1,150Chapter 1 - Prattling Prologues
Jaune Arc groaned as he became aware of the light seeping in through the cracks between his eyelids, and twisted away from it even as he tried waving his hand in its general direction, hoping to get back to the comfort of slumber for a few more minutes.
The movement generated a dull ache in his sore arms, and idly a small part of him wondered why he had apparently decided to have a practice spar with Pyrrha after going through one of Nora Valkyrie's special workouts.
It was the only reason his bleary mind could think of to explain why his body felt like a herd of Goliaths had used it as a dance floor during a particularly lively rave, but at the same time it just didn't add up.
After all, why would he ever willingly undergo that experience again, especially when yesterday had been the day of the Vytal Festival Grand Finals, and Pyrrha and Penny had been-
The slight breeze gently caressing him suddenly felt chilling, as disorganized memories from the previous day began flashing through his mind.
The Vytal Festival!
Penny!
The White Fang!
Grimm!
Atlas's robots!
Ozpin!
That fire witch and the Grimm Dragon...
Pyrrha...
Ruby...
Jaune ignored his body's protests as his eyes burst open, and his torso shot up off of the ground as his mind began rapidly piecing together what it could.
The White Fang had attacked Amity Colosseum just as Pyrrha had (for some reason) torn Penny to shreds (and revealed that she was a robot, but that really hadn't mattered considering the events of the day), and hijacked Bullheads carrying Grimm had begun landing throughout Vale and Amity even as the Atlesian Knights (there ostensibly to provide security) had suddenly turned on them, and Atlas's Navy had torn itself apart.
And then, in all the chaos around them, Headmaster Ozpin had suddenly called Pyrrha away.
He'd snuck away to follow them, worried about his partner's recent uncharacteristic behaviour, to find some pods under the school, one of which had been occupied by a comatose lady.
He hadn't been able to learn just what was going on, or who she was, before she'd been unceremoniously killed by a sudden glass arrow to the chest.
And then...
His eyes began watering, as he recalled the final events of the night.
Ozpin had stayed behind to hold the intruder off, while they'd tried to escape.
They'd made it out just in time to see the intruder flying up the elevator shaft of Beacon's Clock Tower, unopposed by their Headmaster.
After that, as the Grimm Dragon had joined the intruder at the top of the tower, he'd sent his partner away to get help (and for her safety; she may have been some big-shot champion, but that woman had taken down the Headmaster) while he'd stayed behind to delay her (between her flying powers, ability to defeat Ozpin, and seemingly-obedient Grimm Dragon... he couldn't let her get to the evacuation Bullheads. Also, Ozpin had said something about making sure the tower didn't fall, but he didn't really understand that).
That... had gone as well as could have been expected, but he'd managed to survive long enough for Pyrrha to show up with Ruby and Weiss.
And then...
Jaune's breath hitched in his throat, and he began frantically running his hands up and down his torso even as he gave himself a quick once-over.
His eyes and fingers didn't lie.
The jagged holes punched through his bloodied breastplate spoke for themselves.
Towards the end, the witch had sent a wave of glass shards flying throughout the room.
Ruby had been too distracted (by him, no less!) to notice until it had been too late.
But he hadn't.
His body had moved instinctively, and before he knew it he was on the ground in front of Ruby, his worn-down Aura finally shattered, leaving his unprotected body to absorb the full force of the attack.
The last thing he remembered was his partner calling out his name while his first friend in Beacon stared at his prone form in horror, all while he'd tried to get up, to reassure them that it was alright, that he was fine, before a silver light had suddenly flooded his vision.
...
Had... had he...?
Sucking in a deep breath, he pressed a trembling finger through the largest hole in his armor, before almost collapsing in relief as he felt not a bloody wound, but his still-intact chest.
He knew he'd been hurt badly, but by the look (or the feel, if he wanted to make his fellow blonde in Team RWBY laugh while everybody else groaned) of things, he'd survived long enough for his Aura to recover and heal him.
Which probably meant that his friends had either won that fight, or at least managed to get him away from it.
... he honestly found the latter option the most likely; his friends were strong, sure, but whoever their enemy was, she'd killed Ozpin!
And that was before she'd gotten a pet Grimm Dragon!
Jaune paused for a moment, as his thoughts turned to Beacon's eccentric Headmaster.
He hadn't really known him well, not like Ruby or Pyrrha probably had (his friends having been scouted by him personally and all), but Ozpin had always seemed like a wise and reliable man, young enough at heart to understand his students while also being old and experienced enough to properly guide and advise them.
It was... difficult, to imagine Beacon as he'd been through it, without Ozpin.
The old man had definitely deserved better.
Jaune closed his eyes for a moment, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
No matter what he felt...
... especially after what had just happened throughout the Kingdom...
...
... he had to be strong, if only for his friends and his team.
They needed him to be there for them; he couldn't let himself fall apart while there were still pieces to pick up, and rebuilding to be done.
He would not let them down again.
And hey, that was what heroes were supposed to be, right? Strong, stalwart, and dependable?
...
... he really had his work cut out for him, didn't he?
Even Pyrrha would find it difficult to apply any of those to him (though he knew his partner would still try, Oum bless the best partner he could have ever asked for)!
... well, just like his transcripts, he'd just have to fake it, and hope he eventually figured out how to make it somewhere down the line...
Taking another deep breath, he slowly exhaled, before opening his eyes and taking his first good look at his surroundings.
Instead of sterile walls and bright lights (or even the thin fabric of a tent), he found himself staring at a bright blue sky, and a forest full of tall and thick trees.
Jaune blinked.
This... wasn't a hospital.
...
In fact, this wasn't even Beacon at all.
...
... where was he?
The Emerald Forest?
No, if it were he should have been able to spot Beacon in the distance...
And all he saw around him was forest.
And where was everyone, anyway?
"... Pyr?" Jaune softly called out even as he quickly pushed himself off the ground and reached for his weapon (remembering Beacon's survival rules that Glynda Goodwitch had drilled into him). "Ruby? Ren? Nora?"
A complete lack of any response greeted him, as did a lack of a sword when he grabbed his shield-sheath.
Jaune blinked, and looked back down at the empty sheath, before remembering how that last fight had gone.
...
No friends, no sword, no Scroll, and absolutely no idea where he was.
...
Jaune couldn't help but quietly gulp as he found himself hoping that wherever he was wasn't swarming with Grimm.
-ROYAL STABLES, CAMELOT, AT ROUGHLY THE SAME TIME-
Mordred quietly hummed to herself behind her helmet even as she enthusiastically loaded supplies onto the saddle bags of her horse, and mentally ran through the details of her plan once again.
Sure, getting sent to Camelot and being made a Knight of the Round Table... having her abilities acknowledged by the Perfect King... was the best thing to have ever happened to her (if only because she was finally free from that bitch that she was forced to call "mother")...
But life in Camelot... wasn't as simple as she'd expected.
The other Knights didn't magically respect her, just because she was a fellow member of the Round Table.
The servants and guards in the castle still gave her a wide berth when she passed, and whispered in her wake.
She didn't magically make new friendships, gain new companions.
Not that she cared, of course; she just wanted to serve the King, and even her current situation was leagues ahead of anything she'd ever experienced.
And she most definitely was not envious, seeing the way her older siblings were treated compared to her!
Especially Gareth, who didn't even have to hide her face!
She was twice the fighter Gareth would ever be, and yet Gareth already had a seat number despite still being Lancelot's squire!
And the way everyone else seemed to agree that Gareth would someday be the greatest of the Knights of the Round Table...
Hello? She was so awesome she'd skipped even being a squire!
(The fact that this wasn't in any way Gareth's fault was known to (and ignored by) Mordred. Only Agravain knew Mordred was their half-sibling; Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth had been deemed too soft and compassionate by Morgan, and she'd decided to keep them in the dark. In any case, Mordred's blunt attitude hadn't exactly won her any favors to begin with.)
Of course, it wasn't like she cared about receiving respect from the others.
Of course, it wasn't like she needed approval from the others.
Of course, it wasn't like she wanted to be treated like how the others treated her older siblings.
Oh, no.
She was merely gearing up and preparing to ride to Snowdonia because she'd overheard Sir Bors and Sir Percival discussing how the Addanc that the King had dragged out of Llyn Barfog was preying on unwary travelers once more, and she wanted to be of service to the Perfect King of Knights!
... and if she managed to earn a merit and impress the others with this (just like in the picture books she'd grown up with), well, that would just be a totally-unfortunate-and-unintended side effect, now wouldn't it?
"Sir Mordred?"
A sudden voice from behind her almost made her jump, and she turned around to find Agravain studying her with stern eyes.
"Don't sneak up on me like that, Agravain!" Mordred complained, pouting at her half-brother under her helmet.
Agravain fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing his youngest sibling well enough to make an educated guess as to her expression under her helmet (Morgan had sent him regular reports about Mordred, having intended for him to be Mordred's handler for her usual treacherous schemes), and instead decided to save his breath and cut to the chase: "What are you doing, Mordred?"
"What does it look like, Agravain?" Mordred didn't bother hiding the bitter sarcasm in her voice, not having forgiven Agravain yet.
"It looks like you're preparing for a trip... despite what was discussed in the previous meeting." Agravain drily observed, before his eyes narrowed. "Mordred..."
"It'll be fine!" Mordred quickly reassured Agravain, not wanting to admit that she may not have been paying attention during the meeting (since it had been Lancelot speaking, and not King Arthur).
"Mordred..." Agravain pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"It'll just be a short trip to Snowdonia and back!" Mordred pressed on. "No one will even notice that I'm gone!"
"That's not the-" Agravain began, before his mind processed her destination, and recalled one of the more recent reports he'd received about it. "Wait, is this about that water demon?!"
Mordred began slowly backing up towards her horse even as she quickly explained: "Yeah... you know... dealing with monsters and protecting the people are what knights are supposed to do, right?"
"What knights are supposed to- is this about what Sir Lancelot said?!" Agravain groaned, as he finally put two and two together, and it was with a deep and quiet sigh that he tried to talk her out of it: "Mordred..."
Unfortunately for him, while he'd been speaking, Mordred had managed to grab the reins of her horse, and it was with a swift and fluid motion that she leapt up, pulling herself onto her horse, even as she shouted a command at the warhorse, who immediately began galloping out of the stables (and forcing Agravain to dive out of the way lest he be trampled).
"Don't worry, Agravain!" Mordred's voice sailed back as her figure disappeared over the horizon. "I'll be back before you know it!"
"DAMN IT, MORDRED!"
Author's Notes: This is the part where I'd say something about how the milk has suddenly spoiled, the crops have failed, and the children have begun crying, as I once again begin writing... but I'm honestly betting people don't remember me nearly enough for that.
As for why I'm back... well, like I said back in the postscript of SCENARIO: SABER OF RED (Chapter 100 of All The Difference In The Worlds), there's definitely some potential to be had in a Jaune-Mordred story, and it's truly such a shame that I couldn't find any really good "Jaune in Camelot with Mordred" stories (though, to be fair, I haven't really been looking very hard, on grounds of being as overworked as ever).
Someone really ought to develop that story... and hey, I had to do something, to celebrate the one-year-anniversary of ATDITW and that hot mess hitting a million views...
On a side note, just to confirm when in the RWBY timeline this Jaune comes from... basically, once again (just like in my past two RWBY stories), this Jaune took Pyrrha's place, and died during the events of the Fall of Beacon, before being isekai'd to Camelot. As for why I'm not fleshing out Jaune's final battle in Beacon... I've already written it twice, as the first chapter of ATDITW (that this is a spin-off of), as well as the first chapter of Two Worlds, One Arc-nomaly (the original story that ATDITW was a spin-off of).
I don't see the point of writing it for a third time, to put it bluntly, not when anyone can read those stories.
And no, I haven't exactly improved since the end of ATDITW... god, this is going to be another mess, isn't it...
Why am I doing this again? I don't think anybody asked for it, especially not from me...
As for the bits about Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth not being in the know about Morgan's schemes or Mordred's parentage, as well as Agravain... yeah, that's all made up, since I really couldn't find much about the interactions between the five siblings.
Apologies in advance to the FATE Lore Purists, or anybody who likes actual quality content... or regular updates...