Jaune SI BS 22: Visits
AndrewJTalon
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As it turned out, a lot more time and things happened in the real version of Remnant than was depicted in the show. Which, to be fair, had a limited runtime and budget. This was the full world.
That said, the show served as a rough timeline for most of the major events and even if it had been a while, Jaune did remember most of them.
He'd gotten the timing down just right for Cinder's team to get into the CCTNet Tower. They had still run into Penny and Ruby, but had escaped. This meant Ruby learned that Penny was a gynoid, just like in the original timeline. Ruby had been fixing Penny when Jaune "accidentally" barged in.
Ruby: "Um... Uh... J-Jaune! This isn't what it looks like-!"
Jaune: smiles and closes the door behind him "Relax Ruby, Penny. I can keep a secret. It's what friends do."
Penny: "We... We are friends, Friend Jaune?"
Jaune: "I think so. Do you?"
Penny: "Of course!"
Ruby sighs in relief.
Jaune: "Don't you worry about a thing, Penny. We're friends and anything you don't want revealed? Won't be. I promise."
Penny: "Are... You certain you are fine with being friends with a... A robot?"
Jaune: "I've always wanted to be friends with a robot! Or rather, gynoid."
Ruby: "Really? Me too?!"
Jaune: "So you don't have to... Try so hard around us."
Penny: blinks "Am I not supposed to apply 100 percent of my efforts to all things to learn, grow, and become the best person I can be?"
Jaune: "Well... Not every aspect of life requires 100 percent effort and how you apply that effort is just as important as how much you use."
Penny: "Really? Sensational!"
Ruby helps Penny fix herself up. They wave goodbye as Penny heads back to meet with her team.
Ruby: beams "Thank you so much, Jaune. That... That means everything."
Jaune: "I meant every word."
Ruby: "So... Um... There is a dance before summer break."
Jaune: blinks "... Oh. Shit. Right. I forgot."
Ruby: "You forgot?" giggles "Yang's not gonna be happy about that!"
Jaune: "I just have a lot going on."
Ruby: "Yeah, about that: Why are you going off to meet with Professor Ozpin so much, anyway?"
Jaune: "I can't tell you. It's... Important."
Ruby: pouts "Yang's already got a lot of worries... Ya know... With your harem and all-"
Jaune: puts her in a headlock and noogies her "You're not helping with that either!"
Ruby: "ACK! EEP! O-OKAY OKAY! SORRY!"
She dashes away with her Semblance and pouts at him.
Jaune shakes his head.
Jaune: "Seriously Ruby. I would tell you if I could but... I can't. It's very important."
Ruby: sighs "All right... Just... It's not anything I did, right?"
Jaune: "No, of course not."
Ruby: "And... We're still going to Radian for Summer Break?"
Jaune: "Wha-" groans "How did you find out?!"
Ruby: "I hacked Yang's Scroll."
Jaune: "Seriously?!"
Ruby: "I do it all the time!"
Jaune: "That doesn't make it better! But... Yes. We're taking a trip to Radian. You, Nora and Ren can come along. And so can anyone else who wants to. But it was going to be a surprise."
Ruby: "I thought you wanted to take things slow with Yang?"
Jaune: "What?"
Ruby: "I mean, your whole family is in Radian, right? We're gonna meet your parents?"
Jaune: "... Okay... So it could look a little... Fast, but that's why we're all going. It'll be a fun trip with my friends and family. And besides... I can't just leave you all alone here for the break."
Ruby: "Yang's hoping you two can suck more face together."
Jaune: "Yeah, that's accounted for."
Ruby: beams "And the rest of your harem? Is there room for sucking face with me-?"
Headlock and noogie
Ruby: "OW OW OW OW OWWWW OKAY I'M SORRY!"
Jaune: "Seriously Ruby! I love ya, but until you're actually legal and unless Yang goes insane, we're NOT going that far, okay?"
Ruby: pouts a little "... Okay... But... If I was legal and I'd asked you out first...?"
Jaune: long sigh "... I would have said yes."
Ruby: beams
Jaune: "Now... I've got another appointment. I'll see you later, okay?"
Ruby: "Sure!" hugs him
Jaune leaves and heads to dorm A12. Pyrrha was waiting dutifully outside.
Jaune: "Sorry I'm late."
Pyrrha: "It's all right. I got to get out of a magazine shoot, after all." smiles.
Jaune smiles back. They both enter the room. The lights flick on as Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald all stare intently at them. Cinder for her part looks annoyed.
Jaune: "How did things go?"
Cinder: glare "According to plan... Except for the part where Rose and Atlas' pet gynoid intervened."
Jaune: shook his head "Random chance is as much a part of this job as anything else. On the plus side, you delivered the package?"
Emerald: "We did, but how do we know it wasn't a trap?!"
Jaune: "Hey. All you had to do was switch out one of the general system holodrives for another that I prepared with the virus. That holodrive has the exact same maintenance schedule, wear and tear as the original. Unless they were specifically looking for the few manufacturing differences between it and thousands of others, they will miss it. The little hack my friend did to the system will include documentation to explain any anomalies and I personally forged paperwork that I slipped into the maintenance archives. We're in the clear."
Emerald: glares "I don't trust him, Cinder. Not one bit-!"
Cinder: "Quiet Emerald."
Emerald: "Y-Yes ma'am."
Cinder: eyes narrow "... Rose and the gynoid happening upon me in the middle of the operation could be a bit of bad luck. But you can understand why we thought it was a trap. You said you were working on her."
Jaune: "Well I can't have her on a leash all the time, can I? She's underaged, it would attract too much attention. Plus her sister has abandonment issues. I'm playing no less deadly a game than you are, Cinder. There are going to be little set backs from time to time. The important thing is, you got the virus into the system, yes?"
Cinder: "... Yes. The first half."
Jaune: "Oh?"
Cinder: "It's a binary virus. Both sets of code are meant to look benign on their own, but when the activation code is issued, they link together and give us total control of Vale and Atlas' computers."
Jaune's Brain: Wow, that is ingenius and I have no idea how it would work. Wish I was a computer programmer in my past life. Still, Ozpin assured me that Penny's Dad and Atlas' cybersecurity guys can unravel the virus since they know what to look for from the holodrive I got them. So hopefully that will work..."
Jaune: "I see. Forgive me, I'm more of a people person than a technical guy."
Cinder: nods "I can see that. In any event the most opportune moment to deliver the second half of the code will be the Beacon Dance. I assume you can come up with a good cover?"
Jaune: "Lemme work on that."
Cinder: "Good... Mercury? Emerald? You're dismissed."
Mercury gives Jaune a savage but approving smile, while Emerald scowls at him. They both leave.
Cinder: "Your pet can go too."
Jaune: looks over at Pyrrha. He reaches up and pats her head
Jaune: "I'll be fine, go."
Pyrrha: smiles "Yes Master."
She exits, leaving Jaune and Cinder alone.
Cinder: "How did you get the security systems to drop for us?"
Jaune: "Hacker friend again. The security systems are run on a different server than the rest of the systems. I was able to use a drive she gave me to send it into maintenance mode from Ozpin's office terminal. He went to get some coffee and I ran it."
Cinder: nods approvingly "Smooth. Very, very smooth. The old wizard must be going senile."
Jaune: "I don't know. He's suspicious. That's why I've played it so carefully... But there is one incident in my past that is why he looks so closely at me."
Cinder: "Oh?"
Jaune: scoffs "Don't pretend you don't know. Any competent operator would have researched everything they could about me."
Cinder: "... You got me. I believe it has to do with your childhood illnesses?"
Jaune: nods "Officially my mother figured out how to beat it with conventional, if ingenious, medicine."
Cinder: "... And unofficially?"
Jaune: "Queen Salem offered my parents a deal: Save my life, and in exchange serve her."
Cinder: eyes widen "Quite the price they paid."
Jaune: "They did it gladly. And you can appreciate how delicious Salem found it. After all, the founding matriarch of our house, Joan D'Arc, defeated her servant the Witch Queen of Argus. She hasn't forgotten about that."
Cinder: "Indeed... But you'll forgive me if I don't entirely trust you."
Jaune: "I appreciate the honesty."
Cinder: "Still..." She walked up and rested a hand against his chest "Perhaps when this is all over... I might re-evaluate a few things?"
Jaune: "Such as?"
Cinder: "Our relationship, of course~."
Jaune: smiles "... I'm a professional, ma'am. After all... We're in the middle of a deadly operation. No matter how tempted we might be... We have to keep our eyes on the prize."
Cinder: sighs, draws her hand away "True. Pity. I wonder if either of us can ever truly relax with another person?"
Jaune: "That's the price we pay... But... You never know. Maybe one day, we'll find out."
Cinder: smiles "I suppose so. Goodnight, Mister Arc."
Jaune: "Goodnight, Miss Fall."
She leaves. Jaune heads out... And meets Pyrrha on the roof. Pyrrha channels her Semblance again.
Pyrrha: "We're clear... This is kind of exciting! Like a spy movie!"
Jaune: sighs "Yeah..."
Pyrrha: "Jaune?"
Jaune: irritated "Just... Ugh. I hate this spy shit. It's much more fun to watch it than be a part of it."
Pyrrha: "... Jaune? I um... I hope you don't mind but... I was listening in. So was Emerald. Nobody else though."
Jaune: "So... What did you want to talk about?"
Pyrrha: "... Your childhood. What you said... Was it true?"
Jaune: "Nah. I mean... Yeah, I was very sickly and spent a LOT of my childhood in the hospital or my room. But my mom was the one who saved me. Not Salem."
Pyrrha: "I see... I'm sorry."
Jaune: "No! No, it's good. I mean you shouldn't be too paranoid when you're dealing with this stuff but... It's good that you're keeping me honest."
Pyrrha: "One... Other thing."
Jaune: "Sure?"
Pyrrha: "Something that's been bothering me since we met, Jaune. You've acted so strange. Like you're... Older than us. It doesn't match up with what you've told us. You immediately knew so much more about me when we fought in the Initiation than had revealed... And you knew what my Semblance could do. Nobody knows that except for my trainer, my mother, and me. You've had incredible knowledge about people you've never even met before, not just me."
Jaune's Brain: Oh boy...
Jaune: "So... What do you think is going on?"
Pyrrha: "Well... I entertained a few possibilities. I-I do actually like to read scifi, have since I was a little girl... I thought about it. And I guess... I just have to ask..." She stared at him "Are you from the future?"
Jaune's Brain: Ah, right, I forgot she's not just a pretty face with a good sword arm...
Jaune: "... Sort of. I..." sighs "I'm not at liberty to tell you the whole thing. You can probably guess why... But I do have knowledge about the future."
Pyrrha: "... Was it bad?"
Jaune: "Is there another reason people might try to send information back in time to change things? Yeah... It was bad. Very bad."
Pyrrha: "... And what happened to me?"
Jaune: takes a very deep breath "... You died trying to save me... Save us all."
Pyrrha: "... Did Cinder do it?"
Jaune: "... Yeah."
Silence falls. Pyrrha sucked in another breath.
Pyrrha: "Did... Did I ever tell you how I felt?"
Jaune: "..." sighs "Just before you died."
Pyrrha: staring out into the night "... I see..."
Jaune: hugs her "Pyrrha. It's not going to happen this time. I promise."
Pyrrha: "... Is that why you... You've been so open with me? In most things. And well... So caring?"
Jaune: "... Partially. I do genuinely love Yang... You? I care for you too but..." sighs "I guess part of me blamed myself for... For your death."
Pyrrha: "What?!"
Jaune: "If I'd gone with you, Pyr, I-I could have at least been a distraction-I could have done something, anything-!"
Pyrrha: "Jaune! If I did go to fight and I did leave you behind... It wouldn't have been because I was sure I was going to die. It would have been so I wouldn't have worried about you. It wasn't your fault!"
Jaune's Brain: I can't believe that... I just can't...
Jaune: "Yeah well... You promise me if things get bad, you won't send me away."
Pyrrha: "Jaune, I-"
He grabs her shoulders and stares into her eyes.
Jaune: "PROMISE! I will NOT lose you or anyone else ever again. You're not sacrificing yourselves for me. Never. Again. Understand?"
Pyrrha slowly nods.
Pyrrha: "I... I promise."
Jaune: nods "..." sighs "I'm... I'm sorry."
Pyrrha: "... You keep telling me I say that too much. For things that aren't my fault."
Jaune: "Yeah, well... I never claimed to not be a hypocrite."
Pyrrha: "... Can you tell me anything else about the future?"
Jaune: "Only that we need to stop Cinder. So much is... Is different, Pyrrha. If I tell you too much, everything might change. I just... I just ask that you trust me."
Pyrrha: smiles with tears in her eyes "I do... I always will."
Jaune: "Thank you..." sighs "And... Well... Again. Same thing, okay? If I break up with Yang... Give me two weeks and... And we'll try."
Pyrrha: "... The future was incredibly hard on you, wasn't it?"
Jaune: "On all of us... But... Yeah."
Pyrrha hugs him tightly.
Pyrrha: "... We'll find our happy ending. I promise."
Jaune: "..." hugs her back "Yeah... Yeah. We will."
- - -
Well that got fucking serious all of a sudden!
Classes were relatively easy to keep up with, thanks to the fact that RWBY and JNPR were banned from vigilante excursions. So Jaune was able to keep up with his school work. He was also doing a lot better in Combat Class thanks to training with everyone.
Helping out with Cardin and Velvet's wedding was also fun... Mostly. Jaune, Sun, Ren, and Cardin were chilling out at a sports bar.
Cardin: "Thanks for going out to relax, Jauney. It's been rough. Don't get me wrong, I love Velvet but... I need some guy time, ya know?"
Jaune: "No, no, I absolutely get it." sigh "Ren and I needed some time too."
Ren: "Indeed. Though I am very happy with Nora... I find solitude with guys is quite relaxing."
Cardin: nods "Yeah..."
Sun: "Tell me about it! Blake's just been non-stop riding me! If you know what I mean!" winks and grins
Jaune: "... Uh, Sun-"
Sun: "It's not like my friend JAUNE is the actual object of her desires, now is he?! That would be crazy, hahaha... Ha..."
Cardin: "... Are you okay?"
Sun: "I'M FINE!" shakes his head rapidly "I-I just... It's just like one of her doujins, right? Haha! I just have to NTR her away from you!"
Jaune's Brain: You know, I did want more depth for Sun's character but I'm not sure this is what anyone expected...
Jaune: "We're not in a relationship... But if it helps you two get into one, by all means, please."
Sun: "What's that supposed to mean?!"
Cardin: "He means she's crazy, Sun."
Ren: sips tea "Indeed."
Sun: "That's why I love her!" sighs happily
Jaune: looks around at the others "... Okay, maybe we need to find him a better love interest."
Cardin: "Wouldn't that just leave Blake to chase you though?"
Jaune: "One problem at a time!"
Ren: sips his tea "Indeed."
Mercury arrives, grinning in a fake way.
Mercury: "Hey guys! What's up?"
Jaune: "Hey Mercury. How you doin'?"
Mercury: "Just glad to be away from my team for a while. Mint's either doing fingernail painting or she's plotting my death." sits down with them at the table "Probably both."
Jaune: "Yeah. Well, the more the merrier." scowls at the holoscreen "Oh come on! The Lutetia Franks are losing again?!"
Cardin: "Heh. Should have backed a winner, Jaune. Gallia's terrible in all manly sports."
Jaune: "No we're not! We're great at basketball and tennis and sort of okay at soccer-"
Cardin: "I'm not seeing it."
Sun: "Yeah dude, the Franks are a joke team in the Valean League. Even Mistralians know it."
Ren: "The memes are quite devastating."
Jaune: "Ugh... It's not about winning or losing, it's how you play the game and... Okay fine, they suck but they're the home team! I gotta pull for them!"
Mercury: sips his drink "Your loyalty is commendable, I guess."
Jaune: "Yeah well... The Valean Wizards only win because the refs are bribed!"
Cardin: "Are not!"
Jaune: "Are too!"
Nick Arc jumps in with a big, happy grin.
Nick: "HOWDY SON!"
Jaune: "GAH! DAD?!"
Nick hugs Jaune tightly.
Nick: "HAHAHA! How wonderful to see you! You look great! And these are your friends, right?"
Jaune: "R-Right! What are you doing here?"
Isabel Arc walks up, raising an eyebrow.
Isabel: "Well! You went and found our long lost goddaughter so of course we're going to visit our son while we check up on things."
Jaune: "MOM?!"
Sun: eyes wide "... Wow your mom is pretty."
Jaune: "DUDE!"
Sun: "SORRY!"
Introductions are made. Nick happily shakes everyone's hands, while Isabel does the same... She pauses at Mercury.
Isabel: "Hmmm... May I see your legs?"
Mercury: "Eh?!"
Sun: "What the hell-Why not mine?!"
Jaune: "I swear Sun I will punch you-"
Isabel: "Your artificial legs! May I examine them?"
Mercury: "I-How can everyone tell?! I've worked so hard to conceal them-!"
Nick: "Ha! You can't fool one of the world's best doctors!"
Isabel: blush "Aw, thank you Nick! But seriously, may I?"
Mercury scowls but relents, pulling up his pant legs. He thinks Jaune is on their side but still...
Isabel: "Hmmm... Who got these for you?"
Mercury: darkened expression "My dad."
Isabel: "Well he did a terrible job. These are totally inadequate and the surgeon who did the connections was completely incompetent! Hang on..."
She pulls on her fighting gloves and puts in Dust capsules. Her hands light up white and Mercury gulps.
Mercury: "H-Hey, hang on a second-!"
Isabel: "Don't move."
Isabel puts her hands on where metal meets flesh. Mercury yelps... But slowly relaxes as nothing bad happens. Isabel pulls her hands away.
Isabel: "How do they feel?"
Mercury: "I..." He stands up and walks around a few steps "It feels... Great! The pain's practically gone!"
Isabel: nods "I just healed up some of the nerve connections and dulled the pain in a few places. You're going to want better prosthetics though, this is only a temporary fix. You have health insurance through your Academy, right?"
Mercury: "Er, I think so? But isn't it going to be expensive-?"
Isabel: bright smile "I can take pro-bono work from time to time. Especially if it's for one of my son's friends!" Smiles at Jaune.
Jaune: smiles back "Anything to make you be your best, man."
Mercury: "..." frowns and shrugs "Sure. Why not?" He clears his throat and drops his pant legs "Of course, when I kick your team's asses at Vytal, you'll regret it."
Jaune: "Ha! Nah, just making sure you have a fair shot!"
Some more good natured banter ensues. Nick congratulates Cardin on his upcoming wedding. He tells the boys about some of his adventures. Jaune gets pulled away by his mother to talk in private.
Jaune: "Mom... I know you don't like me becoming a Huntsman-"
Isabel: "No. I don't."
Jaune: "But it's my choice. And I'm not changing it. You don't need to hold that return ticket for me: I won't fail."
Isabel: "..." sighs "I don't like it... But if you're dead set on this course, I suppose I can only do my best to support it."
Jaune: "Good..."
Isabel: "And... If it helps? We... Could have phrased that better." sighs "We were not expecting you to fail. You're an Arc, after all."
Jaune: "O-Oh... Then... Why?"
Isabel: "... Because we wanted you to be spared what we had to go through."
Jaune: "Mom, you and Dad are heroes! You liberated a kingdom! You saved so many people-!"
Isabel: "And we paid a terrible price, Jaune. A price we wanted to spare you!" She shook her head slowly, looking very sad "We wanted you to be someone who promotes life, not someone who will have to bring death."
Jaune: "You and dad brought life, Mom! You saved it!"
Isabel: "And we had to take a lot of it, too." She sighed and looked to the side "There's... A lot of things we never wanted to do, but had to, Jaune. I just... We wanted to spare you that. All of that..."
Jaune: "You can't protect me forever, Mom. I'm not a baby anymore." He hugs her "I know... There's a lot of pain coming my way. Just... Just help me to face it. That's all I ask."
Isabel: "..." sniffles, and smiles "We will... Oh..." She cups his cheeks "When did you start growing up? You're so different from how you were before."
Jaune: "Having to keep people I care about safe and alive can age you."
Isabel: "Heh... So it does..."
Jaune: "You still look great, Mom."
Isabel: "Oh stop!" laughs "Well... Your friends seem to think so?"
Jaune: groans "Mom...!"
Isabel: "What? It's nice for a woman to be appreciated by younger men! A little. Makes your father work a little harder!"
Jaune: "MOM!"
Isabel: "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"
Jaune: sighs "Yeah... So... How long are you guys staying?"
Isabel: "Well... I was going to tell you when we got to Beacon but... Headmaster Ozpin asked us to stay on as part-time teachers!" She beamed "Given all the criminal activity, he thought we'd be great as backup! Isn't that wonderful, Jaune?"
Jaune: "I... Y-Yeah... Sure..."
Jaune's Brain: Oh God... Is this how things went in the original timeline or what?! I don't even know what I did anymore! Crap crap crap crap craaap...!
Isabel: "Besides... I do have to look after my son, don't I?"
Jaune: "We just established that you don't have to-"
Isabel: "At least to see if any girls have caught his eye, hm? And make sure they're good enough for my boy? Ozpin said you had quite a LOT of female attention!"
Jaune's Brain: I'm gonna kill that immortal bastard...!
- - -
Don't you just hate it when OCs take over an original work? I know Jaune sure does...