Episode 1: Chapter 5: Fading Embers

Chapter 5 of Episode 1 of Order of Seasons

Natalie was being knocked around like crazy. Professor Port’s class had just let out, and everybody was leaving there as fast as they could to head to the cafeteria. She couldn’t find her brother, and it was getting to the point where she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable walking around.

            “Hey, do you need any help?” a random student asked her as she continued to stumble forward.

            “No thanks, I’m good.” She said as she pulled her hood up and quickly turned invisible. This made getting around everybody a bit more difficult, but it felt better then everybody staring at her. As soon as she got past the crowd, she turned visible, but still couldn’t find Blake or her brother. She decided to search the plaza and started heading that direction.

 

 

 

 

Blake was walking out towards the airship docks overlooking the river that ran past the school and down through the city of Vale. She saw Nathan sitting out on the edge fiddling with a sliver necklace. He was so invested in it he didn’t even look up from it as Blake sat down next to him. She handed him his two billy clubs, which he accepted, still not averting his gaze from the necklace. Blake could now get a better look at what he was fiddling with. It was a cymbal. A single, lone cymbal the same color purple as his outfit and club.

            “I’m so sorry about that Blake. I don’t know what came over me.”

            “It’s all right. Your sister realized something was wrong and everybody jumped in quickly to make sure there wasn’t anymore damage done.”

            “Hey, can I ask you something?”

            “Sure. Go right ahead.”

            “How well do you know of Adam Taurus?” Blake looked down and clenched her fist a bit at this. She then adjusted her bow to reveal her cat ears.

            “I was once a member of the White Fang, and Adam was the one who trained me. But when he started losing himself to the darkness, I ran. I couldn’t stand by while those who claimed they stood for peace hurt innocent people.”

            “You even sound just like her….”

            “What?”

            “My old mentor. You look just like her, your ideals match hers, you even have freaking cat ears.”

            “Who is this mentor of yours? Someone close to you I’m guessing.”

            “She was. Her name was Ember, a drummer who traveled and performed with the Violet Troupe.”

            “I think I’ve heard of them before. Weren’t they a traveling circus that used the Faunus as attractions? I always felt like they were being exploited just because they were different.”

            “Ember never saw it that way. She always saw the Violet Troupe as a bridge between the two worlds. A way of introducing the public to what the Faunus could do as it were.”

            “Not many Faunus I know share that sentiment. They were more like nomads who wander Remnant with no place to really call a home, weren’t they?”

            “They weren’t always like that. I’m sure you know the history of Aequo?”

            “Not really. It was such a young town in comparison to others when it was destroyed seven years ago.”

            “It may have been young in age, but those in charge were wise beyond the years of Remnant. They had sworn allegiance to Vale, but they didn’t keep all her laws. Also, they made sure that Faunus and Humans were on level terms and treated fairly. It was a huge beacon of hope. Even some of the rulers of the other kingdoms looked at us as a shining example. And the Violet Troupe was no different. They started in Aequo, and always trained there before going on tour. And every time before they left, they would give the whole town a show to showcase what they had in store for the rest of Remnant. And it was ten years ago now, when I first saw her. They had hired a new drummer, a cat faunus with silver ears, to help create audio cues for the performers on the high wires. The performers were impressive, but I was completely enthralled by the drummer. She was keeping an eye on the performers, their motion, their rhythm, and was able to use the drums to exactly pinpoint not just when to hit the drum when they grabbed onto one of the bars, but also at times so that the sound would reach them at the time they needed it to. It blew me away. So after the performance was done, I managed to slip away from my family and get backstage. I found her tent, and saw her practicing her drumming. She had just gotten done with a performance, and still she tried to make herself better at what she did. She bumped into me when she exited her tent, and I asked her if I could ever do what she did for a living. She smiled, and promised me that once the troupe returned from tour, she would personally train me how to play the drums. They didn’t return for about a year, but when they did, Ember found me and immediately we started practicing. I learned how to not just bang sticks on an instrument, but she would sometimes take me into the mountains that surrounded Aequo and teach me how to observe the rhythm of living things.”

            “It sounds like the two of you were extremely close.”

            “I always saw her as my best friend, but also in a way a second mother. My birth mother was amazing, but since she was a Huntress, she wasn’t home a lot. Ember was the one who helped me create my view of the world. And since Aequo was a fair and just town, I didn’t expect to see the unfair treatment of Faunus once I left for combat school at Signal.”

            “How long ago was that?”

            “It was about eight years ago now. My parents suggested I give combat school a try, and if I wasn’t interested or cut out for it, they gave me permission to join the Violet Troupe with Ember. After my first semester, I was still trying to find what weapons I should wield, and I was not doing that well with classes. I was planning on dropping out, but Ember took another step and offered to teach me how to incorporate my drumming with fighting similar to hers. She even gave me these clubs as my weapons. So I tried another semester, and I was doing a lot better. I was finally happy with what I was doing as a Huntsman in training. When the semester ended, I was coming home, and I was super excited to show Ember what I had learned. But that was soon cut short. I had just landed in the airship docks closest to Aequo, because they hadn’t finished construction of a legal airship dock yet. While most people took the bus back to Aequo, I decided to walk back the five miles and enjoy the beautiful day. But as the sun began to set, I was about a mile out of the town, and I saw smoke rising from between the two mountains. I started running as fast as I could back home, fearful for everybody there. Once I got to the city outskirts, the whole town was already on fire. People were getting rounded up and forced into a makeshift prison, while those who resisted were killed without hesitation. I saw my family save my sister rounded up and captured, along with everyone else. And that was when I saw him. Adam Taurus, commanding several White Fang members and continuing to set fire to several buildings. I couldn’t see Ember, but I could see other members of the Violet Troupe having been captured. Adam was yelling at them about something, and was beheading anybody who didn’t stand up and put on the Grimm masks he offered them. I knew that while he was occupied, most of the guards around the prisoners were starting to become a bit more relaxed, so I began planning how to break them out, but then some idiot rushed out and drew all attention to himself and the fact that he was trying to save everybody. He was easily defeated, and Adam then killed everybody captured just to prove a point. That was when I lost it and my semblance kicked it. I charged forward, and started beating up everybody in my way. I don’t remember much after that, other than somebody knocked me out, Adam taunted me, and then I passed out. When I woke up, I was covered by the ashes of the burned buildings, and everything was gone. The White Fang, the idiot who got everybody killed, everything. I started searching to try and find anything or anybody. I finally came across where my house used to be, and Natalie was sitting in there, crying over a corpse. That’s when I found this necklace, and that’s when I knew that it was Ember. According to Natls, she had left her hidden in a closet so that she could inspect something. I don’t know how it happened, but Ember died protecting my sister. After that, I was picked up by a group of Huntsmen from Vale who had seen the smoke, and we were taken back to Signal. We were allowed to live where Evan was staying for the summer, as he was doing an internship with Qrow. But I couldn’t stay there. I wanted to get Adam for what he had done. I still do. So, three years later, I left. I had planned on going alone, but when I made camp the first night, my sister appeared out of thin air, shivering in the cold. I was about to take her back to Signal, but I decided against it, and took her with me on my journey. It was thanks to her that I managed to keep myself sane, and alive. We traveled the kingdom for four long years, relying on the kindness of strangers more often than not. We fought Grimm, White Fang members, and anybody who was hurting anybody else that we could fine. It wasn’t easy, but it all lead here. I’m glad for that at least.”

            “I’m sorry you had to go through all that Nathan.” Blake placed her hand on Nathan’s shoulder, but he knocked it away, and got up quickly backing away from Blake.

            “NO!” He yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to back away.

            “I’m only trying to help Nathan. But I can’t if you won’t let me.”

            “It’s not that. I refuse to let you be her replacement for me. I won’t force that on anybody.”

            “What? What do you mean?” But Nathan never answered her question, as he ran off back to the dorms. Blake was about to pursue when Natalie appeared right in front of her.

            “Let him go Blake” she said. “I think he just needs some time alone right now. He’ll join us when he’s ready.”

            “But why would he see me as a replacement for Ember?”

            “Because you care about him Blake. And because I don’t think he’s every really recovered from what happened seven years ago. I don’t know. Maybe he just can’t or doesn’t want to say goodbye.”

            “Understandable. But something doesn’t add up for me.”

            “What? With Ember?”

            “No. The White Fang. Tell me, how much of my conversation with Miles did you overhear the other night?”

            “What? What makes you think I….”

            “The fact that I saw you reappear on the balcony from the roof.”

            “Okay, fine. I heard everything.”

            “Can you and Miles meet me later tonight by the ballroom?”

            “…uh, could you actually ask him yourself? I’m still a little bit awkward talking to him about anything.”

            “Fine. Just be there at around 9:00. Deal?”

            “Deal. Now the, let’s get some lunch.”

 

 

 

 

Miles was twiddling with his spaghetti, thinking about what he had seen earlier. An aura burn the color of a rainbow, against a grey yet burning pallet of death and devastation, and a flash of anger.

            “Whatcha thinking about?” Yang asked sliding over to him.

            “Nothing. Just, a feeling like I’ve seen something before.” He replied.

            “It’s JUST spaghetti!” Nora said with great annoyance, leading Miles to pinch his forehead. Leaning over to Ren, he whispered,

            “How do you put up with her after all this time?”

            “Well, I’ve known her all my life, and I love her very dearly.”

            “Oh yes,” Jacob said clearly upset, “Because we all know that love conquers all, don’t we Jaune?!”

            “Hey, like I told you, I don’t even know how that giant flash thing works.” Jaune said with his hands raised. “It just happens at ad infinitum, not on command!”

            “Uhhhhhhh……..is that some kind of food?” Ruby asked clearly confused.

            “No Ruby,” Weiss said. “It basically means at random.”

            “Oh, that makes it SO MUCH BETTER!” Jacob yelled, and moved to an empty table. Pyrrha got up and started walking towards Jacob. Jaune was about to follow, but decided against it, remaining with everybody else.

            “So, has anybody seen our missing trio since that little fiasco in class earlier?” As if on cue, as soon as Jaune said that, Blake and Natalie sat down with full trays of food.

            “Sorry we’re late” Natalie said as she sat down. “Tracking down both Blake and my brother took longer than expected.

            “So, where is your brother?” Ren asked.

            “He still has some things he needs to work out for himself.” Blake said as she took a bite of her food. “Where’s Pyrrha?” Ren pointed over to where Jacob was sitting, and Blake saw Pyrrha sitting down at that table across from him.

            “Hopefully that goes over better than your fight with him Jaune.” Weiss mentioned with some concern.

            “Look, in all honesty, he should have beaten me. I mean, I was done. But, I guess I just found something through the power of love?” Yang snorted as soon as Jaune said this.

            “Come on, even I’m not that corny!”

            “Yeesh.” Miles said with his hand over his eyes. “But, I think that after watching that match, it makes sense that Jacob is upset. Going beyond what we discussed last night, Jacob seems to be a man driven to fight for honor, and feels that this loss taints that honor in his own way.”

            “I didn’t get that actually.” Christy said. “I saw somebody who had pent up aggression who needed an outlet, and Jaune just happened to be right there. I mean, who knows what kind of memories and emotions seeing Pyrrha last night stirred up in him?”

            “At this point, we’re just spinning in circles on this one.” Brooklyn interjected.            “The two of them are having a civil conversation now, and if they can’t settle their differences that way, then I think we’re going to have a sparring match in the arena as soon as classes are done today.”

            “I’m down with that” Ty said as he chugged down his drink. Miles smiled, then nodded in agreement. Then he noticed that Ruby seemed to have this evil look in her eye, staring right at Miles, with a pie in her hand. But then Weiss put her hand on her shoulder.

            “If you start that now, then Jacob can’t talk to Pyrrha and everything will go right out the window. Both figuratively and literally. “ Ruby frowned and put the pie down, leaving Miles a bit worried about what a lunch in this cafeteria without social drama going on would look like.

 

 

 

 

            “You’re doing well for somebody who has lost their nerve.” Jacob said as he continued to eat. Pyrrha lowered her head as he said this. Neither of them spoke for a few solid minutes.

            “I don’t blame you for hating me.” Pyrrha said, causing Jacob to put his fork down. “I’ve been constantly surrounded by praise and adoration, that I’ve reached a pedestal hardly anybody can reach. And when I started at Beacon, it was the same. Everybody held me up so high I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to make any friendships or connections. But that all changed when I met Jaune. He didn’t even know my name, and treated me just as he would anybody else. Thanks to him, I’ve formed friendships that will last a lifetime, and hopefully, a relationship with him that will last this lifetime and the one beyond it.”

            “Oh whop de do. The power of love trumps all. Everything is coming up roses. Give me a break. Do you have any idea what your success meant for my life?”

            “I know that everybody at the combat school expected you to match my level of success but…”

            “Not just that. Even at a young age, my parents expected me to be better. And it’s not like they said, “Work hard and try to be better like Pyrrha.” No no. It was “You are a failure. Why can’t you be more like Pyrrha? Why aren’t you bringing the praise and honor to our family like she is?” They always told me to just give up in life unless I could surpass you. So that’s what I’m here for. I told Brooklyn it was so we could continue our rivalry, but it really it so I can finally surpass you.”

            “What do you want out of life?”

            “What?”

            “All your life, you’ve just gone by what your parents want. What they want you to accomplish. What about you? What’s your pinnacle?”

            “I’ve never had any other goal than to surpass you. And until that happens, I will continue to get stronger.”

            “Okay, what about after you beat me?”

            “Who knows? But I’ll move forward knowing that I finally surpassed you.”

            “Then let’s settle it. I have class until 3:00. Meet me at the arena at 4:00 and we will finish this. Either I beat you and you try again later, or you win and we put this all behind us.”

            “Fine. I’ll see you then.”

 

 

 

 

As the clock started chiming for 4:00, Jacob got all his gear together, made sure all his knives were in the proper place, and headed out to the arena. There weren’t that many people there, as they really kept quiet about this. The only people that were in attendance were teams RWBY, JNPR, JCTB, and NEMN. Only Nathan wasn’t in attendance. As both Jacob and Pyrrha took their ready stances, they looked all around and realized that there was nobody to referee the match since it was after school hours. Ty noticed this and jumped down, revealing his Scroll so that he might officially sanction the match. As soon as everything was situated, the two of them began. Jacob was quick to start using his Semblance. He knew as long as he didn’t let Pyrrha touch him, she couldn’t use her own Semblance as easily as normal to slow him down. He quickly started clashing blades with Pyrrha at first to make it seem like they were on a level playing field, but he quickly moved away from that and started dodging her blows with relative ease. He began placing a few blows on her aura, but then she managed to predict where the sword was going, and blocked it with her arm. Jacob knew that this could be an issue now that she had made a magnetic connection with his sword and could start moving it about however she pleased. He quickly jumped back, let his semblance burn out, then threw a few dust knives to create a smoke ring. He was attempting to buy himself time for his semblance to reactivate, because he knew if he fought Pyrrha right now, he wouldn’t be able to land a single hit. However, Pyrrha anticipated this move, and morphed her sword to rifle form, and started shooting into the smoke. She was firing blindly, but she also knew that since Jacob lacked a shield, one or two lucky shots could either draw him out of the cloud, or cause his aura to be depleted enough that a few more hits would end the match. Another minute and a half passed. Jacob still had about 30 seconds until he was able to use his Semblance again, but he knew that Pyrrha would be expecting that move, so he threw a few thunder daggers out and created a bit of an electrical field on the ground to force Pyrrha to jump up and away, giving Jacob the chance to intercept her in mid-air and do a bit of damage. Pyrrha noticed this too late and her aura fell to about 45%. She blocked the rest of Jacob’s attacks but knew that given his aura level and the fact that his Semblance was almost recharged meant that she needed to give herself the upper hand in this situation. She quickly jumped back to the edge of the ring, and sent out a giant polarity charge that would send anything metal flying in the opposite direction, which would in theory, cause Jacob to lose his balance. But Jacob noticed this and just as Pyrrha launched her attack, Jacob re-entered his Time Dilation state. He stabbed his sword into the ground, dropped his belt of throwing knives, but took one out and threw it above the oncoming wave. Since he had removed all metal from his person, he passed through the wave with relative ease, grabbed the knife as it was coming down, and then threw it at the feet of Pyrrha. It all happened so fast that not even Miles could keep up with it. All he saw was the knife hit the ground and a flash of lightning enveloping Pyrrha, causing her aura to diminish down to 3%. Jacob immediately fell to his knees, pumped his fists in the air and screamed in victory.

            “I’VE DONE IT! I’VE SURPASSED THE GODESS! I AM THE NEW SUPERIOR!”

            “Jacob, it’s not like I’ve never lost before” Pyrrha said, slowly getting up. “You won this round, but who knows? Tomorrow you could lose to Brooklyn again, while I could lose to Natalie, or plenty of other options. It’s like I said before. You’ve finally beaten me. What now?”

            “Now, I show my family that I have met and surpassed their expectations, and then maybe they’ll finally get off my back. My goals have been realized and…”

            “So you’ve just been doing this for the sake of your family?” Christy asked, having jumped down from the stands. “What about you and your own honor? I know you think that this high honor is something only your parents can give you, but it’s not. You have to earn it yourself, no matter what anybody else tells you. You are the leader of Team JCTB now, and that in and of itself is a high honor only you possess. You don’t need to beat somebody to prove your worth. Clearly Ozpin saw that worth to begin with. Just take a step back, and remember what really matters.” Jacob pondered this, and then walked over to Pyrrha and Jaune, who had hopped over the side as well to help her up. He placed his fist on his other palm, and bowed to the two of them.

            “Would you please give me a chance to talk to you two a bit later tonight?”

            “That would be wonderful.” Pyrrha said, returning his bow. She stood up, gave Jaune a hug, and started heading for the exit.

            “Well that was resolved rather easily” Miles said with a sigh of relief. “And here I thought this was going to be a long lasting feud.”

            “Nah. Me and Weiss figured out our differences in like two days when we first met last year” Ruby chuckled. “Trust me, friendships are easily fixed when you know what is right.”

            “Very interesting. I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever considered a friend amongst this group.” He turned to leave, but then Blake jumped right in front of him.

            “Can we talk for a few minutes? Meet me at the plaza at 4:30.”

            “Um….all right?”

Reviews

[Shep]

Awesome Chapter. Lots going on from building new friendships to sparing in the ring to se who is the best. love the detail that puts me right there besides the characters. Love the pace. Lots of hard work went into this and it shows. moving on to the next page. Please be kind and return the love,