Leon Alexander Gates
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"Yes, students," Goodwitch said and led the class through the trees. "The forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful."
Alexander swatted a leaf fluttering in front of him.
As the name implied, Forever Fall was autumn all year round, and it would've been nice if the crunchy leaf cacophony everyone played under their shoes disappeared. The sight of Team CRDL dragging Jaune around like a dog made it even worse.
"But we are not here to sightsee." The professor stopped and faced them. "Professor Peach asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest. And I am here to make sure none of you die while doing so."
Jaune, distracted by the scenery, bumped into Cardin, crumpling the box he carried and nearly knocked over the jars balanced on top.
The bully growled, fists clenched tight.
Goodwitch gave instructions and warned them of the Grimm in the area. Easy enough. Get a jar, fill it with sap, and do whatever until they were done.
"Xander, hurry up, mate!" Cooper waved him over. "We got yummy sap to collect!"
Alexander gave one last glance at Jaune before returning to his own team.
"Alright, guys," Roderick said and handed them each a jar, spile, and corkscrew. "Stiofan search left. Cooper try past that rock, and Alexander you got right."
Cooper crossed his arms. "What about you?"
Roderick pointed at the ground between his feet. "Right here."
Cooper threw his hands up. "That's not even fair. Why can't I get this lovely spot?"
He grinned. "Because I'm the leader, and I said so."
Stiofan rolled his eyes. "However unfortunate they may be, orders are orders."
Cooper hung his head and walked away, grumbling about power abuse.
"He'll get over it, right?" Roderick said.
Stiofan shrugged. "I believe your breakfast will mysteriously disappear once again."
The leader sighed and rubbed his nose.
Before they split ways, the First Guard spared a long look over to Team RWBY chatting among themselves. It had to do with Blake if anything. It's been that way since the school year started, always on guard and watchful like the other had the flu.
Whatever the deal, they needed to get their crap together before Alexander locked them in a room to either fight it out or suck face.
Alexander jammed the corkscrew into the first tree he came across and did exactly what Goodwitch showed them back at Beacon, yet for some reason, no matter how many times he drilled into the trunk, nothing came out.
From trunk to trunk, every tree he tapped refused to give him a single drop of sap.
Alexander sighed, sat on a boulder, and took in the scenery, and since nobody was around to ruin it, it was actually nice.
In front of him, bright red azaleas chilled beneath the shadows of the raining trees, feverfews blossomed white-gold beside a bush of lavenders, and even though he couldn't quite see it, the powerful and fresh scent of mint roamed the air, swirling and mixing with the aroma of a myriad of other plants soaking his nose.
Alexander picked the forget-me-not from his pocket and brushed the icy blue petals.
Guess he missed the flower shop more than he thought. Almost made him want to take his truck and drive his ass all the way back to that ray of hope in the sand and smog.
He snorted.
The woman who adopted him would definitely get a kick out of that.
"Alexander?"
Alexander snapped up to Jaune standing in front of him.
"I-I wanted to, uh, talk to you." He gulped and shivered like a leaf. "I-it's about Cardin. I need your help."
That was surprising to hear. Why, of all people, did Jaune go to him first? Guess the way he handled Team CRDL the other day did more than put on a show. Whatever. He needed help, so it didn't matter anymore who he went to for it.
Without diving any deeper into it, he followed Jaune through the forest, past a hill, and into a small clearing. Other than the carpet of leaves, the box Jaune carried, and a few jars of sap set aside on the ground, the place was empty.
"Alright." Jaune stopped at the center of the clearing and drooped as if he lost the strength in his body. "This is it."
Alexander thought Jaune would be more happy, thrilled even, but he stood there, void and empty like he'd given up before they had a chance to confront Cardin and his team.
What confused him more was the tingle in his gut, a feeling he'd get while wandering the streets of Vacuo.
His eyes widened. He dropped his things and scanned the treeline where four shadowed figures surrounded them.
Alexander pulled on Jaune's breastplate. "What did you do?"
Jaune refused to meet his eyes.
"Good work, there, Jauney Boy." Cardin strolled through the treeline behind Jaune with the giant mace propped on his shoulder. "And I didn't think you had the guts to do it."
The rest of Team CRDL laughed and came into view, also armed.
Alexander slung off Tereo. A hailstorm of Dust bullets bombed his back before he could transform his backpack into a shield. The stings arced up his spine, dropping him to a knee. Heavy steps scurried in front of him, and Cardin's mace slammed his face.
The whole world went sideways. His head recoiled against the ground, and the throbs hammered his jawline.
Cardin's feet, blurred into six armoured boots, sauntered into view and kicked his weapons out of reach. "Not so tough now, are ya?"
"Don't you think this is enough?" Jaune stepped between them. "He's down. Let's get out of here."
"It's enough when I say it's enough." Cardin shoved him and swung the mace down on Alexander's side.
The pain ripped through his body. He bit down, refusing to give them the pleasure of a scream, and if it wasn't for his Aura, he may as well have had a shattered jaw or broken ribs.
Cardin tossed his mace and tore off Alexander's beanie. "I'm gonna teach you a thing or two for humiliating me!"
All four members trapped him in a circle. He tried to escape. A shot to the cheek said otherwise, a kick in the stomach told him to stay put, and a stomp ordered him to keep his head in the dirt.
Despite the shower of boots, fists, and metal, his main concern went to his Aura. It could only hold out for so long. How much more abuse until it crumbled and turned him into nothing but fodder for these vultures?
Glass shattered against Cardin's chest, and red goo dripped down his armour. Team CRDL stopped the beatdown, blessing Alexander a moment to breathe.
Not too far away, Jaune stood there with an outstretched arm, face warped by the sinking realization of what he'd done.
Cardin chuckled. "You've done it now, Jauney Boy."
Alexander rolled to his stomach and gathered whatever was left in the tank and fueled it into his Semblance. A blast erupted from his body, blowing everyone and everything next to him away. His Aura flared around him and shattered. That's it. No more safety net for him.
Jaune groaned and propped himself onto his hands. Alexander's blood boiled. He ignored the cries of his muscles and forced himself to his feet.
"Start making sense you rotten coward or I'm really gonna lose it." Alexander yanked Jaune by the collar and held him close. "I should smash your face in and then feed you to The Creatures of Grimm! Or maybe I'll go to Ozpin and let him know you're a certified fake!"
Jaune's face went white. "Y-you were on the rooftop?"
"I had to listen to you whine and moan to Nikos and watch you give Winchester a big, fat, sloppy kiss. Tell me, Arc, did you have fun being a little bitch, huh?!"
"Ah!"
Alexander turned and Cardin's mace crunched into his leg. He choked on the scream clawing out of his throat and fell, clutching his left knee to make sure it hadn't exploded.
Jaune scrambled to him. "Alexander!"
"I'll deal with you later," Cardin said and directed his grin at Jaune. "Right now, I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny-tiny pieces. Then I'm going to cover that red-haired partner of yours with sap and swarm her with those Rapier Wasps I made you collect. That's what she gets for insulting me in Oobleck's class the other day."
"I don't care what you do to me," his hands clenched into fists, "but you are not hurting my friends anymore."
"You think talk like that makes you tough?" He grabbed him and went nose to nose. "Are you a big, bad, strong man, now?"
Jaune took a ragged breath and smiled.
Cardin growled and swung a fist, but a flash of white light enveloped Jaune.
When it faded, the bully retreated, clutching his hand in pain, and if Alexander wasn't in an incredible amount of pain right now, he'd be impressed by the faint glow surrounding the knock-off knight.
Guess the idiot had talent after all.
A roar broke out behind the treeline, and Alexander groaned at the increasing complications.
Ground rumbling thuds barrelled louder until an Ursa Major broke into the clearing.
This version was larger and more deadly than the regular kinds of Usai, but despite that fact, it wasn't much of a problem to anyone except for civilians and Alexander's crippled ass; a baby Beowolf would be enough to keep his hands full in this state.
The Ursa Major sniffed the air and eyed the sap on Cardin's armour. He blanched and searched for his team, finding the three goons running for their lives past the hill. With only one option left, he shakily raised his weapon, but the bear slapped it away and dropped him like a sack of dirt.
No matter how much Alexander enjoyed seeing Cardin getting his ass handed to him, that Grimm had to be stopped.
Not far from Alexander were Team CRDL's jars of sap and the box Jaune carried with him. He crawled over and opened it to find a plastic container buzzing with Rapier Wasps that had stingers the size of his finger.
What Cardin said about how he planned on using these insects on Pyrrha echoed in his ears.
Alexander hurled a jar of sap at the Ursa Major, shattering it across its side. It grunted and focused on him. He flipped the lock on the container and lobbed it at the Grimm's feet, unleashing the swarm.
The Ursa Major thrashed around, swiping the wasps out of the air, yet it was futile against the onslaught. Large welts formed along the furry gaps between the bone armour. The Grimm slowed to a snail's pace before slumping over and succumbing to its wounds.
"Watch out!"
Alexander snapped to see Jaune pointing past him.
A rumble of thuds sank his heart. Another Ursa Major charged towards him. Even though his body screamed at him to move, escape was useless. He'd be mauled before he took three steps.
"Alexander, catch!"
A hunk of leather landed within arm's reach. He snatched his backpack, twisted the switch, and turtled underneath the shield.
The Ursa Major pounced onto top of Alexander not a moment later, ringing the shield like a gong. He clenched his teeth and groaned at the boatload of pressure squishing him into dough.
"Arc!" Between the gap of the shield's rim and the leaf covered ground, Alexander glared at Jaune. "Kill it!"
Jaune snapped from his trance. "Wait a second, I can't—"
"Kill it!"
"But I—"
"Pull that stupid head out of your ass and kill it!"
Jaune drew his sword while the sheath transformed into a kite shield. He muttered an essay of encouragement to himself before screaming like a bumbling idiot and slashing the Ursa Major across the face.
The pressure lifted; air rushed to Alexander's lungs.
Jaune's attacks were nothing short of brash, doing whatever he could to land another hit. A paw to the chest knocked him into a backwards roll. He recovered and created space between them to check his scroll.
Alexander's heart sank at the flashing red bar.
A thin line stretched across Jaune's lips. He pocketed the scroll and stood tall on shaky legs, yet the determination leaked from him in waves.
The Ursa Major bared its teeth, and Jaune glared in return, sword glistening in hand.
They bustled forward.
He swung wide as the massive paw came at his side where the shield was too low to protect him, but somehow the shield took a life of it's own and moved into position. The paw clanged off the metal kite, forcing him down. His concentration didn't break. He sprung and gave it a stroke so mighty, it went clean through its thick neck and severed the head.
Smoke rose from the corpse, and it slowly decomposed in a cloud of smoke.
A rustle came from the treeline. Alexander prepared for another Grimm attack, only to find confusion in the form Ruby and Weiss hiding in the foliage. Pyrrha was with them, standing there with her hand out in front of her.
Alexander snorted at how her arm lined with Jaune.
Pyrrha said something to the other girls that made them leave without making their presence known, and once they were gone, she spared Alexander an apologetic look, mouthing 'I'm sorry' before holding a finger over her lips and leaving in turn.
"Need some help?"
Alexander wanted to break the hand Jaune held in front of his face.
"I know I made a mistake, and I can't ever make up for what I've done. If it makes you any feel better," he closed his eyes and dropped his arms, "take your best shot. I probably deserve it. An Arc never goes back on his word."
How admirable.
Alexander snorted and decided against the offer. There was enough trouble today and more of it would solve nothing.
"Just shut it and pull my ass up, Arc."
Relief cracked Jaune's mouth, and after a bit of struggling, he managed to lift him to his one good foot.
"Winchester?" Alexander said as Cardin stood in the middle of the clearing with his head down.
"I've already dealt with him." Jaune draped his arm over his shoulders. "He won't be bothering us anytime soon. How's the leg?"
"Better than how you look."
Jaune chuckled and helped him walk. "You really don't know how to be nice, do you?"
Was that a joke? If it was, Alexander didn't get it. This whole time he's been nothing but nice.
"Mister Gates! Mister Arc!"
Up ahead, Professor Goodwitch and the rest of the class came running towards them, barraging them full of questions, and in the professor's case, an interrogation coupled with a full blown scolding.
The next few days were going to be anything except peaceful, wasn't it?