Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics)

[iamnuff]

Vento. Basic explanation: She magic. Hate her = instant loss.
A bit more: Those who hold hostility towards Vento will be robbed of air in their lungs. Theorized by characters in the novel to have different levels severity, but by the point where they regard her as 'the enemy', they have hit the max level where the air is just barely enough to keep them alive.
Guesses on how Jaune and Tattletale survived their encounter.

Click to shrink...

I looked her up. Goddamn her whole gimmick is stupid.
Not because of how her magic works, but the lore behind it.

Her bullshit is 'divine punishment' that follows the logic of 'no-one should bare malice towards god'
Except A: this placed herself in the position of God, which is immensely blasphemous, just right off the bat.
Then there's the fact that she's symbolically attuning herself to Jesus by...carrying the hammer that was used to nail him to the cross, and piercing her body with metal. The piercings thing is cool. It reminds me of Desden Files street-sympathy magic. Or maybe Constantine.

But the hammer... B: That's not the hammer. Fuck off. It's nothing like the hammer. It would have been a regular workman's/carpenter's hammer. Probably made of stone or copper. Not some absurd thorned-spiral as big as a man that looks like a fucking Dark Souls Boss Weapon.
There's no way they would have had something that looked like that just laying around for when jesus showed up, and there's no way you could drive a nail into wood with that, much less through a person.
(I get that she's not saying that this is the original hammer, but as a stand-in it should at least resemble the sort of hammer that might plausibly have been used to crucify Christ)
Also, C: Someone did attack Jesus after he was nailed to the cross. It was a whole big thing, when a Roman Legionnaire stabbed him in the chest with a spear as an act of mercy.

I'm not exactly intensely catholic or anything myself, (I range from agnostic to atheist) but her entire gimmick just screams 'This bitch doesn't know anything about Christianity at all'
Like, actually get smote by lightning you fucking poser.

Also, if your setting has a magic spell calling on the inviolability of Christ to prevent people from attacking you, it should instantly fail if you deliberately provoke people in order to make them trigger it against their will.
You're not going to fool God Almighty with your cheap-ass loopholes, and you're not going to impress Him by trying to be a smart-arse about it.

 

[Faralis]

That's not the hammer

Click to shrink...

Hey, that would mean using the wikipedia for a search about hammers. That would mean the author would need to research! And not learnt from other mangas and LN he read some time ago! ^^

 

[Topast]

I looked her up. Goddamn her whole gimmick is stupid.
Not because of how her magic works, but the lore behind it.

Her bullshit is 'divine punishment' that follows the logic of 'no-one should bare malice towards god'
Except A: this placed herself in the position of God, which is immensely blasphemous, just right off the bat.
Then there's the fact that she's symbolically attuning herself to Jesus by...carrying the hammer that was used to nail him to the cross, and piercing her body with metal. The piercings thing is cool. It reminds me of Desden Files street-sympathy magic. Or maybe Constantine.

But the hammer... B: That's not the hammer. Fuck off. It's nothing like the hammer. It would have been a regular workman's/carpenter's hammer. Probably made of stone or copper. Not some absurd thorned-spiral as big as a man that looks like a fucking Dark Souls Boss Weapon.
There's no way they would have had something that looked like that just laying around for when jesus showed up, and there's no way you could drive a nail into wood with that, much less through a person.
(I get that she's not saying that this is the original hammer, but as a stand-in it should at least resemble the sort of hammer that might plausibly have been used to crucify Christ)
Also, C: Someone did attack Jesus after he was nailed to the cross. It was a whole big thing, when a Roman Legionnaire stabbed him in the chest with a spear as an act of mercy.

I'm not exactly intensely catholic or anything myself, (I range from agnostic to atheist) but her entire gimmick just screams 'This bitch doesn't know anything about Christianity at all'
Like, actually get smote by lightning you fucking poser.

Click to shrink...

It's idol theory it's not based based around her using the hammer and the nails that were used but using things meant to represent them. Through that connection she has made a equivalence of her being like jesus who in turn is considered god so her spell punishes all human malice cause it is directed at god by way of that connection. WIth her needling and pissing people off working by way of the same logic how Tattletales counter worked, there was no malice involved. Which is also how jesus getting stabbed worked, it wasn't malice it was mercy as the spell targets malice which is a pretty hard feeling to avoid when you attack someone. Honestly how you can both bring it up first and then procceed to completly ignore it in your rand is just plain weird.

 

[2 Hot Crown Subdues the Sinful]

I wonder if Tattletale just considers the girl to be a lesser and not worth being an enemy. An immense ego is a blessing and a curse when it comes to mental magics

Click to shrink...

Tattletale Escanor'd herself.

You're not going to fool God Almighty with your cheap-ass loopholes, and you're not going to impress Him by trying to be a smart-arse about it.

Click to shrink...

There's more than a few Jewish sects that disagree.

Rules-lawyering the Talmud is their whole thing, so...

 

[iamnuff]

There's more than a few Jewish sects that disagree.

Rules-lawyering the Talmud is their whole thing, so...

Click to shrink...

Did they get smote for it?

 

[Kenloch]

Did they get smote for it?

Click to shrink...

My understanding of the logic of it goes something like-

"The Lord's Law is Perfect.
Therefore, when one finds a Loophole in The Law,
That does not mean The Law is flawed,
It means the Loophole is supposed to be there."

 

[2 Hot Crown Subdues the Sinful]

My understanding of the logic of it goes something like-

"The Lord's Law is Perfect.
Therefore, when one finds a Loophole in The Law,
That does not mean The Law is flawed,
It means the Loophole is supposed to be there."

Click to shrink...

"Married women cannot go out with their head uncovered.", so they wear wigs that make them look better than their normal hair wood. Completely missing the point of modesty.

Did they get smote for it?

Click to shrink...

Yes, the entirety of their history "that one time they pissed off YHVH & got punished"> Everyone thinks Old Testament God was like super angry or something, but it was that people just could not stop fucking up.

 

[alethiophile]

Note that this is not a thread about the history of Judaism.

 

[Faralis]

Note that this is not a thread about the history of Judaism.

Click to shrink...

TBH I can see Tattletale pulling that theme from her ass just to confuse poor Jaune for reasons!

Those two are the most disastrous pair that ever traveled teh multiverse...

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Chapter 24: A Certain Otherworld Huntsman - Learning_with_Vectors​

Jaune walked the empty streets, Tattletale strolling along next to him. Above their heads, the overcast sky had progressed to a light drizzle, covering the city with the soft *plip plop* of rain. It's the one sound they could hear within a dead world. The phenomenon at work putting people to sleep seemed to be spreading further and further, because they had not encountered another awake person in quite some time.

It was just them and the rain, for miles and miles.

To keep dry, the duo held umbrellas in their hands. Tattletale had purchased them from a convenience store—well, 'purchased' as in she left the money on the counter, since the employees had been indisposed when she entered the store. The umbrellas were dirt cheap, she told him. Apparently, they came at a discount.

In any case, Jaune was grateful to have a bit of shelter above their heads. His poncho was great but didn't protect his new phone as he held it in front of his face, and it wouldn't do to have the device ruined by the elements. The store advertised it as water-resistant, not waterproof, and he was less than keen to test the limits between one and the other, all the more so when it held critical information sent over by Crowley on their target.

Red eyes glared at Jaune from the screen of his phone. The boy in the picture was maybe a year or two younger than him, and pale to the point that it seemed unhealthy. Coupled with his skinny build lacking in visible muscles, the overall impression told the story of someone who had never gone outside, or lifted weights. Chalk-white hair framed a delicate, almost androgynous face that might have been called beautiful were it not marred by an ugly sneer.

"He looks…" Jaune searched for the best way to put it. "Angry."

"Surprisingly, that's his normal face," Tattletale replied. She studied the picture with far greater attention than him, pumping it for any scraps she could glean. "His cheeks aren't showing signs of strain. Our friend here is like this to everyone. What a pleasant guy."

Accelerator. 'Pleasant guy.' Rogue esper. Real name: X. Age: X. History: X. His personal file could be summarized in a paragraph considering the amount of blank spaces present. Their target was a ghost within the system.

The documents on his powers, in contrast, spanned a few hundred pages and would take a person like Jaune days (weeks… years… maybe decades) to go through. Tattletale was giving a damn good try at speed-reading it, the file open on her own phone. The bewildered looks that she tried to play off throughout the experience suggested not a great deal of success thus far. How would one comprehend the concept of an apple, if they have never seen the color red, never tasted a flavor, never encountered a fruit? Now trade apple for cenapholesticeadiploid, a word Jaune would with 99% confidence say did not exist in his universe and might have been fabricated to apply for this one specific case subject, and there stood the problem. The principles referenced, and sometimes even the vocabulary used, were things Tattletale would have little chance to encounter before in her life. She's a supervillainess who made a career out of thieving, whereas scientific dissertations on espers might be the sort of thing that required a foundation in multiple research fields to begin to understand.

Good luck ever getting the girl to admit her shortcomings, though. Her natural intellect and her superpower working in concert have, Tattletale claimed, made significant headway in the endeavor. Jaune translated it as 'I'm lying through my teeth' in his mind, and was not surprised in the least that she had gravitated over to his screen for answers.

Then again, the dossier in front of him did hold the information he considered most tactically relevant to the task at hand. Hundreds of pages, condensed into three words.

"Manipulation of vectors. I don't think I've ever heard of a Semblance described in those words."

Tattletale pointed at herself with the hand holding her phone. "I know of capes who can do something like it. We have a few of them in Brockton Bay, even." She adopted her usual lecturing pose, which consisted solely of a smug grin that proclaimed her audience to be idiots in need of an education. (Not for the first time, he thought that she would make the worst teacher.) "In basic terms, it's an ability that works on direction and force. For what that means in practice, we have the likes of Ballistic, Krieg, and Skidmark, villains who—"

Jaune stumbled, his foot making a splash as it landed in a puddle. "Excuse me, what was that last one?" he asked, unwilling to believe he heard it right. "I'm not sure if our worlds share the same meaning for every word, but in mine that one could refer to…well…"

Tattletale scrunched her nose in disgust. "Ah. Yeah, it's the same on Earth Bet, too. Most of the local cape scene preferred not to talk about him. I don't either, so let's just get him out of the way first. His power is to lay down these strips of energy, these marks, on a surface of his choosing that send whatever touches them skidding in a set direction."

Hence the unfortunate name, although that did not explain in full the deranged mind behind the decision to choose it out of an infinite number of possibilities for use as a villainous alter ego.

"Ballistic of the Travelers, who may be of interest to you, is more direct." Annoyingly, she did not elaborate further on why he should care about this person. He filed it away to ask later, and Tattletale's enigmatic smile told Jaune that she was very aware of how it will gnaw at him between now and then. "With a touch, he imparts kinetic energy into an object to throw it at a target. Starting to see the theme?"

Jaune nodded. "Speeding things up. Adding force."

Okay, he messed up somewhere. Tattletale was looking way too happy.

"So it would seem, only that's not all that manipulation of vectors imply," she argued, shaking her head. "Our third example, Krieg, can make his punches and kicks stronger, adding force as you mentioned. But, he also slows things down. Reducing the magnitude of an object's velocity is within the scope of a power that acts on vectors."

Jaune summed it up, "So they can hit hard, and get hit hard. That doesn't sound too bad."

"You mean it doesn't sound complicated. Vectors are simple. Which way an object is going and how fast it's going there. Now imagine a parking lot's worth of cars being sent at you with the speed of a bullet."

He paused. "Ah. Not fun."

The more he learned about it, the more he suspected the average parahuman power operated on a stronger scale than the Semblances he was accustomed to seeing. Those trended on the subtler side, barring a few exceptional individuals. Professor Goodwitch might be able to hurl hundreds of cars through the sky—he didn't know enough about her Aura reserves to decide for certain.

"Yep. There's some evidence that the strips put down by Skidmark can stack onto itself, increasing the force it imparts. If there's no upper limit, then put enough down and you can toss a person to the horizon. Krieg regularly throws down against armed gangsters, Protectorate heroes, and the ABB's dragon man. The boring old ability to reduce or increase momentum lets him fight on the frontlines. And remember…" Tattletale pointed to the next line on the screen below Accelerator's power. Jaune winced. "Accelerator is a Level Five."

An esper on par with Misaka. While the Japanese girl has never shown her full capabilities, she claimed there was truth to her nickname of the Railgun. She also mentioned that Academy City has managed to produce a total of seven people with the designation of Level Five. Seven out of almost two million cases.

"They're rare," agreed Tattletale with his unspoken thoughts.

He added, "And probably strong."

"Undoubtedly. Academy City is willing to show off supersonic jets and prototype laser cannons to the world, but not these seven kids. There's a suspicious lack of content online about them, just rumors and speculations on forums. Someone is scrubbing their presence, which is rather telling on its own."

"It would have been nice if we had footage of them in action. We could use that to get a better idea of the upper limits to esper abilities."

"There are demonstrations of the Level Fours that we can extrapolate from." She switched the application on her phone from a text file to a video-hosting website. "See for yourself."

She turned her phone towards him, and he leaned in to look. The video had been taken on a bright, sunny day, centering on a table set outdoors next to a swimming pool. A group of students lounged off to the side as one of their numbers stood at the table. In front of him, an uncapped water bottle. Text in white font appeared at one corner of the screen.

Level 1.

The student extended both hands above the bottle, a pose reminiscent of a fortune teller performing with their crystal ball. His face scrunched with effort, looking quite comical as a whole lot of nothing proceeded to happen. It took ten more seconds for his effort to pay off as the water rose out of the bottle at a snail's pace, forming a wobbly ball floating inches above the table.

The video cut to a different person. Female, this time.

Level 2.

Much as the previous, the student held out her arms. With sweat pouring down her face, water from three bottles slithered into the air, the tendrils coalescing into an orb. It was perfectly round.

Level 3.

Another girl. She snapped her fingers. The water inside a water cooler jug shot out of the container with enough force to burst the slender neck. She shaped it into a ring, spinning in lazy circles.

Level 4.

The swimming pool was now empty. One boy had moved the water thirty feet up, arms spread wide as he kept it there for the rest of his cohort to swim in the sky.

Tattletale exited the video as it rolled credits. She gave him a significant look, inviting comments.

He obliged, and voiced his main observation, "It's an exponential growth." The video had all but screamed it aloud.

"Growth and control," she amended. "Applied to our vector manipulating esper, and I would bet good money he's capable of expressing his power in multiple ways—taking both offensive and defensive measures, or maybe only one aspect but it is ramped up to an extreme level. He could launch devastating and unstoppable attacks in the worst case, or possess an invincible body."

A daunting prospect. Jaune began brainstorming at once. "No matter the strength, attacks need to land. More than that, he'd need to be in a state to attack in the first place. If his gimmicks are powerful strikes like that Ballistic guy, we stay mobile and hit him hard to remove him from the fight in as short a time as possible. If instead he's too tough, then we should pin him down."

"And let's say he's an all-rounder?" Tattletale asked. "You're hitting on the tactics many capes resort to when fighting the bigger players, but the worst are always the ones that know how to cover their weaknesses."

"Every opponent has a weakness," Jaune parroted a line of thought often expressed by his professor in Combat Class. He then tacked on the common understanding of that sentiment derived by the students in the class. "Even if it's just getting punched in the face harder than they can withstand." A glance at the scroll, as he recalled the swimming pool. "Huntsmen are often seen as this invincible badass to the people. Shove our heads underwater and we're in trouble, same as most." He perked up at a new possibility. "We don't have a source of water handy, but—"

Tattletale blurted out in a breathless rush, "The Puzzle. We infect him with knowledge of it to rob him of oxygen. He had a life in this city, so despite a falling out he's got to have some fondness for it hiding in him. It could be his house, his bank account, his friends, his loved ones, whatever."

"...Exactly what I was going to suggest." As the girl was perfectly aware, he was sure. "It's my plan, by the way."

"Liar. I said it first." She grinned mischievously, weathering his unserious glare with aplomb. "Of course, the plan is no guarantee. A fight could start anyhow. Should that be the case, let me give you a bit of advice." She indicated the picture of Accelerator. "He's malnourished and undeveloped. Easy conclusion: his power is strong, his body is weak. Stalling for time could wear him out from exhaustion."

"Not a bad idea," Jaune admitted. Not as good as his earlier one—and it most emphatically was his idea—but he liked to think that he made for a pretty tough opponent defense-wise. "What else can you think of?"

"Well…" Absent-mindedly, Tattletale twirled her umbrella as she mulled on the question. "In theory, many power effects aren't actually limited to a body part. Legend could have shot lasers from his nipples if he ever wanted to. Thing is, most parahumans default to their hands, or rarely their feet when they're kicking. Call it comic book influences, call it natural human instinct or a flair for the dramatic, they just do. The espers in the video showed the same inclination."

He reviewed the clip in his head, and hummed in agreement as Tattletale continued on.

"I suppose they feel it grants better control of their power. That simplifies things. Dodge their hands, and it should help you stay safe for longer. Or, hell, sever their hands and they may suffer a mental block to prevent them manifesting their ability at all."

"Brutal."

"But effective."

True. Very true. He's done it before. A stimpak will sort out the aftermath. It's a reliable approach.

Whistling a tune, Jaune walked on along the empty streets. He had battle on his mind.

-o-​

The rain had picked up by the time they entered the center of the district, hitting the ground in a steady pitter patter. Jaune always enjoyed days like this. A bout of rain should have weight to it.

Taking the last turn, he caught sight of their destination, a hospital. It occupied pride of place amidst the highrises and businesses, the layout suggesting it the spot that this area was built around. Developers had packed as many buildings as they could into the neighborhood, yet the hospital alone enjoyed wide open spaces, comfortably isolated from its surroundings by a park. The park came equipped with a playground.

The lights were off in every window of the building.

He felt taps on his shoulder, and turned to look at Tattletale. She pointed to the side of the hospital.

"Our contacts are here."

She was referring to a black van, parked haphazardly on the park grass and hidden under a canopy of trees. A hefty, box-shaped thing, it left deep furrows in the ground, ruining the flower bushes it drove over. The vehicle had just finished disgorging a squad of people, all of whom wore identical uniforms of dark body armor and helmets. They were using their cover to approach the wall, splitting into two groups.

The so-called Hound Dog unit they were set to meet.

One of them noticed the pair, their colorful umbrellas standing out against the gray backdrop. Jaune waved to the person—it's a good idea to display obvious intentions when greeting people armed with guns.

"Let's go say hello, then. No reason to be impolite," Jaune said.

Tattletale eyed the way news of their appearance spread among the squad. They split further, the majority going ahead with their operation, leaving one to remain in place. "Eheh, I don't think we're the problem."

As they neared, Jaune secured his phone to a strap that went around his neck, the translation app loaded—the same setup he employed to chat with Kamijou. It's difficult to determine whether he'd need it, since a fair number of people he encountered in this city could speak his language, while others only knew Japanese. Better to have it ready than not.

"You can fuck off!" barked the man in accented English.

Maybe he shouldn't bother. Everybody can speak the language well enough to insult him.

"Try a simple hello. I respond better to it."

"Hello! Fuck off!"

Should have seen that coming. "What's your deal?" he asked with a frown.

The man planted his feet, and crossed his arms. He made a show of looking them up and down, head moving in an exaggerated motion to compensate for the opaque face covering. The entirety of his body language radiated contempt. This time, he spoke in Japanese, the extent of his foreign vocabulary exhausted by the earlier exchange.

"This prey belongs to Hound Dog. We do not require outsider help."

Tattletale gave a derisive snort, and explained for Jaune's benefit. "It's the usual dick-waving contest between organizations in this type of work. They're afraid of someone else getting credit for the takedown, so they're trying to intimidate us."

The man turned to her. "You—"

"Of course," she cut him off, smirking, "the whole thing's a show. A couple of you suggested inflicting lasting injuries on us, then abruptly changed your mind. That tells me you can't really harm us, because you can't go against your boss who hired us."

The man scoffed. "Kihara does not give a damn about you."

"But his boss does. The big guy. We've taken on a special contract with him, which I'd think puts us above Kihara." Neither of them had a clue who this Kihara was until now. Tattletale gave not a hint of their ignorance. "Do either of them even know—Ooh, what was that?" Tattletale took a hop closer to the Hound Dog agent, fearless of reprisal. "You just twitched! They'd blow their tops if they hear about this, won't they? And you'd catch the blowback on that. From Kihara? Yeah, Kihara's got a temper."

Jaune studied the Hound Dog close, and caught the shift in his stance. The man just pulled back half a step away from Tattletale. She had hit the nail on the head.

The girl saw that, and more. Tattletale waved a hand at the man in dismissal. "Put it away, doggie. Show a little Professionalism. We're on the same side, and lucky you for that, because I have a plan to beat Accelerator and end this in a minute."

Who has a plan? Jaune stared a hole in the back of Tattletale's head. As if sensing his gaze, she glanced back at him, snickering softly under her breath.

Due to it, she missed the moment the Hound Dog puffed up, having chosen to double down. The man stepped forward, one hand brushing against the stubby submachine gun hanging off of him on a strap.

"You think you're so smart? Bitch. Hound Dog is the elite of the elite, and I ran twenty-two missions in the last year alone, dealing with freaks like you. We do not need espers to complete our mission."

A scream rang out, drawing the attention of everyone present. It rose in a desperate pitch, higher and higher, losing all traces of reason to leave pure animal fear. Jaune shivered hearing it, and wished it would end. Then it suddenly did, mid-scream, bringing no relief, just a foreboding feeling.

First among them, Tattletale found her voice. Looking oh so full of herself, she pointed a finger at the hospital. "That's not what your buddy is saying."

"Where do you need us?" Jaune offered in a kinder tone, playing the mediator.

A beat, and Tattletale squawked as the man roughly shoved her in lieu of responding. Arms windmilling, she stumbled back. Jaune caught her before she could fall.

The man was already running, shouting over his shoulder, "This job is ours. Stay out of it. If any of us see you inside, we'll put a bullet between your eyes!"

Jaune and Tattletale watched him enter the dark interiors of the hospital. They soon lost sight of him.

"Welp, he's dead," Jaune said.

"Obviously." Tattletale sniffed in disdain. "Good riddance."

"Should we go in to help them?"

"Nope. You heard him. They'd turn on us in a heartbeat."

"Yeah…" Jaune narrowed his eyes. "He did say that."

And to think, they were supposed to be on the same side. These Hound Dogs sounded downright traitorous.

There arose another scream.

Tattletale cocked her head, listening to the changes in pitch. "Accelerator is catching them by surprise, but"—she shivered—"once he's got them, he starts taking his time."

"A sadist?"

"More like calculating. He wants the rest to hear the screams, because that would draw them to him." Right on cue, new voices joined the chorus as the earlier one faded out. "Accelerator was setting up an ambush. They definitely have the training to anticipate that, though, so I bet they tried to set their own counter-ambush. Except, he's planning for that, too, and has an ambush for the counter-ambush."

"A smart guy, in short," Jaune concluded. How troublesome. He preferred fighting things dumber than him. They were easier to predict.

"Just a tiny bit. Less than me, of course."

"That tells me nothing. You're a little too smart for your own good."

Tattletale squirmed from side to side, smiling shyly. "Oh, stop it…"

"I wasn't complimenting you."

But it seemed she'll take it as one, anyhow.

They settled in for a wait outside the hospital. At times, screams and gunfire erupted from within, and Tattletale would provide her best guess of the events taking place. The Hound Dog members fell to various different means: bullets, blades, blunt force trauma, something that splattered one of the windows in a dark red—Tattletale hypothesized it as an instance of esper ability. It provided them a hint of what they may face. Accelerator had a preference for mundane means, possibly due to power limitations. Heartening news so far as Jaune was concerned. He could survive those.

"AHHHHH!"

"And that's our favorite doggie," Tattletale idly commented. "Told him he should have let me try my plan."

Jaune sighed, and pushed off the wall he's leaning on. "Our turn."

They traveled the short distance to the front entrance, and headed inside. Along a wall sat a rack for umbrellas, and Jaune stowed his there, with Tattletale following suit. They then observed the interior lobby.

It was warmer here. Dark, as they've seen. The temperature control still ran, but someone made sure to turn the lights off. Jaune didn't think Accelerator was responsible for that, though rogue esper probably benefited from it. The clue was in the total lack of sleeping people, whether that be staff or patients. Checking the nearby rooms and hallways, he saw not a single soul. The hospital had been evacuated, and in quite an orderly fashion too, given the tidy state of the place.

"Wow. Somebody was on the ball," he praised.

"They must have suspected a biological attack after a sudden influx of unconscious patients. I'd guess their protocol for the situation was to move everyone to an isolated backup site."

They both looked up at the ceiling as renewed screams from the Hound Dog member they met echoed from somewhere above.

"Let's go," Jaune said. He summoned Crocea Mors to hand. Tattletale requested a handgun, and with a gesture he made one appear. He passed the weapon over to her.

A scan of the lobby for directional signs helped them locate the nearest staircase. An elevator rested right next to it, but they left that alone. The confined space was susceptible to traps, and difficult to defend or retreat.

Tattletale whined at the prospect of climbing stairs after hours of running around. That was a price Jaune didn't mind paying. Let her suffer.

The second floor seemed normal as they passed it by. It's the flight of stairs to the third floor that showed signs of a struggle. Bullet marks scattered across the walls, and a dented trash can remained at the bottom of the steps. At the top, a trail of blood led away, turning into a room with an open doorway. Judging by the noises that were still emanating from overhead, they won't find Accelerator in there. This was the site of an older clash—no bets on whose favor it ended in.

The screams had died down when Jaune stepped out onto the fourth floor, a hand on the grip of his sword. They originated from this level, and in all likelihood the cause of them would be lurking in the area that very second. Contact was imminent.

He met the gaze of Tattletale, and they shared a nod. The pair shifted into formation, him at the front and advancing down the corridor, her staying close and watching behind them. Further into the building they went, checking every room and corner before forging on. Jaune took his time, took it slow, wary of springing a trap. It might not result in his defeat as it would for Hound Dog, but losing a chunk of his Aura, which was still in the process of recovering, could spell trouble.

The scent was subtle at first, merely pinging him with a sense of alarm while lacking a clear reason. A metallic tang that clung to one's nose, it intensified in parallel to the sound of whimpers. Blood, he soon recognized. And pain.

Jaune took a corner, then stopped in his tracks. Tattletale, coming around the same corner, peeked around him, and took a half-step to hide behind his back.

A fair distance down the darkened hallway strewn with medical gurneys, infusion stands, and assorted other equipment, there stood a person. A pale ghost amidst the dim surrounds. The one break in the monochrome features was a splash of color to light up his eyes. A hateful red.

Accelerator.

A lump laid at his feet. Shivering, and sobbing.

Jaune debated sneaking back around the corner. That became moot as those red eyes snapped up to stare directly at him. A smile grew. It looked off, as if the other boy had seen it on other people and tried to mimic the expression.

A little too wide. Not quite genuine.

Blood soaked his hands.

He called out to them, "Oi, oi, how many of you idiots are there? Did you all make a suicide pact?" He tilted his head, then switched language. "Not from around here, huh? Yeah, you don't look like the usual recruits for these guys." He snickered as he indicated the sword on Jaune's hip.

"We're an independent group," Jaune said. He shifted his grip on Crocea Mors, prepared to draw at the first hint of an attack. "Here to do a little good, you know?"

The other boy burst into cackling laughter, a full-belly laugh that had him leaning hard on the crutch braced under one arm. A closer study revealed it to be some type of shotgun, about three feet long in a metallic black. Good news, Accelerator was not in the best shape. Bad news, he's making up for it with a gun.

After recovering his poise, Accelerator said, "You really are pitiful." It might be Jaune's imagination, but the other boy actually seemed to mean that; his smile had slipped a fraction. "Still buying all the shitty lies that shitty adults tell you. Look at this moron at my feet." He gestured at the lump. "This is what happens when people fight me. They cry, then they die. What good came of him? I'm still here, doing what I do. Weaklings like you aren't worth my time. I don't know why you bother." Seeing Jaune unmoved, mocking humor returned to his face. "So, did they put you in that ridiculous costume too? A sword in this day and age. And the red cross…I doubt you're trying for a humanitarian symbol, meaning it's mimicking the Knights Templar. Is that what you see yourself as, the knight here to slay the dragon? Kehehe!"

That was nowhere close to the truth.

…It was upsettingly close to the truth.

To sidestep that particular mess, he moved over, letting Tattletale have the floor. "Yeah, well, someone has to stop you." He nudged the girl.

Tattletale took a breath. With great relish, she began to talk.

"Did you know—"

And Jaune heard no more, having covered his ears.

About five seconds into the spiel, he noticed certain worrying deviations from the plan. Namely, Accelerator wore this carefree look on his face that wouldn't go away. There's also Tattletale, whose smile faded the further she got in her speech. She soon stopped talking altogether.

Noting Jaune's consternation, Accelerator tapped one ear while smirking in a very Tattletale way.

Jaune uncovered his ears, and Tattletale was there in a heartbeat, shouting in it. "He can redirect sound waves!"

"What—oh no."

"That's right," Said Accelerator, chuckling. He fiddled with a band wrapped around his neck, pressing a button on it. "Whatever the hell you were thinking of doing, it's based on hearing. That was child's play to figure out when one of you"—he waved lazily at Jaune— "blocked his ears the moment the other started spouting crap. What is it, an esper ability working on hypno-auditive theory? A memetic disruptor affecting Personal Realities? I wouldn't put it past the bastards in the lab to develop one of those."

Jaune cursed to himself. His one tell had given the game away. The other boy was intelligent to a startling degree.

Accelerator continued, "Too bad for you, I've already designed my vector control to filter out annoyances whining about candy this and Gekota that." The whole time he was talking, he watched Tattletale close, likely on guard for her to say anything suspicious so he could block it again.

"Designed." whispered Tattletale, quiet so only Jaune heard. Not that he understood what she was on about. "…Gekota?"

Jaune shrugged. Refocusing on Accelerator, he said, "It is too bad. We were hired to neutralize you, with no requirements to harm you, and that could have ended things peacefully for all of us."

"Are you honestly that naive?" The other boy squinted at Jaune. "Huh. Whatever. You're an idiot. Hound Dog will put a bullet in my head first chance they get."

Jaune frowned. "I wouldn't let them do that."

"Ha. Sure you will." Accelerator clearly did not believe him. "That's unnecessary since I don't intend to be meekly captured." He placed a foot forward and hunched his back. Jaune tensed up, because experience allowed him to recognize the stance for what it was, a sign of aggression. The opening of hostilities. "Any other brilliant ideas you want to try on me? No? Then why don't you die like the rest of the trash?"

As he shouted the last part, Accelerator pressed one hand to the band on his neck, and touched the other to a medical gurney. With no visible effort, he sent it careening down the hall. Two more followed on its heels, little wheels outspeeding a race car.

The first gurney came straight on at Jaune. He withdrew his sword and smacked it aside. Deploying his shield, he set it on an angle, and stuck his sword out to the right, simply diverting the two subsequent projectiles away from him.

Tattletale had by now ducked behind the corner, bringing up her handgun. Instead of taking a shot, she waved to get his attention.

"Jaune, I've got it. He 'designs' the vectors he interacts with, like programming. Each time he acts on an object, I see an instant of delay." Her gaze flicked towards Accelerator, and she hurried her explanation, rattling off, "Microseconds. But present. He's calculating equations." On her face grew a vicious grin. "And you're his focus. That means you're a variable in the equation. Turn on [Blank] right now."

Wasting no time, he heeded her advice and flicked the mental switch in his head.

If she's correct, then he'd throw off the calculations of speed and direction for Accelerator. Loss of direction meant inaccuracy in aiming—Jaune will get hit less, which sounded great to him. As for speed, he thought it rather dicey since the exerted force could go up in addition to down. That was, until he remembered the shotgun. Accelerator was injured, and coincidently forewent his ability in favor of mundane weapons and trickery in order to win his battles. That suggested his ability to control vectors had been hampered in some manner, requiring the esper to conserve his usage. It was a finite resource, and were he to expend more of this resource than he anticipated doing bigger attacks, that may tire him out faster.

To his joy, she was right. Accelerator startled.

For a bit.

But then…

"Oh whatever will I do? My calculations aren't perfect." he jeered, rolling his eyes. "Pheh. This isn't a mathematics exam. I'll just have to use an amount I know would definitely give me the answer I want. That's you dead, if you were wondering."

Jaune paled, then cursed as Accelerator sprang forward at breakneck speed. The esper entered within striking range in a flash.

Accelerator snapped out a hand. Having taken Tattletale's advice to heart, Jaune leaned back to dodge what was no doubt a blow boosted beyond its apparent strength. The attack—a open-palmed slap of all things—belied the relative amateurishness of the esper when it came to close combat. There was the barest hint of a martial arts stance, developing but still unpolished, that left the other boy wide open for a counter, an opportunity Jaune did not pass on. He swung his sword at the defenseless opponent.

In a blink, the sword was behind Jaune, shooting by so fast that it almost wrenched him off his feet. Staggering, he had to let go before it completely shattered his balance.

Now he was the one wide open. To his dismay, Accelerator knew of battle well enough to take advantage. He closed in, moving at the speed of a Huntsman, their proximity removing the possibility of evading. Without an escape, Jaune braced for an imminent strike.

A light tap against his arm, and the world became a blur. It became pain.

He returned to his senses in a pile of debris. Plaster, bricks, a hospital bed smashed part, pieces of ceramic from a sink, concrete. It was heavy. And pointy. And other words. They might also end in –y. A fog clouded his mind, thoughts slipping from his grasp. His body screamed at him.

His hair was wet, though that's not from the broken bathroom pipes over there pouring water out on the ground. He tilted back his head, and saw the sky. It wasn't so dark in the hospital anymore. A new exit just opened, courtesy of the projectile named Jaune. His name was Jaune. He's lying partway outside of a collapsed wall, four floors up from the ground, the rain falling on him. A little further out, and he'd slip over the edge. The concrete and rebar landing on his body had saved him. He didn't feel saved.

Eyes watering from dust entering them, he lifted his head—the neck below greatly protesting the maneuver—to look back the way he came. Past the remains of the private bathroom, past the hospital room, past the other big hole in the wall he had been sent through, Jaune saw Lisa—Tattletale, still standing behind the cover of the hallway corner, staring at him in utter terror. And beyond her, red eyes glared at him.

He felt a strange sensation of something sticky trickling along his skin. With it was the scent of iron. He wiped at his face, the hand came away stained with a dark red fluid. What was this?

Oh. Oh, hey, he's bleeding. That's new. Or old. For people with Aura, it's often a thing of the past. When actually was the last time he bled? Wait, not that long ago. Fucking Jax. He almost died back then. He could be dying now. Whoo boy. Whoooo boy. How bad was it? What do people do for this stuff, again? Bandages! He needed bandages—no, wait, stimpaks. Those were better.

Jaune summoned the Company scroll. It slipped from his shaking fingers to the floor.

Whoops. Silly him. Ahahahahaha!

Was he freaking out? He's freaking out. That really was a lot of blood…

Accelerator tilted his head. "Hoh? You're not dead."

Yaaaay, Jaune thought, a little delirious.

"Hell, you're surprisingly fine for someone who should be a smear on the wall. Why?" The esper took a step towards Jaune.

Gunfire erupted to give him pause, one shot followed by a squeal of pain. Tattletale collapsed holding her chest, breath knocked out by her own bullet.

"And what is this…I thought that was your esper power, but she has it, too? Not a similar principle either. The exact same thing. A shared Personal Reality? No, they tried that with twins. It doesn't work. Better fucking not be clones again. Military tech, perhaps?" Accelerator rubbed his chin. He came to a decision. "I can use that."

One leap took the esper from the hallway to Jaune, where he grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out of the rubble. His slight frame showed no sign of difficulty in holding the taller and bigger boy with one arm. Turning Jaune this way and that, Accelerator searched his pockets for the suspected piece of tech producing his Aura protections. He grew frustrated as it turned up nothing but random knick-knacks that he tossed aside.

He shook Jaune, as if that would cause the desired item to drop. "Where is it? Hand it over and I might let you die painlessly."

Jaune wondered if he really could, and decided that with vector control…well, pump enough speed into a sword and he could imagine it'd slice right through a person faster than the pain receptors recognize the injury. That led him to the creeping realization that Accelerator was a lot deadlier than he and Tattletale had thought, and has further depths to his power than what he revealed during the fight. At a glance, he already possessed all the elements they discussed as possible when playing with vectors, making him both unstoppable and immovable. How unfair. What a monster.

Still, that's no reason to give in.

Jaune laughed, trying for defiance, but it just sounded weak and tired. "I'm not…giving Aura to…a piece of shit kidnapper…like you."

Accelerator flinched. Tattletale seized on it.

"What?" she piped up from outside the hospital room. "Got a problem hearing it aloud? Whatever they fed you to make you that strong sure didn't increase your intelligence. With that power, you could have worked with the city, and be their poster boy superhero. Would have gotten you fame and fortune instead of resorting to abducting children as a job."

From up close, Jaune got to see Accelerator scowl. His teeth grinded together, and his nose flared. He dropped Jaune, which got a quick flash of a smirk from Tattletale—either because her plan to keep him alive worked or because she liked seeing his face smashing into the floor, Jaune hesitated to say—and walked across the room towards her. That sobered her up quick.

Legs trembling, she scooted back to press against the wall. A glance at the handgun resulted in a shake of her head. If it didn't work the last time, it wasn't about to change. "Okay. Okay," she told herself, panic rising.

Tattletale, stop saying 'okay' and just fucking run, Jaune wanted to shout. What came out were mumbles that nobody paid attention to. In the meantime, Tattletale reached a course of action. She opened her mouth and started talking.

His partner really did have skewed survival instincts, didn't she?

Pyrrha, too, now that he thought about it. He sure knew how to pick them.

"Jaune!" Tattletale called out to him. He tried for a wave. It was more of a twitch. She didn't see it, and opening his mouth took effort, so he shut off [Blank] to let her interpret his body language. This, she caught. "Oh crap, you can hear me from there."

Accelerator chuckled, anger seeming to give way to amusement again on seeing how fearful his prey became. "You got that right. He's in range. Can you risk your ability affecting him?"

Jaune broke out in a cold sweat because that face of hers said she was debating it. Ultimately, though, she decided against bringing to bear the phenomenon affecting the city. Accelerator has developed an effective counter. It may end with Jaune incapacitated and her facing the esper alone. Game over, in other words.

Changing tack, she offered, "How about a truce? You go your way, we go ours."

"Nah. Sparing you could mean you will come back for more. I prefer my problems permanently dealt with."

Tattletale worked her jaw, searching for another avenue to pursue, landing on, "Why so bloodthirsty? Does it make you feel powerful, to go around killing people? No wonder the city wants us to bring you in. A horrible monster like…the city," she repeated in the realization that it was the part Accelerator reacted most strongly to. "You think they're worse than you. They made you what you are. They were the ones feeding you to make you this strong. Did they have you killing for them, too?"

Suddenly, Accelerator bounded over the last ten feet in one motion, halting right in front of Tattletale, spooking the girl. She fell on her rear.

As his hand—fingers formed in claws—stretched down for her, a bitter laugh escaped Tattletale. "Fuck, I should have seen this coming. Now that we're no longer of use, they sent us here for you to murder. Aren't you a good doggie, making your masters proud."

The hand stopped an inch from her face.

A gasp, and she spoke in a rush, "No, that's not it. You did go off on your own. You didn't want to kill like they ordered you to—that's why you talked so much in the beginning!" She pointed an accusing finger upon making the connection. "To scare us away, to give us an out." She caught a detail from the look on his face, one Jaune could not see from his position. "You've done it before. To others. You're feeling guilty remembering it. You pity them. Resents them." Her breath hitched. "They hadn't listened."

Her eyes darted past Accelerator to meet Jaune's bleary gaze. He was still on the ground, the task of shifting his body to stand, or even crawl, beyond his means. Wisps of the Void swirled around his left arm, never quite coalescing into a solid enough limb. No help was coming, and she could only continue stalling for time.

"I guess that's why you went rogue. You hated it, and got tired…but that doesn't explain you trying to abduct a little girl—!" Her words ended in a squeak as Accelerator seized her by the throat.

Sounding as if he was speaking through gritted teeth, he grounded out, "Keep saying that. See where it gets you."

Jaune saw panic on her face, and fear. But then, it cleared up, the scared expression replaced by the usual grin, like she knew a secret others did not.

"What do you want?" She croaked out past the vice-like grip.

Accelerator paused, and loosened his fingers a fraction. Tattletale took that reprieve as an invitation to keep talking. Not that she ever needed an excuse.

"Only a dummy like my friend here would insist on fighting someone out of their league."

"…Screw…you…" Jaune muttered weakly.

"You wish." She winked, then returned her attention to Accelerator. "Unlike him, I'm willing to look for other solutions. The simplest one? See what you want, and what I can do to make it happen."

Jaune stared at Tattletale, flabbergasted. He redoubled his effort to stand up. She couldn't seriously think of helping this scum!

Tattletale waved him down, and explained, "The story's off. It's rotten. We're hired to protect a kid, except our Hound Dog 'allies'"—she made air quotes—"were trying to kill a kid."

Accelerator grunted unhappily at being called a kid. Despite that, he shifted his posture into a less hostile stance. That seemed to confirm it for Tattletale, who continued on.

"We were given the wrong information. He's not trying to steal her. He's trying to get her back." She looked at the esper. "Hey. What's your relation to that girl?"

Accelerator spat. "She's an annoying pain in the ass that won't leave me alone."

Blinking, Jaune replayed the line. Many a time had he said the same thing of his sisters, with about the same level of fondness. Tattletale looked at him in silent vindication.

She squawked as Accelerator released his grip, dropping her to the floor. After a wary glance at the esper, who appeared uncaring of what she will do, she scurried over to Jaune, unimpeded.

In her hands, the retrieved Company scroll produced their basic medical kit—stimpaks and Blood-Replenishing Potions. She administered one syringe after another into Jaune's arm to settle his injuries. Gashes closed, and a dose of magical remedy returned color to his countenance. With her help, Jaune sat up.

He caught sight of Accelerator shuffling out of the room.

"No, wait…" He trailed off. His voice has yet to recover, the soft sounds unable to cross the intervening distance. Seeking another method, he turned to Tattletale with a beseeching look. She would know what he wanted to say, always reading his intentions clear as day.

The revelations troubled him. He had made a mistake. They joined up with the wrong side. Accelerator hadn't been the monster they needed to defeat, just a person searching for his family. That wasn't something Jaune wanted to leave alone, not after he became culpable for a part of it.

Tattletale shook her head. Hell no.

He stared at her. Hell yes.

Tattletale pouted. With one hand, she made the gesture for money. Crowley was paying them.

In response, he clenched a fist. Crowley could go hang. Sending them here should by all rights have ended with them dead. As far as he was concerned, the man reneged on their deal. Crowley owed them, and if he has a problem with paying to the point that he would backstab them, then he lost the right to complain when they lend aid to his enemy, break into his property, and collect their dues along with the kid he's confining.

Tattletale had a very strange look on her face. She whirled away before he could ask about it.

"Hey! Don't go yet!" she yelled after Accelerator. The boy slowed, then turned to glare at them over his shoulder. "Listen, this guy wants to help you."

The answer was immediate. "Don't need it."

"Come on now, let's not discount him yet. He might not be as tough as you, but he also doesn't have your limitations."

Jaune wondered what she was referring to—Accelerator had seemed pretty uninhibited in the level of his strength, even if he was kind of walking like an old man at the moment. He watched as she pointed to her neck. Specifically, at the choker she wore.

"That's a battery around your throat. You activate it whenever you use your powers in full. Otherwise…" She indicated his makeshift crutch. "Did the city do that to you? Neuter you, like a dog?"

Accelerator snorted at that, and straightened his back. "Pheh. This was my choice," he said in a voice without anger or derision, clear as crystal. For a moment, he looked so proud.

Tattletale doused that pride with her next words. "Or was it all part of a plan? So strong you are, without a weakness. You're a true powerhouse. They would want a way to control you, wouldn't they? A few strings they can tug on. And what better way than to take your power from you, then offer it back on a subscription."

The accusations stabbed into Accelerator like knives. They pierced the surface layers of his psyche, niggling at the insecurities that still lurk beneath. He worked his jaw, a denial ready but not quite able to slip out.

Tattletale leveled a knowing look at him. "Must be annoying, huh? I get it." Her hand brushed against the choker. "My ability…Sherlock Holmes wished he could be me. I can play the world like a fiddle. Break it with my words alone." She smiled ruefully. "For the five minutes before my headache wipes me out."

Unlike most people, Tattletale got to go through life being right more than she was wrong. Her superpower allowed it. In one month, Jaune suspected she had gained a better understanding of him than he did himself. It's uncanny, and a formidable power in its own way. He could believe her claim of world domination.

"Even with that flaw," she continued, "back where I come from, the one that held my leash had to do all they could to control me. Track my movements. Put a gun to my head. Surround me with 'friends' that can be turned against me at any time. And the minutes I had, they weren't enough to solve my problems." The light of recognition entered Accelerator's eyes, and he turned fully to face Tattletale. "If Jaune hadn't given this choker to me when we met, I wouldn't function most days in the last couple weeks. It's funny. Your collar activates your power. Mine turns my power off. Caged you. Liberate me. We're walking two roads, going the opposite way. My limit was built-in. Yours…who's to say the people that held your leash didn't create a similar thing by artificial means?"

By the end, Accelerator was breathing in hard, ragged gasps. Barely-restrained fury seethed just under the surface. That, and an innocent hurt. Everything he knew has grown uncertain, a trap behind every action. He raised a hand, ready to unleash an attack across the room that would reduce Tattletale to a smear. Like a child when they could not win an argument.

Before he could decide one way or another, she offered a solution. "Jaune will somewhat recover soon. He can act as muscle for the small fries you encounter, leaving you to deal with the real enemy. The real prize, though, is me. I can help you navigate a path to that girl, and for someone who's so like me, I don't mind doing them a favor this one time. It'd give you a better chance of surviving through today."

The esper stared at the pair of them, stricken by shock, and Jaune saw the corners of Tattletale's lips twitch upward in victory. She had him.

"No." Accelerator spun around.

Tattletale pounded a fist against the floor. "Oh, come on!" she whined, indicating Jaune. "He's going to be insufferable if we don't do something."

"I don't care. I've wasted enough time here. You'd just slow me down."

"You would sound more convincing if you weren't hobbling along on a stick."

"Are you calling me weak? How about you say that again after I go over there and beat that guy's ass with a shotgun?"

Whuh—?

"Pffft. That don't scare us. Right, Jaune?"

Don't drag him into this!

*Ring ring ring*

The sound of an incoming phone call interrupted the escalating argument, as all three instinctively put life on pause to check if the source was their device. Jaune's phone was still on a string around his neck, easily confirmed with a quick glance. Tattletale fished hers out of her pocket, then stowed it once more.

Accelerator was staring at his screen, frozen solid for a second. That moment passed, and he slammed his thumb on the answer button.

The ensuing conversation started with a slew of rapid-fire questions from Accelerator, tapering off as he grew confused, then spiritless. Tattletale provided context for Jaune's sake.

"He thought it was a call from the kid he's looking for, but I think she lost her phone and someone else picked it up. Let's get closer for a listen."

He agreed, and she hooked an arm under his shoulder. Aura would enable her to handle his bulk, if only just. Counting to three, they sprang to their feet—and Jaune bit down on his lip to suppress a groan, because the maneuver had set off every ache and pain not yet alleviated all up and down his body. He then failed to contain a keening wail as his companion, too curious of the going-on at the other end of the room, dragged him with her to get nearer.

This hospital room was unbearably drafty, the nurse's bedside manners were atrocious, and his condition became worse compared to when he first checked in. 0/10, never again.

Accelerator noticed their approach. Beyond a sneer (which might just be his normal expression), he did not protest their arrival. At this distance, they could somewhat hear the voices on the other side of the line. It's teeny, but audible. More than that, it sounded faintly recognizable. The translation app on Jaune's phone came in clutch, catching the words and spitting out the English version at a louder volume, mimicking the same voice as the caller. That jogged his memory.

Tattletale got there first, shouting at the phone in Accelerator's hand.

"Kamijou Touma, is that you?"

It wasn't the boy's voice, but Misaka's that responded. "Eh!? The tourist—?"

"Yup, yup," she chirped happily. "Jaune's here too. Say hi, Jaune."

"Owwww…"

Tattletale grinned. "He says hi."

Accelerator covered his phone to block the sound, then looked at Jaune and Tattletale. "You know these people? Are they trustworthy?" A nod from Jaune and a thumbs-up from Tattletale soothed his worry, and he relaxed. "Odd. I also thought those voices sounded familiar. The chances of that…" he mused, before shaking his head. "No, that's not important right now." He addressed the two on the other line, "Yeah, I'm the one that the kid talked about. Where did you see her last?"

"We were on Fight Street in District Seven—um, that's what we call it, I'm not sure what the official name is…" Kamijou tapered off, and Jaune could imagine him rubbing his head in befuddlement.

Still, Fight Street, huh? Sounds like a fun place. It'd be real popular with the Beacon crowd.

Misaka cut in, "It's Leaf Street, Route 39. We were at a restaurant called Olla Podrida when we lost track of her."

"Olla Podrida, is it?" Tattletale asked. "I see, I see. Interesting. Seen a lot of car crashes lately?"

"That's not important!" Misaka said, though Jaune could tell Tattletale disagreed. "Anyway, this weird woman showed up, and you need to be careful—"

"Up bup bup, I'll stop you right there," Tattletale replied. "In this one case, knowledge is a bad thing. Before I explain, though, how are you two able to stay conscious?"

"Er, well…" Misaka seemed reluctant to say.

Kamijou answered, instead. "My hand negates the supernatural effects of whatever it touches, and I think that has made me immune to the magi—the thing that's happening. As for Misaka…" He granted her the floor, but all Jaune heard was stammering, the girl making little sense.

Tattletale followed along easily enough. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh." She was grinning like a loon. "So the reason is that he's been holding your hand this entire time?"

More stammering, definitely in an outright panic. Tattletale looked ready to tease Misaka to death.

Accelerator interrupted, annoyed, "This is not the time!"

"...Oh, fine," Tattletale huffed. "We'll be serious." Then, speaking to Misaka and Touma, "There's no need to give us a warning, the phenomenon likely won't affect us on this end. We have unrelated business elsewhere, after all. And in case you haven't figured it out yet, here's the deal." She bent low over the phone, whispering in it to prevent Jaune and Accelerator from listening in. "—and that's it. Simple, right? Kamijou, you seem to know more about the situation than you're letting on."

"I…"

"Well, I'm sure you have your reasons." Tattletale's face turned blank. "I'll pry it out of you at some point. There's no use hiding secrets from me." There was a gulp on the other line, and Tattletale brightened. "Or maybe I'll go easy on you, since it looks to me like you're the best answer to this little conundrum the city is facing."

"Phew. Thanks."

"You're thanking her," Jauned croaked out, and took a quick breath to finish, "for threatening you."

Seriously, he had to point that out.

Tattletale laughed. "He knows to fear me. Misaka, help him out. My team will search for the lost girl."

"No way! I'm going to go find her, too!"

"Nope. Kamijou has an important mission he needs to focus on, and leaving his side will put you in immediate danger, if not an instant knockout. Stick with him, understand? Cling to him like your life depends on it."

Half the reason she's saying that was to play matchmaker. Jaune bet his sword on that possibility.

After a long moment, Kamijou replied, "Understood, I'll take care of it. Good luck finding Last Order, you three. Stay safe."

"Same to you," said Accelerator, with Jaune and Tattletale chiming in.

The call ended.

"Man, everybody's busy, huh?" Tattletale remarked.

Jaune couldn't help but agree. It was comforting to discover those two were safe. Quite worrying, that they're caught up in this mess, and will continue to be involved. He needed to do his best, too, to not let them down.

"Okay, you idiots can go home. I'm fine on my own." Thus invalidating all of Jaune's resolve, Accelerator turned to leave.

Tattletale piped up behind him, "Didn't you hear? She was attacked. She's alone, and on the run. Nobody has a clue on where she went."

Her words elicited an animalistic growl from Accelerator. An acknowledgement, and a warning. She ignored it with that unconcerned and self-centered attitude of hers that Jaune sometimes must admit he found impressive.

"Sure would be great if you have a detective on the case, huh? Like Sherlock Holmes." She waggled her eyebrows, hinting.

Accelerator tch'ed. But, he also relented. "Whatever. Just…answer me one thing. Who hired you?"

Jaune answered, "Aleister Crowley."

A sigh, and the esper said, "So he's responsible, huh. I should have known. Go on ahead. We'll meet in the lobby. I have something to take care of." He looked through the collapsed exterior wall of the hospital room, at a windowless building in the distance.

Jaune caught the cold edge to that calm tone. Accelerator was shaking, angry beyond belief.

"What—"

"Come on, Tattletale."

Using what energy he had regained, Jaune pulled the girl from the room, towards the staircase. And while Tattletale was curious to discover what was happening back there, she stayed by Jaune to help him descend the stairs, keeping him from smashing his face on the steps and losing the drops of Aura that was doing their level best to heal him. They made it pretty far, reaching the ground floor.

Right as they entered the lobby, a window-shattering boom shook the building, sending them staggering against the wall. From the outside, a light shined so bright that it forced Jaune to shield his eyes and turn away. In his arms, Tattletale stiffened. She would have fallen without him there to hold her upright, his body groaning in protest.

Once the mysterious light died down, he checked on her. The girl's eyes were unfocused, riveted on the floor.

"Did the world just—how could—vectors, it's all vectors!"

That made little sense to Jaune, and he asked, "Tattletale, what happened?"

"The earth's rotation just changed! We're five minutes behind than we should be!" she shouted. "The madman up there redirected all that energy into an attack on something!"

"Huh." He had no idea what that meant. It sounded big.

"That was enough power to blow up a mountain!"

Now Jaune could wrap his head around the magnitude of it, and as he soothed the nearly catatonic girl, he had a thought.

If that was Accelerator's hate, then he had been downright friendly to them this whole time.

---

Author's Notes: (—‸—)

 

[CreepyUncleLuke]

I can't wait until they leave this world. It's starting to feel like a powerscalers wet dream, and Jaune and Lisa just don't mesh well with how genuinely shitty everyone is in TnI.

 

[Maleus Grimm]

Tattletale is very annoying, true to her character

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Vectors go boom

 

[Alceaus]

Tattletale is very annoying, true to her character

Click to shrink...

She honestly makes this fic kind of exhausting for me to read. I wish there was just any kind of counter weight to her.

 

[Cheerio]

I can't wait until they leave this world. It's starting to feel like a powerscalers wet dream, and Jaune and Lisa just don't mesh well with how genuinely shitty everyone is in TnI.

Click to shrink...

Personally I am liking the current arc. It fits well in contrast to the last world to see them again in over their head and struggling. I feel like Jaune does his best work under those conditions, and Tattletale is more fun when she's both finding her powers really useful (e.g. against the memetic attack/information warfare enemy of last chapter) and making crucial mistakes. This world provides opportunities for both.

 

[KaMinSod]

Tats isn't that annoying. She's probably the best way to cut right to the heart of things, which works well in a fast world hopping story like this.

Good on Jaune for surviving the first slap, though. Props for that.

 

[Maou09]

I'm just wondering when Jaune will unlock his Semblance. He's fought against Leviathan and now Accelerator, two opponents vastly out of his league, yet still no Semblance. I honestly expected him to awaken his Semblance by now via an asspull-esque desperate stand against overwhelming odds. But even after jumping like five worlds, still no Semblance.

The canon way he unlocked his Semblance was by saving Weiss's life, but that sort of thing can't really happen in this fic, since Jaune has ready access to stimpaks and other healing items. In that sense, you've written yourself into a corner. Curious to see how you'll do it in this fic, or if Jaune will even have the same Semblance.

 

[Endless Sorcerer]

I'm just wondering when Jaune will unlock his Semblance.

Click to shrink...

Technically, it is already unlocked. From what we know, he first activated it in the Forever Fall against Cardin. However, his semblance isn't exactly the most obvious at lower outputs unless you are watching for it; all it really does is strengthen and enhance aura, doing what aura does better, which makes it easy to miss.

It activating might have been what let him endure Accelerator's attack. We know that he was low on aura after interacting with Imagine Breaker, so he may have subconsciously amplified his own aura to tank the hit.

He just needs to learn what it does before he can practice with it.

 

[KinKrow]

She honestly makes this fic kind of exhausting for me to read. I wish there was just any kind of counter weight to her.

Click to shrink...

It's incredible that she's worse here due to anime-isms.

She isn't nearly hot nor likeable enough to forgive NYEHEHEHEH.

 

[MethodicBibliophile]

I love how Tattletale realized that they just tried to take out this world's equivalent of the Triumvirate, and how lucky they are to still be alive.

 

[Lokpik]

Their dynamic is amazing to read, after seeing hound dog in action I'm hoping that the next setting they go to is metag gear solid shadow Moses addition, the shenanigans that could occur, to bad jaune hasn't discovered his semblance yet, I'm not sure but if he used it I'm not certain he would be as messed up as he was. It was enjoyable to get to see tattletale deduce the motives of that esper.

 

[Tohu]

Well, this went exactly like everyone expected. Glad that they solved misunderstandings so fast.

I'm pretty sure that people who complain about Tattletale being MVP in this world just wanted Jaune to do something cool to remind who is the main character here. But good story writer knows their characters strengths and weaknesses. Jaune being almost useless here is very believable. After all, in the world where people can stop rotation of the planet and have mini Death Star that cuts continents, being just more durable than others will not really help. That should be a good motivation for him to learn more and become stronger.

Tattletale sure knows on what buttons to push. Even Accelerator became victim of her words.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Dradel]

It's incredible that she's worse here due to anime-isms.

She isn't nearly hot nor likeable enough to forgive NYEHEHEHEH.

Click to shrink...

Foolish. Tattletale is foxy and cute. Everyone knows foxes are the most trustworthy animals.

 

[drake_azathoth]

I'm pretty sure that people who complain about Tattletale being MVP in this world just wanted Jaune to do something cool to remind who is the main character here. But good story writer knows their characters strengths and weaknesses. Jaune being almost useless here is very believable. After all, in the world where people can stop rotation of the planet and have mini Death Star that cuts continents, being just more durable than others will not really help. That should be a good motivation for him to learn more and become stronger.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. Jaune was the undeniable MVP in Dark Souls and Tattletale was nerfed, which I think made her a bit more motivated in this world and a bit more cautious and reluctant to start shit for no reason. (Yes, that was a cautious Tattletale). Being outgunned for once should juag give Jaune motivation to improve.

 

[Party2tehArth]

Yet another chapter of P E A K. Thanks.

I don't really have the baggage a lot of others have with Lisa cuz I never read Worm so the following might be controversial but I truly dig her growing bondship with Jaune. Her being more motivated and able to use her powers here was nice to see. And I agree with that other guy that she's more useful here than Jaune due to their unique load outs.

Really appreciated Blank being shown to not be a be-all-end-all thing and that it can be circumvented or simply ignored ala Accelerator here with his calcs being good enough.

TLDR: continuing to ship the fox and golden retriever. Accelerator was badass.

 

[Dimensionist]

"That was enough power to blow up a mountain!"

Click to shrink...

'A mountain'? That's an attack measured at over an exaton of TNT. It makes the Tsar bomba look like a firecracker.

Better to say all of Asia, at a minimum.

 

[riotous living]

The umbrellas were dirt cheap, she told him. Apparently, they came at a discount.

Click to shrink...

Five finger, I bet. This is just Tattletale being Tattletale, since I've been to Japan and those umbrellas are indeed dirt cheap.

"That tells me nothing. You're a little too smart for your own good."

Tattletale squirmed from side to side, smiling shyly. "Oh, stop it…"

Click to shrink...

Damn alright she's kinda cute

 

[Reishin Amara]

I can't wait until they leave this world. It's starting to feel like a powerscalers wet dream, and Jaune and Lisa just don't mesh well with how genuinely shitty everyone is in TnI.

Click to shrink...

Honestly I think this is a great learning experience for them. Knowing that power scale can get this high and that The Endbringers arnt a one-off in the universe is a very good lesson to learn.Better they learn now than potentially somewhere worse like a shonen series. They also had their first screw up and ending up working for the wrong person so they should be more cautious in the future as well.

 

[DarkDark01]

I loved the chapter, I'm completely addicted lol. Besides, I was rooting for Tattletale to grant an aura to Accelerator so that he would spare them. Imagine if the aura healed him completely, restoring his full power! But even weakened, he's really awesome.
Lastly, I really wanted them to stay longer in this world to see Tattletale's reaction when she saw magical gods capable of wiping out the Endbringers with a snap of their fingers. That would be hilarious lol.

 

[Agent Orange]

"Still buying all the shitty lies that shitty adults tell you.

Click to shrink...

'shitty adults'. I'm getting Persona 5 flashbacks from this line. Nobody talks like that IRL. Not even teens with attitude.
... then again this is an anime setting so maybe they do.

"Hell, you're surprisingly fine for someone who should be a smear on the wall. Why?" The esper took a step towards Jaune.

Click to shrink...

Hey this was a guy who survived getting slammed into a tree at terminal velocity without a scratch before he even got his aura awakened. Getting blown through a wall is nothing.

Tattletale, stop saying 'okay' and just fucking run, Jaune wanted to shout. What came out were mumbles that nobody paid attention to. In the meantime, Tattletale reached a course of action. She opened her mouth and started talking.

His partner really did have skewed survival instincts, didn't she?

Click to shrink...

... there's things I could say but not without starting a derail so I'll just say Tattletale's characterization is spot on.

Accelerator hadn't been the monster they needed to defeat, just a person searching for his family.

Click to shrink...

One can be a monster and search for loved ones. It's not mutually exclusive.

This hospital room was unbearably drafty, the nurse's bedside manners were atrocious, and his condition became worse compared to when he first checked in. 0/10, never again.

Click to shrink...

Nurse Tattletale: "Go rub some dirt on it."

"The earth's rotation just changed! We're five minutes behind than we should be!" she shouted. "The madman up there redirected all that energy into an attack on something!"

Click to shrink...

... damn. That's some... range. Is this canon?