Chapter 27 Bad news

The mission to find Ifalna's daughter was a success. Now Ifalna wanted to teach Aerith to control her power as Cetra.

Cetra is an ancient race of humanity. They could converse with the planet and control some parts of nature.

Materia were considered to be a part of nature as well because they came from Mako. The liquid form of the life stream of the planet. If Aerith could control her power as Cetra. Her power when using Materia would be much stronger than that of normal people.

Ifalna brought Aerith to the garden flower nearby before starting to teach her.

Jaune and the others just looked at them from afar. They didn't have anything to do, so they just rested.

"Hey! Jaune Nii-chan, I am really bored now. Why don't we go out to play together? I want to go swimming there!"

Yuffie asked Jaune. She kept her promise about not going anywhere before telling him. Which was really good. But he thought that she might already have reached her limit. She wanted to go out and play.

Ruby jumped from the sofa where she had been sitting.

"I want to go swimming too, Jaune!"

Yuffie and Ruby were a cute combo that he could not refuse. Their dog-eye jutsu was really too much for someone so young like him to handle.

"O-Okay"

Yang laughed at how easy he was. Blake and Pyrrha thought about something, but they could only shake their heads. They planned something, but not right now.

Weiss, who drank her tea, gazed at Ruby.

"Yuffie is young, but are you too, Ruby? How old are you? Twevle. How can you do something so childish?"

Ruby felt depressed instantly. And it made Weiss feel guilty. Her mouth was faster than even her brain.

"Oh, Eh... Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I mean..."

"You are worried about them. You don't want them to go swimming because you don't know what's under there, right? And you talk to Ruby and not Yuffie because she's older."

Jaune spoke with a knowing smile. Weiss acted like one of his big sisters. She was always worried about her younger sibling.

"Really!"

Ruby became energetic once again. She thought that Weiss just wanted to mess with her. She didn't think that Weiss would worry about her safety.

"N-No, I didn't think like that..."

"She's just a tsundere."

"What do you mean?! I am not tsundere, and what does it even mean?!"

Jaune knew about Tsundere from a few comic books called manga he bought from Ceil while traveling. It was boring, so he needed some entertainment. Some were cheap, and some were expensive. Like he needed more than five thousand gold coins to buy it.

"So we can't go?"

Yuffie felt depressed. She really wanted to go outside. Elmrya heard that while cooking. She then spoke to them.

"You can swim in the pond under the waterfall, but don't go to the stream because there are many leeches that would suck your blood."

Heard that Yuffie became happy and tried to drag Jaune with her. Ruby followed them both.

"What about you all? Won't you all be bored just waiting inside? In the flower garden, you can all go and relax there. The lunch will be ready in an hour."

Elmyra told them that because she saw that they wanted to go with him, but they thought it would be impolite of them to do whatever they wanted.

Weiss was the first one to stand up from the sofa. She then said thank you to her and followed Jaune outside.

Yang chuckled at how oblivious Weiss was. She had a major crush on Jaune.

"Well, if you don't mind, and thank you for having us."

Then Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha went outside to the flower garden near the pond.

...

At Shinra Headquarters.

A man in a white doctor's uniform was working on a machine. The machine was a prototype of a robot that would be used in the war with Wutai.

He focused on his work, but an alarm went off, alerting him that he had a call to take. He cursed under his breath before going to the phone and picking it up.

"Doctor Hojo, We have found them, but they are already in Midgar."

"What!"

Hojo's face twitched. He promised President Shinra that he would find them as soon as possible, just yesterday. And they did find them today, but how could they be here this quick?

"Those Wutai bastards! They must have planned this for a very long time. Humph. Fortunately, my greatest creation is still here. Let him take care of those pests, and at the same time bring that cetra to me."

Hojo laughed with a sinister gleam in his eyes. He then contacted President Shinra to dispatch their greatest soldier. Sephiroth.

...

Jaune was now taking time to swim with his two cute little friends. He gave them a swimsuit that gave them the ability to breathe underwater. It was from Doraemon's world again. He really wanted to know what kind of world it was to have such amazing things at such an affordable price.

And as he enjoyed himself. Ceil, who had been silent for the whole time, began to talk to him.

[Jaune, I have bad news for you right now...]

[Do you want to know it...]

Jaune stopped swimming and focused solely on Ciel. If she told him that it was bad news. Then it would be very bad news, because that meant she couldn't help him with it.

"What is it?

"Someone who you can't hope to defeat in your current strength is heading this way with the other two who were as strong as you. I have made a calculation. You don't have enough coins to change the situation. I suggest that you immediately bring everyone here and escape from Midgar as fast as possible. Otherwise, even if you survive, your lovers might not."

That was bad. Really, really bad. He then jumped out of the water and shouted to everyone. They needed to escape here as fast as possible.

Sephiroth watched Sector 5 from the platform above them. Behind him, Angeal and Genesis were there too. They stood in silence, their eyes fixed on the bustling activity below. Sephiroth's piercing gaze surveyed the sector like a hawk.

They were ordered to eliminate threats. And bring a girl named Aerith to Doctor Hojo. As they observed the sector, Sephiroth's mind began to question the true nature of their mission.

Doubts crept in as he felt frustrated. He didn't know why, but he hated Doctor Hojo so much. He had known the man since he was young. He didn't like him then, until now.

And for him to do his bidding really tested Sephiroth's loyalty to Shinra.

Angeal and Genesis noticed the change in Sephiroth's behavior, but they didn't say anything. They knew better than to question Sephiroth's loyalty or his decisions.

"Let's go."

Sephiroth jumped from the platform, heading down below with great speed. Angeal and Genesis exchanged a glance before following Sephiroth. With their strong bodies and techniques, this kind of height couldn't do anything to them.

After landing safely, Sephiroth led the way. The trio moved swiftly, their footsteps echoing off the buildings as they made their way towards their target.

...

Jaune was in a hurry. He shouted to everyone that they needed to move now.

"What happened, Jaune?"

Pyrrha asked him in a concerned tone, trying to catch up with his fast pace. Jaune quickly explained what was going to happen to them if they didn't act quickly.

"Shinra sent their soldiers after us. They were as strong as me and one of them was even stronger than me. They won't hesitate to eliminate us."

Jaune said, his voice filled with anxiety. He didn't fear losing his life, but he was concerned about the other members of his group. They would all be in grave danger.

Pyrrha's eyes widened with worry as she realized the severity of the situation. They needed to escape as fast as possible.

RWBY plus Ifalan, Yuffie, and Aerith stopped what they were doing and followed behind them as Jaune entered the house to inform Elmrya about the coming threat.

Elmrya listened intently, her expression growing grim as she grasped the gravity of the situation. She believed what Jaune said without questioning, knowing how Shinra operated.

She had been preparing for the day to come when she took in Aerith.

"We will leave this house immediately. Come with me."

Elmrya didn't waste any time or take anything, and she quickly led the group towards the nearest secret route only she and her daughter knew.

They acted fast, but

[Jaune, they are here! You need to prepare for battle quickly!]

"Oh shoot! You all escaped first. I am going to hold them off."

Jaune shouted, drawing his spear out and preparing to fight. He saw Pyrrha, and everyone wanted to stay with him, but

"Go away. Even if you all stay here, it doesn't change anything."

Jaune said firmly. His eyes changed color. Because of his bloodline. He was sensitive and easy to arouse when he needed to battle.

"I can handle this on my own. Just trust me and keep moving."

Pyrrha teared up a little as she realized how weak they were compared to Jaune. She reluctantly nodded, knowing they would be just a burden to Jaune in the battle.

"Y-You need to come back to us, okay? We will go now."

Everyone was reluctant but also understood. They couldn't help him because they were too weak to handle the battle, and they didn't want to hinder Jaune.

"I-I will become stronger! I won't let Jaune fight alone in the future!"

Ruby gritted her teeth, determination shining in her eyes. She knew that she had to train harder and push herself to become stronger, not just for herself but for Jaune and everyone else as well.

Weiss and Blake only nodded. They shared Ruby's determination and silently vowed to become stronger. Yang was the most affected, as she had always prided herself on her strength and fighting abilities.

But to run away because she was weak made her feel a deep sense of shame.

Jaune sighed in relief when he saw that they had listened to his words. He had been worried that they would refuse and stay with him.

"What a good comrade you have there. But your group only has women—isn't that too much? What a sinful man you are."

A man's voice chimed in from behind Jaune, his tone laced with sarcasm. Jaune turned to face the stranger. He came with the other two. One reminded him of Zack Fair, and the other gave him a dangerous feeling. He looked at him intensely with his slit-green eyes.

His eyes were like his, but the difference was in color.

"I won't let them escape. Only me is enough."

The man who spoke to him was wearing a long red coat. He swiped his hand. Jaune felt that he had used fire materia. The flame ignited in his hand, and then he shot out many flame arrows in many directions. He then controlled it at his will before sending them towards the group that escaped.

"Humph! I want to see you try."

Jaune was angry that he targeted his friends and his lovers. He spun his spear, sending a torrent of water to intercept the flaming arrows. The water clashed with the fire, creating a burst of steam!

They were surprised that he didn't use materia like the rest of them. It seemed that Jaune had a unique power of his own, harnessing the elements without relying on external sources.

"Don't take him lightly, Genesis."

Angeal warned him. He felt that Jaune's abilities were far more formidable than what they knew.

Sephiroth didn't take action. He just watched as they continued to battle, intrigued by Jaune's odd abilities. He could sense a raw power emanating from him, untapped and waiting to be unleashed. Sephiroth knew that underestimating Jaune would be a grave mistake, as his unique power had the potential to surpass even the strongest materia users.