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[RWBY] White Knight Errant

Reader mode
AndrewJTalon said:
"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "He can pick up all sorts of emotions and hints. Though some he never acts upon..."

"In any case," Ren said quickly, "Jaune can take care of himself."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Shots fired, courtesy of Nora...

AndrewJTalon said:
He'll still be that. He's got his boyish good looks and a grumpy Knight in Sour Armor demeanor with a bit of Roguish charm.

If anything, the MILF issue will be WORSE.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Mother, your face is crimson, have you been drinking again!?!? - Weiss

No dear, I've just found something even better than wine..... - Willow

Thanks for the chapter. Nice to see Roman & Neo with survival instincts and a plan.
 
Twenty-Three
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    • - - -

    Penny was... Weird. That was all there was to it. She was weird. She acted like she'd grown up in a lab or in a mountain cave or something!

    "Ah. So pancakes can be eaten any time?" Penny asked Nora, who was nodding sagely.

    "Yes! And they can be made with spinach! Renny's really good at that!"

    "I see!" Penny laughed. "I too enjoy green foods! I enjoy foods in general, as I am definitely a normal human girl!"

    "Can we please ditch her?" Yang muttered to Ruby. "Come on!"

    "I know she's super weird, Yang, but... I mean, so was I," Ruby murmured back. Yang shook her head.

    "Never like this."

    "Hello Friend Yang, Friend Ruby!" Penny said cheerfully, leaning forward, "May I also join your clandestine conversation?"

    "Uhhhh," Ruby scrambled for a proper response, "No?"

    "Oh, it is private!"

    "Yes."

    "Apologies, I did not mean to eavesdrop," Penny said sadly, "That is apparently considered 'rude'. I do not wish to be rude, Friend Ruby."

    The sad look on her face... Ruby shook her head, and reached out to squeeze Penny's hand. Penny stared at the close contact in confusion.

    "You're not. Really," Ruby said, smiling. "It's just fine."

    "Thank you. I have been raised in isolation and thus do not fully understand all aspects of human behavior." She paused. "Despite being a human, which is absolutely what I am."

    "Uh, yeah, sure," Ruby managed.

    Pyrrha received a message on her scroll, and looked at it. She paled.

    "Jaune is done with his uncle and that girl," Blake observed.

    "Oh thank goodness," Ruby sighed. She could feel the staff staring at them. "Okay, so let's go get Jaune and go do... Ya know, something fun-"

    "Ah, I apologize," Pyrrha said quickly, "But I must excuse myself. Also uh... Ren? Nora? Would you join me, please? It... It's very important."

    Ren blinked, then shrugged.

    "If you need us, Pyrrha."

    "I do," she said.

    "Then we're there! Together!" Nora said cheerfully. She stood up with Ren. "Bye Penny! Remember what I said about pancakes!"

    "Bye Friend Nora! I will!" Penny said cheerfully. She turned to Ruby. "Friend Ruby, may I accompany you and your team for more fun friend activities?"

    "W-Well," Ruby began, "Yang has to go get ready for her date-"

    "I do!" Yang said quickly, standing up, "But I'll go check with Jauney about the details! Ta!"

    "And Blake and I have something important to do," Weiss said, with the smooth surety of an heiress who has had to duck out of many social obligations. She rose with Blake, and they walked off, "Ta!"

    "W-Wait, hang on," Ruby tried, but Penny squeezed her hand with a bright smile.

    "Wonderful! They have left us alone to enhance our friendship experience! I assure you, Ruby, I am fun ready!"

    "Ah, eheh, great," Ruby smiled, inwardly cursing how nice she was.

    - - -

    Neo and Roman left the diner via the backdoor. Apparently the owner knew them-Probably pretty well, given the look of barely concealed terror on his face.

    Jaune gave him an extra large tip. He didn't think it would help, but it did assuage his own conscience a little.

    He stepped out of the diner, where Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and Yang were waiting. He smiled wryly.

    "Hey guys. How was the show?"

    Pyrrha blushed guiltily. Yang coughed.

    "Ah, ya know, kind of boring," Yang said with a smile, "You didn't even grope Mint."

    "She was always a weird cousin," Jaune deadpanned, "You being into incest is much more concerning."

    "What if I am?" Yang teased back, "I did like calling you 'Daddy'."

    Jaune's face burned bright red as Yang cackled.

    "You are dangerous," he accused.

    "Guilty as charged," Yang laughed. Jaune shot a look over at Pyrrha-Weirdly, she wasn't looking jealous or yandere at all. She looked... Sad.

    "Eh, I've seen better," Nora said, making a 'so-so' expression with her hand. "At least the soufflé pancakes were good! Renny's gonna make us some!"

    "I look forward to it," Jaune said with a smile to Ren. Ren nodded slowly.

    "I hoped you would," he stated.

    "Is everything all right, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked softly. Yang nodded.

    "Yeah. Pyrrha, Ruby, and Blake seemed to think you were in mortal danger."

    "Who, me? No, no..."

    Not yet, Jaune thought. He sighed and shrugged. He'd learned thanks to having seven sisters that the best way to lie was to include as much of the truth as possible in it. So...

    "Uncle Alex is... You have any relatives or close friends who are always getting into financial trouble because they're... Well... Terrible with money? And they expect you to bail you out because you're, ya know, family?"

    Pyrrha nodded slowly, the light of understanding in her eyes.

    "Oh yes... I-I am very familiar with such... Um... People," she said quietly.

    Yang rolled her eyes.

    "Ugh, yeah. Cousin Lanse on our father's side. He's always running up a debt at the casinos in Vacuo."

    "No," Ren said bluntly.

    "Nope!" Nora said, also bluntly.

    Jaune winced.

    "Sorry guys-"

    "Don't be," Ren said quickly.

    "But yeah, that's Uncle Alex," Jaune sighed, "He's a fun guy and good in a fight, but... He's always getting into trouble."

    "You didn't give him any money, right?" Nora asked quickly. "He doesn't owe money to gangsters and is at risk of losing his kneecaps? Because we could always bust them first! That way, they don't have to do it!"

    Jaune gave this some considerable thought. He shook his head.

    "No, no... He's more of the... Guy you love to hate, you know? He's been there for me when I needed help and I appreciate all he's done for me."

    "And Mint?" Yang asked. Pyrrha tensed, but again, no rage. Jaune sighed.

    "She's uh... Overly affectionate. Also she reads too many Mistalian comics: Thinks we're destined to get married or something. She'll grow out of it. Eventually."

    "I see," Pyrrha murmured. Even Yang looked over, concerned.

    "Everything all right, P-Money? You haven't been yourself since you got that text."

    Pyrrha cleared her throat.

    "Um... Jaune? Nora? Ren? My... My mother is visiting Beacon. She would like to meet my team. Would... Would that be all right? It won't take long, I promise."

    Jaune frowned. "Right now?"

    "Yes. Now," Pyrrha said. "I... I would understand completely if you didn't want to, but... It's very important."

    Jaune shrugged. He looked over at Yang.

    "We still on for six?"

    "Oh, absolutely!" Yang grinned, "If Pyrrha can spare the time, I've got the rhyme!"

    Her heart wasn't in that one, but Jaune appreciated that she was trying.

    "It won't take long, I promise," Pyrrha said, again in that controlled, subdued tone. Jaune's frown deepened.

    "Well... Okay then," Jaune said. He winked at Yang with a small smile. "Dress up nice, huh?"

    "That's my line," Yang said with a grin, "We start early, we can get to a department store and-"

    "Uh uh uh, I've been your doll long enough today," Jaune grunted, "I've got seven sisters, Yang. I promise, I'll dress up nice."

    "I'll hold you to that, Jauney boy," Yang giggled. She gave him a hug... Before she jetted off. Jaune looked at Ren and Nora. Ren was expectant, and Nora was giving Pyrrha strange looks.

    "So... Let's go meet your mom," Jaune said with a smile.

    "Yes... Thank you... Sorry," Pyrrha managed with a weak smile of her own.

    - - -

    "Ugh, these transfer students are just so bizarre," Weiss sighed as she and Blake walked along the street, "Still, hopefully she's just an anomaly."

    "Mmhm," Blake responded. Weiss looked ahead, and scowled.

    "Stop! THIEF!"

    "Then again..." Weiss muttered.

    Blake looked up. A blond monkey Faunus man, about their age, was running through the crowd. Weiss flushed as she caught sight of his bare, chiseled chest and buff arms. Blake blinked in shock.

    He caught sight of them, and grinned even as two police officers chased after him.

    "Stop damnit!" The lead cop shouted.

    "Excuse me ladies, I'll be back to pick you up later!" The young man shouted, doing an artful flip right over their heads as he tossed a wink at them. He grabbed onto a windowsill and climbed up to the rooftops, soon vanishing. The cops rushed down a nearby alley, still in hot pursuit.

    "Ugh, typical," Weiss snorted, "For every good Faunus like Schwartz and his family, there are always ruffians like that."

    "Excuse you?" Blake growled.

    Weiss, taken aback, cleared her throat.

    "W-Well, he's being pursued by the police! Obviously, he did something wrong-!"

    "And you've never thought that the police might be wrong?" Blake demanded.

    Yang ran up, as did Ruby. Penny followed along, still smiling her curious little smile.

    "Well, why would they chase him if he hadn't done anything wrong?" Weiss scoffed. "It's not like they just chase people down because they're Faunus!"

    "Oh, you'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Blake demanded. "You'd like to think only Faunus who act like good little pets are safe, or innocent, is that it?!"

    "Woah!" Yang held up her hands, "Time out! What's going on?"

    "I just commented that a Faunus running from the police might be guilty of a crime!" Weiss stated firmly, "Then Blake went off on me!"

    "I went off on you for acting like a typical Schnee," Blake snarled, "The only good Faunus is a collared one, right?!"

    "Woah woah woah!" Ruby shouted. "Calm down, Blake! Why are you so upset? It's not like you're a Faunus!"

    A long silence ensued. Blake grit her teeth. Ruby's eyes widened. Weiss gaped.

    "I uh... Oh," Weiss murmured, "I... Oh... It should have been obvious, I-I suppose. The bow-"

    "Let's take this somewhere else, shall we?" Yang suggested. She pulled Blake along, and Ruby pulled Weiss. They took refuge in another alley. Penny continued to follow, unnoticed by the quartet.

    Weiss, given her upbringing, cleared her throat and started first.

    "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a Faunus," Weiss said, "I didn't mean to offend you, really."

    "Maybe I wouldn't have had to hide if there weren't people like you!"

    "HEY!" Yang said, taking Blake's arm and pulling her back from Weiss, "Look, Blake, I know Weiss is a little Weiss, but she was nothing but polite to Schwartz and his family-"

    "Yeah! Because they're safe, aren't they?" Blake demanded. "Good little pets!"

    "I never said that, I never thought that!" Weiss shouted. "I'd never met them before! I was polite and kind, because they were that to me!"

    "Can we please stop shouting?" Ruby asked.

    Weiss shook her head, and cleared her throat.

    "Well... I'm sorry you feel that way, Blake. I didn't know that using my eyes was a crime-"

    "You just jumped to conclusions! You didn't ask about the situation!"

    "I'm not a police officer!" Weiss growled. "All I said is that if he's being chased while the police call 'thief', maybe he's a thief! We don't know anything else!"

    "    You said he wasn't a good Faunus!"

    "Well if he's a thief, is he?!" Weiss demanded. "You're acting like I'm accusing him of being White Fang!"

    "And what if he was?!" Blake shot back.

    "It's a terrorist group, Blake!" Weiss hissed, "Why are you taking this so personally?! Did I say all Faunus are with White Fang?! Did I say you were with White Fang?!"

    Blake's angry face... Became filled with guilt and self loathing. Weiss's eyes narrowed. Yang shook her head, as Ruby blinked.

    "Come on, Weiss," Yang laughed uneasily, "I-I mean... Blake's many things, but a terrorist-?"

    "I was."

    A dead, strained silence fell. Weiss sucked in a deep breath, and recoiled away from Blake.

    "You... You were-?"

    "I was White Fang," Blake murmured, as Yang gaped and Ruby gasped, "From the beginning. My mother and father founded it."

    "You're... You're that Blake Belladonna..." Weiss whispered. "You're part of those murderers-"

    "We were peaceful, at first!" Blake said defensively. "We had to defend ourselves! Your company enslaved Faunus in your mines!"

    "Yes! Yes, they did!" Weiss retorted, "Some still do! I don't condone that! I-I want to change that-!"

    Blake growled, straining against Yang's grip.

    "Oh really? A wealth built on slavery?! You'd give that up-?!"

    "I would give it up if it was my choice-!"

    "Oh, so it's your choice now?!"

    "My father runs the company, it's not my fault-!"

    "So you're innocent of everything he did, is that it?!"

    "So what if you decide I'm not innocent?!" Weiss snarled, straining against Ruby's grip, "Are you going to kill me?! Like you killed my uncles?! LIKE YOU TRIED TO MURDER MY SISTER?! IS THAT IT, BLAKE?!"

    Blake recoiled, her face turning paste white.

    "I-I didn't-I never-!"

    "M-Maybe we can sit down, talk this out-" Ruby tried, but Weiss shot her a venomous glare.

    "No you listen, Ruby! This isn't a child's game or one of your stupid comics! White Fang has literally posted bounties! Bounties for me, for my sister, for my brother, my mother-To be kidnapped, tortured, and who knows what else before being killed!"

    "I didn't do that!" Blake shouted. "I tried to change it! I tried to convince them-!"

    "Well you didn't do a good job did you?!" Weiss shrieked. "Do you know what it is to be hunted for something you had no control over?! To worry about a pack of monsters grabbing you or you family to do horrible things to you?!"

    "YES I DO!" Blake snarled back. "I'VE HAD TO LIVE WITH THAT EVERY DAY-!"

    "BECAUSE YOU WERE A TERRORIST!" Weiss roared.

    "ENOUGH!" Ruby shouted, stepping between them. "This isn't getting us anywhere! You're just screaming at eachother! We need to-!"

    The Blake Yang was holding vanished. Far down the alleyway, a black shadow ascended to the rooftops and vanished.

    "BLAKE!" Ruby shouted. "BLAKE, COME BACK!"

    Yang turned to the furious Weiss.

    "Weiss, hang on-"

    "Don't talk to me!" Weiss snarled, turning on her heel and storming away, "Don't! Just don't!"

    Penny moved out of the way as Weiss ran off. Yang went after her, calling her name. Ruby walked out slowly, staring after Weiss and her older sister.

    "Friend Ruby?" Penny asked softly. She walked up. "Friend Ruby? Are you all right?"

    "No," Ruby whispered, tears burning at the corners of her eyes, "No... N-No, I'm not..."

    - - -

    Some drama ahoy!
     
  • Threadmarks
    • .... Somehow Blake ended up looking trashier now than during her canon argument.

    ... Trust Blake to somehow do worse in a better story huh? Worst. Cat. Ever.

    Shes probably the kinda faunus that eats your entire tuna casserole and when confronted, BLAMES YOU for race profiling and baiting.
     
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    Eh, the blowup was just bigger because it all came out at once. I don't really think this reflects worse on Blake or Weiss. Since Blake's heritage came out Weiss went harder, so Blake pushed back more.
     
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    Twenty-Four
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    • - - -

    Pyrrha Nikos had always been a bit intimidating to Jaune Arc since they'd met. She was beautiful, powerful, talented… And also a bit crazy. Since then, his opinion had changed a bit:

    She was really crazy.

    Yet it was kind of endearing in a strange sort of way. Or maybe that was Jaune's hormones talking. Most of the time it was kind of scary.

    The entire trip back to Beacon to meet her mother though? That was terrifying.

    Pyrrha was almost entirely silent, answering any questions in a vague, soft, quiet way. Her eyes avoided his gaze almost constantly. Her smiles were small and entirely too plastic.

    Not even in the scary way, like when she was going full on yandere.

    Why is this more disturbing than her going nuts? Jaune wondered, Shit, I hope I'm not coming down with Argus Syndrome. Identifying more with my captors than my allies. Wait, is Pyrrha my captor? She wants to be my captive, after all, in chains and-NOPE. NOPE. Not even going down that road!

    They arrived at their common room. Pyrrha let out a soft exhale as she stood in front of the door.

    "She's here. Let me go in first," she said quietly. "Please, don't speak unless she speaks to you first. It… It will make things go more… Smoothly."

    "Okay," Jaune said, stepping back. Even Nora stayed quiet, just watching Pyrrha with interest, while Ren remained cool and composed.

    Pyrrha opened the door. A tall, older redheaded woman waited for them at their main table, wearing a nice Mistralian style pantsuit in blue, with her hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She looked far too regal to be in their cluttered and warm common room, even more than Weiss did.

    Cool blue eyes were framed by severe glasses, as she fixed her daughter and her companions with a sharp stare.

    "You're late, Pyrrha," she spoke with light disapproval.

    "My apologies, Mother," Pyrrha said softly, her eyes downcast, "I was out with my team in Vale and did not know you were coming."

    Pyrrha's mother processed this, before she shook her head.

    "Try not to let it happen again in the future," she said. She stood up, and held out her arms. "Give me a hug."

    It came off as more of an order than a request.

    "Yes Mother," Pyrrha spoke, walking over and hugging the older woman. It was quick, almost perfunctory, before Pyrrha's mother let go first. Pyrrha stepped back, standing properly like a posed mannequin at a shop. Pyrrha's mother eyed Jaune and the rest of JNPR.

    "Come in then," she said.

    Jaune entered first, Ren and Nora trailing behind. Jaune cleared his throat. Even three months of hell in the wilderness couldn't remove all his manners.

    "I'm Jaune Arc, leader of JNPR and Pyrrha's partner. This is Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. How do you do, ma'am?"

    Pyrrha's mother cooly assessed them before she spoke.

    "I am Athena Nikos, Pyrrha's mother and manager. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Arc, Mister Ren, and Miss Valkyrie."

    Her tone was very polite, but guarded. She was already assessing them like Jaune would a potential threat.

    "Please, sit," Athena said, gesturing to the table. Jaune, Nora, and Ren took their chairs. Athena sat down, and Pyrrha sat down next to her after. Her hands were in her lap, and she sat poised as though posing for a photo.

    "May I ask why you were chosen as leader of the team?" Athena asked Jaune, eyes focused on him like a laser beam.

    "Jaune demonstrated excellent leadership and tactical abilities in our initiation," Pyrrha quickly spoke up, "He led us to victory-"

    "I was asking him, not you, Pyrrha," Athena said, her tone still polite but clipped. Pyrrha lowered her eyes back to her lap.

    "Yes, Mother."

    Nora was frowning deeply, and her hands were twitching towards her hammer. Ren remained stoic, though his eyes were intense.

    "I took charge of the situation in the Initiation," Jaune said, "But our entire team worked together very well. Pyrrha was instrumental to our victory."

    "Of course she was," Athena said with a nod, as if any other option was unthinkable, "But why did she follow your lead?"

    Jaune resisted the urge to shrug.

    "I came up with a workable plan and they followed me. We put it into action, and it worked," Jaune explained.

    "That simple?" Athena pressed.

    "That simple," Jaune replied evenly. Pyrrha looked back down again, and Jaune found he really didn't like it.

    Keep it together, keep it together.

    "You didn't take charge?" She asked Pyrrha. Pyrrha shook her head gently.

    "Jaune did so first, and the plans were sound. I trusted his judgment," she said quietly.

    "I see," Athena hummed. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the Arcs out of Radian? Doctor Isabel Arc's family?"

    "I am her son," Jaune said politely.

    "I see," Athena said with a slight nod, "Your siblings all went for non-Hunter careers."

    "Yes."

    "Why did you choose this path?"

    "To live up to my family legacy, I guess," Jaune said. Athena's eyes narrowed.

    "You guess? My daughter's life and reputation is in your hands, Mister Arc. I trust you won't take that lightly?"

    "Of course not," Jaune said, biting back down a surge of anger, "She's my partner and teammate. I would never let her down."

    Pyrrha flushed, but maintained her elegant posture and neutral expression. Athena scowled, and slowly nodded.

    "See that you do. Mister Ren? Miss Valkyrie? I don't have any family records for you two. Orphans, I take it?"

    "Yes," Ren replied, putting a hand on Nora's thigh underneath the table, "Our village was destroyed in southern Mistral when we were children. We've been on the road ever since."

    "You did not receive formal training?"

    "We did," Ren said, "Later on. Much of our combat experience was gained out of necessity. To survive."

    "I see," Athena said, her tone unchanged.

    On and on the questioning went. Athena had Pyrrha go get them some tea and water, and Pyrrha served them with all the mannerisms of a broken house maid. She went back to sitting by her mother, back to that plastic, pleasant smile and almost robotic demeanor as her mother continued her interrogation of the team.

    Honestly, Jaune didn't think he'd miss the underground deathmatches, but this woman was making that seem almost preferable.

    "What are your intentions towards Pyrrha, Mister Arc?"

    Jaune was in the middle of sipping some tea. He swallowed, and slowly lowered the cup to the table. He looked Athena right in the eyes.

    "My intentions are to be her partner and ensure we all graduate this school to become successful Hunters," he said. It was bland, but it was the kind of response his mother had made in a lot of meetings with businessmen.

    "Then you have no romantic interest in my daughter?" Athena asked coldly.

    Geez… What kind of response would win here? Jaune thought to himself. Wait, do I have any romantic interest? I mean… Kind of… Sort of…?

    "We're friends," Jaune decided on, "We trust eachother."

    "That's not an answer, Mister Arc."

    "He… He has a date with a member of another team tonight, Mother," Pyrrha said softly. Athena scowled slightly.

    "I see… Keep it that way, Mister Arc. My daughter can't afford to be distracted by romance at this stage in her life."

    Jaune nodded, even as Pyrrha held back a look of distress.

    Well, fuck you too, bitch. No wait... Shouldn't I be glad? Argh, damnit hormones...!"

    Athena turned her suspicious eyes onto Ren next.

    "What about you, Mister Ren?"

    "I-"

    "He's taken!" Nora said cheerfully, hugging Ren tightly, "I'd take a hammer to any girl who tried to steal my Renny away!"

    "Y-Yes," Ren grunted through Nora's grip, "We are... Childhood sweethearts..."

    "We're gonna get married and have a dozen children and eat pancakes for every meal~!" Nora giggled, "He just has to propose!"

    Jaune hid a smirk.

    Payback's a bitch, my friend.

    Athena's nose wrinkled at that response, but she seemed satisfied. She looked back at Jaune.

    "Good. I would hate to think that my daughter would be taken advantage of," she stated, "I'll hold you responsible for anything that happens to her."

    Jaune's eyes narrowed as he stared her back down.

    "I won't let anything happen to Pyrrha, Mrs. Nikos," Jaune said, his anger flaring up at the implied insult, "You can count on that."

    Pyrrha actually smiled, a bit like her old self, but went back to that plastic, neutral expression the moment Athena's eyes went to her.

    "I see… Well. It was a pleasure to meet you all. I have things to do, it is nearly time for dinner." She rose. "Come along, Pyrrha. We have much to discuss."

    "May I… May I have a moment with my team?" Pyrrha asked quietly. Athena stared at her, then slowly nodded.

    "Fifteen minutes. I will meet you at the Bullheads," she said. "Don't be late again."

    "Of course not, Mother," Pyrrha agreed. Athena turned and walked out the door, her footsteps loud in the silent room. The door slid shut behind her. Nora slumped forward, groaning.

    "Ugggghh… That was the worst thing ever," Nora pronounced. Ren nodded slowly.

    Jaune stared at Pyrrha, who flushed and looked back down.

    "Geez… Is she… Always like that?"

    "She's just looking out for my welfare," Pyrrha murmured softly, "She has a hard time trusting just anyone with me. She does care for me… Really."

    "Pyrrha," Jaune said, sliding his chair to sit next to her directly, "She's not… Abusing you, is she?"

    Pyrrha looked up in shock.

    "What? No, I-!"

    "Because if she is, I am perfectly willing to make her eat her own teeth."

    Pyrrha's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed.

    "Wh-What-?!"

    "Yup," Jaune with a nod, holding up his fist, "I will walk down and punch her in the face. Right now. No questions asked."

    "Very diplomatic," Ren said dryly. Nora grinned.

    "Ooh! Ooh! I call her kneecaps!"

    "N-No! No!" Pyrrha said, waving her hands, "She-She isn't abusive! She's just… You know…" She looked aside. "Just very… Um… Concerned about me. She was in entertainment herself as a child star. She… She doesn't want me to be exploited. She just… You know…"

    Jaune sighed, and squeezed Pyrrha's hand.

    "Yeah," he muttered, "I get that. My mom could be pretty strict, too. Though she definitely didn't make hugging me seem like a chore."

    Pyrrha sagged a little. Jaune worked his jaw.

    "Will you be all right?"

    "Y-Yes. Yes, I will," Pyrrha murmured.

    "All right. Just so you know, though… It's creepy seeing you like this."

    Pyrrha turned sharply to Jaune, her eyes wide in shock.

    "I… I thought you didn't like how I was-"

    "It can be annoying, but… I'll take that over you acting like a scared little rabbit," Jaune said honestly. "Look… When you're with us? You can act however you want to. You can be yourself, all right?"

    "I... I don't know what that is," Pyrrha murmured.

    "HORNY!"

    "Nora!" Ren scolded her, as Nora giggled.

    Pyrrha managed a warmer smile.

    "I... I guess I am," she mumbled, embarassed.

    "Yeah, but after meeting your mom," Jaune said, "I can... I can understand it."

    Pyrrha slowly nodded back. She turned to Nora, eyes asking permission. Nora giggled, and held out her arms.

    "Aw, silly! You don't even have to ask!"

    Pyrrha smiled, and hugged Nora tightly. She pulled back, then looked between Nora and Ren. Nora nodded, as Ren sighed and held out his arms.

    "It's not like I'm known for being 'huggy' anyway," Ren deadpanned. Nora giggled again.

    "Just with me!"

    Pyrrha nodded, and gave Ren a brief hug. She pulled away... Then stared awkwardly at Jaune.

    He sighed, and held his arms out.

    "Come on."

    Pyrrha stared in disbelief… Before a large, wide smile erupted on her face. She hugged Jaune tightly with a squeal, nearly knocking him over.

    "URK!"

    "Oh Jaune~! I-I just-I love-!"

    She coughed, and pulled back. Jaune held her close though.

    "It's okay, it's okay," Jaune muttered, "Really. It's okay. Just uh... Chill, huh?"

    "Right, r-right," Pyrrha managed, her face bright red. She nuzzled him happily. "Mmmm... You smell so good... Ah..."

    She coughed self consciously, and pulled away quickly. Jaune was as red cheeked as her.

    "Uh... Thank you?" Jaune managed.

    "Sorry-"

    BONK!

    "Owww!" Pyrrha whined, rubbing her head. "J-Jaune-!"

    "Didn't I tell you not to say that if you haven't done anything wrong?" Jaune asked with a gentle smile.

    Pyrrha blinked. She smiled warmly back, a sparkle in her eyes.

    "Yes... Yes you did," she murmured.

    Shit... This girl is dangerous, Jaune thought over the sound of his rapidly beating heart. He cleared his throat again, looking to the side.

    "But I'm not just gonna get bowled over, all right? Besides… If there's one thing I agree with your mom about, it's that you can do a hell of a lot better than me."

    Pyrrha shook her head.

    "I don't think so," she said softly. She stood up, reluctantly, and headed out the door. She cast a last, lingering look back at her team, her friends, before she left, closing the door behind her. Jaune sighed and rubbed his face.

    "Geez…"

    "So… Pancakes?" Nora asked brightly.

    - - -


    Don't think about Pyrrha, Jaune thought to himself, as he checked his suit and tie, Don't think about her... She'll be okay. All right? She needs friends. That's what she needs. Friends. Like Yang.

    He nodded to himself in the mirror and smiled.

    Yes. Friends like Yang. Who are fun, honest, funny, confident, sexy and beaut-

    Jaune bashed his head against the wall.

    "DAMNIT!" Jaune growled.

    Pyrrha had to be so affectionate and now he was infected with Horny!

    Sure, Yang loved to flirt but... But that was her thing!

    "No, no, not gonna, not even gonna," Jaune muttered. He took a few deep breaths. He headed out of the bathroom, and into the common room. Ren was cooking again, Nora eagerly awaiting whatever he prepared. He walked up to the RWBY dorm room door, and knocked.

    The door was flung open, and he was greeted by an angry Weiss.

    "What, you here to yell at me too?" Weiss snarled.

    Jaune, per his wont, glared back.

    "Okay, what's your deal? Why are you suddenly in bitch mode, I thought you had your fun today-?"

    "SHUT UP!"

    Weiss took deep, angry breaths, her eyes wild. She turned and stalked off. Jaune watched her go, and blinked. A very quiet, very pale Ruby walked up to the door, wringing her hands. Her eyes were red from crying.

    "Ruby? Ruby, what's wrong?" Jaune asked urgently, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder.

    "Um... Weiss and Blake got in a big argument today, and... Uh... Blake ran off," she murmured.

    Jaune's eyes widened, and he stared over at Weiss. She was glaring at her Scroll on her bunkbed, her back to them.

    "Okay, so, what happened-?"

    "She's White Fang, Arc," Weiss growled.

    "She was White Fang! Was!" Ruby insisted. "She-She quit, she said so herself-!"

    "And that counts for nothing," Weiss growled.

    Jaune blinked a few times, and gaped.

    "Wait, she's that Blake Belladonna?!"

    "Funny how none of us made that connection, huh?" Nora asked. Ren lifted his eyebrows slightly, which may as well have been a gasp from him.

    "Aw, geez," Jaune muttered. Ruby nodded slowly.

    "Y-Yeah... Um... Yang went to try and call her in the courtyard. She's... I think she's still there."

    Jaune nodded, turned, and ran off. Ruby looked over at Weiss.

    "Weiss... Weiss, please-"

    "We are not having this discussion, Ruby," Weiss stated, throwing her covers over her head, "Goodnight."

    Ruby sagged. She felt Nora's arms wrap around her from behind.

    "Hey," the older girl murmured, "Come join us for pancakes. All right? Let Weissy cool down. Talk to her tomorrow."

    Ruby looked over at Weiss, still covered up in her blankets. She slowly nodded.

    "I... All right," she murmured, "Thank you, Nora."

    "What are friends for?" Nora asked. She smiled into the room. "Goodnight, Weissy. Talk to you in the morning!"

    There was no response. Nora turned off the lights, and closed the door. She led Ruby over to the table, and sat her down, still hugging her.

    "Everyone can use time to cool down, right?" Nora asked softly, as Ren put down some pancakes on plates in front of them. Nora dutifully slathered them in syrup and whipped cream, Ruby's favorites.

    "This... This is really big, Nora," Ruby mumbled, "I... I don't even know if Blake will come back, or if Weiss will ever-"

    "No. You don't," Ren said gently, "But worrying about it won't help. It's probably for the best that Blake and Weiss have space right now."

    "They wouldn't do much else but fight like dogs and-Ohhhh," Nora blinked, "Is that why Blake always glared at me when I said stuff involving kitties? I'll have to use sloths instead. No, wait, maybe a sloth faunus would be offended?"

    "I just..." Ruby closed her eyes, not feeling hungry. "I feel like such a bad leader... I-I couldn't resolve this-"

    "And neither have leaders with decades of experience," Ren said, again in that gentle tone, "The fight between the SDC and the White Fang is not something any one person can resolve easily. Especially not with two people personally involved in that fight."

    He nodded to the pancakes.

    "Eat. It will make you feel better."

    "It always makes me feel better, Ruby," Nora beamed. Ruby sniffled, before she took up a fork. She cut off a piece of pancake, and brought it to her mouth. She chewed it, and swallowed. The warm sweetness filled her mouth, and settled in her stomach in a comforting way. She sniffled again, but managed a smile up at Ren.

    "It... It tastes great!"

    "Told ya," Nora giggled. "That's my man! Though... I know you'd prefer Jaune be the one cooking for you right now."

    "Ah! Oh! Uh," Ruby blushed bright red. "I-I mean... He is... He is like my big brother... And-And Yang, and Pyrrha, and uh-B-But I really appreciate you, Ren! Honest!"

    "It's all right," Ren said, a slight smile on his face, "Thank you Ruby. Besides, Jaune's got a lot more issues to juggle than I do."

    "Boy, does he," Nora laughed.

    - - -

    Jaune ran down to the courtyard. The stars were already out, twinkling as a backdrop for the ever present shattered moon. He put that out of his mind as he scanned around. He spotted a shock of blonde hair on one of the stone benches that guarded the center of the stone courtyard. He approached Yang carefully, as she dialed again and held her scroll up to her ear.

    "Blake, it's Yang. I know I've left a lot of messages but please, just pick up. I just... I just want to know you're all right. Okay? Please call me back."

    Yang hung up, and her shoulders dropped with her Scroll. She sighed heavily, like a much older woman. Jaune cleared his throat. She sat back up, ramrod straight, and looked over her shoulder. Her blue eyes widened.

    "Oh shit, I completely forgot-!"

    "No, no, it's fine," Jaune said, hands up. He walked over to the bench, and stood in front of it. "I mean... I don't think we'd have a lot fun, anyway."

    Yang smiled weakly.

    "Yeah... It'd be a bit of a bummer," she said quietly, before looking back down. Jaune sat on the bench next to her, and looked over her shoulder at her scroll. A long line of texts filled the screen, all unanswered. Yang sighed and folded her Scroll up.

    "How's Ruby?" She asked. Jaune grunted.

    "Ren and Nora are taking care of her."

    "I'm glad," Yang said softly, "And Weiss?"

    Jaune shook his head.

    "Angry."

    "I..." Yang bowed her head. "I guess I can't blame her. Everything she's gone through. I-I don't know how much you know-?"

    "My mom's been called in to help victims of White Fang attacks," Jaune said, blunt and quiet, "And rescued hostages. When she made me help out at her hospital, I... I saw some medical reports. Saw some..." He shook his head.

    "If they did that to normal humans and Faunus..."

    "Yeah," Yang murmured. She sighed.

    "Are you okay?" Jaune asked.

    Yang glanced at him, and then back up at the stars.

    "No," she murmured. "I mean... Blake's right. Faunus have had it rough. Everyone knows about the SDC and Mistal's bullshit... But living in fear that you were gonna fall into the hands of... Of monsters? Blake was one of them? She left because it was too much, too violent, but..."

    "Well," Jaune mused, "I don't think Ozpin would just let a crazed murderer into the school. Not unless she was genuine about turning over a new leaf and all. She could have done terrible things to Weiss at any time."

    "I know," Yang said quietly, eyes drifting back down to the courtyard, "And she hasn't... But I don't know if that's enough for Weiss."

    Jaune nodded. He put his arm around her shoulders. She turned to him, eyes questioning. Jaune shrugged.

    "Ren and Nora are comforting Ruby. I should comfort you. It's bothering you just as badly."

    Yang smiled wanly.

    "I... Thanks," she said. "Where's Pyrrha?"

    "At dinner with her mom," Jaune grumbled. Yang winced.

    "That bad, huh?"

    "She's the worst," Jaune confirmed.

    "Yeah, well," Yang sighed, "I guess that's a theme with a lot of us. Our parents are missing... Or we wish they were."

    "My mom isn't all bad," Jaune admitted. "Hell, next to Pyrrha's, she looks sane. I..." He trailed off as Yang tensed up. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

    "No... It's just..." Yang took a deep breath.

    She explained about her biological mother Raven. How one day, she just up and vanished. How she had gotten Summer and Ruby... Then lost Summer. How she'd tried to find Raven with Ruby once... And almost gotten killed.

    When she was finished, she stared at Jaune with a blank look in her eyes. He frankly hated how she looked. The exact opposite of what Yang should be.

    "Gods Yang..." Jaune shook his head. "I'm... That's just horrible."

    "Every time someone I care about runs out on me, or forgets me, I just... It just brings it all back up," Yang admitted, letting out a short, humorless laugh. "I know I don't know Blake that well but, when you fight together...?"

    "Yeah, you know them," Jaune nodded. "I... I get it."

    They sat in silence for a bit. Yang sighed.

    "I'm sorry about date night... I-I know we were just going to go as friends and have fun... Maybe it was a bad idea. Maybe it's just... Just me," she said.

    Jaune looked at her strangely... And it clicked. He pulled her into a tight hug. She gasped softly, and looked into his eyes.

    "I just want to promise that... I'm not going anywhere, Yang," Jaune said.

    Yang blinked. Her eyes widened.

    "I-I didn't say that-!"

    "And, one bad day doesn't mean we have to call everything off forever," Jaune said with a smile. He coughed. "I-I mean, if you still want to-?"

    "I-I do! Really, I do," Yang said, shaking her head, "It's just that every time something like this happens, I... Fuck. I just can't help but wonder if it's me. Hell, with Ruby, I feel more like a single mom."

    "I know," Jaune said with a nod, "I know. Hell, I feel like a dad with my team."

    "Well," Yang managed a chuckle, "Pyrrha does want to call you 'Daddy'."

    "Yeah. Don't I know it," Jaune sighed, but he gave her a smile at her questioning look. "Long story. Sides... She wasn't the only one."

    Yang went bright red. She laughed nervously.

    "Y-Yeah... Heh... Good joke, huh?"

    "The others thought so," Jaune chuckled back, mood a bit lighter. He adopted his somber expression again. "Seriously though Yang. Don't think one bad night's gonna ruin everything. Maybe when Blake gets back, we can talk this out. I'll help any way I can. I promise."

    Yang nodded.

    "Ruby would like that."

    "So would you," Jaune said earnestly.

    Yang sighed, and leaned in. She rested her head against his chest.

    "... Why do you care so much?" Yang murmured.

    "That's simple," Jaune said, wrapping his arms around her to tighten the embrace, "One day my mom's gonna find out I got into Beacon... And one of you has got to be able to get me out of the country somehow."

    Yang snickered.

    "And, well... As much as my family drove me crazy? When I was crying, or scared, or hurt..." His faced darkened, "Assuming they hadn't caused it... They were right there with me, comforting me, and ready to help me, or throw down for me. It... It's how I was taught. It's who I am."

    Yang nodded, face hidden from him by her hair. She snickered.

    "That's so frigging corny."

    "Yep."

    "I... I didn't say it was a bad thing," Yang murmured. Jaune chuckled and patted her back.

    "Yeah..."

    "Oh!"

    Both Yang and Jaune looked up. Cardin and Velvet were standing in the archway to the courtyard.

    "Arc, what are you doing here?!" Cardin demanded.

    "Uh... What are you doing here?" Jaune shot back.

    "Homework!" "Nothing!"

    Both Velvet and Cardin looked at each other. They looked back at Jaune and Yang.

    "Hanging out!" "Hiding!"

    They looked at each other again. Jaune rolled his eyes.

    "You're bad at hiding your relationship."

    "Least I'm not a-a playboy!" Cardin sputtered. He grabbed the blushing Velvet's hand and dragged her off. "We'll go... Do nothing somewhere else!"

    "You do that," Jaune deadpanned. Yang snickered.

    "You are one hell of a matchmaker, you know that?"

    "Please, if I was actually any good, I'd be getting paid."

    - - -


    Blake ran. She ran, and ran, and ran. She double backed, she took different routes, she backtraced her steps, until finally, she ended up in a small park near the downtown area. She walked past the rows of neatly tended bushes and trees, past the children's playground, until she finally made it to a park bench. Her every step was heavy, and slow.

    She made it to the bench, and slowly, mechanically, sat down. The cool night air blew past her in a light breeze, as the broken moon shown down upon her.

    Crickets chirped, still alive this late in the year.

    She closed her eyes, and just tried... Tried to become lost in the ambience.

    It made her feel like something else. Anything but what she was.

    I knew it was too good to last, Blake thought to herself, On a team with a Schnee... What was I thinking? Ozpin promised me a pardon... But what good is that if all she can see is a monster?

    She stared at her hands. Throughout her time with the White Fang, she'd tried to see them as clean, as righteous hands. Hands that struck blows for justice, for equality. It got harder to do that though, as time went by. Even if she didn't land the fatal blows, even if she didn't directly participate...

    In her nightmares, she'd started to see them covered in red.

    "Nice evening."

    She had Gambol Shroud out and locked onto the speaker in an instant. He had his staff on her in the same moment. He grinned cockily, as her eyes went wide.

    "Least I thought so," he added with a shrug.

    "You!" Blake growled at the monkey faunus. "What do you want? Haven't you caused enough trouble for one day?"

    The Faunus gestured to himself with his gauntleted hands, raising his eyebrows.

    "Me? What did I do?"

    "You just... If you hadn't...!" Blake gritted her teeth and scowled down at the ground. "It doesn't matter... It would have happened eventually... What do you want?"

    "Well, that's pretty rude for a princess," the monkey Faunus commented, making Blake stiffen up, "Thought you were supposed to be taught manners."

    "What... What are you talking about-?"

    The faunus grinned, and pulled out a plastic sealed envelope from his jeans. He opened it up, popping the seal. Familiar scents went over Blake's nose, and her eyes widened. She lowered her weapon as the monkey Faunus spoke.

    "By Order of Minister Shon Wukong, Sun Wukong, his nephew," Sun read, glancing up at her with a wink, "That's me, is to seek out and make contact with one Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira Belladonna, Chieftain and Lord of Menagerie."

    "You... My father-?!"

    "Apparently you disappeared about... What, five years ago?" Sun went on, "And your parents have been frantically searching ever since. My uncle got a lead on you, and since I'm here for the Vytal Festival, he asked me to look into things." He smiled.

    "And unless you're faking your scent... Unlikely, given how badly you're hiding your ears... I'd say you're the runaway princess I'm looking for. Am I wrong?"

    Sun held out the envelope to Blake. She stared at it like it was from another planet.

    "I... Why would-?"

    "Hey, it's my job," Sun said, shrugging, "My uncle made it clear that I was supposed to find out where you were, and how you were. Oh, and deliver a letter from your parents. This letter, by the way."

    Blake continued to stare at the letter. Sun made some motions with it, pushing it nearer.

    The cat faunus continued to stare. She reached out with trembling hands... Before pulling back.

    "I... I can't..."

    "Aren't you at least curious as to what they have to say?" Sun asked, tilting his head curiously. Blake closed her eyes.

    "I know exactly what they'd say," Blake said, in a mixture of bitterness and sorrow. "I... I don't deserve it."

    "Well," Sun sighed, his tail curling a bit as he scratched the back of his head, "That's a problem. See, I was told, very specifically, to deliver the letter and have you read it. So... Until you read it, job's not done."

    He shot her a wide grin, his teeth shining in the moonlight.

    "So. Until you read it, guess I gotta stick around."

    "You don't have to-"

    "That, and... You look like you're running away again," Sun added shrewdly, making Blake flinch. "You run away again, you won't read the letter. So, I'll be stuck chasing you around. As much as I'd love to be paid to chase a pretty princess around, I don't want my entire life to be about that, ya know?"

    Blake snorted.

    "What are you?"

    Sun shrugged.

    "Just a guy, with a job, and a runaway princess."

    "I'm no princess."

    "Yeah, and Ghira ain't technically a king, but hey," Sun shrugged. "I'm hungry. You want to get something to eat?"

    Blake blinked. Sun shrugged.

    "Well, if you die of starvation, my mission's a failure. So I might as well take care of you, Your Highness." He bowed.

    Blake scowled, her ears going flat.

    "Please stop doing that."

    "I will if you go get something to eat with me."

    Blake shut her eyes tightly.

    "... Fine."

    "Good!" Sun chuckled, extending his arm. "Shall we?"

    Blake got up, and stalked past him. Sun shrugged, and just followed behind.

    "Ah. Here are some royal manners at last, I see."

    "Do you ever stop talking?"

    "Let me stick around, and you'll find out."

    She did not smile. She did not.

    - - -

    It was, Pyrrha supposed, one of the nicer restaurants in Vale. Gorgeous, soft red carpeting, beautiful views of the city skyline, sleek black tables with efficient, well dressed waiters. She was dressed in a slinky red dress that showed off her charms, combined with perfect make up and her tiara to make her appear like a goddess dining in the sky.

    Only the best, as her mother would say.

    She sipped her wine as her mother efficiently and neatly cut her steak and devoured it. Athena looked intently at her daughter, chewing her steak before swallowing. She wiped her lips with a napkin before she spoke.

    "You're distracted."

    "We have talked about my classes and fellow students, Mother, as you wished to," Pyrrha said carefully.

    "There is also a great deal you haven't talked about," Athena said, her lips thinning. Pyrrha held her gaze.

    "Is there?"

    "You can't hide anything from your mother, Pyrrha," Athena said softly. "I saw the way you looked at Arc."

    Pyrrha sucked in a breath through her nostrils.

    "What does it matter? We're friends. That's all."

    "You want to be more than that."

    Pyrrha stared at her mother.

    "Why would I? You made things clear-Rudely, I might add."

    Athena stared at Pyrrha in shock. Pyrrha felt herself wince, but she held her ground.

    The older woman steeled herself with a sip of wine, before she spoke.

    "Pyrrha... I understand I may have come across as harsh, but it was for your benefit."

    "Was it?" Pyrrha asked. "Was it necessary? We've fought together. We've bled together-"

    "That doesn't make them good people, Pyrrha," Athena insisted. She sighed, setting her wine down.

    "Pyrrha... I fell in love with your father because he acted like he was different from all the sycophants and scumbags who used me," Athena said, in a tone Pyrrha was well familiar with, "He offered me love, offered me sincerity, offered me freedom... And it turned into a cage. A cage you were nearly put in. I don't want you to end up the same way!"

    Pyrrha grit her teeth. Her temper, usually so restrained around her mother out of habit and fear, was rising fast. She'd had a taste of freedom, of love, and it made her reckless.

    "He's not like that."

    Athena scoffed.

    "You barely know him-"

    "He keeps pushing me away and saying I can do better! But I can't," Pyrrha insisted, "Because he treats me better than everyone! He listens to me and lets me be a person!"

    "So did your father," Athena said fiercely, "He played mind games, he made me think I was getting out of the starlet life while he twisted me like a puppet! You can't take him at his word! Everyone has an agenda! Everyone lies! Everyone is selfish-!"

    "    Except me," Pyrrha stated, cold as steel, "Everyone is selfish, even you, because you can't get over what Father did to you."

    Athena gaped at her daughter like she'd been slapped. She studied Pyrrha as though she was some kind of eerie forgery, not her blood. It made Pyrrha feel powerful, for the first time in her life.

    "If everyone is selfish," Pyrrha continued, "Then I should be allowed to be happy if I'm going to risk my life to protect people!"

    Athena shook her head, looking almost desperate. It fed the fire inside Pyrrha.

    "What's gotten into you?! Isn't this enough? I let you go to Beacon! I agreed that you needed a place to grow! To shine! But maybe I was wrong, if it's making you want to throw everything away for a pretty face and a pack of false promises!"

    Pyrrha felt her Semblance roar inside of her. She could feel the iron inside her mother's blood. For a moment, she was tempted to seize hold of it, and tear it out.

    She instead nodded very slowly.

    "Let me go... Throw it away," she murmured.

    Athena frowned.

    "Pyrrha?"

    Pyrrha sucked in a deep breath, and set down her silverware.

    "I think I'm done here," Pyrrha stated calmly.

    "Wha-?"

    "Don't book me for anything for the rest of the year. I will not show up for anything."

    Athena gaped again. Her cold blue eyes were expressing something other than contempt. It was fear. It made Pyrrha feel good.

    "You-You can't-!"

    "I can. I will. Good night, Mother," Pyrrha said, standing up and turning away. She walked off. She heard Athena get up and run after her. She felt her grab her arm, desperately.

    "Wait! Wait Pyrrha, don't cause a scene-!"

    "I already am," Pyrrha said firmly. Athena shook her head frantically.

    "Pyrrha, please! I love you! You're my daughter! Don't you understand? Everything I do, everything-It's all been for you-!"

    "No, no I don't think it was," Pyrrha said firmly, "It was all for you. And I've finally realized that... That I can't keep letting you do this. It's not fair to me, or you."

    "Pyrrha-!" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What did he say?! What did he promise-?!"

    Pyrrha yanked her arm out of her mother's feeble grip. She didn't care about everyone's eyes locked onto them, she didn't care what the social media would say.

    She felt strong, for the first time in ages.

    "He told me to make myself happy. He asked me what I wanted. He listened. And he made me realize... I deserve to have all of those things. With, or without him."

    Plus, she thought to herself, feeling giddy, He killed an Ursa with his bare hands. That was sooo hot.

    She couldn't help her grin as she nodded to her gobsmacked mother.

    "Goodnight, Mother."

    She turned and left, ignoring her mother's cries.

    She had never felt so happy before.

    The trip back to Beacon took far too long. She was itching to just leap out and run the rest of the way herself! Finally, she was back on campus. She ran across the quad, holding her high heeled shoes in one hand. She burst into the JNPR dormroom, quietly, but quickly...!

    She blinked. Ruby was tucked between Nora and Ren on their joined beds, all three sleeping peacefully. Jaune was also sleeping, but on the floor: Yang was snoring in his bed. They held hands as they slept.

    Pyrrha's eye twitched. She clenched her fist... And let it go. She smiled softly, and caressed Jaune's cheek.

    "Thank you," she murmured. She planted a kiss on his forehead. "It... Might get complicated, but... Thank you."

    She turned and got undressed for bed. She'd ask about everything tomorrow, but for now...

    She felt free.

    - - -

    Roman sighed as he walked into the warehouse office, Neo prancing alongside him. The sight of blood was nothing new to either of them. Not even on a young woman.

    "HELP! HELP ME!"

    This though... This was a little much for him.

    "Hey!" Roman shouted, holding up Melodic Cudgel to the beast on the bed, "What the hell are you doing?"

    The large, green scaled man grinned savagely, his teeth red with blood. The terrified, naked young human woman who had just fallen to the floor covered her shoulder with a sheet, as blood rapidly spread across it.

    "I thought I was enjoying a taste of your city's offerings," the reptilian Faunus man laughed. The woman cringed as he advanced, clawed hands reaching for her.

    Roman cocked Melodic Cudgel, and the Faunus man paused.

    "Eating hookers is a good way to attract attention," Roman said, cold and hard as the Atlasian glaciers, "You? We'll just make into a set of luggage."

    The Faunus threw his head back and laughed, his yellow eyes narrowed in glee. His green scales ran up and down his sides, over his scarred face and bald head, down over the upper half of his face like a mask. The rest of his skin was deathly pale, almost corpse-like, but heavily muscled.

    "You'd really challenge me, pitiful human?"

    "Way I see it, I'm the one with the gun and his pants on," Roman stated calmly, "Dying in the nude's no way for a man to go."

    "Bah," The Faunus man sneered, getting up and turning away. He pulled on his pants. "Let her go. You ruined it for me."

    "Mister Torchwick-" The hooker whimpered. Roman sighed, shaking his head.

    "Honestly Gloria, ya gotta start vetting your Johns more thoroughly," Roman tutted. He pulled out some Lien and handed it to her. "Here. Tell Madame Rouge to hire a few more bouncers, eh? Get yourself checked out, too. He's a Komodo dragon, after all."

    Gloria grabbed her clothes and ran. Neo watched her go with a somewhat curious eye, as Roman kept his eyes on the Faunus. He finished pulling on his white pants, and green and gold tunic. He pulled a White Fang mask over his face, hiding his eyes but not his needle like teeth. He turned to face them, grinning sadistically as his long tail waved.

    "You bring me here just to see you brutalize a hooker?" Roman asked, "Or there a point to this? I'm a busy man."

    "No one's too busy for Thanh Qinglong," Thanh stated, sitting down in an old office chair like it was a throne. He gestured out the windows, where other White Fang thugs and operatives worked tireless unloading Dust.

    "You come up with that name yourself?" Roman deadpanned. Thanh growled.

    "I earned it in battle in Mistral."

    "Ah, yeah, the war against helpless women and children," Roman snarked, "Forgot about that one."

    "Watch your tongue, human," Thanh grinned, "I got a taste for your flesh long ago. Maybe I'll devour you... And take your little whore for a breeding bitch."

    Neo smiled, lifted up her umbrella, and extended her blade. She signed something to Roman, who shook his head.

    "Not now," he grunted. He spread his gloved hands. "Again, the point?"

    "We're bringing in the full shipment tomorrow," Thanh stated, "The ship got diverted due to a storm."

    "Gee, that's great news," Roman sighed, "You couldn't have texted me? Had to bring me down here?"

    "Yes," Thanh growled. He rose and stalked right up to Roman, towering over him.

    "You think the fire woman considers you important, don't you?" Thanh growled.

    "Well, seeing as I'm handling the Dust shipments and planning the heists, yeah, that makes me important," Roman said.

    Thanh snorted in his face, hot breath and the smell of poison washing over him. Roman was so glad he'd gotten the deluxe anti-toxin boosters for himself and Neo. Made dealing with Thanh slightly less of a chore.

    "We'll see how long that lasts," Thanh smirked, "I pull this off, maybe the fire woman won't need you anymore."

    "I'm quaking in my snakeskin boots," Roman snorted back. "You need a lot more than scales and a bad breath Semblance to run this town, Thanh. Sides, thought you animals hated working for us measly humans."

    Thanh threw his head back and laughed.

    "Hahaha... Closer I get to her, closer I get to making her my bitch. Or my meal. Either way... I just want you to know your days are numbered, Torchwick. I have your scent... And I'll enjoy hunting you down."

    "As always," Roman deadpanned, "Such a pleasure, Thanh. Take it easy, huh?"

    Roman and Neo turned and headed out, walking along the catwalk of the dock warehouse. Neo again made some signs, her smile sadistic. Roman nodded grimly.

    "Relax Neo... We're gonna get you your pound of flesh. Just gotta wait for the right time..."

    - - -

    Thanh Qinglong is a combination Sino-Vietnamese name. First part, "Thanh", means "Green" in Vietnamese. "Qinglong" means "Blue/green/young dragon" depending on the characters used. I decided we needed a guy to really hammer in how far gone the White Fang and Adam Taurus in particular have become, so a sadistic cannibal and misogynist seemed to fit the bill.

    If Pyrrha's turn around seems fast, keep in mind, she is     HIGH off of friendship and love. And damnit, after getting a taste of that, she's NOT letting her mother run things anymore. Though this will have some repercussions down the line.

    I thought that making Sun a man on a mission was better than him just being a simp. I hope you agree as well.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Twenty-Five
  • Threadmarks
    • - - -

    Qrow was, by nature, a light sleeper. It was part of Hunter training, to get the most bang for your buck when it came to sacking out and resting. That training also included being able to go from REM to combat readiness as quickly as possible.

    Given his nightmares? That was a blessing.

    He'd been sleeping better lately. Isabel had insisted on helping him with her medical knowledge. They were sharing the same space in the bullhead, after all, and she needed her REM too. Then again, she had freaky medical techniques that made her sleep better, so he didn't know why he had to.

    Still, no matter how good her medical aids were, Qrow still woke up the moment he subconsciously sensed something wrong.

    His eyes were open and scanning around the bullhead rear compartment, his ears were listening for anything unusual, and his hands were on Harbinger in an instant.

    He saw that Isabel wasn't on her bunk on the other side of the compartment. He got up and walked out of it, to the main section. He walked past the kitchenette, head, and the small table they ate their meals at. The cockpit was emitting light, and he heard tapping on keys. He also smelled tobacco smoke. He rose, silent as a cat, and stalked to the hatch. He held his weapon ready, and peeked around, ready to strike-

    Isabel looked up from numerous holoscreens and papers, her hair down, her glasses on her eyes, and a cigarette in her mouth. She frowned.

    "Sorry, did I wake you?" She asked softly.

    Qrow scowled a little, discretely setting Harbinger aside outside the cockpit. He stepped in, rubbing his cheek in annoyance.

    "The hell are you smoking for? Shouldn't a doctor know better?"

    Isabel took a drag off the cigarette, and let it out in a stream of smoke. She shrugged.

    "I can heal any damage to my lungs, and... Well... Nicotine helps me focus," she admitted. She chuckled softly. "It's a habit I dropped after I got pregnant... Funny me picking it back up, huh?"

    She looked at Qrow in concern.

    "If it bothers you-"

    "No," Qrow shook his head, "No, it's fine." He smirked. "I have a few bad habits of my own, after all."

    Isabel smirked a little.

    "Yes, but mine makes me look much sexier."

    Qrow scoffed.

    "It does not."

    Isabel adopted a coy, seductive look. Like a femme fatale in an old movie. She crossed her legs, leaned forward, and took a long drag off the cigarette. She then pursed her perfect lips together and blew out a cloud of smoke that seemed to wrap around her, shrouding her in mystery.

    "... I concede the point," Qrow said, very quietly. Isabel laughed softly, as Qrow looked over all the screens. Most of them were incomprehensible to him, covered in numbers and graphs that made no sense. Some of them had spreadsheets and scans of body parts. Aura Consumption Levels marked some of them, while others had acronyms and percentages that may as well have been ancient Mistralian for all the good they did him.

    "What's all this?" Qrow asked. Isabel turned back to her screens, writing down some more notes in one of several paper notebooks.

    "Ozpin sent us a data drive with medical data from a patient he wants me to look at," she said, "I had to go out to a dropbox while you were resting. Honestly, it's a real puzzle."

    Ice dropped into Qrow's stomach. Outwardly, he remained somewhat interested and detached.

    "Oh?"

    "Mmhm," she nodded. She brought up a full body scan, one that omitted any features like hair or skin color. Isabel checked her notes over carefully.

    "Human female, age 21, five foot eight inches in height, 152 pounds, Blood type O, Aura Active, no family medical history of significant disease or ailment."

    She tapped her pencil eraser against her chin thoughtfully, the light from the screens reflecting off her glasses.

    "In a coma for the last six months, but there's no brain damage, no oxygen deprivation, nothing on the tox screens... Metabolic functions are continuing to decrease despite a full life support system being employed, meaning it's related to her Aura. Which is... Where things get weird."

    "I'll bet," Qrow murmured. Isabel brought up even more charts and diagrams he didn't grasp, but Isabel continued to talk.

    "Sustained Semblance usage past the point of Aura Exhaustion means you start drawing off the soul itself," Isabel went on, "At first I thought it was just a severe case of Aura Exhaustion. I've seen it before, sometimes fatally. But the symptoms are like nothing I've seen before. Aura Exhaustion that isn't fatal is usually something you can recover from. As long as you still have your soul, your Aura will rebuild. The stress on your body might mean your physical state is weakened afterward, but you'll still recover long term in most cases."

    "So what's different here?" Qrow asked quietly.

    "The Aura isn't replenishing, it's being drained," Isabel explained, "From the stress on her body, it's clear it's trying to replenish the Aura, but it just keeps slipping away. As if it's vanishing!"

    She scowled.

    "Which is impossible. It can't just vanish without a trace! Even a Semblance would leave some kind of signature! It's almost as if it's being taken away... But how?"

    Qrow was silent. He recognized that look in her eyes.

    "You always did like elaborate traps," Qrow said softly, "Funny for a woman who can smash her way through walls with the flick of a finger."

    Isabel flushed and scowled at Qrow.

    "Qrow... I want to know what's going on," she said quietly. "That's all."

    "You'd have to ask Ozpin-"

    "I don't trust Ozpin," Isabel stated firmly, fingers threatening to crush her notebook. Qrow's head bobbed in sympathy.

    "I trust him... Mostly," he tempered his statement.

    "I still trust you more than him," Isabel argued.

    Qrow shook his head and let out a breath. "So I go and give away secrets he entrusted me with? Break Opsec for you?" He paused. "How could either of you ever trust me again?"

    Isabel closed her eyes and smoked away her frustration. Qrow ran a hand through his hair.

    "Look, until you agree to fully commit to our group," he said, carefully omitting Ozpin's name, "I can't just let you in on everything. You know that."

    He worked his jaw and leaned back in the flight chair.

    "That said... If you were smart enough to work things out on your own," Qrow said softly, "Then you'd become a security threat if I weren't to bring you in fully…"

    Isabel stared at him wide-eyed. "Am I that close?"

    Qrow turned and blinked as if just recalling she was there. "The frustrating thing is, if I told you the solution, you'd want to join."

    "You're sure about that?"

    Qrow shrugged. "Who can say?"

    Isabel stared at him. She sucked in a deep breath of clean air, and let it out, her cigarette held between her fingers as she considered things. She slowly nodded.

    "All right... This woman suffering from... From some kind of Aura drain that defies all modern medical knowledge," Isabel hummed, "I... I've examined that from every angle I can think of. Keeping her identity and location a secret means she's very important. Why, I don't know. Her Aura is extremely strong, even now, but that can't be the only reason."

    She again went to her cigarette, puffing away as she thought.

    "Is that an angle I can use to figure out the rest?" She asked him.

    "That's not something I can tell you," Qrow said softly. Isabel sighed.

    "All right... I'll leave it alone for now," she hummed. "Okay. For the last two months, we've been running around dealing with Grimm attacks around Vale and the frontier."

    She tapped some commands into her Scroll and brought up several of the reports that they'd filed with Ozpin. Many pictures of various villages appeared.

    "We've been working with local Huntsmen and Rangers to build up a map of Grimm activity," she went on, "And it's clear that it's escalating around Vale proper. But there's no major civil unrest or cultural movement going on to explain it."

    "Right," Qrow said with a nod.

    "Atlasian drones have seen similar mass Grimm migrations all over the Valean frontier," Isabel went on, "All headed in the same direction. It's not historically unprecedented, but it hasn't happened in recent memory."

    "Mmhm," Qrow confirmed.

    "However, this many Grimm coordinating with each other? That's extremely unusual," Isabel lectured, "We've seen some instances of Grimm cooperation in the wild, but never among so many different species. Some species can work together for mutual benefit like normal animals, but never like this."

    She stared intently at all the reports. Qrow could imagine her synapses were lit up like an electrical storm, the way her mind was going.

    "This feels coordinated. Which is ridiculous. So let's examine that. What if someone or something can, actually, in fact… coordinate Grimm. How?"

    "That would be a neat trick if you could do it," Qrow agreed.

    "Hmmm... I did attend a few presentations at some medical conferences by Doctor Merlot. He was an expert in neurology and was doing work on the neurology of the Grimm," Isabel said. "He posited the idea that we could control the Grimm and essentially domesticate them, get them on our side. It was pretty interesting stuff-A little outside my wheelhouse, but I was a Huntress so it was intriguing."

    "What happened to this Merlot guy?" Qrow asked, frowning a bit. He didn't want to distract her too much, but the idea of people learning to control Grimm was too creepy a thought to ignore.

    "He was getting some funding and media attention about..." Isabel screwed up her eyes in thought, "Five years ago? Atlas was very interested in his ideas. But he vanished. Just up and disappeared, no more scientific papers, media appearances, nothing."

    Isabel paused and studied Qrow intently. Her eyes widened slightly.

    "If a faction extradited Merlot and furthered his research..."

    Qrow sucked in a breath. This... This was edging close to breaking his oaths, but...

    "Assume Merlot was removed, not poached," he said with a grimace. She couldn't go down that road without making a lot of bad assumptions.

    "That only makes sense if someone wants the idea suppressed. So… one faction has this ability matured enough to the point they don't want any further research. Or at least they have a significant advantage, even if it isn't perfected. The only faction with the technology would be Atlas."

    Isabel pursed her lips and knocked the cigarette against a cup, the ashen tip falling in, revealing the glowing end. "But why would they be doing this on such a large scale?" She asked, her mind continuing to go through the possibilities, "Is there some kind of war brewing against Vale by Atlas? I know Ironwood can be hardheaded and he and Ozpin have had their public tiffs, but... I don't think he's some kind of stupid warmonger."

    She was so close. "Hardheaded? Yes," Qrow nodded, "Stupid? No. And he's on our side. He's not doing this."

    "Then... Then who is?" Isabel asked. "Mistral maybe?"

    "No," Qrow said.

    "Can't be Vacuo, they don't have the industry or scientific base," Isabel mused, "Menagerie... Same problem. Even if White Fang wanted to control Grimm, they couldn't get the resources needed. So... Who's doing it?"

    "Who's left?" Qrow asked softly, looking her right in the eyes. "If it's not Human or Faunus... Who is left?"

    "Well... The only faction left is..."

    Isabel stared out the windscreen of the bullhead, frozen like a statue. Her head slowly turned to face Qrow. She had gone very pale.

    "... The Grimm," she whispered.

    Qrow made a short, curt nod.

    "There's... An intelligence controlling the Grimm?!" Isabel asked, her eyes darting around as though they were surrounded.

    "Yeah," Qrow nodded.

    "Then we're maintaining operational security because..." Isabel stared intensely at Qrow again. "Because if I were an intelligence controlling the Grimm, I wouldn't just use Grimm," she murmured, "I would use human agents. Intermediaries. To spy on humanity. To undermine it."

    Qrow nodded again, his eyes never leaving hers.

    "Yeah," he said, "And we don't know... We can't know... Everyone we can trust."

    Isabel stared back out at the Valean wilderness through her bullhead screen for a long, silent moment. She pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and sucked down a very long drag before letting it out. Only then did she finally speak.

    "I'm going to need a fucking drink for this, aren't I?"

    Qrow snorted in morbid laughter, as he pulled out his flask.

    "We both will."

    - - -

    It had been a few days since Qrow had brought her in. Well, to a point. There were still some things he couldn't speak about without Ozpin, but it gave her a much clearer picture of the situation. They'd been called by Ozpin, and Qrow informed him Isabel had figured some of it out-Enough, at least, to be offered to join them fully. The last transmission with Ozpin, he'd said as much. Ozpin hadn't overtly reacted, but his nods seemed a little less stiff and his manner a tiny bit less formal.

    To really join them, though, Ozpin said Isabel would have to come to Beacon.

    "There's no rush, Isabel," Ozpin had said kindly, "Really. In all honesty, you two are doing so much more than you think. Having you as a trusted ally with Qrow does much to put my mind at ease. So do not think you need to rush back. I will explain everything when you come."

    "I thank you for that, Headmaster," Isabel said with a nod.

    "Might I suggest the end of next school semester?" Ozpin asked.

    Isabel looked up in shock.

    "Are... Are you sure? That seems like a long time-"

    "There is still much to do and investigate," Ozpin stated calmly, "You are more useful out there than here, Isabel. Besides... If you join us, your skills must be back up to par. Especially for combat."

    Isabel looked at Qrow. He was reclining in the copilot's chair, totally at ease. He shrugged.

    "I'm planning on seeing Ruby and Yang around that time," he said, "You can see Jaune too. By then... I think you'll both be in a much better place."

    Jaune... She so wanted to see him. To hug him, to talk to him. To apologize for everything, and bring him home.

    Rushing back right now though...

    She nodded slowly.

    "I will see you then, Headmaster," she said quietly, "Do try to keep my son busy? I don't want him slacking off."

    Ozpin smiled that damn mysterious smile of his.

    "Mister Arc is certainly not sitting around idle. I assure you. He's been getting along very well with the students, from what I have been told."

    "Good," Isabel said with a nod, "Maybe put him to work in the nurse's office or somewhere-"

    "Isabel," Qrow said, calm but firm. Isabel sighed but managed a nod.

    "Just... Make sure he's being useful. I know he hates feeling like he's contributing nothing."

    Ozpin nodded, sipping his coffee.

    "Mm. He is like you and Nick in that regard," he complimented her. Isabel smiled, proud despite everything.

    "He's our son."

    Ozpin then sighed heavily.

    "This next mission... May be difficult for you, Isabel," he said. "There are reports of Grimm coordinating their attacks, and Hunters vanishing in the vicinity of a certain town. I believe you're familiar with it."

    It was not a question. A map of a certain town appeared on the screen. She felt Qrow's concerned look, but she stared at the name of the town with a blank expression.

    "Yes. I know. Rotofield."

    Ozpin paused, as Qrow sat up.

    "If you feel you cannot-"

    "I can handle it," Isabel said, calm but firm. Ozpin nodded.

    "Very well. Until the next transmission."

    The holowindow vanished. Isabel started up the bullhead. The engines roared to life, and they slowly rose as Qrow kept an eye on his instruments.

    "You're sure you're okay?" He found himself asking her.

    Isabel sighed softly.

    "It's been... A little overwhelming lately, I'll admit," she said, "Learning I've been roped into a secret war to save the world is..."

    "Yeah," Qrow said with a soft nod, "I get it."

    Isabel's eyes focused out at the horizon and narrowed as she accelerated their craft.

    "But now I know something, someone is controlling the Grimm," she said, her tone cold and hard, "Someone made them kill Nick. Someone made them kill a lot of people. Someone still is. That someone... Needs to die. And I'll do everything I can in my power to make sure that happens."

    Qrow smiled at the tone. She sounded like she had back in the good old days when a bunch of just-graduated Huntsmen and Huntresses thought they could take on the world.

    If I was Salem, I'd be worried right now, he thought, as they flew off at high speed.

    - - -

    Rotofield wasn't too large a town. While it had a railroad station and walls, it was really just one of hundreds of stops along the great Valean Intercontinental Railway system. It crouched in the shadow of the Valean mountain range, separating Vacuo and Vale proper. There was Dust and other mining, farming, and a few other odds and ends. It had the mountains to its back, which helped make it very defensible.

    It also had a small automobile industry-Just two factories, but thanks to Atlaesian technologies, it could produce a fair amount and ship them all over the continent.

    They arrived in the city proper, docking at the local airship port. Qrow emerged first, and walked up to the dock official. He was a bored-looking, soggy kind of man who had lived a rough life and was letting himself go in middle age. He looked over Qrow in boredom.

    "Names and business?" He asked blandly.

    "Qrow Branwen and-"

    "Raven Branwen."

    Qrow glanced back, his eyes widening just a hair. Isabel emerged from her Bullhead with wild black hair, red eyes, and a familiar sneer on her face: A pitch perfect copy of Raven when she graduated from Beacon.

    The dock official raised an eyebrow.

    "Married?"

    "Siblings," Qrow said quickly, "Just doing some Hunting recon."

    "All right, fee is fifty lien for the day, three hundred fifty lien for a full week," the worker said, "Enjoy your stay."

    Isabel paid the man, and they left. Qrow gave her a strange look as they walked out into the open streets, where people went about their daily lives and cars trundled around the rough but paved streets. There was a statue in the center of the town nearby, where a few tourists were gathered.

    Isabel shrugged.

    "It's been a while since I shifted my appearance like this, decided to try something I'd done before," she said.

    "Why did you-?"

    "To prank that mean, stuck-up bitch, of course," Isabel said with a smirk. "You should have seen her face when Verty Mortimer asked to see her tits again."

    In another time and place, he'd have found that funny. Right now though...

    "Could have warned me," Qrow growled. Isabel batted her eyes at him.

    "Aw... Big Brother, are you nervous around me?" She asked, smirking so much like Raven Qrow's fist clenched. She looked down at his hands and frowned.

    "... Sorry," she said more softly. "I... I should have chosen someone you don't hate."

    "Yeah, well... Should have told you about that," Qrow muttered.

    "Do you have a preference?" She asked quietly.

    For a moment, Qrow pictured Summer. Silver eyes, reddish black hair, a warm smile as she-

    "Raven is fine for now," Qrow said, quickly and quietly. "Just... Warn me the next time you do that. It's..."

    Isabel closed her eyes.

    "Yeah... Sorry. I just... I don't want to be Isabel Arc in this town," she murmured. Her eyes wandered to the statue in the center of the square. Qrow looked at it as well.

    "Do you want to visit the-?"

    "No. Not right now," Isabel murmured. "Let's... Let's just get on with it."

    Qrow nodded.

    "Works for me."

    - - -

    They went on foot out of the city gates and headed deep into the forest. The coordinates Ozpin had indicated were fairly deep along a logging trail. They followed along, avoiding the local Grimm for the most part as Isabel took observations with her Scroll and notebook.

    She had ditched the Raven appearance, which made Qrow feel a lot better... Yet the image of Summer kept popping into his mind.

    No, Qrow thought to himself, I'll never ask for that. I can't ask for that... Nick... Summer... Taiyang... I'm so sorry...

    He wasn't some horny teenager anymore. He was a grown man... With a lot of regrets.

    "We're almost to the area where the last sighting was reported," Qrow said, cutting through the brush with ease. "We should be done and back by..."

    He looked back over his shoulder. Isabel was staring at a gap in the trees, where a well-traveled game trail intersected with the logging path.

    "Isabel?" Qrow asked.

    Her pupils expanded widely, as she enhanced her vision. The pupils shrank back down to normal.

    She then broke into a run, vanishing into the forest. Qrow cursed.

    "Isabel! Isabel!" He shouted. He shifted to bird form and flew after her. He spotted her blonde hair waving behind her like a flag as she dashed deeper into the forest. She ran into a wide field, an open space in the trees that let the sunlight in. There were mounds in the cleaning, covered in yellow flowers, and she came to a stop in front of one. One that had a few glints coming from underneath the flowers, sunlight being reflected off of metal.

    He changed back from bird form, and landed behind her.

    "Isabel? What the hell are you-?!"

    She reached for the mound, and tore the vines and grasses away, frantically. Metal, leather, all worn, was swiftly revealed as the foliage was peeled away. Qrow's breath caught in his chest as Isabel tore away the growth to reveal the object of her labors.

    It was a black and yellow motorcycle-Large, with twin, heavy tires for offroading in front and back. The seat was adjustable with the superstructure of the vehicle, allowing the rider to recline or sit up straight depending on how the bike was lifted. Two heavy mechanical skirts flanked the pedals on either side of the great vehicle. Despite the wear and tear of the elements, it still looked like a lean, aggressive wolf on the prowl.

    "Guivre," Isabel whispered, tears threatening to fall, "It's here... It's been here all this time..."

    Qrow frowned as Isabel looked over the machine, gloved hands tracing the familiar lines of the bike. Qrow sucked in a deep breath.

    "Isabel..." He tried to speak, but nothing came. Isabel sniffled and laughed through her tears.

    "I remember when he first bought this monstrosity, used," she murmured, sliding a hand over the torn leather of the seat, "He fixed it up all by himself. I remember... I remember when he took me riding with him. He was the only man whose driving scared me. I bet he drove like a maniac just to make me hold onto him harder."

    Qrow slowly nodded, letting out a small chuckle.

    "Yeah... Yeah. I remember him showing it off," he admitted. "Idiot got so many speeding tickets. Beat the shit out of me when I took it for a drunken joyride."

    Isabel snickered, wiping her eyes.

    "Y-Yeah... Yeah, I remember that... I remember..."

    She ran her hands over some levers near the large metallic skirts. Qrow scooted out of the way as Isabel triggered a release. The skirts opened up and expanded, the mechashift mechanisms screeching from rust and age. Qrow looked around carefully, but no Grimm appeared. Isabel looked through the storage spaces, her eyes wide. She rummaged around, and picked up a large, metallic cylinder. Qrow recognized it immediately as Isabel stuttered.

    "It's just an ammo magazine," she murmured, "Where... Where is-?"

    "He wouldn't have kept his swords in here, Isabel," Qrow said softly, "Not when he died fighting."

    Isabel froze. Qrow grit his teeth.

    Shit... Shit... He'd had to go and say that... Right where her husband had died-

    "No. No, it wouldn't be," Isabel murmured back. She sighed and shook her head, tucking the ammo cylinder into her belt.

    "It's strange though," she spoke, patting the motorcycle seat with affection, "They couldn't find Guivre or his sword before when they searched the area. Why is it here now?"

    Qrow felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. His Aura flashed a warning, and he went for Harbinger.

    The ground rumbled, and dropped right out from under them. Isabel fell. Qrow fell with her, as the vines gave way to a huge pit.

    "ISABEL!"

    "QROW!"

    She reached out to him, but a white thread snapped out and snagged her from behind. She yelped as she was dragged down into darkness, along with the bike. Qrow followed, flying into the darkness and navigating carefully with his vision.

    Isabel and the bike were dragged into a grotto, one covered in white filaments that glowed in the dim sunlight. The bike crashed down onto the rocky floor of the cave, splashing up water, as Isabel was reeled upwards. Qrow threw down a Dust flare that lit up the entire grotto. He growled, as Isabel looked up and gasped.

    Twelve greedy eyes reflected the Dust Flare light. Eight were clustered around a huge, gaping black maw of drooling fangs, flanked by eight gigantic legs clutching the roof of the grotto. The final four were in a human head, atop a human female-like torso growing out of the head of the great Grimm Spider. It used unnaturally long arms with clawed fingers to reel in Isabel, and hissed with delight from a mouth full of shining white fangs underneath its bone white mask.

    Sticking out of its huge abdomen was something familiar. The hilt of a sword. A familiar sword.

    "Isabel!" Qrow shouted, "I'll get you out of there-!"

    "Get me free, Qrow!" Isabel snarled, "Get me free... SO WE CAN KILL THIS BITCH AND GET BACK MY HUSBAND'S SWORD!"

    - - -

    Qrow sprang into action, launching himself in bird form into the air before shifting mid flight to bring Harbinger's rifle to bear on the Spider Grimm. His Dust rounds impacted the beast, making it shriek as it scuttled across the grotto roof. A few dozen rounds through the silk holding Isabel, and the blonde fell back towards the cave floor. Qrow shifted again to bird form to ascend higher, shifting out of it to swing Harbinger, now in sword form, right for its head!

    He struck the neck... But his blade didn't go through.

    "What the-?!"

    Silken armor cracked underneath his blade. The Spider-Grimm turned its human-like head and leered at him. Just before the hairs all over it's body stood up ramrod straight, and were launched.

    Qrow grunted as the forearm-length projectiles struck him-Once, twice, three times-Before he shifted back into bird form and dove, wildly evading the hail of deadly hairs.

    The Spider Grimm shrieked as a rock hit it, the impact booming like a cannonball. Qrow looked: Isabel had picked up another boulder, and flung it at the Spider Grimm. The monster dodged, just barely, and unleashed another barrage of projectile hairs. Isabel held up her arms to shield her face as she ran, taking several hits as she dove for cover behind a rocky outcropping. Qrow flew recklessly, trusting his Semblance to ensure most of the projectiles missed him, as he dove for the same cover.

    He landed behind it, where Isabel was crouched down and covering her head as the hail of shots continued to fall on them. He shifted to human form, kneeling down right beside her.

    "Damn thing's using its silk as an extra armor layer," Qrow growled. "It also waited until I was at point-blank range to hit me with those hairs."

    "The bitch is smart," Isabel growled, "But we're smarter. We need to get it down on the ground."

    "On it," Qrow stated, hefting up Harbinger, "I need a distraction."

    "You've got one."

    Isabel nodded. Qrow took a deep breath.

    "GO!"

    Qrow shot out from behind cover in Bird form, quickly shifting to human in mid-air to unleash a punishing barrage of rounds at the Grimm Spider. The beast took several hits as it groped across the cave ceiling, before returning fire with its own missiles as a withering hail. Qrow again shifted into bird form, corkscrewing and barrel rolling like a dust plane ace.

    "HEY! BITCH!"

    Isabel hefted up a boulder the size of a van over her head. She grunted as projectiles rained on her improvised cover, and turned to glare up at the Grimm.

    "FUCK YOU!"

    She roared, throwing the boulder as hard as she could. The Grimm barely swung out of the way, using various silk lines to trapeze its way out of the impact zone of the boulder.

    Qrow flew overhead, shifted to human form, and swung Haribinger through the silken lines, spinning like a tornado as his Aura cut the Grimm silk like a knife through hot butter.

    "GUH!"

    Unfortunately, he took hits from its projectile hairs in doing so and tumbled through the air to slam against the cave wall in a harsh impact.

    The Grimm-Spider shrieked that unholy wail of its again, as it fell, flailing all of its arms and legs. It slammed into the ground with an earth shaking impact, its legs grotesquely waving about as it tried to right itself.

    Another boulder slammed into it, sending it tumbling from the hit. Isabel charged as the Spider Grimm struggled to get back onto its legs. She leaped forward, pulling back her fist.

    "YOU-!"

    Her fist impacted two of the monster's legs-Both were bent from the force of the impact, and snapped, but did their job to reduce Isabel's striking power. Her fist hit the side of the beast, and the Spider Grimm used the momentum to right itself. With a sneer on its human face, it produced two strands of silk from its spider mouth-parts and with it's human-like hands, swung them like whips.

    "UNGH! GAH!" Isabel held up her forearms, the whips cracking as their tips easily broke the sound barrier, and Aura or no Aura, left harsh red welts all over the blonde woman. Qrow opened fire with Harbinger, blasting at the oozing stumps of the Spider Grimm's legs. It shrieked again, and Isabel charged in its distraction.

    Her two mighty fists grabbed onto its fangs, and she tried to lift it as she fought with the monster like she was trying to wrangle a deer by its antlers. She snarled into the gaze of the monster, as it bent down its human head to try and bite her!

    "BITCH!" Isabel roared, headbutting the monster's human head back. Qrow had closed the distance, swinging his blade for its head again. The monster bent backwards, and another hail of projectiles greeted both Hunters. Isabel was shielded from the worst of it, but Qrow again had to evade the fire in bird form. The Spider Grimm lunged, using its sheer bulk to drive Isabel back. She dug in her heels, but the Spider Grimm kept pushing, and rammed her back into a truly massive stone pillar. The limestone cracked underneath the impact, and the Spider Grimm hissed in Isabel's face as it used its pedipalps to bludgeon her, smacking her around with the leg-like limbs.

    "UGH! UNGH! NNGH!" Isabel gritted her teeth, tanking the hits. Qrow fired with Harbinger, targeting the monster's large abdomen. His shots did some damage, but the silken armor it wore was being replenished rapidly. His eyes scanned the monster for a weakness-The broken legs?

    Shit. He could see that silk oozing over the ends already. The only thing that had penetrated this thing's hide was...

    His eyes locked onto Nick's Sword, still sticking out of the monster's rear end.

    "ISABEL! THE AMMO!"

    Qrow leapt up, firing Harbinger in quick bursts at the monster's oozing stumps. The Spider Grimm reared back a little as it shrieked. It was still trying to pin Isabel, but as it fired a barrage of hairs at Qrow, it had let up just enough for Isabel to shove it back. With one hand free, she reached into her pouches, pulled out the ammo cylinder, and threw it at Qrow. He shifted to human form and took a few hard hits, but he caught the magazine.

    "HRWAH!" Isabel managed to deliver a few short punches into the spider-head eyes of the Spider Grimm, making it shriek. It lashed out with its human arms, reaching to grasp Isabel around her neck. It began to choke her, even as she tried to punch it...!

    Qrow dove as a crow, and shifted to human form just as he passed the hilt of the sword. He grabbed onto it, swinging himself up onto the monster's abdomen. He untwisted the hilt, and it popped open-A fully spent magazine popped out. Qrow rammed the new magazine inside, slammed it in, twisted it shut, hit the trigger, channeled his Aura, prayed that the Lightning Dust was still good and that his luck wouldn't fuck them over-!

    CRACKLEBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACLEBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACKLBOOM! CRACKLEBOOM! CRACLEBOOM!

    A railgun sword was, in engineering terms, a very easy weapon to build with the technology available in an advanced kingdom of Remnant, like, say, Atlas. The real trick was in wielding one, as it was akin to holding all the concentrated power of a thunderstorm in a relatively tiny metallic vessel. It took immense Aura Reserves, excellent Aura Control, and monstrous physical strength to even use one effectively.

    Qrow felt why. Every shot he fired was so strong it felt like his arm might be ripped right off by the sheer force of the blasts. The Spider Grimm bellowed in hate-filled agony as every blast outright vaporized its insides.

    Even then, it did not die easily. It lunged again, thrusting a fang into Isabel's side.

    "ISABEL!" Qrow shouted.

    "NNNGH... I'VE HAD... ENOUGH...!"

    Isabel reached under the fangs, hooked them, and lifted the spider up off the ground. Qrow yanked the huge railgun sword out of the Spider Grimm's abdomen and jumped down. He slammed it into the rocky floor, burying the pommel to point the blade straight up before he dodged out of the way.

    "OF YOU!"

    Isabel slammed the Spider Grimm down onto the sword, the weakened Grimm screaming as the blade punched right through its spider head and up through its human torso. Its human and spider mouths belched out Grimm ichor, as Isabel reared back with her fist. Its eyes were filled with hatred as it snarled one last time-

    Before Isabel's fist obliterated its head, turning it into smoke.

    Isabel stood there, panting hard, as the mangled Spider Grimm shuddered once more, before its legs folded up around it. The body began to dissolve into smoke, the remains of the head vanishing first.

    The beast's corpse slowly returned to the ether, leaving only Nick's sword. Isabel took two steps towards it... Before her knees gave out, and she stumbled. Qrow caught her, holding her tightly.

    "You okay?" Qrow asked. Isabel managed a nod.

    "Y-Yeah... You?"

    "My Aura's dealing with it, you got injected with-!"

    "I'm on it," Isabel groaned, "Hang on... Gotta deal with the venom..." She unclipped her armor, pulled it aside to bare her stomach...

    Qrow started as Isabel's belly expanded against him. He stepped back as it distended, making her look like she was nine months pregnant with quintuplets.

    "What in the-?!"

    "Have to expand the size of my liver," she explained, pressing a gauntlet to her stomach. It glowed white as the Medical Dust within it reacted to her Aura. "Filter it all out... And..."

    She sighed in relief, and her stomach shrank back to regular size. She gave Qrow a small smile at his disgusted expression.

    "All better!"

    Qrow shook his head slowly.

    Now I remember why she wears that stretchy turtleneck...

    "Your Semblance is just..."

    "You try having eight kids, then you'll see some real body horror," Isabel managed. Qrow cracked a small smile.

    They both turned to the sword, gleaming in the Dust flare. It stood proudly, a gigantic two-pronged sword as tall as a man, the split blade framing the deadly-looking railgun core. The edges were dark black, yet around the center of the blade and the firing chamber was white metal with gold highlights, signifying the family the weapon belonged to. Isabel sucked in a deep breath. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Qrow squeezed her shoulders with his arm.

    "He came through for us... For you... One last time," Qrow said with a nod.

    Isabel smiled softly.

    "Nick..."

    She and Qrow walked up to the sword. She picked it up and held it to her chest.

    "Thank you," she murmured, tears in her eyes, "Thank you for... For everything..."

    Qrow held her, not saying a word.

    - - -

    They didn't talk much after that. Isabel did scans and sweeps with her Scroll of the Grimm's lair and anything else the monster had kept from its many victims, per standard Hunter's procedure, and took some samples of whatever was left of the Grimm and its webbing. Qrow got Guivre up on its tires, and helped collect the samples and Nick's sword in the cargo compartments on the motorcycle.

    They both worked hard to g et themselves and the bike up out of the grotto, Qrow steering while Isabel pushed.

    The sun was setting by the time they got back out to the logging road, and night had fallen when they finally got back to the gates of Rotofield. The stars and broken moon illuminated their travel, and the guards at the front happily let them in.

    Tired, dirty, exhausted, but triumphant, they got the cycle rolling on its never-run-flat tires. It took to the pavement far more easily, and everything became much smoother as they took the bike along road. There weren't many pedestrians or cars out this late, but they still got plenty of gawkers as they pushed the massive bike along towards the city center.

    Qrow was guiding it towards a local mechanic's shop when Isabel paused.

    "Wait," she said.

    Qrow looked over at her. She was staring at the statue. Qrow smiled a bit. Quickly, and trying not to tie up traffic any more than they were, Qrow guided Guivre into the traffic circle, and up onto the concrete island where the statue was mounted. He nodded to Isabel. She let go of Guivre, and walked around to the front of the memorial. Qrow leaned back against Guivre's leather seat, and chuckled as he looked the memorial over.

    "Guess you left a hell of an impression, Nick," Qrow said, "Or you were some kind of bastard for them to throw up a statue of you."

    It was realistically proportioned, on a pedestal about two meters tall. Nick Arc was captured in marble with a confident smile on his bearded face, his massive sword stuck on his back. His right arm was bent back, holding the hilt of his giant blade, ready to pull it free and unleash it upon his enemies. He wore classic Arc Armor, perfectly sculpted in the pale white marble, with ribbed pants and heavy combat boots underneath. His hair was just as messy as it ever was. Qrow thought the artist had done a good job in capturing Nick's messy mane: The man tried and tried, but his beard and hair remained untamed despite his best efforts.

    His gaze moved down to Isabel, who was staring up at the memorial of her husband. Qrow got up and walked around to her side. Her face was anxious and her eyes were avoiding her husband's gaze.

    "What's wrong?" He asked.

    "Just..." Isabel shut her eyes and shook her head. "I feel... I feel so stupid. Blaming Hunting for getting Nick killed. After a while, any reminder of him just... Just ripped the wounds open again."

    She rubbed her chest, right over her heart. Qrow slowly nodded.

    "Yeah... I know the feeling," he murmured. "Seeing you... Seeing a lot of my old friends... The hurt just seemed to smother all the good times."

    Isabel nodded, eyes locked onto the face of her husband's statue.

    "... When I see Jaune," she said softly, "I'm going to apologize to him. I'll make up for every bad thing I ever did. I was wrapped up in my grief, but... But that's no excuse-"

    "Yeah, but you're trying," Qrow said emphatically, "That's what matters."

    Isabel looked at him, her face neutral. Qrow sighed and rubbed his stubbly cheek as he tried to put his thoughts into some kind of intelligible statement.

    "I mean... Working with you? Doing all this? I... I realize how much I've screwed things up in my life. My Semblance doesn't help. It makes things harder on me, on them... But that just means I can't give up." He looked into her eyes. "You make me want to get better, Isabel. To... To do better by the people in my life."

    Isabel snorted, staring down at her feet.

    "I'm not really much better-"

    "But you're willing to try," Qrow argued back, and again her eyes found his, "And... So am I."

    Isabel smiled warmly.

    "Without you, I wouldn't have been willing to try," she said. She reached out her hand. Qrow glanced up at Nick for a moment, before he reached out and squeezed hers.

    For such a powerful woman, her hand fit so neatly in his...

    Sorry Nick, Qrow thought, I swear, I'm not gonna make the moves on your wife. Really... At least not in front of your memorial-NO.

    Isabel turned her gaze back to the statue. Her eyes lingered on the pedestal, and she sighed in irritation.

    "They got the name of his sword wrong," she grumbled, "They always wrote it wrong."

    Qrow smirked. He walked to Guivre, and popped the skirt cargo container. He pulled out Nick's massive sword, and rested it over his shoulder. He walked back, and took the blade's hilt in both hands.

    "Let's fix that," he stated. With great dexterity and strength, he carved letters into the pedestal. Once he was done, he handed the sword back over to Isabel, who took it with shining eyes.

    "'This Memorial is dedicated to Nickolas Louis Arc, a Hunter who fought to protect Rotofield many times throughout his career and gave his life to save a class of more than thirty junior Huntsmen. According to eye witnesses, he took down over fifty Grimm in single combat before being overcome. Rotofield will always remember Nicholas Louis Arc, wielder of the mighty railgun sword Blont Joyeuse.'"

    Qrow looked over at Isabel.

    "What's that mean? He never said."

    Isabel flushed, but she was smiling as she held the mighty blade.

    "In an old Valean tongue, it means 'Yellow Joy'. He... Said he named it after our family."

    Qrow smiled and hugged her around her shoulders again.

    "He always was a corny son of a bitch, wasn't he?"

    Isabel beamed, her eyes wet with tears but filled with love and pride.

    "Yeah... Yeah, he was..."

    Qrow squeezed her shoulder.

    "You get back to the bullhead. I'll get Guivre to the shop."

    "Thank you," Isabel said. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Qrow's cheek. "For everything."

    Qrow coughed and looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

    "Y-Yeah... Any time."

    She hurried off, ignoring questions from some tourists. Qrow watched her go, and with a smile, looked up at Nick's face.

    "She's a hell of a woman, Nick," he said, "I can see why you feel so hard for her. I can see why she still loves you."

    He was silent for a moment.

    "I promise... I won't let anything happen to her. Or your family."

    He shrugged.

    "Just uh... Forgive my dirty thoughts, huh? Because I've got the feeling they're gonna get a lot worse..."

    - - -

    Isabel's Bullhead is basically like an RV, with enough room and amenities for two people to travel together in relative comfort for a while.

    Doctor Merlot is the antagonist of the game "RWBY: Grimm Eclipse", and he will make an appearance in this story. We do need more villains after all.

    Rotofield is a reworking of "Rotomagus", the Gaulian name for Rouen, the French city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

    Guivre is named after a mythical dragon of French legend, and is naturally based upon "Fenrir", Cloud Strife's motorcycle from "Final Fantasy: Advent Children". We will learn more about Nick Arc's sword next chapter.

    And naturally the Grimm is based upon a Dryder, which I'm sure everyone knows from DnD and not porn.

    Nick's sword is named Blont Joyuese, after the legendary sword wielded by Charlemagne, the Frankish Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Its name means "Yellow/Golden Joy" in Old French, and here you can see it bringing that to his wife.

    (As did his     other sword, but we won't get into that.
    naughty.gif
    )

    Hope you enjoyed this tangent. Back to Teams RWBY and JNPR next time!
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Music for Isabel and Qrow
  • Extras
    • I've also been listening to a lot of music to help me write out several scenes.

    I listened to this for Isabel and Qrow talking and Isabel slowly figuring out the truth about the Grimm:


    View: p2sVhlEhAaw
    %20
    For%20their%20little%20moment%20when%20they%20arrive%20at%20Rotofield:
    %20
    %5BURL%20unfurl=%22true%22%20media=%22youtube:LpH0A5MWZtQ%22%5DLpH0A5MWZtQ
    %20
    I%20listened%20to%20this%20as%20I%20wrote%20the%20initial%20discovery%20of,%20and%20fight%20with%20the%20Spider%20Grimm:
    %20
    %5BURL%20unfurl=%22true%22%20media=%22youtube:p5dLu9ScRM0%22%5DP5dLu9ScRM0
    %20
    And%20this%20for%20the%20final%20part%20of%20the%20battle:
    %20
    %5BURL%20unfurl=%22true%22%20media=%22youtube:ElHLG1BN3q0%22%5DElHLG1BN3q0
    %20
    And%20after%20they%20win:
    %20
    %5BURL%20unfurl=%22true%22%20media=%22youtube:LpH0A5MWZtQ%22%5DLpH0A5MWZtQ
    %20
    If%20you%27re%20interested,%20I%20can%20provide%20more%20playlists%20of%20music%20I%20use%20for%20inspiration%20as%20I%20continue.
     
  • Extras
    • AndrewJTalon said:
    Jaune... She so wanted to see him. To hug him, to talk to him. To apologize for everything, and bring him home.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    One thing that bothers me about almost all the fics where Jaune's family (aside from Saphron & Terra) shows up, is that they're basically instantly forgiven for stealing their child's life out from underneath them so they can live a life with less anxiety in it. It might work in a sitcom, but not so much anything approaching real life.

    AndrewJTalon said:
    Ozpin smiled that damn mysterious smile of his.

    "Mister Arc is certainly not sitting around idle. I assure you. He's been getting along very well with the students, from what I have been told."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Nothing untrue in that sentence. :V

    AndrewJTalon said:
    She and Qrow walked up to the sword. She picked it up and held it to her chest.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I'm wondering if Jaune will inherit his Fathers sword, since I'm doubting Pyrrha will fall in this fic, and Jaune won't have hers to salvage.

    Thanks for the new chapter!
     
    Omake: Jaune the Barbarian 5
  • Threadmarks
    • - - -

    Ruby stomped into the common room on Friday night, glaring at Jaune. Jaune blinked.

    "Can... I help you, Ruby? You okay?"

    "How come you got drunk in front of Weiss?" Ruby demanded. "Do you and her have a-a thing?!"

    "No, we don't, and I got drunk in front of Weiss because I wanted to," Jaune grumbled, "I drank a little too much but I was fine."

    "    Why can't you trust me to get drunk in front of, huh?!" Ruby demanded. "Your childhood friend and bestest friend forever!"

    Jaune chuckled.

    "Aw... Come on Ruby. Don't be jealous."

    "I'm not jealous! Okay, maybe a little, but seriously?!"

    Jaune rolled his eyes.

    "Fine... If it means that much to you, you can watch me get drunk tonight."

    "I uh... I-I mean..." Ruby hesitated. "Maybe it would be better for you to not get drunk? Healthier?"

    "Pfft," Jaune snorted, "I did not get that drunk."

    "Weiss says you threw up all over her shoes-"

    "I'd do that even if I wasn't drunk," Jaune said with a firm nod. Ruby worried her lower lip.

    "I just... I want you to know, I'm here for you, Jaune!" She hugged him tightly. "So... You don't need to use booze as a crutch! Okay?"

    "... Okay but you're cool with me drinking it?"

    "Yup!"

    "As long as it's in front of you?"

    "Mmhm!"

    Jaune shrugged, and tipped back the flask.

    "Okay then... But I'm not going to get drunk."

    Ten minutes later...

    "HAHAHAHA! THAT ROCK... LOOKS LIKE... A ROCK!" Jaune giggled. He had left the RWBY/JNPR dorm and was now outside underneath the moonlight. Ruby followed, grinning in a mixture of amusement and worry.

    "Y-Yeah! It does look like a rock, huh?" She managed.

    Jaune then drooped, and sniffled. Ruby gasped.

    "Jaune? Jaune, are you all right?"

    "No... I hate moonlight... The cool sword guy died for me in moonlight," he sniffled. He held his forearm up to his eyes and sobbed. "IT'S... IT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT!"

    "Y-Yeah! Yeah, it absolutely is!" Ruby cried... Then yelped when Jaune hugged her tightly. She blushed bright red. "J-Jaune... Jaune, I'm here for you-"

    "I KNOW RUBY!" Jaune sobbed. "I-I DON'T DESERVE A FRIEND LIKE YOU!" He cuddled her... And spun around drunkenly until they both fell onto the grass.

    "OOF!"

    "I'm fine," Jaune managed. Ruby flushed. She was now on top of him.

    "Ah... J-Jaune? Can... Can you let me go?"

    "Let you... I don't wanna let you go!" Jaune sobbed, hugging her tighter, "I don't wanna lose you! I-I CAN'T LOSE YOU, RUBY!"

    On one hand, this was one of many dreams Ruby had related to Jaune that were coming true-Being pressed to his manly chest in the moonlight, like in some of Blake's weird books. On the other...

    "Jaune... Can't... Breathe...!"

    "Huh? Oh..." Jaune let her go, as she panted for breath. "Sorry..." He nuzzled her. "Heehee... Eskimo kisses..."

    Ruby was blushing so hard she didn't even think to ask what an Eskimo was.

    "J-Jaune...!"

    "Up! Wait... I uh..." Jaune blinked. "Right... Can't do... Do things with you."

    Ruby blinked as Jaune pulled away, and collapsed onto his face.

    "Wha... What things?! What can't you do?!"

    She went around to his side. He held up a finger to his lips and shushed her, loudly.

    "Can't... Can't do... Naughty stuff... Like... Shouldn't even think about that stuff with Ruby..." He broke into sobs again. "BUT I DO! I'M SUCH A BAD GUY! I'M A CREEP!"

    "N-NO! NO! YOU'RE NOT A CREEP JAUNE, HONEST!" Ruby said quickly, waving her arms even as she felt faint (and elated). "IT'S OKAY!"

    "I mean... I am not... Some Mistralian perv in a hentai who lusts after his sisters!" Jaune declared, sitting up and wobbling, "I'mma... I'm not gonna En Tee Arr anyone! Fffffuck no! You don't... Don't you ever call me 'onii-chan', got it! Cause... I'm not a creep!"

    "I-I won't! Promise!"

    Jaune nodded.

    "Good... Good... Gotta... Gotta talk to Ruby... Bye... Thanks fer listenin, you..."

    "N-No probem," Ruby grinned, barely containing a squeal. She accelerated over to Jaune's other side, as he slumped towards her.

    "Ruby? You... You're a good girl..." He lifted up a hand and pet her head, "Goooood girl... I wanna... Wanna bake cookies?"

    "Sure Jaune!"

    "Wholesome as shit," Jaune mumbled, "Soooo wholesome... And cake. Make cake... But I'm not gonna... Gonna be Weiss's cake butler. Fuuuuuck no."

    "No, no, you're never gonna be her cake butler," Ruby said. "I won't let her make you a cake butler!"

    "Good... Good... Love you Ruby," Jaune mumbled. Ruby gasped.

    "REALLY?!"

    "Yup... G'night," Jaune mumbled, slumping over onto her as he passed out.

    "EEP!"

    - - -

    The next morning...

    Ruby was humming and singing as she baked in the kitchenette. Pyrrha, Yang, Weiss, and Blake all watched her in concern.

    "Uh... Ruby? Why are you so happy?"

    "And... Smug?" Pyrrha asked, with a suspicious glare.

    "Oh... No reason," Ruby giggled. "Also? Weiss?"

    "Yes?"

    "Jaune puked in your shoes again last night."

    "HE WHAT?!"
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Omake: Jaune the Barbarian 6
  • Threadmarks
    • - - -

    Training was nothing new for Pyrrha. She'd trained as far back as she could remember. She thrilled in the sensation of honing her skills, in pushing past her limits to find new limits. Despite her cloistered, isolated life, there was still joy in just growing stronger, in surpassing her previous accomplishments.

    Jaune too had a great enthusiasm for training. Without being prompted, he brought the team down to the gym or training rooms or even a field outside, where they worked hard.

    Today they were in a training room, working individually before they went on to work on some new team manuevers.

    Pyrrha herself went through her forms after her warm ups-Shield up, thrust with spear, strafe right, strafe left, feint, repeat...

    It had been drilled into her, over and over, how to fight with spear, with sword, with rifle, and with shield. It was almost second nature to her. Which allowed her to check out the other members of her team as they trained.

    Nora's style was blunt, aggressive, and low defense-Just how she liked it. She slugged it out with a training robot that was trying to keep her at range, forcing her to move fast and evade the shots to get into firing range. Ren, while also a close-range fighter, was more focused on speed and precision. He almost danced with his robot opponent, his footwork and agility letting him slide around his opponent's lunges and strikes.

    Then there was Jaune.

    After his warmup, he had chosen a training circle. He held up his blade, his shield at the ready. He stepped forward and back, side to side, practicing his footwork. Then, he added his sworld and shield movements to each set. He muttered under his breath as he did so, and Pyrrha listened in.

    "Three, five, six... Two, four, one... One, five, three..."

    At each number, his sword and shield assumed different positions. Defensive, offensive postures.

    "Lunge!" He called out, his shield up as he thrust his blade forward with his body providing more power.

    CRACK!

    "GAH!" Jaune yelped, as his training robot lashed out with a practice sword and struck Jaune on the forearm.

    "Overlunge," the robot intoned, "Try again."

    "Right," Jaune muttered. He returned to the first position and resumed.

    "Three, five, six... Two, four, one... One, five, three... Lunge!"

    Pyrrha headed over, watching him intently. She analyzed his style, her lips thinning.

    "You took dancing classes, Jaune?" She asked.

    "Y-yeah," Jaune grunted, continuing through his katas, "Seven older sisters, someone had to practice with them... Go with them to prom if they didn't get a date..."

    "It shows," Pyrrha observed, "Your footwork is very nice... Maybe a bit too much flair. That's burning energy."

    "R-Right, less flair," Jaune agreed, trying to smooth out his footwork as he continued his training. "Okay..."

    He ran through the routine... The robot again smacked his arm.

    "YEOW!"

    "Per training parameters: Too much flair," the robot stated.

    "Why do you make the robot do that to you?" Pyrrha asked, curious. Jaune shrugged.

    "My mentor trained me that way. We uh... We had to rush things, and the fastest way for me to learn was with negative reinforcement."

    Pyrrha nodded slowly.

    "My own masters were much the same," she said softly, "They sent me to the ground and hit me to bring me down if they found an opening. They weren't allowed to hit my face, for... Various reasons, but it was a good means of teaching."

    She shrugged.

    "Though I will admit, it's been a long time since I've ever taken an actual hit."

    "Oh, I see," Jaune said, again repeating his forms. "Okay..."

    He sighed and set down his shield outside the training ring. He held the sword up in both hands.

    "Okay... Fencing practice," he said firmly. "I don't do this a lot, but my mentor told me to keep up with it whenever I could."

    "Would you like an opponent?" Pyrrha asked, hopping down into the ring with him. She shifted Milo into sword form and smiled. Jaune shrugged and smiled wanly.

    "Well... Given I'm used to people kicking my ass with a sword, this will just make the training go even better," he said. Pyrrha set her shield aside and held her sword up in both hands.

    "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Pyrrha said with a gentle smile. "All right... Here I go."

    She opened with a few quick, probing thrusts without any real strength behind them. Jaune deflected them, his eyes focused on her eyes. Mentally she approved.

    "Good..." She lashed out with harder thrusts, driving him back. He deflected a blow aimed for his right leg and was able to turn it into an aggressive counter! Surprised, Pyrrha pulled back but recovered swiftly, knocking his next series of quick strikes away as he went on the offensive.

    Hmm... It's a bit unrefined, but has a lot of power to it and it's very solid, Pyrrha considered, analyzing Jaune's form with a cool detachment, He's also staying aware of his surroundings... When I do this...!

    She broke the clash and feinted for his forehead, before turning it into a downward slash for his arms. He caught it and rolled his wrists, knocking her blade away and trying to lunge. She again recovered instantly, parrying his strike and sliding her blade along his to get him in the chest.

    "URK!" Jaune cried, falling back and bending over. He choked and coughed up blood onto the training mat. Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror, her sword dropping from her suddenly numb hands. She dashed forward, arms out.

    "JAUNE! Jaune, I didn't mean to-Are you-?!"

    Crocea Mors was thrust right into her chest, and she was slammed back onto the floor, her Aura flaring as it took the hit. Jaune's cough turned into a slightly embarrassed laugh. He looked down at her, licking up the blood from the inside of his cheek.

    "Yeah, he also taught me that fighting fair was not trying hard enough," Jaune said, "You okay Pyrrha?"

    Pyrrha lay still on the floor. Jaune blinked, now concerned.

    "Pyrrha? You okay? I-I mean, I know it's dirty pool... But with how nice you are, you gotta learn how to-GAH!"

    Jaune... Was now on his back. Through his daze, he saw that Pyrrha was atop him, with a wide, eager smile. She was panting hard, her cheeks red, her eyes wild.

    "J-Jaune... You have... Any idea how long it's been since someone's hit me?" She asked.

    "Uhhhh..."

    "And you... You got right through my defenses," she panted, "Right past them... Plunging your blade right into me...!"

    "Uhhhh..."

    "You know... You have... Any idea," Pyrrha growled, "What that does to me-?!"

    The robot hit them both.

    "OW!"

    "EEP!"

    "Per training parameters," the robot intoned, "Cease your debauchery-"

    Pyrrha reached out a hand, and black Aura surrounded the robot's head. It was crushed like a tin can as Pyrrha grinned down at Jaune.

    "Where were we~?"

    "No! No! Bad Pyrrha! Down! Back to horny jail!" Jaune shouted through his terror, scrambling away even as she pinned him down by his shoulders.

    "Can't we have just a little debauchery?"

    "NO!"

    "Can you go with me to horny jail?"

    "NO!"

    "Aww..."

    She did have to pay for the robot out of her own funds later, but Pyrrha believed it was absolutely worth it.

    - - -

    Hey, I can do character building AND horny Pyrrha jokes at the same time.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Jaune the Barbarian 7
  • Threadmarks
    • - - -



    Combat Class could be a rough experience. Though Jaune supposed it was meant to be one.



    Every match up was between different fighters with different weapons and styles, at random or at Goodwitch's whim. Once a victory was decided or the fight had gone on too long, Goodwitch would tell the fighters where they had done well, and where they needed improvement. It was fairly solid, Jaune supposed, but most of the work to get better was on them.



    Then again, Beacon was for the best. They had to be willing to put in that work.



    That said, in an atmosphere of hormonally charged teens with superpowers and deadly weapons? It was easy for things to get personal.



    "Jaune Arc, today you'll be facing Weiss Schnee. Get in there."



    Oh no, Jaune mentally groaned. He could feel the daggers Weiss was glaring into his back. With a sigh, he got up and walked to the ring. He hopped over the guard rails into the sand, and drew his sword. He opened up his shield, and turned to see Weiss gracefully hop into the ring on the opposite side. She held up her sword in a salute... And for a moment he saw Gato standing there instead.



    "The match goes until one fighter's Aura is in the red or forfeit," Goodwitch stated in a bland tone, like she did for every match, "Begin!"



    Weiss began to circle him, her rapier Myrtenaster thrust out towards him. Jaune pointed Crocea Mors back, his shield up.



    "I trust your gender equality won't let you hold back, Arc?" Weiss asked, raising an imperious eyebrow.



    "Just as I'm sure your bitchiness won't hold you back, Schnee," Jaune returned. Weiss's eyes narrowed, before she lunged.



    One, three, six... Five, four, three...! Jaune kept his sword out in front, deflecting her very fast thrusts and lunges.



    Geez, she's good, he thought, So controlled... Okay, and...!



    He flat parried her next thrust and went on the offensive, making narrow slashes and fast lunges. Again, Weiss deflected and parried his strikes despite the heavier weight of his weapon, even as she was driven back.



    She makes good use of the rapier's length to keep me at distance, Jaune thought, But I've got the perfect counter!



    He deliberately overlunged, just as Gato had taught him, and Weiss lunged for his chest. He got his shield up and swung for Weiss' head!



    The heiress activated a Glyph under her feet and leaped high into the air, flipping backwards to land on another Glyph that materialized right under her feet. She activated a Dust round in the revolver of her rapier, the Glyph she was standing on in midair changing color... Along with the Glyph right under Jaune's feet.



    SHIT!



    Jaune leaped backwards just before a pillar of fire erupted underneath him. The force of the blast nearly knocked him off his feet. In an instant, Weiss was back on him, striking furiously. What he couldn't parry with his sword, he took with his shield and armor. He pushed forward aggressively, but she used another Glyph to speed boost herself, and attacked from behind!



    "Gah!"



    He barely got turned around in time to weather her assault. He channeled more Aura to his weapons and swung. She again artfully leaped away via her Glyphs, landing some distance away. She formed another and turned it blue with Myrtenaster as he charged.



    Close the gap, close the gap...!



    Weiss slammed Myrtenaster into the sand, unleashing a blast of ice crystals the size of spears right at him. Jaune twisted out of the way, letting his shield take the punishment, and swung for Weiss. She again tried to leap out of the way, but Jaune threw his sword right at her and knocked her right off the platform.



    "EEYAH!"



    She landed in a tumble, quickly trying to recover but he was on her. He knocked her blade out of the way with his shield and tackled her to the sandy ground, landing a punch on her pretty face.



    "YOU-! UGH-!"



    She formed a glyph between them, blasting Jaune right off. He tumbled, and scrambled for his sword. He grabbed it off the sandy ground and got back up just as Weiss lunged for him at blinding speed.



    "GAH!"



    The strikes were fast, and even through his armor they hurt. Jaune parried her thrusts with shield and sword now as she drove him back.



    "You may face far more skilled swordsmen, Juan," Gato's voice spoke to him, "In fact, you are guaranteed to. So you must use whatever tricks you've got to even the odds."



    "Come on Princess, that was just a love tap!" Jaune taunted. "Can't take another hit to your pretty face, Sweetheart?"



    Weiss's eyes flared up.



    "I'll show you a love tap you-!"



    She jumped back and formed another glyph. She unleashed a blast of fire, which Jaune scrambled to dodge.



    Okay, okay, she's mad, she's mad, now what...?! Make her madder!



    "Hot under the collar, huh?" Jaune taunted again, weaving around the shots, "Touch a nerve? I actually think your scar is hot! If only your personality wasn't so cold!"



    Weiss snarled. She formed a glyph behind herself and leaped off, dashing for him in her fury-!



    He twisted himself just enough as she was in flight, and swung the flat end of Crocea Mors, smacking her backside and sending her tumbling.



    "UWAH-!"



    As she slammed into the floor, he slammed his shield right down onto her head, again and again!



    "GYAH! AH! UGH-!"



    She rolled out of the way and swung her blade, hitting him in the gut. He was staggered, and barely got his shield up as she leaped up and unleashed another torrent of strikes on him.



    "AH! GAH! ACK-!"



    Goodwitch's Semblance seized them both.



    "Enough. Miss Schnee, you are the winner," Goodwitch stated calmly.



    They both looked at the Aura Display. Weiss was down to around 68 percent, whereas Jaune had hit 39.



    That was... Closer than I thought it would be, Jaune thought. Okay, so he'd lost, but Weiss had been training like this for years. To even get her down into the yellows wasn't terrible.



    Weiss glared at Jaune, but relaxed in Goodwitch's grip. Jaune did the same, as the professor walked into the ring between them.



    "Good attempts to close the range and keep Schnee off balance, Arc," Goodwitch said, "But you need real skill to back up your tactics. Fairly solid performance against an opponent with a far better hand, but you need to keep pushing yourself to make up for your weaknesses."



    "Yes Professor," Jaune said with a nod, staring at Weiss as he worked to catch his breath.



    "Miss Schnee, range, speed, and versatility are your strongest advantages," Goodwitch advised the heiress, "But they can be easily turned against you when you are fighting a cunning adversary." She cocked an eyebrow. "And I don't think I need to remind you to keep your temper in check?"



    "Yes Professor," Weiss grumbled. "Thank you."



    They headed back to their seats, as Goodwitch continued the class. Afterwards, Jaune had gone to the locker room to change, and came out in his school uniform. He blinked when he saw Weiss standing there, glaring.



    "Something wrong, Princess?" Jaune asked dryly.



    "You've fought against rapier wielders before," Weiss said. Jaune grimaced.



    "Y-Yeah... My mentor used one."



    He prayed she would leave it at that.



    Weiss slowly nodded. She scoffed, crossing her arms.



    "Despite your... Vulgarity, it was nice to fight someone who knew the basics of countering me," she said, "I'm very proud of my swordsmanship. Yours was... Adequate, I suppose. For a clear amateur."



    "Is... Are you complimenting me?" Jaune asked, blinking in confusion.



    "No, of course not."



    "Good, didn't want to think you'd grown a heart at some point," Jaune deadpanned. Weiss grit her teeth. She took a few deep breaths to regain her composure, before she resumed speaking.



    "When we do joint team training again, I want to practice my swordsmanship with you," she stated, "Pyrrha is of course the far superior teacher and sparring partner, but she hasn't your experience. It might be... Useful."



    Jaune smirked.



    "Aw... I knew you were sweet on me, you and your little tsundere heart~!"



    "SHUT UP!" Weiss snarled, her cheeks bright red. "IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT AND YOU'RE A VULGAR BRUTE!"



    "Is that any way to treat your fake boyfriend?"



    "I told Professor Megister we broke up and I'm not interested in dating anyone!" She growled back. Jaune sighed and put a hand over his heart.



    "Well, I'll try to recover from the heartbreak as best I can. All my serenades to you under the moonlight just couldn't move your heart-"



    "STOP TALKING!"



    - - -
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Twenty-Six
  • Threadmarks
    • - - -

    Breakfast was subdued in the RWBY/JNPR common room. Ren and Jaune both worked to make the food for everyone, and Nora tore into it with her usual enthusiasm, but her expression was almost solemn: A very significant change for the spirited girl. The absence of Weiss and Blake wore on the mood.

    The only exception was Pyrrha, who seemed almost giddy... Yet her eyes were filled with pain and apology when she saw Ruby and Yang's downcast looks.

    When they were finished, Ruby cleared her throat. When all eyes were on her, she slowly spoke.

    "Yang says Blake didn't come back last night," Ruby said, "And I'm worried. My team..."

    She paused, but sucked in a breath to push herself to continue.

    "We're going to go out to look for her in Vale. I um... If you'd be willing... I'd like your help too, please."

    Jaune glanced at his teammates. Pyrrha smiled and nodded. Nora grinned, as Ren bowed his head.

    "We'd be glad to help," Jaune said, reaching over to squeeze Ruby's hand. Ruby smiled gratefully at him.

    "Great... I'll just go get..."

    She stared at the door to her dorm room. Trepidation seemed to radiate out of the small, slender girl. Jaune took a breath, but Yang smiled and leaned over to her little sister.

    "I can take care of this. I'm your Executive Officer, right? I can handle junk like this."

    "Or I can do it," Jaune volunteered gently, "If you want-"

    Ruby shook her head. She gave them both a warm smile.

    "Thanks... I-I mean it... But..."

    She pushed herself up to her feet and picked up her milk. She downed it in one go, before setting it down. She wiped her mouth off with the back of her forearm, eyes narrowed.

    "I have to do this myself."

    Yang slowly nodded.

    "All right, Sis."

    Jaune leaned back.

    "Whatever my fellow team leader wants," he spoke quietly. Ruby beamed at him for a moment, before she walked away from the table towards the dormroom entrance. She paused for a moment and took another deep breath. She opened the door, and stepped in.

    Weiss was at one of the desks, fully dressed and working on homework. Ruby's gaze lingered on Blake's unslept in bed, before she turned to Weiss. She slowly shut the door behind her.

    "Good morning Weiss," she said calmly.

    "Good morning Ruby," Weiss returned, cold and mechanical.

    "Blake hasn't come back," Ruby said.

    Weiss scribbled something down on her notebook, in her usual neat and flowing handwriting.

    "I'm aware."

    "I want to go and look for her in Vale," Ruby said. "I want... I want all of us to go."

    Weiss continued to write.

    "All of Team RWBY," Ruby explained, "As in-"

    "I know what you meant, Ruby," Weiss stated, the words coming out in a flat, dead tone. "Is this an order from my team leader?"

    "No," Ruby said quietly, fidgeting, "It's a request. I just... I really want you to agree, Weiss. Blake might be in trouble, she might need us-"

    "I doubt that," Weiss managed tightly.

    "I'm not asking you to become best buddies forever or-or anything like that," Ruby said, "I'm not that naïve. I understand-"

    "What?" Weiss asked sharply, finally turning and shooting an icy glare at Ruby. "What do you understand, Ruby?"

    Ruby held her ground, despite the strong urge to flee.

    "I understand that stuff like that isn't something you just get over," she said quietly. "And-And I'm not asking you to do that."

    "Then what are you asking me to do, Ruby?" Weiss asked bitterly, "Talk things out with her?"

    "Yes."

    "Talk things out with a member of a terrorist group? One that's... That's...!" She sucked in a breath through her nostrils and turned back to her homework. Ruby sat down in a wooden chair next to Weiss. The platinum blonde took a few calming breaths, before she spoke again.

    "You don't understand anything."

    "Then-Then explain it to me," Ruby asked, trying not to sound like she was begging, "Please?"

    Weiss shut her eyes tightly. She opened them again, and stared intently at the wall. She opened her mouth, as though to speak, but nothing came out.

    "Weiss?"

    Weiss sucked in another breath, fortifying herself, before she spoke.

    "My... My favorite uncle was named Warden. He worked with my grandfather in the mines from the moment he could pick up a pickaxe. He stayed in the mines even as the rest of the family moved to the board rooms. He was tall, strong, and handsome. He had a bushy beard and so much self-confidence and maturity..." Weiss closed her eyes.

    "His smiles and hugs always did more to make me happy than my father's. I-I didn't understand it at the time... But it was because he loved me. More than my father ever did. Even then, he saw my siblings and I as assets, not children," Weiss sneered angrily. "He and Uncle Warden argued all the time about how to run the business after my grandfather died. Father was the CEO, but Uncle Warden had the love and respect of the staff and the workers. I still remember how loud they got, how angry my uncle was, how my mother tried to play peacemaker. No matter how angry he got though, Uncle Warden always showed love and kindness to my siblings and I..."

    Weiss sucked in a breath, and her delicate hands tightened into fists.

    "One night, when I was seven, I remember being woken up in the middle of the night by Uncle Warden. He said there were bad people in the compound, and we needed to get to the panic room. He led my siblings, my mother, our butler Klein, and myself to the panic room. I remember hearing screaming and gunfire in the distance... Getting closer... Always closer..."

    Ruby bit her lower lip. She opened her mouth, but no words came as Weiss continued.

    "He got us all into the panic room. Just before he could follow, there was a gunshot just down the hallway. My... Uncle Warden asked Klein to look after us. He told us he loved us... And he stepped out and shut the door."

    Weiss's eyes were filled with tears, even as she fought against letting them fall. Her voice was unsteady.

    "When my father arrived with the security teams... I asked for Uncle Warden. I tried to get out to look for him. Klein held me back, but at the end of the hall, I... There was so much red... So much blood..."

    She shut her eyes tightly and held in a sob that wracked her slender body.

    "The funeral... It had to be closed casket," Weiss whispered. "I learned... I learned that it was a group of Faunus radicals who had invaded. They were led by Sienna Khan. She escaped... And later took over White Fang."

    "W-Weiss... I'm so sorry," Ruby murmured. She reached out and squeezed Weiss's shoulder comfortingly. Weiss instinctively tried to pull away, before she settled back in her seat. Ruby bit her lower lip.

    To be the kind of person who pulled away from touch...

    "I know this isn't easy for you, Weiss, and I'm so, so sorry," Ruby murmured, "But... If you were seven at the time, then Blake had nothing to do with that attack."

    "She was still White Fang-!"

    "Was, Weiss, was," Ruby insisted.

    "How do we know that for sure-?!"

    "Because she hasn't done anything," Ruby stated, leaning over the desk to look Weiss in the eyes, "If she was here to hurt you, she'd have done it by now! You-You saw how she looked! You saw how hurt she was! How guilty!"

    Weiss averted her eyes. Even to someone as socially inexperienced as Ruby, the conflict just seemed to roil inside of the Schnee Heiress.

    "I-I just-"

    "I'm not asking you to be her best friend or anything like that," Ruby repeated, leaning forward and utilizing her best puppy eyes, "I know. But please... At least hear her out? If she left White Fang, then she disagreed with how they did things. You disagree with how your dad runs things, right? Isn't it possible that-that you two might be able to at least talk? Please?"

    Weiss was silent for about a minute, just looking away. Ruby's face fell. She turned, her shoulders slumped. She made for the door.

    I... I couldn't do it... I'm just not cut out to-

    "Okay."

    Ruby spun around.

    "You-You will?" She gasped.

    Weiss slowly nodded. She stood up, her arms crossed under her breasts.

    "I will help look for her," Weiss said, in a tightly controlled voice, "And I will hear her out... But that's all."

    Ruby hugged Weiss tightly.

    "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ruby cried cheerfully. Weiss sighed and patted her on the head.

    "It's-It's no big deal, let's not talk about it-"

    "It is a big deal! A super big deal and... Ah..." Ruby, upon seeing the look on Weiss's face, coughed and let Weiss go. She smiled and nodded.

    "Thank you."

    "Don't thank me yet," Weiss stated coldly, "We still have to find her."

    "Right! But I'm sure we will!" Ruby said, with a bit of her old cheer returned to her. She opened the door, smiling brightly at her other comrades.

    "We're ready when you are," Yang said with a smile and salute. Ruby beamed.

    "All right! Let's go find Blake!"

    - - -
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Weiss did mention early on in the series that the White Fang had attacked people she knew, and that it made for a difficult childhood, if I'm remembering correctly.

    Well, at least they are talking things out sensibly here. Maybe Atlas would still be aloft in canon if more of this had happened.

    Thanks for the chapter!
     
    Twenty-Seven
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    • - - -



    Blake had to admit that breakfast the next day was fairly nice. Sun had a Lien card from his uncle and was intent on spoiling her and his team, and her cat instincts purred happily at the prospect of being pampered. It had been a long time.



    The hotel was five star for a reason: A gorgeous outdoor pool with a beautiful restaurant overlooking it, where they sat at one of the outdoor tables. Polite, capable servers n black and white went in and out of the kitchen doors with army ant-like efficiency. There were a few glares from other patrons at them, but it was something easily ignored-The staff were all very professional. The food was fantastic as well, served up as the sun rose over the horizon and painted the city in warm morning colors.



    His team, on the other hand, were a bit more... Mixed.



    "Ah, the mai-tai," Neptune said, holding up the orange drink to her with a charming smile, "A perfect sunrise of a drink, only outshone by your beauty, Princess-"



    "Knock it off, Neptune," Sun sighed, "For the last time, she's off limits!"



    "Surely our gorgeous princess can make her own mind up?" Neptune asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Blake.



    "No thank you," she stated coldly. Neptune winced, as Scarlet David snickered on the other side of the table. His partner, Sage Ayana, merely raised an eyebrow.



    "Hey, I don't see you brave enough to hit on a certified princess," Neptune grumbled.



    Scarlet, a redheaded young man lounging in white and red buccaneer clothing, looked her up and down and shrugged.



    "Eh. Not my type," he said, "No offense."



    "None taken," Blake returned.



    Sage just shrugged.



    "Unlike you, I actually have a girlfriend back in Haven," the dark skinned boy with green hair, white vest, and loose pants stated calmly, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat at repose. He perched on a towel over his chair. His voice never changed from a calm, cool monotone.



    "Oh?" Neptune taunted, "And you giving up your bed for her last night wasn't an attempt to get into Her Highness's graces?"



    Sage snorted.



    "I prefer the floor. My Semblance can activate at random when I sleep, and the last thing I want is to know everything that went on in my hotel room bed," he stated dryly.



    "He has a point," Scarlett observed. Neptune rolled his eyes and huffed, sitting back and sipping his mai-tai. He pulled out his Scroll and began to look through headlines.



    "I'm just saying, there's always a handsome rogue who flirts with the Princess," Neptune argued, "I don't want to deprive Her Highness of the full runaway princess experience."



    "Please, stop calling me that," Blake sighed, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She felt Sun pat her hand, and she managed to relax a little.



    "So," Sage said, "What will you do now, Blake?"



    She'd shared some of the story with them. Sun had told her it might make her feel better to not be alone. Besides, if they told anyone, Sun promised to beat them all up. Which had made them agree to secrecy quite willingly.



    "I... I don't know," she admitted, "Headmaster Ozpin let me into Beacon to start over. To... To make up for what I've done, but..."



    "Shouldn't that be the end of it?" Sun asked gently, leaning forward, "You're not with those creeps anymore."



    "They're not creeps! They... They aren't supposed to be," Blake cried, but her voice slipped into a low, depressed tone. "The White Fang used to mean something, something noble. It was supposed to stand up for Faunus rights."



    "So what changed?" Scarlet asked, tilting his head curiously.



    "My parents wanted to focus on building Menagerie into a real nation, a real kingdom," Blake said, "Because getting civil rights legislation passed in the kingdoms was such a challenge. I... I spent most of my life there. When my dad stepped down, Sienna Khan was voted in as the new head of the White Fang."



    "My uncle says that election was rigged," Sun opined, "She was a violent maniac who had her thugs intimidate everyone into giving her power."



    Blake's eyes went downward.



    "At the time, a lot of Faunus thought that... That progress wasn't happening fast enough," she said, "That there was too much resistance. That the only way to make the kingdoms take us seriously was with force. My parents believed that soft power would be the key to that change... But Khan and others thought that we had to push back hard."



    At the looks of the boys, she winced.



    "I... I thought that way too," she admitted, "I thought that my parents weren't taking this seriously. That I could do so much more. So we... We liberated SDC slave camps. We put pressure on businesses by attacking their logistics."



    She shut her eyes.



    "The worst part is that, at first? It worked. We were getting concessions in the governments. Menagerie was making some diplomatic inroads... But only because people feared what we might do. We kept upping the ante, it was never enough, until..."



    She bowed her head.



    "I couldn't take it anymore," she admitted, "I kept crossing line after line I swore I'd never cross. And now, without me? They're doing even worse things."



    Sun squeezed her hand comfortingly. Neptune shook his head. Scarlet bowed his head thoughtfully, while Sage stared at her with an unreadable expression.



    "I mean," Neptune shrugged, "Maybe these latest crimes of theirs aren't actually the White Fang?"



    Blake looked up, her eyes locking onto Neptune.



    "What crimes?"



    She'd kept her head down, tried to just ignore what was going on. Ozpin had told her to try and leave her old life behind entirely.



    Neptune handed over his scroll, and pointed out some headlines.



    "Apparently Roman Torchwick and White Fang have been seen doing Dust heists together," Neptune said, "Mostly outside of Vale proper. That's why it hasn't been as big of news: Roman has a tendency to steal the show around here, from what I've read."



    "We are talking about terrorists," Scarlet stated, ignoring Blake's scowl, "Is stealing Dust from the SDC such a massive leap?"



    "Maybe... Maybe Torchwick's pushing them into these kinds of actions," Blake tried, "I remember meeting him once. He approached the White Fang a few months before I left, and offered to go into business together. Ad... Our leader sent him packing."



    "You mean that scary edgelord guy in all black?" Neptune asked, shuddering, "Wears a blindfold? Red hair and horns? Geez..."



    "But I was the one who worked to keep him from going off the deep end," Blake explained. She stared at the headlines intensely. "If I hadn't left..."



    I did this... This is my fault... All my fault...



    Sun squeezed her hand, and she looked up into his eyes. He shook his head.



    "He made his choices, like you did," he said firmly, "This isn't your responsibility-"



    "But it is!" Blake insisted. "And I have to fix it."



    "How?" Sage asked bluntly. "It's not like we know where they're going to strike next."



    Sun coughed. All eyes locked onto him. Blake's gaze could have bored a hole into him.



    "Ah... I mean, it's probably nothing," Sun said, forcing his easy going smile.



    "Boss...?" Scarlet asked, cocking an eyebrow.



    "Sun... Please?" Blake pressed, leaning forward. Sun looked heavenward, before he groaned.



    "Ugh, fine. When I was looking for you," He nodded to Blake, "I got lost at the dockyards. I ran into a few White Fang goons with guns at... Docking Area 4?"



    "Huh," Neptune looked it up, "That's apparently where the SDC unloads most of their Dust shipments for delivery to Valean shops."



    At everyone's looks, he scowled.



    "What? I can do a Boogle search!"



    "Then we need to stake it out," Blake decided, "Try to catch them. Make them back down. They-They might listen to me!"



    "Woah woah woah," Sun said, shaking his head, trying to hold her hand again, "We are not going after terrorists!"



    "We have to!" Blake pushed back, pulling away from him, "It's my responsibility! And..."



    And maybe I can go back to Beacon if I do. If I prove Weiss wrong-That we're not all terrorists. That we're not mad beasts...



    That look of fear and rage on Weiss's face... Even if she was a Schnee, it hurt to see that. To hear the pain in her voice. Even worse to see the looks on Ruby and Yang's faces. While they hadn't been together long, she couldn't say she hadn't gotten attached to her team.



    It was this... Or run away again. Right now, Blake didn't know where she could go.



    "And as Princess of Menagerie," she stated, "You're bound to protect and serve me. If I go into a dangerous situation, you have to be there with me, correct?"



    Sun grimaced.



    "I knew there was a catch," he sighed. "All right..." He looked over at his team. "You guys stay here, we'll-"



    "Oh like hell," Scarlet said, shaking his head, "We let you go off on your own, you'll die for sure."



    "You have the survival skills of a lemming," Sage stated, "Of course we'll go with you."



    Neptune smirked, and bowed.



    "What kind of dashing, heroic rogue would I be if I get my leader hog all the showing off for our Princess?" He asked with a wink.



    Sun rolled his eyes, but couldn't restrain his smile.



    "You guys are the worst team ever," he sighed, "Can't even follow orders!"



    "We follow orders that make sense," Sage observed, "Which doesn't happen often from you."



    "But makes it all the more precious when it does," Scarlet sighed in a faux dramatic tone.



    "See what I have to deal with?" Sun grumbled, though his smile gave his true feelings away.



    Blake found it in herself to smile as well.



    "Still, it's not much to go on," Sage pointed out.



    "That's all right," Blake nodded, "I know someone who can help. Someone who has been in contact with Roman Torchwick recently."



    "Who?" Sun asked.



    Blake smiled softly.



    "Jaune Arc."

    - - -

    "Ugggghhhh..."

    As much as it had sucked, Jaune's little journey had definitely toughened him up a LOT. Before, he'd been a gangly noodle of a teenaged boy. Oh sure, he'd kept in physical shape: He was a doctor's son, and his mother didn't want him sitting around getting fat. He had run, he'd taken dance classes, and he'd even played some tennis.

    Which had sucked. He could never figure out the damn score!

    So he'd been in decent shape for a civilian when he'd set out on his journey. That and having his Aura unlocked had been the only reasons he'd lasted as long as he had before getting captured. Gato's training had let him do the rest.

    Twelve hour days of training for at least a month had burned all the noodle out of him. He was lean, muscular, and tough.

    That didn't mean he didn't like having to run all over town on his day off to find a runaway catgirl.

    Still, Jaune thought, as he held up a printout of Blake's school picture to some pedestrians, I know how I would feel if any of my sisters had run away. If Ruby or Yang were missing... Nora, Ren, Pyrrha... Any of them...

    He may have been grouchy, but his feelings were real. He wouldn't be out here otherwise, right? Walking all over town to find Blake.

    The pedestrians shook their head: They hadn't seen her, like everyone else he'd talked to. With a sigh, he moved on down the sidewalk. He checked his watch: Shit, it was already late afternoon. He'd burned a lot of time just going through this part of town.

    He spied a nearby park-If he recalled correctly, he could cut across it into a section he hadn't tried yet.

    He walked up to the crosswalk and waited for the lights to change. Sure, he could probably leap across the street now thanks to his Aura and training with his team, but like most cities, Vale's local cops frowned on Huntsman showing off too much.

    That, and this was a marathon, not a sprint.

    "Oh, hello young man!"

    Jaune turned. His jaw dropped. A cat Faunus stood there, smiling warmly. She looked about middle-aged, if he had to guess-Lines were on her face and white wound its way through her elegantly coiffed hair. Despite all that, she looked gorgeous in her purple dress and jacket, rocking a lean, hourglass figure atop long, strong legs. A catseye broach was on her neck, and she held a small purse in her hand. Intelligent, playful blue eyes scrutinized him.

    "Ah, h-hello," he said, "Ma'am."

    "Would you be a dear and help an old woman across the street? I want to rest in the park for a time," she said, her voice melodious and sweet as she held out her hand. Jaune blinked.

    "Er, but you don't look old, ma'am!"

    The woman tittered.

    "Aw, you're sweet. I'm old enough to be your grandmother! Please, I'd feel much safer crossing the street with a big, strong knight at my side?"

    "Well, uh, sure!" Jaune said, holding out his arm for her to hold. She grasped it, and pressed herself against him with a happy hum.

    The light changed, and Jaune slowly escorted the lady across, past the waiting cars. They entered the park slowly, the old woman casually looking around at the flowers and the chirping birds.

    "Ah, thank you," she said, her eyes locking onto a bench shaded by a large, old oak tree, "Over there, please?"

    "Yes ma'am," Jaune nodded, leading her towards the bench. They walked up to it. Jaune maneuvered the woman around. She sat... And pulled him down to sit next to her with surprising strength.

    "Oof!"

    "Ah, that's better," she sighed, "Away from prying eyes." She beamed impishly. "Sorry for the deception, Jaune. But I find my fun however I can in my dotage."

    "Huh?" Jaune blinked, and scrutinized the woman. Her black hair, her pointy ears, the glint in her eyes... It all seemed familiar, but why? How?

    "How do you know my name?" He asked.

    "Because," she said gently, "I am Katherine Zapatos. Gato's wife."

    Jaune's jaw dropped. His heart stopped beating. He gaped at the warmly smiling woman in shock and horror.

    "I-I... You...!"

    He tore his eyes away from her, angry tears again threatening. He clenched his fists.

    No... No... I-I can't... Why...?!

    "Jaune, Jaune!" Katherine cried, squeezing him tightly, "Damnit, I should have brought Perrito-It's all right! It's all right!"

    She held him tightly, rubbing soothing circles into his back. His breathing slowed, his heart stopped pounding in his ears...

    "I-I..." He bowed his head. "I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

    "Sorry for what?" She asked.

    Jaune took deep, heaving breaths. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't pull away from her iron grip. He tried to focus, tried to calm himself... Just enough.

    Just enough to confess.

    "I... It's my fault," he said softly. He forced himself to look her in the eyes. "It's my fault... He's dead... I-I'm so sorry... I should..."

    I should have been stronger, I should have been better, I should have... I should have...!

    "Jaune," Katherine spoke softly, cupping his cheek, "You didn't do anything wrong."

    "How-How can you possibly-?!"

    "How could the wife of the greatest outlaw hero in Remnant know what happened to him?" Katherine asked. She let out a small, bitter laugh. "Because I was once the greatest thief in all of Remnant."

    She twirled her fingers around, and produced his Lien card. Jaune gaped.

    "Wha-?!"

    "Force of habit, sorry," She said, slipping it back into his belt, "When Gato went missing, I went to all my old underground contacts. I shook every tree. I learned of the underground death matches. They kept on the move, so tracking them down was difficult. It took me time..."

    She sighed, and sagged. The proud matron, the confident thief-They faded away, leaving a sad, sorrow-filled old woman.

    "Too much time," she admitted. "I got there... Probably half an hour after you two escaped."

    Her eyes were dark, so dark. Jaune couldn't imagine what she had found.

    "I... I should have-" Jaune tried, but the fierce woman returned as she glared at him.

    "Should have what? Died instead of him? Tell me, Jaune... What were my husband's final words?"

    "To... To live," Jaune managed, "To live well... And greet Death with a smile."

    Katherine nodded, her smile sad and yet proud.

    "That is how he lived," Katherine stated, "A hero to the end. If you had not broken out, he would have died in death sport for an audience of monsters. You got him out, and let him die as a hero. As he wanted to. As he should have."

    She sighed heavily.

    "My heart is broken. My beloved outlaw has gone on ahead," she said softly, "But I know him. I knew him, better than anyone. If it came to dying as a prisoner for the bloodlust of an uncaring world, or dying a hero to save one good person? He would make the latter choice. Every time."

    She turned and smiled warmly at him, and squeezed his hand.

    "I've watched you these past two days. I see why he trained you. Why he believed in you. And why he sacrificed himself for you. You are worth it. Gato and I would never want you to think otherwise."

    Two days... She looks so familiar, how would I-?

    "Schwartz," he breathed, "Schwartz is your son..."

    Katherine chuckled fondly.

    "Yes... We knew all along, Jaune," she said softly, "It is why I made sure Miss Schnee chose our shop. You have good friends."

    "That's one word for them," Jaune muttered, but he had a smile despite his tears.

    "They see the same thing Gato saw in you," Katherine pressed, poking him in the chest almost painfully hard-Even through his armor. "That I do."

    Jaune winced. The tears remained.

    "I just... It hurts so much..."

    Katherine nodded.

    "I know. It does for me, too," she murmured, "And it always will. You still mourn your father, do you not?"

    Jaune nodded slowly. Katherine smiled softly.

    "I know. But you will live with it. You will not let it destroy you... Not if you remember why they died," she said. "Your father died to save the innocent. Gato died a hero to save a friend. Don't let their sacrifices be twisted by the pain."

    She hugged him tightly. Jaune found himself slowly returning it. There was really nothing like it, and it had been a while since he'd gotten one.

    A mother's hug...

    Katherine sniffled a bit. She pulled back, then retrieved some handkerchiefs from her purse. She wiped her tears so elegantly her makeup didn't smear.

    "Are you-?" Jaune asked, but she shook her head.

    "I will be," she said softly, "And so will you. I promise."

    She smiled warmly, and Jaune's chest felt... Just a bit lighter.

    "Also," she said, "I have a gift for you."

    She reached behind her back... And pulled out a sheathed dagger. The hilt was bronze, the scabbard was a light green with bronze piping. The pommel of the small blade was shaped like a cathead. She held it out to him with a smile. Jaune blinked, and took the dagger in his hands.

    "Thank you..."

    "It is called Levigato," she explained, unsheathing the blade, "or 'Smooth Cat' in the tongue of our home province. It was a gift from my husband."

    Jaune shook his head, holding up his hand.

    "I-I can't-!"

    "Yes, you will," Katherine stated firmly. She huffed. "My little brother does not fight, my son and daughter-in-law don't use daggers, and none of my grandchildren want to use them! It's all about mechashift this and mechashift that! Bah! In my day, we didn't need any absurdo mecánico...!"

    She muttered and spat in her native tongue angrily for a bit, before she took a breath and was all smiles again.

    "Nevertheless, Jaune, a Huntsman must always have a backup weapon," she said, taking the weapon back and clipping it onto his belt, "You are a practical man, are you not?"

    "I... Yeah, I guess I am," Jaune nodded.

    "Good. Gato was the same," she chuckled. She stood up and planted a kiss on his forehead.

    "I must go. I'm seeing to my husband's arrangements," she said softly. Jaune paled.

    "I... If there's anything I can do, ma'am-?"

    "Thank you Jaune," Katherine said with a smile, "I will let you know. Any time you need something? Just call. Or come down to the shop, mm? You will always be welcome."

    Jaune managed a nod, and a smile. She reached out and wiped his tears from his eyes.

    At the sight of her ears twitching, the purpose of his trip in Vale hit him like a Dust round.

    "Oh! Have you seen a young cat faunus girl my age? Black haired, yellow eyes, name is Blake Belladonna-"

    "My my, Jaune," Katherine giggled, "You've complimented a lady cat like me, and now you're after a kitten? You seem to have a type~!"

    Jaune choked, his face turning bright red.

    "N-No! That's not what I-!"

    Katherine smiled gently, and patted his shoulder.

    "Don't you worry, Jaune," she said, "She's been watching us for the last few minutes." She glanced up into the tree with a smirk. "He's all yours, young lady. Do treat him well. If not...?"

    She slid two daggers out of her sleeves, twirled them about, before vanishing them right back up her sleeves as though they'd been a mirage.

    "You'll find out," she stated, a playful smirk on her face, but a deadly glint in her eyes. "Good bye, Jaune. Until next time."

    She walked off with the grace and elegance of a runway model. Jaune watched her go. The leaves rustled overhead, and Blake Belladonna dropped down onto the bench next to him. She scowled after Katherine.

    "You have a thing for older women, huh?"

    "What?! No! She's just-She's a friend-" Jaune shook his head violently. "That's not important! Look, Ruby, Yang-Everyone's worried sick about you-!"

    "I'm sorry," Blake said, turning to him.

    "Okay, so... Can we go home now?" Jaune asked.

    Blake shook her head.

    "No. Not yet. We need to do something first."

    "'We'?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow. Blake nodded.

    "You. Me. Sun's team."

    "Who's Sun?"

    "Me," A blonde, golden monkey faunus boy announced, leaping up out of the bushes to land on Jaune's other side. He grinned at Jaune's scowl.

    "Okay," Jaune said slowly, "And this something we need to do is...?"

    Sun looked a bit resigned, but smiled at Blake. She nodded firmly.

    "Stopping White Fang from stealing Dust."

    Jaune blinked.

    "Uhhh... Okay... Why us? Can't we call the cops-?"

    "We don't know exactly when they're going to hit," Blake explained, "We just know vaguely where they might... Maybe."

    "Wow, that is sooo helpful," Jaune deadpanned.

    "We might be able to get better information," Sun said, giving him a skeptical look, "If you help us out."

    "How can I help you?" Jaune asked.

    "Because allegedly," Blake said, "The White Fang has been working with someone you know." Her eyes narrowed. "Your... Uncle Alex?"

    Jaune gulped.

    Oh... Shit...

    - - -

    Yes, Katherine is indeed Kitty Softpaws. Mother of Schwartz, Adoptive Sister to Perrito, and widow of Gato. And despite her age, she's still damn good at what she does.

    A different take on the stake out. We'll get to see more of Team SSSN.

    I've given Sage a Semblance, since in the canon he doesn't have one: Psychometry. He can touch an object and get information on the last person or persons who touched it-It has limitations but it comes in handy. His control isn't always the best with it hence why he avoids touching a lot of furniture. I decided this ability was fitting given he was apparently inspired by the Aesop Fable: "The Pilgrim and the Sword". It's very short, so I'll post it here:

    A Pilgrim on his way found a sword, and asked of the sword, "What is he that hath lost thee?" The sword answered to the Pilgrim, "A man alone hath lost me, but many a one have I lost." And therefore an evil man may be lost, but ere he be lost he may well harm many a one.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I mean, talking to a sword and learning about its history sounds like Psychometry to me.
     
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    • Twenty-Eight
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    • - - -

    The first thing Roman noticed when he re-entered Thanh 'The Immortal's' little "office" was the smell. The big Komodo dragon faunus always smelled, with that weird zoo scent from a big reptile and (often) the stench of rotting meat. Today this was augmented with the nauseating odor of sewage, and the source was easy to spot.

    As Thanh lounged in his chair, a small, mean looking little rat Faunus man in dirty coveralls stood next to him. He was hunched over, his skin rough and almost scaly. His nose was large and pointed like a rat's, his chin weak, and his ears flexed up and down nervously. He kept glancing over at Thanh, wringing his hands, but still shot a smug little smirk Roman and Neo's way.

    "Well, I'm here bright and early, Thanh," Roman stated, "We're a few hours out from the job-Any reason you keep dragging me back here? Thought you had it covered?"

    "I just wanted to show you something," Thanh hissed, "Something that will change our relationship for the better."

    "You're sewing your mouth shut? That would be a nice start," Roman deadpanned, but his instincts were alert. Thanh looked, felt too smug, even for him. Neo looked tense, ready to spring out and start slashing.

    "No," Thanh chuckled, as though indulging the human, "My servant Muscan got me some... Very interesting pictures yesterday."

    Muscan made a wheezing, nervous little laugh, before he held up a remote and clicked it.

    The holoscreen on Thanh's desk activated. Several images appeared in mid-air, of Roman, Neo... And Jaune, sitting at the diner.

    Outwardly, Roman shrugged.

    "This supposed to mean something to me?" He asked.

    Inwardly, he was already preparing the best means of escape out the windows. After putting a hole through Thanh's head, of course.

    "You seem close to this young Hunter-in-Training, Roman," Thanh spoke, his yellow eyes narrowing malevolently, "I was unaware you had family."

    "That what you think he is?" Roman asked.

    "You seem familiar."

    Roman rolled his eyes.

    "I'm familiar with lots of people. Doesn't make that kid anyone special. He's some nobody, asking for financial help."

    "Hmm," Thanh considered, before shrugging.

    "Then I suppose you won't mind if I went out hunting some time," Thanh said, "I can track him by your scent... Go through the sewers... And when he's out, just reach up through a grate and have a feast."

    He licked his sharp teeth, making sure they glistened in the dim afternoon light.

    "Now... Are you going to tell me the truth, or shall I go hunting for this... Nobody?"

    Neo seethed silently, and made to step forward. Roman put a strong hand on her shoulder as he thought through things furiously.

    Roman knew that Thanh thought he was being clever. He'd had his little rat follow him around, try to find some weakpoint to exploit. The guy really was gunning for his position.

    Well... Between telling the truth and feeding the big guy a proper lie to send him off on the wrong trail? Roman knew the play.

    "All right, ya caught me," Roman sighed, drooping a bit like he was defeated, "He's my nephew. Not by blood, of course, I just know his mom real well. We go way back."

    It was even true, after a fashion. Isabel Arc and her team had gotten involved in one of his early heists. He'd had to throw his partners under the bus to take the heat, but he'd gotten away. How could they blame him? The woman had smashed through a bank vault door with her bare hands!

    "I see," Thanh growled, "And now he seeks to be a Huntsman?"

    "That's about the size of it, yeah," Roman said with a nod.

    "Does he know of your... Felonious activities?" Thanh asked.

    Oh, he thinks he's smart using bigger words, Roman thought dryly, still keeping a tight grip on Neo.

    "Of course not. He and his mom think I'm just a boring accountant," he said with a shrug. "And I wouldn't be thinking of threatening them if I were you, Big Guy."

    Thanh hissed out some laughter.

    "If I wanted your little whelp dead, Roman, he already would be. It is enough you know that I know."

    Right, so he thinks he's got leverage over me,     Roman thought. He hated playing it weak, but he stuffed his pride down. His biggest successes had come from letting the other guy think his hand was weak. And his biggest upsets had come from being overconfident. Let Thanh think he had him over a barrel. It would make Neo turning this asshole into luggage so much sweeter.

    "But your loved ones are the least interesting part of all this," Thanh went on. Roman resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

    "Oh really?"

    Another set of images appeared, this one of the brunette with the bow and yellow eyes who had stared unnervingly at Roman the whole damn time he'd been near her. Images of her staring at Roman, standing next to Jaune or Little Red, and so on.

    "Recognize her?" Thanh hissed.

    Roman shrugged.

    "Some girl who hangs out with my nephew. A classmate. Kind of weird."

    Thanh laughed.

    "Muscan got her scent," he growled, "And her name. Blake Belladonna."

    Muscan snickered greasily.

    Roman raised an eyebrow.

    "The little hellcat second in command of the White Fang?" Roman asked. He'd done his homework: He had approached the White Fang for a partnership late last year, on behalf of Cinder. They'd turned him down flat, which had required Cinder to personally intervene.

    That 'intervention' went with the rest of his nightmares now entitled "That Bitch I Work For."

    His first attempt, he noticed that little brunette hanging around Taurus. He thought she was a groupie or something for the Big Bad Bull Edgelord himself. She was Belladonna?

    "She's hiding out at Beacon," Thanh purred, eyeing her like he would a side of beef, "Taurus' main squeeze. He's been looking for her ever since she ran off."

    "And that has... What to do with me?" Roman asked.

    "Adam wants her back," Thanh chuckled, "I'm willing to give her to him... For a price. And after I've had some time to... Reacquaint her with the White Fang, and how we treat traitors."

    He slurped noisily, a nasty grin on his face as his eyes devoured the images. Muscan did the same, snickering like a creep-Until Thanh smacked him. The little rat man slunk away into the corner, looking down at his feet, as Thanh returned his leer to the holograms.

    Roman was a worldly man, of course, and no bleeding heart... But everything this monster did really made his skin crawl.

    "And...?" Roman prompted again. He was playing the guy who had been outplayed, after all.

    "And you're going to use your little nephew to get her here," Thanh hissed. "At midnight."

    Roman raised an eyebrow.

    "Right when we're running our op?"

    "Right when we have all our strongest fighters, yes," Thanh stated, "We'll seize her."

    "You really think my nephew can talk her into coming out here, alone, at midnight?" Roman asked dryly. Thanh nodded.

    "He'll have some help... One mention of 'White Fang', and she'll come running." His grin widened. "Imply we know what she's been up to... And if she doesn't come, your dear little nephew will have an unfortunate... Accident."

    "And what's it in for me?" Roman asked, with a shrug. "All these little favors come with a price."

    "Your nephew's life isn't enough?" Thanh asked, amused.

    "Never let family get in the way of profit," Roman smirked, "Family motto."

    Thanh snorted, and waved his hand as though making a grand gesture.

    "You may have half the bounty on her. Me? I care less about money and more about..." His eyes locked onto Blake's image again, "Intangibles."

    He smirked one last time, before he looked back at Roman.

    "Get it done," he growled.

    Roman sighed, and adjusted his tie.

    "Well... Let me go and talk him into it," he said. "Neo?"

    Neo was grinning death right at Thanh... But reluctantly obeyed. They walked out, not even bothering to slam the door shut. Roman dialed Jaune's Scroll.

    "Yo, Kid," he said, once the connection was made.

    "R-Uncle Alex?" Jaune replied, sounding amazed, "I was just about to call you!"

    "Well, lucky for me then," Roman said dryly, "What about?"

    "Er... I have a friend... Very interested in your activities... Especially with... Your furry little friends?" Jaune tried.

    Roman stopped and stared at the Scroll. Even Neo looked shocked.

    "This friend of yours happen to be that brunette with the bow?" Roman asked.

    "As a matter of fact, yeah," Jaune said, also sounding amazed.

    The Gentleman Thief shook his head, and didn't look the gift horse in the mouth. If the dice came down in his favor, he wasn't going to gawk.

    "Well, that's great, because I do have some activities involving my furry little friends," Roman said smoothly, "Midnight. Docking Area 4C. There are some old friends dying to meet your friend."

    "Oh, that's just great," Jaune sighed sarcastically, "Any more good news, Uncle?"

    "Just that I think bringing along your little harem... Your entire little harem... Would make it even more of a funtime for all," Roman stated firmly.

    There was silence.

    "It's gonna be that big of a blow out, huh?"

    "The biggest," Roman said, "I'll explain all the details later. Promise."

    If we survive this.

    "Well, I guess that's when we'll roll," Jaune sighed. He talked to someone else. "Yes, we're bringing more-We are calling-Ugh! I have to talk her out of some things, Uncle, but uh... We'll be there."

    Poor Kid sounded resigned.

    "If I could reschedule it, I would," Roman said, letting just a little regret out. The genuine stuff, no sarcasm. "But I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. All right?"

    "... All right," Jaune sighed.

    "Sides," Roman smirked, "You can't tell me you don't miss running into crazy shit like this."

    "I absolutely do not," Jaune growled.

    "Right, and those girls ain't your harem."

    "They're not-Ugh! Whatever! Just... Have some party favors or a clown or something for us!" Jaune said.

    Roman blinked.

    "What?"

    "I was trying code-Like... Fuck it, see you tonight," Jaune groaned, before he hung up. Roman shook his head, and glanced over at Neo. She beamed and signed a question.

    "Yeah, he'll be here," Roman sighed. "Let's hope little Miss 'Invincible' lives up to her name. And that the rest of those kids are as freakish as little Red."

    Neo signed another question. Roman rolled his eyes.

    "Yes, I'll pay for the currier too. But let's not skin our dragons before they've died, shall we?"

    - - -

    Convenient? Maybe a little. But it feels like a more organic way to get Blake to the Docks than Sun having to carry all the plot convenience himself. It also builds on other aspects of the story.
     
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