Chapter Text
Jaune Arc left nothing alive in the warehouse. He looked at the corpses at his feet with anger. He was frustrated that he didn’t find anything regarding Cinder and that he wasn’t making any real progress in finding or stopping her plans. Other people might have rejoiced at the thought of stopping her thugs even if it happened in such a gruesome manner, but Jaune knew better. Team RWBY foiled her plans before, but she was still able to pull her attack on Vale. His scroll chined with a message from Qrow asking if he was alright. He let the older man know that he was fine and that he finished the job. They set up a rendezvous point and Jaune left the warehouse quietly. His cloak and sword were stained with blood, but fortunately for the young man, the streets were empty. Even if someone saw him, they stayed out of his way. Jaune met up with Qrow and they cleaned their weapons as best as they could and disposed of Jaune’s bloody cloak. The two men agreed that they would tell the others that they knocked the terrorists out and let the authorities handle them.
The next day
Jaune entered the living room to gather his friends and go to the bar Qrow told him about, only to find them waiting for him.
“Oh good, you’re ready,” he said. “Let me grab Crocea Mors and we can go.”
“Jaune, we need to talk to you,” Ruby said, not looking at Jaune fully.
He frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s just that we talked and we think it’s too dangerous to go the lower levels. We don’t know what we’re going to face once we get there. We can run into Tyrian for all we know.”
“And whose fault is that? You stopped me from killing him,” snapped Jaune venomously.
Ruby flinched and Nora jumped to her defense. “That’s because we don’t want you to become a killer, you dummy!”
Jaune scoffed. Too late for that
"And what exactly are we going to do once we find Cinder? How exactly are we going to get justice? Wasn't that the reason you asked us to join you, Ruby? What are you going to do? Turn her over to the authorities? The same authorities that spend their time playing poker instead of doing their job?”
Ruby looked down and Jaune kept going. “Wake up already! We can’t defeat Salem unless we remove her pawns from the board. Cinder Fall must die! Only then we can have justice!”
Ren used his Semblance to see Jaune's emotional state and what he saw made him gasp. He had discovered that he could see the emotional state of people after the Fall and he kept on working on it during their travels and he got pretty good and saw what other people are feeling. These feelings would manifest in the form of petals that surrounded the person. But Jaune was different, he had no petals around him. Instead, he saw a flame inside his heart and continued to spread, threatening to consume him.
“Jaune, what happened to you?” he asked out loud.
“What happened to me?! I lost my partner! That’s what happened to me! Why the hell are you all acting like this is not a big deal?!” he snapped.
“What?! We don’t think that Pyrrha’s death is not a big deal! How could you think that we are so callous?!” asked Nora, hurt and anger bled into her tone.
"Then why the hell are you against me?! I understand Ruby wouldn't back me up, because Pyrrha wasn't part of her team, but I thought you and Ren would understand!"
“We do understand! We do! But we don’t want you to get hurt or worse. Revenge won’t bring Pyrrha just as killing the Nuckelavee didn’t bring back our village,” Ren said.
"But it brought satisfaction, didn't it?" the knight asked and he felt pleased to see Ren flinch. "Don't deny it! I saw you after it died. You smiled! You were happy that you finally turn that beast to ash! And you would deny me that!”
“I won’t deny it. Killing the Nuckelavee brought me great joy. But do you remember when I charged at it without a second thought and how Nora was covering me? Do you remember how our Auras broke and we were at its mercy? I realized that me and Nora could have been killed because of my lust for revenge. I nearly got Nora killed and put all of you in danger!” Ren said, letting all the guilt he felt for his actions out.
“I see,” Jaune said pensively and for a moment his friends believed that they had gotten through to him. “However, this changes nothing. No matter how you look at it, Cinder Fall needs to die. She can steal the power of the Maidens which will allow her to access the Relics. Allowing her to live is a risk. If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine. I saw how you hesitated to kill Tyrian and I don’t need that hesitation to drag me down,” he said coldly before he left the house ignoring the calls of his friends.
Jaune walked towards the lower level of Minstral, his face cover by the hood of his newly purchased cloak, thinking back to his argument with his friends. On one hand, he could see their point of view, they didn't want him to get hurt over his obsession, but on the other hand, his argument was solid. Cinder Fall needed to die. More than she was a threat to the whole world and that no kingdom was safe as long as she drew breath, it was also the fact that he wouldn't live with himself if that he let that bitch live. What really bugged him however was the lack of support from his friends. They knew how dangerous the woman was and they didn’t want to help him because of their hesitance to kill.
They don’t even try to get over their hesitance. I too was reluctant to kill those White Fang grunts, but I realized the danger they pose and eliminate them. Why can’t they think like that?! Is it their pride or some misguided sense of justice? And they don’t even come to the lower levels with me, knowing how dangerous it can be after they said that ‘we are a team’ and that ‘we got each other’s back’. What a load of crap.
“Spare some change for a poor old woman,” a voice brought him out his thoughts.
He looked where the voice came from and saw an old woman begging. She was hunched against a nearby wall, holding a small can with a couple of Lien. Her hair, what little of it remained anyway, was white and her skin was so wrinkled and withered and she looked more like a corpse than a living being.
“Spare some change for a poor old woman?” she asked as she looked directly at him.
Since she caught him, Jaune decided to spare a couple of Lien for the poor woman. A part of him felt compelled to help the poor woman, the part of him that wanted to be a hero.
"Thank you, very much young man," the old lady said, showing him an almost toothless smile. Then as quickly as it came, the smile faded replaced by a serious expression. "Oh my! Looks like you carry a heavy burden."
Jaune raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
The woman gave him a sly smirk. “I have a gift, you see. I can see people’s destiny and while yours isn’t set in stone I can tell that you carry something with you, something that changed you. Something that weighs heavily on your soul and will eventually consume you.”
Jaune scoffed. He heard this crap before from his so-called friends. He didn’t doubt that this woman can see his emotional state, but to claim he knows his destiny? What a load of shit!
“A skeptic, are we? And here I thought you seemed like an opened minded youth,” said the old woman, not at all bothered by Jaune’s attitude. “But I suppose that your skepticism is justified. Not every day you meet an old woman who says she knows your destiny.”
“And what, pray tell, is my destiny?” asked rudely the knight.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you for two reasons. First, it’s not yet set in stone. And second, if I do tell you, it might change completely, either for good or bad I don't know, but I do believe that everyone has a destiny to fulfill."
“I don’t believe in destiny,” he spat out with anger. He truly hated that word.
He wasted enough time talking to this old beggar. He walked past her without sparing a second glance.
“But what I can do is give you advice,” she said and Jaune stopped. Either out of curiosity or something else, he couldn’t say. “It will do you better if you stop hiding your pain and sorrow behind your anger and just let it out. Your soul will be more at ease once you do.”
Jaune scoffed once more and continued walking.
“Thought I might find you here,” an annoying voice made Jaune stop. He was so close, just around the corner is the bar.
He turned to face the older man, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. "Did Ozpin order you to find me?"
“No. I came here because Ruby is looking for you. She wanted to come here, but I told her that I would find you,” Qrow replied.
Jaune hmphed. He didn’t care what Ruby was doing or what she wanted.
“Listen, Kid. This shit has to stop. You’re pushing your friends away.”
The young knight scoffed. “Some friends I got. They wouldn’t have my back when I need them the most.”
“That’s because they know better. You really think that those people in the bar will help you out of the goodness of their heart?”
“I’ll make them help me,” growled Jaune.
"Can you hear yourself kid? You might have gotten stronger and got yourself some nifty Semblance, but you still lack experience. These people know how to fight and kill Huntsman. Do you remember that Tyrian guy? Remember how he tossed you around? You’ll find similar people inside that bar.”
Before Jaune could retort a red portal opened and out of it came Weiss and Yang on the blonde’s motorcycle. The two men were stunned.
“Uncle Qrow!” greeted the brawler, happily.
The veteran Hunstman was the first to snap out of it. “You talked to Revan, didn’t you?”
Yang’s happiness quickly evaporated at the mention of her mother. “Yeah, and we need to talk.”
Qrow sighed. "Alright, just give me a minute here. I need to straighten this kid out."
That was when both Weiss and Yang saw Jaune. “Jaune,” the former heiress spoke first.
Jaune was completely breathless. He never thought he would see Weiss again. And now that he saw her again, he felt like the same he felt on the initiation day when he first laid eyes on her. It didn’t matter that she was dirty and bruised, he was enamored with her all over again.
“It’s good to see you again Jaune,” she said with a smile
"Yo, Jaune. Been a while," greeted Yang.
Their voices brought Jaune back to reality. Just what the hell is he doing making heart eyes at Weiss, she never liked that. Not to mention he had a goal to achieve. He quickly schooled his face into an expressionless mask. “Weiss, Yang,” he greeted with a nod.
The two women were confused at his behavior. This wasn’t the Jaune they knew.
“Now, that the reunion is over, why don’t we head back? I know a certain girl that would be happy to see you both,” suggested Qrow.
“You take them back. I have business to attend to,” the young knight said and walked away.
The two young women were now even more confused. They couldn’t believe that Jaune would turn his back on them, considering they haven’t seen each other for almost two years. Weiss felt a pang of pain in her chest but ignored it.
“Wait, are you serious?!” asked Qrow, but Jaune kept on walking. “Come on! We need to stop him from getting killed,” said the Huntsman to the young girls.
“What’s up with Jaune?” asked Yang.
“You’ll have to ask Ruby and his teammates,” responded Qrow.
“Ruby’s here?” asked Weiss, surprised.
The older man nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get the kid and go home.”
Qrow caught up with Jaune just as he entered the bar. The older man let out a curse before going after him with the two girls right behind him. Jaune marched to the counter, seemingly ignorant of the stares the group got from the customers. “Just let me do the talking, alright?” the experienced Huntsman said.
The barkeep was a middle-aged woman with blond hair and blue eyes flanked by a pair of twins with long black hair and green eyes. Their eyes widen when they spotted Yang before frowning with contempt. The older woman's eyes sparked with recognition when she spotted Qrow. "Oh, what do we have here. It's been quite a while Qrow Branwen," she said with a devious smile.
Qrow returned her smile with a nervous one. “Lil’ Miss Malachite. You’re looking more beautiful than the last time I saw you.”
The woman laughed. “I see you’re still a gentleman, however, I can tell that this isn't a social call," she said looking at the group of teenagers. One of the twins came near to her and whispered in her ear, and glared at Yang before she left. Yang started to sweat nervously when she recognized the girl. The older woman frowned. "And I certainly don't feel too welcoming of someone who hurt my daughters," she said glaring at the blond brawler.
The rest of the group turned to stare at Yang and Qrow felt like slapping himself for forgetting Yang’s brush with Junior. Yang looked sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. “Sorry about that,” she said sincerely. “I had some anger issues.”
“I’m afraid ‘sorry’ isn’t going to cut it,” the woman said and the patrons stopped their drinking and talking, ready to leap at them at any time.
Jaune stepped forward. “Are you sure this is wise? You know that Yang alone beat your daughters and now you have another 3 people besides her. Surely, you’re not the type to fight a losing battle.”
“Are you suggesting I left you off the hook? Because I can’t do that, I have a reputation to protect.”
“Perhaps, we can strike a deal?” suggested Qrow.
“Hmm, perhaps there is something you can do for me as a way of repaying me,” said the crime lord.
Jaune frowned, not liking the idea of being some two-bit criminal plaything and he didn’t understand why Qrow was so quick to play nice with this woman. Jaune tried to appeal to her rational side, but the woman was more interested in saving face. Fine then, she made her bed and now she’s going to sleep in it. He quickly drew his sword and pointed. “I don’t have time for games! Tell me what I want to know!” he growled, making Yang and Weiss stare at him in disbelief.
The crime lord sneered. “You don’t know your place kid. I’m the one that has the advantage here, not you! Do you know who you’re messing with!”
Jaune let out a scoffed. “A two-bit criminal that doesn’t know when to bow.”
“That’s it! Get-“ the rest of her sentence was cut off by Jaune, who swung his sword at her. The strike was blocked by Militia’s claw.
Seeing the opportunity, Melanie attacked Jaune from his left flank aiming at her spiked heel at his head. The knight barely dodged in time and quickly activated his Semblance. He couldn't afford to hold anything back against those girls if he wanted to catch their mother. Jaune pulled out his main sword, turned the sheath into its sword form, and charged at the pair of twins with a speed that rivaled Ruby's. While they managed to dodge the main onslaught, Jaune managed to strike some glancing blows. Melanie was the first to recover and rushed at the knight with a flurry of kicks that were either blocked or dodged. While her sister kept Jaune busy, Militia got behind Jaune to strike at his unprotected back when suddenly a blade blocked her claw. Jaune had expected this kind of basic tactic, the moment the twins didn’t rush at him together. Melanie was the distraction while Militia deliver the real blow. They were like two cats who were playing with their food. Too bad for them that they didn’t realize they weren’t dealing with a little mouse. He pushed Melanie back and attacked Militia, she tried to get away, but he was on her. He stabbed her in the stomach, her Aura preventing the blade from piercing the skin, but it still hurt her and stunned her. He flipped over her just as the other twin threw a kick at him, hitting her sister instead. Melanie gasped in shock and let her guard down, giving Jaune an opening. He attacked her with a barrage of swings from both swords, carving her Aura up at a rapid rate, before he infused his swords with Aura and brought them down on her, breaking her Aura and slamming her into the ground. Militia got up and could only gape in horror at seeing her sister on the ground unconscious. Then her shock was quickly replaced by anger as she charged at the knight, but he quickly put his two swords together and parried her attack before delivering a devastating slash that sent the remaining twin flying at a nearby wall, breaking her Aura and knocking her unconscious.
Jaune turned to look at the crime lord, but the woman was gone, exiting through a door in the back. He looked back at his companions who were still fighting the thugs.
I guess Qrow was right after all. These people aren’t your run-of-the-mill thugs. They know how to fight and have Auras.
However, despite the enemy's numbers, the group faired quite well. His gaze turned to Weiss, who parried a knife slash delivered her own flurries of stabbings, breaking the thug's Aura, leaving him barely conscious on the ground. Whether it was from exhaustion or her injuries, Weiss failed to notice a thug coming from her right, poised to stab her in the back. Qrow was busy fighting three guys at once, and Jaune was too far. Fortunately, Yang came to the rescue and grabbed the knife with her biotic hand, breaking it before delivering a devastating punch in the thug’s face.
Jaune let out of breath he didn't know he was holding and felt relief wash over him. He told himself that it was because he didn't want any of them to die while he was leading them in his quest for revenge. Even so, he still needed to find and kill Cinder Fall and to that end, he would do whatever it took and use whatever means he had at his disposal. Jaune then entered through the back door. In front of him was the back exit of the bar and on the left and right sides, there were storage rooms. On the floor was a trap door. Jaune looked inside the storage rooms but didn't find the crime lord nor anything of significance. He initially thought that the woman exited the bar through the back, but the exit door was closed
If someone was fleeing, they wouldn’t have the time to close the door behind them So, that only leaves the trap door. Even if the woman escaped, there may be something down there that could be of use.
Jaune opened it and jumped down. What he expected was a room, but instead, he found himself in a long and narrow hall with concrete walls and floor which reminded him of a bunker. He walked down the hall, carefully not setting any traps.
“You’ll pay for what you did here boy! I’ll make sure of it! Even if you get out of here alive you’ll have a mark on your back for the rest of your miserable life!” Lil’ Miss Malachite yelled in anger through the speakers across the hall.
Suddenly a panel opened and from the ceiling, two flame throwers emerged. Jaune had a split second to deploy his shield before he was cooked alive. His trusty shield protected him from most of the damage, but he could feel his Aura being chipped. He pumped Aura into his sword and swung it at the flame throwers, destroying them. Jaune ran down the corridor, throwing caution to the wind. Now that she knew he was here taking the time to avoid activating traps could give the crime lord time to escape. There were more flame throwers and machine guns, but they barely slowed him down. There were a couple of mines that knocked him down, but he quickly got up, his Aura still high.
In the control center of the bunker, there were two women. The older one, Lil' Miss Malachite frantically moved around trying to get as many documents as she can. Those documents contained information about members in the Council of several kingdoms, information that leaked out could ruin them. Throughout her carrier, Malachite created a network of information that was unrivaled, however, ever since the Fall of Beacon, her network had taken a hit. Even so, she was still one of the most powerful crime lords in Remnant. Unfortunately for her, her hard earn reputation also inflated her ego, which in turn made her unprepared when facing a direct threat like the one she is right now. Because of that, she didn't think to pack an emergency bag. The crime lord rarely faced anyone that would come so directly at her like this and in those rare moments when someone did, it was always some young punk who barely graduated from Haven and thought they were hot shit. In those cases, she would let her girls teach the young punk a lesson before sending them on their merry way. But this kid, he wasn't like any of the young punks who dared to challenge her. He didn't let himself get overwhelmed by her daughters and quickly saw through their tactic. He fought like some who had quite an extensive combat experience and although he doesn't have the same experience as a seasoned Huntsman, judging by the way he fell for some of her mines, he made up for it in terms of determination and strength. When he was halfway through the corridor, she activated the steel doors to block his path.
That should slow him down a bit, thought the crime lord.
The older woman quickly put all her Lien credit cards and fake IDs in her bag and quickly double-checked if she forgot anything when she glanced at the other occupant in the room. The other, younger woman had an excited smile on her face as she watched the young man dashing down the corridor. Malachite knew that look: the young woman found a new plaything. Suddenly a loud bang was heard and the steel doors were blasted.
“Can’t believe I’m being driven out by some young punk,” grumbled the crime lord before turning to the other woman. “See ya’ around,” she said before leaving.
Jaune burst through the door of the control room with his broadsword and found the room empty. He quickly scanned it and found another door in the back. He let out a frustrated growl and punched the nearby wall. He entered the room and looked around for anything useful when a kick to the back of the head send him flying into the nearest table. The knight quickly got up and turned to face his attacker. She was a short, young woman, with brown and pink hair and matching eyes.
"You…you're Roman's sidekick," he said recognizing her from Ruby's description. Neo tilted her bowler hat, confirming his statement. "Tell me where Cinder Fall is!" he ordered, thinking she would know where that bitch is considering her boss worked for her. The way she smirked dropped and from her glare made him believe she knew something about her. “You will tell me where she is!” he said an unspoken promise of pain if she didn’t comply.
Normally, Neo would have let the fool charge first, but since he mentioned the bitch who was responsible for Roman’s death, she would take all her anger on him. She aimed a roundhouse kick at his face, which he dodged by stepping back. He jumped forward with an overhead swing that would have cleaved her in two. Neo expertly parried the strike and hit the knight in the face with the butt of her parasol, staggering him and followed up with a roundhouse kick to his face, sending him flying into a wall. Jaune quickly recovered and grabbed the nearest thing, which was a broken chair, and threw it at his opponent. She casually kicked it aside, however that left her open for Jaune's stabbing attack, but instead of trying to block the hit, she merely smirked. As soon as the blade touched her body exploded into glass shards and she reappeared behind the knight poised to stab him in the back. However, her plan failed as Jaune, with lightning-fast reflexes, turned around and parried the attack. Jaune knew she would try this. He knew about her Semblance from Ruby and she would try to backstab him. Jaune had noticed this technique from someone who had a similar Semblance as his opponent: Blake. He had noticed during combat class back at Beacon how Blake would switch with a clone of herself to take the hit and get behind her opponent and attack them. Of course, she wouldn't use the same technique over and over again, but it was the starting one whenever she found someone. But he knew that to win a fight sometimes all that is needed is a debilitating hit and that’s why together with his father and Ren he came up with a counter: deliver a very telegraphed attack, then quickly turn around and parry. And it works.
Neo's smirk was replaced by a panicked expression. She had underestimated her opponent, thinking he was just an inexperienced kid she could toy around with like that blonde girl she fought in Vale and that led to her dropping her guard, and being completely blindsided by his counter. Her Semblance was still on cooldown and she couldn’t bring her weapon up in time to block the attack. All she could do was tank the hit. Time slowed down. The knight stepped forward, his sword burning with white-hot fire. A cut, from her right shoulder to her hip, that pierced her Aura. With a pained cry, she crashed into a table. The knight didn't stop there. Splitting his broadsword in two and infusing them with Aura he charged at the pint-sized criminal. She blocked the first swings, but her fresh would hurt and the knight's relentless attacks caused her to be a little slow on the draw and miss blocking a swing. While this swing didn't pierce her Aura like the last one, it still staggered her and that was all the knight needed. He brought both swords up and brought them down on the criminal. Neo collapsed on the ground, her Aura flashing. Jaune quickly fused his swords together, before grabbing the pint-size criminal by the throat, bringing her to his eye level.
“Where is Cinder Fall?” he growled.
Neo grabbed him by the hand and summersault in the chin. The room was so small that he crashed into the roof before falling on the floor. The small-sized criminal didn't let up, she kicked in the face, cracking his visor and turning him face up, before stomping on his throat. The armor still held up, keeping him from having his throat crushed. Jaune grabbed Neo's leg and crushed her ankle with ease. He had to escape from a similar situation when he was training with his father. Compared to him, Neo was as light as a feather. Neo let out a pained cry and without letting go of her leg, Jaune smashed her on the floor. He pounced on her ready to pummel her, but she used her Semblance again. The knight jumped back, expecting an attack, but nothing came at him. Looking behind at the exit, he saw that door was wide open. He ran towards it, grabbed his sword on the way, and entered the tunnel, leading towards another area of this level. Frustrated he turned back, hoping to find some clues in the control room. What Jaune missed was that there was a second path in the tunnel, hidden by shadows. Deep in those shadows, Neo stayed there for a couple of seconds before she could use her Semblance again. Before the knight could return, she teleported safely in an abandoned building she had discovered not long ago. Once safe, she laid down on the filthy floor, exhausted and injured. She bit more than she could chew this time and barely escaped. Even so, she couldn't help be excited, it's been some time since she had a challenge.
Qrow, Weiss, and Yang finally made it to the control room.
“Jaune! Are you okay?” asked Weiss, worried as she noticed the state of the room
“I’m fine. It’s was just a little tussle,” he said, looking over a document, not sparing Weiss a glance. “You sure took your time,” he commented and the message was clear: You could have helped me.
“Yeah, sorry about that. We were too busy cleaning up the mess, you left behind!” sassed Qrow.
“A few thugs gave you trouble? It looks like that heavy drinking is finally taking its toll,” the knight fired back, still not looking at them.
Qrow scoffed. “They’re not just thugs. You could have seen that if you hang around.”
“Unfortunately, I had a bigger fish to catch.”
“It doesn’t look like you caught anything.”
Jaune frowned and this time he looked at them. “No, but I found something else. Looks like our little crime lord had a whole network of information. Perhaps if we comb through this we might find clues about Cinder. Carry as much as you can.”
They did as he asked and then returned to their temporary house.
I'm not looking forward to explaining what happened here to Oz, Qrow thought.