So, this is my first fic…please be honest. I want to know what people think, and constructive criticism is more than welcome.

For those of you that didn't bother reading my Profile (I don't blame you I don't think most people ever do with any) I am dyslexic. So, there is more than likely a few mistakes I miss while Proof Reading. Spellcheck is only so effective. I rely on it a lot but can sometimes still pick the wrong word or it might not even pick up a mistake.

You have been warned.

Flames on the other hand will be ignored and depending on how stupid they are might even make me laugh. I have seen some of the flames people write and to be honest they tend to come off as more childish and pathetic then intimidating most of the time.

I always liked reading Jaune centric fics simple because he is one of those characters that can be so easily changed in both small and large ways. Most stories or movies or whatever have at least one and it is always interesting to see how people change them. So I decided to do my own ;)

Couldn't find any mention of where Jaune grew up, so I am making up the name of a town.

Also, this fic is rated M for a reason. There will be some dark themes, you have been warned.

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Summary: Jaune's family were lost when he was young to a Grimm attack that wiped out his entire village, resulting in his Aura and Semblance being unlocked and leaving him the sole survivor. 8 years later Rumours of a Ghost haunting a failed settlement draw the attention of a certain Golden eyed fire Mistress.

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Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

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Chapter 1- Grey World

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Jaune (7 years old)

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The world was burning. The air was full of smoke and the sound of screaming. People were running around, hiding, and in a few rare cases even trying to fight back against the monsters. But it was all for nothing. They couldn't escape. The walls that had been built to protect them was now trapping them, cutting off their escape.

The village was nothing more than a giant death trap.

Jaune watched it all with tears in his eyes as people carless abandoned others to the Grimm, some even heartless enough to throw others into their path for a chance to escape themselves. It was survival of the fittest, and in the end Humans weren't the fittest but the most selfish.

Jaune's family were gone.

Their home had been at the edge of the wall, right next to were the breach where the Grimm had broken through. His mother and father had enough time to grab their weapons, only to be overrun. His oldest sister had push them out the door while they distracted the Grimm.

At some point Jaune had gotten separated from his sisters and found himself in the centre of town. hiding under the statue of his grandfather as it so happens. He was crying, though as quietly as possible to avoid being noticed by the Grimm, and curled up into as small a ball as possible.

As he watched the people of the town running over each other to get away, people Jaune knew his whole life and before the Breach seemed so nice a caring, he was reminded of what his Grandfather use to tell him.

Grandfather Arc was a strong, famous Hunter that fought in the Great War. Because of this he had experience fighting both Creatures of Grimm and Humans. Despite everything Grandfather Arc didn't hate the Grimm, at least that was what he told Jaune. The Creatures of Grimm were what they were. They were predators and Humans were their pray. You can't blame wolves or sharks for killing things to eat, animals simple went on instincts and a Grimm's instincts told them to kill humans.

They weren't monsters, they were animals ruled by instinct.

Grandfather Arc said that the true monsters were not Grimm, but people. Humans were self-aware and able to comprehend their actions, they knew better yet still didn't learn. He had seen terrible things during the War, things that not even Grimm would do. When a Grimm killed you it was mostly quick and clean, efficient. Humans were capable of unimaginable cruelty.

With Grimm, you knew what you were facing, people tended to hide what they really were until they stabbed you in the back.

Jaune had never really understood what his Grandfather meant until now, as he watched a mother throw her own toddler into a charging Bear Grimm and run in the other direction while her child's screams where suddenly cut off.

Unable to watch it anymore Jaune lowered his face to his knees and clamped his hands over his ears to block out the sounds, shaking but still letting only quiet whimpers out.

Unfortunately, he was soon discovered.

Jaune didn't know why, but something told him he needed to move. Trusting this feeling he got up and jumped from the statue just as something knocked the top half of his Grandfather's body off, leaving just the waist down. The top half sailed over his head and crashed into a building nearby that was already on fire, the impact causing it to finally give up and collapse in on itself.

Spinning around Jaune quickly found the culprit…and knew he was about to die.

Standing only a few feet from him was a very large, very angry looking Grimm that he had never even heard of before. It stood at least 13 feet tall and maybe 8 feet wide at the shoulders. Two powerful bull like legs with hooves that cracked the ground with every step, a human like torso bulging with muscle and…a head that looked like a cross between a human and a goat. It had a oddly human shaped mask, with a long beard that fell to its stomach. Long black hair almost like a lion's main around its neck and two 5 foot long goat horns on its head curling in on themselves. The glowing red eyes glaring down at him filled with wild hate and hunger.

Jaune didn't even come up to its knees.

Like most Creatures of Grimm, it was covered in white bone like armour and glowing red markings. Unlike most Grimm the Armour had scars all over, showing that it had been in and survived many battles. Every breath leaving its mouth gave off a hot cloud of air and the smell was so strong when it reached Jaune it almost made him gag.

His body was trembling so much that when he tried to step back he tripped.

He caught sight of several people hiding nearby, watching him and the giant Grimm. He held out a shaking had towards them. "H-help…please help me" he begged, but no one made any move to help him.

More tears falling from his eyes, Jaune turned back to the Grimm as it started slowly walking towards him. Each step it took shook the ground and cracked the stone underfoot so much that even when he tried to get back up he was knocked back down.

He could feel a scream building in his chest as it got closer, so large it was painful and as the Grimm lifted one of its large hands in preparation to crush him Jaune finally let it out and closed his eyes tight waiting for the pain.

Only for it to never come.

Alone with the scream something else burst out of his chest, and suddenly the world around him changed. When the pain never came Jaune slowly opened his eyes, only for them to widen in shock and confusion.

Everything was in black and white and unfocused around the edges like it was made of smoke. Sounds, while still there, were muted and slightly distorted. Like listening to something though water. He was lying in a crater and flinched when he saw the giant hand of the Grimm that was about to kill him slowly moving away. In fact, everything was moving slowly, and blurring with after images following them. Even the fires burning around him had slowed, and the people and Grimm even while seeming to run moved at a snail's pace.

Jaune watched as the Goat Grimm thing looked down at him, only to not actually see him and start to walk away. Right towards him.

Panicking Jaune tried to back away so he wouldn't get stepped on, but the Grimm's strides were a lot larger than his even if moving in slow motion. However right as it looked like he was going to get stepped on…the Grimm walked right through him as if he wasn't even there.

Eyes wide Jaune looked from the Grimm as it made its way to find more victims, to himself and his own grey body. However, unlike everything else around him while he was grey Jaune wasn't burry around the ideas and his moments didn't leave trails in the air. He was also moving at a normal speed unlike everything else.

Other Grimm were following in the wake of what Jaune suspected was the Leader of the Breach. His Grandfather used to say that all Breaches had one. A Grimm that stood out from the rest, more powerful then the norm. They followed in its wake and picked off anyone that it missed or didn't bother to kill as it passed.

Like the Leader none of them seemed to see him, and when a Bear Grimm come close Jaune reached out to touch it only for his hand to pass straight through. It was like they were made of smoke, he could feel a little resistance, but it was nothing more than a slight cold breeze pressing against his skin.

A Wolf Grimm passed through him without Jaune even noticing it was close until he felt it moving through him.

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Jaune (next morning)

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For what felt like a life time with everything moving in slow motion as it was, Jaune watched through the night as the Grimm continued to rip through the village and kill everyone in sight. With the sounds around him muted he didn't hear most of the screaming anymore unless it was nearby. He didn't wonder further then the town centre though, sitting next to what was left of his Grandfather's statue while the odd person would be slowly chased through by a Grimm.

The only reason he realised that it was day was the sky changing from black to white and the way things turned a lighter shade. Jaune never realised how important colours were or how much he would miss them until now.

By the time the sun was high in the sky the only ones left in the village were Jaune and a few Grimm that didn't bother to leave. All the humans were dead though, other than Jaune. He would have cried, but he had run out of tears through the night and just didn't have any left now.

Then the Bulkhead arrived. Larger than any he had ever seen before, it cast a massive shadow over half the village and came to a stop right above him. He watched as several people in body armour and helmets jumped down attached to wires and pulled guns from their hips. The few Grimm remaining charged them, but were cut down with ease by a hail of Dust bullets.

Jaune was surprised to note that when the bullets hit their targets there was a flash of colour, different depending on what kind of Dust was used.

When the last of the Grimm was dealt with the Bulkhead lowered to the point it was almost on the ground and a platform opened under it and lowered the rest of the way. Jaune didn't even feel the wind that must have been generated by the engines so close to the ground.

Stood on the platform were two men.

The first was a young, stern looking man that seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties. He was muscular, with a strong jaw and broad shoulders. Because of everything being in black and white Jaune couldn't see any colours, but it looked like he was wearing a white military uniform. The man stood very straight and had a frown on his face as he looked around, though even Jaune could see the sad look in his eyes.

The other man however didn't have that look.

Like the first he was well built and dressed in uniform, however his had many medals attached to it. he was older, his hair showing up very grey with only a few strands of black. He also had a thick moustache that followed his jaw and connected with his sideburns. Attached at the man's hip was a sword with an ornate handle. His face was set in a hard, calculative expression, his eyes moving over the ruined village with cold indifference.

The two men stepped off the platform, the older first with the younger man following a step behind. The older man gave a hand gesture and seemed to say something that Jaune couldn't make out, and the armoured men started spreading out around the village.

Curios when he saw the two men staying where they were Jaune moved forward and noticed they were talking. Frowning when he realised he couldn't hear them, only for his eyes to widen when the world seemed to start speeding back up to normal and sound started to reach with clearly.

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Ironwood

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James Ironwood had a reputation as a hard, cold person with little feelings. A man that thought in cold hard facts and cared little for others.

This was not true.

While he may come off as such to most, those that knew him best knew that James cared almost too much. That was why he built up walls to distance himself. It had been one of the main reasons he had been moved up in the Atlas Military so quickly and was now the Youngest Specialist in history and next in line for General when the current one retired.

However, no walls he could build were thick enough to hide the pain he felt as he looked at the blood-stained streets of the Village of Draco. While the fires had died down by the time they arrived there was still smoke in the air, and the smell of death was chokingly thick.

Swallowing the bile that tried to crawl up his throat, James turned to General Stone and frowned slightly. He did not like the man. Stone was a great leader, but he was as cold and unfeeling as his namesake. While James up put an air of indifference and emotionlessness, Stone was those things and more.

James was careful to hide his distaste for the man before speaking, clearing his throat to get the General's attention. "It seems there were no survivor's sir, the Grimm wiped out the whole village." He said.

The General didn't turn to look at him. "Indeed." was the short reply, eyes still roaming over the burnt-out buildings around them.

James was hard pressed to keep the frown off his face. "If I may speak freely, sir?" he asked.

This time the General did turn to look at him, eyes hard and calculating. "Granted, Specialist Ironwood." He said with a short nod.

James took a deep breath to calm his anger before speaking, hands clenched behind his back. "Why did you order us to wait when the alert came through in the night? Why did you stop me from bring a platoon to try and save the people of this village?" he asked quickly, not trusting his voice if he didn't to stay calm.

If he was offended by the accusations in the questions, Stone didn't show it and once again turned away to continue his inspection of the town. "You are still young and inexperienced Ironwood, so I would not expect you to understand. But I will endeavour to educate you." He said.

"To put it simple, the Atlas Military has neither the time nor patients to save every little village that does not reside within our walls. We do not have the resources to care for the survivors either. These people left the safety of Atlas and its walls, we are under no obligation to save them from their own stupidity at the risk of our own." Stone explained coldly.

James felt his hands shaking behind his back and grit his teeth. He couldn't hide the emotion in his next words. "These were people, General Stone. What right do we have to leave them to die?" he asked.

Stone still didn't turn to look at him. "We didn't kill them Specialist Ironwood, the Grimm and their own stupidity did. In time, you will learn, when you one day replace me." He answered.

Losing his temper completely at this point James was about to shout at the man when suddenly he felt the air around them going cold. Freezing in place James' eyes started darting around for the source, hand slowly moving to the gun sitting at his lower back. He didn't miss the way Stone was reaching for his sword either.

Then he saw something out of the corner of his eyes and in a second he had his Revolver and had it aimed with his finger on the trigger. Only for his eyes to widen in shock and almost drop it a moment later when he saw what he was pointing it at.

Standing only a few feet away from him was a child. Small, with torn cloths and slightly spiky hair. However, it wasn't a normal child. Its entire body was in black and white and seemed to be blurred around the edges. From the body shape, he could tell it was a boy, but for some reason he couldn't see his face clearly, only his eyes. James felt his heart clench at the pair of blue, glowing eyes staring at him. He could see the accusation in them, the silent question of why he had let everyone die.

James' hand started to shake at what could only be the ghost of a child killed in the Breach staring at him as if he had killed him himself. The air was getting colder by the second the longer he looked at the ghost and James saw his breath misting in front of him.

Then he noticed Stone standing next to him was having much the same reaction, only worse. The old General was pale as a sheet and staring at the boy with wide, fearful eyes. The sword held out in front of him was shacking so much he eventually dropped it and started backing away. The man seemed to be terrified beyond rational thought.

Then he spoke, in a quiet voice that echoed and seemed to come from several places at once. "Why?" he questioned.

James couldn't answer.

The ghost boy took a step forward, his form seemed to get blurrier as he did and James took one back. "Why?" he questioned again, louder this time.

James flinched but still couldn't answer.

However, this only seemed to anger the ghost as he took another step forward. "WWWWHHHHYYYY!" the air shook as the ghost practically wailed the question this time, so loud James dropped his gun and held his hands over his ears in pain.

He watched as the Ghost shot towards him, almost completely losing form, and instinctively jumped out of its path. Rolling as he landed and getting back to his feet in a crouch James turned just in time to see General Stone frozen where he stood. The Ghost charged right through him and disappeared without seeming to do any damage. However, a second later the General fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut and curled into a ball shaking.

Looking around for any sign of the ghost, James quickly ran over and grabbed his Revolver where he dropped it before kneeling next to Stone. The man seemed fine physically but was muttering to himself and was deathly pale.

Bringing the cuff of his right left sleeve to his mouth James spoke into the communicator inside it. "All units abandon search and return to Drop Point, General Stone is down. I repeat abandon search and return to Drop Point." He said firmly, trying to hide the shack in his own voice as he continued to look around for any sign of the ghost child.

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End of chapter

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So what do you think?

This seemed like a good point to end it but normally chapters will be longer. I am hoping to keep them at a minimum of 5000 per chapter though I can't promise anything.

Jaune's Semblance

Hope you like Jaune's Semblance.

Basically, he can take himself 'out of sync' with the rest of the world, like a ghost. He cannot be seen, heard, or touched and can even slow down time to an extent in his own little world. He can force himself to a point where others can see him, like you see in this chapter, making him look like a ghost. Though you don't see it in this chapter he will also be able to walk through walls.

However, he cannot hurt or even touch people while using his Semblance. His presence will have small effects on the world around him, like the air getting colder. He also has the whole Ghost Scream thing he did at the end which will he like what the Nuckelavee (apparently, that is the name of the Grimm that attacked Ren's village) can use.

He did not actually do anything to Stone, (OC I made up, don't know the name of the General before Ironwood) the man simple couldn't handle what he was seeing a lost his shit. The most he felt when Jaune passed throw him was the same that Jaune felt when something passed through him. A little sensation like a cold breeze.

Basically, Jaune's Semblance turns him into a ghost. While using it, nothing can hurt him (? ;), but he can't hurt anyone either.

He can however use it to basically get into anywhere he wants (? ;), and move faster than most people (Ruby of Couse being the exception) to get into a better potion before turning it off.

Can also, as you see in this chapter, use it to scare the hell out of people ;)

Anyway, I hope you liked it, at least those of you that would bother to read the first story of a new author.

Please let me know in a review.