Phantom of Beacon
Chapter 4:
A/N: So I'm skipping ahead a bit of time, just to clarify!
In the outskirts of Vale, White Fang troops unloaded stolen shipments of Dust into a formerly abandoned warehouse. A tall man in a white coat and a bowler hat lit up a cigar, swinging his cane idly. "Come on you bunch of animals! We're on a deadline here, and certain associates of mine do not like to be kept waiting, so how about we move it along?!"
A white fang member carrying a crate tripped up at Roman's shouts, spilling phials of dust all over the floor.
Roman slapped his own forehead. "Amateurs!"
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Blake awoke early on their first weekend, the sun just rising outside JBRY's dorm. She slipped out of her bunk and climbed up to Jaune's, shaking him awake quietly. He made to respond but she held a finger to his lips. "Shh. Jaune, get up, get dressed, and follow me."
Jaune blinked sleepily, but nodded in response. He climbed down, doing his best not to wake Ruby and Yang, the latter snoring away in her bunk. He slipped on his usual black and orange hoodie, yawning when he saw the time. "Blake…why? Weekends are for sleeping…" he thought as he headed out the door.
Blake was waiting for him in the hallway, taking his hand as she lead him away from the dorms. Jaune blinked at her, stammering. "Blake, where are we going?"
"Just trust me, Jaune. It's just something I've been wanting to go do all week!" She said with a smirk, taking a right turn out of the dorms.
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"Blake…when you said it was something you'd wanted to do, I didn't think you meant this!" Jaune said, panting heavily.
Blake smirked again, placing her hand on Jaune's shoulder…before shoving him backwards and swinging at him with Gambol Shroud.
Jaune ducked, rolling backwards to get some ground. She hadn't allowed him his sword or gauntlets, only his abilities. Green eyes met amber as she charged at him again, keeping him on the defense.
"Jaune, fight back! I know you can do more than that, so let's see some action, ghost boy!" She taunted, firing Gambol Shroud at her partner.
He glared and turned intangible, the blade and ribbon passing right through his chest, before he took off running at Blake. His feet left the ground, flying now at high speeds at the girl. Jaune's fist began to glow green as he swung, sword meeting fist in a slight explosion.
Blake was thrown backwards, skidding several feet across the ground. She glanced up, only to see a panicked Jaune rushing towards her. Before he could get close, she fired Gambol Shroud again, snagging the ribbon around his feet, pulling him to the ground as well. "Never let your guard down!"
Jaune groaned and phased out of the ribbon again, panting. He jumped back to his feet, and after a moment, he smirked and vanished without a trace.
Blake kept at her guard, raising Gambol Shroud in defense. She glanced around and caught a cloud of dust kicked up twenty feet to her left. Switching Gambol Shroud into gun mode, she fired off three rounds that way, causing Jaune to become visible once more and duck out of the way.
As he ran, his fists began to glow once more, and he grinned. Throwing his hand out in Blake's direction, a green beam of energy fired from it towards the girl, burning the ground as it hit.
She flinched away, leaving a clone in her place, narrowly dodging the beam of ghostly energy. "Very good!" Blake grinned at her partner, signaling him to pause. "You're getting more and more control over time, and you've improved since you cut that poor bush in half before initiation."
Jaune nodded, flexing his hands. "Thanks, Blake. I feel like I've got a good grip on my intangibility now, so no more incidents with my clothes. As for the ecto-blasts and invisibility, they're getting easier, though I have some ideas about the energy."
"Oh? Please elaborate." Blake questioned.
His eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. "Well, I was thinking about my weapons and whatnot. I can obviously channel the energy through them into attacks, but I wonder if I could do more with it, like creating barriers or something?"
Blake nodded, sheathing her blade. "Well, I suppose in theory it's possible. Huntsmen and Huntresses have been working with Aura for years, some even creating constructs or channeling their aura in similar ways so what you do with your ghost powers, though with less destructive results. But for now, we should go meet up with the others." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's getting around the time that Ruby's been awake for about an hour, probably running around the dorm looking for us while Yang continues to sleep."
Jaune nodded and went back to human form, the usual white rings appearing around him. He wiped his brow of sweat, muscles groaning as he moved in his human form. "You know, my Aura almost seems to work better at healing me when I've gone ghost. Weird, right?"
Blake's eyebrow cocked at the blonde. "Gone ghost? Really Jaune?"
He blushed, throwing his arms out to either side, hands splayed. "Oh you know what I mean! But really though, I wonder what's going on with my Aura?"
Blake shrugged, leading him towards the cafeteria. "Honestly Jaune I'm not sure. Perhaps it's got to do with the way your Aura was unlocked, or maybe your circumstances themselves. In any case, it's something we can look into over time."
"Thanks by the way, Blake. For everything. The past few weeks, you've really helped me get a grip on all this, that, and you've covered for me when things have gone…awry." Jaune smiled, earning a grin in response.
"It's honestly been fun, Jaune. I mean, I've helped people learn about their semblances before, but this…this is something different. And I like different."
The two reached the cafeteria, heading to their usual table with PRWN. Moments later, Ruby and Yang came rushing in, the former looking far more distressed. "Jaune, Blake, there you are! Where do you two go every Saturday?! I was worried!" The redhead shouted, flailing her arms about, earning a laugh from the others.
"Ruby, relax! We were just doing some early morning training!" Jaune replied, not noticing the change in Pyrrha's demeanor.
"Training?" Pyrrha asked, emerald eyes lighting up at the thought of training with Jaune. "Surely six eyes are better than four! If you wouldn't mind, I would love to join you next time." She grinned ear to ear at the pair.
Jaune and Blake looked at each other, and then at Pyrrha. "Well, I mean…" Jaune saw Pyrrha's face fall, and he melted completely. "Sure! That sounds great, right Blake?"
Blake's face dropped slightly, but she kept her composure. "Sure Jaune, that sounds…lovely…" She whipped a book out of her bag and began to tone out the rest of the conversation. "Seriously? This is our thing! Why can't she just mind her own team's business…" Blake thought/
"Hey Blake?"
She was drawn out of her thoughts by the blonde boy beside her. "Yes?"
"We were thinking about heading down to the city and meeting some of the exchange students coming for the Vytal Festival, if you'd like to join us." Jaune said, blue eyes locking with amber.
Blake pondered for a moment, before closing her book. "Why not?"
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Teams JBRY and PRWN walked through the streets of Vale, chatting casually among themselves. "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss chanted, smiling bigger than any of the teams had seen before.
"Weiss, I'm gonna be honest, I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much. Who knew that all it took was the Vytal Festival to thaw the Ice Queen…" Jaune said, earning a laugh from everyone but Weiss.
She glared at the blonde, smile not faltering. "Oh hush you. And besides, how could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"
Yang groaned. "You know Weiss, you sure know how to take something great and make it sound really boring. Worse than Port really."
The others laughed again, causing Weiss to grow red in the face from embarrassment and frustration. "Quiet, you!"
As the teams neared the docks, Ruby plugged her nose in disgust. "Blegh, it smells like fish."
Blake grinned. "Yes, yes it does." Jaune laughed at his partner. "So Weiss, why are we here again?"
Weiss rolled her eyes at the blonde. "I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!"
Blake rolled her eyes. "She wants to spy on the incoming transfers."
"Oh hush, you can't prove that!"
Pyrrha placed a hand on her partner's shoulder. "I think this is a grand idea! We can meet new students as well as find out some about them!"
"Hey kids, get out of here! This is a crime scene." An officer said to the teams. "Third Dust shop robbery this week…"
"Think it was the White Fang?" A second officer asked.
The first groaned. "Probably…we don't get paid enough for this."
Weiss frowned on the spot. "Hmph! The White Fang." (crossing her arms and pointing her nose in the air with her eyes closed) "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"
Blake turned and glared at her. "What's your problem?!" Her bow twitched, Jaune knowing what was about to happen.
Weiss turned and glared back. "MY problem? I don't happen to like dealing with the criminally insane!"
Jaune chirped in, trying to ease the tension. "You know, the White Fang are hardly insane. More like misguided. They're treated poorly because they're different, and from that, they lash out. While what they do is wrong, it comes from how the world treats them.
Blake looked on at her partner, reveling at his words. "Jaune's something special…"
Ruby nodded at Jaune, before looking at Weiss. "Jaune's right. We've got Faunus back in Patch, and I'm sure if they were mistreated for being who they are, they'd lash out too. Besides, they never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months back, so maybe it was him?"
Weiss glared at the three. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
Nora groaned, and Ren decided enough was enough. "Weiss, you know that isn't necessarily true…"
"Hey, stop that Faunus!" A voice shouted from an incoming ship.
A blonde, monkey tailed boy jumped off the ship, sprinting down the docks. "Thanks for the ride boys! Catch ya later!" He laughed, the two officers from before rushing over.
"Hey you! Get down here this instant!" The officer demanded.
The Faunus laughed, throwing a banana peel at the man before flipping off the post he'd jumped on and began sprinting towards the streets. As he passed teams JBRY and PRWN, he winked at Blake and Yang before disappearing into the alleys.
"After him!" Weiss shouted, the two teams taking chase after the monkey tailed boy.
The two teams split, JBRY going west and PRWN going east. "Jaune, we need to cut some ground! Use your semblance!" Yang shouted.
Jaune blinked, before nodding. "Right!" The blonde kicked his ghost powers into gear, the usual white rings appearing and turning him into his alternate form. He concentrated, and then went intangible, running straight through the nearest building, catching the monkey Faunus in a tackle.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"You ran from the police!" Jaune exclaimed.
The Faunus rolled his eyes, extending his hand. "Look, you've got it all wrong! I'm from Haven! I'm a student, just came a little early! I swear, I didn't do whatever you think I did! Name's Sun by the way!"
Jaune stood staring at Sun, trying to get a read on him. "Alright fine Sun, get out of here. But you owe me one for this. And I'm Jaune."
Sun grinned, shaking Jaune's hand. "Jaune, got it! The guy with the white hair! Spooky! Anyways, gotta run!" Sun ran and jumped up off the wall, flipping onto a rooftop. "Thanks Jaune!"
The rest of JBRY caught up, PRWN in tow. "Where is he?! Did you get him, Arc?!" Weiss demanded of the ghost boy.
Jaune glanced at his team before looking at Weiss. "Sorry Weiss, he slipped through my fingers…" He lied.
Blake placed her hand on his shoulder, knowing the truth. "It's okay, Jaune. I'm sure we'll see him again."
"No! Arc, you were supposed to catch him! Now the filthy Faunus got away!" Weiss nearly screamed.
"Stop saying things like that! The way you talk, you sound no better than the people who made the White Fang do what they do in the first place!" Blake shouted back.
Weiss turned to her, fuming. "Well MAYBE they should have just learned that the world doesn't change that fast!"
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake screamed, placing her hand over her mouth, everyone but Jaune looking at her in shock. Before anyone could say another word, she ran, Jaune taking chase.
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Blake walked towards the statue at the front of Beacon, looking on at the heroes of the past. Tears welling in her eyes, she reached up and removed her bow, her cat ears twitching in the night air.
"I always thought you looked better without the bow." Jaune said, appearing from the ether.
Blake turned to run again, but Jaune caught her by the shoulder.
"Blake, look at me. What you did in the past doesn't matter. It's about who you ARE that matters, and you're Blake! My partner, my friend, hell, my teacher at times. That's the Blake that means the world to me and everyone else!" Jaune smiled, reaching forward and wiping a tear from her eye. "Now come on, let's get back to the others and expl-"
Jaune was cut off as her lips pressed against his, silencing him in the night air. "Wow…" he thought, as he pressed back against her, before she took his hand and ran off into the night.
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Within a warehouse in the outskirts of Vale, a glowing form burst from the shadows, red eyes aflare as it roared. Roman Torchwick walked forward, twirling his cane as he stepped towards the beast. "Well well, looks like we're going to have some fun…"
A/N: Hey guys! Told you I'd try to get this chapter out sooner! I again tried to work on my combat scenes, and honestly I think they're getting better! I know I didn't explain more of Jaune's accident this time, but I did delve more into his powers!
Nexus Bladeguard, you mentioned that his powers could be explained as a semblance. That's one reason why this time around I tried to get more into how Jaune's powers are advancing and growing. Obviously now we've seen him walk through walls, disappear, fly, and shoot ecto energy from his hands. Jaune is still learning about all that he can do, but if someone besides Blake saw all that he could do, they'd know it was something more than a semblance.
So guys, it happened! After four chapters, Blake and Jaune happened, sort of, for a moment. One thing I like about Jaune is that he's genuinely kind to just about everyone he comes across, and this version of him is different. Not in the sense that he's not a good person, but he's scared of what would happen to him if all of Remnant found out what he was. Seeing how much pain Blake is in because of her past, well, it connects the two on a deeper level. That kiss was one of pain, but desire, so hey, stay tuned for more! Give some reviews, and enjoy! See you all in a few days!