Kinda just a dabble I thought of especially since I've grown as a writer and a person. I've read into new and old fandoms and I really want to start writing again.

Charter Edit: Due to the various reviews and PM's asking me to fix these chapters up, I will obliged and return to all my chapters and attempt to grammatically and spelling wise improve them.

Jaune Arc grew up to a rather famous family. Matthias and Savannah Arc were some of the greatest hunters of their time, graduating from the esteemed Beacon Academy and deciding to settle down on one of the many frontier towns that dotted Vale. Luckily for their children, they had settled in one of the older and more developed towns, Canvas.

Jaune was the only male child they had, having seven female children. Three younger and four older sisters, then their was the lone male child of the Arc family. All the sisters we're aspiring huntresses, the eldest, Diamond becoming one recently, graduating from a smaller academy, Pillar. They all wanted to become the heroes of the world. Even Jaune.

But Jaune had started too late. He hadn't gone to the prep school, he hadn't trained. He had wasted his childhood playing and dreaming and thus had wasted his chance of entering Signal Academy. And with no way of entering Beacon without any credits from Signal or any prep academy for that matter, his dream of becoming a hero was squandered. But he had a plan. He would train himself for the next two years and then enter Beacon with some...changes to his records.

It would take money, and his own ability to lie and act, which, at least to his knowledge, he was pretty good at. All he needed to do was save up his money and train hard to be accepted during the initiation.

He snuggled deeper into his blankets as a myriad of feelings welled in him. Disappointment, anger, hope, and sadness. But he needed to prove himself. He needed to prove that he could be a hero just like the rest of his family. He need to be prove that he was worthy of being mentioned in the Arc's history book.

X.

x.

X.

The world had changed. He felt it. The Age of Men had coming to an end. The Elves and Dwarves had left this world, and all that remained were the fledgling human kingdoms, which themselves, were besieged by monsters and demons. Yet he endured. He the greatest enemy of of the free races of Middle Earth.

Sauron.

He had outlasted his enemies. The Istari had fled to the undying lands, never to return to this mortal realm. The elves lost their power when they returned back to the Valar. The strength of men had become a variable now, not an actual obstacle like they had been in the past.

He had felt the other Maiar and other spirits of the old age fade away. Even Allfather Eru Illúvatar's power faded, becoming nothing more than a shade much like Sauron himself. The rest of the Ainur and Maiar had been forgotten with time, and they held very little influence in this world.

Now was the time for him to return. He had bided his time fruitfully. Truly, he had no idea of how long he lingered in the nirvana of the void planning and plotting . It was long enough, however, for him to gather enough strength to retain his identity and allowed him to brood and plan.

Arda was his and, only one thing prevented him from doing that. A lack of a proper body.

Make no mistake, with the destruction of the Ring most of his vast strength and soul were diminished and desolated. But he had acquired enough self grown power to initiate the first step to his plan. To find a host and capture its body. He would ensnare and steal their feä, or their soul, and use it to empower himself. But he had to be careful. If he failed to successfully make the victim capitulate their feä it could have very severe consequences for himself. He needed to be careful who his victim was. It had taken him several days for him to actually find a suitable feä to capture.

And it was tonight where he had found a rather easy target. A young one, barely fourteen winters of age, would be his first steps to once again conquering all of this world. Now that none stood in his path, he would be unrivaled.

X.

X.

Jaune Arc loved to dream. It helped him escape from reality and into a realm where he could be anything he wanted. A warrior. A master tactician. A hunter. A Hero. Thus when he slept, he hoped to dream of something great and magnificent.

And he did, before something ruined it. It was like waking up while you were dreaming. The sudden disturbance somehow making its way into your dream, and the discrepancy would usually wake the users into the physical world.

Except this darkness, this shadow had somehow thrown Jaune and itself deeper into Jaune's mind. It was if Jaune was falling through a light show, with flowing, vibrant colors surging beside him to make a funnel of neverending colors.

The only thing that stopped Jaune from thinking it was a beautiful place was his unwelcomed visitor.

Shapeless and abhorrent, it was only a physical shadowy mass of grasping flesh and insatiable hunger. Quite frankly it scared Jaune to the bone. It seemingly registered it surroundings, finding nothing of use in the void, before it surged at him. It was like fighting a wave from the ocean. The surging, sudden darkness coated him and surrounded his enire body. It was cold and Jaune desperately struggled within the confines of the beast. And unluckily for the both of them, there was a rather convenient mental hole behind them which they both fell into.

"Why does this stuff always happen to me!" He cried as they tumbled down the jagged chasm to an unseeable end. He and the mass of shadow were constantly being clobbered by rows and rows of jagged and hard surfaces. Not to mention Jaune was currently wrestling away the invader, with the rocks actually coming to his aid as they started colliding into the hard stones, which successfully dislodged the entity. Although he did have a rock connect rather painfully into his sternum. Or whatever body part of whatever body he was in right now. It felt like his body. Yet it was different all together. After connecting his head with a particularly nasty edge, he really needed to voice his anger.

"Alright why the hell is this even here! I mean I'm not insane. Or at least I don't think I a-oohhh" Jaune could only emit a screech of silent pain as he landed on a slender edge that had managed to hit the most vulnerable spot that all men fear of being hit. His body locked up and he would believe that he gained a rather comical facial expression as he slipped off the edge. God damn it, his own subconscious was out to hurt him. And it knew how to really well.

The shadowy mass beside him, actually showed some emotion. It actually laughed. Or what Jaune believed to be a laugh as its body of shadowy nothingness apparently fluctuated as it saw Jaune's immense pain. But karma seemed to exist in the confines of this layer of hell that resided in Jaune's subconscious, as the mass of darkness actually collided with a large protruding edge, and Jaune heard something go Splat as it broke through it. That seemed to teach it a lesson as it soon again attempted to attack him.

He didn't know how long it had been since they had fallen. It was just a never ending chasm of miscellaneously placed rocks and jutted edges that seemed to hit their most vulnerable areas. Had it not been the for the new wave of pain every five seconds, Jaune would have probably lost his mind. His attacker also seemed to have grown bored. It barely tried to attack him now. After getting several of its tendrils shucked off by colliding into whatever the hell these things actually were, it had decided to just coat itself and ride out the rest of the fall. It was lucky it had its tendrils to destroy or even maneuver out of the way of the edges, as it was progressively getting more pai-

"Again?" He squeaked out as once again he had landed on his anchor to masculinity. It would be a long fall if it kept up likes this.

Eventually they both hit the end of the chasm, but instead of a terrible landing, full of pain, they were caught in what seemed to be a hold like honey, warm and rejuvenating to Jaune. It slowly erased all the dull aches and pains from their fall and he felt himself grow less weary. What was this place? Unlike the dreadful chasm they traveled by, full of fear and misery, this place was comforting and it gave him a warm feeling in his heart. It gave him strength and he straightened his back as he turned to oppose his assailant.

However it was transfixed to something completely different. Jaune himself began to notice it as well. It was a sphere of collected, blue light. It was dense and warm, almost like a liquid. It glowed with power, bathing the room in a soft blue light that nursed Jaune and it made him feel strong.

'soul'

Jaune had to recollect his mind when he realized the invader of his dream actually talked to him. He however made it to point to downgrade it to a different form of communication. From what he could tell it had no mouth to communicate with and he doubted whatever hell this thing crawled out of , spoke Valian. But it seemed this is was a turning point. Perhaps it would actually like to talk things out rather than fight? That would be a neat change in pace. Perhaps they could actually be friends?

'soul, acquire, tear, vessel shattered'

Or it wanted to take his soul.

The invader once again surged but, Jaune was ready this time. Tendrils of shadow darted out and Jaune swiftly swung his fists at it, actually connecting a strike against one of its approaching limbs. It recoiled and the creature seemed to evaluate Jaune for several minutes. It then violently slammed him out of the way with dozens of shadowy tendrils and Jaune found himself in a daze, laying a couple of feet away from his original position.

He desperately tried to stand, but was forced into the ground when he felt something be torn away from his body. He coughed and sputtered and he desperately clawed at his chest as his heart burned with pain and anger.

It was like someone had droven a knife into him and retched it out, taking more of him with the withdrawal of the knife. The pain and the sense of losing a part of him, made Jaune angry. He identified that the invader had indeed stolen part of his soul, with the shadowy mass floating beside the now visibly smaller ball of light.

He allowed himself to take power from his anger as he charged straight towards the soul stealer.

X.

Sauron had made a miscalculation. He did not expect the resilience of this youngling's mind. Nor the terrible innards and defenses that lay within. Everything about the boy's mental state and very essence was...strange. Powerful blood flowed through him, dormant and waiting. His feä itself was strange indeed, full of strength and unknown potential.

It was a wonder why the boy hadn't become powerful in its own right. It mattered little now however, the feä was his.

Sauron had only taken a portion of the feä, when he had been rejuvenated to a higher sense of power. He could compare it to the amount of strength he had before the ring was destroyed. It was intoxicating. And there was so much more for him to take. He moved in to consume the rest of it, but he felt something propel him to away from the feä.

And it hurt.

The youngling stood before him, the close proximity with his feä bolstering his inner strength. His dormant blood that swirled around them, breathed with power, but the young one did not notice. His focus and strength were all directed at him. Such a show of strength mattered little to Sauron. But he would entertain the boy.

He allowed his full strength to be revealed. No longer was he a mass of bodiless shadows, now he could reveal himself as a real power in this dying world. The shadows of his old body ignited with fire and sweltering heat filled the subconscious of his victim. No longer was he powerless. Now he was the all seeing eye, that peered through flesh and soul alike. Made of fire and lidless, he was in the form that swayed Saruman to his cause and defeated Gandalf the Grey with little to no effort.

And yet the boy stood against him. He was no destined king, no great warrior with powerful magic. He had and was nothing. Nothing but courage. Sauron had to admit that the boy had garnered some respect from the old Maiar.

Respect, however,would not save him.

X.

Unbeknownst to the two, watching them was a dying god. Nameless and forgotten he carefully watched his last contingency plan play out as he had wanted. This world was slowly being eaten by shadows. Insatiable, and accursed, Men had no chance against them. Alone at least.

Sauron had been and always will be a variable. He was the last Maiar remaining here in this world. The last remaining spirit of the old world where the entity had ruled. Well the last predictable spirit. Not to mention he would always be the strongest. No. he and Jaune would be essential for perserving the Age of Man. But the two obviously had separate goals and drastic measures would have to be taken to ensure their compliance.

The journey to saving this world would be long and arduous, but the two would make it. If not separate, then together.

X.

Jaune admitted. He was going to lose. Whatever corporeal form he was in right now would not last against the might of this energized invader. Not to mention, the searing pain from whatever his foe took from him still hurt him, and when ever he moved to intercept it blazed in a glorious agony that nearly made him gag in pain. But he smvtood tall and ignored the burns that his current avatar was suffering as he physically pushed the giant eye away from his soul.

Then something clicked. Not literally but there was a sudden and swift change. The Eye itself retracted. It felt it to.

But it took advantage of Jaune's momentary lapse in defense and it bypassed him quickly. And before Jaune could react it sent dozens of flaming tendrils into his blue soul.

They both retracted in pain. Jaune spazzed on the ground, clutching his chest as the fiery burn in his chest ever so slowly retracted. The fiery Eye was screeching and waning and the fire surrounding it tightened as pain racked its body. It focused its one pupil on him and sent three tendrils flying at him.

To his credit he did manage to connect his fist with two of the approaching limbs. And it hurt him. Not because of the fire, which mind you still hurt, but it was like he was the one punched.

The third tendril of burning hellfire speared right through him and he let out a gurgle as the Eye began to screech again. Jaune felt fire searing his back, his front, and even the inside of his body as the pillar of fire impaled him. It quickly retracted and the wound it left quickly healed.

But the burning lingered within him and he coughed and wheezed as he tried to regain control of his breathing and reign in the pain. He instinctually clutched the place on his chest where the hole should have been. The Eye again spazzed and the fire around it tightened as it convulsed in pain. It screeched and it seemed to flicker back to its previous form, before its flaming coating returned.

They both suffered there. Tethered together by their pain they didn't sense nor see that another force had joined them. Maiar and human felled by pain. One old, timeless, angry and wanting. The other, hopeful, young, weak, but full of potential..

It was small at first. Nothing but wisps of chilly air. It gave him some reprieve, and slowly he began to heal. It nursed his burnt flesh and it gave him sharp relief from the sweltering heat radiating off the Eye.

Blue gales wafted through, ethereal and flowing like string it nursed his pains and he felt his breathing return to normal. Then, words of terrible winter and ice came with the force of a sudden storm.

'Behold. Dark Lord Sauron. Enemy to all free races of Middle Earth. Reduced to this shade. A mockery of shadows.

A woman appeared when those words were spoken. The word beauty and fair couldn't describe her. She was tall with skin like pale snow. Her long hair flowed behind her like a golden river that glowed with a the light from a fleeting candle fire.

And yet Jaune felt no attraction to her. To look at her was like to look at an ice covered peak or a spring touched meadow. Stunning and breathtaking, but having no chance to fall in love with.

'Hold your tongue elf. You are aware of who you speak to.'

So she was an elf? Jaune maneuvered himself and found that indeed she had the long pointed ears that belonged to elves. Or that's what the bed times stories his parents told him.

'You're threats mean nothing to me, Formless and Abhorrent. You have no power here.'

' I have enough. I've risen enough times from the ashes of defeat time and time again. Even death is no obstacle for me. Middle Earth is mine.

The elf's voice was like winter, blunt, powerful, and chilling. Sauron's was like a small fire. Burning and with the undertone of it growing to be so much more. Sauron shifted uneasily, aggressively holding his form back from attacking her. Who was this elf that the monster he was fighting wouldn't attack her.

'The world you know is gone. Moulded by time, the Middle Earth you knew is lost to time. What remains are lands changed by the hands of Men.'

'Then I will corrupt their hearts and destroy them from the inside of their ranks. Like I've done before. Men are weak'

'Men defeated you before. Not that the old gods will allow you to interfere. They have plans for you. And for young Jaune.

Jaune sorely wished they hadn't directed their attention to him. Sauron's one eye was enough for Jaune to wish that he was encased in ice. Now he had the the eyes of winter and hellfire piercing his soul.

Just his luck.

'What does the fledgling have to do with this plan.'

'You and young Jaune are essential in stopping their last mistake. After that, the Valar will finally fade and you can do as you please.'

She said, putting a lot of emphasis on his name. But who was she talking about? Who were these Valar?

'Oh yes. I have sensed this darkness. It has consumed a large portion of this land.'

'This darkness is relatively young, compared to the still lingering malice of Morgoth, but its become stronger. The Valar have tasked you with destroying it. Should you fail in this task or decide to play coward, know that this world would be doomed. I do believe Jaune knows this threat as 'Grimm'

X.

Sauron eyed the youngling who quailed at the term 'Grimm'. Indeed he had felt the darkness in the land, quite different from his own or his old master's. It was new. It was strong. It was hungry. Yet it bided its time. Waiting and watching. It was hiding its main forces somewhere, allowing only some of its meandering forces to do most of its work.

Sauron himself scoffed at the idea. Not that he knew any better of war. He had lost twice after all.

The ethereal elf gave him a look of exasperation, and from his knowledge and assumptions, he assumed that the elf was somewhat blessed with some form of ability of reading his thoughts. To answer his thoughts on the matter, she smirked at him and only nodded.

Sauron growled in return.

He had almost forgotten about the elf. Almost. Had it been any other circumstance Galadriel would have found herself dead by his will. But he was no fool. She was already pass the mortal realm, she was now and envoy of the Valar themselves. To strike her would prove fruitless and suicidal. Nothing in the mortal realm could harm her, save beings of extreme power or certain magical weapons. But to strike her would turn the Valar on him and he had no intentions in fighting the old gods.

'Then give me the power to do so. I will eradicate this problem with ease'

'Do not think us fools. We are aware what you will you do if we have you power. You and Jaune will have to gain it for yourselves. Together as one entity. Your pain is his pain. His pain his yours. You're intervention will change the landscape of the his world. And when your quest is over peace will take you.'

He watched as the elf raised her hands and elegantly brought them together with a small clap. And storms were bent to her will. There plain of existence was shattered by the spectre of the elf.

Gale winds, wild tempests, and strong storms flooded the void of subconscious and thick clouds of grey covered them completely.

He heard the whelp cry out in fear and he himself felt the feeling uncertainty well in him. Then with a sound of like lightning being born, he felt his form torn asunder and with what remnants remained were drawn into the boy's feä.

Full blown fear took him as he realized what the Valar intended. And that what remained with him turned angry and as his perfect Maiar soul intertwined with the soul of the fledgling.

The golden soul of a perfected Maiar mixed with the blue, potential filled soul of a man. At first the two opposite souls collided together, and spectral energy crackled and fractured.

But within the chaos, equilibrium formed. It started at the center, a speck of white among so much colors. Then slowly it spread, overtaking the rest. Then at last the entire soul was white. Overpowering on its own, thousands of colors lays beneath the surface. Potential lay within, and with it the potential of it becoming anything they desired.

X

Jaune woke with a jolt and in a cold sweat. His stomach grumbled in pain and his breathing itself was shaky and rapid. He tumbled out of his bed, his blankets constricting and uncomfortably hot, and dry heaved as he felt something course is way through his body. It felt heavy, cold and wrong.

A daze had settled on him. He felt as though he had forgotten something incredibly. But at the moment he was too preoccupied to remember the strange dream he had. Something was wreathing inside him and he felt his body shiver and be wracked with trembling.

His coughing worsened and he began to lose vision in his left eye. He quickly and as quietly as he could muster, forced himself to the bathroom. Jaune quietly made his way through one of the halls of the Arc Manor, his hastened paces making the wooden floor boards creak and groan. His coughing and hacking also didn't help him conceal his journey to the bathroom.

Jaune thanked what ever deity was currently laughing at him as he made it to the restroom. He gagged and made himself throw up into the sink. The vile escaped his body and found itself in the sink. It left an ashy and burning sensation in his mouth and he quickly went to spit what was left of the horrid taste into the sink. To his horror, it was a black tar-like substance, that just screamed unhealthy and wrong. The fact that it had come out of him, made him shiver with fear,

He started to breathe better and his body began to settle down. But there was still some lurking wrongness in his body and his body was quick to eject it from him. He gagged again and this time the shadowy sickness was accompanied by an orange, thinner substance that burned him like fire. His breathing was once again labored and he felt absolutely exhausted as he voided the contents of his stomach into the sink.

Luckily for him his body no longer needed to dispel anything more from him, but there was a remaining dull ache within him. Especially in his heart, like it had been burned by an intense flame. He took several seconds just to catch his breathe and revel in the newly christened healthiness he felt at the moment.

His vision in his left eye was still impaired, but at least he had solved one of the many problems that plagued him at the moment. It was like he was looking through a rather old camera, with his vision distorted yet clear at the same time. He moved swiftly to the bathroom mirror, reminding himself to wash away his vile. At first it withheld against the water, but to his relief the shadowy vomit disappeared into the drain.

With one problem literally down the drain, Jaune found resolve in himself to look at the mirror.

Two different eyes stared back at him. One a vibrant blue, bordering on the color of sapphire with its glow. It was far brighter and prominent then what he was used to. Looking at it filled him with strength and confidence, and he actually felt good about himself for once. Never before had his dull blue eye looked so vibrant and powerful.

The other made him want to curl into himself from disgust and fear. It doesn't even look like it was his eye. It was an obsidian slit wreathed in flame. The flames billowed yet did not burn him and the eye seemed to not belong to him, moving on it's own, yet seemingly following his own commands at the same time. Shadow and fire twisted and knotted, chaos given form,s and yet their was power within that black pupil and the longer he stared at it, the more he lost himself in its gaze.

Instinctually he lifted his left hand to touch it but a voice in his head was vehement in him not doing it.

'I would advise you not to do that fool'

The voice cut through him like a knife, and he stiffened with fear and recognition. He had heard that voice before, he had fought against that voice before.

"What?" It couldn't be. He must still be sick. He needed to get rest and quickly too.

'Impudent fool. You are unaware of what happened? How the accursed Valar have cursed me to be bound to you.'

Jaune could only stay still and silent. What could he think? Let alone say. He currently had a supernatural being in his head from a bygone age. Jaune silently prayed that these were just side effects from whatever sickness had taken him.

'Ah yes. I can see how a simple minded fool like you would act in such away. Lesser beings have lost their sanity when they confronted me.'

"What are you?" Jaune asked. If he was going to function with this entity, the most he could do at the moment would to be at least find out what he was currently living with.

If it was capable of being louder it certainly proved it when it declared what it was.

' I am Sauron! Mightiest of the Maiar! The Second Dark Lord! The Deciever of the Elves! The Enemy to all the free races of Middle Earth. The true Lord of the Rings.'

The voice inside his head boomed with might, and it rattled his mind.

Great, a powerful Maiar now resided within him. What ever that was. That in itself wasn't too bad, but the fact was that it currently had taken a very noticeable position in his left eye socket.

"Why are you here! And what happened to my left eye!"

He asked harshly. Why did he have to be chosen for this! He couldn't even get into Signal academy, let alone fight this darkness that had these 'old gods' so scared. Why him of all people?

'The Valar have chosen us to combat this darkness. But they have seemed to lost their minds in the eons' passings because they have tethered us together into one vessel. Especially with someone like you.

Jaune chose to ignore the insult, and at least be grateful that he got some form of answer out of him.

"Why put us together then? Surely you're strong enough to stop it yourself."

Maybe if he played his cards right he cold make Sauron leave his body. Especially if he convinced him how weak he was.

' A weakling, yet having a hint of sense and deception? Perhaps this could work. But no I don't have the strength or knowledge to pull our feäs apart. Not that I could. The Valar have stitched them together with meticulous threads of power and if I attempted to, there would be inevitably be some consequences for doing so.'

So he had seen through his veil and seen his intentions. Well at least it was worth a try.

"Why? And what happened to my left eye!"

Why did the have to curse him like this! He didn't even believe in any gods. Were they punishing him for not believing in them until now?!

'A power move against me. Had they not, I would have consumed the rest of your feä. And, I am your left eye.

'Great. Just great. How could this get any worse?'

He thought, with a rather large scowl on his face. Now he had voices in his head and this thing had taken form of his left eye. How was he going to explain this everyone! Hey everyone I got some spirit in my head talking to me and he's actually my left eye. That's sounded even dumber in his head than he thought.

' From my eons of experience, I can say things can get much worse. And you are quite right, it does sound quite ludicrous.'

It took Jaune a moment to realize what just happened.

'Wait you can hear me?'

'Of course fool. We are in the same vessel, and we do share the same mind and feä.'

'What the hell! That's creepy as fuck!' Now he had someone knowing exactly what he was thinking. Great. Just great.

'Do know it is not by my decision. Please resist yourself from making any unpleasant thoughts or ideas. I could care less how you treat the females of your race or how you view yourself. Just know I will not tolerate anything that will annoy me or hinder me in anyway.

'Well this fuc-'

"Jaune! Are you alright!"

Jaune's inner musings were cut short when a voice called down from below. His mother had heard him being sick, her years of being a huntress porbbaly paying off with her hearing him vomiting in the sink.

'Shit. This isn't good.'

'What worries you so? Those voices pose no threats to us at the moment. But even if they do, I'm quite sure, even with your pathetic mortal body, you could kill them.

Jaune quickly thought back his response. 'I can't kill them! They're my parents!' Not to mention his entire family were either hunters or hunter in training. They could all kill him or plainly just knock him out with a single hit. The fact that he was the weakest member of the family didn't escape him.

'I don't see the problem.'

'You're obviously the problem here.' Jaune mentally exclaimed. He didn't know whether he was going to go crazy from this or if he already was.

'Excuse me!' Sauron exclaimed indignantly.

'Okay look. If my parents, my family, find out about this, they'll flip and that'll make more problems for us in the end.' Logic had to play a serious role in the mess they were in right now.

Sauron stayed silent for several seconds, each one making Jaune wanting to curl into himself as he heard he familiar creaks and groans of the stairs as his mother trekked up to their floor.

'What do you propose we do then?'

This time it was Jaune's turn to go silent as he slowly thought up a plan. Perhaps if he-

'That idea is preposterous. It would never work.' Sauron piped in, destroying Jaune's train of thought.

'Wait. You could hear that!'

' Please tell me that your stupidity will run out eventually. I already told you we share the same vessel. Of course I can see and hear your plans. And I'm telling you that plan is not going to work.

'You have any better ideas?' Jaune bit back. The thought of someone listening in on everything he thought of slightly unnerving him.

'If they pose a problem we will dispose of them. Sometimes the simplest plans are the best ones.' He commented, his voice filled with snark. Jaune felt himself lose another point from his sanity level.

'I'm not having this conversation again. I'm not doing that cause their my family and I have morals'

'Your morals will get you killed. But fine we'll do it your way. What do you propose we do then?'

'Can you like...dim yourself?'

'Excuse me?'

'You know? Extinguish yourself! Make yourself less...flamey'

'Besides your terrible vocabulary, I will not allow myself to be lowered to any degree. I am a Maiar, and the mightiest of them. I will face them in my full power.'

There little mental tirade was cut short, with a small knocking on the door. It was quickly followed by a quiet voice saying "Jaune? Are you all right?"

Undoubtedly to Jaune that was his mother, drawn out by his coughing and his loud, obnoxious journey to the bathroom.

'Alright this isn't going to please you, but this is the only way out of this right now, so just hang on for now.'

'Wait what are you planning...No no! I already told you it wouldn't work. No! Don't you dare! You impudent fo-'

To Jaune's credit they both roared in agony. It felt like he had been dunked in liquid nitrogen and the cold from it was so harsh it burned. Water fell from his hair and dripped off his face as he quickly found something to towel off the water.

Why did he think dunking water on them was such a good idea!

The knocking increased a the sound of their pain. "Jaune! Are you alright! Open the door!"

His mother called out louder, no doubt waking the rest of the inhabitants of their floor..

'Alright one more thing. One more thing, you can do this.'

'Don't you dare! You son of a bit-'

Once again they mentally roared in agony as they collided with the edge of the door frame. He had his left eye covered by his hands as it already began to turn red from him banging himself in the face on the wooden architecture.

Jaune clutched his left eye has he slumped agaisnt the bathroom door. Steeling himself and ignoring the booming, pained voice of Sauron in his head, along with the dull pain in his left eye, he opened the door.

His mother stood on the other side of it, looking quite worried, in her white bathrobe. Two of his sisters were behind her, Lapis and Luli, the two youngest sisters of the Arc family, who in fact were also twins. No doubt they would have been awoken by his violent coughing and loud screams of pain. And being the good little sisters they were, had come to see if he was doing well.

They looked at him with worried, albeit with some annoyance in them from being awoken at such a early time.

Most of the Arc sisters had gotten most of their traits from their father, with their blonde hair, and blue eyes. Some of them however, like Lapis and Luli had eyes mixing the two colors of their parents, emerald and blue turning their eye color to that of a light teal.

Their pretty eyes however, were overshadowed by their annoyed, and tired faces. He merely waved at them in apology.

"Are you alright! What happened to your eye!" His mother frantically fussed over him making sure to check his most likely bruised left eye. It seems that with Sauron's presence diminished he could close his left eye's lid, which was particularly helpful at this time. However it was getting quite uncomfortable especially with Sauron yelling obscenities into his head and his fiery eye reigniting within his eyelid. Yes it was very uncomfortable.

"I-I uhhh got sick. Must've been something I ate. And I accidentally hit my eye on my way on the way here. Hehe" he said nervously, rubbing the back his neck with his free hand.

'Seems your deception and cunning needs some work. Along with some other matters. I find the most disturbing is how you have little to no self confidence.'

Jaune felt himself deflate at the comment, his natural slouch returning. But with a snort of defiance he straightened his spine, apparently catching his mother and sisters by surprise. The twins actually took actually took a step backwards, realizing how tall their bumbling brother actually was. He had forgotten that he had outgrown his mother by at least three inches. The doctor had said however that he still had at least nine more inches before he reached his final height.

He felt approval within him. Not all of it was his own.

His mother took a closer look at his bruised eye, and Jaune began to pray that she didn't notice that someone had taken residence in his left eye socket. Hopefully Sauron knew how to not make himself visible through the thin layer of flesh..

"It's definitely going to be a black eye. All you need to do is ice it for a couple of hours. It'll be gone within the week." She said as she gently prodded the closed and swollen eye with her thumb. She gently massaged the bruised flesh, which brought some comfort to Jaune.

"Uh mom?" She visibly straightened and turned to him with a small smile. She retook her hand and she quietly ushered his two younger sisters back to their beds.

"Can you get me like an eye patch? I don't want to go around with a black eye. They'll make fun of me.", he said adding a bit of a pout to it for an added effect. He had no need to tell his mother who he meant.

'Clever. Perhaps there is hope for you.'

'Shut it. This is all your fault. Can you see through my eye patch?'

'You don't know who you speak to. I am the all seeing eye. I peer through muscle, bone, and soul alike.'

That brought some relief to Jaune. At least he wouldn't be completely blind in his left eye. And it seemed that Sauron indeed had better vision then he did, even with his eyelid closed.

"I'll bring one to your room. Now get some sleep.", his mother told him as she went back down stairs.

He stood there for a moment with what one could call inner peace. However the dam broke and all that had happened, all that he had become, crashed down on him and he staggered and fell.

He was scared. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't qualified at all for this. He was barely qualified to even dream.

Jaune slowly crawled his way to his bedroom, careful not to make as much noise as he did before.

'How are you so strong yet so weak' Sauron hissed in his mind. Jaune flinched at the amount of distaste in the Maiar's voice. He shut the door to his room, revealing its contents to the old spirit.

Posters of dragons against knights, dioramas of heroes against the Grimm, and everything he dreamed about. He had long gotten rid of his old action figures and other childish things. He kept the posters up to help encourage him, fill him with confidence to tackle the day. Also along the walls were various exercise and regiments that were meant to help him enter and pass the Signal Academy entrance exam.

It had failed. His measly months of training, no matter how brutal, no matter how much he wanted to or pushed himself, could make up for years of training and attending schools dedicated to combat. He had fallen behind, while all his siblings had entered Signal, the eldest of his sisters, Diamond, actually managing to become a full fledged Huntress. The others followed close behind her, leaving him in the dust. Even the youngest twins were being accepted into Signal soon.

He felt Sauron eye the walls of his room, and couldn't help but feel self conscious with the spirit eyeing the room. He was the dreamer of the family. Always had been, always would be to.

' What is it that you desire? Do you wish to be a knight? A hero?'

' I want anything. Hey make me a dragon. Just anything other than me.'

'What you are now will always be what you are. Unless you do something about it'

Jaune sighed in irritation as he flopped on his bed. He gave a sigh of relief as he sunk into the comfy mattress.

'I did do something about it. It didn't work.' He bit back. He had faced it alone, tired his best and ultimately failed. Perhaps if he had asked for help from his family before he applied then maybe he would have been let in. But he didn't. He was too stubborn and prideful to do that. He had a legacy to uphold.

'Then obviously you didn't do the right thing.' Sauron voiced, with a tone like that of someone declaring something very obvious.

' I trained! I trained so much! But no matter how much I conditioned my body, no matter how much I tired it didn't work.'

'You think measly training will get you anywhere?! You need experience fool. Any mortal can learn how to swing a sword. Any mortal can be taught to march in uniform lines. Any mortal can be taught how to hold his shield. But not every mortal can kill. Not every mortal can achieve victory form nothing. Not every mortal can change their destiny.'

'Then how do you propose I do it then! Because right now, it seems like I'm going to end up like a useless nobody.'

'I can give you power! I can give you a form where you can tear apart your foes with out flinching. Fire and ash will be yours!

'And what should I give to you?'

'Your soul. Give me your portion and your dreams of being more that who you are now.'

Jaune almost took it. He almost fell for it. He wanted that power. He wanted to be something more than what he was.

It was a ploy. Instead of benefiting him in the end, Sauron would. Sauron was trying to play him, like the demons in those horrible horror flicks. And he was not going to play the stupid, helpless victim today.

'No'

He could feel Sauron growl with approval, but Jaune knew he would never admit it or tell him why he did to begin with.

'And why not?'

' I'll be a hero on my own power. My own determination and will. I won't let anyone step in my dream's path. Even me.'

' And if you fail? If you can't succeed on your own?'

'Then I'll use your power.'

He could feel the shock from Sauron within him. He could feel his own shock from saying that

' I had thought you wished to achieve it with your own power.

'I do. Your power is my power. My pain is my pain. Galadriel told us this. No matter what dreams we both have were stuck together.'

'I won't give up my power! It dominated the old world! Why should I bend it to your will?'

'You don't need to. Just give it to me and I'll give you mine in return.'

'What type of deal are you trying to run here? What's your goal?'

'I'm trying to get us to work as one here.'

'And why should I work together with you? You're one of the weakest mortals I've ever seen.'

Jaune had to breathe and ready himself for his retort.

'Because you are weak too'

If he had expected Sauron to take that sitting down, which he didn't, but Sauron did surpass Jaune's expectations.

'What!'

Cursed fire filled his head, and he wanted to scream in agony. It quickly subsided, most likely Sauron suffering from the pain as he did. But the emotions of anger and hate were there.

'You know this. We're both weak. That's why we're together. Cause we're strong together. That's why she put us together.'

'As if I can accomplish anything with you. No, this world is mine. I will make it bend under my heel.'

'Why is it always world domination with you! What is your goal with it!'

Sauron remained silent for several moments and it gave Jaune time to relax. He allowed the soft and cool touch of his sheet and mattress give him some comfort from his hectic night,

'I don't need to explain myself to you. Fool .' He answered distastfully. Jaune felt some annoyance well up inside of him, but he squashed it. Getting angry at the voice inside his head wouldn't do anyone good.

'Well can you answer me one question?'

Sauron mentaly growled with displeasure in his head, before he sharply replied 'It rather depends on the question. If it's a stupid one I will not answer you.'

'What are you?'

'I've repeated this answer before fool. A Maiar.'

'Yes I know that. But what is it?'

Jaune was not aware he could feel someone else being flabbergasted, but the utter shock that trembled through his entire body made him shiver. Sauron himself was inner turmoil in his head and he imagined that it was like a tempest of swirling fire and ash up there. Jaune assumed that it wasn't healthy for him. The storm of emotion eventually calmed and a sense of foreign understanding filled him.

'Originally I had blamed your lack of knowledge on you just being a massively foolish plebeian, but I suppose the amount of time I've been...gone, would explain why you don't know anything of Valar or Maiar.'

'Are you going it to explain to me?' Jaune asked hopefully. He desperately wanted to find a bridge of understanding between the two and if the only way was for Sauron to tell him some tales of these 'Maiar' and 'Valar', then Jaune would willingly listen. Who knows? Perhaps it would be a great tale.

'Yes. I suppose I should. If only to fill your head with some useful knowledge. Well let's begin with the eldest being in our universe. The Creator. Eru Ilúvatar.

Jaune was surprised to hear that Sauron held some...reverence for this Eru. To hear that from Sauron, who up to this point had shown only unparalleled superiority for himself.

'I am...not quite certain on how he created the universe. The method of creating something of that magnitude and of such complexity was lost on me. But with his thoughts he created the Valar. And to aid the Valar he created the Maiar. We were called the Ainur and he birthed us from his thoughts.

'How many Valar were there?'

' I suggest that you don't interrupt me again. If it's in your best interest to have my tales inish as fast as possible. There were fifteen Valar. Manwë, Melkor, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lorien, Tulkas, Varda, Yavanna, Nieanna, Estë, Vairë, Vana, and Nessa. They all ruled a certain aspect of this world and all of them were immensely powerful.

And Sauron continued his tale far into the night, detailing the story as far as the War of the Ring. But there were details missing. Jaune couldn't put his finger on it, but there were some...elements missing his story. There were things that weren't adding up and he chose to confront his mental roommate about it.

'Which side were you on?' Jaune could actually feel the approval and surprise emanating from the Maiar.

'I'm actually surprised you picked up on my mistakes. Perhaps there is hope for you. And to answer your question I sided with Melkor. In fact I was his most trusted Lieutenant. Then I took up his mantle of Dark Lord and I sought to finish what he started. I failed in the end however. My own power my undoing.

Jaune felt a tremble of fear rack his body. The spirit in his head had faithfully served the primordial origin of evil of the world. He was his god damned lieutenant. Then he sought to finish what his master had started. Yet only one question came to mind.

'Why?'

Sauron was silent for several moments. Jaune could feel the storm of foreign emotions in his head, mostly that consisting of confusion, and a sense of loss.

'Perfection. I sought to give your world perfection. The mortal races were wasteful, they didn't truly appreciate what Eru had made for them. Melkor promised me that the world would be inbalance and in order. There would be complete and utter subjugation and we would guide you to true order.'

'Even if that meant taking away everyone else's freedom?'

'Yes.'

'That's stupid. Everyone should be free to do what they want.'

'Your world is ugly and disorderly. I sought to fix it.'

'Our world is beautiful just the way it is. Eru made it this way for a reason.'

'Eru was a fool to think it would last. What he made could be seen as a great flame, but eventually that will fade away.'

'Then I'll prove to you our world isn't ugly. I'll show you how beautiful it truly is.' With that mental declaration he expected a lot of things from Sauron. That didn't include him laughing.

'What about a wager then? You prove to me how this world deserve to stay at it is. I'll prove to you why this world needs to change.'

Jaune gulped and wet his lips. 'And what are we wagering?'

'Our control of our feä. If I win. I'll take yours. If you win. You take mine.'

'I thought we shared a soul.'

'We do, but make no mistake. I control a portion while you control the other. If one we're to lose control of our said feä, the other would become far more powerful.'

Jaune once again gulped. If he won, he would regain his soul, but if he lost...he would lose what little he had. But he couldn't back down from this. No he would beat Sauron at this wager of his. Even if it killed him.

'Its a deal.'

Sauron laughed loudly in his mind as Jaune felt some regret seep into his resolve. He had literally made a deal with the devil, and he was all alone to face him.

He took a deep breath and allowed himself to calm down. To get through this endeavor he would need some sleep and fast. Jaune checked the clock on his wall, and to his horror found that it was nearing four in the morning. He quickly shuffled in his bed, settling in to the soft pillow and allowing the warm covers of his bed to give him a wave of comfort.

When his eyes closed and a semblance of comfort eased itself into his mind, he found that Sauron had another question for him.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm trying to sleep. I don't know about you, but us 'mortals' need our rest. We actually die if we don't get enough thought to his Maiar mental roommate. Sauron seemed to ponder this, and the silence between them was rather relaxing.

'I will admit, I have been feeling rather...weak. This sleep is doing an acceptable job of alleviating it.'

'Are you saying that you're actually tired?'

'The state of being 'tired' is a feeling that no Maiar was designed to have. Only certain Maiar and Mortals were meant to sleep, to conserve to their pitiful strength. I must have gained this trait from you.'

'Well, I'm sorry but sleeps essential to me.'

'Pitiful mortal. But this state of sleeping I will admit is rather...enjoyable. It gives me strength. Perhaps now I can face the accursed elf.'

'Who is she?' If what Sauron was true about the Maiar, for a single woman, not mattering if she was an elf or not, to resist and actually defeat one was incredible,

'The elf women that tied us together holds the title as Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien and a rather large thorn in my side for a very long time. I had thought she would have faded along with the rest of her race, but it seems that the remaining Auinur have combined what little strength they have to send us that message.'

'They're putting a lot of faith is us to stop the Grimm. They've been around for centuries. How can we stop them?'

'Easy enough asnwer. We cut the head off the proverbial snake.'

'Wow! I never thought about it!' Jaune thought back with large amounts of sarcasm in his thoughts. 'Only problem is I never killed a Grimm.'

'That is a problem welp. We will have to start training soon. Some sword forms, fighting styles, and actual encounters will do the trick. We'll start tomorrow.'

Jaune blinked in surprise, and felt a form of...gratitude for the Maiar. His family had given up on his training, his older sisters usually busy with school or on their own hunter missions, while his father and mother ran around, doing jobs and trying to provide for their huge family. It wasn't that he held a grudge against them, it was just extremely difficult to find some free time for him to get some training from his parents or his older siblings. Not to mention not getting accepted in Signal was a massive blow to him.

'Really?'

'Of course. If were going to stop this threat of the Grimm, we must train as soon as possible. Not to mention if we finish their request, I'll be alone in this world, uncontested.'

'Well that's nice and all, but I'm going to enjoy the amount of rest I'm getting right now.', Jaune responded back as he unconsciously snuggled deeper into his blankets, its heat and softness being far more appreciative and enjoyable.

'Yes I must admit this sleep is quite...enjoyable. You mortals do this every night?'

'Sometimes we do it during the day as well. Sometimes we don't even wake up for days at a time.' Such talk reminded of Jaune of a point where his parents had went on a mission, and when they returned they slept for two days straight. Quite an achievement in regards to the house of Arcs.

'I look forward to it. Now with this sudden complication thrown upon us I'd li-' Sauron was silenced by a loud banging on their door and loud commotions from all over the manor, signaling the beginning of a new day for the Arc family.

'Morning already?!' Jaune questioned with great scrutiny as he pried his eyes open and glared at the wall mounted clock that read the time at precisely 7:00. Internally Jaune felt his body groan in protest, instinctively wanting more rest and shut eye. And gratefully he wasn't the only one.

'Time seems to have been altered when you closed your eyes. We are being deceived by some form of magic, get back in the bed and close your eyes and see if this illusion will hold.'

A softer knocking at his door peaked caught his attention and he quickly got up to answer it, despite Sauron's grumbling. Remembering his cover up from last night, Jaune made sure to softly rub his left eye, before he retracted it realizing that Sauron had taken up residence within it once again.

'Dim yourself.' Jaune hissed with urgency as he made his way to the door. Sauron began to retaiaiting again at him verbally, but realizing that it wasn't worth it, allowed the fire of his presence to retreat back into Jaune's body.

'Thanks.' Sauron just gave his impression of a grunt before he responded with.

'Answer the one at the door, before I force us to return to that blissful bed. Dawn's light as not yet chosen to fully peak over the horizon, we have time for more sleep. After that we will begin to train you and see how much work is needed before we head outt on our quest.'

Jaune full heartedly agreed with the plan, but unfortunately the Arc family would not take sleeping-in from its perfectly healthy family members. Wheh the days young, that meant more could be achieved, wether it be some mundane task or out in the world gaining wealth and glory, the Arc family would always rise to the call of dawn's first shine.

Checking himself in the mirror, he quickly began to actively rub his left eye and ignored the dull ache emanating from the bruised flesh. Satisfied with what he saw, he quickly opened his bedroom door and found himself face to face with his mother.

Full of early morning energy the matriarch of the Arc family greeted him with a small smile. Until she saw him rubbing his left eye. At that time she just tsked in annoyance, before she began to softly chide him.

"Don't rub your eye. Your only going to keep it worse. Here.", she said as she presented to him an eyepatch. It was the generic kind, not the exuberant and lavish ones he often saw on those terrible action movies or what several rich and famous hunters had wore before.

'You mortals have no taste in looks.' Sauron commented as Jaune began fastening the eyepatch to his head, sliding the black piece of fabric over his eye.

'I don't know why you're complaining. This is your fault after all.' Jaune shot back as he fidgeted with the unfamiliar piece of clothing.

"Leave it be. Now come down for breakfast, before your sisters and your father eat everything." His mother said as she began to make her way down the stairs. Jaune quickly followed her, and he took several moments to appreciate the decorated and cozy halls of the Arc Manor. The Manor had been in the Arc family for generations and while not as large as the other famous families of Remnant it was still large enough to accommodate his entire family and have extra room for luxury and additional commodities.

'I've seen better. My tower of Barad-dur puts any of your manors to shame.' Sauron commented. Jaune would have to remember that his mind didn't all belong to him and he had an ever present observer who was willing to comment on everything.

'You had a tower?'

'Of course. There I could observe my conquest of Middle Earth. It also aided in the intimidation of the mortals, break their morale, show them how far they had to reach to stand at my level.'

'Why do I get stuck with the second Dark Lord of all things? Why not the Lord of the Forest or something? Why do I get stuck with the bent on conquering the whole world?' Jaune thought. He didn't know wether he meant it as a joke or if he was being serious, but Sauron seemed not to care about it.

'You've taken the fact of who I am rather well. I had expected more dramatic and emotional reactions.' Sauron commented, ignorant of Jaune's true feelings towards the old Maiar.

'To be fair, you scare the hell out of me.' Sauron growled with pride at his answer.

'As you should be. I have felled greater men and elves than you can possibly imagine.'

'But I'm shouldn't be.' He could feel Sauron lift a proverbial eyebrow at that.

'And why not? You know who I am and what I've done.'

Jaune gathered his courage and his wits as he prepared what he was going to say. Or rather think would be the correct term.

'Two reasons actually. First one, you can't hurt me without hurting yourself. Second you've already made that wager with me.'

Sauron began laughing and the sound made Jaune flinch in fear of what his mental roommate was thinking.

'What makes you think I can't break the wager? What makes you think I can't break you?'

'Cause if you did, you'd break our wager and the prize would be off. Even if you did break me, make me want your power, you wouldn't be able to have mine. If it was possible you'd already have done it.'

It was silent after Jaune's retort. If someone had blinked Sauron and Jaune would have heard it. There was churning storm in his mind, growing, feeling. Then it was gone and replaced by the rumbling of thunder. Only it wasn't.

'HAHAHAHAHAHHA' Sauron cackled within the confines of their mind. It was loud, and it seemed to echo through the hall way they were walking through.

'Perhaps this will actually work. I've misjudged you boy. There is hope for this quest after all. We will train immediately after we deal with the pain in our stomach.'

To punctuate his declaration, Jaune's stomach began grumbling loudly. And Sauron nearly went into a panic attack, not truly recognizing what the natural functions of a mortal body were.

'Quickly fool, we must find a healer immediately. Your stomach is most likely poisoned. If we don't find medical attention soon I'm afraid we'll perish. Oh no! I can already feel the poison's affect. It hurts!'

'Calm down would you? It isn't poison. My stomach is growling because we're hungry. Humans kinda need it to survive you know?' With Jaune's reassurance Sauron finally calmed down, and Jaune knew he would never admit it, but he could feel the lingering feeling of embarrassment.

'Ah yes. I forget that you mortals are incredibly fragile. So where do we remedy this hunger of ours?'

'Well that's where we're going right now.' Jaune said with a smirk as he arrived at a large, decorated pair of wooden doors. Already he could hear the clanging of silverware and the loud conversations and various topics being discussed.

He quietly opened the door, hoping that everyone would be too embroiled with the usual chaos of breakfast to notice him. Jaune of course was immediately the center of the entire family's attention. All conversations had ended, food laid forgotten for several moments, and all eyes were trained on him.

'We will work on your stealth later on.'

He was immediately swarmed by his sisters, with the exceptions of Lapis and Luli, who were already aware of his eye injury. The rest of his sisters we already asking questions and all in all being annoyingly protective of him.

" What happened to you?" Diamond, the eldest asked as she fussed over him, making sure that there wasn't anything else wrong with him. Diamond, tall and beautiful, was the perfect picture of a Huntress. Strong, capable, smart, and determined she had recently won many accolades and titles with the defense of the surrounding villages. Her weapon, Alba Mors, the White Death, was her weapon against the Grimm. The sword-spear was capable of shifting form into a compact rifle, and when wielded by Diamond she had proven to be on par with his parents, both with decades of experience.

On the battlefield she was nigh infallible, especially with her semblance, which allowed her to 'consume' power from fallen Grimm. Yet, with her ferocity on the front against the Grimm, she did a one-eighty when she came home. She was sweet, kind, and always willing to help her family on anything they wanted.

He felt someone lift his eyepatch, and luckily for them Sauron had sensed their intentions and had retreated from Jaune's left eye. They gently prodded it and they gave their own input about it.

"Slight bruising. Damage sustained from a strong, blunt object. No permanent damage to the eye. Full recovery expected in at least four days, barring any more sustained damage.", Beatrice mumbled to her self. Her eyes were like sharpened knives of emerald, peering at every imperfection on his black eye.

Beatrice was the self dubbed 'Field Medic', having training in the medical field and with combat. And to be fair, Jaune was quite sure she had killed more things then heal people. That alone made her even scarier than Diamond.

Sanctus Mors, was a staff with two very different ends. The Holy Death's, damage dealing end, was a sturdy, slim blade capable of rending the flesh of Grimm with little to no effort. The end which aided with her position of field medic utilized the usuage of dust crystals to help accelerate the Hunter's natural ability to heal with their aura.

Beatrice gave a tsk, and with finishing her examination moved back to her spot to the tables followed by Diamond, trusting her younger sister's readings.

Emerald, and the elder twins Violet and Pearl, however fulfilled their roles as the teasing sisters quite well.

"Wow! Looking good lil bro.", Violet said, wrapping one of her arms around him. To her surprise she actually had to elevate her arm to actually do so. When did her little brother get so tall?

"You trying to get some girls with that new look?" Pearl teased, and Jaune felt his cheeks unconsciously blush from the teasing.

The eldest twins of the Arc family, Pearl and Violet, were the jokesters and the pranksters. Their mother had already received many calls froms Signal's professors, concerned with the twin's behavior and their usual pranks around the school. They would never listen of course, their mother giving up a long time ago.

"I'd think you would have a chance. If you actually had the nerve to speak to them.", Emerald said, giving him a sly smirk. He didn't know if she was being teasing or just plain mean. Emerald was very much like the older twins in terms of her personality. Her words were just a bit more...stinging then the elder twins.

'Are you just going to take this and not return any remarks of your own?' Sauron asked. Jaune could feel him observing them, studying them, finding anything he could about them in what time he had.

'Yes. If I do say something back it's only going to get worse for us.' Jaune replied, as he maneuvered out of the way of his teasing sisters, positioning himself at his usual spot at the dining table.

"Girls stop teasing your brother and finish your breakfast.", his father said from behind a large news paper. An elegant mug of coffee steamed beside him, and leaning against the table was the legendary Ignis Mors. The Flaming Death, a great axe embued with a fire dust crystal during its creation. When in the right hands, and when the wielder poured aura into it, it ignited with a dangerous flame, making it twice as deadly. Ignis Mors and his father were well known through the frontier for defending towns from Grimm and raiders alike.

Next to him was his mother, and not far away from her reach was the equally famous shotel, Argentum Mors. The shotel was one of the oldest weapons within the Arc family, but it had survived for a very good reason. Not only was it's primary form incredibly deadly, with a strong pull, the shotel's blade could be split apart to create a secondary short sword. Within her hands, Savannah was a literal storm of steel and sharp edges.

A life as a hunter had left them wary, and always on edge, even within the safety of their own homes. They always had their weapons around. Always, no matter the situation or place.

Jaune settled himself into his chair, and quickly grabbed the required platery and silverware. He gave the the familiar, and comforting breakfast spread, a look of pride.

'You mortals are quite...passionate about satisfying your hunger.' Sauron observed as they both regarded the table full of delectable breakfast items. And he wasn't wrong. The Arc family loved eating as much as they loved combat. Tales of their feasts and parties were just as revered and read as tales of their feats of combat.

Salty, familiar, sunny-side up eggs, accompanied by fatty, delicious strips of bacon were plated all over the table. A hearty pot of breakfast porridge, mixed with chunks of succulent chicken flesh and flavorful greens stood at the center, half empty, yet still producing wafts of steam into the air. An entire loaf of bread had been toasted, and alongside it were half a dozen condiments. Donuts and Muffins were currently being ransacked by the youngest twins, who stuffed their faces with the sweet dough.

Cereal boxes were neatly lined up on one end of the table. All of them were opened and were at varying levels of emptiness. The Pumpkin Pete's Marshmellow Cereal only had a quarter of its contents left, while Bran's Boring Ass Oats was only touched upon by their father. Pitchers of milk accompanied them, along with a neat stack of bowls.

'Well we do have to eat a lot. Might as well make it pleasurable.' Jaune responded as he plated himself some eggs, and bacon. Two slices of toast stood near by, along with a bowl of steaming porridge. Jaune recollected that he indeed had vomited up a lot of content last night, a reason for how hungry he was currently.

He deftly sliced a piece off a egg, the semi hard white of the egg quickly being impaled on his fork. Jaune actually felt Sauron tense as the parcel of food inched closer to their mouths.

'Relax. It's only fo-' Whatever Jaune attempted to think was rather scrambled by him chewing the piece of egg in his mouth. His mind was blank, void of everything save the explosive taste of the egg in his mouth. Sauron too was almost broken by this entirely new experience for the Maiar.

And while both their minds shattered and began to fix themselves, Jaune continued to chew.

And chew.

And chew.

And chew.

Until at last Jaune subconsciously decided to swallow the delicious breakfast morsel.

It was comepltelly silent in his head. Both of them were reeling from the new experience with food, especially Sauron, who for a millennia had not worried at all about such mortal things like hunger.

But this. This was quite different. It was a new sensation, a new feeling. It gave him a form of warmth and left a lingering effect on his mind that he couldn't place. He had never tasted before. This new revelation of senasations and feelings needed to be recreated.

Immediately.

'More?'

'More.'

And Jaune fell upon the delicious food with gusto. The eggs and bacon were quickly eaten, yet slowly chewed, a temperamental mix between wanting to eat as much as possible and to savor each bite. It was a whole new thing for the soul-bounded duo. Jaune's taste buds had apparently doubled by Sauron's presence, and the Maiar found himself enjoying this entirely new concept of his senses.

A piece of plain toast was quickly devoured, the browned bread crunching between his teeth. A glass of milk soon disappeared after it.

'Eru has blessed your kind with this sense of taste. To know that I've spent my entire existence ignorant to the pleasures of food. I'm stricken with grief.' Sauron complained as they enjoyed the bowl of porridge. It filled them with warmth and as Jaune finished the rest of it, a sated feeling washed over them. It was a calm feeling, a moment of contentedness filled them. Sauron as the first to shake it off.

'Alright, enough rest. We have a lot of work to do. Take us to where we can train alone.' Sauron voiced. Jaune mentally agreed and stood up from the dining table.

"I'm going into town today Mom.", he said as he finished the rest of his milk. His father gave him a glance from behind his newspaper, before turning to his mother. She gave him a small smile, before turning back to Jaune.

"Alright dear. Be back for dinner alright?" She said with a smile. He gave a smile in return before he rushed upstairs to get ready for his outing.

'You're acting isn't bad. I doubt they noticed a thing.' Sauron reassured as Jaune prepared himself for the day.

X.

They had noticed everything. The adult Arc had noted everything of their only son. He was abnormally quiet, and didn't bite back at his sisters when they had begun to tease him. Then he had devoured his breakfast like had never eaten food in his life. Then Jaune had decided to go into town. By himself!

No, something was going on that needed immediate action. They had ignored his sudden change from six months ago, and how recently he had become rather despressed.

Savannah Arc would not take this laying down. Her baby boy had something troubling him and rather than go to his family for help had opted to take care of it himself. Brave, but stupid. Maybe he had trouble with a local gang?! Maybe he was doing drugs and had created his own drug cartel!? Maybe he was being recruited into a secret organization, formed to combat against the evils of the world!?

Maybe she was being too paranoid.

"Diamond. Beatrice." Only the eldest of her daughters would be suited for this mission. They would have to fulfill their duty as Jaune's oldest sisters and watch over him and make sure he was truly okay.

Dutifully they stood by her. Ready for her commands.

"Watch Jaune. Take care of him. Make sure everything about him is alright."

Savannah didn't need to turn around as her daughters disappeared with a flash of speed. Her hair fluttered from such sin intense displacement, fueled by sisterly love, and an evil smirk spread across her face. Her baby thought he could hide things from her? He couldn't be more wrong.

Matthias Arc gave his wife a wary look and when realizing her antics, he began his own machinations.

"Violet. Pearl. Protect your brother. Your mother is planning something."

There was only one logical answer for Jaune's rapid change in behavior. A girl. His son was becoming a man! No wonder he had been exercising so rigorously recently! He was trying to impress someone! He was being all dopey because he didn't know what to do! Now he was going on a date! His mother would never understand his intentions.

The eldest pair of twins vanished with the same impressive amount of speed as their older sisters. Today would be very interesting for Jaune indeed.

X.

The town of Canvas, was one of the more advanced frontier towns. It was successful and with the resident family of the Arcs, and having its own combat ready militia, was capable of repelling most Grimm attacks and the rare bandit raid.

It flourished with business and tourist with its beautiful location in the wilderness of Vale, it was a flourishing town rife with civilians and military personnel alike.

'This settlement would be in ruins of it was attacked. Your protective walls are too small, and you have no chokepoints within to delay the enemy. Not to mention, I've seen no evidence of a defensive army.'

'It's because we're in a state of relative peace. We have no need for every town to be defended by a big army.'

'What about this Grimm blight?'

Jaune could only smirk in pride. 'That's what my family's for. The Arc family is well known for being great Hunters. We've been like that for generations.'

'You're family didn't seem to have many bows and arrows. And I doubt a great axe would be an effective hunting weapon.'

'They aren't Hunters in the traditional sense. They're specifically trained to kill, or hunt Grimm. And they're pretty damn good at it.' Jaune thought with pride.

'Yes they seem to be quite exceptional. All of them do. Except you.'

He could feel his ego break and ooze out of his body, as Sauron's laughter replaced it. That insult cut deeper than what Sauron probably thought it did. But instead of bringing him down further, it only fueled his determination. Today he would change that. Today he would start the the journey of becoming a powerful Hunter.

The Dojo, was Canvas's resident and only gym. It wasn't special in any way, possessing the usual and generic gym machines and other excercise equipment. No, what made the Dojo special was the large training yard behind it. It was hardy used, but it had all the required equipment that Jaune needed.

'Good. Grab the wooden sword and shield. We will start soon.'

Jaune gripped the wooden 'sword', which in truth was only a heavy, long stick of polished wood. His shield was a simple warped plank, with a piece of rough leather acting as the handle. Jaune breathed in deeply and allowed what ever worries or self doubt to flow out of him. He was empty of pride and self loathing. He was ready to learn.

'Listen to what I say. And let your body flow to it.' Sauron said. Jaune trusted the Maiar here. He had spent his time with some of the greatest swordsman of their age. He had seen the military might of one of old world's greatest empires, even becoming its most trusted advisor. Admiting he did manipulate them to destroy themselves, but Jaune pushed that thought away. Sauron knew what he was talking about here.

'Shield up. A blow comes from the left. What do you do?'

Instead of flat out answering Jaune forcefully brandished his shield in the general direction. Jaune himself could feel that he had done something wrong, especially as he had to right himself from such a forceful block.

'Do not attempt to attack the assault. Block it. There is no need for you to open yourself up and waste such potential energy on a futile move. Do it again.'

Once again Jaune moved to block, holding the shield close to his body, his limbs were tight and to be perfectly honest he felt really cramped.

'Now you have no room. What happens when a powerful strike hits your shield? It'll make the purpose of the shield completely useless. Do it again.'

Jaune gritted his teeth and one again brandished his shield, his body like unbending steel. It was silent for a moment, before Sauron's voice came back, filled with snark.

'Hardly acceptable. But better.'

Jaune couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. Determination fueled the fire within him and his body yearned for more strenuous activity. He was ready to learn.

X.

Above the Dojo's roof four figures peered down on the unknowing Jaune as he trained. The four Arc sisters felt dread etch itself into their hearts. Their little brother was trying to become a Hunter again. And this time he was serious if evident by the training he was subjecting to himself. Alone.

When Jaune ever put his mind he would never stop until he completed it or keeled over from exhaustion. Mostly it was the exhaustion part, but his stubbornness was reminiscent from the old tales of the Arc heroes. He wouldn't quit until it killed him. And his drive for this certain dilemma could actually get him killed.

The Arc family would always support Jaune. No matter what he wanted to become, but a Hunter was a dangerous profession they don't believe he was ready for. Hell, he didn't even know what aura was. Mom and Dad had made it very clear with Jaune concerning his aura.

No they needed to report this to mom as soon as possible. But they had rather pressing matters.

"Ohhhh. Achieve Men shirts are on sale! Come on Petal! "Violet screamed as she saw one of the sale posters being plastered on one of Canvas's many clothing outlets. Violet was a streak of yellow as she zipped off the roof and began making her way to the specific clothing store. Three blonde blurs followed closely behind.

X.

So that's that for now. I really wanted to do an Rwby fanfic, cause it's an interesting world.