章 167: 69
Chapter 69 – Witchfinder Jauneral
The memories flooded into his mind in an instant. Vague tales of a life not his own, of a young girl burdened with power she'd never asked for, the crushing weight of responsibility, the terror of having failed – of seeing her end before her. After all of that, the agony that coursed through his wrist felt like nothing.
"Amber?" The headmaster watched with wide eyes, his cane in one hand but his attention focused solely on him. On her. It was… complicated. A dull thud echoed from somewhere to his left, the sound of hands slamming against glass – but muffled.
Jaune's head swam as he licked dry lips and coughed. That was right, Pyrrha was there, wasn't she? His body felt weak and the blood that ran down his arm didn't help, but he pushed himself forward regardless. New sensations poured into him, things he'd thought he might never experience again. Exhaustion, pain, sore muscles, dry lips, a cracked throat, migraine… they were all negative things.
They were all proof that he was alive…
A growl sounded a distance away as Cinder Fall nocked a new arrow to her bow and drew the string. She released a second later, and the deadly shaft flew through the air with a trajectory that would certainly solve the anomaly he was.
It clattered to the ground and dissolved when the headmaster blocked it. "Amber, can you move?" he asked. "Can you check on Miss Nikos for me – the young woman to your left. Make sure she is safe."
The headaches pulsed through Jaune's skull but he nodded and dragged himself from the chamber. Sharp shards of glass crinkled to dust beneath his hands, the sheer force of his aura crushing them with ease. Some of it seemed to be… missing, however. It wasn't something he could place, but rather something he intrinsically knew.
Less so was the glass chamber that housed Pyrrha, but in lieu of a mechanism to open it, the old-fashioned way sufficed. The redhead winced as the frame in front of her shattered, but her own aura prevented any cuts or scrapes.
"Y-You're alive," Pyrrha whispered as Jaune helped her from the pod.
He had no idea how to answer that question.
"Miss Nikos," Ozpin said, "You should return to the surface and aid the others in driving back the Grimm. Amber and I shall be enough to handle things here." Pyrrha nodded and sprinted past the dark-haired woman, who let her go.
Jaune made to follow, but the woman drew another arrow when he took a step forward.
Anger seared through him as his hands shook. Blake was up there, all alone against Grimm, White Fang and treacherous Atlas robots. "Get out of my way," Jaune shouted, "I don't have time to deal with you."
Ozpin gave him a concerned look but the woman merely laughed. "You have something that no longer belongs to you," she said, "You were defeated once… that power is mine."
This power…? Jaune's hands clenched into fists as lightning crackled around them. Deep inside his mind he looked, peered into the depths for that one thing he'd felt in all other people he possessed. There was a trace of her, of the girl whose body he was in.
It was broken and unmoving.
Jaune's eyes closed as he let out a bitter sigh. Amber was dead… her body simply hadn't received the message. Her mind was gone, even when he touched it there was no response. She didn't dream, she didn't stir… there was no resistance against his possession whatsoever.
And all of this, both this poor woman and the people fighting for their lives up top. It was all for this power?
"You are a fool," Jaune intoned as he stepped towards the woman. Ozpin watched as he walked by, but didn't interfere. "You speak of power as though it's something to wave about. This power is a burden, a weight and a sacrifice made on blood and death."
Every Maiden before her – and now Amber too. He could feel the old, helpless, rage she had felt.
"It is not something to be traded about however you might wish, nor is it something to be wielded without caution." The words were his, yet they came from somewhere deep inside. In a way, they were hers. Spoken from her experiences and her memory – both of which had no defence from him. "This isn't power, Cinder. It's a curse."
Cinder Fall summoned her twin blades in a flash of dark energy. She flicked her head to the side and sent a lock of hair sailing behind her. "A cute speech… are you prepared to die yet, Maiden?"
"Her name…" Jaune seethed, "was Amber."
"Hm?"
"It wasn't Maiden, it wasn't tool and it wasn't protector. Her name was Amber." His eyes flashed gold as he surged across the open space between them. A weapon of some kind formed in his hands, unfamiliar and yet familiar at the same time. A long, ancient staff. It slammed into Cinder, the woman gritting her teeth as she fought to hold him back. "And she," Jaune growled, "Wanted to be normal!"
The woman buckled and twisted to the side, giving way but diverting his attack beyond her. Her clothes glowed to life as flames wreathed around her body. Her eyes shone too – light that flickered like fire.
The heat of it washed across him and threatened to blister his already scarred skin. His arms crossed before his face to shield himself, before he wrenched them apart with a shout. A gale burst to life before him, driving the flames away. Before the woman could react, he thrust out a palm and fired a lance of pure lightning into her.
She cried out as she was propelled back, where she slammed into a stone pillar and caused it to buckle.
Jaune's hands shuddered as the lightning arced about it. He stared at the digits in shock, only for that to twist into something a second later. Doctor Polendina, Penny, everyone above – Blake. This was all her fault. All her plan.
Another bolt of lightning slammed into the pillar, despite the dust about it that thwarted his vision. A third came – and then a fourth, before a tornado swirled up beneath it all and crushed the wreckage against the ceiling.
He staggered and fell to one knee a second later as the fatigue cut into him. The body was weakened still, both from lack of movement and that strange drain he felt. Despite that, his anger still burned white hot.
A circle of red light emanated from the wreckage pushed against the ceiling. It grew and expanded for a moment, before it erupted in fire. Stone and masonry rained down with great thuds as Cinder Fall fell to the floor, landing on one hand and one knee. A trickle of blood dripped from a cut on her brow, and her legs were scraped and bruised.
Jaune smirked and took a step forward – only to collapse onto one knee as a jagged spike of pain lanced through his skull. He coughed and hacked, eyes wide.
"Amber!?" Ozpin shouted and appeared at his side.
What was happening? He could feel the pain, but it wasn't here. It felt… distant, important. There was pain, but not his. Something in his shoulder… blood and – regret?
I just wish I could have seen him again.
His eyes slammed open as he recognised that whispered voice. "Blake," he rasped, one hand clutched to his heart.
"What's wrong?" Ozpin asked.
Jaune struggled to his feet and pushed the man aside. "I have to save her…" he whispered and turned, only to buckle as something pierced through the back of his leg. The ground hit him hard, the marble cold against his fevered skin. As he looked back, it was to see a black shaft stuck into the back of his left thigh.
"Going somewhere?" Cinder smirked as she nocked another arrow. It twanged from her bow with an angry hiss, but this time another figure appeared before her and knocked it aside. Ozpin peeked down at her from over his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
He was, but Blake wasn't. He had no idea how he could tell, but the knowledge was as clear as day and burrowed into his very soul. With a snarl, he reached down and tore the arrow from his leg. Blood sprayed and pain ate away at his mind but he ignored it all. "I'm fine," he said and stood up. Because he'd just remembered it, he snapped the shaft in his wrist in two as well, drawing it out with a sickening squelch. "Leave me to deal with her. Go help everyone up top."
"Amber, how do you kno-"
"Go!" Jaune cut him off quickly. "Protect Blake or I swear I'll tear this goddamned school down to do it myself."
"Miss Belladonna?" Ozpin shot him a suspicious look but didn't seem to know what to say. Either that or he figured now wasn't the time for it. Either way, he nodded his head and backed towards the elevator.
Cinder didn't make a move to stop him. No doubt she felt a one on one fight would be a little more advantageous. Maybe it would be… maybe this was a bad idea. But he'd rather die himself than see Blake in danger. The elevator door closed as the older man left them.
"That was a poor decision," Cinder said. "I defeated you before and thanks to your power, I'm stronger than I once was."
He winced as a nightmarish image flashed through his mind, of a black parasite tearing through flesh and the agony it caused as her mind gave way. No, his mind… he was Jaune. Jaune Arc. Amber was dead… she was gone.
This woman killed her.
I need to get to Blake, but I can't draw Cinder to her. She's already shown she's willing to kill hundreds of people. If Blake is injured, I'd just end up getting her killed. He shook his head with a growl. The wounds on his arm and leg oozed blood but he summoned a burst of fire across them, wincing as the wounds were cauterised.
If he couldn't get to Blake before this woman was dealt with then he'd have to ensure she fell as quickly as possible. With that in mind he thrust a hand forward and blasted her back with an explosion of wind.
Cinder flipped in the air and landed gracefully several metres away, only to dash behind cover when more explosions sounded around her. She weaved between them, using a pillar to block a blast of wind as she nocked an arrow and fired it towards his head.
Jaune flinched back and away from it, but at the last second its trajectory changed. Eyes wide, he rolled back as it homed in and dove down at him. So, she could control them to some degree? That was bad. With a scowl, he dodged one last time, before his hand lashed out to catch it. Fire burst from his fingertips and incinerated it, but a cracking noise behind him made Jaune curse.
Twin blades slashed down and through the air where he'd stood a second before. They carved a furrow into the ground and Cinder lunged forward straight after.
He ducked to the left, the whisper of air from her sword caressing his cheek. Her follow-up nearly disembowelled him but he was able to deflect it with his staff. On and on they danced, but it was clear she was the one in better shape. This wasn't his body and he was unused to it, and even then – it had been stuck in a coma for god knew how long.
He felt another surge within him, the pain originating in his heart and it drove him do his knees. "Blake," he gasped. What was happening to her? He heard a whistle of air and looked up in time to see Cinder descending on him once more. His staff came up in time to block, but the force was enough to drive it aside and him to the ground.
"DIE!" The woman above him roared.
"You will have a great gift soon, Amber…"
He screamed in agony as steel tore through his left shoulder. His body twisted away instinctively, and the weapon was torn from the woman's hands – but it still burned at his flesh. He buckled under the weight of it, but not before he fired off some lightning between them.
"Though in time you may see it as a terrible responsibility."
Cinder was blown back. She made to summon her bow once more but was forced to step aside instead when fire scorched the marble she stood on.
"It will drive you into loneliness…"
Jaune's eyes glowed like miniature suns as he floated in the air. Blood drenched his simple robe, but he hurled down lightning and fire with both hands. So long as he finished her, Blake would be safe. He would never let someone hurt her. Never!
"It will turn your friends against you…"
Fire twisted its way through the air as the woman used her own in return. Like a red snake, it wound towards him, filling the air with intense heat.
"You will come to hate it as I do."
It was over him and burned at his skin. His eyes watered, only for that to turn into steam immediately. Instinctively, his body curled into a ball – the better to weather it. Even then, his eyes glowed brighter, hotter. He would endure. He had to.
"And yet, with my death, I am forced to place this burden upon you."
The fire burned itself out eventually, and a rain of ash and smoke drifted from him as his vision cleared. Cinder panted on the ground, both arms held up towards him and her clothes slowly losing their tell-tale glow.
"I hope you will forgive me."
Jaune's feet hit the ground as his own energy gave way, yet he still pushed himself forward – to swing his staff down towards Cinder's skull. Her sword came up to block it, but he let go entirely. She cried out in shock as he tackled her to the floor. They landed in a tangled heap as their weapons slid away.
"I fear you will not."
The woman kicked and rolled him over. Her hands latched onto his throat and squeezed, while his gripped her wrists. She screamed when fire sprung up her arms. Though she wielded it often, it seemed she was less than immune.
"But you must remember, dear Amber, that in time it might be you in my shoes. You, whose life has come to an end."
Body failing, he still managed to push her down and position himself above her. She struggled, and he feared it might break him, but her was as weak as his own. He sat up and leaned his head back. Above them, vortexes of wind, fire and lightning burst into existence.
"At that time… you must think only of another person. Someone you trust."
"You fool," Cinder screamed, "We would both die. You'll kill us both."
"Someone you can trust this power to."
"Are you afraid of death, Cinder?" he asked. Laughter bubbled from his lips a second later, as a manic smile crept across his face. He leaned forwards, so that their foreheads were touching. "I'm not," he whispered. "I'm not afraid of death."
"You must think only of them."
Jaune's eyes drifted shut as Cinder roared her rage. Blake had existed in the centre of his mind for months now, and he couldn't stop the tender smile when he recalled her taking his face in two hands – and laying her soft lips against his. This was the only way. The best way. Blake would be safe, she would live.
"As you curse them to a life of solitude, pain… and death."
And to his horror…
He hesitated.
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