boywhogirl: Thank you! It means a lot that you think that but it's still very, very, very, far off from being a masterpiece.
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Update: The Shade Act so far has Chapters 32-47, which is 16 chapters, planned out which is a lot longer than most of the Acts before it.
The Branwen act had 5 Chapters, The Pine Act had 6 chapters altogether (4 left as of now), The Spider act has 4 chapters, Argus Act only has 2, The Atlas Act has 8, and The Patch Act has 6.
I'm not even close to being finished with the Shade Act! That's how possibly long that Act is!
Now, I'll let one thing slip about the Shade Act, just because in my eyes it isn't that big of a spoiler nor does it tell you what the Act is about or what the Characters will go through.
Chapters 32-36 are not about Jaune, Vernal, or any Character that will travel with Jaune on his Journey, in fact, Jaune and the characters that are traveling with him won't appear until chapter 37. We'll be focusing on an entirely different character, but one that many of you are familiar with.
That is all I am going to give you. :)
Anyway, thank you all once again for reading today's chapter and I hope you like it!
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It's been a day since they had taken the job on the farm, and right now, it was in the middle of the day, both Jaune and Oscar were in the garden, removing all the large rocks they could find before they had to plow it the next day, and it was really difficult finding almost every large or medium-sized stones that might affect the plow machine.
Jaune stood up straight and wiped the sweat off his brow, and took a few breaths, before he turned his head and looked at Oscar, "I still can't believe someone your age can do this almost every 6 months," He said
Oscar turned to the older teen and smiled, "You get used to it the longer you do it, trust me," Oscar told him, "I'm just glad that I have some help this time, it gets a little boring when it's just me or me and my aunt,"
Jaune laughed, "Glad I can be of service, Mr. Pine," Jaune said in a phony country tone.
Oscar laughed as he put a rock down in the wheelbarrow, and looks at Jaune, "So... What's it like being a huntsman?"
Jaune picks up two good-sized rocks and set them in his wheelbarrow, and then he turned to the young teen with a bit of a glum look, "It's... It's a tough job, scary sometimes too, but it can be fun sometimes with the traveling and with the friends you make along the way," Jaune replied.
"How long have you been traveling?" Oscar asked the blonde knight.
Jaune pondered for a few seconds before answering, "I think two months by now," Jaune replied.
Oscar nodded, "Are you and Vernal partners?" Oscar asked, "I heard that Huntsmen have partners when they attend one of the Huntsmen schools," Oscar said.
Jaune thought about it, and for a split second, he was gonna tell Oscar that he and Vernal weren't partners, but considered what they had been through and what they had shared with each other. "Yeah, she and I are partners," Jaune replied.
Oscar smiled, "Is she also your girlfriend?" Oscar asked
Jaune looked at him with a bit of a blush, "N-No," Jaune replied.
Oscar chuckled, "Sorry, I just thought she was," Oscar replied with a smile, "I always heard that dating among huntsmen partners is ordinary,"
Jaune pointed his finger at him as he smiled at the young boy, "That's a stereotype," Jaune told him, but then he remembered the obvious crush Nora had on Ren, and the two of them were also partners. "But I'll admit that it does happen," Jaune told Oscar, still smiling.
Oscar laughed and Jaune laughed along with him.
As the laughter died down, Oscar asked Jaune another question, "What made you wanna be a Huntsmen?"
Jaune looked at him, still smiling, "Well, most of my family on my dad's side were huntsmen, and I wanted to be one too, you know? Be the hero and save people, they were all warriors, and I wanted to be one too,"
"I get that," Oscar said, "Despite being a farmer, I don't wanna be one for the rest of my life, I wanna do something else," He told Jaune.
Jaune looked at him with a raised brow, "And what do you want to do?" Jaune asked him with a smile.
Oscar scratched the back of his head bashfully, "I-I wanna be a cop, like my Aunt," Oscar said.
"Not a bad career," Jaune told him with a smile, however, he remembered what Melissa told him about the road of a Cop.
"Jaune, they were bandits, you're a huntsman, and I am an ex-cop, all of us chose a dangerous path, and we have to live with that choice,"
"But it's a dangerous job... are you sure you're ready for that?" Jaune asked, speaking before thinking.
Oscar looked at him with a confused expression, "What do you mean?" the young farmhand asked.
Jaune looks at him and shakes his head with a sad smile on his face, "Nothing, forget I said anything, it's not my place to say," Jaune told him. "Anyway, does that mean in the future you wanna move to Mistral and train there?" Jaune asked
Oscar nodded, "Yeah," Oscar said, "I was born there but after what happened to my parents, Aunt Mel took me and brought me here,"
"So you have always lived out here?" Jaune asked.
Oscar nodded, "Yeah," Oscar replied, Aunt Mel and I have lived out here since as far back as I can remember, though, my parents and I use to live in Mistral city before their car accident,"
Hearing how his parents died, Jaune looked at him with a sad expression, "Oh... I'm sorry, Oscar," Jaune said
Oscar shook his head, "No... it's alright, I know they were my parents but I-I never knew them so while it does get to me sometimes, it doesn't really affect me talking about them," Oscar told, "Besides, Aunt Mel's raised me as her own, she's treated me just like her son, and honestly, I couldn't imagine anyone else being a mother figure to me," Oscar said with a smile.
Jaune smiled at the boy's sweet words about his Aunt and ruffled the young teen's hair like he used to do with his younger siblings, "That sweet Oscar," Jaune said, "I'm sure Melissa feels the same,"
Oscar blushed a little and nodded, "Thanks, but I think if I told her that, I die of embarrassment," Oscar chuckled.
Jaune chuckled with him and nodded in agreement, "I do the same if I told my mom how much she means to me just out of the blue," Jaune told him.
"What part of Mistral do you live in?" Oscar asked Jaune.
"I don't live in Mistral, I live in Vale actually, specifically, I live in a small town called Orleans in Vale," Jaune replied. "But I do have Family in the kingdom though," Jaune replied,
"Oh, I thought you were from Mistral, you know since you're also a Huntsmen," Oscar said
"Understandable," Jaune replied, "But I actually attend Beacon,"
Oscar nodded, "What's it like over there?" Oscar asked
"Different from Mistral, that's for sure," Jaune replied, "Maybe one day you can see it for yourself," Jaune told him.
"Maybe," Oscar responded with a smile.
After that, Jaune continued talking about other things with the young farm boy.
Meanwhile, in the barn, Melissa and Vernal were stacking haybales in one of the empty animal pins, and Vernal began a new row as Melissa handed her another bale, and she took a quick glance outside.
"How do you think those two are doing out there in the blazing heat?" Melissa asked with a smile.
Vernal smiled, "Who knows, I'm just happy that it ain't me out there," Vernal said.
"You said it, sister," Melissa said,
"I heard you use to be a cop, that true?" Vernal asked.
Melissa nodded as she set down a bale for Vernal.
"Why'd you quit?" Vernal asked, "You could have moved here and still be law enforcement,"
"I originally thought about it, but I had to raise Oscar and he already lost his parents... if I kept being a cop, he'd lose everything," Melissa said, "So I decided to start a farm and raise him here because I wanted to be in his life fulltime,"
Vernal nodded, "Must have been tough though, raising a kid and starting a farm," Vernal told him.
Melissa giggled, "You have no idea, Oscar was a stubborn little tyke, he'd cry and cry if I wasn't with him almost every second," Melissa said, remembering her time with a baby Oscar fondly, "It got so bad that when I started planting the crops, I had to buy a chest carrier so he could be with me, and he would giggle and coo when he saw the little seeds," Melissa said, laughing herself, remembering how her nephew's eyes would go wide when he saw the different seeds.
Vernal smiled, "Sounds like he was born to be a farmer," Vernal said with a small smile.
Melissa nodded, "I thought the same, but you know, he wants to be a cop, just like I used to be," She said with a sigh and looked down.
Vernal saw her face and saw a bit of a gloomy expression on her face. "You don't want him to be a cop?" Vernal asked.
Melissa turned to her, "I was a cop and a detective, I know what it's like on the streets, I've seen what people do to other people, and I... I don't want Oscar to see or do the things I've done," She replied.
Vernal looked at Melissa with an understanding look. "I... I get it," Vernal said, "If I had a kid like Oscar, I wouldn't want them experiencing the same things I've done or seen," Vernal said.
Melissa smiled, "Thank you,"
Vernal gave Melissa a soft smile, "It's no problem," She said.
Melissa smirked and while she enjoyed the conversation, it was too depressing, so she decided to change the conversation, "So, Vernal, have you and Jaune gotten some alone time along the road?" Melissa asked with a smirk
Vernal raised a brow, not knowing what Melissa was hinting at. "What?" Vernal asked, genuinely confused.
Melissa scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, two young teens traveling the road together, alone, emotions running wild, don't tell me you two never-"
Vernal finally realized what Melissa was suggesting and a small blush appeared on her face, but she glared at the older woman, "N-No, nothing like that happened!" Vernal said firmly.
Melissa smirked, "Oh, but have you-?"
"No," Vernal said, shaking her head. "Look, Arc and I aren't like that, we trust each other and we care for each other, but I don't think we're gonna be like... that," Vernal told Melissa.
Melissa giggled, "You might think that now, but you never know what the future holds," Melissa told her, "You and he understand each other, and I get if that's all that there is between you two, but you also share the same pain, and from my own experience, that can lead to some things~," Melissa told her, as she wiggled her brows
Vernal groaned and rolled her eyes, "Well that was you and your experiences," Vernal told her. "I don't think Arc and I will end up in the sheets with wedding bands anytime soon," Vernal said
Melissa just continued to smirk at the teen girl, "You never know, Vernal," Melissa said, "After all, do you think you'll find anyone who you can trust as much as Jaune?"
Vernal glared at her, "And like you said, you never know," Vernal said, turning her own words back on Melissa, "Also, while I'm not his partner in his technical sense, isn't stereotypical to think that all Huntsmen end up with their partners?" Vernal asked with a raised brow
"Maybe, but hey, it happens," Melissa said.
"Just because it happens, doesn't mean it's gonna happen to me," Vernal said
"Whatever you say, Vernal," Melissa said.
As they finished the bottom row of the Hay, they were about to begin stacking the second row, but then out of nowhere, a Grimm, about the size of a remote control car and resembling a rat, fell in front of them, and Vernal jumped in surprise, but before she could do anything, the rat Grimm hissed before its head was blown off.
Vernal was stunned only to turn her head to the side to see Melissa holding a six-shooter in her hand.
Melissa sighed, "Looks like we got a Rattus problem," Melissa said.
Vernal was wide-eyed as Melissa had not only pulled out a gun from thin air, but she shot quick and fast, way faster than Vernal ever had.
Rushing into the barn was Oscar, holding a pitchfork like a weapon, and Jaune with Crocea Mors at the ready.
"We heard a gunshot! Is everything ok!?" Jaune cried
Vernal turned to him and let out a sigh of relief, "Everything's fine, though, like Melissa said, we got a Rattus problem," Vernal said.
Oscar growled, "Again!?" he cried.
Melissa smiled as she turned to Oscar, "Yeah, but look on the bright side, we got two huntsmen with us to help get rid of these pests, now you don't have to do it alone," Melissa said with a smile.
"Gee that means so much..." Oscar said
Vernal walked over to the young farm boy and stood next to him, and let out a chuckle, as she brought him in a side hug. "Hey, don't worry Oscar, we'll protect you from the big bad Grimm" Vernal said, she then turned to Jaune with a smile, "Ain't that right Arc?"
Jaune smiled and nodded, "We'll do our best to protect you, Mr. Pines," Jaune teased.
Oscar blushed out of embarrassment and groaned. Melissa smiled as she saw her nephew being teased, and told two teens where most of the Rattus will hide while letting them know that if they manage to find the nest and destroy it, she'll raise their pay, due to the Rattus being a problem as they do kill the chickens and also will simply try to eliminate some of the crops.
Jaune, Vernal, and Oscar set out to go and hunt the Rattus, and Melissa smiled at the two older teens teasing her nephew. Suddenly, a shiver went down her back and she turned around to the other entrance of the barn and looked in that direction, however, there was no one or anything there, and yet... she felt as if she was being watched.
But she just brushed it off as being a little jumpy due to the Rattus appearing out of nowhere.
However, she never knew how right she was. As hidden in a tree, a man around Melissa's age, wearing a light purple vest, light grey pants, and a pair of brown boots. On his arms were brown leather arm braces. On his neck, was a tattoo of a spider in a web.
He looked at the farm through a pair of binoculars, focusing on Melissa. Getting a real good look at the ex-cop, he lowered the Binoculars and smiled.
"Been a long time Detective Pines," he said with a smirk, "She's gonna love to hear that we actually found her,"
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"How much do we have now?" Vernal asked.
In Vernal's room, Jaune and Vernal counted their combined Lien from their work on the farm today as well as the raised pay they got for killing the Rattus, which thankfully, were somewhat rather easy to deal with.
They had found the nest just a few feet outside of the farm and he and Vernal had taken care of most of them, while any stragglers or runaways were taken care of by Oscar, who used the pitchfork pretty well, and Melissa had paid them an extra 100 Lien for getting rid of the nest and when they got to his room, they counted how much they had, along with the remaining Lien they had saved before taking Melissa's Job.
Jaune stopped counting and looked at Vernal, "With the 200 Lien we both earned today, and with the remaining 67 Lien you saved up and the 50 Lien I have left, we have 517 Lien," Jaune said, "Though we might have to use that 500 to pay for your weapons so which could leave us with 17 Lien,"
Vernal groaned loudly and she fell backward onto his bed, tired. "We still don't have enough for a Bullhead ticket to Mistral!" Vernal complained, "Guess we're gonna have to keep working here for a bit," she said.
Jaune smiled, "You act as if that's a bad thing?" Jaune told her, "I like it here, and I wouldn't mind staying here a little longer, and I know you like it here too,"
Vernal sighed, as she looked at the ceiling. "Ok, I'll admit that this place is rather... peaceful," Vernal admitted to Jaune.
The blonde's smile grew, "It is," he said. "Almost reminds me of my home," Jaune commented
"Really?" She asked.
The blonde nodded, "Yeah," he replied, "We lived in a small town surrounded by woods and there were a few farms around, like my grandparents, I remember we milked the cows, fed the chickens and pigs, and rode the horses, but never really did much farming," He told Vernal.
"Until today," She chimed in.
he nodded again, "Until today," he corrected. "Gotta say, now I understand why my dad and grandpa looked like they ran 100 miles," Jaune said with a fond smile.
Vernal chuckled as well, "I never did any farm work either, the tribe mostly just took food from villages or transports, and even if we did farm, it wasn't really the raiders who did it," she told Jaune.
"Makes sense," Jaune said.
Vernal thought for a second before she sat up and looked at the blonde teen, "You ever think about living on a farm at the end?" She asked
Jaune looked at her with a confused expression, "Huh?"
"You know, after you've lived the huntsmen life, you ever just think about settling down on a farm, like Melissa or your grandparents?" Vernal asked.
Jaune pondered such an idea, and the more he thought about it, he would confess to himself that he loved the idea. At the end of his career as a Huntsmen, he would desire to live a normal life. A wife, kids, hell maybe even a dog, and just live in a calm and tranquil part of Vale.
However, he remembered what the dead told him in his dreams...
"You'll pay for what you've done!"
"You'll burn in the abyss!"
"You're gonna die blondie, and then you'll be stuck with us forever!" Shay cried out.
he remembered what the Beowulf told him...
'Face it, all you do is bring pain and sorrow to those around you, you failed at everything you've done, it'll only be a matter of time before you fail to protect her or anyone else, you'll get them killed, then you'll be alone in this big scary world, and eventually, you'll die alone... that's your destiny! Hehehehehehe~!'
His conversation with Melissa just yesterday morning...
"Have you ever heard of the phrase "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"?"
"Yeah," Jaune said with a nod.
"That saying means that those who commit violent acts must expect to suffer violence themselves," Melissa told him, "Trust me when I say that it's not a saying, it's a fact, and if you didn't kill them, something or someone down the line would, it's how this life, and how this world works,"
Jaune took in Melissa's words and thought hard about what she said, and the more he pondered what she said, a terrible realization dawned upon him.
"So... we, and the people like us, are stuck in a cycle of violence and death,"
"Yes,"
"...Is there any way to escape it?"
Melissa took a sip of her coffee and then set her mug down and looked the young teen dead in the eye, and gave him his answer.
"No..." She told him, "Death is a part of the world you and I live in, we either kill or we die, but even if we do that, we die, but once you accept that death is a part of the world we live in and the job we do, it makes it easier,"
Jaune knew what she meant... but he still had to ask. "Makes what easier?" Jaune asked.
"Killing" Melissa said, "We who live by the sword, will die by the sword, that's our fate," she finished.
'That's our fate...' Jaune thought.
'That is our fate...' Jaune reminded himself, 'That's my fate' he reiterated.
He then began to imagine how he would die. Would it be to the Grimm? The pull of a trigger? The swing of a blade? Who would do it? A criminal? A rouge Huntsmen? Or could it even be to a friend?
Vernal saw Jaune's expression slowly morph from happy to gloomy in a matter of seconds, which worried her a bit. "Arc?" Vernal called out.
Jaune seemed to snap out of his stupor and looked at her, "Yeah?" he asked.
"You ok?" she asked him, "You didn't answer, you zone out or somethin'?" Vernal asked him again.
Jaune hadn't realized how long he stayed silent, but he nodded, letting her know he was ok and had zoned out. "But as for my answer, I would like to live on a farm, but I don't think it'll happen," He told her.
"Why?" Vernal asked, her worry now growing a little.
Jaune opened his mouth but quickly closed it, not wanting to bother her with his inner thoughts. "Just because," He told her.
Vernal now became irritated, wanting to yell at him that he needed to express what he was thinking, but she quickly reminded herself that he is still processing a lot mentally, and was in a bit of a state that he was familiar with when she "joined" the tribe. he needed space to figure it all out, when he was ready to talk, she would be there, like he was there for her.
Vernal simply let out a heavy sigh, "Alright," she said.
Jaune left her room and told her goodnight, she did the same and watched him leave the room. Once he did, she flopped back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling once more. She thought about how hard he must be taking everything, and she remembered when she killed a person too, it stuck with her, and she didn't feel right about it for a time, but soon, she accepted that killing was a part of her world now and that if she wanted to survive, she would have to kill.
'But Arc's different,' She told herself, 'He never had to kill before, never thought about it, and had never realized the reality of the life that we both live, he was more innocent than me anyone I've known, but now he's done something that people in his line of work look down upon... But he shouldn't feel bad about it, if the roles were reversed that day, she would have done the same, and she wouldn't have felt bad about it, because, in the end, it was simply an eye for an eye... That's the law out here,' Vernal finished.
And while Vernal was right, she still hoped that Arc would soon forgive himself and realize that he had only done what any person would have done...
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Within the city of Atlas, two Huntsmen walk into a bar, and what ensues between the two is a debate about the existence of God.
Albeit an unconventional one...
James Ironwood of the Atlas Military, sat at the counter of the bar, next to him was Qrow, who twirled his glass of whiskey before taking a drink of the beverage.
"Qrow," Ironwood greeted.
"Jimmy," Qrow greeted back.
"Been while," Ironwood said, "No reports?"
Qrow shook his head, "Nope, nada, nothing," Qrow replied with a bit of a smile.
Ironwood looked at him, "Why'd you call me?" Ironwood asked.
"Been a while since I took out a friend for a drink," Qrow replied as he downed the rest of his whiskey. "So, what do ya say Jimmy? Care for a drink?" Qrow asked.
Ironwood looked at his friend and while for many it could be hard to tell if Qrow was having a bad day, Ironwood knew better, this was just how he relaxed... and coped. A small soft smile came to the headmaster's lips, "I would actually love to," Ironwood replied.
Qrow chuckled and smiled, "For a second, I thought you'd say no," Qrow said, "What would Ice Queen say if she saw ya drinking with me?" Qrow asked.
"She'd faint," Ironwood said with a smile.
Qrow chuckled, "Probably," he said.
The Bartender approached the two and filled up Qrow's glass and looked to the General. "What can I get you, sir?" The Bartender asked.
"Vodka please," Ironwood replied.
"You got it," Replied the bartender, grabbing the bottle and pouring it out in a glass for the General.
Ironwood thanked the bartender and took the glass. poring the glass for the general himself. "What brings you to Atlas?" Ironwood asked.
"Just stopping by before I head back to Beacon," Qrow replied.
"Reporting back to Ozpin?" Ironwood asked.
Qrow nodded, "Also going to see my nieces," Qrow said with a smile.
Ironwood smiled as well, "Think they'll participate in the Vytal festival next year?" he asked
"Oh, I don't doubt it," Qrow said, smiling. "Yang, the oldest, She's just as tough and wild as Tai use to be, and Ruby, the youngest, she's almost as good as me with her scythe, hell, I bet you 100 Lien they win next year,"
Ironwood smiled, "I don't know Qrow, The invincible girl herself is at Beacon, the word is she's most likely to win, so I'd bet she'd take the win," Ironwood replied.
"Then you wanna bet on it?" Qrow asked,
"Why not," Ironwood said with a smirk.
Qrow took a small sip of his beverage and then set it down and looked toward the General. "So now that the good is outta the way, what depressing subject do you wanna talk about?" Qrow asked, "Council up your ass? A few good ol' patriots doing something stupid?"
Ironwood looked at him, "Does it have to be depressing, why not continue talking about something joyful?" he asked with a raised brow.
"You got anything to be joyful about these days?" Qrow asked back.
Ironwood took a drink of his Vodka, "Not really, but we don't have to talk about anything depressing," Ironwood said.
Qrow did a quick nod, agreeing with the General, "Any ideas then?" Qrow asked
Ironwood thought for a few seconds and then a topic came to his head. "What about God?" Ironwood asked.
"You wanna talk about the brothers?" Qrow with a raised brow
Ironwood shook his head, "No," Ironwood replied, "Just God in general,"
"You're gonna have to be specific Jimmy, there are thousands of Gods in our world," Qrow said, "And how is that not a depressing conversation?" Qrow muttered the last bit.
Ironwood smiled, "I'm aware of that, Qrow," he replied, "But my mentor believed that there was one and only one god," Ironwood began.
"A religious nut, eh?" Qrow asked with a smirk and raised brow.
Ironwood continued smiling and shook his head, "No, quite the opposite actually," Ironwood said, "He believed that if there was a God, then he was nothing more than a child who could play with 7 billion dolls all at once," Ironwood told him.
"A dark outlook if you ask me, but we know that's not the truth," Qrow said.
"Who said it wasn't the truth?" Ironwood asked, "How do we know the brothers aren't just dolls like us? Being played with by a much stronger and more powerful entity?" Ironwood asked.
Qrow didn't reply, instead, he just took another drink.
Ironwood accepted his silence and took another drink from his glass. "He use to tell me that in our world, nobody escapes the torture of daily pains and disappointments, even stating that children suffer in horrific extremes and that god made the world that way, thus, he maintained that God must be evil to have introduced us to such a world and that any promises of paradise after this life, are nothing but taunts," Ironwood replied.
Qrow looked at Ironwood, "You really think that God's the one who made the world this way?" he questioned.
Ironwood shook his head, "No, well, at least not all of me," Ironwood replied, "A part of me blames humanity for what happens in this world, but another part of me blames the brothers for making the world this way," Ironwood told his friend.
Qrow chuckled, "Well if you do think about it, they are part of the problem," Qrow said, "Let me ask you something, do you believe in destiny?" Qrow asked.
Ironwood nodded.
Qrow smiled, "Yeah, so do I," Qrow said, he then chuckled, "Ha, My ol' man would hate me if he heard me say that," Qrow said
Ironwood looked at him with a questioning expression. "What do you mean?" Ironwood asked.
Qrow finished his drink, set it on the counter, and replied to Ironwood's question. "Well, my old man used to tell me that he hated the concept of destiny or fate, simply because it blinded those who believed in it, because those that believed in such a grand concept, believed themselves to be destined for greatness or a higher purpose when in reality, they were simply the first to die,"
Ironwood took a drink, "Sounds just as bleak as my mentor," Ironwood spoke with a smile.
Qrow nodded in agreement, "To him, the people who think that Destiny and Fate exist and that whatever they were destined for, were the Gods' favorite people to crush, people who claim to believe in destiny will do anything to achieve it, if their destiny was to become absolute perfection, then they must be willing to make an absolute sacrifice," Qrow said. "But I think he's wrong, we're all put on this world for something, we all have a role to play, a cog in the grand scheme of things, or else why are we here?" Qrow asked.
Ironwood agreed with a smile, and his smile grew as a thought came to the military man. "You know Qrow... I think we just agreed on something," Ironwood told Qrow.
Thinking about what the General had said, Qrow chuckled. "I guess miracles do happen," Qrow said.
The two men laughed as the bartender approached the two and filled Qrow's glass, while he topped off Ironwood. The two clinked their glasses and took a drink, before setting the beverage back down on the counter.
"You know... this whole conversation just reminded me of a joke I heard once," Qrow said, "Wanna hear it?"
Ironwood shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "Go for it," he told his friend.
"Alright," Qrow said with an amused grin on his face, "There's this man, she's a bricklayer, he's really good at it, so good that he's a master of her craft, simply because he's precise, every brick has its place, anyway this guy has a son and he wants to teach him how to be a bricklayer because after all, all a person has is their legacy, so dad decides to build a barbecue in the backyard, he does the math, and the guy figures out exactly what he needs and he shows his son how to do everything, step by step, " Qrow began.
"Mhm,"
"Eventually, He finishes, and it's a beauty, it's a perfect barbecue, just the way he drew it in blueprints, but there's a problem," Qrow began, "You see, there's a brick left over, one single brick, now the dad starts freaking out, thinking he must have done something wrong and thinks that he's gonna have to start all over again, so he picks up his sledgehammer to knock the thing to pieces, but his son suddenly says "daddy, wait!" He cried, "I have an idea," he told his father, and the son picks up the orphan brick and throws it up into the air as high as he can, And then... Ah! Messed it up!" Qrow said with a bit of a smile.
Ironwood snickered, "It's alright,"
Qrow sighed but continued to smile, "Ok, forget that joke, can I tell you another one?" he asked the General.
Ironwood nodded with a small smile gracing his lips. "As long as you finish this one," the man teased.
Qrow continue to smile and nodded, beginning the other joke.
"Ok, new joke," Qrow said, "Three heroes die and they all show up at the pearly gates, and God's there and he's going to decide what their eternal fate shall be: heaven or hell, our first hero is an innocent Huntress, God asks her, "I gifted you the ability to shine a silver light in the darkest times, what did you do with this amazing talent?", The young Huntress replied with "I pushed forward, and I did my best to save as many people as I could from a great evil", God asks "So how many people did you kill?", the young Huntress seems offended and so she says "Zero. I didn't take a single life," She replied, God frowns and tells the naive huntress, "Sorry young lady, your heart's in the right place but you're just too soft," and God snaps his fingers and the Huntress goes to hell,"
"Seems a bit cruel for someone who did no wrong, don't you think?" Ironwood asked, "The huntress never took a life, why was she condemned for that?"
"But she did do wrong," Qrow replied, "Anyway, where was I? Ah right, at the pearly gates await our next hero in line for Almighty judgment, our 2nd hero is a warrior and is confident that God will understand her actions for the greater good, God looks at the Warrior and says "I gave you the gift and skills to protect the innocent and fight evil, what did you do with this gift?", The Warrior looks at God and replies, "I did what those exact things, I saw the bigger picture, I fulfilled duty and my destiny," God looks at the Warrior, "How many people did you kill in order to fulfill your destiny?" God asked, "I had to sacrifice a million, give or take," the Warrior replied, "But you can't make an omelet without breaking a couple of eggs," She stated, God looked at her in bewilderment and says, "You're a fucking monster," "Am not," replied the Warrior with conviction, so God snaps his fingers and the Warrior goes to hell,"
Ironwood nodded, "I can see why God sent her to hell, she to fulfill her destiny, I would have done the same,"
"Even if it was destiny?" Qrow asked
"No destiny should involve mass genocide" He replied.
Qrow nodded and continued the joke, "We're down to the nitty gritty now, one hero left, God cracks his knuckles ready to administer the final reckoning. Now our 3rd hero is a Wizard, God asks the Wizard, "I gave you the gift of wisdom, what have you done with that gift?", The Wizard looks at God and says, "I lied to many because I couldn't handle the truth that I found, not wanting to believe I was destined to fail, I lied to thousands and sent who knows how many to their deaths," The Wizard told God, "All because I scared that it all meant nothing,", God looks at the Wizard with pity, but asks him another question, "Do I even need to ask how many people you've killed because of your lies?" God asks, the Wizard lets out a sigh of defeat, "It really doesn't matter, simply because no matter how I answer your question, I know you're sending me to hell," The Wizard told God, God looked at him with a raised brow, "How do you know that?" asks God, and the Wizard sounds very sad when he softly says, "Because I'm already there," so, God does what he did and will do, He snaps his fingers and the Wizard goes to hell,"
Ironwood took a sip of his drink, "Is the Joke over?" he asked.
Qrow shook his head, "Not even close,"
Ironwood sighed and let Qrow continue with the joke.
"And so it's been a long day at the pearly gates, all the heroes have gone to hell, his work done, God's packing up to go home... But then, he notices someone waiting," Cobalt began, "But it's not a hero, it's just a boy, "Where did you come from?" asks God, The boy looks to God with a soft smile on his face, "Me? I was just standing behind those other guys the whole time, you just didn't see me," replied the boy, "Did I give you a talent? A Gift? A Destiny?" God asks, "No, none to speak of," replied the boy with a shake of his head, God gives him a good long look, before saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm embarrassed, seriously, this almost never happens but I... don't know who you are, or if you even matter," God told the Boy, the Boy continues to smile and he looks at God and quietly tells him, "I'm the little boy who threw the brick in the air," and a sound from above can be heard, so God looks up but it's too late, He never saw the damn brick coming, it hits him so hard, his brains shoot out of his ears and his eyes popped out of his skull, and like that, game over, God is dead," Qrow finished with a smile.
Ironwood was a bit confused by what it all meant, not truly getting the joke, but he had a deeper question for the man. "And where does God go when he dies?" The General asked with a raised brow.
Qrow takes a drink of his whisky, his throat parched, and when he's finished, he turned to the headmaster and smiles.
He simply tells him: "He goes to hell,"
"That's one hell of a joke,"
"Yep,"
And with that, the two's drinks were refilled and they continued to drink, the conversation steering away from the joke as well as the God, or the concepts of destiny/fate.
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Things are getting a lot more interesting, as a Spider member has found Melissa and it seems he has a history with her as does his boss. Also, if you are wondering how Melissa pulled a gun out of thin air, that too will be explained with her backstory.
I hated Ironwood in Vol.2 & 3 but I began liking him in Vol.4 and 7 and did become one of my favorite characters and I sort of hate what happened to his character, as there was a part of me who still hated him, but the part of me who liked him wanted him to be stopped and just locked up until he came to his senses. And because he's gonna be important during the Atlas Act and Part 2 of this story, I wanna try to do him right, have him be a fair and understanding leader to his own inner circle, but still be a man who focuses on the bigger picture only to miss the smaller pictures. (Also when the time comes I am giving him a different semblance only because I hate the half-ass Semblance they gave him to justify his actions).
Qrow's joke is important as it is a hint at... something.