Rewrite the History Books

The History of Jaune Arc, a Foundling

"Just trust me, Jaune," Ruby said without any confidence. "I'm sure it will be fine. We've lucked out so many times that it's pretty much proven that we have... I dunno, infinite luck?"

I couldn't help but sigh at Ruby's failed confidence boost. Even I, the all sunny and optimist Jaune Arc, felt some sort of fear when thinking about the future. She was just as scared as I was, if not more, at... well at whatever was going to happen to us.

"Because we definitely have luck." I couldn't stop the sarcasm from dripping into my tone.

Had we been lucky? If anything, luck was at the bare minimum when it came to being a Huntsman, the first and last line of defense against the seemingly impossible threat that met humanity.

Which, unfortunately, wasn't Grimm.

I actually considered myself pretty damn lucky when I was a kid. I somehow got into Beacon, got an amazing team, kept an average grade and actually made friends along the way.

After that was when the luck ran dry.

"Ruby," I started after noticing her tight expression, "We haven't won, but we haven't lost either. We could play this safe... we're not the only ones fighting."

Honestly, I was tired. This entire war was draining on the body and soul, it leeched away the life I used to dream about.

They say it started after Beacon burned, but I always argued it started long before that. That even if we managed to keep the legendary school standing that it would only delay her plans, that it would have only drawn us into a false sense of security.

Her, of course, was Cinder Fall—the crazy chick who decided that she wanted to be the... ultimate Maiden?

It didn't make sense... it was too ingenious of a plan for a guy like me to understand.

Take the power of the Maiden hiding under Beacon, then go on a crusade on finding and taking every other Maiden... and once she got all of their power? Who knew?

"Cinder's end game is to take the powers of all the Maidens, but there is still one more she doesn't have." I looked at her deeply as I explained the concept she probably heard a hundred times in the last day alone.

"You," I said like she didn't know already.

Ruby Rose, the Summer Maiden of almost a month, clenched her fists at the thought.

"But..." she started miserably, "but I'm so close to mastering this power! Give me a little longer and we can fight her together!"

"No." I felt uncannily like a parent as I shot her down.

"Jau-"

"No!" I growled out viciously, feeling bad as Ruby shrunk down. "This war has been on for ten years, and we've been in it since before day one. You don't have to fight anymore, Ruby. Let the rest of us do this for you."

"What about you?" she asked, still as caring at age 25 as she was at age 15. "Are you just going to stand against Cinder alone?"

I sighed.

"Ruby, I'm almost 28, but my body feels like it's forty. By the time we win all this, which we will, I'm either going to be dysfunctional or in a hole in the ground. And I'm not letting myself become a burden."

I was sure I wasn't as depressing and cynical ten years ago.

She gasped, stunned at my words.

"Jaune... how could you?"

I let my eyes avert from her—I couldn't stand to look her deep silver eyes.

"I've been through a lot," I admitted quietly. "You've sat by my hospital bed long enough to know that all those injuries add up."

"You're all I have," she said, losing her bearings at the thought of my death. "I lost everything, we lost everything... but we still have each other."

Was it love? I didn't know. Spending ten years with someone would inevitably bring them closer, and ten years on the battlefield only made it more prominent. It wasn't a match made in heaven... it was a match made among ashes and blood.

My dad would always give me stupid advice with the ladies, and both he and my mother agreed that when I found the right person I would know. That the feeling that was 'love' could never be replicated.

Did I feel that feeling? I could hardly tell.

I had Ruby and Ruby had me... was it a lack of options? Or was it true soulmates?

Those thoughts were stupid, I thought, love wasn't a luxury that we had. The seventeen year old that was still in me screamed to not let it go—but it wasn't a blessing that we were allowed. Cinder already used all our other bonds to destroy us... it couldn't happen again.

Damn... I was jaded.

"Ruby, I'm gonna give you the plan," I said while throwing all morbid thoughts away. "You're gonna sit tight and wait while I muster whatever we have left and attack Cinder. We know she's been weak since we stopped her from taking the Summer Maidenhood, that's why she's so desperate to find you... she won't last long without getting the final piece of the puzzle."

She nodded, grudgingly accepting my words even though I knew she'd attempt to break them.

"You know what?" I said in an attempt to cheer her up. "If we get her on the ropes, and only if she's on the brink of death, I'll give you a call and you can come deliver the final blow yourself."

"And if we don't?" she asked timidly.

I stared deep into her eyes. The figure looking back at me through the mirrors of silver wasn't the man I wanted it to be. It was almost everything I dreamed about being as a kid—I was a leader, a strong fighter, a hero and a man people could rely on.

But it wasn't a happy man that looked back at me.

Ruby stepped forwards and got close to me, as she always did whenever something uncomfortable came up. I was pretty much the only person she had in this world, as her to me.

And I would do anything to keep her alive.

"Ruby, if we can't beat Cinder, you can outlast her. Do what you do best... run."

It was snowing in Atlas, the first place Cinder had conquered. It was an easy mentality—we had to hide Ruby, so what better place than where we shouldn't be? A place that nobody expected...

Cinder came after almost an hour, her with a group of radicals against me and the small resistance of people who still believed in freedom.

My army wasn't much. There were a few Huntsman, some soldiers, and a small amount of Faunus that hadn't contracted the plague and still fought against Cinder. The size difference could be ignored since I knew full well Cinder didn't train her army like I trained mine.

Cinder's army was built from fear. I could help but notice some familiar faces among the crowd of people that had simply given up—people that decided that if they couldn't beat Cinder, why not join her?

Her army had no true loyalty, that was why my group was better. Only the weak chose to give up... Cinder's army was filled with cowards. The people who were strong either died fighting what they believed in or are still fighting.

"You ready Jaune?" Cardin Winchester, my right hand man, spoke. Times had changed from a decade ago, the same Cardin that used to bully me was now my most loyal man. He stood by me almost as close as Ruby did, despite multiple offers from Cinder to join her.

Even as his own team abandoned him, he still chose the path of a hero.

I gave him no response as I kept my eyes on Cinder, who kept her eyes on me. Her smirk made me want to scream in anger.

How was she always so confident? So perfect?

"Jaune!" she called from across at least a hundred meters away—her sultry tone carried perfectly fine despite the distance.

"Cinder," I said coldly, my carefree attitude gone. "What a coincidence."

She laughed, an enticing sound that made me want to vomit.

"Some of my spies informed me that you were mobilizing for a final attack," she said almost triumphantly. "They were right!"

I could feel Cardin's anger rise at the talk of spies. Cinder was the only one with the cure for the Faunus only disease she created, it wasn't hard to realize that she would have the support of the hybrids. I knew some of the Faunus I commanded were a bit too loyal... but I didn't want to believe...

I didn't let her words visibly bother me. The first two years of the war was the government trying to deny it was happening, and dealing with all the politicians taught me to never let the enemy know they have the advantage.

"You didn't leave anyone at home," I commented. "I see so many people that will betray you just like they betrayed me."

"Sounding bitter, Commander Arc?" Cinder asked in amusement. "You're reminding me of Ironwood, remember that guy?"

I almost lost my temper. "I was there when he died."

"You were, weren't you?" she said humorlessly—like she didn't know. "Oh yeah! It was just the two of you... six years ago, right? I only had two Maidens back then and I still beat both you and Ironwood!"

"You say that like beating an old man and a kid is something to brag about."

She knew she was hitting every nerve I had.

"If that's not impressive, how about when I killed all your friends? The monkey boy's team, the fashionista's, the 'WBY' of RWBY... the list keeps going on! And let's not forget about the hammer girl and the quiet boy! They were pretty recent..."

"You know their names," I said lowly.

"So what? Do I honestly need to know Ren and Nora?" she asked nonchalantly.

"They are the only reason you don't have all four Maidens!" I shot back, starting to feel control come back to me. "You seemed pretty angry when they held you off long enough for Ruby to become a Maiden and escape! I could hear your scream of fury from a mile away!"

Cinder's eyebrow twitched slightly at the memory, almost making me smirk.

"Where is little Red anyways?" she asked absently, like she didn't care that much. "Everybody else in your army is here except her."

"Why do you need Ruby?" I asked, looking amused. "Are you in a hurry, perhaps? Is it possible that you want a last conversation with her before you die because you're incomplete?"

She glared at me, which only made me laugh despite the growing winds and temperature.

"Where is she?" Cinder growled.

I drew Crocea Mors, the blade still shining despite all the years of battle.

"She is at the end of my blade," I said as I pointed it towards her. "I can give you a closer look, if you want..."

She fired a giant fireball towards me.

Cardin yelled for the army to advance as I jumped to face the fire head on.

I could take the heat.

...Yang would have been proud of that one.

"Duck!"

I instantly registered Cardin's voice and brought my body towards the ground. Cardin swung his mace over me and hit Cinder, creating a massive explosion as it collided that sent the Maiden flying.

The fire of the explosion did little to hurt her, but the shock wave must have done something internally.

As she used the winds to steady herself, I looked at Cardin's bloody form.

"Status!" I barked, knowing we didn't have long.

"Our sabotage worked. Their Dust is completely ineffective—they can't use any of their weapons." Cardin's grip on his weapon tightened. "It's nice to know Blake and Weiss didn't die for nothing."

I nodded, barely thinking about his words as I didn't want sadness to impede me. Cinder landed and watched us from afar, she was only panting slightly—and I a bit more.

"What about your team?" I asked.

There was silence for a moment.

"They aren't my team anymore," he spoke tightly. "And I dealt with them."

Cardin was the bane of my existence a decade ago—he was the sole source of sadness for a teenage Jaune Arc. But his loyalty, the good man that he decided to show me, filled me with confidence... with a warmness that pooled in my chest.

I had people I could depend on, what did Cinder have?

My Semblance activated and power rushed through me as I leveled a glare with Cinder. Cardin stayed a few feet behind me as Crocea Mors glowed with power.

"Cardin, leave."

"But-"

"Leave. I got this."

I didn't have anything, actually.

Well... except for a few stupid plans and a death wish.

I raised my shield and held firm as lightning struck from above. I could smell paint denoting the symbol of my family burn off as I kept my shield up and ran towards Cinder—lighting striking me from above with every step I took.

I had her on the defensive. Somehow, I managed to catch her slipping.

She needed to absorb Ruby now. No wonder she mobilized her army so quickly... she didn't have the time to plan anything more than a head to head battle.

She tried to blow a torrent of wind at me, but it turned out to be nothing more than a small gust. She frowned and barely managed to duck underneath a broad slash of my weapon.

I tilted my shield and blocked a kick, feeling my shoulder joint shudder at how hard the blow was. I took a step back and brought by sword upwards in her direction.

Cinder somehow managed to tilt herself so Crocea Mors passed her by millimeters before she span around to my side and fired a stream of fire at me. I gritted my teeth as my sword arm burned, but I stayed focus and lunged towards her.

My shoulder crashed into her smaller abdomen, making her tumble to the ground.

I approached her downed body. Crocea Mors brimmed with power as I raised it in the air...

She let out a stream of ice, freezing my feet together.

I fell forwards, my balance lost, but I tilted my body so I at least fell on top of her. Cinder's breath escaped her as a little less than 200 pounds of Arc crushed her.

An attack was an attack, no matter how unorthodox.

I smashed the flat of my blade against the ice around my feet. It shattered and I rolled away to narrowly avoid a lightening bolt from striking me.

It was so much easier to deal with those things with Nora...

I tried to stand up but I was kicked in the chin. My sword left my grip as my body flew onto the ground back first. I groaned as standing up seemed like an impossible task.

"Close," she said, amused at my struggling. "You got a lot better, Jaune. You should have joined me when you had a chance."

Her taunting gave me new energy as I rose my shield to block a fireball. The intense torrent sent embers flying past my face, filling my vision with a sickening orange.

Cinder kicked me in the arm, making my shield fly from my grasp and onto the ground a few feet away. I desperately looked around for Crocea Mors, but the reliable blade was even farther away than it's shield counterpart.

"You don't have talent, Arc," Cinder said as she stood above me. My hand slowly traveled behind my back as she looked around the battleground smiling.

"No talent whatsoever," she said again. "But you have dedication and an interesting Semblance that even I don't fully understand. You gave yourself potential... something I actually would have appreciated if it wasn't for your goals."

I fingered something behind my back, getting ready for the perfect moment.

Cinder walked over to the sword of Crocea Mors and picked it up, admiring the blade as she approached him.

"Such a simple weapon," she commented. "With such an amazing story. It seems like every person who has wielded this sword in war earned a rather bloody legend about them. I first heard about it was a story about your... great grandfather? Great great?"

She looked at me like I was expected to answer, but I just stared at her in silence.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I heard that this sword earned the title 'death' through some sort of magical power, that it was a blade destined to kill. It's interesting how when it was put into a benign environment like Beacon it somehow found itself in the middle of a war yet again."

She slowly felt the blade, savoring the sharpness.

"War is where this weapon truly prospers, it needs a wielder who will soak it in blood." She smiled wickedly, "And you know you've been doing just that, Jaune."

She leveled my own sword towards my face.

"I might just use this weapon myself," she said. "It will be a good memento of a thorn I took out of my side."

In an instant I pulled out StormFlower and shot an entire clip of the pistol into her. Cinder barely managed to bring up a wall of fire to block the shots as I jumped onto my feet and pulled out Ironwood's revolver.

She forgot about my two ranged weapons... such arrogance.

I would only stop fighting when I was dead.

I fired a shot of the General's prized gun, it ripped through Cinder's Aura and dug into her arm. It was a horrible miss, given that I was aiming for her head.

Cinder fired a massive fireball at me. I channeled my Aura into StormFlower and slashed the blade extension of the gun downwards—a crescent of energy flew out and sliced the fireball in half, making hit on either side of me.

Rolling out of the way of a lightening bolt, I fired four more bullets out of Ironwood's revolver. The bullets were so powerful that none of Cinder's defenses could protect her—my bullets slammed into her torso with meaty sounds.

Cinder Fall clutched her bleeding stomach and stumbled slightly. I rushed forwards and slammed the barrel of StormFlower into her forehead.

Not even death could stop Ren from saving my ass.

I had one more bullet in my revolver, I placed it right against Cinder's head and-

Suddenly lightening struck down from above onto me, my Aura did little as my smoking body fell to the floor.

I laid on the ground—my body twitching slightly. I let out a pained moan as I struggled to gain control of my body.

"You're were gonna die quickly," Cinder hissed, enraged. Blood fell from a cut on her forehead and covered half of her face—finally making that perfect look of hers vanish. "But now I am going to make you hur-"

Suddenly Cinder gasped as a giant metal claw protruded out of her chest.

"I got you!" Ruby yelled as she pulled Crescent Rose out of Cinder. "You think you're so high and mighty!? That because you steal other people's power you're strong!?"

That was... unexpected.

I panted as the sound of the battlefield started to die down—either the battle was ending or I was so concentrated on Cinder that everything else was tuned out.

Ruby quickly appeared by my side and helped me to my feet.

"Thanks Red," I let out quietly as I caught my breath.

"So you'll forgive me for disobeying your orders?" she asked in faux fear as she held my arm.

I smirked. "I kinda expected you to break them to begin with. That's sort of your thing."

"Hey!"

I shrugged Ruby off and walked towards Cinder on my own two feet.

"How does it feel, Cinder?" I asked to her bleeding form. "How in the world did you lose to Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose? Easily the two least qualified to enter Beacon."

"I didn't lose!" she cried in anger as her powers fluctuate. "I am a Queen!"

"You're nothing but crazy!" Ruby yelled back. "A spoiled child who thinks the world belongs to her!"

She let out an enraged yell as she tried to smite them, but nothing happened.

"Can't control you powers," I taunted, feeling the euphoria of winning. "Looks like you were too ambitious, a single person can't be all four Maidens."

"Watch me!" she growled as her eyes started to glow.

Light suddenly started to erupt from every inch of her body.

What was happening?

Cinder never did... whatever she was doing before. And she didn't absorb any Maidens, so she didn't gain any new powers.

"Ruby..." I started as wind started to swirl around us unnaturally.

I looked to my side and noticed Ruby barely standing, her eyes glowing also.

I tried to grab Ruby, only to moan in pain as I moved my right arm. Cinder had burned it a lot worse than I thought...

"Cardin!" I yelled as loud as I could, knowing bad things were about to happen. "Cardin quickly!"

There was silence, and I feared for the worst.

Luckily, Cardin was always reliable. I could here his heavy footsteps as he approached them.

"What the hell is happening!?" he yelled as thunder boomed above. "What did Cinder do!?"

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled back. "My arm is toast, literally! I need you to take Ruby and get her as far away as possible! Whatever Cinder is doing is involving her Maidenhood!"

Cardin nodded urgently and picked up Ruby, we both turned around and started to run away.

But a hand grabbed me by the ankle, making me trip and fall into the ground.

"Shit!" I yelled as Cinder help my leg in a vice grip.

"Jaune!"

"Go!" I yelled to Cardin. Cinder could be draining Ruby of her Maiden powers as we spoke, I couldn't allow that to happen.

"Good luck!" was the last thing Cardin said as he ran away with Ruby in his arms.

I tried to kick Cinder's arm off my foot, but nothing was working.

"Cinder!" I yelled, but she was unresponsive as the lightning bigger than I have ever seen struck by us.

Cinder could not summon lightening that big, I knew that. Whatever was happening wasn't her doing.

Or rather, her voluntary doing.

She had lost control of her powers... a single human being wasn't designed to handle so much power.

I looked to my right and saw somehow Crocea Mors laying next to me. I grabbed the sword and approached Cinder, resolved to stop her before something horrible happened.

It was a rather simple death for a rather flashy person—there was nothing overly dramatic as I stabbed her in the chest.

She gasped in pain and the glowing suddenly stopped.

That was easy...

"Haha! Take that you evil bit-"

The world exploded.

The first thing that notified me that I was alive was pain.

My eyes snapped open as my right arm ached in agony. I winced as sunlight flooded my eyes and took a few seconds to adjust to the bright light.

What was happening to my arm? It felt like it was on fir-

I glanced at the burns covering my right arm—no wonder it felt like it was on fire... it literally was.

I sat up and rubbed my head, looking around with a frown.

There was no massive battlefield filled with weapons and bodies, like usual, instead it was a forest with a radius of trees around me burned and singed. It was like I just walked into a forest and exploded.

"Cardin?" I called as I sat in the middle of woods. "Ruby?"

I was met with silence.

I definitely blew up with Cinder, that I knew, but how did I end up in a clearing? Was I launched into the distance after she... whatever happened to her?

There would be smoke in the sky, there always was after Cinder fought, yet I couldn't see any as I looked into the rather clear blue sky.

Everything felt so... tranquil. It felt nothing like the usual gloom that filled the air for years.

Crocea Mors laid next to me. The shield was in multiple pieces and the blade had thick cracks traveling all over it like spider webs. It was unusable. The legendary weapon that had led my ancestors to countless victories had finally met it's end.

And killing Cinder Fall was the best final act a weapon could commit.

I sat in silence, pondering about my weapon and my final battle with Cinder. Then, my hearing, through years of listening for both ambushes and traitors, easily identified the humming sound of a Bullhead in the distance.

It was most likely Cardin or Ruby, probably both. Cinder didn't have many loyalists, most of her army was ruled with fear, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be any stragglers that would fight to the death. The rest of my army were probably dealing with them first before recovering me.

I stared at the rather clean looking Bullhead in confusion.

What was with the symbol painted on the side of it?

Even though all of the armies worked together to deal with the threat that was Cinder Fall, they never made a joint army. It defeated the purpose since it was suppose to be a secret war, the public were told it was the White Fang for years.

None of the nations were ready to make a joint military, so they didn't.

Atlas was the first to fall. Cinder knew that if the biggest, most supplied nation, fell first then the others would follow pretty quickly.

There shouldn't be a pristine Bullhead with the Atlas emblem five years after it fell. Pretty much all of them were taken by Cinder, and she had her own sign etched onto them.

So why was there a perfectly fine Atlas Bullhead approaching me?

I looked at the broken form of Crocea Mors. It was possible that I would have to use it again, despite the condition it was in.

The Bullhead definitely saw me, because it hovered above me as people dropped down.

I stared in shock as authentic looking Atlas soldiers dropped in front of me, all pointing standard issue Atlas rifles at me.

And then a figure dropped down. It took all my years of dealing with politicians in denial to stop me from gasping.

Majestic white hair and blue eyes...

There was no way.

"Weiss?" I muttered, my voice barely a whisper.

Cold blue eyes snapped onto me.

"What did you say?" an absolute frigid tone said to me.

Never mind. That wasn't Weiss.

It was Winter, Weiss' sister that died six years ago.

I watched as she died... I was the one who had to give the news to Weiss that I couldn't protect her sister from Cinder.

How was she in front of me?

Winter leveled her saber towards me.

"Identify yourself!" she commanded harshly.

"How do you not know me?" I asked, confused. We went on countless missions together when Ironwood took me under his wing, we were friends... even though she'd rather cut her own tongue than admit it.

She glared at me.

"He is being uncooperative! Seize him!"

I stared at her in confusion.

"What do you mean uncoopera-"

Something hit me in the head.

"Damn," I muttered as I rubbed the back of my head, glaring at a soldier. "You know, hitting a person in the back of the head generally doesn't knock them out. I don't care how convenient it sounds... it just doesn't happen."

The soldier at least looked somewhat bad about hitting me in the head with the butt end of his rifle.

"Be quiet," Winter growled to me, angry because... because she was Winter, and I was pretty sure she liked being angry.

"I thought you want me to speak," I said. "Wouldn't it be beneficial for the both of us? We both have questions that need answering, and I really have to get a drink of water. My tongue feels like a piece of sandpaper... help me."

"Private, give him water," she said to the guy who hit me.

I couldn't hold the canteen because of the handcuffs they put on me—even though I didn't show any hostility—so he had to put the canteen to my lips himself. I ended up drinking the entire thing pretty quickly.

"More would be nice," I said to Winter as I licked my lips. "It would be very, very appreciated."

"No. Not until you answer some questions."

"But you're not asking me questions right now!" I fought. "I'll answer everything to the best of my abilities for a big ass cheeseburger and a chocolate shake!"

Winter glared, and I sighed. I forgot how professional Winter was when she was in the field. I was judging her off Weiss, who was a lot more relaxed than her older sister.

There was no doubt that when I looked at Winter, I saw Weiss. For some strange reason, Winter looked younger than Weiss did—there was no possible way she was in her mid thirties like she was suppose to be.

"Private, knock him out," she ordered, tired of my tongue.

I sighed, it was like we were never friends to begin with. It took almost six months to finally get Winter to warm up to me, and now she's back from the dead and doesn't remember any of it.

I had my theories, of course, but I was saving them until I arrived at my destination.

A hard object hit me in the back of the head, making me yelp loudly.

"Hey!" I yelled. "I literally just said that hitting the back of the head isn't as effective as you think!"

It wasn't the soldier's fault they were hitting me, it was Winter's. I looked at her with my own interpretation of Ruby's trademark 'I am cute, love me' look.

If my look was anything like Ruby's, I would have melted Winter almost as much as Cinder did—I took a second to frown at that joke—but my look was nothing compared to the little reaper. Winter stared at me blandly, clearly unaffected.

"Keep hitting him until he's out," she commanded.

Confirmation that I wasn't in a strange heaven—or possible a twisted hell—came when we arrived at our destination. I knew exactly where we were, and I was waiting for him.

All of this shouldn't be possible.

But, for a person like Cinder Fall, making seemingly impossible things possible was well within her boundaries.

"Is this him, Specialist Schnee?"

Winter, who was standing straighter than... well straight, nodded professionally.

"Yes sir!" she called, making me look at her in amusement.

She never broke the trend of showing respect to authority—she lessened how much she addressed her superiors when I became her superior, but she would always be proper.

And she would never be anything but pristine in front of Ironwood.

A very alive General James Ironwood nodded slightly to Winter, making her relax. He stared at me with enough scrutiny that I couldn't help but draw similarities to a certain Headmaster of Vale.

Despite how much Ironwood and Ozpin insisted they were nothing alike—it was pretty obvious how similar they really were.

"Who are you?" Ironwood asked me with not a lot of tact. I tried to find a voice in my throat, but all I could find was a silent lump that just sat there.

It wasn't a surprise I was like this, I thought, Ironwood saw something in me and took me in. He trained me to become... well... him. If he didn't die as early as he did, I might have been a carbon copy of him—excluding the robot limbs.

He taught me to lead. He put me on a pedestal that nobody thought I could live up to.

General Arc at age twenty one? I was leading an army of men before my first drink—it was absolutely ludicrous.

Whatever he saw in me I would never know... but what I did know was that I owed him a lot.

And that he was one paranoid son of a-

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. I must have been looking at him like a creep for a few minutes—which wasn't the best impression.

"Is cell 235 prepped?" he asked Winter, who was on her Scroll, she nodded after a few seconds.

I frowned. In Atlas, every cell that added up to ten were...

"Wait," I finally spoke, "Why are you going to interrogate me? I've done nothing to warrant that!"

It was a stupid concept, if the numbers of an Atlas cell added up to ten then it was for interrogation, but it was so out of the box that it was actually brilliant.

"You appeared in the middle of the woods in a massive explosion of fire and lightening. All we know about that blast is an unrecognizable charred body and you. Plus, I was informed that you are uncooperative and possibly hostile."

He was being rather blunt about the whole situations. Where most leaders—including Ozpin—kept secrets and had skeletons in their closets, Ironwood was a man who had his entire life out to the public. He didn't hide many things, whether it was his emotions or info on a sensitive situation.

That was why so many people liked him, he was a guy that could be trusted—despite his rather offensive methods.

"A charred body," I muttered quietly, resisting the urge to smirk.

It had to be Cinder.

Suddenly, I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What do you mean 'uncooperative' and 'hostile'? I came with you quietly... I didn't attack your guys at all! Actually, Snow Angel over here kept hitting me in the head because I was trying to start a conversation! She didn't even ask me questions!"

Ironwood looked at his soldier.

"Specialist?"

She shrugged.

"Winter."

"Perhaps I was a bit... deceiving about whether or not he was a threat," she admitted as her eyes narrowed at me. "But my instinct tells me that something is not right about this man."

"Perhaps it was the explosion?" I supplied. "Or maybe, my devilish charms has caught you off guard? Are you trying to give me a hint, Winter?" I used her first name because I knew she hated whenever I said it—at least for the first few months we knew each other.

In the future, of course. Because I was almost 85 percent certain I was in the past.

The Ironwood I was looking at still had black hair, the one I knew was almost full gray by the time he died. And it wasn't tough to notice that a few of the scars Winter had were suddenly gone either.

Plus Atlas was still standing, there were no giant statues of Cinder everywhere.

Yeah... she actually did that.

Winter glared at me so hard I thought she was going to make me spontaneously combust.

Cinder did that to me once, it's not as effective as one would think.

"I say we throw him in a cell," she suggested. "He won't take a normal questioning seriously, we need different methods."

I knew exactly what 'different' meant, and I didn't like how Ironwood was actually thinking about Winter's idea.

"I'm from Vale!" I quickly spoke.

If I was a citizen of Vale, there would be a lot of uproar if a foreign government snatched me up and interrogated me.

Ironwood spoke quietly to some soldiers. If I really wanted to hear them I probably could, but I was spending my time looking around at a world without Cinder's influence.

Damn... ten years was a long time, I realized. Had I actually forgotten about how the world used to be?

I was led over to a medical room by a rather large squad.

There, a nurse was already waiting—Ironwood hated wasting time.

"Take blood," he ordered the nurse, who nodded and pulled out a syringe.

Two soldiers held my arms as she spotted a rather conveniently hole in my tattered sleeve and tried to poke me in my shield arm with the needle.

It broke as it made contact—my skin was perfectly fine.

"What?" the nurse said, confused.

"There's something up with that arm," Ironwood said. "My guess is that he's using his Aura... am I right?"

I thought for a second, and only a second.

"Yes," I agreed quietly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not suppose to be around," I said. Keeping it open to interpretation opened a lot of doors... a lot of excuses.

Ironwood looked at the nurse, who silently opened a drawer and pulled out the biggest fucking needle I had ever seen in my life.

I was almost two hundred percent certain that it wasn't even legal to perform medicine with such a big tool.

"This will pierce through your Aura nicely," she explained, sounding almost excited about using that... that thing.

I blamed the entire situation on Cinder.

"You weren't lying about being from Vale," Ironwood said as he scrolled through his Scroll. "At least, most Arc's are from Vale, so it checks out."

Good, I thought from the confines of the cell I was in, because I really needed information.

Honestly, I had no idea how far back in time I was in.

Well, if this was time travel. It was only a hypothesis that I was back in time—I could be comatose in a hospital right now, dreaming of this while Ruby worried about me...

But I hoped I was actually in the past... that this wasn't some sick illusion that a supernatural being was using to mess with me.

Cinder could never do anything like break reality. Maybe she picked something up from Neo and had put me in a complex illusion?

But the soreness in my sword arm killed a lot of those theories. A good punch in the face could snap a person out of an illusion—hell, one time I stubbed my toe against Neo and it brought me out of her trickery—the needle was too painful for it to not drop me back into reality.

"You're blood is uncannily like a teenage boy named 'Jaune Arc', a son of two prominent hunters who I just called. They both confirmed that he's eating breakfast and getting ready for school, so that leaves a lot of questions."

How the hell did Ironwood asked my parents about me without having to explain the entire situation? My mom was just as scary as she was protective, she wouldn't take lightly to a General asking about her son.

But, who was I to think that Ironwood didn't explain? He was a good speaker, but not that good.

That was some Ozpin level shit.

It suddenly hit me that I was eating breakfast back at my home. Did that mean that there was the original, younger, Jaune Arc back in Vale? I mean, I knew that there was because Ironwood just said, but really?

Could I, future Jaune Arc, meet past Jaune Arc?

Or was he the present Jaune Arc?

If the other me was at my parent's home and getting ready for school, that meant I wasn't in Beacon yet. So I was possibly eleven to twelve years in the past.

If this wasn't a sickening nightmare. Because it was just too convenient that I somehow wake up before the war even started.

"Yes," I said slowly, making up my story as I spoke. "I am an Arc, but you probably never heard of me before. I was... separated from the main family a long time ago."

"Elaborate."

I cleared my throat. "I mean... well... it's tough to explain."

"Then tell me everything you know, I can piece it together."

Damn... Ironwood was hard as a rock.

Or rather, hard like iron!

God... why did Yang have to die?

"Well... I'm not sure how accurate this is, but it's what I was told. A member of the Arc family fell in love with a Faunus right before the original Faunus rebellions. She became angry with her siblings—since they fought for the government, after all, who opposed the Faunus—she left the Arc family and started a new life with her Faunus partner."

Why was I saying I had Faunus ancestors?

Because, in a strange way, I had Faunus in my blood.

Ironwood nodded. "There is a small concentration of Faunus inside of you, it is small, but there."

Cinder had created a highly infectious disease that only affected Faunus, but it didn't mean that humans couldn't get infected. I had contracted the sickness, and it was flowing through my bloodstream, but it didn't do anything to me since I wasn't a Faunus.

Instead, she made humans the couriers. I could spread the disease despite not being affected by it.

It drove Faunus even further away from human... simply ingenious.

We had managed to created a vaccine that prevented the spread, but it didn't stop the symptoms. As long as I had the disease in me, which would be forever, I would have the antibodies that prevented it from being infectious.

And Faunus DNA was obviously used for the cure and... blah blah blah some science stuff. I fought, I wasn't a scientist for a reason.

All I knew was that there was some Faunus in me in a twisted way. It wasn't like it would make me have night vision or something—I was still a plain old human. Maybe a percent or two of my blood was the antidote—which was quite a bit, but necessary since Cinder whipped up a brutal concoction.

They thought it was Faunus blood since the disease was created eight years after the war started, there was no way they knew how to properly identify it.

I had a disease that didn't even exist yet.

"So do I check out?" I asked.

"No, there is still no records of you anywhere."

"We were quite recluse," I supplied quickly. "My family hated the government for their actions during the Rebellion, they decided to stay as far away from politicians as possible."

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Dead," I said, thinking of my family from the future to draw sadness into my tone. "Grimm, more Grimm than I have ever seen in my life. They attacked and my family told me to run... I did..."

The memory of Ren yelling at me to get Ruby away as he held off Cinder flooded my mind. Or Pyrrha, who died at seventeen, locking me away as she went on a suicide mission to kill Cinder.

My life was pretty shitty now that I thought about it. Cinder made my life a living hell...

"A shame," Ironwood said without a single hint of sincerity in his tone, before continuing, "Your story both makes sense, and doesn't make sense, at the same time."

"You got the blood as proof," I argued. The blood work actually put more holes in my story than it filled them, but as long as I acted confident that they wouldn't find anything, they wouldn't bother to look.

Ironwood thought silently for a minute.

"What should we do about you?" he asked.

"I... I'm not sure," I answered truthfully. "I kinda want to see the rest of the Arc family, but... but I feel like I wouldn't belong there. Technically, since they all live in Vale and they're my only blood relatives, I'm Vale's responsibility."

"Yet you're apprehensive," Ironwood supplied.

I nodded. "Yes. I'm not sure what I want to do with my life. I have skills, I know that, but what should I do with them?"

"What do you value?" Ironwood asked.

"I want to protect," I said firmly. I wasn't even lying either—the only thing I could do was fight.

Ironwood nodded slowly.

"We could make a deal," he offered. "Despite the size of the my army, there is a shortage of soldiers with both high combat skills and political tact. I need someone who can handle a conversation as much as a sword."

My mind raced.

He was offering me a job.

An important job.

"Why are you trusting me?" I asked quietly after being silent for a long time.

Ironwood, just like eight years ago—or three years in the future, whatever the hell it was—smiled slightly and looked at me the exact same way as when he first took me as a student.

"I've seen a lot of things," he said. My eyes widened as I realized it was the same exact speech as when I was nineteen. "I trust my eyes, and I can see something in you that I can't fully explain... but I'll try. I see a man who has been through too much for his age, and is yearning for a better life—not just for him—but for everyone. I can't help but see a younger me in you."

I swallowed, hoping the lump in my throat would leave.

"I..." I choked out. "I'm... honored at your words. I'll prove to you that I can be trusted."

"Then prove it to me... right now."

I stared at him in silence.

Why was I trying to hide? The biggest pain of the entire war wasn't getting stabbed, or being burned...

The biggest pain was being alone—losing all the people I love...

If I didn't just wake up and find out all of this was a twisted dream, then it meant I was given a chance. Somehow, I was living before the world went to hell. I could stop Cinder before she ruined my life...

If this was really my chance... I wasn't going to mess it up. Playing it safe was the best option—going alone against Cinder Fall was basically suicide... Pyrrha proved that.

So why was I lying about my origin? What was the point of being vague?

I needed people I could trust, people who were willing to fight a war in the shadows.

And General James Ironwood was at the top of my list.

"Okay," I said after a few minutes of deep thought. "Get ready... this is one hell of a story."

After ten minutes, we were done talking.

We had more to talk about, but we didn't have a couple of hours that was needed to explain even half of my story.

Yet, despite a very abbreviated story from me, Ironwood still gave me the benefit of the doubt.

I forgot how damn good of a leader Ironwood was. I knew that the void he left when he died was never truly filled—I was simply too inexperienced to fully replace him.

Ironwood walked over to me and took off my handcuffs. I flexed my arms around, still feeling my right arm sting from Cinder's fire.

"We still need to test your combat proficiency," the General said as he stared at me. "I have a feeling that you will do fine, but there will no doubt be people who need to be convinced."

I nodded, resolute.

"This is a judgement call," Ironwood said. "I'm putting a lot of trust into you."

"I won't let you down," I said, exactly the same way as when I spoke to his dying body. "I'll do whatever it takes."

I meant that statement completely.

"So," I started as we exited my cell and walked down the hallways of Atlas' biggest base, "how exactly am I being tested?"

"Specialist!" Ironwood barked. Withing a few seconds Winter came out of who knows where and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

Ironwood gestured to me, which made her glare.

"You're gonna fight our guest here," he explained. "Want to introduce yourself?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"My name is Joan," I said to her, "And yes—it's predominately a female name—but I'm named after my ancestor who was a badass, so that makes it cool."

There was no doubt she would've scoffed if Ironwood wasn't around. But what else was I suppose to call myself? It helped prove I was an Arc, and my ancestor Joan was a legendary warrior...

Ironwood thought it would work—and his word alone was more than enough to verify my story.

"Winter Schnee," she said as professional as ever. "I hope you are prepared, because I will attempt to maim."

I would have been scared if I didn't know that Winter used that threat against literally everybody.

It was good to see her. I didn't know what god I messed with for this to happen to me... but I wasn't complaining—I would've sold my soul to the devil if it meant seeing my friends again.

I smiled brightly... this was my chance to fix everything.

"I think I'll do fine."

Both my guns survived.

According to Ironwood, they were found closer to the charred body of Cinder Fall than my own landing spot. Ren's last memento had its green paint long chipped away, leaving it a dull gray color—yet, despite some scratches and a dented blade, it was still functional. Ironwood's revolver was as sturdy as ever, excluding the aesthetic designs long etched away.

I tucked them both into holsters on my hip, raising an eyebrow as I stared into a mirror.

Honestly, I hadn't cared about my looks in years. I always kept an eye out on what I did wear, but not because of the need to look good. I was the leader of an army—if I looked like I gave up than it would hurt the morale of the troops.

At base, I kept my casual jean and hoodie combo—it made me looked relaxed, like the war wasn't bothering me. I had a more advanced armor for battles, but it was nothing more than the bare essentials.

I had my Aura to protect me, and my Semblance was at it's strongest during the war. I didn't need any supplementary protection—but maybe that thought process was the reason my right arm was burned to hell.

I was given standard Atlas armor that consisted of a black padded suit with thicker gray armor to protect more vital spots. I never liked the attire, since it left the stomach with little protection. The padded armor helped against blunt force trauma and Dust, but not against blades.

The helmet was honestly stupid, so I opted to not wear it. Who designed a helmet that covered the eyes? While yes, it had a advanced interface that the user could look through, once Dust became scarce an entire army could turn blind.

I trusted my own eyes more. I felt like it added a personal edge to a battle whenever direct eye contact was made.

General Ironwood drilled that into me. That despite all the sayings that say that you can never really trust your eyes, it only applied to those who didn't train their eyesight to higher levels.

The outfit would have to go, I decided, trying not to sound like Coco Adel. The armor just didn't suit me at all—I wasn't cut out to look like a soldier—despite the fact I was a commander of an army...

Irony, perhaps?

The base we were at had a rather rudimentary stadium. Atlas was known for flashy things, but the stadium I was suppose to fight Winter in had... well nothing.

There was a screen which that showed Aura levels, and that was about it for technology. It was a completely empty metal field with no fancy biomes like the Amity Colosseum.

I looked around it as I subconsciously held my borrowed sword. It was annoying how every single weapon in their armory had some sort of dust attachment or stupid transformation to it. There were no classics, as Ruby would call them, no good quality sword and shields that I could use.

There were, however, low quality classics. I had an absolutely horrible sword that was so uneven at the tip that I honestly wanted to puke inspecting it—who knows how Ruby would have reacted to it. My shield was circular, which felt so unnatural compared to my old shield, and it was a bit too thin. The worst part was it didn't even fold into a sheath! It was such a simple function of Crocea Mors that I honestly took it for granted.

From an outside perspective I was easily outclassed by Winter.

I stared as she came out in her normal attire, but her sword was freshly restocked with probably the purest Dust available.

Of course, I had ten or so years of combat experience that literally nobody else in this world had. Future Winter could most likely kick my ass with a blindfold, but past Winter?

That was my advantage. Even if it was arrogant, I'd like to say that in the end I got pretty damn good at fighting. It took years of not being that good at combat for it to suddenly just click.

It was rough, fighting in the war, but I gained experience that was invaluable for a warrior. Of course it didn't justify what I lost to gain said experience—my strength was unfortunate byproduct of not being able to protect the ones I cared about.

...when did I become so morbid?

Throwing my dark thoughts away, I noticed that there were more than a few soldiers sitting in the stands that surrounded the stadium. living in a military base was actually quite slow, since there weren't any wars or massive scale Grimm attacks in the years before Cinder attacked. This would probably be the most exciting thing to happen to these soldiers in weeks.

Good, I thought, I needed to give them something to talk about.

I approached Winter and stood an appropriate distance away—I had the upper hand and I knew it, despite what everybody else might believe.

"Are you ready?" Ironwood ask, not caring about formalities in the slightest. Winter nodded to her leader while I didn't react at all—I was watching Winter intently, trying to psych her out.

Ironwood merely flicked his hand downwards.

It was all the signal we needed.

I rose my shield as she rushed me. I knew Winter would go on the offensive—I fought her too many times to count. It would be surprising if I didn't know her style completely.

Winter Schnee fought with such grace and eloquence that most people could watch her fight—but never truly understand the pure discipline and skill it took to fight as both a noble and a soldier.

I could easily say that I, like most people, couldn't fully understand. She fought at a caliber much higher than mine... but was that an advantage?

Years of the most advanced teachers drilling in the most advanced techniques. Was that really necessary?

Her speed greater than mine—no battlefield could change that. My shield blocked her experimental stab and I merely shoved it forwards to make her jump back—gaining me some space.

I frowned as I looked at the shield and noticed her blade pierced at least a half an inch into it.

I dropped it to the ground—it was useless against a foe as sharp as Winter.

Hehe...

"Perhaps you should give up, rookie?" she taunted.

"I'm no rookie!" I said seriously. "I'm a ten year vet!"

She snorted. "How the hell did you ever survive ten years?" she asked, obviously not believing me.

I only smiled as a response.

Winter rushed me again. She swiped her blade at speeds that I could barely follow.

I parried all of her blows, my sword moving in a defensive blur as she jabbed and swiped at me with precision only a Schnee could manage.

As she leaned forward to execute a rather vicious stab, I brought my free hand up and palmed her blade away, surprising her and making her stumble off balance. I brought the hilt of my sword into her head—her Aura did enough to prevent a knockout.

She used the momentum of my hit to flip behind me and slice at my back. I flared my Aura and deflected the hit, hooking my foot onto my dropped shield and backheeling it into Winter's legs.

She span away to dodge it. I swiveled around and slashed at her powerfully, making her dodge yet again.

Put her on the defensive, I chanted in my mind.

I drew StormFlower into my free left hand. It erupted as I fired from it. Winter jumped away, dodging the bullets like they weren't traveling faster than sound.

I rushed forwards.

I swiped my sword at her and she leaned out of the way. I brought up StormFlower and used the bladed part to stab at her face—she barely managed to bring her head away before I took it off.

My assault continued. I charged into her, using my bigger body as an advantage to throw her off her feet and onto the cold floor. I stabbed ferociously at her downed form, but she rolled away and my sword was embedded into the ground. I had to leave my weapon as she channeled Dust into her Saber and fired a stream of ice at me.

I switched StormFlower into my right hand and drew Ironwood's revolver—firing a shot of the revolver that tore through her ice. Winter sliced through the bullet and met me head on.

I spun out of the way of a stab and sliced Stormflower vertically into her blade. Her saber went into the ground and I stepped on top of her foot and tripped her.

As she tripped forwards, I brought the handle of my revolver into the small of her back—knowing she would have been paralyzed without her Aura.

A Gylph appeared below me as she hit the ground and a flock of Nevermores appeared. They clawed at me and forced me to retreat while Winter recovered.

She glared at me as she got back onto her feet and charged.

I ducked, feeling some of my hair get detached by her blade.

I leaned to the side as she brought her sword towards me in a stab. Now facing her side, I brought up StormFlower and emptied the clip into her.,

She created a Glyph and dilated time, her speed increased tenfold and she swiped all of the bullets out of the air before they hit her. She slashed at me and her blade dug into the metal chest piece I was wearing.

With her saber stuck in my armor, I brought my fist down into her blade with enough force that it jerked it out of her hand. I threw StormFlower, clip empty, at her and grabbed her blade.

She easily dodged my improvised projectile and had to quickly duck underneath a stab I threw.

I held her saber like a rapier, using a style that she had taught me in the future.

I stabbed at her constantly. She easily dodged most of my attacks, but couldn't execute an attack of her own.

As she back flipped away from a broad slash, I fired Ironwood's pistol at her. The stopping power of the bullet ripped through her Aura but only managed to graze her. Winter gritted her teeth as blood streamed down the side of her chest.

The Schnee quickly ran over to my discarded sword and picked it up herself. She frowned at the quality of the blade, but I gave her no time to think.

I slashed diagonally, making her block with her new blade. I brought up my revolver and pointed it straight at her face, but she created a Gylph that blocked the bullet.

I fired the bullet after I saw the Gylph being created, of course, I wasn't aiming to kill.

Letting go of my revolver, I grabbed her sword, feeling the blade dig into my hand painfully. I channeled my Aura into the poorly made blade, making it glow before it shattered into a thousand pieces.

I flared my Aura to take the brunt of the shrapnel, but Winter wasn't prepared. Her Aura took all of the shrapnel, but at a heavy cost.

Her Aura was in the red.

Ironwood didn't stop the battle yet, just because someone was in the red didn't mean their life was in danger—it only meant that their Aura couldn't protect them.

He was seeing if I would go for the kill.

Winter was blown back by the miniature explosion I caused. I took advantage and grabbed her by the arm before she flew out of my reach—pulling her towards me and butting my head into hers. She let out a gasp of pain at my unorthodox attack.

Ignoring the stinging in my brain, I brutally hit Winter in the cheek with the hilt of her own saber. Her body twisted around and I brought my elbow down into her upper back, making her fly into the ground.

There was a sickening noise as I drove her own saber into her shoulder—the sound of a blade piercing flesh never pleasant. Winter let out a shocked yell as she was pinned into the ground by her prized weapon.

I panted as blood pooled around my feet.

Maybe... maybe I went a tad overboard.

I was in a war for ten years... I may have gotten a bit into the moment.

"I believe that is it," Ironwood finally spoke.

I pulled the blade out of Winter and laid it down next to her. I then walked around and retrieved my two guns before joining Ironwood—who was waiting by Winter while the medics got ready.

"I stabbed a very non essential spot," I said as I approached. "Your Aura will heal it within the day... there might be a scar, but it'll be pretty small."

I actually had a scar in the exact same spot. It came from when both her and Ironwood stabbed me in the shoulder multiple times when I trained with them. Maybe it was payback... despite the fact nobody except me had knowledge of those events.

Winter glared at me from the ground as she grabbed her saber—the blade was still shining with her own blood.

"Impressive," Ironwood commented. "You are different in battle."

"I was taught to be decisive," I replied.

"It seems so," he said with a thoughtful hum. "How do you think Specialist Schnee fought?"

Her look was colder than ice.

"I though she did exceptionally," I said after taking a moment to think. "She's an amazing fighter—I'm not completely sure how I managed to beat her."

"You had me outclassed," she said angrily. "It was like you knew how I fought."

I smiled at her... such a sore loser.

"I'm not a mind reader," I shot the idea down. "My Semblance is nothing along the lines of what you are thinking. In fact, I didn't even use it during our fight."

I didn't mean for it to be a jab, but I could tell my words stung.

"Not because it was an easy battle!" I quickly rectified. "Because it's practically useless at my current state!"

She continued to glare at me... why was I still so awkward?

Irownwood nodded silently. He somewhat knew what my Semblance was, and was probably pondering on the finer details of my ability—it was a special one, no doubt. It was a Semblance that needed to be explained in great length to fully understand—I only had around ten minutes to tell Ironwood as much as I could, so he didn't know much.

The medics were approaching, and Winter frowned at how urgent they looked.

She turned an embarrassed shade of red as they loaded her onto a stretcher.

"I think we get along quite well," I said dryly as she was carried away.

Ironwood stared at the retreating form of his specialist.

"You should," he said. "You will be her partner."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"She won't like that."

"I doubt she will refuse."

"I refuse!"

The pure... venom in her words actually hurt me a little. I stared at Ironwood blandly with a look screaming 'I told you so' as he stood on the other side of Winter's hospital bed.

"Winter," Ironwood said. "This isn't a thing you can argue about. Specialist Arc has proven himself your equal and you will be his partner."

"Why!?" she cried. "He appeared out of nowhere! His story is filled with holes! He cold be lying for all we know, actually, it's better to assume he is lying rather than he isn't lying!"

I clutched my heart dramatically. "Oh Winter! My heart bleeds at your words!"

She glared at me with enough malice to fill a chalice...

Weiss actually made that little rhyme after a battle once... which kinda explained why it was so lame.

"He's insufferable!" Winter yelled, making me draw even more comparisons to the dead counterpart of her sister.

"He is powerful," Ironwood shot back coldly. "And despite his mysterious backstory, I trust him. He has almost too much good in him—but you are too childish to take a proper look and see."

Winter shrunk down at Ironwood's sharp words.

"I'm sorry, sir," she mumbled quietly.

"No matter," the General said. "You are to work with Arc for the foreseeable future, do you understand?"

"Yes," she muttered, pride defeated.

"Don't worry!" I reassured. "We're gonna have a blast together!"

I was going to wipe the her out of the history books. By the time I was done, not a single person in the world will know the name 'Cinder Fall'...