Son of the Branwen

Chapter 100: Confessions Within Cumulonimbus Clouds

Team RWBY: "JAUNE?!?!"

Jaune couldn't help but have a weary smile, finding some amusement at the girls' surprise. He chuckled to himself as he leaned against Juniper.

Jaune: "I've missed you girls. It's... been a really long time."

Autumn: "Jaune? But, how?"

Jaune spun on them, instinctively drawing his sword while putting himself between the sisters and team RWBY. His gaze hardened like stone as he pointed his broken blade towards Winter, despite the outcries from team RWBY.

Jaune: "I don't know who you are, or what part of this place you crawled out of, but you will give me that sword, now. You have no right holding his weapon."

The siblings stood there somewhat stunned by the sudden threat, Winter's grip instinctively tightening around the katana, as Ruby and Yang jumped in front of Jaune.

Yang: "Jaune! Calm down! They're Hawk's sisters!"

Jaune: "Sisters?! Hawk was an only child. He never mentioned anything about siblings!"

Ruby: "It's a long story, Jaune, but they're family! Please, put the sword away. We can explain."

Jaune moved past them, his eyes locked on Winter as he begun approaching them to take Hawk's weapon back.

Jaune: "Explain what?! How do I know they aren't Ever Afterians who've brainwashed you?"

Jaune's eye twitched as he glared at Winter, more specifically, at Hawk's katana that she still carried. Spring suddenly piped up, jumping in front of Winter to grab Jaune's attention.

Spring: "Wait!! We can prove it! Jaune, do you remember the night you confessed your secret to Pyrrha and Hawk? When you told them how you lied to get into Beacon."

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden question.

Summer: "Hawk said something to you, before you snapped at him. You thought yourself as the lovable idiot always trapped in a tree. You wanted to be the hero."

Jaune's arm slowly lowered as Autumn spoke, recounting the exact words Hawk spoke to him that night. For a moment, he felt like he was back at Beacon, standing on the rooftop of the dorms with Pyrrha and Hawk, as the light from Beacon's Tower illuminated the night.

Autumn: "What happens in the past shouldn't affect what you do in the present. So you lied, so what? If you're too stubborn and foolish to swallow pride and let us help you, then leave."

Yang: "Wow... Hawk really said that to you?"

Jaune let out a dry laugh while sheathing his weapon.

Jaune: "Yeah, he did. Can't say I didn't deserve the harsh treatment. But it helped in the long run. So... you're really his sisters? Then, why am I only learning about you four now?"

Winter: "Allow me to apologize on behalf of my brother. Please understand, Hawk meant you no offence for hiding our existence. He was only trying to protect us."

Summer: "But never mind us! What happened to you? How'd you age, like, thirty years?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jaune began to recount his story to the girls. How he crashed on the Ever After on the beach, similar to how Ruby had. But, to his misfortune, Jaune had stumbled onto a strange tree filled with clocks.

His curiosity getting the better of him, he had plucked one from the tree. This caused him to be launched backwards in time, watching days pass like seconds before he smashed the clock in a desperate move to stop. With no way to reverse what had happened, Jaune was forced to wait for years, his hope to reunite with Team RWBY being the only thing that kept him going.