A/N:
WE'VE OFFICIALLY ENTERED THE PATCH ACT!
Whooo! Let's go! Healing time baby! Taking a break from all the depressive stuff! Let's go!
Anyway, I hope you guys are happy that we're going to be taking a break from all the sad stuff and Jaune finally will be getting the help he needs that will guide him off the dangerous path he's on! But who is that mysterious hooded figure following Jaune!? Guess you'll have to wait and see!
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Qrow raced through the trees as he quickly tried to get to the village as he saw the smoke in the distance. He had just left the village for a moment and now it was being attacked, but by what? Grimm? White-Fang? Bandits?
Qrow finally arrived only to see a horrifying sight before him, the bodies of the villagers laid across the ground, their bodies torn to pieces and their blood pooling together.
"WHERE!?"
Qrow froze when he heard a guttural cry that sounded like pain and anger.
Qrow's eyes turned to the source and that's when his heart stopped and his body turned cold. Amidst the ruined and burning village, stood an extremely tall humanoid creature, it had with a dark purple, almost black body. Its physique appears emaciated with a pronounced spine, collarbone, shoulder blades, ribcage, and pelvis. There are two sets of white horns sprouting from the back of its cranium and lower skull. It had dark red and black stripes on its hips and on the forearms. It has four digits on each hand and three digits on each foot, each ending with a pointed claw. It has a long tail that starts thin and fans out close to the tip, adorned with more dark red and black stripes. On its face, it appeared to wear a white lupine or reptilian masque with red highlights.
It was unlike any Grimm, Qrow had ever seen.
Suddenly, it moved, and the way it moved was unnervingly quick and jerky manner, and Qrow swore he could hear the cracking of bones as it moved and jerked around.
"WHERE!?" It cried. "WILL YOU NOT COME OUT IF I SLAUGHTER ALL THESE HUMANS!?" It cried.
Qrow's eyes widened with shock, 'It spoke! That Grimm spoke!' He thought to himself.
Suddenly, its hand broke into a building and the creature pulled out a young boy, around the age of 10.
"COME OUT! COME OUT! COME OUT!" It cried. "COME AND FACE ME! MY OLD ENEMY!"
Qrow finally came to his senses and regained himself and quickly pulled out his weapon, but in a flash, the creature turned to him and looked at him. Qrow jumped away just as the creature destroyed the tree he was at.
Qrow landed on a roof and looked at the beast with a glare, 'That thing is fast!' Qrow thought.
The creature's head turned around like an owl and then its body followed suit, it then sniffed the air and growled, "Huntsmen..." It seethed. "I do not have time for you, begone, weakling," The creature told Qrow.
"I would love to, trust me, you scare the shit out of me, but I've got some... questions about you," Qrow said with a smirk. "Like how can you speak? Or better yet... who made you?" Qrow said.
The creature then slowly crawled over to the same roof that Qrow stood upon and then perched on the edge like a dog and stared at him, and that's when the form of the creature seemed to melt away, and taking its place, was something that shocked Qrow to the core.
Now standing on the building was a man, naked and covered in scars from head to toe, His hair was dark purple and reached the back of his nape, but it was ragged and messy, his skin tone was pale, nearly completely white, his eyes no longer resembled that of Grimm but were now glassy and milked over.
"For what can only be eons I fought that accursed knight in my home, then I found myself here, and for the next 100 years, that woman remade me," The man began. Suddenly he held out his hands and flying into them were weapons. One large axe that looked like one would use to behead a prisoner and the 2nd weapon was a sword. "I'll tell you everything, Huntsmen, if you can cut me," He said.
Qrow was shocked and his instincts were telling him not to take his opponent so lightly, so instead of using his sword, he quickly shifted into his scythe and spun it around in the air before taking a fighting stance.
The man smiled and took a stance as well, "Forgive me, but I am going to take some much-needed frustration out on you," The man said in a dark tone...
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After a rather short flight, Jaune arrives on the Island of Patch, and he looks around to see the town, called Cobble, is indeed packed with many tourists and visitors to the Island. The town itself was also quite large and one of the biggest buildings he could see was none other than Signal Academy. The building itself was round, like a dome, but was about 5 stories high. Jaune couldn't help but feel a small smile form on his lips.
'So this is where Ruby and Yang grew up... this place...' Jaune began and as he continued to look around the town, he couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth and peacefulness with it, even despite all the noise.
It was just different, far different than the Branwen Camp, from Melissa's farm, from Mistral, from Mantle and Atlas... everything felt different, he didn't know how to explain it, the Island just felt far different than anywhere Jaune had been for the past couple of months.
However, Jaune felt a tingle in the back of his neck and when he did, he turned around to look behind him, and as he did, he saw a Hooded figure quickly move and try to blend in with the crowd.
Jaune peered at the figure and his instincts kicked in he turned back around and decided to look for an isolated spot, and quickly saw an alley and walked toward it, hoping the figure would follow him into it. Jaune waited to see if the figure would follow him and after a few minutes, the head of the figure poked into the alleyway, Jaune grabbed them by the collar, pulled them into the ally, and slammed them against the wall.
Jaune glared at them and that's when he finally saw who was under the hood. It was Deery.
"Ow..." Deery muttered.
Jaune was surprised and confused, "Deery!?" He asked.
Deery looked at him with a sheepish smile, "Uh... Hi Jaune," She greeted.
Jaune let her go and looked at her, "What are you doing here!?" He asked.
"Following you, or was following you," Deery said as she took the hood off.
Taking her hood off, Jaune saw that her antlers were missing. "What happened to you're antlers?" Jaune asked with slight worry.
Deery looked at him with a raised brow before she remembered what had happened, "Oh! Uh... well mid-flight, turned out it was time for them to shed, and so they kind of... popped off," Deery said with a bit of embarrassment.
Jaune was a bit shocked to hear that, "They're able to do that?" He asked.
Deery nodded, "Yeah, certain Faunus do have to shed their antlers or skin sometimes," She said.
Jaune nodded, learning something new but quickly stopped himself and quickly went back onto topic, "Anyway, why did you follow me?" Jaune asked.
Deery looked at him with a determined look "I wanted to help you out while you traveled and kind of keep an eye on you," Deery told him.
Jaune was a bit confused, "Why?" He asked.
Deery sighed, "Because I... I wanted to make sure you didn't blame yourself for Ilia," She told him. "Plus, you did make her a promise, so I decided to come with you, and keep you safe like you promised to keep me safe!" She said.
Jaune closed his eyes and sighed, "Deery, you shouldn't have come," he said.
Deery shrugged and gave him a slight smirk, "Well, I'm here now, so no use in arguing about me not following you," Deery said.
Jaune groaned, "I suppose so," he said. "Look, just stay close, and let's look around town for some jobs and hopefully a place to stay while we're here," He told her.
Deery nodded and followed behind Jaune, as they walked, they had to move past a lot of people on the streets, no doubt visitors from off the Island. As they did, Jaune began to wonder if there was a possibility of seeing Ruby or Yang, this was their home Island after all, and if he had to guess, it was Summer break by this time, so they should be back on Patch by now, right?
When he had that thought, he also began to wonder about the rest of his friends back at Beacon. Where they home for the break? Did some stay back at Beacon? How were they doing? All these questions swirled around in Jaune's mind, but he was taken out of his own thoughts when he heard a yelp and nearly tripped over.
He stopped walking only to find that he had accidentally stepped in the tail of a black and white Corgi who whimpered in pain.
"Aw! Poor thing!" Deery thought as she bent down to pet the dog, and eased his pain. The dog no longer whimpered and allowed Deery to pet it and with that the small dog wagged its tail and licked Deery's hand.
Deery giggled, "Looks like he's taken a liking to me," she said.
As Deery petted the corgi, she noticed the Dog's collar around its neck, saw its Pendant, and read the name on it.
"Zwei? Is that your name boy?" Deery asked the cute little dog.
The corgi barked happily and Deery giggled once again.
Jaune bent down and the Corgi turned to him, Jaune also petted the Corgi and looked at the dog's pendant, seeing the dog's name as well, but turned it around only to see that there was an address on the back of it.
Jaune looked at the dog with a raised brow, "You lost boy?" Jaune asked.
"ARF!" Zwei barked
Jaune nodded and looked at the address, but because he was unfamiliar with the Island, Jaune pulled out his scroll, pulled up Rem-Map, and entered the address and saw that it led out of the city and near the countryside, specifically, near the cliffside. The time to walk there would be a good hour, which to Jaune wasn't that long.
"Guess we'll be taking you home, bud," Jaune said.
"ARF! ARF!" Zwei barked.
Jaune stood up and Deery grabbed Zwei and lifted him up, holding him like a baby as she looked at Jaune.
"You know where to go?" She asked.
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, put the address on his pendant in maps and showed me where to go, but before you go, you might want to get a drink," He told her.
Deery looked at him with a raised brow, "Why?" She asked.
Jaune gave her a small smirk, "Because we're gonna be walking a long way," Jaune told her.
With that, the two quickly stopped by a store for some water and then walked out of the town with the corgi and made their way outside of Cobble and toward the address that was on Zwei's collar and the directions on the app.
After following the directions and a very long walk, Jaune, Deery, and Zwei arrived at the fence line of a house, that was a few feet away. Zwei seemed excited and ran ahead, and Deery and Jaune followed the little dog to the house and saw the corgi run to the back of the house when they also arrived at the back, The two saw the Dog running toward a blonde man wearing a shirt under a vest and a pair of cargo shorts, and he was currently hoeing the dirt in front of him.
Deery smiled at the older man coming to the conclusion that the man was Zwei's owner and she walked over to him, "Excuse me, Sir!" Deery called out to him.
the man's head turned around to look at her and for some reason, Jaune felt a massive killing aura radiating off the man and rushed to stop Deery, quickly getting in front of her just as the man turned around and struck him in the arm with the hoe.
"Jaune?"
Jaune blinked only to see that there was no hoe in his arm and that he was still in front of Deery, his hand only blocking her way.
Deery looked at him with a confused expression, "Jaune? You ok?" She asked him again.
Jaune slowly nodded but was still a bit confused as to what happened, however, a memory of a similar event entered his mind... The first time he met Raven.
The man turned around and looked at the blonde with a smile, "You got a real bad killing aura on ya kid,"
Jaune looked back at the man with a raised brow, wondering what the older man was talking about.
Knowing what the younger blonde was thinking the man sighed still smiling, "You don't have any control over that killing intent you're radiating," he said, "You thought I was going to attack you? Hate to tell you kid, but I wasn't, that was simply your own killing reflected back to you," he finished.
Jaune was still rather confused but the older man shook his head, still smiling and then he looked at Zwei who was near his legs.
"You brought home Zwei, huh?" He asked as he bent down to pick up the corgi, "Well that I've got to thank you for, little guy ran off chasing a small nevermore and must have run all the way into town, he can usually make his way back but if something happens, he gets confused and lost," He said.
Deery nodded, "The town was pretty packed with people on vacation and tourists," Deery said.
The man chuckled, "That would do it," He said. "Anyway, the name's Taiyang Xiao-Long, but please just call me Tai," Tai told them.
Hearing his last name, Jaune's eyes widened with shock, "Xiao-Long... Are you Yang and Ruby's dad?" He asked.
Tai looked at the blonde boy with a smile, "Yep!" He said proudly, "I'm their old man, and if you know them, you must be a friend of theirs, right?" He asked.
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, I'm Jaune,"
Tai seemed surprised to hear his name, catching the younger blonde a little off guard, but Tai smiled softly, "Huh... Never thought I'd get to meet you," Tai said. "Ruby talked a lot about you, told me how you were her best friend next to her partner, and she also told me about you being kicked out of Beacon until next year," Tai said.
Jaune rubbed the back of his head and nodded, "Yeah, that's me," He said.
Hearing this, Deery looked at Jaune with shock, "You went to Beacon!?" She asked.
Jaune nodded as he looked at her, "Yeah, for the first semester of my first year, then someone revealed that my transcripts were faked and I got kicked out, would've been permanent if not for Headmaster Ozpin offering me a second chance next year if I gained some real-world experience," He told Deery.
Deery was shocked to hear all that, realizing that Jaune was a first-year student amazed her as not only was he so young, but she also remembered just how much of a monster he was. It frightened her, she had seen what Jaune could do and to learn he was still rather young was crazy. "Jaune... can your friends do what you did back in Atlas?"
Jaune looked at her and knew what she was referring to and when he thought about it, he began to wonder if anyone on his team or Ruby's could do what he's done, Pyrrha came to mind, considering she was something of a one-woman army, but even then, he doubted she could do what he's done.
"No, I don't think they could," He said darkly.
Jaune didn't mean to sound like what he'd done was something to be praised about, he killed people, and he very much doubted his or Ruby's team could do what he did. They were all far more skilled them himself, but even then, he doubted they could slaughter a group of people without a second thought. Even Pyrrha, sure she was skilled, far more than he and the rest of Beacon's student body, and then she had her Semblance, but even with those two things, he doubted she could've done what he'd done.
Tai finally decided to speak to them, "So, what brings you to Patch, Jaune?" He asked.
Jaune turned back to Tai, "Just passing through in a sense," He told Tai, "Looking for work and hoping to earn some money before I head to Vacuo," Jaune told him.
Tai chuckled and rubbed his chin as well as the small stubble on his face, "Well, I've got a lot of work to do here, starting a small garden and I could use the help with fixing up the fences, I could also use you when I bring my Summer Students up here for some training, and what better person to pit them against then a Beacon Student, Eh?" Tai asked.
Jaune then raised a brow at his suggestion, "You think It's a good idea to pit me against students after-"
"Yeah, trust me, you'll be fine," Tai said with a nonchalant tone, cutting the younger man off. "Besides, if you get out of hand, I can stop you, trust me," He said.
Jaune looked at him still with a questioning look, "And you'll pay us for all that?" Jaune asked, also gesturing to Deery.
Tai nodded, "Yeah," He said.
Jaune then shrugged, "Alright," he replied.
Tai smiled, "Good," He said, "Now, let me show you and your friend the guest room," He said.
As they walked to the back door, Jaune remembered an important detail. "Wait, Are Yang and Ruby here?" Jaune asked, slightly worried.
Tai shook his head, "Nope, both are spending some more time at Beacon before heading here for the summer, and interestingly enough, Yang's bringing over her boyfriend," Tai said.
Jaune was shocked to hear that news, "Boyfriend?" He asked.
Tai nodded, "Yeah, Haven't met the guy yet, but she said he's a friend of your little group, so you might know him," Tai told him.
Jaune began to wonder who it may be as the only other guy their teams hung out with was Ren, and wondered if it was him and if it wasn't, who could have it been?
"Besides that, the two are doing great passed and graduated!" Tai said proudly.
Jaune smiled when he heard that, "Not surprised," he said, "Ruby's a Prodigy, and Yang's... well Yang," Jaune said.
Tai chuckled, "You can say that again," he said.
Finally, Tai and the two arrived at the guest room, where he opened the door and inside they saw the room was rather clean and there was a large king-sized bed.
Deery's mind quickly began to try and figure out a way on how they were going to sleep on the bed as she felt a bit awkward to share the bed with Jaune.
Jaune however, already knew how the sleeping arrangement was going to work and turned back to Tai. "Thanks, Tai, means a lot," Jaune told him.
Tau shrugged and smiled, "A friend of Ruby and Yang is a friend of mine, Jaune," He told them. "You and you're girlfriend are welcome here, anytime in the future," He told them.
Hearing that, Deery quickly looked at the older man with a small blush, "W-We're not like that!" She told him.
Tai was a bit surprised to hear that but simply gave her a quick nod, "Ah, my bad then," He said. "Anyway, I'll be starting dinner in about an hour from now, so why don't you guys get some rest, and I'll get you guys when it's ready," he told them.
They thanked Tai once again and then entered the room, no doubt trying to figure out how the sleeping arrangement would work. As they did, Tai walked away, and as he did, he couldn't help but remember the young ars father. Tai remembered just how much Nicholas desired strength, how much he and Raven sought to be stronger than Summer, however, Nicholas didn't have such a... darkness with him.
Jaune was far different from his father and Tai saw and sensed that.
But was the for the better? Or for the Worse?
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Meanwhile, back in a small bar in Mantle, the Huntresses were drinking, and celebrating.
As they were celebrating, the bartender moved over to Robyn. "Psst! Robyn," he called in a hushed whisper.
Robyn turned to the bartender with a raised brow, "What is it?" She asked, also in a whisper.
The bartender then pointed over to a booth where three figures sat, "Those three have been asking about that blonde guy you had with ya, wanting to know where he was," they told Robyn.
Robyn nodded and set her glass down before she got up and walked over to the three and stood at their booth, looking down at them. "I heard you're looking for a blonde, is that true?" She asked.
The figures turned to Roby and the three in the booth were none other than Vernal, Oscar, and Maria.
Vernal looked at Robyn with a stern look, "Yeah," She replied. "Blonde guy, has a sword and shield, the shied's got two crescent arcs on it, know him?" She asked.
Robyn looked at her with a raised brow, "Why are you asking about him?" Robyn asked.
Oscar then spoke up, "He's our friend," Oscar told her.
Robyn looked them over and then held out her hand for Vernal, "Put your hand in mine and I'll know you're telling the truth," She told her.
Back then Vernal would've punched Robyn in the face, but now, she did as the woman told, and a pale aura surrounded both of their hands and Robyn began her questions.
"What is your friend's name," She asked.
"Jaune Arc," She replied.
A green glow then appeared, confirming the truth.
"How do you know Jaune?" She asked.
Vernal looked straight into her face, "He saved my life," She replied. "I've been traveling with him up until Mistral where he left us behind and went ahead," She told Robyn.
Green once again.
Robyn nodded and then took her hand away from Vernal and nodded. "Come with us, We'll tell you where he is... but I think you need to know what happened while he was here," She said.
Hearing that, the three became slightly worried but followed Robyn back to her booth with the rest of the Huntresses. They were close to finding Jaune, and they were not going to fall behind, Vernal was not going to fall behind, she was going to make sure she was there for Jaune.
She was not going to let him slip through her hands anymore...
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Is that Vernal, Oscar, and Maria!? IT IS! Will they make it to Patch and meet up with Jaune!? How will Jaune deal with being on Patch!? ALSO! What the hell was that Monster that Qrow fought!? Ohohoh~! Just you wait!
Trust me, everything will be explained as the story continues.