Six months, huh? That's how long it took for me to get the free time to update both my stories once each.
Work's sad. I never get the time to write solo. I do write Two-Step Goodbye with SneakyDevil on my weekdays, and that's because I don't have to write all that much.
I did get a free day yesterday, which allowed me to finally put an end to this chapter. It was supposed to be around 2k-3k words longer than this is, and you can tell that the final two portions are a bit rushed, but I realized that it was better to post this now than to wait for another 'magical' free day to appear when I can write more.
So, here it is.
Beyond the Bounds
Chapter 4 - Snowblind
Somewhere between the third and fifth time I evaded Perse's arrows, I wondered exactly when this had become so…easy.
A mere month ago, hell, even a few days ago, the combination of Winter and Perse would have dropped me faster than a brick. The first time the two had gone up against me, they'd proceeded to do exactly that. NZT was only so good, after all.
The second time was nowhere as hard, though. The third time was even easier. By the fourth try, the tables had turned enough that I was forced to play at a disadvantage. I left Crocea Mors behind as I took them on. Still, they were fighting an uphill battle.
This was the power of NZT. I could never lose to the same opponent twice. Hell, if my opponent spent time testing me, every second spent trying me out was a percentage decreased from their probability of winning.
A little while ago, I would have still been at a disadvantage. I used to be physically inferior to most huntsmen, never having trained much or eaten well. Atlas was boon on both ends. The training division had a field day with me, drafting up multiple diets and exercise regimens. I was their guinea pig and NZT just made me more efficient.
It did work out, so I can't complain much.
"Can't you stand still?" Perse spoke as he shot another arrow at me. I already knew that he'd get angry and move into close range if I dodged enough of his shots. All things considered, he'd held out a little longer than usual. He didn't have the training of a huntsman, didn't have the rigid discipline promoted by the Atlesian military. That made him easy to counter.
Dealing with Winter - on the other hand - was a balancing act.
She rushed in with her sword. In that one instant, my mind went through every possible trajectory her weapon could take. It then broke them all down by likeliness, and then gave them context based on her approach. This was the second part of NZT, hyperreflexia and mental dissociation. The ability to think and act simultaneously without any latency put me heads above any combatant I'd likely face.
I grinned as I ducked under her slash. Another one of Perse's arrows whistled past as my body subconsciously evaded it. I kept dodging with ease. Before I knew it, Perse switched his bow-sword back into its sword configuration and joined the melee.
Just as I'd predicted.
I already knew that Winter and Perse had no synergy as a team. Sure, they wouldn't willingly attack each other, but they could almost never follow up any opening made by the other. With Perse as an archer, that was less of an issue because he'd spend his time looking for openings. Once he joined the melee, things became easier for me.
They approached me from opposite ends. A pincer attack, but not on purpose. Perse lacked the formal training of a huntsman, so he attacked me full-frontal. Winter was a fighter who lacked Perse's natural strength and size but made up for it with training, speed and skill. Hence, it made sense she'd attack from behind.
Of all the outcomes I'd predicted, this one was the most favorable.
My body went on autopilot as my right leg shot out, breaking Perse's balance. With the same foot, I pushed, jumping back into Winter. She was expecting me to get into her personal space, and I saw the glyph activate under her feet. There was a thing to be said for trained warriors. They rarely had any openings, but their actions were always decided well in advance. That made them predictable.
To NZT, anything that could be predicted could be countered.
Instead of body-slamming into Winter, I planted down my back foot and slid, allowing the glyph-accelerated Winter to brush past me as I turned, driving my elbow into her back. Unable to stop and unable to turn, Winter barreled into Perse at breakneck speed, sending the two tumbling.
An effective end to the fight.
"I feel like you're not even trying at this point, guys. At least pretend like you plan to give me a fight!" I taunted, hoping they'd want to go another round. I rarely got time off exercise, reading and eating. These spars were the only highlights to my generally boring days.
"I think we should just call Ironwood. He'd be willing to take you down a peg or two… again." Perse spoke as he got up. I myself helped Winter get up, the gentleman that I was. The scathing glare she shot me was just icing on my cake.
"I asked him if he wanted to fight, but he said he was busy. He's still trying to set our infiltration plan into motion." I frowned. I'd fought Ironwood thrice and I was no closer to defeating him than I was when we first fought. This went against the very basis of NZT. It took me two fights against him to realize why I couldn't beat him… even if he was essentially trained like Winter.
He had experience.
It was NZT's great enemy. The fact that I could replicate a move after seeing it once didn't mean I could use it to the same effect that someone with years of practice with it could. Plus, Experience equalled versatility. Ironwood had never used the same method of combat against me twice. I knew that he would run out of techniques and methods eventually, but he made something known to me.
It was only the first fight that ever mattered.
This was the reason I was training daily with Perse and Winter. Each day I'd try something new. Something I'd read the last day, something from a training video I'd watched. The difference between knowing how to use something perfectly and actually using it in live combat was astronomical.
I was bridging that gap though, slowly but surely.
"Well, he's the general. It isn't like he's got time to spar daily with some two-bit chump like you." Perse answered with a groan as he sheathed his weapon.
"As a matter of fact, I'd gladly spar with Jaune if given the time."
I turned around to see Ironwood walk into the room. I gave him a little wave as he walked over. "You're back early. Good news?" I asked. His nod was all the confirmation I needed.
"Lay it on us, boss. How're we smuggling me into the Fang?" I asked.
Ironwood sighed. "Jaune, could you at least try to be less crude?"
I shrugged. "I could try and be more like those bootlickers you call your officers. Something tells me that you'd like that even less."
Ironwood was silent for a second. "I hate it when you're right."
I shrugged again. "Blame the NZT."
Choosing not to react to that, Ironwood moved past us, beckoning us to follow. He led us out of the training room and into an auxiliary room with a table in it. Once we were there, he fiddled a bit with his prosthetic arm before the table lit up.
"Computer tables. Why am I not surprised that we have these?" Perse voiced my thoughts. Again, Ironwood gave him no attention as he continued to fiddle with his prosthetic. Soon, a few images appeared on the screen. The images cycled until there were only three left on the screen.
"So, these are our persons of interest, huh?" I asked, committing their faces - or masks - to memory. Three people, two men and a bombshell of a woman. One of them men was younger than the other, probably around my own age. He had a mask, spiky red hair, and two horn-like black streaks.
The woman was a different kind of beauty. Short hair, dark skin and a Vacuan bindi on her forehead. The most alarming was the third person. A grizzled, old man. just by looking at his face I could tell that he had Ironwood beat by at least a few decades. His face was scarred, yet not wrinkled. What truly stood out about him was his radiant smile.
"Who are these people?" I asked. Instead of answering me, Ironwood gazed intently at Perse. Once my gaze shifted, I recognized signs of remembrance on his face. He then realized that all three people in the room were now awaiting answers.
"Oh? Well. The girl's Sienna. She looks… different." He answered, pointing at the woman. His gaze then shifted to the guy with the mask. "That's Adam Taurus. he was something of an upstart back when I left. Guy had both ambition and smarts, shame he was an extremist."
"What about the third guy?" I asked, still unable to shake his out-of-place smile from my mind. Someone who looked so dangerous had no right to smile like that.
"That would be Argus." He answered. I waited for him to complete the name, but what I got instead was an explanation.
"He's the last of the Schnee slave knights. He has no last name." It was Ironwood who supplied the information, no emotion visible on his face. "He's an Atlesian legend."
I shook my head. I knew of the Slave knights, I knew that Perse was the son of one, the only one who survived the infamous culling.
"Is that your dad?" I asked, making Perse blink. He then shook his head.
"No. Argus isn't my father. He was never a part of the culling, having escaped to Menagerie with the original founder of the White Fang." He sighed. "Argus was the one who raised me once father died."
I gulped. "How strong is he?"
Perse shrugged. "I never found out. All I can tell you is that the legends surrounding him are all true."
I raised an eyebrow. "Legends?"
"He was the one who killed Nicholas Schnee." It was Winter who spoke up this time, a blank look on her face. "He fought the rest of the Slave Knights, even killed three of them. He's the reason the culling took place."
I tried to change the topic a bit, considering I really didn't want to know more about the guy who murdered Winter's grandfather. "What was the culling, exactly?"
Ironwood cleared his throat in an attempt to answer, but Perse beat him to the punch. "In the middle of the Faunus rights revolution, Nicholas Schnee was murdered. Due to his murderer being one of his own faithful Slave Knights, the Atlesian Army decided that the rest of them would either join the army against their own kind or go to jail." he sighed. "They decided to do neither and fight."
"It was the first symbol of Faunus Militarisation. Many credit them with creating the concept of the first White Fang." Ironwood took over, pulling up a text file on the table. "Of course, my predecessor decided that the best way to deal with the Slave Knights was to get them killed."
"So, they dispatched Inhert Crimson to clean them up." Winter finished.
"They didn't go down without a fight. Each Slave Knight was worth a platoon of huntsmen." Ironwood spoke, awe apparent in his tone. "The fight between them and the Crimson Wake was enough to level a full block of Mantle. In the end, it wasn't enough."
"He killed them all, didn't he?" I asked no one in particular. The silence was my answer.
"My father was never in the fight. He deserted his comrades and left for Vacuo, where he met a woman and had me. Even took her last name to throw off suspicion." Perse spoke.
"Inhert couldn't get to Argus himself because he escaped to Menagerie. It was the culling that gave a voice to the Faunus, taught them that they could fight back. The White Fang then rose out of it." Ironwood finished, forwarding the file on the table to my scroll. I'd read it later.
Currently, we had bigger fish to fry.
"So, I'm supposed to keep an eye on these three once I do get in, right?" I asked, realizing the fatal flaw in all of this. "But how am I going to fool Argo into believing that I'm actually Perse?"
Ironwood took out a device that looked like a disc from his coat pocket. "Put this to your chest," he spoke. I did as he asked, surprised that the disk stuck to my jacket. Ironwood then stepped closer and hit the centre of the disc. A few lights appeared on it and I felt it hum to life.
A matrix of light shot out from the disc, engulfing my body, trying to measure it. Cobwebs of light calibrated to my body-structures, dancing over my clothes. These cobwebs then started to coalesce over me, and then, everything changed.
"Oh, we have holograms too. Just brilliant." Perse quipped, gazing at me with wonder. Winter too was stunned. I took out my scroll and activated the forward-facing camera.
A carbon-copy of Perse stared back at me from my scroll.
"It's a bit shorter than the genuine article." I spoke, realizing that whatever the device had done, it hadn't changed my height. I tapped my hand, hitting something hard right above my aura.
"Hard light, Perse. Holograms are a thing of the past." Ironwood answered. "It's virtually indistinguishable from an aura shield. Plus, the emitter on your chest also has a scent-ester in it. You don't just look like Perse, you smell like him too."
"This has got to be expensive as all shit." I spoke, hitting the button on the disk and watching the hard light construct fade around my body.
"It's prototype tech. We generally hire and train Faunus spies to infiltrate the Fang. Considering you aren't a Faunus and are taking over someone else's identity, our only other option was to give you crocheted ears and a fursuit." Ironwood clarified.
"Well then. This explains how I'm going to keep my identity secret once I'm in. Still doesn't explain how I'm going to get in."
Ironwood smiled. "Well, we have a plan that our spies in the Fang are already putting into motion." He smiled. "I'll explain as we go."
"Go where?" I asked as Ironwood switched off the table and started walking off.
Ironwood turned around a gave me a shit-eating grin that felt very unnatural on his face.
"To prison, of course! Now get in the convoy. I'll join you there."
"For the record, I still think this idea is stupid."
I was speaking to no one in particular, considering the only companions I had on this trip were ten Atlesian Knight 130s. They were programmed with the mission parameters in mind, specially made for this mission too. It did little to take my mind off the fact that my only companions on this mission were robots.
I mentally cursed Ironwood again for roping me into this. Should have told him how stupid this sounded from the get-go.
We had a week to prepare for this, me and Perse. It was a week spent learning how he fought and acted. I learnt how to become him.
… not that it was very hard. All I had to do was shoot a bow and be very sarcastic and standoffish.
Here I was, waiting for a sign that the White Fang were going to play along. I didn't have to wait long. Explosions rang out near the convoy, sending the truck I was in flipping through the air. I braced for impact, ready for this.
As ready as I could be, considering the truck I was in didn't stop rolling for a good ten seconds. The moment it did, the two Atlesian Knights that were still active after taking so much damage sprang into action. They shot at the back door of the truck, blowing it open with high-caliber fire. Instantly, two shots rang out from outside and the bots fell.
I took advantage of this situation to crawl out of the truck. Two hands reached out to help pull me out. I gladly took them. As I finally crawled out of the truck, I came face-to-face with my rescuers.
Adam Taurus and a short cat-faunus with black hair.
"Perse Mulberry, I presume?" The girl spoke up, offering me a carbon-copy of Perse's weapon. I nodded and took the weapon.
"I hope stories about you aren't exaggerated, we'll need all the help we can get to fight our way out of here." She spoke. I took a look around. The other trucks were now unloading their payload of Atlesian Knights. The closest one was already readying its rifle.
I responded to the faunus' query by dashing at it and cutting it into two. The force behind the blow was enough to cut through the truck behind the robot, destroying the other robots making their way out of it.
"Well, that answers it." The girl spoke, watching in awe. Adam wore a half-mask, but the curve of his lips was enough to give away the fact that he was equally impressed.
"If I wasn't worth rescuing, you wouldn't be here," I spoke, just as Perse would.
The girl gave me a smile and a nod. "Well then, let's get out of here."
Both she and Adam ran past me, cutting their way through the robots. I followed right behind them. We cleared the road and disappeared into the surrounding snow-covered forests, too fast for the robots to give chase. After ten minutes of running, we came to rest in a clearing a few kilometres away from the convoy. I let my two ' saviours' take a breather. I was a bit surprised by how mediocre they were. The intel file on Adam Taurus listed him as extremely dangerous, yet here he was, panting after a small skirmish and a brisk run.
Then again, I could count the number of people I knew who could do that on my fingers. It was a testament to the effectiveness of my Atlesian trainers that I was at this level of physical conditioning.
"It's rare… for someone to be stronger than they're painted out to be." Adam breathed out, clutching his weapon close. Unlike the cat faunus, he was a lot more paranoid.
"Try running from the law for the better part of a decade alone," I responded, making a show of switching my weapon into its bow configuration and fiddling with the string. Even the calibrations on the weapon were almost exactly like Perse prefered.
Adam huffed. "Master Argus procured that weapon. Said you'd like it. He also told us you were pretty good. Not this good, though."
I was silent for a good while. Argus had trained Perse from the ground-up. Perse himself admitted that Argus was a good teacher. It would make sense for him to be able to predict Perse's growth through second-hand knowledge of his escapades.
Thankfully, there was a logical hole in that theory.
"Argus hasn't met me in seven years, and no one but me knows what all I've faced over that time." it was a simple statement, yet it made sense. Not every enemy Perse faced was someone of note, not every fight he'd been in made it to the public.
"Adam, stop doubting the man. He's good, and that's good for us." The cat faunus breathed out and Adam stiffened. She noticed it and rolled her eyes. "We know his name, and we know that he's stronger than us. Might as well tell him who we are too."
Adam was silent for a moment before he saw the logic in the girl's words. He stood up and offered me a hand to shake. "I'm Adam Taurus, Master Argus' right hand," he spoke as I shook his hand. "This here is Blake Belladonna."
My eyes widened. A Belladonna? Could she be related to the original founder of the White Fang? The story of Ghira Belladonna was well-known, about how he disagreed with the extremist policies of Sienna Khan. About how him leaving the Fang was when they turned from activists into terrorists. Why would someone related to him still be part of this farce of an organisation?
"Nice to meet you two. Now, can we get moving? I'd like to spend as little time in the snow as I possibly can."
My two accomplices nodded and got ready to leave. Before I could follow them, Blake turned around and gave me a small smile.
"Welcome to the White Fang." she spoke as she started to jog off behind Adam. As I saw her leave, I retrieved a small tracking device that Ironwood had given me and stuck it to the inside of my boots. A small light blinked on it thrice, signalling that it was now active.
Pretty sure that somewhere out there Ironwood just breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is it?" I asked, genuinely surprised by the size of the Fang's base in Atlas. "One floor, three rooms. How many people use this?"
Adam sighed. "Do you know how hard it is for us to maintain a presence in Atlas?" he countered, not answering my question. I didn't give him an answer, just stared at him for a while. Finally, he cracked.
"It's just you, me and Blake for the most part. Argus and Sienna are currently in there. They wanted to be here for your arrival."
I rose an eyebrow, "Someone as important as Sienna's here? Thought she'd still be in Mistral. I'm not as important as her safety is."
Adam shrugged. "That's what I told her. She seems to think otherwise."
My mind rushed through various scenarios as I followed the two of them in. Why would Sienna be here? Could they possibly know I was a plant? Was there a leak of information? It couldn't be. the only people who knew I was here were the four of us and the R&D team that made the hard-light concealment device for me.
What were the chances of one of us defecting?
"It's good to see you again, Perse."
My mind was brought back to the present when I heard a mature woman speak. I looked to the side and saw Sienna Khan sitting on a couch, right next to Argus. The look on her face was one of both relief and fondness. Argus, meanwhile, had that trademark smile of his.
"Likewise, Sienna, Argus. Glad to see you both safe and sound." I responded. Argus got off his chair and walked over to me. He gave me a good look-see. I took the time to mentally memorize everything about him.
"A little shorter than I was led to believe, but you've filled out, kid." Argus spoke in a booming voice, patting me on my shoulder. I allowed a smile to form on my face.
"Still taller than you, old man. Surprised you're still kicking, thought Atlas woulda done your sorry ass in by now." I commented, remembering that Argus and Perse were supposed to work this way.
Argus smile dropped, giving me the impression that it didn't work this way.
Before I could backtrack, the smile returned full-force. "Your tongue's still sharp as ever, I see." He spoke, gesturing to a seat. I noticed as Blake and Adam didn't move. I did, though.
"As for your question, they've pretty much stopped trying." He sighed, settling down on the sofa. "Kill a few specialists and they start putting 'flee on sight' in your criminal records."
I gave him a forced smile, "Shoulda took that advice when I decided to go off on my own. Too bad I can't tolerate much killing."
Argus chuckled. "Neither can I, but when it's either you or them, you'd rather have them being the ones to die."
"Fair point." I spoke. "So, why the welcoming party? Would have been safer to fly me out to Mistral, wouldn't it?"
"And give up the chance to meet you again, away from business? I think not." Sienna spoke with a playful smirk on her face. I had to admit, her photos did not do her justice. In person, she was a lot more dangerous... and a lot more beautiful. There was an aura of dominance around her, even more than one would expect from a tiger faunus.
It was intimidating, I had to tread carefully.
"I hardly warrant the attention." I commented, "Plus, your subordinates here seem to be capable enough, if not the strongest I've seen." I spoke, noticing as Adam stiffened behind me. Blake didn't take it quite as bad, but her eyes narrowed just a bit.
"Well, they're going to be your subordinates now." Sienna spoke, shocking almost everyone in the room other than Argus. "The Fang is small in Atlas, and Blake and Adam are some of our finest. You've survived these lands alone for the better part of a decade. Your experience is invaluable."
"Oh, so these guys aren't locals, then?" I asked, and Sienna shook her head. I gave it a little thought. Both Adam and Blake had similar complexions, too pale to fit any of the other nations. If they weren't from Atlas, only one other place made sense.
"Menagerie, huh? Damn, I feel bad for you. That place has started to prosper these days. What do they say about good leaders making better times? Yeah, basically that." I stated. Blake's wince was reason enough for me to connect her to Ghira Belladonna. There was history here. The rebellious daughter, maybe? I'd have to confirm.
"Perceptive as always, aren't you?" Argus spoke up from his seat. "Plus, Adam is strong enough, he's my protege."
I gave Argus a glare. "Then you must be going soft on him."
Argus chuckled. "I've trained him more than I trained you. Plus, he's a lot more grateful for it."
"Yet, he cannot defeat me." I claimed. A bold claim, because what I'd seen of Adam's fighting style and prowess at least equalled that of Perse.
I wasn't Perse, and I wasn't at the same level.
"So assured in your abilities, are you? Argus asked, and I nodded. "Then what would you say to a little wager?"
"A wager before I've ever joined your merry bunch?" I asked. "What tells you that I've changed my mind about joining?"
Sienna was the one who spoke this time. "Perse. We've used considerable resources to extricate you from imprisonment. You're a known figure amongst the Fang, and can become the same for the general populace."
"So, you saved me just so that you can hold that over my head, didn't you?" I asked. I saw a flicker of hurt in Sienna's eyes and I wondered whether I'd pushed too far, but was reminded of Perse's history with her.
"While I won't deny that having you would be a great asset to the fang, we saved you because we didn't want you to go to prison for our… insistence." She spoke, with a healthy amount of guilt in her voice.
"So you admit to having sent people to… apprehend me?" I asked. After a second of silence, she nodded.
"At least you're honest. In that case, if I take you 'saving me' from prison as an olive branch, that just makes us even." I spoke, sinking lower into my couch. "So, I reiterate. Why do you think I'd want to join you now of all times?"
There was silence.
"Because you'd have a home."
I turned around to face the speaker, Blake. She was still standing next to Adam with a frown on her face. I felt hesitation in her features, but why? I couldn't tell.
"You've lived like a vagabond for almost your entire life. While the Fang isn't the most stable of families, it's something. Something is always better than nothing." She finished, and Sienna took over.
"Stay with us, so you'll be with people who actually care for you." She finished. Argus stayed silent.
I was silent, letting them stew in the suspense I had created. I slowly turned towards Argus. "So, tell me about this wager you have in mind."
"Well, I was about to wager that Adam could take you in a fight, but that seems to no longer be an option now." He spoke, completely nonchalant.
I smiled. "Okay, how about this? I'm going to fight your boy." I spoke, getting off my sofa and getting in Adam's face. It was awkward, considering he was a few inches taller than me and wearing a mask. It was getting the job done, though. Adam probably wasn't used to people squaring up against him, and it showed.
"If he is able to put up a good fight, I'll join the Fang." I then turned around to give Argus a smirk. "If he's able to beat me by some miracle, I'll let him order me around."
"So, when do you want to do this?" Sienna asked, a victorious smirk on her face. Of course, doing it as fast as possible would be for the best. Adam hadn't yet reported to them about the mission and they did not yet know of the discrepancy between their predictions and my actual strength.
"Now would be fine. I'm hoping you have some place where the two of us can let loose?" I asked. Argus looked at Sienna, who gave him a nod. Argus got off his seat and walked over to the corner of the room. He walked over to a lamp and twisted the lampshade. The lamp and the table swivelled forwards, revealing a set of stairs leading down.
"I didn't want to show you our real Atlesian base till you were officially a part of our group, but I guess that isn't an option anymore." Sienna spoke as she got off her chair and beckoned me to follow. As I followed her, Blake and Adam took up the rear.
Two flights of stairs later, we were greeted by a second door. Reinforced Iron, thicker than my arm by the looks of it. It was already open by the time we caught up with Argus, and I got a look into the base.
… and was disappointed again.
It wasn't a cave system or anything spectacular. There were six dimly-lit rooms that I could see and a small training area. It was a testament to how small the Fang was forced to be in order to survive in Atlas.
"Welcome to our Atlesian base. Now, get ready. You fight in five minutes." Sienna spoke, and I walked off to what I assumed was a washroom.
The last thing I heard from Adam was something along the lines of "Don't I get any say in all of this?"
Pretty sure I could guess how Sienna would react to that.
Blake POV
"Don't I get any say in all of this?"
I was equally confused. I knew that Perse Mulberry was something of an urban legend, but the way Sienna was acting so desperate to have him onboard forced me to re-evaluate his worth to us.
"No, you do not. Also, don't even think of holding back." She spoke. The level of intensity her tone carried set me on edge. Sienna was known for being calm and composed. This was the very opposite of that.
"I don't think Adam can beat him." I piped up from behind them. Sienna gave me a look like I was stupid. "You told us he'd be handy with his weapons, that he'd have a decent amount of combat experience. You were underestimating him."
Sienna gave me a blank stare. "Me and him both trained under Argus. He never beat me once in ten years of training."
"That might have something to do with the fact that you're half a decade elder to him." I spoke with a deadpan expression. Didn't expect Sienna to blush at that.
"... he said he was okay with the age gap." Okay, I was officially done at this point. It suddenly made more sense why Sienna was acting this way. They had romantic history, these two. It was a well-known fact that Perse didn't approve of the White fang's more radicalized form of resistance, maybe that's why he originally left?
I looked at Adam, who was still deep in thought, and I couldn't help but draw a personal parallel here. Another relationship strained by a difference of opinion… a different value of human life.
It also made sense that she'd try anything to get him back. I could see Adam trying to do the same when I finally decided to leave…
… when I finally gathered the courage to defect.
"Nonetheless. He single-handedly destroyed an entire caravan of Atlesian Knights." I spoke, watching as Sienna became more and more worried. "I'm pretty sure that if he had his weapon, he could have broken out of that caravan alone."
"That's… worrisome." Sienna spoke. "He did spend many years fending for himself, but he had no teachers. Adam's been trained by Argus for the last decade. I'm pretty sure he can hold his own. Plus, Perse's always been something of a pacifist. I cannot see him going to the same lengths as Adam would to win a fight."
"It's your funeral, Sienna. Good luck, Adam." I spoke as I retreated to the storeroom, hoping to find a chair for myself. As I did so, I bumped into Perse, who was coming out of said room.
"You ready for the fight?" I asked.
His mischievous smile was all the confirmation I needed that he was.
Maybe if he stayed with the White Fang, I'd get to know him better. He didn't seem insufferable, and he looked like someone with a story to tell.
Plus, I'd get the perspective of someone who lived life as an ex-white fang. That was something I needed to know.
...in case I needed to follow in his footsteps.
Jaune POV
I was not sure how this would go.
Sure, I'd seen what Adam could do. I knew the limits of his stamina, the strength behind his swings. I knew that he was… mediocre, and that was what confused me so much.
Where did his confidence come from?
Could he have a semblance powerful enough to make up for his lack of physical ability? Was he a strategic genius? Was he just plain arrogant?
I had to throw the third inference out immediately. Argus and Sienna vouched for him, so his skill and value were definitely there. It couldn't be pure arrogance. As for him being a strategic mastermind, that too seemed unlikely. He was a head-on fighter by what I saw during my 'jailbreak'. There were ten better ways to get me out of that convoy, and he'd chosen the one which was the simplest and most dangerous.
So, not a genius, and not an arrogant prick for the most part. That left only one option. He had a powerful combat-oriented semblance.
I needed to find out what it was.
"The rules are simple, first one to be knocked out or lose a limb will be declared the loser," Sienna stated. I raised an eyebrow in question. "White Fang rules, Perse. This is how we solve disputes that escalate past logic."
I shrugged. "Makes sense you'd go for the most violent option."
Sienna chuckled. "You know me too well."
On the other side of the training field, Argus was talking to Adam. I couldn't see their mouths move, else I would have read their lips. As such, I was going in blind, while Perse's semblance and skills were known to Argus to some extent. The odds were stacked against Perse.
Too bad for them, I wasn't Perse.
"Ready to start, Adam? Or do you want Argus to fight your fights too?" I taunted. He stopped conversing with Argus and gave me what I assumed was a glare underneath his mask.
"I'm ready to go. Sienna?" He stated. on the side, Sienna started to count down.
"On the count of three. One." She spoke, and I relaxed. On the other side, Adam tightened his grip on his sword.
"Two"
We both lowered our centres of gravity. I grabbed an arrow from the quiver I'd just procured from the base's storeroom. There were no dust-tipped arrows, but that was alright with me.
"Three!"
Both me and Adam shot forward. I was much faster than him, so we met closer to his corner than mine. He shot forward with his sword, expecting to either intercept a blow or capitalize on my swing. He got neither as I flipped over him sideways, turning as I went. I knocked arrows into the bow and fired three times before I landed.
To my surprise, he turned around on his heel and blocked all three blows with his red sword. I noticed a faint exchange of energy when each arrow hit his sword. Was this his semblance? What was it?
I landed and tried to create distance between the two of us. He wasn't having it as I was forced to switch back to my weapon's sword form to defend against his blows. His fighting style was impeccable, and his slashes were faster than mine. It probably had something to do with that rifle-scabbard he carried and used.
It was then that I realized why Sienna and Argus had such faith in him. He was a fighter of skill, a warrior meant to down other humans, not Grimm. If he had the same speed and strength as me, I would lose, even with NZT.
As for now, it would be nothing more than a minor hindrance.
"Holding back, were you?" I asked as I parried his slash, dancing around his blade and riposting with my own. He was still able to block, but I was pushing him back. I dodged his next slash and kicked him to make space. My hands were already in motion, drawing another arrow in my now-transformed weapon. Before he could close the distance, I'd shot four times. Two shots landed true, hitting his body. I felt his Aura drop.
I also felt another energy rise every time he successfully blocked one of my blows. It was beginning to worry me at this point, but I had no option other than to push on.
So I did.
I dodged a bullet shot out of his sheath as I got into his range. I delivered a hit to his chest with my blade and turned with the blow, planting my foot on his sternum. His Aura was about to finish, and he was tiring. If he was going to do something, now would be a perfect time.
He did not disappoint.
He didn't try and backpedal, didn't try to block my next attack. Instead, he returned his sword to his sheath, and his hair began to glow red. I was right on top of him, and if I could bring my sword up in time, I could intercept whatever was coming.
If I wasn't on NZT, that's what I would have done.
My mind calculated the amount of time it would take him to draw his blade down to the very millisecond, them compared it to the amount of time it would take me to launch my attack. The computation took less than an instant, and the answer was a simple one.
So, I dropped my sword and stepped sideways.
I saw his surprise as he saw my weapon drop, but his body was already set into motion. He drew his sword and a fiery attack shot out, a slash that cut a furrough in the ground where I was standing mere seconds ago.
It hit nothing.
"That was close," I commented as I shifted all my aura into my right arm. "Could have caused serious damage had I not distracted you by dropping my weapon."
Adam panted, pretty much understanding that he was done for. "That was… the general idea."
"You'll forgive me then for what I have to do." I answered as I drew back my arm, knowing that he was in no shape or condition to dodge.
"Just get it over with." He replied.
"Smart choice." I replied as I dug my aura-reinforced fist into his face with a devastating haymaker. The force behind the fist was enough to knock him into the wall behind him, leaving cracks where he hit. His body then hit the floor, and he was silent.
I picked up my weapon and walked over to Sienna, who was still unable to talk. "I like his guts, even though I disapprove of him trying to kill a potential ally. The White fang will have my support, albeit on a few conditions that we can discuss later."
"D-discuss later?" She breathed out, and I nodded.
"I haven't seen a real bed since I was incarcerated. I'm going to get some sleep. You got anything to eat up here?" I asked, looking at Blake, who seemed to have regained her wits.
"I can fix you up a meal. Come along." she spoke as she beckoned me to follow her back upstairs. I took that as a chance to skedaddle.
"Quite surprised you didn't lay down the law." Blake asked as we trudged our way up the staircase. "You're giving Sienna time to formulate counter-arguments to keep you here. You sure you're okay with that?"
"I shook my head. No, I'm not, but it was a necessary sacrifice." I answered.
"A necessary sacrifice?" Blake repeated, confused.
"Blake, if I'd stayed in front of her, she would have jumped my bones right there, in front of all of you." I calmly responded.
Blake raised an eyebrow in question. "How do you know that?"
I sighed. "Her face when I took down Adam. There was pure ecstacy all over it. I know that look, I know that look far too well." She was still not completely convinced. "Plus, we've had history, both in bed and outside."
Blake decided it was wise to not ask anything more, for the sake of her sanity. Safe to say, the perfect image of Sienna Khan that she'd conjured up in her mind was now irrevocably tarnished. I was sure of it.
"You've been here for less than a few hours and things are already getting interesting." She retorted, a confused smile on her face.
I returned her smile with my own. "Oh, dear Blake. This is just the beginning."
"I Stick around and things will only get worse."
"I'm quite surprised you were able to come out unattended."
Winter sat on the table opposite me, sipping a coffee. She was in casual clothes, still preferring a boatload of white and blue. I couldn't help but admire just how amazing she looked.
"Well, they seem to believe I'm loyal enough," I replied, choosing not to voice my admiration. "Plus, I answer directly to Argus, with Adam and Blake answering to me."
"They know you're a wanted man. Why would they allow you to waltz freely through Atlas?" She questioned, putting her cup down.
"Argus believes in the philosophy that the closer you are to the enemy, the safer you are. I mean, their base of operations here is literally in the heart of the city." I answered.
A grimace crossed Winter's face. "They've been right under our nose all this while, with a base mere miles away from our own headquarters. I can't believe we needed to carry out a plan so elaborate just to locate a base."
"A worthless base, may I point out," I stated. "Other than me, Argus, and the two mooks, I've seen like four members of the White fang tops."
She sighed. "Plus, we cannot attack them. We don't have the manpower to catch someone like Argus on-hand. If we bring back some Huntsmen to the city, we could probably do it…"
"They have moles in the HQ. If any mobilisation happens, they can just ditch the burner base." I completed her sentence for her. "Adam likes to brag about how well-informed the fang is."
Winter grimaced again. "The only way we can get to them is if we catch them on a mission."
"Which is where I come in," I spoke. "They're putting me on a mission tonight, under Argo's supervision what more. I wouldn't recommend attacking this one, though."
Winter raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
I sighed. "I'm gonna be honest here, Winter. They don't exactly trust me. They're always on their guard around me. I need to gain that trust, and I think the mission tonight will help me further that agenda."
Winter rose an eyebrow. "How so?"
"They need to see that I'll do what needs to be done, even if it means crime." I replied.
"What if you have to kill an innocent?"
She let her words hang, and I let the silence take over. I had the same dilemma, and NZT was not providing any answers.
"...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I finally answered.
Again, silence.
"... I was against all this, you know?" Winter spoke up, her coffee completely forgotten. "There's too much risk involved."
"The reward is just as big." I retorted.
"Still, you of all people shouldn't be doing this. You aren't even a student of the academy yet." She shook her head. "The Grown-ups should be handling this."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Almost sounds like you're worried about me."
Winter gave me a withering glare. "Of course I am! You're the only friend I have in here."
I gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine, Winter. I pull this off and the Fang's influence in Atlas will be reduced to nothing." The irony of my words wasn't lost on me. I was consoling someone who was - by all accounts - a fully-certified huntswoman.
"Just make sure you don't mess up. It would be bad for my rep." She spoke, snapping back to her usual obtuse self.
"Will do. Now, do you want to know about the people I'm working with?" I asked.
"Isn't that what I'm here for?" Winter replied.
I made a show of clutching my chest over my heart. "There it is! The snow queen returns just as I thought we were having a moment." The glare she gave me was enough to tell me to move back to the point.
"Alright so. I've only really interacted with three people of interest, bar Sienna, who's back in Mistral." I spoke, leaning back in my chair. "There's Adam. Typical mook, except skilled and bloodthirsty. Tried to kill me on my first day with the Fang. Then there's Argus. I don't know enough about him yet. He seems rather playful for someone with so much blood on his hands."
"Then, there's Blake. She's probably the daughter of Ghira Belladonna."
Winter raised an eyebrow. "We know she's still a part of the Fang. Didn't expect her to be in Atlas though."
I nodded. "She seems to be something of a shadow operative. A scout, if you will. What do we have on her?"
Winter took out her scroll and typed in a few words. "Let's see. Blake Belladonna. Three counts of arson, no casualties."
I nodded. "That about fits the bill. She seems to be a moderate stuck between extremists. She's got a level head… comparatively."
"She also looks very pretty." Winter commented, probably looking at images of her.
I raised an eyebrow. "Really, Winter? I spent a month in close proximity to an A-list beauty like you. You know well enough that I can separate work and play." I spoke. "Plus, she seems to have had history with Adam."
"Would explain why she stayed with the Fang." Winter spoke, completely brushing away my offhand compliment. I nodded.
"She's the one I've had the most contact with. I get the feeling that she wants something from me." I spoke. My mind was still trying to rationalize what that was. It wasn't hero-worship. It wasn't sexual, so what could it be?
"Maybe so. Still, you're on a timer here. Two missions with them. That's all you get." She finished.
I smirked. "Are those Ironwood's orders or your repressed concern about me?"
She sighed. "Honestly? Both. I think two missions with them is still too much of a risk. You aren't Perse."
I shrugged. "That's not what the Fang believes."
"For now." Winter stated.
"For now." I agreed.
There was silence again as both Winter and I collected our thoughts. There was so much left unsaid, but I couldn't be away for long. Finally, she passed me a little pouch that I believed held enough NZT pills for a month.
"You take care of yourself." She spoke, getting off her seat. I noticed that she wasn't making eye-contact for once. " I don't want to be the one answering to your sisters if something happens to you."
I nodded. "Don't worry. As you commanding officer, it is my duty to make sure I don't fuck up and make you look bad."
She nodded and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
"This the place huh?"
It was a rhetorical question. They'd sent me the location of this warehouse on the burner scroll they'd provided me. They were here, and this was the only privately owned arms stockade on the outskirts of Atlas. Still, Argus nodded in response.
I took a look at the gathered congregation. Me, Argus, Blake, Adam, and two of the mooks that I'd seen around the base. There was a truck parked in the public parking lot we were standing in. I looked around for cameras, only to find none.
Of course.
"Alright. The plan's simple. Perse, you're going to be our vanguard for this fight. You, Blake, Me and Adam are going to storm the facility. We keep as a group and look for the surveillance room. Destroy everything there." He then pointed at the two mooks, "Erin and Max here will then back the truck into the facility's loading bay. We rendezvous with them and help them load as much heavy ordnance as we can possibly carry."
I nodded. A simply resupply mission for a terrorist group. Of course, why was I even entertaining the idea that they had some sort of supplier? The Fang were known for their autonomy, they wouldn't bow to some human supplier's wishes to procure something as trivial as weaponry.
"The entire facility is manned by older robot models. Some of the early generation spider droids and a few knights. I and Perse will take the Spider droids, Blake and Adam can handle the Knights. Leave no robot alive, Erin and Max aren't really combat oriented." He finished.
"What if we run into any humans?" I asked.
"Up to you. We're removing all footage of the attack either way." Argus spoke. "Try to not let them see you. Kill them or threaten them if needed."
"I'd recommend against killing, but we're on a timer here." He continued, "It takes fifteen minutes for the Atlesian defence force to mobilize and get here. Those guys are anything but not efficient."
"It's unlikely we run into any human opposition, to begin with." He finished. "Now, let's go."
We fell in line behind Argus as he crossed the street. I had to hand it to Blake and Adam, they had the same sort of discipline one would expect from a trained militia. We jumped over the walls of the compound, following Argus through the path of least resistance. We couldn't open fire till we disabled the cameras.
Blake was on it, using her weapon as a grappling hook. I had to admit, what she lost in raw combat skill, she made up for in sheer versatility. She entered the first-floor room and I heard the telltale sounds of blunt-force trauma on machinery.
"Cameras are down." She spoke, popping her head out of the window.
"Perse, let's move. Adam, join Blake inside." Argus spoke as he dashed out into the main grounds of the facility. I followed. Scarcely ten meters through the grounds, we heard the ominous noise of heavy machinery activating.
Four Spiders.
"Two for each?" I asked Argus.
"I was thinking three for me, one for you." He shot back, drawing a long dagger from his belt.
"Let you have more of the fun? Forget it. Even split." I shot back.
"Suit yourself, don't cry when I kill all four before you can take down one." Argus spoke as he dashed towards the closest spider. I went for the one at the very end.
Huntsmen who lambasted Atlas military tech for being ineffective against anything but basic, auraless civilians had probably never squared off against a spider droid. These were the Atlesian heavy hitters, strong enough to give a Behemoth a pause and fast enough to give Beowolves a run for their money.
They were anti-grimm units, with size and heavy artillery. Powerful enough to defend, vicious enough to attack.
It fired at me almost immediately. I could perfectly understand what its code was telling it to do. I knew that the closest spider droid was already moving in to pincer me.
Suppressing fire from the front, a strong attack from the back. Predictable, pathetic.
I dashed into the spider droid that was firing at me. I reinforced my legs, weaving through lines of automatic fire. One bullet would currently end me, but there was no thrill. I already knew where the droid was going to fire next, how it would try and control my movement. Behind me, I already knew that the second droid was getting ready to launch a beam attack.
Perfect.
I reached the first droid just as the droid behind me decided to fire. I pumped all my aura reserves into my legs and backflipped.
I went soaring above the beam, which went straight through the first droid. At this point I was at the apex of my jump, descending quickly on the second droid. I shifted my body so my legs pointed right at the droid.
Then, I dropped.
I crashed right through the droid, bashing a hole through its main body. It collapsed around me, surrounding me with almost half a tonne of metal. I stood in the hole I'd punched through its body, marvelling at my handiwork.
The entire fight had taken me scarcely more than a few seconds. It was a testament to what I'd become.
"That was barely a warmup." I heard Argus say as I jumped out of the hole. What I saw was enough to give me a reason to worry.
Both the droids he'd gone up were mere piles of scrap. My mind tried to calculate how he'd defeated them, especially with just that dagger of his, but I couldn't come up with an answer.
How powerful exactly was he?
My ruminations were broken when I heard the truck back into the open ground. What followed was a flurry of movement as we started to load the back of the truck with boxes filled with weaponry. It scarcely took a few minutes before the truck was full.
Even with a full truck, we'd barely left a dent in the size of the repository.
"We're out of here." Adam spoke as he climbed into the truck. I followed him inside. I had barely stepped foot inside when the truck jerked into movement. I steadied myself, crouching down next to a crate. Adam did the same.
"Well, that went off without a hitch." Adam spoke as we cleared the main ground. I was about to confirm that when I heard the distinctive thud of a vehicle hitting something. In my peripheral vision, I saw a body fly off to the side. The driver had the moral decency to stop the Truck.
"Spoke too soon." I answered, jumping off the bed of the truck and running over to the person we'd hit. It was a typical teenage girl, probably on her way back from a party. She was pretty hurt, but still drawing breath. We didn't ram into her at much speed. Looking at her injuries, I could determine that she'd live, given that we could get her to a hospital in time.
"We need to get her help." I spoke, looking at Adam and Argus, who were running over to me. Blake wasn't, and that surprised me a bit.
"She's a human, not our problem. Plus, we cannot risk the truck." Adam responded without missing a beat. Argus seemed to be of the same opinion.
"I'm not just going to jeopardize the life of an unrelated person because our driver can't keep his eyes on the road." I answered.
"So, what are you going to do?" Argus asked.
"I'm going to leave her at the closest hospital, won't walk in. There's one a few miles away. I could get there in ten minutes or less."
"You're jeopardizing both our mission and our safety!" Adam shouted.
"And your underlings jeopardized her life, because of his incompetence." I shot back, effectively shutting him up. "I'll go. We're all wanted people, I just know how to hide better than any of you."
Argus nodded, I picked the girl up and shot off between buildings, making my way to the nearest hospital.
I had to report this to Winter.
"She's quite lucky you got her here in time." The doctor spoke, giving me a tired smile. "Heavy internal bleeding, cracked ribs. She would have died of haemorrhaging had you been an hour late."
I sighed. "Thank you for operating on such short notice."
The doctor waved his hand. "This hospital is owned by the Schnee, mister Arc. You came with personal commendation from miss Winter herself."
I nodded. "The bill will be handled by the military base. Please contact her parents or guardians and let them know she'd fine."
"What about you, mister Arc? She'll want to know who saved her."
I shook my head. "That's sensitive information. I'd rather you not tell her."
"As you wish. Have a good night." He finished, walking back to the girl's room. I breathed out a sigh of relief. Winter had been accommodating enough to listen to his request in the middle of the night, even if she'd been a bit grumbly about having to wake up.
I finally made my way out of the hospital, taking a second to breathe in the cold night air. It wouldn't be smart of me to not go back to the base for the night, especially with the number of cops crawling all over Atlas. I opened up the scroll they'd given me to send them a message, only to find one waiting for me already.
It was a set of coordinates sent by Blake. I entered it into my map screen, marking the position to a back-alley two blocks away. I pressed the button on the Hardlight projector on my chest and watched as my body changed back to Perse's.
It took me ten minutes to get to the alley. Blake was already there. I gave her a warm smile, she didn't respond in kind.
"Is the girl going to be okay?" She asked.
"I wouldn't know. All I did was leave her at the hospital gates." I replied, "I stuck around for a while, but couldn't get in."
She nodded. "Oh really? And here I was under the impression that you could shapeshift."
I stopped dead in my tracks. She'd been following me? My hand automatically went for my weapon, but I steadied it, stopped it. That was the final option, diplomacy first.
"So, you followed me? I'm impressed, didn't know there was someone in the fang capable of giving me the slip." I responded, no mirth in my tone.
"You didn't make it easy. I almost lost you midway, but then you stopped to make that call of yours." She shrugged. "I caught up."
I sighed. "Yet, you haven't told anyone else, have you?"
She shook her head. "Consider it a gesture of good faith."
I laughed. "Since when is blackmail considered to be in 'good faith'?"
She sighed. "Yet here I am, in front of you, knowing that I cannot fight you. You could kill me right here, right now, and the Fang would list me as a casualty. Considering you were able to get a whole hospital into full alert, you could easily have the military cover up my murder."
I shook my head. "The last thing I want to do is kill you, Blake."
"Yet here you are, on a mission to infiltrate the White Fang." She answered. "You know who we are, you know where we live. You could have us killed in our sleep."
"I could, but I won't. You know what I'm here for, you know who I'm truly after." I answered, and she nodded.
"Argus, isn't it?"
"Yes, and we can't take him by force, as the past has successfully shown," I whispered. "Hence, my mission."
There was silence between us for a moment, till Blake finally decided to state her terms.
"I'll help you." She spoke, "But on one condition."
"Name it." I answered.
"I help you get to Argus, you help me desert the Fang." She answered.
"I had my suspicions, turns out I was right all along. You're Ghira Belladonna's daughter through-and-through, aren't you?" I stated, and her emotions flickered between hate, anger, and regret. Finally, they settled on guilt.
"You don't need to explain, Blake. If you want to leave and start anew, I'll do my best to make it happen." I answered, giving her my hand to shake.
"... thankyou." she responded, taking it.
And that's it. I'll update again whenever I do get the time. Knowing me, it won't be anytime soon.
-CruelRuin