Chapter 80: An A.I., a Lotus and a Valkyrie walk into a Bar
Doing a fly by the trio saw a battle line of villagers with iron weapons and rifles pointed in the direction of a grouping of grimm. What they couldn't see were the grimm that were climbing over the buildings to drop right on top of them. Jaune had to think quickly or the villagers would be killed.
"Pilot! Fly look and bring us into the defensive line at 45 degrees. Line us up with both gatlings and let loose. Don't allow any villagers to die!" Jaune commanded quickly. The reason Jaune said 45 degree was due to the automatic gatlings that were found at the nose and tail of the VTOL. Due to their positioning they could not able upward to eliminate the grimm.
As they were so close to the village they could not go higher fast enough to get angles on both enemy groups. Jaune made a snap decision that he hoped would save the villagers from certain death.
"Roger!" The pilot Maroon said as he put the nose of the craft up at a 45 degree with the wings tilting to slow their momentum until they hovered above the villagers.
The co-pilot, Burgundy a.k.a. Gundy, got target locked on both gatlings and said softly, "Boom."
A split second later two Gatling guns firing hundreds of bullets a second ripped the clustered grimm to pieces that quickly vaporized. The grimm on the buildings were torn to pieces by the bullets and the shrapnel that the bullets kicked up going through the stone and wood the buildings were made of. Thirty seconds later all the grimm in the surrounds were gone from their scanners.
Jaune sent a message on the private channel connected to the Huntsman and Huntresses who Jesse and Gol hired. They were Jaune's quick reaction force. He sent a message to assemble and track his location. He also told them to bring the shuttles so that they can evacuate the people from the village under attack.
"Good work! Now land this bird and get everyone at this location inside. Once that is done latch it up. We will search the surroundings for more survivors. This bird had more armor than a tank so there is nothing to worry about. At least not in the short time until we get back up here." Looking out the window Jaune figured out his next moves. "Once you have them in here follow me with the robots. Leave the strider here. He will be their defense for now. The rest will follow us and surround the village. We will push the grimm out to be met by the robots."
"Understood!" Gundy said as he smiled holding up his weapon. Maroon stood and tapped his weapon to Gundy's.
"Let rock!" Maroon said.
"See you guys shortly." Jaune said as he jumped out of the VTOL when it leveled off.
"Did he just jump out of the VTOL?" Marron asked.
"Yes he did." Gundy said with a smirk.
"Our boss is crazy." Maroon said.
One of the robots turned it's head to look at Maroon.
"Yeah but he is the honest type of crazy." Gundy said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Maroon asked.
"It means he will do anything he can to help people even if it is crazy. Don't you remember figuring out that he was the Night Angel everyone had been talking about?" Gundy asked.
"Yeah. It was surreal to know a kid is the one who gave us our lives back." Maroon said as he settled the VTOL down behind the defensive line.
"Well be both went to Jesse after we figured it out and asked, 'Why?' and do you remember what he said?" Gundy asked his long time friend.
Maroons stopped for a second as he recalled. "Yeah. He said it was what he wanted to do since he could walk. To help people who needed it in any way. To be a hero."
"He sure as shit as what it takes if what his test scores on the training arena are to be believed." Gundy said. Turning about with his weapons in hand he smiled and said, "So hurry your ass up! I want to see the boss in action."
Maroon locked out everything and grabbed his massive sword following along. "I do too."
Pulling out his short swords as he leapt Jaune prepared to meet the enemy. Jaune found utter destruction before him. The village was in pieces and it didn't seem like the grimm were the ones to do most of it. Besides the buildings that he had just shot up the rest looked the same and had burn marks reminiscent of a dust bullet being fired. The grimm were wandering around and jumping at all the houses with broken doorways and windows. It looked like the village was blown apart by explosives.
Running up to the first beowolf Jaune swung his left handed short sword cutting off the beowolf's arm that was coming toward his face. Using his other sword Jaune bulled his way through the grimm as it burst into particles. Side stepping Jaune avoided the paw of an Ursa that appear from the alleyway. Swinging up Jaune cut off the arm of the Ursa. As it was falling backward screaming in pain Jaune jumped lightly and pierced his sword through the head of the Ursa. Jaune rolled forward as he pulled his sword. He came up swinging both swords in an upward v shape. As he did two beowolves were split in two.
Reaching out Jaune caught the paw of the third beowolf and twisted. Snapping sounds came from the arm and with a directional pull then shove Jaune sent the splintered arm into the body of the beowolf in a quick movement that counteracted the forces he placed on the arm. The beowolf gurgled as it tried to take a final swipe. It failed as it dissipated into smoke. With a quick motion Jaune threw his sword into the ground behind him.
Turning Jaune saw the boartusk lift off the ground as it hit the slanted blade while spinning. Spinning around Jaune spun extending his leg to impact with the boartusk that was flying towards him. His leg impacted the snout and forced the bones backward into the head of the boartusk. With a squeal of pain the boartusk flew backward even as it began to dissolve.
"Huh. Seems my body has become a lot more sturdy over the past year." Jaune said as he glanced at the dissipating boartusk. Normally a kick like that would only force the boartusk to tumble a few yards. Let alone sending the arm of the beowolf into it's own body. But it seemed his tempering with Ruby and Yang as well as his escapades in the other worlds were beneficial to his body's development. Especially knowing that Jaune would have had to kick with full force a year ago to have the same impact. This time he, instinctively, only lightly swung his leg. He wondered what he would be able to do if he didn't use his weapons.
But that was not possible due to the situation. He needed to clear up the grimm and search for survivors. Finding out what happened here was also important. Most of all Jaune could not allow the pilots to know of his physical capabilities otherwise he would find himself scrutinized for his freakish strength and capabilities more than he already was.
For now all he had to do was wipe out the grimm.
Five minutes later Jaune heard the tramping of feet on stone. Turning around Jaune called out. "Two five man teams. Separate and circle around the village. Follow in our wake. Kill all grimm that appear." The robots who had followed Jaune did as he asked.
They reacted like special forces and split in to two teams that followed the paths around the village. The front most robot looked straight ahead in an up and down, side to side motion. The two to the side watched their sectors while the two in the back walked backward scanning for enemies. They walked in a steady cadence. Weapons held up ready to be used, sensors on full.
The pilots appeared and rushed to Jaune's side. "You two follow and watch my back. We are going to clear the village. Once that is done we will find out what happened."
"You got it boss." Gundy said as they raised his sickle sword guns up ready for a fight.
The second pilot Maroon held up a massive longsword that was as tall as he was. He nodded his head as they three of them walked forward.
The three of them ended up cleaning out most of the grimm. They heard the robots killing off the rest that wither tried to enter the village or double back. Each house they cleared was eaten up by bullet holes and claw marks from the grimm. Jaune was getting a bad feeling as he continued his search.
Each time they found survivors, they would direct them back the way they came since it was clear of grimm. Any who were injured were triaged and kept alive by Jaune's healing ability. At this point Jaune didn't need to bring out his tail to heal people since he had gotten so used to using the life magic. He had to be careful though as he couldn't let more rumors spread about his healing abilities. So he just explained each time he was giving his aura to them or amping it up to help deal with the injuries they sustained.
After clearing the fiftieth building the trio heard the sound of VTOL's and bullheads coming in their direction. Jaune looked at the two and sent a silent message.
The two nodded before they began their info dump on the incoming back-up.
As much as Jaune would have liked to take command as he had earlier he couldn't since most of the recruits didn't know it was Jaune who healed them. Nor did they know Jaune's capabilities as a huntsman as Maroon and Gundy did. Maroon and Gundy were the only two who had figured it out so far and Jesse and Gol both had good things to say about them since they had done many missions with them before they got injured. That being the case Jaune would had promoted these two to the highest positions he had available at this time. QRF team leaders who were also pilots. More specifically Jaune's pilots.
With that Jaune could leave the rest to these two after everyone else showed up. After speaking into their scrolls they nodded to Jaune and they continued their clearing of the village.
At the end of the road that the trio had been walking down they came upon a Bar that had its windows knocked out and the door splintered but not fully destroyed.
With quick hand motions Jaune directed the two to the other side. They nodded to crept forward. Jaune looked at the door and wondered how he was going to enter. Shrugging his shoulders Jaune walked up to the door and lifted his foot.
A second later there was a great crash as the splintered door and the door frame bath came loose and fell forward into the bar. Jaune had his weapons up ready for anything but nothing came at him. Treading carefully Jaune walked forward. As he got close to the bar Jaune heard an angry scream, "You will pay for what you did you White Fang scum!" Before a large metal sledge covered in lightning came towards his chest at a very fast speed.
Jaune couldn't do anything save for crossing his arms and mentally saying, "This is going to hurt."
And hurt it did.
Jaune was sent flying out the of the bar. He flipped in the air and landed with his feet planted sliding a few yards. One of his arms was broken if the weird angle it was pointing was anything to go by and the other arms was bruised after being crushed against his broken arm and his metal armor. It was lucky he didn't shatter both of his arms.
From inside the room he heard the sounds of struggling before an "All clear!" sounded by one of the pilots. Jaune slowly walked forward. His arm was wrapped in soft green golden light as it reset itself. He gritted his teeth as the bone slid back into place. As he reached the door the yelling and struggling of three young kids came to his ears.
"Marron keep her down! How is she beating you in strength? You weild that giant hunk of metal as your weapon for Oum's sake!" Gundy said as he held the arms of two young kids one boy and one girl.
The boy was black haired with oriental facial features. He had a streak of pink in his hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. He wore green robes and light gray trousers. He had on slipper like shoes that were flexible and easy to move in. A martial artist then.
Jaune looked to the second kid and was surprised. She wore glasses over a small button nose. She had an ever present blush that gave her face a cherubic look. She had sky blue hair that was pulled into a bun on her head. She wore a long sleeve sweat shirt as well as loose jeans that bunched around her ankles. Her shoes were simple running shoes that seemed to have seen better days. In her arms was a computer that she clutched onto with dear life.
The third was a girl that almost seemed rabid by comparison. She had bright orange hair and wore a frilly poofy combat skirt that was gray and pink. She wore stomping boots that could put any steel toes to shame. On the ground was the culprit of Jaune's broken arm and flying lesson. Electricity continued to crackle along the steel body of the hammer. So an electric semblance.
The girl was thrashing around in Maroon's hands. He was being pulled around even with his impressive strength aiding him. She nearly bit Maroon's nose but was just short. Maroon having enough kicked the girls legs out from underneath her sending her to the ground. He tried to do it as lightly as possible even so, with a whoosh of air the girl lay there silently crying.
"Why'd you make her cry man? We were only trying to save them!" Gundy said as he looked at his partner with some reproach.
"If I am not wrong she isn't crying about that Gundy. Though I do have to admit I didn't really see a better option for Maroon. It sucks regrowing a nose." Jaune said as he stepped forward.
Jaune walked forward and knelt down until he was standing over Nora who was catching her breath. As he did the boy reacted violently as if he wanted to rip Jaune to pieces. Jaune held up a hand and said, "We came to rescue everyone in this village. We saw the smoke from our VTOL and came as fast a we could. So can you explain what happened? There was no huntsman called before this happened so something brought in the grimm from the surroundings."
The boy calmed and just as he was about to speak the orange haired girl spoke up as she regained he breath. "Your White Fang buddies came here, that's what!" She nearly screamed.
"I'm not a part of the White Fang nor am I buddies with any of them, so I don't know what you mean." Jaune said as worry filled his gut.
"You're a Faunus aren't you? Then shouldn't you be a part of the White Fang?" the girl asked with confusion.
Jaune had worked with Scathach and Tama to rune and sigil ever piece of his clothing, equipment and armor to portray Russ Fonax-Arc to the rest of the world save for his family and a selected few who knew his real identity. This saved Jaune the trouble of switching between the two personas all the time and keeping it straight. So what everyone that didn't know Jaune saw was Russ the fox Faunus.
Jaune seeing the girls confusion tried to clear things up for this girl. "No. Not every Faunus believes in how White Fang does things recently. They believe in the intention but not the execution. To free the oppressed and receive equality. Some take it too far."
The girl on the ground looked on with confused and tear filled eyes. "Then why would they do this?"
"Because some people believe that an eye for an eye is the proper rule of law even if they cause more strife because of it. Even if they cause the world to go blind." Jaune paused as he let that settle in. Turning to the boy and the girl that were both standing he asked. "Can one of you explain what happened here? But first what are your names? I am Russ Fonax." Jaune pointed at Gundy then Maroon, "That is Burgundy Toka. And that is Maroon Steel."
The boy was the first to speak up, "I'm Lie Ren. This is Sky Magni." Ren said as he pointed to the girl beside him. "That is Nora Valkyrie."
Nora was looking at the ground as she cried tears of anger and resentment.
"It is good to meet you three, I wish it were under better circumstances. You can explain what happened on the way to the VTOL's. We should get out of here. Our back-up just showed up and they should be heading this direction soon. Let's get you guys safe. Follow us. We will protect you." Jaune said as he stood up and turned around heading out of the bar.
Gundy let go of the two and said, "Sorry about that. We just reacted to our boss getting attacked."
Sky just looked down, while Ren nodded stoically even as he felt relief at being saved.
Maroon slowly picked up Nora from the ground. The girl was still crying and Maroon's face pinched in sadness. With a quick movement he picked the crying girl up and carried her protectively. He pulled his sword out with one hand and looked like he would tear an Ursa apart with his teeth if he needed to to protect the girl.
Ren who had been walking over to comfort Nora slowed until he stood beside Maroon and spoke softly to Nora.
After exiting the building the sounds of weapons fire and grimm screams filled the air. Nora in Maroon's arms clenched onto his leather armor tighter. Sky flinched while Ren squinted his eyes as if looking for a grimm to fight. Gundy and Maroon became stoic as they walked along prepared to protect these kids with all they had. As they got half way down the road Ren spoke up as he began to explain what happened.
It seemed the White Fang was looking for a scientific genius in robotics and programming for some new scheme. They had heard rumors of one such person living in this village. They came in and rounded up all the adults and tried to get them to point out the person in question. After one old man was killed to show they meant business one of the adults said they were the one they were looking for. They took him and left. But not before they destroyed all they could before leaving. This negative event brought in all the surrounding grimm leading to the current situation.
The three of them had escaped the White Fang encirclement and hid in the bar. Some of the white Fang members had been trying to break down the door before they were called away.
Behind him Jaune's acute senses heard a new voice for the first time say softly while sobbing, "It's my fault. Daddy I'm sorry."
Jaune's face froze as did his blood as the words settled into his head.
The White Fang had picked the wrong person.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
CultivatorDragon
CultivatorDragon Hello Fellow Readers!
Jaune meets his future teammates for the first time. But who is this girl Sky Magni? What does she have that the White Fang wants? Will Jaune save her father from the clutches of the White Fang?
Find out next time on Fate/Remnant!
Thanks for reading Fellow Readers!
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