen.

"She got you away cause she loved you, moron!" Yang spat. "How do you think she'd feel if you'd died, huh?! You selfish-selfish stupid fucking bastard-!"

Anger returned to Jaune's eyes. He shoved her away, and she dropped him onto the porch beams.. He grabbed onto her shoulders for balance.

"Anyone could do better than me! Anyone SHOULD! Anyone-!"

"ANYONE DIDN'T! YOU DID!" Yang shouted. "So don't you fucking pull that-that 'I should have died' shit! Don't you pull that fucking 'woe is me' shit, Jaune! Because that will get people fucking killed! YOU GET IT?!"

Jaune stared back. His anger faded. His shoulders sank. Fatigue set in.

"... I'm sorry," he muttered. He hugged her, and she returned it.

"Yeah, well..." Yang buried her face in his shoulder, "I... I hate seeing people give up. Especially... Especially when they have people depending on them."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"I don't know why," he admitted.

"Yeah, well... Neither do I," Yang mumbled, "But in case... In case you haven't noticed? We're not... We're not in the best of shape. I... I don't mind taking a break."

Jaune stared at her for a long time. She flushed.

"What?"

"You haven't been passionate in a while," he said, "I-I missed that... You're always hottest when you're passionate."

Her cheeks burned red for a very different reason.

"You're drunk," she mumbled.

"Yeah," he muttered, "Doesn't mean I'm wrong."

He hugged her more tightly. She sighed.

"... Don't make a fucking habit of this," she muttered, "I'm not dragging your ass to bed again when you're drunk."

"You smell nice," he mumbled. Yang sighed and helped him towards the doors.

"Yeah, well... You stink."

"Yeah..."

Yang paused and looked out into the yard. There were a few spotlights here and there. Underneath one, some distance away, she spotted the tall form of Cardin Winchester and the diminuitive form of Velvet Scarlatina. They were holding hands and talking, leaned up against a fence post. Yang stared in quiet disbelief. Her eyes widened when she saw them...

"They're... Kissing?" Yang muttered, holding the door open, "How the hell did that happen?"

"Cardin always had a crush on her," Jaune mumbled, "He was in super denial... They saved eachother's lives during the attack so... Ya know..."

"That's... Strange," she muttered.

"Yeah. She likes getting her ears pulled," Jaune said cheerfully, "Not supposed to say that... Or say-"

"Anything else, got it," Yang covered his mouth with a blush, "Now shut up, you need sleep."

She managed to get him to the couch, where he collapsed with a snore. She pulled off his duster, armor, and boots, and got him settled. She then pulled an old comforter over him.

"Now sleep," she ordered. Jaune smiled up at her, even as he closed his eyes.

"Love you too."

Her face again turned bright red. She heard Cardin and Velvet's voices approaching the door. Like a flash she ran up the stairs, past the other rooms, and right up to the one she shared with her sister. She took a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart.

She opened up. She saw Ruby was still asleep. She was mumbling things, and sniffling every so often.

Yang stared for a long moment, before she shut the door behind her. She walked up and squeezed Ruby's shoulder comfortingly.

Her little sister relaxed, just a little. She rubbed her back, and Ruby calmed down.

Her hand lingered for a bit longer... Before she pulled back. She sighed, and trundled back to her bed. She laid down on it, and pulled the covers up.

It wasn't much. Honestly, their drunken host/leader smiling for once and her little sister not having a nightmare.

It was never enough.

It was all she could do right now.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Beacon Academy. Jaune was just chilling out with his team and RWBY out on the campus quad. Nora was regaling them with a story about her latest dream. Weiss was trying to study, while Blake read a book. The whole time, Nora's exploits got more and more ridiculous… Which was just how Jaune liked it.

"So there I was, fighting the mighty Grimm Kraken made of oatmeal raisin cookies!"

Ruby gasped.

"That's horrifying! Oatmeal raisin is the Devil's cookie of choice!"

Nora nodded sagely, shaking her fist.

"EXACTLY! And so when it lifted its huge tapioca arms-!"

The roar of a powerful, Dust-enhanced combustion engine shattered the afternoon air. A large silver motorcycle drove up onto the quad, ridden by a blond bearded man carrying a giant rail gun sword on his back. Jaune got up first in shocked recognition.

"DAD?!" Jaune cried.

The seven foot and some change man slid off his mighty steel steed, and laughed. He hugged Jaune tightly, his long brown duster waving in the wind over his black and white armor.

"HEY SON!"

"Dad?!" Yang and Ruby gasped.

"That's his Dad?!" Weiss gaped in disbelief.

Blake stared in shock. Nora whooped.

"HEY DAD!"

"HEY JAUNE"S FRIEND!" Jaune's Dad greeted. "AND JAUNE'S OTHER FRIENDS!"

"Oh-Oh my," Pyrrha mumbled. Weiss blushed a bit, looking back and forth between Jaune and his father.

"Haha! How's it going? Your mother was worried!" Jaune's father said cheerfully.

"Er, I'm fine. Everything's fine. How-How are you?"

Jaune's Dad chuckled and waved his hand.

"I'm great! Killed a dozen Grimm on my way here!"

Yang got right up in front of Jaune and his father, her eyes wide in awe and amazement.

"You drove a Wayland 2005 through the Emerald Forest all the way here? Killing Grimm?!"

"Of course I did! I'm Nick Arc! That's how I roll!!" He laughed.

"With the twin Acerbo Dust turbos?!" Ruby gasped.

"Absolutely!" Jaune's Dad said, giving her a thumbs up. Ruby's eyes sparkled. Yang laughed.

"Your dad is fucking awesome, VB!"

"So fucking awesome!" Ruby repeated. Yang immediately glared at her.

"Language Ruby!"

"You said it first-"

"NO!" Yang growled. Ruby pouted then turned away to ogle the bike.

"Hmph!"

"Hahaha!" Jaune's Dad patted Yang on her shoulder. "It's my Semblance to be awesome, Jaune's Girlfriend!"

Pyrrha, stunned until now, was broken out of it by this declaration.

"Wait, she's not-!"

Jaune also tried to interject.

"She isn't-!"

Weiss also interjected, though for different reasons.

"Wh-Why not take a Bullhead?!"

Blake stared at Weiss as though to ask "Really?"

Nick Arc laughed boisterously.

"Bullheads are for sissies! ... Plus I get airsick. ALSO! I had to deliver my boy's birthday present, didn't I?"

Weiss stared in further shock.

"I... Wha?!"

"But that's not for another month!" Pyrrha protested. Nick chuckled and winked at his son.

"Well it's also supposed to be a bribe." He winced, and Jaune scowled at him. Nick sighed. "Oh. Shoot. Your mother told me not to say that."

"Dad," Jaune said, as firm and hard as steel, "I am NOT going back to medical school."

"Medical school?!" Weiss gasped.

"Yeah," Ruby said cheerfully, "He passed the entrance exams but he ran away to become a Huntsman!"

"... So he's an idiot," Weiss sighed.

"Huh," Blake murmured, "Why didn't I know about that?"

"Because you're a self absorbed drama queen," Weiss muttered.

"You didn't know either!" Blake accused, "Typical Schnee arrogance!"

"Typical Belladonna self-absorption!"

While Blake and Weiss argued furiously, Nick gave his son an exasperated (but still rather proud) grin.

"You're just as stubborn as me and your mom, you know. Still..." He gestured to the motorcycle. "Eh? Ehhhh?"

"Wha... Dad!" Jaune gasped. "You can't give me your motorcycle!"

"What? I got a new one!" Nick affectionately patted the handlebars. "Tarasque here is all yours!"

"But it's... I mean, you've had her since I was a baby!"

Nick nodded firmly.

"True. I blew up my old one getting that Deathstalker for your birth celebration! But now son... She's yours."

Jaune stared at the motorcycle, clearly tempted. He could see how Ruby glowed around it, how Yang was nodding furiously.

However…

"If I quit and go back to medical school, right?" Jaune asked.

Nick coughed, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Errr..."

At this, Ruby frowned. Yang followed, staring at Jaune.

Jaune shook his head.

"No deal."

Nick drooped and sighed.

"Aw son... Yeah. That's unfair of me." He tossed Jaune the keys. "Take her anyway. It'll make your career as a Huntsman go better, believe you me. Also," He nodded over at Yang, "Your girlfriend has good taste and would probably like a ride."

Jaune sighed.

"She's not my-"

Yang: grabbed Jaune's arm "Of course darling~! Let's go for a ride right now!"

Pyrrha twitched. Nora and Ren slowly scooted away from her.

Nick laughed. He hugged Jaune cheerfully.

"HAHA! Great! Try not to break her too quickly, huh?"

"Dad, I just got the bike. I'm not gonna break her immediately."

Nick blinked.

"The bike-? Oh! Oh, yes. The bike. That's totally what I meant. ANYWAY! I'm gonna go get a room in town! Don't mind me, I will NOT be cramping your style! Though I will insist we do father-son bonding by killing Grimm tomorrow!"

Nora dashed up to Nick, her eyes sparkling.

"Can you adopt me?"

Nick hummed.

"You like killing Grimm?'

"HELL YEAH!"

Nick gave Nora a bear hug.

"WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, SWEETIE!"

"YAY!" Nora looked over at Ren with a beam. "NOW I HAVE SOMEONE TO GIVE ME AWAY AT OUR WEDDING, RENNY!"

Ren blinked. Pyrrha continued to twitch a bit.

Jaune looked scandalized.

"DAD!"

Nick shrugged at his son.

"What? Your mom is getting Empty Nest Syndrome! COME ON, NEW DAUGHTER!"

"YAY!"

"NO ADOPTIONS WITHOUT MOM!" Jaune shouted.

Nick pouted, as did Nora.

"All right… I'll go get some ice cream then," Nick sighed, then brightened. "I'll get ice cream for everyone!"

"YAY! ICE CREAM!" Nora cheered.

Jaune sighed.

"You know, your Dad is kind of weird, but cool," Ruby said.

"Do not encourage him," Jaune sighed.

While Nick headed off, Yang and Jaune were left to admire the Wayland 2005. Ruby was already checking the stats on her Scroll, grinning happily. Blake and Weiss continued to argue, while Pyrrha shyly examined it from afar. Nora happily babbled about ice cream to Ren.

Yang rubbed her hands almost greedily.

"Oh man, I've wanted to ride a Wayland since before signal! How come you never mentioned your dad had one?!"

Jaune sighed.

"Well, one, it's my Dad. He's… A bit much. Two? Why would I? Waylands are great but they've got nothing on the Fenrir models."

Yang snorted derisively.

"Please! Fenrir's are for dads with mid-life crisis going on. I should know, my dad bought one."

"That's true," Ruby admitted.

Jaune scoffed.

"Mid-life crisis? Fenrirs are rugged, damn near unbreakable and crush every reliability score on the market!"

Yang shook her head.

"Fenrirs are rugged because they're slow! They're only so tough 'cause the manufacturers know the Grimm will catch you!"

Jaune nodded sagely, rubbing the console of the Wayland.

"Exactly! A good Fenrir will pulp any grimm dumb enough to get in between you and your destination! I've seen my Dad drive his straight through a Leviathan gullet without a scratch! While Waylands are great, compared to Fenrirs, they're made of paper!"

"So your dad is going through a midlife crisis too, Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"No, he's always been like that," Jaune sighed.

"You mean amazing?" Yang demanded. "And hey! The slowest Wayland is at least half again faster than the fastest Fenrir, I won't need to drive through the Grimm because I'm already a speck in the distance!"

Jaune scoffed.

"Just like your savings! New Waylands are way overpriced for what they offer. They've become way too pricey!" He took hold of the handlebars. "I'd better get her to the school garage. No telling how hard Dad rode her here."

"I'll go with you," Yang said, taking the other side of the motorcycle, "Besides, you clearly don't know what you're talking about!"

"I absolutely do!" Jaune insisted.

Yang leaned over the other side of the bike, glaring in irritation.

"What model of Fenrir did your dad get?!"

"Um…" He checked his Scroll.

"A Loup 455!"

Yang scoffed.

"HA! A Loup 455 is overpriced!"

"Not when you do the custom mods yourself…"

The two walked off arguing on their favored motorcycle, Jaune pushing the Wayland between them. The rest of teams look on with a mix of frustration, confusion, and mirth.

"I-I'd be happy to ride a motorcycle with Jaune," Pyrrha muttered.

"It doesn't make him even the least bit more attractive," Weiss muttered in irritation.

"I wanted to help," Ruby pouted, "But I think they're in their own little world. Hmph. I know more about it than Yang does…"

Nora, fresh off her ice cream rant, hummed thoughtfully.

"Soooo, do you think they're gonna fight or fu-?"

"Nora!" Ren scolded her.

"Whaaat? We're all thinking it!"

"No we were not!" Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha all denied very loudly.

Blake smirked.

"Well, one way or another, we know someone's getting a ride very soon."

"BLAKE!" The teams screeched in unison at her. Save for Ren, he just sighed.

"See? She knows what's up!" Nora said cheerfully.

- - -

A fully expanded and edited version of a short I wrote. Along with a bit written by @Seth ex makina for Dragonslayer Week 2024. What do you think?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Team RWBY find Team JNPR outside on the quad at some picnic tables. With them is an elegant older woman in a blue and white dress. She sips tea, her white hair up in a bun thanks to some blue ribbons.

She has wrinkles around her blue eyes, but all from smiles.

Arturia: "Oh, hello!"

Jaune: "Hey guys! My uh... My Nana came to visit."

Arturia: "I'm very proud of you, Jaune. Getting into Beacon! First try, too!"

Jaune: "Er uh, well... I had a lot of help."

Ruby: "Oh... Wow. Your Nana? So she's your grandma?"

Arturia: "Great-grandmother actually."

Ruby: "WOW! You must be super old!"

Weiss: "RUBY!"

Yang: snerk

Arturia: laughs "I am!"

Jaune: "Er, yeah."

Pyrrha is starry-eyed.

Pyrrha: "She fought in the Great War!"

Arturia: "Oh, I did my part."

Weiss: "Well, that's very impressive."

Yang: "You don't actually look that old."

Arturia: "Healthy living! I keep in shape!" She looks intently at Jaune "I hope you are keeping up with your training, Jaune?"

Jaune: "I am!"

Arturia: "Hm... Mind if I test you?"

Jaune: "Ummm..."

Pyrrha: "It would be wonderful, Jaune! Can she test me, next?"

Nora: "Me too! She seems SUPER fun!"

Ren: nods "It would be an honor, ma'am."

Arturia: "Oh, I'm deeply flattered! Honestly though, I don't know how much fun I'll be. I'm old, after all."

Jaune looks extremely nervous, which Blake, Yang, Weiss and Ruby take notice of.

Jaune: "Well uh... I mean, Pyrrha is training me-"

Arturia: "Hmmmm..." She eyes Pyrrha "I see. I'll test her first then?"

Pyrrha: very excited "Wonderful! Is right here and now good?"

Arturia: "Perfectly!"

Ruby: "Uh, Pyrrha? You sure you want to do this?"

Yang: "Yeah, I mean uh... Maybe Jaune's Nana needs to take a break? It must have been a long trip from uh... Where are you from?"

Arturia: sips her tea, then rises "Radian."

Yang: "Right, there."

Weiss: "Yes! Surely we can wait, have some more tea-?"

Arturia: "No, no. I do need to know just who is teaching my great-grandson."

Jaune: "Um... Just remember, Nana-"

Arturia: chuckles "Oh Jaune, you worrywort! You're such a sweet lad. But your partner will be fine." She stretches a bit "Mmm! Honestly, she seems like she'll give me some trouble. But I like trouble!"

Pyrrha: "Thank you, Mrs. Arc!"

Arturia: "Call me Nana Arturia!"

Pyrrha: "Hee!"

As Arturia and Pyrrha walk off onto the grassy knoll, Arturia carrying a rather large briefcase Ruby is deeply concerned.

Ruby: "Um... Why are we letting the... How old is she?"

Jaune: "One hundred and five."

Ruby: "One hundred and five year old woman fight the best student in Beacon?!"

Jaune: "Honestly? I'm more worried about Pyrrha."

Weiss: "Her?! What about your great-grandmother?! She looks... Well, she's well preserved but she's still really old!"

Ren: "Ah. So you don't recognize her."

Weiss: "Recognize who? I'll admit she looks... A little familiar."

Nora: "Waiiit for it!"

Arturia pulls on gray armor, which expands and locks around her midsection. She pulls on gauntlets and grieves that automatically lock into place. She then pulls out a sword that fairly glows with Aura Energy, something reflected by her eyes.

In a moment, Nana Arturia has gone from a sweet old lady... To a deadly knight, with grim eyes and face that speak of nothing but battle.

Pyrrha is practically beside herself with excitement.

Weiss: eyes wide, jaw drops "Wha...?! No.. No way-!"

Arturia's sword turns invisible... And in a split second she is hammering her mighty sword against Pyrrha's Milo and Akoúo̱ so fast sparks flew off the impacts. Pyrrha tried to rally and go on the offensive, but Arturia's speed, precision, reach and strength were phenomenal. Pyrrha feinted and tried to flank Arturia, but the elderly woman parried her strikes. She gave ground slowly as Pyrrha began to get more mobile.

Pyrrha then feinted and side flipped, trying to get behind Arturia. The knight swung her blade behind herself, unleashing an Aura Slash that Pyrrha barely dodged. It cut a tree behind Pyrrha in half, and sent it falling over.

All of RWBY is gobsmacked at this. Jaune looks relieved. Nora cheers as Ren smiles softly.

Arturia: "Haa... Haa... Haa... Very impressive, young lady." She raises her sword in salute

Pyrrha: "Haa... Haa... You too, Nana Arturia!"

Arturia: smiles "That said, you rely very heavily on your Semblance to fight. If you were blinded or distracted by loud noises, it could throw off your concentration. It is admirable you are so gifted and train so hard... But do not forget that true battle does not have rules."

Pyrrha: unbelievably happy "Yes Nana Arturia!"

Arturia: "Hmmm... Also... Jaune? While Pyrrha is very good at swordplay... I don't think emulating her style suits you, at least in that way. She's very mobile, you are not."

Jaune: "Er, well, not really."

Arturia: "I will teach you my own style while she trains you in more general combat. You should know how to fight like a proper knight: Great cunning and calculation, but brute force and strength are just as important!"

Jaune: nods "Um... What will Mom say though?"

Arturia: sighs "I may have respected her wishes when you were a child, but you have clearly chosen your path."

Jaune: smiles "Thank you Nana."

Arturia: "Now, aren't you going to introduce me to the rest of your friends? It's very rude."

Jaune: winces "Sorry Nana. Um, Nana? This is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao-Long, and Blake Belladonna. Everyone? This is my Nana Arturia Arc... Um, Pendragon-Arc."

Dead silence ensues. One Blake breaks.

Blake: "Your Nana... Is Empress Arturia Pendragon?! Queen of Albion?! The Saber Queen?!"

Arturia: "Oh my, that was a very long time ago. I abdicated, after all."

Weiss: "Y-You slew over ten thousand enemy soldiers in ONE DAY during the siege of Camelot!"

Arturia: "Did I? Huh! I didn't really keep count. Couldn't afford to."

A tall old man with tanned skin, white hair, and golden-brown eyes approaches in plain green and black clothing with some bags of fast food.

Shirou: "Heh. I got about half of them, but I wasn't keeping count either. Too busy watching you."

Arturia: "Aw! Sweet as always, my beloved Shirou. Did you get-?"

Shirou: "Yes, just how you like them. I see you worked up a sweat!"

Arturia takes a bag, pulls out a burger, and sits down with her husband at the picnic table. She happily eats a burger, as Shirou smiles and waves.

Shirou: "Hey! I'm Jaune's Papa, or Great-Grandpa Shirou! Nice to meet you!"

Weiss: "Th-The Master of Unlimited Blade Works?!"

Yang: "Holy crap...!"

Shirou: "Heh. Been a while since I was called that. You're a good student of history!"

Weiss: "Th-Thank you sir!"

Shirou: "Call me Papa!"

Ruby grabs Jaune and drags him aside. RWBY and NPR join them as Shirou and Arturia eat their burgers.

Ruby: "When were you going to TELL ME your great-grandparents were some of the most incredible fighters in history?!"

Jaune: exasperated "When you didn't fangasm over them?"

Ruby: "I-But-THEY'RE SO COOL!"

Jaune: "Yes. I know. But to me, they're just my great-grandparents. So please..."

Weiss: "You know, um... It is curious you didn't bring them up. With me."

Yang: "Oh, so now you're interested in him?"

Weiss: "In his family history!"

Jaune: "Because of this, okay? I love them to death... But I'm not using them to get attention. I want to earn my way through life myself... Not thanks to their names."

Weiss: "... I... I can understand that, Ar-Um... Jaune."

Blake: "Same."

Pyrrha: "Completely, Jaune. I just... It's such an honor to fight her! She's still so incredible!"

Yang: "You think I could fight her next?! Or your Papa? Damn, he still looks amazing! I am seeing the future and I like it~!"

Pyrrha: "What do you mean by that?" Very brittle smile

Yang: "What do you think I mean, P-Money?"

Weiss: "Hey! There's no need to fight! Especially not over Arc!"

Blake: "Says the girl who's been eyeing his great-grandpa with lust in her eyes since he showed up?"

Weiss: bright red "I have not!"

Ruby: "DID YOU SEE THAT ARMOR?!"

Nora: "IT WENT ALL SWOOSH AND CRANK AND WHIRR-WHIRR!"

Ren: "Indeed."

Pyrrha and Yang glare at one another over their smiles. Weiss and Blake argue. Jaune sighs. He walks over to his great-grandparents and sits down. Shirou hands him a burger.

Shirou: "If it helps, son, I've been where you are. With your great-Aunties Sakura and Rin."

Jaune: "What happened?"

Arturia: "I beat them into submission and made it clear Shirou was my man. This will work itself out."

Jaune: "How is that supposed to help?!"