For @WormScriber on Wattpad!
"Okay hear me out. Jaune from RWBY, post-volume 3, made a pact with Orthax from TLoVM. RWBY x TLoVM"
Word Total: 3170
Warnings: Violence, mention of canon character death, character death, light swearing
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With the fall of Beacon and losing Pyrrha, Jaune found himself feeling lost, empty and angry. Instead of going home like most of Beacon and his friends did, or staying with a friend, Jaune found himself wandering the dirt roads of Remnant. He clutched Pyrrha's circlet, holding it close to his chest and he thought on how he could have done better. How he could have been stronger. How he shouldn't have let Pyrrha go on her own. Jaune tried his best to stay awake the longest he could, knowing only nightmares would come for him when he closed his eyes. But one night when he could no longer stay awake, it wasn't a nightmare that came to him.
When Jaune curled up by a tree one night after staying awake for three days straight once more, he had resigned himself to the realm of nightmares. As his consciousness gave way, it was not the nightmares of Pyrrha dying nor the twisted nightmare of her and the others berating him for not being enough. Instead, his dream was filled with a smokey presence with two glowing orange eyes. There was no recognizable body at the moment as far as dream Jaune could tell but the presence wasn't harming him. Instead, the smoke then gives way to a vision of striking down Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, some faces Jaune doesn't recognize, and then of course... Salem. In the vision, Jaune notes that in his hand is his sword, but it didn't look like his. It was jagged and turned into a whip, and had veins of various shades of green that Jaune somehow knew to be venom and acid. The vision of Jaune exacting his revenge fades and raspy whispers fill his head on how to build the better version of Crocea Mors. Jaune listens intently, absorbing everything the whispers told him.
As Jaune next roused, he felt surprisingly refreshed for once. As he stood up, the dream he had came flooding back and the blonde scrambles for his Scroll. Ignoring the few messages from Nora and Ren, Jaune starts writing everything down in his Scroll on how to make the improvements for his weapon. Once satisfied that he had everything, Jaune gathers his stuff and he starts moving like a man on a mission. For once, Jaune finally felt like he had a purpose and thanked his sleep deprived brain for finally giving him that path. He makes his way back to the village he had passed the prior day to gather whatever supplies he could find there and continues on his way to gather the last pieces. Jaune changes his trajectory towards a small town as he knew that if he wanted to actually craft his weapon, he would have better luck in a town than a simple village.
Jaune grew more and more frustrated the longer it took to find a blacksmith that would let him use the forge. No amount of money nor offers of non-paid labor seemed to entice any blacksmiths. They instead just gave him materials and told him good luck with a laugh. As he walks along another dirt road to get to the next small town, his Scroll goes off and he growls as he pulls it off his hip. Seeing it was yet another message from Ruby, Jaune glares at the message. He was about to put the Scroll away when he suddenly got the idea that maybe letting Ruby know where he was would be beneficial. After all, she knew how to build weapons and might be a bit more persuasive than he. Smirking, Jaune finally responds to Ruby with where he was headed, including what appeared to be a sincere apology about not responding sooner. Not at all surprised that Ruby immediately responded saying that she would meet up with him in that town with Nora and Ren, the blonde puts the Scroll away. He pulls out the circlet and holds it with both hands.
"Don't worry Pyrrha... I'll have revenge for you and those who we lost in Beacon," Jaune hums out. He puts the circlet on his own head, chuckling a little bit at how it didn't fit quite right on him but that was alright with him. He continues walking, not noticing the smoke that had curled around his ankles and was now trailing behind him.
It was a few days later when Jaune met up with Ruby, Nora and Ren. He smiles as his friends pull him into a bone crushing hug that he returns to the three. Deciding that catching up with friends was a bit more important, Jaune pushes aside the desire to craft his new sword aside. To appease the growing, and seemingly angry, desire, he reasoned that if this was to go smoothly, he needed to play nice and not let anyone in on what was going on. If he had just dragged Ruby off to the nearest blacksmith, there would be questions asked and the chance of getting the sword made would become even slimmer. The anger faded away and Jaune continued on his way with his friends. They found a small cafe to sit at and have a nice lunch while relaying stories and information they had gathered since the Fall of Beacon.
"So Jaune! What have you been up to?? We've been so worried ever since you went radio silent!" Nora says, looking at the blonde.
"Oh, I've been doing some self-reflection... Just taking the time to think on what I've learned and traveling on my own," Jaune says.
"Impressive that you've made it as far on your own as you have," Ren says.
"Well, I'm a quick learner and I have a lot of Aura so that certainly helps," Jaune chuckles. "And listening and practicing to Pyrrha's lessons definitely helps as well."
"Speaking of Pyrrha... How are you doing Jaune...?" Ruby asks carefully. She had noticed the circlet on the blonde's head. Jaune visibly stiffened at the question, once more not noticing the smoke that was starting to pool at his ankles.
"To be honest..? Not the best. Part of why I've been on my own," the blonde answers. His blue eyes move to the hand that was on his arm and they widen a bit seeing Ren's pink Aura flood over him.
"Just... being cautious since this is a sensitive topic. Don't want to bring any Grimm here," Ren says quietly.
"Oh good idea Ren," Nora says, bobbing her head.
"Well thanks. Though that does bring me to a question I have for you Ruby," Jaune says, bringing his gaze to the youngest.
"O-oh? What is it?" Ruby asks, tilting her head a bit.
"I've had a few ideas to improve my sword and was wondering if you would-" Jaune starts out.
"I'LL HELP!" Ruby cuts Jaune off, getting to her feet and her silver eyes shining with excitement at the idea of building a new weapon. "I know where to go! Let's go!"
"You're lucky I have all the components," Jaune laughs as he gets to his feet. Ren and Nora chuckle as well as they stand up. All four leave a few Lien on the table as a tip before Ruby drags Jaune off to the blacksmith in the town. Much to Jaune's relief, the woman gave them permission to use her forge and workshop, even offering her own help. Of course, Jaune gave a decent amount of Lien for her troubles. With the help of the blacksmith and Ruby, Jaune was able to craft the sword-whip with poison and acid injectors. What wasn't seen to the two helping him at the moment were the names of the targets of Jaune's revenge that mystically appeared around the handle. With thanks to the woman, Jaune and Ruby step out into the night air and spot their two friends.
"We got us two rooms for the night!" Nora chirps to the two. "One for me and Ren, and the other for you two!"
"Thanks Nora!" Ruby smiles at the ginger.
"So is it done or do you have to go back tomorrow?" Ren asks.
"It's done," Jaune answers as he pulls the new sword out. The blade was now darkened with veins of two different shades of green that stretched from the center to the edges. With a click of a button and snap of his wrist, Jaune turns the sword to its whip form, revealing that each vein was actually a small piece of the blade with a small compartment that could hold a vial of liquid or Dust. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the metal bits had jagged sides that interlocked with the other metal bits.
"Whoa- that's gnarly and intense! How'd you come up with this idea, Jaune?" Nora asks, looking up at her former team leader after inspecting the weapon.
"It came to me in a dream," Jaune answers honestly.
"Huh, that's a bizarre dream," Ren blinks.
"Sleep deprivation will do that to you," Jaune comments. "And yes I'm fine. I do sleep, just not every night anymore."
"Well hopefully we can fix that soon! Buuuuuut your weapon needs a new name!" Ruby says.
"Oh yeah, Crocea Mors doesn't really fit it anymore, does it?" Jaune says, looking at the weapon before clicking the button again and snapping it back to sword form.
"It's pretty wicked looking," Nora comments.
"Oh! That's what I'll name it then! Mors Impius!" Jaune says with a grin.
"Clever, using part of the old name since it was the base," Ren says.
"Ooooo~ I like the name! I say it fits! But let's get some rest before we continue our journey," Ruby says, taking the lead unintentionally. The other three nod and they head to the inn that they had rooms in for the night. Jaune got ready for bed, saying his goodnight to Ruby despite not feeling tired at first. He laid in bed the circlet in his hands, fingers running over the edge, before resting on the gem that dangled in the center. His finger gently bats it back and forth as thoughts of revenge played through his mind. Visions of how painfully slow he would make every target's death, especially Cinder's, danced in his mind's eye. A wicked smirk not his own stretches across his lips at these visions and plans. Setting the circlet on the nightstand next to him, Jaune then bundles under the covers and actually finds sleep two nights in a row.
With his new weapon in hand, Jaune had become more ruthless with his attacks whenever they came across Grimm. It didn't go unnoticed by Ruby, Nora and Ren but no one made a comment as it made sense with how the weapon was designed. And no one noticed the increasing amount of smoke during combat as their journey took them longer to accomplish an unknown mission. What the other three noticed was that Jaune got progressively more irritated the longer they traveled but no one knew how to approach the blonde. They kept an eye on Jaune as his irritability increased and it was only when one of Salem's inner circle, Tyrian, appeared that the other three knew something was severely wrong with Jaune.
Upon seeing the scorpion Faunus appear, Jaune felt a burning on his hand and he glanced down at the hilt. He noticed that the name Tyrian was now glowing a bright red and Jaune then snapped his gaze to the crazy Faunus. Clicking the button and snapping his wrist, Jaune turns Mors Impius to its whip form as a smirk that did not belong on his face appeared. Smoke poured out from Jaune's ankles, from his wrists and out from his neck, a figure starting to make its form. Currently, only Tyrian could see Jaune's dark blue eyes turn a bright orange and the sclera turning black.
"My my my~ To think one of Ozpin's pawns is also insane! This should be quite fun~" Tyrian grins out as he sinks into a fighting stance.
"Jaune-? What's going on??" Ruby calls out as she brings out Crescent Rose in scythe form.
"Don't worry about it Ruby. I'm just dealing out some swift justice~" Jaune answers, his voice not completely his own. It was still Jaune but there was another voice raspy and scratchy that warped it. The blonde then immediately surges towards Tyrian, cracking the sword whip at the Faunus at a speed that almost matched Ruby when she used her Semblance. The end of the whip grazes Tyrian's shoulder and the Faunus yelps in surprised pain as the blade tore through his skin and acid started to burn away at the skin at a speed that his Aura was barely able to keep up with.
"How nasty~ You'll be fun to play with~" Tyrian smirks as he launches at Jaune, trying to get Jaune to dodge into his tail. But as the swipe of his arm and the strike of his tail came to land on Jaune, the blonde had moved out of his strike at an unnerving speed. Gunshots alert the Faunus to dodge as he had momentarily forgotten about Ruby, Ren and Nora. Deciding that these three would cause problems with his fight against Jaune, Tyrian turns his attention and starts to dash towards Ruby first.
"You're not going anywhere you piece of shit," Jaune growls out as he cracks the whip and wraps it around Tyrian's waist. With a sharp and strong tug, the blonde yanks the Faunus back to him, each metal bit digging into the Faunus, pushing through the Aura that got in the way. With Tyrian on the ground, Jaune steps on Tyrian's head to keep him there before finally looking at his friends as the smoke finally takes a humanlike form behind him. All three gasp in horror upon seeing the eyes and the smokey form. The smokey was connected to Jaune and had bright, burning orange eyes and a beak-like mouth with a jagged mouth line. "You stay out of this," Jaune snarls at the three, and as he spoke, the mouth of the smoke moved in sync and revealed the same burning orange.
"Uuh guys- That's not Jaune anymore-!" Nora says to Ren and Ruby. "What do we do?!?"
"Nothing at the moment!" Ren answers.
"It's still me you three~ Just exacting some justice and revenge on this piece of shit that works for Salem," Jaune chuckles darkly before turning his attention to Tyrian. He tightens the grip of the whip on the Faunus as he notices that he was about to stab Jaune with his tail. Jaune smirks as he gets a sharp yelp of pain as the metal tears roughly through his skin and muscle, allowing the acid to burn into his muscle, the venom not really effective on him. Despite the pain ripping through him, Tyrian continues to strike at Jaune to at least take the human with him. This only caused the weapon to tear into him more and burn him more where his Aura was no longer able to keep up with the damage he was taking. Jaune just watched Tyrian twitch and fight against his iron hold that just continued to tighten around the torso of the scorpion Faunus. A grunt emits from Jaune as both he and the smokey figure attached to him somehow missed an attack from the tail that slammed into his stomach as a flash of purple flickers down Tyrian.
"Hehehehehe~ Too cocky even with your bizarre friend there~ Even if I die, I'll be taking you down with me~" Tyrian cackles out. Jaune growls and removes his foot from Tyrian's face and brings it down on the Faunus' chest to pin him down. He grabs the handle of Mors Impius with both hands and starts to shift his body and grip to bring it over his shoulder.
"JAUNE! STOP THIS! DON'T KILL HIM!" Ruby finally screams out. Jaune pauses and looks over with a snarl.
"And why shouldn't I? He's part of the group that destroyed EVERYTHING Ruby!'" Jaune growls out.
"Killing him isn't going to fix that Jaune! Would Pyrrha want you to do this?!" Ruby responds, her silver eyes widening in horror.
"This isn't about what she would want, Ruby. This is what I want," Jaune says. "Now unless you have something that's actually worth saying, I'm going to end the existence of this pathetic excuse of a living being," he says, daring one of the three to stop him. Seeing none of them move to stop him, he smirks and turns to Tyrian.
"Just.. because you kill me... Doesn't mean you'll win~" Tyrian says with ragged and strained breaths.
"Doubtful. Goodbye trash," Jaune says before ripping the whip through the Faunus' body, tearing it in half. Jaune could feel the name Tyrian Callows wisp away from the hilt and flow into the smoke around him. The smoke then fades back into Jaune's body, the color slowly draining from his eyes as he turns to his friend.
"Jaune," Ruby says, steadying her breath as she glares at Jaune.
"Yes Ruby?" the blonde asks as he reverts Mors Impius back to sword form and sheathes it.
"You've gone down a path we can't follow. You need to abandon it," Ruby states.
"Absolutely not," Jaune says, snapping his head to look at Ruby. "This is the only way to right what's wrong!"
"You're wrong Jaune! Vengeance is not the answer! Pyrrha wouldn't want this!" Nora pleads.
"Again, who cares what she would want?!" Jaune snaps, the black returning to his eyes and smoke once more pooling at his ankles.
"You don't deserve to carry her circlet or anything that reminds you of her then," Ren says firmly. Jaune scoffs and removes the circlet.
"Fine. Have this stupid piece of metal then. It no longer serves me any purpose," Jaune says as he tosses it to their feet. "And I suppose I can do one last... favor... for you since you helped me thus far. You can have her videos since I don't need them anymore. Now, don't try to stop me or follow me if you don't agree with me," he says as he sends copies of the videos to each of the three before deleting them off his own Scroll.
"Jaune you don't have to do this..." Ruby says as she picks up the circlet, gripping it and clutching it to her chest.
"I do. Pity that you can't see that. But I won't be alone... I have Orthax with me... A true and understanding friend. So, goodbye, forever," Jaune says to the three. He turns and walks away leaving the three, his shadow showing the form of the beaked figure. Jaune Arc, Huntsman-In-Training at Beacon and leader of Team JNPR, was no more as he had died at the Fall of Beacon as well. Now it was just Jaune and his good friend Orthax that walked away from Ruby, Nora and Ren.