The Red Knight of Remnant

Chapter 16

Jaune sat on his bed reading a few news articles before getting bored and tossing his Scroll onto the desk next to his bed. It'd been 4 days since his little morning panic attack. Mordred had been missing during those 4 days, which brought several things to his attention. Firstly, he would need to be more careful around team RWBY. Mostly the BY of the team. After he got dragged back to the dorm room by his feisty teammate, he was confronted by Yang and Blake when he tried to make breakfast. The former of the two going on to tease him about having some sort of kinky adventure with Mordred in her sleep wear.

He ended up turning into a tomato at the accusations. He tried to defuse Yang's delusions only for Blake to make matters worse. She hadn't so much as teased him, more like trying to give him tips on not getting caught while not so discreetly revealing her smut collect, which she denied as such when offering him some to read as reference.

It'd certainly been a chaotic day. Even that unexpected event didn't compare to the rest of the day. The weirdest thing was how Mordred had taken to ditching him. It wasn't strange for her to want to be alone, but simply ditching him with no explanation was odd. He tried asking her about it over the 4 days, but she always said she was searching for traces of mana. He didn't know what that meant but assumed she was messing with him. That or she was getting lost in her strange fantasies again. He couldn't tell which was worse.

Still, the reprieve he had from her was kinda nice. Didn't change the fact he wanted to know what she was doing, but he could wait for an answer later. He shook the thoughts away before leaning back in his bed.

He noticed Ren cleaning his weapons, like he always did. His stoic teammate was the only other person in the room now with Nora running off with Pyrrha, claiming to have some girl business to take care of, which had nothing to do with her hearing about a pancake event happening.

The leader could only assume the pancake event was the real reason Nora left. Truth be told he wasn't sure about that seeing as he knew so little about the energetic redhead, which was kind of sad. The saddest thing was how little Jaune knew about all his teammates. He hadn't taken any time to get to know any of them, spending all his time with Mordred. He did train with Pyrrha from time to time, but he never tried to talk with her about anything besides training.

He only just realized this in the last 4 days. He stared up at the ceiling with a small frown. 'How could I not have taken the time to get to know my teammates?' The thought was bitter to acknowledge. With once last glance towards Ren he nodded to himself and sat up to face his teammate. Ren took notice and set his weapons down giving his full attention to his leader.

"I was wondering when you'd decide to talk to me." The silent boy's words caused his leader to wince a little before rubbing the back of his head.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you'd be waiting."

"Don't worry about it. Truth be told, Nora and I didn't mind the wait. Though Pyrrha may act like she doesn't mind, I'm certain she's the one who was waiting the longest for you to try and bond with the rest of the team. She's simply to kind to say anything."

The blonde agreed with his teammate's opinion, knowing full well he was right. While his other partner was kind and treated him and everyone else she knew with respect, it was easy to see that she was almost too kind. He didn't know why she did that and he didn't care to pry.

"I didn't mean to neglect things like I have. It's just that Mordred is beyond a hand full."

The silent boy laughed, probably the first time Jaune's heard it since coming to Beacon. "I know what you mean. To tell you the truth, your relationship's very much like mine and Nora's." A fond smile found its way to his face. "Truth be told, Nora was the one to point that out to me. I hadn't noticed till she pointed out how you and Mordred seem to always be, and I quote, 'going on adventures together like us'."

The impression of the hammer wielder caused the two to share a laugh.

"We don't go on adventures, but she does drag me off to do some stupid stuff. To tell you the truth, I think my dynamic with her is a bit different to you and your partner's. From what I can see, it looks like Nora's trying to keep you from lazing about. That doesn't quite compare to my dilemma. She's basically a slave driver! Plus, she's beyond a pain in the ass! She's rude, snobby, arrogant and more than a little conceded!"

Jaune failed to notice how he started to yell now. Ren choose to simply watch quietly till he was done.

"From what I can see, while Mordred can be rude, and some of the other things you mentioned, I don't think I've seen anyone as loyal and kind. Her blunt nature, rough words and devotion to her beliefs is impressive." The leader was caught by surprise at his teammates words. "She also seems more than happy around you. I've only seen her without you once, and she didn't look right. I feel you and her need to be together, if not for your sake than for hers. Don't ask me why, but that is just how I feel. I've seen how she treats you, almost like a slave. While you act like a wet blanket -no offense- I think you two are good together. If only because you balance out her rough nature."

Jaune stared at Ren for a long hard second before sighing exaggeratedly.

"You don't think I have any back bone, do you?" Ren's lips to curve up into a small smirk at the question.

"You're very much a spineless worm. But, I think the tiny bit of cartilage you call your back bone is slowly growing. Give it a few more years, maybe you'll be able to stand up to your oppressor when you're in your 30's." Jaune's response was to simply flip the green boy the bird. That was incredibly rude, yet not untrue. Still didn't change that he'd prove to Ren that he did have a spine. The way Ren was able to make a conversation turn casual like that made it easy to talk to him. The two soon fell into pleasant chatter, with Ren talking about him and Nora, and only sharing what he felt was appropriate. Jaune listened attentively as he spent the rest of the day trying to get to know his team better.

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Mordred sat down watching the sun set with a deep frown. She held a large stone in her hand, slowly crushing it into dust before leaning back into the bench before clicking her tongue in frustration. 'Damn it! I spent all day looking through the school and forest, but I couldn't find any sign of the mana I sensed before.' She threw her head back with a frustrated sigh.

"That was one heck of a sigh." The frustrated girl glanced to her left to see Ruby smiling at her. "Something bothering you, Mo?"

Ruby asked adorably as she sat down next to her. She cocked a brow but didn't tell her to leave.

"Why should I tell you if something's bothering me? My personal business doesn't concern you." Ruby hummed at her words.

"You're right, but I didn't ask about your business. I asked if something was bothering you. I think those are two different things." The young leader gave her a cheeky smile, causing her to shake her head with a slightly look of bewilderment on her face.

"That makes no sense at all!" Mordred snapped before smirking. "I can't say that way of thinking's bad, but it most certainly isn't right."

Ruby shrugged at her words before turning to look at the sun set.

"You might be right, but I don't mind. Even if the way I think isn't right, or normal, I'll always be this way." Ruby turned back to her and smiled. "So, do you care to share. I'm all ears."

"Nope, don't wanna share."

"Great! Wait what?" Ruby practically deflated at her unnecessary cheer as she stared at Mordred. "Y-y-you won't share? W-why?" Ruby waved her hands over her head frantically as Mordred glanced at her with a cruel smirk.

"Because I don't want to. Simple as that." Mordred said flatly before lifting her legs and throwing them down to jump off the bench and stretch her arms over head. "Thanks for talking to me though. You made for a pretty entertaining distraction."

Mordred gave Ruby a wave, not even looking back at her as she left the poor girl to sit in sheer confusion and defeat. Mordred kept walking with a smile on her face. She was glad that her irritation was now gone thanks to the young girl. She needed that. She's been riled up by the lack of clues as to where the mana came from, so Ruby did good in getting her mind off that. Still, she really wanted to know what it was that ended up producing mana so close that she would be able to feel it.

For now, she should head back to Jaune. He'd said they should prepare for that test thing tomorrow. She thought of maybe asking him to make the team a big dinner before they had to leave, or maybe hold off for when they got back.

She didn't know if she wanted to wait till after the trip though. She should just get him to make dinner tonight and after the test. She hummed happily ready to see what Jaune could cook up this time around.

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"Come on Jaune, run faster than that!"

Jaune yelped as he jumped forward. Mordred ran behind him and started stabbing him in the back with her sword. Behind her the rest of team JNPPR were jogging after them as she forced her leader to run ahead. He wondered how he got himself into this situation. The only thing that came to mind were last night's events.

Mordred returned to the dorm room just after Nora and Pyrrha. He tried to get to know the two better in hopes of building a proper team dynamic, but then his other partner returned demanding he make dinner. Mordred demanding dinner out of nowhere was normal. Maybe it was the fact she'd been gone all week, or maybe he simply wanted to prove Ren wrong, but he decided to try and deny her the request.

While nothing happened, as in he didn't get beaten with a stick, she did tell him he'd regret refusing her. He couldn't sleep last night because of the vague threat. When morning came he'd been waiting for something to happen, only for nothing to come. And that made everything all the more terrifying. So, he made sure to make Mordred an extra serving for breakfast.

When she turned it down, he knew he was in trouble. Only after arriving in the Emerald Forest and heading deeper inside did Mordred act. Which brings us back to the current situation.

"Alright! I get it, I'm sorry I refused to make dinner last night!" His apology went ignored as Mordred poked him in the back again. He jumped forward and turned to glare at her just in time for her to stab him in the gut. He folded over holding his gut in pain.

"You idiot! Why'd you stop?!" Mordred pulled her sword back to glare at him as he tried to catch his breath. Not only did he just get stabbed, but he was also thrown back a little thanks to Mordred continuing to run.

Pyrrha caught up first and came to his side. "Jaune, are you ok?" The fallen boy tried and failed to wave off her concern.

"D-d-don't worry about me. It's just pain." Jaune wheezed out as he glared at Mordred. "Look, I'm sorry I said no to making dinner. Can we please stop with the cruel and unusual torture?"

The angry blond continued to glare at him before pointing behind him. "You only needed to cross that tree line to reach the end." Jaune looked back to Pyrrha for confirmation as she pulled out her Scroll to look at the map.

"She's right. Our destination's just past the tree line." Mordred smirked and took a proud stance. Jaune wanted to glare at her, but chose to drop his head into the dirt with a sigh.

"Right, well sorry. We don't know what's on the other side of those trees, so we should get ready for a fight." He pushed himself off the ground as he drew his sword.

Pyrrha nodded and drew her shield and sword as Ren and Nora caught up, both already armed. Mordred smiled as she spun her sword in hand before resting it on her shoulder.

"Please, don't be so dramatic. Whatever's on the other side of those trees couldn't possibly be a threat to me. If anything, this battle will be over the moment I take to the field!" He wanted to tell her to be careful, or at least not so arrogant, but knew her words were true.

"Fine, if you really think the fight would be over so quickly let's make a bet." This peaked Mordred's interest as she looked at him curiously. "Let the four of us fight on our own. If we finish this fight without your help, you'll have to do one thing for all four of us. Doesn't matter what, you just have to do it."

Mordred hummed in thought before smiling.

"And if you can't win without me?"

"Then you can be the leader of the team when the break is over." The look of surprise on everyone's faces caused him to crack a small smile. Pyrrha looked like she wanted to argue, while Ren simply looked confused, and Nora… well he couldn't tell what Nora was thinking. The look on her face was a mix of shock, amazement, horror and devious mischief. Needless to say, he couldn't understand her. Mordred lowered her head as her shoulders began to shake, before she let out a loud burst of laughter.

"Hahahaha! Now that's one hell of a gamble! I'll take that bet!" Mordred shouted as she threw her hand out for him to shake. He took her hand with a confident smile and gave it a firm shake.

"Then the bet's on." Soon the ground started to shake slightly. Looking down the group notice of the increasing intensity of the tremors. Mordred, on the other hand, had a smirk as she looked over Jaune's head. He turned around to see 8 different giant snake heads. Half were black, and half white. "King Taijitu!"

Ren hummed in acknowledgement before Jaune felt a shove from behind. He stumbled forward with a yelp of surprise as he heard Mordred's voice.

"You said you'd win without me! So, get to it!" Jaune cursed himself as one of the giant snake heads shot towards him. He really regrets making that bet now.

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Mordred sat down on an uprooted tree as she observed the display before her. Ren was to her left, flipping, and shooting with his emerald pistols as he fought two of the snake heads. To her right was Nora, who was creating bright pink explosions from her weird harmer grenade launcher. And directly before her, her partners fought their own pair of heads. Mordred didn't care for Pyrrha, who was easily batting the beast's heads to the side and peppering them with bullets.

The one she was focused on was Jaune. The bumbling idiot was busy getting thrown into the air as he tried his best not to get eaten by the beasts. He was flipped, screaming as he flew before landing on the back of one of the Grimm. He ended up sliding down and used his momentum to cut a line into the hard scales. He hit the ground in a roll before spinning around as the black head shot towards him. He back handed it away with his shield, forcing it to smash into the ground in an explosion of dust.

She admitted the display was a nice show of his strength, and certainly not a feat most could perform. She was ready for the fool to concede their bet and ask for her help. She'd be sure to become the best team leader ever. She already led armies, so she was a far better commander than Jaune could ever be.

And yet, a part of her wanted to see him win. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel like taking the role of leader. At least, not wholeheartedly. Maybe it was her comradery with her pupil, maybe it was because she knew he could be a good leader. He's far from a great commander, but his eye for strategy was easily noticed. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him become a great leader. Maybe it was because she had trained him?

'This might be the feeling of a teacher watching their student grow. If so, how could I simply steal away his chance to be more?'

In mid-thought she saw Jaune crash into the ground, rolling backwards onto his feet away from the fighting. She watched him closely, easily able to see his eyes shifting from each member of his team. He was taking his reprieve to form a plan. Smart if, slightly reckless. If commanders fighting alongside their men couldn't evaluate the situation while in combat, then they weren't very good.

She knew that Jaune was still growing, so if he could get reprieve to plan he was doing so knowing full well what the risk was. She watched as the leader's head snapped up to look into a tree. Following his eyes, she noticed something strange. It looked like a squid creature with a shell in the tree. The creature shot out of the tree and crashed into the mess that was the 4 King Taijitu.

Jaune barked orders for the team to get away from the monsters and regroup. Mordred observed the Grimm as they started to combine into one. She looked on in shock as a toothy grin adorned her lips.

"A Hydra!? Grimm can even take the form of mystical beasts!? This world just might be more entertaining than I thought!" She turned excitingly to Jaune, hoping he'd call for her aid. The bet didn't matter anymore. Fighting the new monster was way more interesting.

While she waited for the call for support, she felt a tingle on the back of her neck and a deep chill ran up her spin. It was quick and forceful, but she instinctually snapped her head, looking past the giant beast as an overwhelming power seemed to explode out from that direction. She knew right away what sort of power that was. There was only one thing that could her to react in such a way. Only one person who had such power. Yet, something about the power felt perverse and wrong. It made her body shiver at the sight of the purple and red energy shooting towards the Grimm Hydra. "Jaune! Get away!"

She shot forward as red lightning formed around her, propelling her toward Jaune and the team. She barely reached them as she put herself between them and the Grimm. She swung her sword forward, using a Prana Burst to strike out and hopefully defend against the attack. It worked, thankfully, as the purple and red energy ripped through the Grimm and crashed into her sword in a giant explosion of crimson energy.

The force of the two attacks colliding was so explosive Mordred was forced back. She felt something behind her, but ignored it in favor of holding her guard. Once she stopped sliding she noticed she was panting.

Looking to see what was behind her she saw Jaune with both arms up holding onto her back. He had a look of sheer horror and awe before he tried looking past her. She turned to see what he was looking and noticed Ren and Nora laid out in the dirt to her right, both unconscious with weird energy flickering around their bodies. On her left was Pyrrha in a similar state.

Mordred clicked her tongue in frustration before looking back to where the Hydra had been. Instead of seeing the hulking monstrosity, she saw a large steaming scar in the ground as a black figure walked towards her. Mordred couldn't help but stare in awe. The figure before her was a young woman with platinum blonde hair framing her face while tied back into a bun with braids around it. Over the woman's face was a black mask with jagged ends and red lines marking it. She was dressed in a dark purple battle dress with dark black armor on top. In the woman's hand was a long sword Mordred recognized, or something akin to the sword she recognized.

"That… can't be." Mordred whispered to herself. She felt a hand grip her shoulder. Jaune no longer had a look of horror, but a fierce glare as he stared down the woman before them.

"Who is that!?" He growled out, hands balling into fists. Mordred didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if the person before her was who she thought it was. Turning back, the black knight reached up grabbing the mask from her face. Slowly, the black knight removed the mask, shocking both Mordred and Jaune. Mordred felt a lump form in her throat as her hands began to shake with shock and rage. Her teeth grind and she slams a foot into the ground. She thrust her sword out aiming at the woman before her.

"To think we would meet again! Epically for you to appear in such a twisted form!" Mordred shouted, a bag of emotions opened inside of her. "Father! ARTHUR PENDRAGON!"

Mordred no longer cared for Jaune's questions or his worry, all that matter now was the person before her. All that mattered was the King of Knights.

End

AN/Alright I want to say this first before anyone decides to freak out. No the attack that killed the Hydra wasn't her using her noble phantasm. We all know that Excalibur Morgan can just send off large blast of that dark energy whenever Alter wants to do so. But yes, look! Its saber Alter! What have I gone and done!

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