Ruins, Emerald Forest during Initiation Test

He had no more encounters on the way to the temple, and simply picking up the single black pawn. Point made, Ozpin. He stepped over to a fallen block of the temple wall and sat to wait.

Yang and a dark-haired girl were the first to arrive, picking a golden knight piece. "How about a cute little pony?" The brunette noticed him first. "Hello." Blanc ducked his head for a moment to acknowledge her and gave her a smile. "Blanc. Nice to meet you."

"Oh Hey again. Her name is Blake. Where's your partner?" Yang spoke up. "You two already know each other?" responded Blake. "Yeah. I was checking him out last night. Lookin' good, Blanc."

He squirmed a bit under her lusty scrutiny. "I don't have one yet. I didn't meet anyone on the way here, and it looks like you two are paired up already." Yang was making a purring noise, when suddenly there was a girlish scream in the distance. Blanc began climbing blocks to get a better look when sudden Blake began pointing up, and aunt Ruby was falling from the sky, only for his father to improbably smack into her. Worried for their safety Blanc quickly used a dilation glyph to slow their motion, though they both ended up in a tree, Jaune hanging upside down. Blake, however, had noticedthe glyph where Yang had not. Then, bursting out of the tree line came a large ursa, bigger than the individuals of the pack he'd destroyed on the way there. The redhead killed it quickly with a pink grenade, then rolled off it's back, quickly followed by the black haired man in a green waistcoat. Her name was evidently Nora, and his Ren, and she picked up a golden rook as Pyrrha ran out of the trees, quickly followed by a scorpion-like deathstalker.

Weiss began to fall from a nevermore, and seeing his father leap out to catch her, Blanc used another dilation glyph to slow their fall, preventing any serious injury. Ruby quickly ran out to confront the deathstalker, only to be caught by nevermore quills and almost killed by a tail strike from the deathstalker. Weiss rushed forward, using a glyph, and froze the deadly tail, pinning the grimm and saving Ruby. Blake noticed the similarities between Weiss and Blanc but said nothing.

He could have killed both deadly grimm now with the Opticor, but he knew it was important for them to have these battles to solidify their teams. Distracted by the fleeing huntresses-in-training, the grimm failed to notice him as he quietly ran behind the group as they fled, hiding to wait until the battle was over, but pulling the Opticor in case something had changed because of his interference.

Fortunately, the battles went well, though he'd almost fired when the deathstalker had thrown Ren into a stone pillar, and when it looked like the nevermore was going to swallow Yang. The battles had been spectacular to watch, brutal in their violence but skillful movements and resourcefulness had let them fell both monsters. Yang yelled across the chasm "Where's Blanc?"

Jaune's group looked around, shrugging their shoulders. "You've got to find him guys, we can't leave him behind." She yelled again. As they began to search, he knew the timeline was changing because of his interference. Their worrying for him drew a pack large pack of beowolves to them, now with half their number stuck at the cliff face and climbing. He lined up a shot and fired, blasting three of the wolf-like creatures into giblets as Pyrrha and Nora began to fire into the crowd. Ren's aura was probably exhausted from hitting the pillar, so after Blanc's second shot, killing to more of the foul beings, he dropped the canon, drew his tonfas and charged to support Jaune.

Jaune appeared to know how to use the shield to block strikes but not deflect them, and he couldn't effectively swing his sword and block at the same time, leading to a stalemate with the beowolf he was fighting. Unfortunately, two more were coming up on his sides, causing Jaune to begin to falter. Pyrrha struck, shooting the one on Jaune's right, but Nora's fire was further back into the crowd. Fortunately, Blanc arrived, sliding on a glyph low under the beowolfs' strikes and slashing up with his elbows, the elongated tonfa blades cutting into their sides and ripping out the back and he continued through, using another glyph to change direction, lifting up in the air, spinning and slashing downward with the tonfas now extended, stabbing a grimm in both shoulders and throwing it back into a companion with a flip. Pink fire blasted to his right, taking out a grimm that was flanking Blanc, and he silently thanked Nora in his head while proceeding to slash his way into the flank of a grimm on his left.

Heartened and now hopeful, the negative emotions drawing the grimm to the group disappeared and the repelling force of their hope and faith began to chase the grimm away, especially as the remaining beowolves were now outnumbered by the group of hunters. As Lie Ren recovered and began firing into the retreating backs of the creatures, Blanc slipped his tonfa back into his duster and proceeded to Jaune, who was looking at Blanc in awe. Blanc stretched out his hand to him, and Jaune grasped it as Blanc pulled him in to slap his back. "Well done. I'm Blanc."

"Jaune, and my beautiful partner there is Pyrrha. And they are…"

Nora suddenly appeared between them both. "He's Ren and I'm…" she shouted but was interrupted by Ren.

"Ren. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Blanc made a slight bow, then stepped over to Pyrrha "My lady." He bowed and then rose. "Thank you for waiting for me. I got a bit lost on the way back and just caught the end of your battle. If you'll allow me to retrieve my weapon, I'd be happy to join you in finding a way back."

They walked with him to pick up the Opticor. Nora looked extremely excited, but it was Pyrrha who spoke first. "What sort of weapon is that?"

"I call it an Opticor. It's a dust-powered heavy plasma projector."

Jaune cocked his head and responded "What?"

"An energy canon."

Pyrrha spoke again. "That's the most powerful weapon I've ever seen a single person carry, but it looks unwieldy. You can use that in a fight?"

"Only at range. It's too heavy and large to swing around and knock strikes away, though it is sturdy enough to survive it. It's intended to be used against armored targets at a distance. I have to keep dropping it for close quarters."

"Yes, you seem extremely adept at using those. Perhaps we could spar?" Jaune looked a little queasy at the idea, but Blanc responded. "Why don't we talk about it later, once we've returned. I'd appreciate the workout, but it seems as though I didn't find a partner, so I don't know if that disqualifies me."

"Didn't you pick up a piece at the temple? I really don't want to walk back there." Jaune replied, Ren nodding in agreement.

"I did. A black pawn."

"A what?"

Blanc looked at Jaune, mystified. "Have you never played chess? And I thought I had a deprived childhood."

Jaune looked sheepish, but they set off together at Jaune's direction, vigilant for grimm while looking for a way back. After about a kilometer they happened upon another bridge, this one sturdier and in better condition, and a stairway back up to the top of the cliff. The large man in full armor and three others were with him. Cardin, Blanc believed his name was. At the bridge, the group began to chatter excitedly, Pyrrha admiring Jaune, Nora loudly squealing in joy while hugging Ren, and Blanc bringing up the rear, Opticor drawn and ready.

Soon enough they were up the stairs and ready to head back to the locker room to get cleaned up. Blanc noticed Goodwitch off to the side and told the others he'd meet up with them later. He peeled off to speak with her.

"How'd it go? Everything still according to you plan?" Gramma Glynda was not happy.

"I had to get more involved when they turned around to search for me, but otherwise yes. Same pairings, same teams, I'm certain, and same admirations. I think we avoided disaster."

Glynda looked at him sadly. "If you succeed, not only will you die, but you'll never have been born, either."

"I know. It doesn't matter." Goodwitch grew angry at that. "How can you value your own life so little?"

"I was a mistake. The product of a passionate moment between two people who loved other people but couldn't have them at the time. Now I'm a weapon; a correction for what would happen but wasn't supposed to be - what we can't let be. I've spent my whole life knowing this, training for this."

"Life doesn't have to be that. You can be more than just a pawn in their game."

Blanc looked at her. "So that was your influence then? Fitting. I'm afraid I can't. Nikos must have this power I took, and I must give it away, and I can only do that in death."

"Suicide. You're so blasé about it. It doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion."

"Look. We were close for the brief time I knew you before, but you didn't have to live my life and you've no idea what I really went through to get here. So I want you to understand this. I do not want this life. My reward for finally accomplishing my mission is to finally rest in peace. I don't want to find another way; I don't want this burden or the pain it causes. Let me make my own choices. This part of the plan was always mine."

"And how did your mother feel about it." Blanc was incensed. "Don't speak to me about my mother. She didn't care then and she wouldn't care now. You have these assumptions in your head that my childhood resembled anything like what you've experienced, but we were always on the ragged edge of extinction. I knew virtually nothing but training, pain, and horror for so long that all I want is oblivion. Stop trying to talk me out of this."

Goodwitch said nothing, marching off and dropping her head. Blanc could just pick out the falling tears on her face when she looked back, once, before leaving him alone, there at the cliff, the sun setting at his back and the wind whipping his armored coat to the side, showing a hanging tonfa.