Gamer4 in. Okay... this story merits some explanation.

As some of you may or may not be aware, last year I began work on a story titled The Ice Cream Lady- a lengthy title that took the better part of a year to complete. As none of you are likely aware, the inspiration for this story came from one that I heard during my own trip to Vale.

I was in a creative rut at the time, not feeling it in me to continue any of my main stories. I was at a wall, and thus began my odyssey to find my muse. It was on a trip back to my hometown in the Pacific Northwest- to an old library from which I used to check out collections of Garfield comics- that I discovered tomes detailing a town that doesn't appear on any conventional maps. It was spoken of in quiet whispers by the likes of David Lynch and Mark Frost, hidden to the north of my hometown, past the area colloquially known as Twin Peaks.

In that town, David Lynch wrote, there exists a type of old-world magic rarely seen in the world these days. I had barely known there were still small towns like that, where everyone knows everyone else, until my brief stay in Vale.

I immediately resolved to find this town, deciding that, perhaps, its local legends may serve as fuel for my dwindling imagination.

It wasn't that far of a drive to the mountains that gave the Twin Peaks area its name, though the road became bumpy at the pass between the mountains. For a brief moment, it felt as though I was driving along an abandoned roller coaster that had somehow melded itself into the environment, and despite the bright afternoon it had been when I entered, night had fallen by the time I came out on the other side- but by then, I had arrived in the town I sought.

It began at the roots of the mountains, where the rocks and crags turned to the lush green of the Emerald Forest, throughout which ran the fabled Haven River. A smaller cliff split the town in twain, and the river made of it a waterfall, over which loomed the Austin Hotel, unquestionably the finest place to stay should you ever decide to pay a visit of your own.

It was a beautiful town, and I now feel nothing but guilt for the way I portrayed it in Ice Cream Lady- a land where the most unthinkable crimes could occur in broad daylight, and nobody would so much as flinch. In reality, it is as close-knit and as loving a community as one could ask for, especially in a world growing increasingly divided.

Upon my arrival, I asked around in search of any stories- local legends or lore that might reignite my creative spark- and as one, everyone pointed me to a woman known as the Log Lady- an eccentric old woman who lived in a cabin in the Emerald Forest. Allegedly, she had once taught at Beacon High School, but had retired not long before my arrival. Curious, I found myself at her front door one late afternoon, bearing gifts of tea and fruit with me- according to the locals, these were gifts most likely to win her over.

It was to my surprise when the door opened before I could even knock, and there stood the woman I was looking for- she stood tall, and looked remarkably professional for her reputation of eccentricity- a finely-pressed blouse, skirt, and high heels had me wondering what she was doing in a rustic town like this, rather than in a big city, at the head of a corporation, or behind a desk at a university.

I could certainly sense the teacher in her as she beckoned me into the house. "You're late," were her exact words.

I expressed my surprise that she was expecting me, but she did nothing to clarify.

I made my offering of tea and a fruit basket, earning a scoff, but she accepted it nonetheless, setting it all on her kitchen counter before taking a seat on a rocking chair in front of a fireplace, ushering me to sit on the sofa across from her. Her tone and mannerisms were very strict, but there was a level of kindness behind it all as well- I accepted.

"Welcome to Vale," she began. "As you no doubt know by now, I am Glynda Goodwitch, known to some as the Log Lady." Even as she spoke, she picked up a small log perched on the mantle, and held it in her lap for the remainder of the night. "There is a story behind it, of course- one of many stories this town holds. Some are sad, others funny. Stories of madness, of violence... or the mundane. But around all of them is a sense of mystery- the mystery of life... of death... of the woods. The woods surrounding Vale."

I asked if there were any stories in particular she was willing to tell. She was very perceptive, seemingly understanding I intended to present my own take on it to the outside world. She made me swear that I would present it as it was- as she told it. She wanted me to present it with as little of myself within it as possible- as you will soon come to understand, I failed. I failed when I took the events she relayed to me and twisted them into the narrative of The Ice Cream Lady. That is the mistake I am here today to rectify.

What follows is the story she spent the next couple days telling me. As she spoke, I was taken in by her voice, and saw everything occurring before me as though I had seen it myself. It made me wonder...

Are the owls what they seem?

What does ice cream have to do with the inner workings of the universe?

And, perhaps most prominently of all, where does one person's story end, and another's begin?

In regards to that last, I believe Goodwitch herself summed it up best, just before delving into the story.

"Allow me to say that this story encompasses... the 'all.' It is beyond the fire... though few could truly understand those words. It is the story of many, that begins with the story of one. I knew him. The one leading to the many... is Jaune Arc.

"Jaune Arc is the one."

Vale

Prologue

Departure

The morning was cold and unwelcoming- not at all the ideal weather for a fishing trip. Not that it stopped Taiyang Xiao Long, one of the most notorious fishermen in the town of Vale. It was well-known to all that he always greeted the day with a brief fishing trip at the Haven river. If it was raining, he'd bring a coat. If the river was frozen over, he'd saw open a small hole and lower the line in.

"That's ridiculous!" his wife, Raven Branwen, had once pointed out. "What do you expect to catch in the middle of winter?!"

"Who said it's about catching anything?" he'd responded with his famous winning smile, before heading on out anyways.

There was an odd solace in it for the man. Both of his daughters had already moved out, and he'd lost two wives in a row- only to unexpectedly regain the first. But no matter the craziness going on in the outside world, he'd always have himself and the river.

The day's conditions were far from the worst he'd slogged through in his fishing career. The river wasn't frozen over, and despite the steely grey of the sky, there wasn't a drop of precipitation. Not ideal, no, but nowhere near enough to keep him from his daily ritual.

He hummed lightly as he jaunted across the rocky shore, pausing only to watch in amusement as a ringing bell in Central Vale sent a flock of ducks careening into the sky. His smile faltered when he spotted something next to a particularly large rock- a lump of plastic, it looked like.

"No-good kids, throwing their trash everywhere..." he muttered to himself, trying to keep away the memories of his elder daughter, Yang, taunting how swiftly he was turning into a grumpy old man.

His certainty wavered as he drew nearer- there was something odd about the shape of the plastic. Something familiar.

By the time he had drawn near enough to touch it, he was practically crawling. There was a foreboding sense in the air, something telling him that once he fully examined the seemingly random debris, there would be no turning back.

He reached a shaking hand out towards the plastic, turned it over, and immediately pulled away as though it had been burned.

All thoughts of his fishing trip forgotten, he rushed back to his home, and the scroll he'd left on the counter.

XXXX

Yang Xiao Long was a proud woman, and, like most prideful people, liked to think she'd earned the right. Given that she was the youngest sheriff Vale had had in almost a hundred years, it's quite possible she did. Especially considering her tendency towards delinquency in her youth, there are very few who would have expected to see her heading the police one day- yet here she was.

Of course, crime was often scarce in this humble little town- it seemed, often enough, that their most strenuous work was locking up drunks who got a little too fist-happy. Even today, the biggest challenge she'd had so far was keeping one of her deputies, Nora Valkyrie, from using up all of the syrup for the third time this week.

Then came the call on her scroll.

Her eyes lit up when she spied the number. Immediately accepting the call, she greeted the person on the other end. "Hey, Pops! What's happening-"

"Yang- he's dead!" came her father's panicked voice from the other end. "By the river- he's dead!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Yang interrupted, her eyes widening. "Who's dead?"

The moment the words left her mouth, it instantly caught the attention of Nora and Yang's other trusted deputy, Lie Ren, who looked up in shock.

"Jaune Arc!" her father reported. "Jaune Arc- he's by the river, dead! Wrapped in plastic!"

Yang froze, slowly lowering the scroll and turning to her deputies, who were already waiting at attention.

Finally, she gave the order.

"Get Dr. Wukong- we've got a homicide."

XXXX

It was a very short drive to the spot pinpointed by her father as the body's location, where they found the man himself pacing around on the rocks, hand raised over his mouth in distress. Yang went to comfort him, as a woman with a monkey tail swinging freely behind her approached the bundle of plastic laying on the ground. Hesitantly, she turned it over, revealing the cold, lifeless face of Jaune Arc.

His blond hair was filthy with dirt and grime, plastered around an unblemished face. His eyes were closed, the rest of his face vacant and expressionless, marked only by small flecks of metal, almost like glitter on the face of a child.

Yang turned back to the scene, immediately taking control of the situation. "Alright... Wukong, get him to the hospital. I need an autopsy as soon as possible. Nora, come with me- we're going to Beacon. Ren, the Austin Hotel."

As everyone began moving, Ren quirked a curious brow in her direction. "Why Austin?"

Yang sighed as she headed back towards the car. "Someone's got to tell his parents."

XXXX

At that very moment, Nicholas Arc was growing steadily more frustrated. "Jaune," he called again, for the umpteenth time. "School's starting soon, do you want breakfast or not?"

As before, no response. Crossing his arms, he called out, with more force behind his voice this time. "Jaune Arc, get down here this instant, or you're skipping breakfast! I won't ask again!"

Nothing.

He sighed. "Yes... yes I will." He headed towards the stairs and began climbing. "Jaune, what are you doing? School starts in half an hour, let's go!"

He hesitated when he threw open the door to his son's bedroom, only to find it empty. "J-Jaune?" he asked hesitantly. He turned away, and began looking through the rest of the rooms. "Jaune, this isn't funny! Get out here, now!"

XXXX

Nichole Arc, meanwhile, was at the Austin Hotel- much as Yang had suspected. Often referred to as the greatest lawyer since Phoenix Wright himself, Nichole had a rather prestigious list of clients, up to and including Jacques Schnee, head of one of Remnant's most profitable businesses. Naturally, it fell on her to be present during most of his negotiations, including his current sales pitch to a gathering hall full of Mistralians looking to invest in his latest venture- the Hienton Estates, as he called it. She was currently in the back of the hall, watching his pitch and nodding approvingly whenever he glanced back at her, laughing at some of the foreigners odd mannerisms, when she felt her scroll buzz in her pocket.

She was prepared to turn it off when she spied her husband's name, instantly catching her attention. She raised her hand slightly to catch Jacques' attention, motioning to her scroll with her hand. Jacques hardly seemed happy about it, but reluctantly called a break to the meeting, giving her time to slink out into the hotel's lobby, where she raised the scroll to her ear. "Nick, what's wrong?"

"Did you take Jaune to work with you today?"

"No," Nichole denied, taking a seat on a nearby bench. "Why? He's not with you?"

"He's nowhere in the house!" Nicholas confirmed, sounding on the verge of a panic attack. "I have no idea where he is?"

Nichole bit her lip in worry, but continued looking for a rational explanation. "What about Cardin? They've been meeting up quite a bit lately- maybe they're together now?"

"I've tried, but I can't get hold of him, either!"

"Well, there you go!" Nichole nodded, struggling to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. "You know how boys are, they probably got together and lost their scrolls, and they'll turn up again soon enough, at Coco's, or at school, or... or..."

Her voice faltered when she spied Deputy Lie Ren entering the hotel, making directly for the front desk.

"Nichole?" came Nick's voice over the scroll. "Nichole- what's wrong?"

"It's... it's Ren... Deputy Ren..."

"No... no!"

"He... he's coming towards me! God, he's coming towards me!"

Ren remained silent, a pitying gaze upon his face. "Ms. Arc... I'm afraid..."

The scroll dropped from Nichole's shaking hands. "It's... It's not... Jaune?"

Ren nodded mournfully. "I'm afraid so."

As one, both parents broke down in tears, Nicholas collapsing into his chair as he was wracked with sobs, while Nichole fell down upon the bench, hands raised over her face.

A nearby door opened, and Jacques emerged, dusting off his white suit. "Well, you'd better have a damn good explanation for breaking up the meeting, those Mistralians practically had the pen in their-" he broke off when he noticed Nichole's sobbing. "What happened?"

Nichole struggled to her feet, only managing a single step before collapsing into Ren's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. "My son... he's... dead!" she forced out, as Ren gently rubbed and patted her back.

Jacques halted, not allowing any expression on his face, simply turning away and leaving via the same door he'd entered.

Ren continued his ministrations, patting and rubbing the woman's back, gently rocking her as he made his next request. "Mrs. Arc... if it's not too much trouble... if you think you can handle it... could you come with me to the hospital?"

Nichole nodded limply into his shoulder. "Yes... I need to... see for myself..."

Ren nodded, pushing her away slightly and helping to guide her to her car.

XXXX

In the center of the town stood Coco's Diner, a fine establishment beloved by all who passed through the town, run by the eponymous Coco Adele, a very flashy individual with a surprising flair for baking- surprising to those who knew her on a personal level, at the very least. She wasn't on the floor at the moment, leaving the early morning business to her trusty number 2, Velvet Scarlatina, a rabbit faunus whose endearing smile and polite mannerisms brought customers in by the truckload.

At the moment, however, there was only one customer in- the tall, well-built redhead that was Cardin Winchester, currently sipping at a mug of coffee and snacking on a small cake. "I tell ya, Vel," he addressed the young woman behind the counter, "you're gettin' better at this waitressing stuff every day."

Velvet chuckled at his crude mannerisms.

It was an odd state of affairs- a few years ago, she'd have hidden in the back room at the first sign that Cardin might be stepping in. He had been an entirely different person once, constantly harassing her and yanking on the ears that so often made her the subject of ridicule.

But then along came Jaune Arc, the first to stand up to him and knock him down a peg. At first, it seemed like things would end there, but it seemed to mark the beginning of a new leaf for the troubled youth. It had been a few silent months after the incident with Jaune that Cardin had nervously approached Velvet and apologized for his transgressions, not seeing how she could ever forgive him.

And here they were, three years after those dark initial days, him snacking on her coffee and pastries, praising them to high heaven, and, if she were correct...

"Say, if you don't got a ride home, I'm sure me and ol' Sargon could spot ya."

Velvet smiled. He hardly needed to ask- he'd been driving her around everywhere basically since he got a car. It wasn't the fanciest of vehicles- a battered old Stratus that went from zero to fifty far too quickly for its own good, and required liberal amounts of brake before it even considered slowing down, but it was his car, courtesy of the uncle who had taken him in after his abusive father lost custody of him- another part of that period that had so drastically changed the boy.

Nonetheless, this had become part of their relationship- he would show up, grab a bite to eat, and ferry her home- whenever it was safe to do so, of course.

"I don't know," she responded playfully. "My husband can get awfully jealous..."

"Didn't ya say he was over in Vacuo?" Cardin smirked.

"Why yes, yes I did," Velvet giggled.

"Sounds good to me, let's go!" he smiled, hopping to his feet.

"Hold up a second!"

Cardin rolled his eyes as Coco Adele herself emerged from the back of the diner, lowering her shades just enough to gaze over them stare him down directly. "Velvet, go ahead and clock out, I need a word with Cardin real quick."

Velvet nodded, and headed into the back. Coco crossed her arms as she took a seat across from him. Here came another tradition- once a week or so, the chat with Coco.

"Worming your way ever further into her heart, I see," she noted. "Not bad, for a thug who used to beat her up on a regular basis."

"That was a long time ago," Cardin grunted, eager to turn his back on that sordid past. "I did my time, didn't I?"

"That you did," Coco nodded. "But as her employer and closest friend, I feel obliged to watch her back anyways. So believe me when I say..."

She leaned in again. "You break her heart, I'll rip yours out of your chest and use it as the secret ingredient in the next day's Secret Ingredient Soup. We clear?"

Cardin rolled his eyes again- the speech would be more intimidating if he hadn't heard it over a hundred times before. "Crystal."

Coco brightened up. "Then have yourself a good day, sir. Thank you for eating at Coco's Diner."

XXXX

Velvet looked at him with concern as he drove down the road towards her house at Vale's outskirts. "Was Coco tearing into you again?"

"You know her," Cardin waved her concern aside. "She's the only one out there who loves you almost as much as I do."

God, when had he started saying cheesy things like that? But it was true- he had found over the years that he truly loved this woman- she was his angel of salvation, the only one willing to stand by him when he sought redemption, and insist he might still be saved. Hardly a night went by anymore that he didn't wonder how he could have ever been so cruel to such a wonderful creature.

Velvet blushed and looked out the window. "She does tend to be overprotective..."

Cardin flashed a quick smile in her direction before throwing his eyes back to the road- and abruptly flooring the brake, a look of terror on his face. "Shit!"

"What?" Velvet asked, gasping when she looked up, covering her mouth. "Oh, my!"

Parked in front of her house was the large red truck that signified the presence of her husband, Adam Taurus- whom Cardin had many reasons to avoid at the moment.

"I thought he was in Vacuo!" Cardin yelped.

"I thought he was!" Velvet agreed, rabbit ears starting to flatten against the back of her head.

Cardin bit his lip. "I'll let you off here- I gotta go."

"Right," Velvet nodded, opening the door. "See you tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Cardin nodded, watching her disembark before turning around and speeding off, not allowing himself to rest until he could no longer see the crimson of Adam's truck.

He leaned back and sighed. It was too early to be dealing with this bull... he still had school to get to.

XXXX

The sun was about halfway through its ascent as students began to filter into Beacon High School. Sun Wukong paraded gleefully down the hallway, only stopping by to say 'hi' to his locker neighbor, Weiss Schnee.

"How're things going, Ice Queen?" he grinned.

Weiss slammed her locker shut and glared at him. "I really wish you'd stop calling me that," she glowered, which only made him laugh harder. Gods, whatever she'd done to earn this dunce as a locker neighbor, she was sorry already!

Sun glanced around the hallway. "I ain't seen Jaune around this morning- funny, he usually comes up to me, first! You seen him around, Snow Angel?"

Jaune's embarrassing nickname for her put her even more on edge, leading to a perhaps harsher than usual, "No, and if I'm fortunate, it will remain that way." Hoisting her books into her arms, she nodded behind him. "I see your mutual... friend Cardin back there, why not go ask him?"

Weiss was hardly alone in not exonerating Cardin for the sins of his past. Sun, however, was easygoing enough to let bygones be bygones, so long as he felt the apology was genuine. He turned and pranced over to the redhead. "Hey, Chester!" Much like Weiss, he insisted on referring to his friend by a name he knew they despised. "You seen Jauney around anywhere?"

Cardin grunted, moving quickly by as he muttered, "Can't say I have."

Sun glanced beyond the glass doors at the front of the school, and spied police lights in the distance. "Oh, is that why you're moving so quick?" he asked, pointing them out. "Someone being naughty, Chester?"

Cardin sighed as he opened his locker. "What, naughty? Me? Nah."

Almost as if on cue, a notification came in over the intercom. "Cardin Winchester, to the front office, please. Cardin Winchester to the front office. Thank you."

Sun waggled his eyebrows at Cardin as he sighed in exasperation, returning his books to his locker before slamming it shut again. "Guess I won't be needing those for now," he grunted.

"Remember, plead the fifth!" Sun called after him as he headed down the hallway.

Having gotten his share of teasing in for the morning, he sauntered into class.

XXXX

It wasn't long into the first class that Sun noticed something unusual- Jaune Arc still had yet to appear. The two sat next to each other, he ought to know. At the back of the class, the school's star track runner, Pyrrha Nikos, seemed to be having similar concerns, glancing at Jaune's empty seat periodically as the lesson began.

Sun's smile began to slide from his face when the door opened, and a woman with blazing blond hair entered, speaking to the teacher in a hushed tone. Everyone present knew her- this was Yang Xiao Long, the town's sheriff, beloved and respected by just about everyone.

Currently speaking to their teacher, a nervous look on her face seemingly giving birth to a look of distress on the teacher's.

Sun and Pyrrha glanced at each other. A picture was forming, and they didn't like the shape.

Sun glanced back at Jaune's desk, as empty as ever.

Outside, the sky was still steely grey. He could spy someone running through the courtyard, a look of panic on their face. He didn't know who, or why.

Back to Jaune's empty seat.

Back to the front.

Yang had apparently finished speaking to the teacher, as she left the room, leaving the teacher, a look of horror on his face, to address the class.

He cleared his throat. "I... I'm afraid I've just received some bad news..."

The wood of Sun's desk rushed up to meet him as he broke into sobs.

Behind him, he could hear the pencil in Pyrrha's hand snap in two.

XXXX

Please R&R, constructive criticism embraced, Gamer4 out.