Chapter 7: The Boy, the Cat and the Monkey
(Vale) (Commercial District)
Ren was ecstatic. No he was more than that, he was brimming. The boy hasn't been this excited since he first left his hometown a few months back to join Beacon. For the first time since the discovery of sliced bread, the boy was practically jumping for joy as he found a new project to sink his knowledge in.
The Black Dust.
Ever since he began dabbling in the small tiny patch of black sand, his mind had been racing nonstop like a kid who had a little too much to eat in a candy store. The properties of that stuff was absolutely amazing on the get go and now that he had more of the stuff to work with, he thought that it was time for him to do some serious research.
Obviously, the academy won't allow him to use school property without permission or without a teacher supervising his work, so he needed to make a lab of his own. He needed a place where he can safely carry out his experiments and hopefully come to fully understand what the Black Dust is capable of doing.
Ren had gone to almost every Dust store in the city to find out more of the stuff only to come back with the same or similar answers. It was now official, the Black Dust was unique and there wasn't a professional or expert in Vale that knew about it. It was so unknown that even the teachers in Beacon haven't even heard of its existence, much less know about it.
The boy didn't really know how Jaune came across such a rare find but he was certain to make a gold mine out of it. Once the weekend hit, his first job was to gather all the tools and equipment he needed to conduct a proper research for the Black Dust. There were plenty of rooms that the school isn't using so he can easily set up somewhere in one of the abandoned structures to make a worthwhile research station. It took a dent from his allowance but with the conclusive research, he'll probably make more than he could ever work with.
"You know, Ren. When you said that you wanted to go shopping with me, I was expecting something more… exciting." Nora, his partner, moaned tiringly as she easily carried with her a bag full of tools that Ren had bought for his research. "Not passing through every garage in the city. Although I did like the pet shop earlier."
"Sorry Nora. But we just need to make one more stop to get everything I need to run my lab." He replied looking at his list of things to buy. "All we need now is some hydroponic cylinders and that should get me started on building a Dust accumulator."
"A what now?"
"A Dust accumulator. It'll make every grain of Dust be used efficiently without wasting a single spec of power. It's been used countless times in big cities like Vale to power their night lanterns."
"Boring!" She yelled out to his ear making him recoil.
"Well excuse me if I'm trying to make the discovery of the century."
"Oh come on. Look around you Ren. It's been months since we arrived in Beacon and look… the Vytal festival is just around the corner. There'll be dances, free food, parades, free food, a tournament! And did I mention free food?"
"Yes Nora. You did." Ren sighed before coming to a full stop when he noted a large crowd gathering behind a police line at a nearby store. "What's this?"
Upon closer inspection, it appears that the shop itself was a local Dust store that sold all manner of the substance to the neighborhood to keep it well supplied with all the energy it needs. However it seems like the things that the place sold were all taken leaving only bits and scraps for the store owner to keep.
Inside the police line stood three investigators who seemed to be taking statements from witnesses and photos of the location. From the looks of things, it didn't seem like they were making much progress.
As the duo approached they were quickly halted by the line officer. "Sorry you two, but this area is under lockdown, police jurisdiction. You'll have to find another Dust shop elsewhere."
"We're Hunters from Beacon." Ren explained holding his scroll up for the officer to see which he quickly responded with a salute. "Can you tell us what happened here?"
"Robbery." The officer answered. "Seems like some dirt-bags decided to do a smash and grab last night and took everything that wasn't nailed to the floor. From what the witnesses say these guys came in on a van, charged right in and didn't even look back. This here is one of the few Dust shops in the city that opens in the middle of the night. We got here four witnesses who saw the whole thing. The clerk, two customers and a gal taking a midnight stroll around the park."
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"Nah they're just scared that's all." The cop answered gesturing to the group of civilians that were huddled near the ambulance. "Strangest thing is… the goons didn't even bother to take the money."
"You mean they just took the Dust?"
"And not a single lien?" Nora gasped comically. "I smell a conspiracy!"
"Pretty weird, right?" The man in the line nodded. "I mean who needs all that Dust? You can just buy them. They an't exactly that expensive."
"Any potential suspects?"
The cop passed a sarcastic smile. "The White Fang. Yeah. All the witnesses said the same thing. They came in with their fancy masks, guns in hand and ran out before anyone even noticed. Scared the pants off Mr. Hotshot over there too."
"The White Fang…" Ren repeated with thought in mind. "Why would they rob a Dust shop in downtown Vale?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Now if you'll excuse me Hunter, I need to get back to my job."
Ren didn't find it satisfying but that was all the information he had his hands on. He knew the White Fangs—or at least of them. They were an extremist group that took the Faunus Rights Revolution to a whole new level. At the beginning they were peaceful protesters, always looking for a diplomatic solution to resolve their racial inequality against humans. It worked for a while until the humans made plans to move every Faunus on a single island they called the Menagerie. A humorous mistake on the human's side.
Since that idea came to the minds of the government, the White Fang tore out its gloves and decided to take matters in their own hands. They turned from peaceful protesters to a terrorist organizations bent on mankind's annihilation. In just a matter of months the garnered support from every oppressed Faunus in the world and became known and liberators of their people and a terror of the humans.
"Something bothering you Ren?" The boy jolted back when he realized Nora was looking at him worryingly. "You know I'm here if you need someone to listen to you monologues."
He crafted a smile, pinching himself for making a lady worry. "It's fine. I'm just wondering why the White Fang would need so much Dust. It just doesn't make sense."
"You think they might be planning something big?"
"I'm probably just overthinking it. I'll let an official Hunter look into this. Now come on. There's a sale in the corner store." But Ren stopped for a moment when he noticed Nora's somewhat solemn expression as she kicked the dirt on the group. He sighed knowing well that he couldn't bear to see such a bubbling girl lose her flare. "If we hurry we might make it to Egor's bakery."
She immediately brightened in response. "Oooooh! Yes! Bread, butter with Red Tree sap! Yum!"
(Beacon) (Locker Room)
Today was Jaune's day. A day that the boy dedicates everything to himself.
Yup after months of studying, arduous training and death like experiences at the hands of Grimm and demonic and boring teachers alike, it was time for him to have some lone time. That means no Hunter/Student business, no homework, no interference, just Jaune Jaune and more Jaune.
And the first order of business was… shopping. Yes as unmanly as it sounds, the boy wanted to go do some shopping. He needed to get back to his lousy perky self. With all the big hurdles of becoming a student of Beacon gone, his forged transcript now settled into the system, he was free to do whatever he liked on the weekends. It was time to store up on snacks, comics and maybe a new game console, if he could find the money to afford it.
But that didn't matter. As long as today was dedicated to him, he was fine. Heck he was more than fine, he was great. And thanks to today being Sunday, a day where most children his age cherish the most, he didn't have to stand in that chest plate armor that he wore all day or long that uniform that didn't sit right with him on the butt. Now he could just be him and no one could say otherwise.
Goodbye you heavy sword and shield, sayonara itchy uniform, astalavista homework, au revoir school. Today is Jau…
"Jaune-san?"
Thump!
The boy smacked his head on his locker as an unfamiliar voice called his name. He turned around disappointingly till he encountered an unfamiliar face.
"Oh… hey there… umm…"
"Yatsuhashi." The samurai jogged his memories for him.
"Ah right. Yatsuhashi. I remember now." Jaune replied pitifully with a forced smile.
But the slightly shaved man waved his worries off. "It is understandable that you do not remember me, Jaune-san. Our first meeting was brief and… not in the best of circumstances. Again, allow me to apologize in Fox's behalf. I assure you he meant only the best for our companion. He is still naïve in the ways of combat."
Jaune quickly waved his hands up defensively. "No no! It's fine. It was all just a huge misunderstanding. It was totally justified. Beside… he was just protecting his teammate. Right? So there's really no harm in it. I probably would've done the same if someone was bullying my teammate."
"You understanding and forgiveness tells me that you are on the right path of wisdom, my friend." Yatsuhashi bowed lowly as if he was a servant greeting his master. "It is my honor to be acquainted to someone such as yourself Jaune-san."
"Ah… well… likewise, I guess." The boy answered back shyly feeling like he was the superior one in this room. "So are you going off to the city or something?"
The green armored warrior shook his head in response, instead pointing at the training room next door. "I am contributing my free time to the sparring room. I am told that the… Vytal Festival will be held in this city and I wish to compete in its tournament."
"Oh so you're signing up for the tournament?"
He nodded. "That is correct. I wish to test the strength of my mind, body and soul against worthy opponents. To be selected on such a… grand occasion will grant me honor and prestige in years to come."
"Wow… you're going big, aren't ya?"
"Dreaming big is merely the first step of achieving that dream. Working my steps to that dream is another matter. I merely wish to become… the best Hunter my destiny allows me to be. But the competition will be hard as warriors from all over the world will be… participating in the tournament."
But before Jaune could inquire more, he was again interrupted by a familiar feminine voice from the other side of the room. "Yatsu? Are you done changing? There's another pair waiting in line of the… oh." The cute rabbit eared girl made her appearance this time in her battle armor. She paused the moment she noted the blonde boy having a chat with her partner. "Jaune."
"Hey Velvet." The boy waved back awkwardly.
"Apologies for my tardiness, little rabbit." Yatsuhashi bowed slightly to his partner in shame. "I was merely having a pleasant conversation with your new friend."
"Well you're gonna have to rush to the training room if you want to use it. The other pair is getting restless and the instructor isn't going to wait forever."
"Ah of course. I shall be on my way."
"You guys are training on the weekends?" Jaune asked.
"I'm just helping Yatsu be in his tip top shape." Velvet admitted patting her partner's shoulder plates. "He needs to be at his best if he wants a chance to qualify for the tournament. The competition for these things is always rough but I'm sure Yatsu here will come out on top for the sophomore students."
"You exaggerate my abilities, little rabbit." Yatsuhashi humbly responded. "Like the rest of you, I am merely an apprentice. My skills are not yet up to par with the masters of the Hunt."
"He's just being humble." Velvet argued. "In all my time here in Beacon, I've never seen a single one beat him. I can say with certainty that he's pretty much the strongest among us 2nd years."
"Oh you flatter me, little rabbit."
"How about you Jaune?" The girl turned to the blonde knight who seemed to be even more impressed with the samurai's stature. "You wanna come watch? It'll certainly be interesting."
"A punctual idea." The samurai nodded turning towards the blonde knight. "It would be educational for you, Jaune-san. Perhaps you can offer some advice should you notice some flaws in my technique."
"Thanks but I think I'll skip this one." The boy declined much to Yatsu's disappointment. "But you guys have fun anyway. Check you later."
"Ah Jaune w… wait!" Velvet tried to stop him but a bit too late as the boy ran out to catch the next shuttle to the city. She was hoping to give the comic she got from Tukson earlier but it seems she just can't find the right moment.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Phew. Dodged a bullet there. For a moment Jaune thought this day might've started off badly with training on the schedule. Fortunately he was able to elude them and grant himself a perfect escape. He wasn't going to let two people ruin his day.
Now, if he was going to make sure that nothing else interrupts him, he should probably make a beeline for the shuttle area where all the Bullheads travel in synch to ensure that Hunters and visitors alike reach their destination. And if the clock on top of the main building was correct, he still had a few more minutes before the next one departs. He'll probably make it by cutting through the courtyard and run off without…
Thump!
"Watch where you're going!" Ah… you know what? Scratch that, he was in trouble.
As the boy ran for the shuttle bay, in his dazed wonder of having the perfect day all to himself, Jaune found himself once more… bumping onto people. He had to fix that habit unless he wanted his reputation on bumping onto people become permanent.
"I'm really sorry. But I'm in kind of a hurry and… oh no."
"Oh… you." Glynda's voice was enough to drain the color from the boy's face as she returned back up with an annoyed expression marring her outlook. "Mr. Arc. I don't rightly care what you do on your weekends but please remember that there will be no running when there is no emergency."
"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am." The boy knelt down, picking up the scattered forms that she dropped along the way. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry."
"I do hope that your haste has something to do with your education, Mr. Arc. If I recall, you did rather poorly in your last pop quiz. Though your combat skills are… acceptable at best, you must remember that you're also here to learn… not just goofing off to kill monsters."
"Yes ma'am." The boy sulked downward but not before noticing the teacher eyeing him strangely. He thought it was just his imagination but now he was sure that she was looking at him strangely. "is there uh… something else you needed Miss?"
So stop momentarily before taking the stack of papers from his hand. "Well… you seem to be feeling much better now since that day. Run along. You don't want to be late for… whatever it is you're doing."
"Yes! Thank you! Umm… good day!" And just as he ran off to catch the next shuttle, Glynda couldn't help but turn towards that boy who seemed to have that innocent look on his face. She could hardly believe that the other day, he looked like a feral hound preparing to strike at the next target that came into his crosshair and he didn't care whether it was a friend or foe.
"Hmph… children."
(Landing pad)
Yes! Made it!
Jaune mentally cheered when he finally reached the Bullhead that was preparing its next flight towards the city. A number of students were also there prepping for their time in the city enjoying the sights and sound of Vale.
Ok so today might not have started out like he wanted to but that was all going to change here and now. From here on out it will just be Jaune Jaune Jaune. No more mention of training, no more bumping into teachers, no more distraction. Just him, his wallet and the big city to spend his time with or Remnant be damned.
"Door's closing folks. Please put your hands and feet are inside the shuttle before we lift off." The pilot announced pulling the lever to close the hatch. Jaune couldn't wait to finally see the city. After being cooped up in the school ground for months on end with nothing but learning and training, he was gonna make sure that this day was counted.
But unfortunately, that warm thought came to a quick end when his scroll began to beep displaying Ruby's face on screen. As much as Jaune loved to have a cute girl like Ruby call him, she couldn't have picked the worse time to make this call. A part of him urged not to answer but alas, that weak and honest heart of his gave way.
"Hey Ruby." The boy kept up his cheery attitude trying to hide his dismay. "How's it han—"
"Hey Jaune, sorry to bother you but do you have a minute?" The girl on the other line interrupted. "You wouldn't happen to see Blake, have you?"
Blake? Blake Belladonna? The name rang a bell in Jaune's head. If he remembered correctly, she would be the dark haired ninja that he saw the other day with the rest of team RWBY. Though they hardly ever spoken a word to one another he knew her well enough to remember her appearance."
"Blake? As in your teammate? No I haven't. Why?"
"Well… she's kinda been missing since Friday. I was actually hoping someone around the school might've seen her somewhere." Since Friday? Are people supposed to report a missing person after 48 hour of disappearance? "You sure you didn't see her anywhere around school or somewhere?"
"Nope. Not that I remember." The boy began to worry. Was she kidnapped or abducted by aliens? "Did something happen?"
Ruby trailed for a while before she answered. "We~ kinda had a little falling out. She and Weiss got into a little argument and… well… it kinda spiraled out of control." Ah… a domestic dispute. That sounded a lot better than kidnapping or sudden mysterious disappearance. It certainly made it look less urgent. "Anyway, can you give me a call if you happen to see her? Because I really want us to start talking again."
"Hey! It's not my fault!" Weiss voice could be heard in the distance.
Ugh… why does she have to involve him in personal matters? Can't they resolve their issues by themselves? The last thing Jaune wanted was to have two girls having a spat.
"Alright, I'll tell my team to keep a look out for her."
"Thanks Jaune, you're a friend."
"Oooh? Is that another one of your friends?"
"Bwah! Penny! Where did you come from!?"
Click…
Huh? Who was that? There was another voice among the troupe which Jaune didn't recognize. Was it another friend? Ah… it didn't really matter. Blake's a big girl; she can obviously handle herself in a fight. Right? Jaune didn't really know what kind of falling-out Team RWBY might've had but it certainly didn't involve him. Like his sisters used to say, it's none of his business and he preferred it that way too.
Getting in between girls duking out at one another is probably just gonna cause more rift than necessary.
Still… a part of the boy's subconscious did tell him that it was his duty as a friend to watch out for others whenever possible. With a sigh, he sent a quick text message to all of his teammates to keep a lookout for Blake and report in when they find her. Knowing them, they'd probably agree that it was better to leave themselves out of it. However at least this way, his friends couldn't say that he didn't do anything for them.
As the shuttle finally came to a stop at the center of the commercial district, Jaune thought it best to just enjoy the rest of the day and let Ruby handle her own team problems. Yeah… it was her team thus it was her responsibility. No need to butt into someone else's problem.
Besides, does she even know how hard it is to find one girl in a city as big as Vale?
…
…
…
Apparently not that hard…
"Blake?"
Jaune's eyes whipped to the left the moment he stepped out of the shuttle noticing a familiar black haired girl with that distinguishable bow on her hair. It was as if some mysterious force put this event in motion allowing him to see that girl right where she was right when Ruby asked him to look for her. If this wasn't destiny's work then he may as well be struck by lightning.
Blake was a curious one. She obviously didn't stand out of a crowd and she probably preferred it that way. It was only through that big black bow that the boy was able to recognize her. If she didn't have that on he'd probably take her as another generic youth taking her time in the city. You can tell from her quiet personality that she wasn't much of a people person. You can hardly squeeze a conversation out of her.
She was walking away from the landing pad and the crowd began to blur the distance between them. Jaune felt the urge to walk away and let this matter get sorted out by itself. It was not his problem. He had no reason to chase after her since it was obviously a falling between the team.
But again… that weak and honest of heart of his gave in and it compelled him to give chase.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Blake! Hey wait up!"
The said girl immediately reacted to the call of her name turning towards the boy with a bored expression. "Oh… it's you. What do you want?" She asked with an equally bored tone.
What did he want exactly? Did he have some business with her? Did he stop by for a useless chat? Nope… he certainly did not.
"Well… to be honest… I was actually looking for you." He answered honestly… almost too honestly that it didn't make sense.
"Looking for me?" The feline warrior raised a brow, puzzled. "What for?"
"Well, actually, Ruby's the one looking for you." Again, he was honest. That was good. Honesty builds trust. He can work with that. "She mentioned that you guys had a falling out and asked me to look for you because she's worried."
It explained a lot for Blake. Though not many can read her expression outright with that stoic personality of hers it was plainly obvious that she upset. "Well… I guess I should've expected. She is a worrywart after all. Thanks… but can you tell her that I'm fine?"
"What? Hey! Come back! Now hold on for just one minute." The boy panicked as he reached out to her again. "Do you talk to everyone that way? What happened that was so bad that you cut everyone off?"
"Nothing happened." She replied sounding slightly annoyed by his presence. "We just had a fight that's all."
"One fight and you disappear for two days? You didn't even go back to the dorm."
"I don't require a bed to sleep." The ninja warrior returned slowly turning irritated as she quickened her pace to escape that boy. "And it's none of your business. Can you please just leave me be?"
"Hey! Slow down. Look, Ruby is clearly worried about you. She's been asking where you've been and stuff. The least you can do is let your team know that you're alright."
"Don' you have something else to do?" She hissed back at him which he clearly agreed internally. If he wasn't here, he'd be out in the fun part of Vale. He'd be out shopping, buying snacks, making passes at hot girls like any testosterone filled man would do. Stuff that he actually could be enjoying, but noooo! Because of his stubborn heart, the boy was here trying to get this ourageously irritating girl to open up despite the fact he had no reason to do this in the first place!
"I'm fine on my own now please let me be."
"But clearly you're not!" Jaune was getting impatient. He was now mentally cursing himself as this little follow up became a chase. From a distance, one might actually think the two teens were having some sort of lover's quarrel which was reason enough to steer clear.
"And what do you know how I feel?" Blake finally stopped only to lash at the boy as he tried his best to catch up to her. "How could you possibly know what I'm going through? You don't even know me!"
"No I don't. But it seems painfully clear that you're not handling your problem." Jaune couldn't bear to raise his voice as the gal seemed awfully close to breaking into tears. "I might not be your friend but I'm always open if people need an ear to listen to. You might think that being alone here in this big city can hide your problems but it's only making it worse. Now please… will you just sit down for a bit and talk? I'm sure Ruby would like to do the same thing if she was in my position."
"No she wouldn't."
"If you really think that… then clearly you don't know her either." The boy let out a smile holding the girl by the shoulder, part of him reassuring her worries and another part hoping that she wasn't going to run away. "Now… are you ready to talk or do I need to chase you around the city?"
Blake could only look at the boy with a half-irritated, half-calm expression.
But that little cool demeanor that Jaune resonated quickly ended when a banana peel suddenly fell from the sky landing on his face.
"You know. Usually when a girl says stop, people usually stop." A boy about the same age as Jaune with roughly the same hair color dropped down from a nearby building, a fruit in his mouth. "So… what did I miss?" The only word Jaune could find to describe the boy in front of him with that gruffy hairstyle, the outfit and the tail… was…
Monkey…
It was definitely a Faunus. Jaune have come to recognize them on first glance nowadays.
Blake could only sigh at the two, knowing well that this was going to be a long day.
"Fine… if you want to talk then let's talk." She said finally, earning the attention of the two men. "But not here. There's a café nearby. We can have a private meeting there. I know the owner."
(The Grand Garments)
The Grand Garments. It was perhaps the most prestigious clothing store in all of Vale if you listened to what the reviewers say on their magazines. With more than a thousand selections of clothes for both men and women, shoes and sandals of every occasion, one might actually agree with those reviewers no matter how biased they may sound.
In one particular corner of the store, Pyrrha was browsing through the racks; picking out what she thought was glamorous enough for her to wear. With the upcoming dance that was to be held in school, she thought she would take this time to reacquaint herself with her feminine side.
Lined up beside her were the clerks of the store who were pretty much catering to her every need. Being a famous celebrity from Mistral, the owner of the store ensured that the girl had everything she needed to make a purchase. Should the Amazonian wear one of their dresses or outfits in one of the grand parties, the prestige of the shop would raise immensely.
The clerks were all there, waiting on her hand and foot awaiting her next request like butlers and maids at her disposal. There were indeed perks to being popular.
"Hmm… how about… that one?" With just a phrase, the clerks stormed to the pointed dress, each of them bringing an accessory, shoe or tiara that would go with it. And she thought that someone offered her a ring at some point but the security had that person thrown out afterward.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After selecting a dress for herself, Pyrrha left the shop feeling somewhat satisfied with her selection. Though a bit pricy even for her standard, she had to admit that was worth every lien chip she had. The red one piece dress was definitely a perfect match for her. All the clerks there seemed to agree. She would've loved to have another girl's opinion but Nora was too busy helping Ren ever since he began studying that Black Dust. Oh well, her loss.
But just as she was admiring her purchase she came to a quick stop when she felt a bump on her chest plate. Looking forward she quickly realized that she had run onto something… or… someone.
"I'm terribly sorry." She apologized almost immediately when she saw the figure. To her confusion, the figure didn't seem bothered. Almost like she just stood there and took it. "Are you… hurt?"
"Oh no. I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking." The girl answered in a distinctive robotic voice. Almost like her voice was preprogrammed for such things.
"Pyrrha?" Another voice came from the front which belonged to a familiar red hooded Huntress.
"Ruby?"
(Kitty Café)
The second floor of the oddly named coffee shop was a welcoming change for Jaune. For one thing, he's never been to a café before much less seen one in his hometown. The view from the balcony was great and the atmosphere was to die for. The food here was also exquisite though the company he was in could've been better.
Sitting with him on that same table was Blake and the monkey Faunus who had yet to introduce himself. The waitress came by earlier to deliver their ordered drinks but parted as quickly as she came knowing better than to linger around a group of Hunters and Huntresses.
After briefly drinking their respective cups, Jaune decided to be the one who breaks the awkward silence. "So uh… this is a nice place."
"Meh… I prefer somewhere with more music." The monkey man retorted not really minding the empty cup he dangled on his tail. "Tea makes me… bleh. I prefer the stronger stuff. You know what I'm saying?"
Blake eyed the two noting Jaune's slight discomfort and her acquaintance's playful manners. With a sigh, the girl opened up. "Jaune, I'd like you to meet Sun. Sun, this is Jaune. He's a classmate of mine in Beacon."
"Sup." The blonde Faunus nodded raising his hand to the boy who awkwardly did the same.
"Hello." Jaune replied before finally deciding to get down to business. "So… are you going to start talking or…?"
A hint of a smile appeared on her face before she snuffed it out. "I supposed you deserve some answers considering how persistent you were."
Sun simply gave a gruffed noise. "Oh so just being your classmate and automatically he gets a full conversation out of you? That's totally unfair. I've been out here with you for nearly two days and all I ever got out of her were small talk and weird looks." The ninja gal gave him a stare. "Yeah… like that. Seriously, talk about unfair treatment."
"Um Sun. Why don't we let Blake do the talking here?" Jaune recommended which the monkey prince simply shrugged in reply. "Go ahead Blake."
"Jaune…" She began. "If… you want to understand my problem you really need to know about me first."
"I'm all ears." He replied confidently.
Again she sighed. It was almost becoming a trademark for her. "Alright then. Are you… are you familiar with the White Fang?"
"The what?" It's only been the first question and already the boy was confused.
"The White Fang man." Sun chastised him. "How can you not know about them? They're the dumb, stupid, holier than thou art, Faunus radicals who uses force to get whatever they want. They've been on a genocidal campaign against humanity for the last decade or so since the Great War."
"Oh… I... wasn't aware."
"How can you not be aware!?" Sun inquired pouring himself another cup. "They've been like… on a robbing spree all over the city. They recruit every Faunus around the world vowing to wipe humanity off the face of the planet or enslaving them if they needed to. They even made an attack yesterday. It was all over the news."
"I… didn't know that." Jaune replied dumbly, now heavily aware that he wasn't really interested in the happenings around him. "They sound like a criminal organization."
"More like a bunch of mindless, bloodthirsty freaks if you asked me."
Blake agreed with Sun's description but still felt slightly insulted by it. "Correct… and truth be told… I was once a member of the White Fang." That alone made the two men spit their drinks on the table.
"Wait a minute. You were a member of the White Fang!?" The monkey inquired looking just as surprised as Jaune.
"But I thought the White Fang was a Faunus-only group. How could you be a member of…"
"Dude. She's a Faunus, duh." Sun pointed out much to the blonde knight's surprise. "Show him Blake." The lady nodded, slowly pulling out the boy and letting her cat ears uncurl themselves from her puffy hair. Jaune couldn't hide his surprise though it didn't seem to be as shocking as Blake would hope.
"Whoa… now that's cool." Those words escaped his lips for a moment before he brought himself back to reality.
"You don't look so surprised." The girl noted which he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Well to be honest you're probably the second Faunus I've known. Well… technically you'd be the first because I met you before Velvet but then I didn't know you were a Faunus back then so technically by default… that would make you the first Faunus in disguise I've seen… uh… my head." The blonde knight rubbed his temple as they ached. "So… does this have to do with your fight with Ruby and the others?"
"Mostly…"
Blake then went through the arduos task of explaining her situation with Jaune and the newly acquainted Sun who both remained silent as she ranted. She explained to them how she was born into the White Fang, being a youthful optimist who appeared on every rally, every boycott that happened in the years fighting for the rights of every Faunus who demanded equality above all else. She actually believed that their actions were enough to change people's mind. That if they voiced out their reason loud enough, people might actually listen.
But unfortunately for her, the world simply did not work that way.
When the White Fang's inner circle came under new management, something in them changed. Their peaceful organization turned from peaceful diplomatic solutions to outright terrorism. And sadly enough, Blake admitted that despite those changes, she remained with them for a time, training herself to become a saboteur, a spy… even an assassin if necessary.
It was only when her conscious finally paid out did she decided to leave the organization and becoming a Huntress to aid those who could not defend themselves.
"… and so I left." She finished, pouring another cup for herself. "I decided that I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. And instead I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So yeah… here I am… a criminal hiding in plain view all with the help of a little black bow." She quickly returned the said bow, hiding her Faunus heritage from the sight of others.
It took some time before Jaune was able to process all the information. It was a rather big turnout and a twist in the universal plot of things. He expected it to be something he could handle, you know, like something that he's dealt with before with his sisters. But this was on a whole new level. Oh no… this was the cake… and those cat ears… they were merely icings on the cream.
After a short pause and noticing his cup was already empty, Jaune responded. "So… is this the reason why you ran away from your friends? Do they know that you're a Faunus?" The girl didn't answer. She simply closed her eyes, wishing that she could just go back in time and change the beginning of this weekend.
"Maybe I should call Ruby and clear this up." Jaune opened his scroll to dial a number that was on hold only to have it snatched before he could blink. "Hey! My scroll!"
"No!" Blake yelled almost violently so. "I… I don't want to talk to them…"
"Blake… you're being unreasonable." Jaune explained to her knowing that this isolationism was nothing more but a delaying act. "They're your friends, your teammates. I'm sure that if you just took the time to explain it to them, they'll come to understand."
"You don't know that."
She was right. "No… you're right, I don't. But I do know this. You won't know either unless you try. You have to at least make the attempt and find out the answer and then you can let go. And besides… you can't run forever."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with this guy." Sun smiled at them, before he realized that there was no tea left in the teapot. "You can keep on running but eventually you'll run out of roads and you'll have to face the music one way or another. Besides… my team in Vacuo also had a similar experience, but give'em time and you'll find that they're not so bad."
Blake couldn't believe this. She was actually being consoled by two scraggly men. Men who roughly looked like they had little hardship in their lives. How could these men possibly understand the hidden hardship she had to go through? She couldn't tell whether this was humiliating or embarrassing or perhaps both. The girl wanted to argue but no words formed around her mouth. Instead… all she heard were all the right things. She really can't run forever.
With another tiresome sigh, the girl submitted to them. "Alright… I'll talk to… them. But not until I' ready."
The two boys beamed.
"So… can I have my scroll back?"
"No."
"So what's the plan now?" Sun asked feeling strangely lighter now that his new Faunus friend was set back straight. "You guys wanna grab lunch? I'm starving."
"I want to investigate these recent attacks." Blake suggested earning their attention. "The robberies that have been going on for the last few weeks, I still don't believe that the White Fang are behind these petty thefts. They've never needed that much Dust before."
"Whoa hold on." Jaune protested. "I thought you said that you were going to talk with Ruby and the others?"
"I did." She replied coyly. "But only when I'm ready. In the mean time we can look into the recent attacks of Dust shops all over town. If these thieves have been robbing small stores one after another they might try to strike again. Ah… if only we knew where they were going to strike next."
Sun paused for a thought. "Huh… that's a strange coincidence. While I was in the docks I heard some of the sailors talking about a big Dust shipment coming in from Atlas."
This raised the cat Faunus's interest. "How huge?"
"Huge. As in big Schnee Dust Company freighter kinda huge."
"You're sure?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"Great! Then that's our next stop. Come on" Before Jaune even knew it, the Faunus duo leaped from the balcony with their animal-like agility and made a beeline for the docks leaving him behind to pick up the tab.
"H… hey wait a minute! You guys are supposed to pay for the… oh come on! Why does this have to happen to me at a day like this!?"
It seems like Jaune day was going downhill real fast.
(Streets of Vale)
Ruby, Pyrrha and a certain gal who red riding hood introduced as Penny were taking a stroll in downtown Vale. Ruby was explaining the situation that her team had gotten into and was seeking advice from those that were older than her. With Yang and Weiss off to scour the other parts of the city, it was up to her to find that girl and hope to set things straight… or at least get some clarity to this whole Faunus thing.
"I see. I think I got the gist of it." Pyrrha nodded in understanding to the short version of the story. "So Blake and Weiss got into a fight and now Blake had run off and you haven't seen her for two days?"
"Yeah… that's about it." Ruby answered disheartened.
"I see… so that must be why Jaune sent us a message to keep a lookout for her." Pyrrha recalled reading something that Jaune sent an hour ago though it seemed impossible to actually find a single person in a city as big as Vale. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid I did not see her."
"Well that's no surprise. It was a long shot after all."
"But what kind of fight would warrant her to disappear for 2 days?"
"I don't really know." Ruby answered dejectedly. "It's like… she has two sides to her and you can't really tell what she's thinking with all this White Fang, Schnee Dust Company stuff. It's just so confusing that I just want to make my head spin."
"Well… what did Blake say?" Pyrrha inquired. "What could warrant such a rift between your team?"
"I wish I knew. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."
"Ruby…" Pyrrha replied trying to comfort her comrade. "It must be hard to be the leader of such a team. But have faith. Somehow I just know that it'll all work out."
"You really think so?"
"I have faith." She answered. "But to be honest… I'm not very good dealing with people myself. I don't really have a lot of friends. However… I think I can understand what Blake is going through. She… doesn't feel like she fits in the team. Like there's always a wall between her and you."
"Can we tear it down with a jackhammer?" Penny offered, which only earned a quizzical look from the two. "Was it something I said?"
"Anyway. I think Blake is just feeling sort of… an outcast."
"But why?" Ruby asked hoping to get a straight answer. "Why would she feel like an outcast when she's got us? I mean… Yang and I can be understanding if we want to. Sure, Weiss might be a bit of a pain sometimes but she's really a good person at heart. She doesn't need to hide stuff from us."
"Perhaps she's afraid." Pyrrha deduced. "Afraid to what you might say or see her if you knew the truth about her. But the first thing I know you should do… is to talk to her."
"I agree with Ms. Nikos." Penny put a penny for her thoughts. "I don't have a lot of friends either. But if I did… I would them to talk to me about things."
"Indeed." The redhead nodded patting the metallic girl by the arm. "Communication is very important to maintaining and creating a good friendship. It's how you get our feelings across one another."
"I really wish Blake would've done that." Ruby sighed. "Haaa… I wish there was just some way to get her to open up."
A thought suddenly came to Pyrrha's mind. "Oh… how about we get Jaune to talk to her?"
"Jaune?" Ruby and Penny asked but totally different questions on their minds.
"Yes, Jaune. He might not look it but Jaune has the talent to deal with people like Blake. He's understanding, and will lend you an ear whenever he can."
"Is this Jaune-person your friend, Ruby?"
"Yup." She answered cheerfully for the first time since they had this conversation. "He's actually my first friend in Beacon. A little lightheaded and weak on the stomach but he seems to know what he's doing… even though I don't think he knows what he's doing at all."
"He's a great friend, Penny. I'm sure you two will get along swimmingly." Pyrrha added. "Come by to Beacon and I'll happily introduce you to him."
"I would certainly like that very much, thank you."
(Freighter Docks)
Stealth…
If there was a single talent that Blake thought she had it would certainly be her ability to not be seen when she doesn't want to. Her training with the White Fang a few years back granted her this talent and often she used it as a means to disappear and reappear in places that few are able to enter without being seen.
It's been a useful skill for her as one could say that she didn't quite have the proper skills needed to socialize with people. More so than usual, she would use this talent not just to slip into places but to slip out of places she didn't want to be. It became her trademark technique, her semblance, her core.
She was grateful for it… that much she can say. But how the White Fang decided to use her talents… was a different matter entirely.
As she lay on her stomach, she looked out into the distance, noticing the large containers marked with the SDC logo. It seemed like Sun's info was right at least. The Schnee Dust Company has been offloading a freighter full of Dust and had it stacked together waiting for the trucks to take them to their destinations. It was a standard business procedure. Nothing to be worried about.
But at the moment, Blake had a bad feeling in her stomach. Her faith in the White Fang was genuine ever since she became a member when she was a child. Though their methods may have been misguided, she still believes that these Faunus can change. She still believes that the White Fang can return to its original state in becoming the voice of her people. She never lost faith in that dream and even till today, she still held onto it… just like the hopeful optimistic youth she was years ago.
"Did I miss anything?" Sun's voice caught her ears as he leap to her side.
"Not really." She answered turning back to the containers. "They're just about done offloading the crates from the freighter. I guess there'll be trucks to pick them up by morning."
"Cool." The monkey man scooped himself downward, finding a comfortable area to lie down and rest. "This is actually pretty fun. You know? Like one of those cop stakeouts in those movies."
"This isn't a game, Sun."
"Course not. I'm just saying… if we were cops, we should have our theme song and big red titles on screen. How about… Sun and Blake: The Crime Fighting Duos or maybe… Monkey Cat, the team that takes the law in their own hands."
"Those are terrible ideas." Blake openly stated. "At least try to name them something catchy."
"Hey, I don't see you giving any answers. Why don't you come over here and give me a good one?" But the cat gal simply rolled her eyes in response. "Ok how about… Catnip and Banana Peel!"
And just like that, Sun went on and on and on with those names with each attempt actually even more ridiculous than the last. Before either of them knew it, the Hunter's moon was already up.
Sun gave out a yawn as he lay back trying to get some sleep only to discover that his new partner was still awake. He groaned, feeling the boredom creep in. "You know… I was hoping for these stakeouts to be a lot more exciting. I didn't exactly put much thought how bored these can be."
"Ran out of things to say?" Blake teased only to earn another moaning tone from the monkey.
"Hey, I used up my naming mojo, alright? Give me time and I'll make more. And you gotta admit: Catnip and Banana Peel was a good one." The girl highly doubts it.
But just as the two continued their stakeout on the roof of the warehouse, a clinking sound from the fire escape suddenly alerted them to an intruder. With a swift motion, both of them got into their battle stances preparing to deal with all unnecessary witnesses along the way.
However, much to their surprise and confusion, it was Jaune who came to their hiding nest, looking like a runner who just lost the marathon. "Haaaa… haaaa… ahaha! I finally… caught up with you." The team leader of JNPR gave a groan as he finally stopped dead on his tracks.
"Jaune?" To say the least, Blake was surprised. She was hoping that their little stunt would leave the boy biting the dust and dissuade him from pursuing any further. But it seems once again, Jaune was able to prove her along with Glynda, wrong. "What are you doing here?"
"Followed… you… to… the… docks! Oh give me a minute" Jaune said through pants. He immediately took a mental note to work on his cardio when he gets back to Beacon. His stamina could really use a workout.
"You actually chased us all the way here?" Sun seemed equally surprised as well as the exhausted boy nodded to the question. "This place is kinda huge. How'd you where to find us?"
"It's not that hard." The boy answered, still sounding exhausted. "All I needed to do was follow the trail of food you leave behind." Blake then turned to her Faunus partner where she discovered a batch of fruits lined up in his pockets.
Sun felt rather embarrassed to leave such a trail and here he was claiming to be the fastest runner on the block. So much for that. "Ok I'll admit that was my fault, but in my defense, I was hungry."
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"
"Hey, weren't you in some cult or something?" The monkey boy retorted earning another death glare from the cat. "Too soon? But still… you gotta give the guy props. I didn't think a human could actually track us down."
Jaune wanted to retort on that but he was too exhausted to care.
"How did you even get in here?" Blake inquired from the boy who just seemed to be panting like a dog at this point. "Didn't the guards stop you?"
"What guards?" Jaune returned sounding puzzled.
"The guards. The big scary guys at the front gate carrying big guns."
But again, the young knight simply looked back at them, a confused expressing marring his face. "I didn't see any guards. The front gate was empty when I came. I just hopped over the gate and followed Monkey Boy here."
"Hey! I take offense to that!" Monkey Man corrected only to be silenced by Blake who seemed intrigued by this new information.
"Wait… are you saying there were no guards? No one?"
"Not that I saw any." He answered.
"That doesn't make sense." Blake responded now suspecting something was amiss. "Why would the largest Dust manufacturing corporation transport such a large supply of their product without protection?"
"Budget cuts?" Sun joked.
"You don't know the Schnee Company like I do." Blake added. "They never leave anything of theirs unguarded. And I mean 'never'. Now a whole shipment lies empty, unprotected. Doesn't any of this sound suspicious to you?" But before any of the boys could answer that question, the rumbling sound of a Bullhead engine hummed over them silencing all thoughts, its large thrusters scattering the wind and dirt from the ground.
"Get down!" Sun pulled Jaune aside, taking cover behind one of the many crates scattered amongst the docks.
As the air transport ship landed at the clearing at the center of the docks, Blake took a peek hoping to catch the true perpetrators of this chain of robberies and clear the White Fang's name. If she caught the true culprits, she would have enough material to prove to Weiss that the White Fangs were not the hate saying group that they were known to be.
But unfortunately… that didn't seem like the case as the first passenger of that ship walked off, wearing a familiar logo on his back. It was a beast like insignia with claw marks on the background.
"Oh no." She muttered which Sun noted.
"Is that them?"
Hesitantly, she nodded. "Yes… it's them." Blake's heart broke. She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it but here they were, caught red handed in her own two eyes.
"You really didn't think they were behind it… did you?"
"No." She sighed. "I think… maybe deep down I knew. I just… didn't want to be right."
Jaune took a quick peek himself and saw the number of warriors coming from the airship. They definitely didn't look like your average thieves. The uniforms alone were a dead giveaway but the weapons they carried also didn't seem like standard issue. Heck, Ruby would probably know more about that. She's a weapon nut after all. But right now, he was more worried about the fact that he stumbled on to something big. The boy wondered if all of this was somehow god's ploy to ruin his day.
"Alright. We found them." The knight whispered to his forced-to-be companions. "Now why don't we call the police and let's get out of here before they see us."
"I'm with Pretty Boy over here." Sun agreed much to his digress. "Let the authorities handle this. We just came here to confirm who the thieves were not getting in a fight."
Blake wanted to argue but she found that they were right. No point in putting their lives in danger when the local authorities can handle it better than they can. Handling petty thieveries wasn't part of the course curriculum after all.
But just as she reached for her Scroll, a familiar voice suddenly echoed from the Bullhead causing her to flinch. "Hey! What's the holdup? We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
That coat, that cane and that bowl hat. There was no mistaking it. It was that ruthless criminal mastermind that's been appearing on television about a month ago. Roman Torchwick or something like that. Blake knew of his reputation back when she was still a member of the White Fang. He's been known to run multiple illegal operations in favor of himself or anyone who can afford him. He also has a reputation for committing several robberies personally as an act of force.
But what was he doing there amongst a group of human haters?
"This isn't right." She muttered strangely before drawing her blade out. "The White Fang would never work with a human, especially not one like that."
"Blake? What are you doing?" Jaune got his answer when she leaped off the building rushing towards the White Fang's position. "Hey wait! Blake! Come back! What about calling… for the police?"
"Man she's feisty." Sun smirked widely to himself, before turning to the poor boy who seems to be having a bad night. "Just my type. Well… see ya!"
"Hey wait! Oh come on you guys!" Jaune was practically on the verge of ripping his hair at this point. "I just got up here!"
What in the world did he get himself into?
As the boy made his way to the conflict zone, he quickly realized that he had left his weapon back in Beacon. He opted to call it down, but with his scroll still in the possession of the cat, all he could do was grab a pipe from the trash bin hoping that it would be enough to fend off any aggressor.
The way around the docks was like a maze to him. Blake and Sun easily traversed it jumping over containers but for an average kid like him who had no training whatsoever, he had to snake his way through the area all the while hoping that he wouldn't run into a dead end or something. It was difficult to be the kid with no super agility unlike the other Hunters in Beacon.
"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"
That was Blake's voice. It was coming from the other side of the large stack of containers. It seems like she was trying to get some info out of the thieves. Jaune ran faster as the voice on the other side could now be hardly heard as a muffle. That girl has seriously gone and done something outrageous. What was she hoping to get out of this? It certainly wasn't making him any more popular than she was now.
"Oh kid. Didn't you get the memo?" Another voice interjected obviously coming from that fancy looking thug. "The White Fang and I are going on in a joint business venture together."
"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."
But the man simply laughed at her before another gust of wind came stemming from the thrusters of another pair of Bullheads that seemingly came overhead.
As Jaune finally arrive at the scene of the crime, an explosion occurred next to Blake sending her flying in the opposite direction. "Blake!" He called out worryingly as Roman laid out a barrage, trying to hit the girl. "H… hey! Stop that!"
Roman and the White Fang guards turned to the boy who only appeared to have a pipe as a weapon.
"And who are you supposed to be?" The criminal mastermind inquired annoyingly.
Jaune began to sweat. Just by looking at his enemies he knew that he was way in over his head. The White Fangs alone looked like they were trained killers and that Torchwick guy seemed to be the head honcho of this whole plot.
"D… don't come any closer." The boy warned them. "I got a pipe and I'm not afraid to use it."
"Oh goodie. The plumber I ordered finally arrived." The orange head criminal mocked. "Took you long enough. Maybe you can take a look at my kitchen, boy. The water there has been leaking for quite some time now. Hahaaaa… Get him."
One of the soldiers let out a laugh and quickly lashed his blade at the blonde knight cutting the pipe he held in half. "Uh oh…"
"Oh this is just too easy." But Roman had to eat those words when a banana peel fell on his head prompting Sun to attack him while he was stunned. "Gah! Watch the hat! I just got this cleaned!"
"Hey… why don't you guys pick on someone your own size?" The Monkey Man taunted putting himself between the WF soldiers and Jaune. "Dude, where's your weapon?"
"I left it." The boy answered tiringly.
"You didn't bring your weapon with you?"
"Well I wasn't expecting to be ambushed in the middle of the docks so excuse me if I didn't come prepared!" It didn't take long for Jaune to notice more of the thieves appearing from the Bullheads hovering above dropping more of the WF soldiers around them. Their numbers swelled and it was clear that they weren't going leave any witnesses behind.
"You two really aren't the brightest banana in the bunch are you kiddos?"
"Looks like we'll have to fight. Stay behind me." And just like that, Sun took the White Fang on. With his excellent hand to hand combat ability he was able to knock a few of them down before finally pulling out his weapon which turned out to be a breakable quarterstaff. He easily fended off a number of those WF goons doing a break-dance motion almost literally—wiping the floor out of them. "Haha! Who's next?"
Roman could only sigh. It was really hard to find good labor these days, thugs and minions really aren't what they were back in his days.
Taking matters into his own hand, he drew out his staff preparing the fight the interloper when Blake intervened. "He's mine!" She declared before lashing out at the criminal hoping to bring him down and get some answers. Jaune was amazed on how Blake fought. Her abilities alone reminded him of the ninjas using her shadow clone to take the blow while she dodged. But unfortunately for her she underestimated that bowl-cap-wearing crook and was easily thrown off, a scroll slipping out of her pocket.
"My scroll!" Jaune's voice rose with hope as he grabbed him personal transit-device. "Right. Time to call for my weapon. Ok… so what was my password again?"
"Hey Pretty Boy!" Sun shouted at him while smacking another WF soldier to the ground. "If you ever want to help out, now would be a really good time."
"Yeah yeah, just give me a second. Ok… so was it 929 or 299? No, I can't even count that high. Was it my birthday?"
"Jaune! Any time now!"
"I don't work well under pressure!" He retorted. "Oh right it was a 4 and I think… 8?" The scroll quickly beeps to life with an accepted message on screen. "Yes! I got it!" But it quickly taken out by Roman who smacked it off his hand. "I don't got it."
"You obviously walked into the wrong neighborhood kiddo." The man humored himself while lighting his favored cigar on his mouth. "Say night night, little sheep."
Jaune's face twisted a frown before noting the rocket locker appearing overhead.
The sound of a rocket falling over head caught Roman off guard. The explosion blasted him just a few feet from the crash, giving Jaune enough time to grab his gear.
"Yes! Finally!"
Grunting, the mastermind finally thought he had enough. "What do you mutts think you're doing!? Get them!"
The White Fang soldiers charged, hoping to overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers, only to pull up short when Jaune finally got to brandish his weapon and expanded his shield. As the bright white and yellow color adorned the dark area, the White Fang cronies quickly froze on their tracks, as if someone had pulled the emergency brakes on their brains.
"Whoa. What the?"
"Is that... the Crocea Mors?" One of the White Fang soldiers muttered the name with fear marking his tone.
"That can't be. The Hunter died during the war..."
"But the twin moons... it has to be..."
What were these men talking about? How did they know the name of Jaune's weapon and why do they sound so terrified at the mere sight of it? Was there something that Jaune didn't know about?
Clearly irritated by the clear incompetence of his minions, Roman cursed himself and took a mental note that this was the last time he was ever going to use cheap labor as minions. If only his partners didn't force him to work with such inept souls this work would've been done a whole lot faster. The trouble with them simply was not worth the lien.
He then turned to the pilots of the Bullhead who seemed to be content watching the fight from above. "Enjoying the show up there!? Shoot them!"
The pilot obeyed and began firing a volley from its heavy mounted machinegun.
Jaune, seeing Blake still reeling from the first attack rushed to her side, covering her with his medium kite shield. The shots easily ricochet from the flat metal surface bouncing back harmlessly to the ground. It was like trying to crack a wall made out of the purest steel with toothpicks.
It didn't take long before the airship ran out of ammo, obviously from budget cuts.
"Oh for the love of…" Torchwick practically face palmed himself wondering how these White Fang morons have been able to survive at this point. "Here. Let me show you how it's done!" He raised e back end of his end at the shield, firing a full blast shot of his weapon.
Jaune saw this and knew that he couldn't dodge. He wasn't fast enough but there was still one thing he can do. "Blake. Hold my hand." She obeyed for a moment only to find herself flung from cover. "Sun! Catch the Kitty!"
"Jaune!" Blake barely had a chance to rest when the explosion occurred sending the boy flying towards one of the metal containers.
"Argh… man… I'm definitely gonna feel that in the morning…"
Satisfied, Roman placed his cigar back in his mouth, a smirk claiming victory. He expected this little demonstration to finally end the trio's resistance as he they took the time to rescue his friends. Obviously this operation of his was in ruins but hopefully with some luck he would still be able to salvage some of the Dust around here.
"Hey!"
But just the mastermind puffed a smoke out, another voice interjected coming from the warehouse nearby. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the figure on top to be the same Red girl he met in the dust shop a few months back. "Oh hello there Red. Isn't it way passed your bed time?" He stopped for a moment when another red-copper figure appeared beside him. "Oh and she brought her big sister too? I'm shaking in my boots."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On that rooftop, Ruby and Pyrrha prepared themselves for battle hoping to join the fray and aid their comrades. Obviously their numbers were small but there was little a group Hunter Trainees can't handle.
"Jaune!?" Pyrrha noted her partner on the other end of the battlefield looking worse for wear. "We have to help him!"
"Right. You take the left side and I'll take the right."
"What about me?" Penny inquired.
"Penny you stay back and get to cover." Ruby warned. "It's not safe here."
"But I…"
"She's right Penny." The Amazonian agreed pushing the string master away. "It's too dangerous for you here. Let us clear the area first. We'll grab Jaune and double back for you."
Penny didn't seem to disagree. She thought it best just to let her new friends do the fighting. After all… her father won't like it if she used her weapons out so early. And she'll be in more trouble if any of her guardians discover her wandering around in a strange city without an escort. Besides, these girls looked like they can take care of themselves. No need to expose her skill when it wasn't needed But then… just as she turned her eyes to the battlefield, a sudden programing tick came on to her.
She looked at the opposite end of the battlefield and saw a familiar aura glowing brightly like a star that banished the dark.
"General Ironwood?" Penny stated earning the attention of her two friends. "Oh no! The General is in danger! We have to help him!"
"Who?" Ruby inquired her babbling, looking puzzled herself.
"Commencing maneuver 5." The strange innocent gal added suddenly before her backpack opened, revealing a number of blades that seemed to hover around her. "Subjugation of all hostile forces. I am combat ready!"
And without even waiting for the other two, Penny launched herself into the field leaping from her position at an almost impossible distance.
"Penny! Wait stop!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The fight turned pretty much one-sided when Penny crashed the party. With her string-attached blades, she made short work of the White Fang, tearing through their formation with almost relative ease.
Even Sun, who seemed to be able to deal with the many soldiers that were ganging up on him, decided that he might be taking a lot more than he could chew. "Whoa… ok now. I think we need to make a strategic withdrawal."
"But what about Jaune?" Blake asked worryingly as she looked to where the boy was thrown.
"He can handle himself. Now come on!"
As the two Faunus crime fighters withdrew from the conflict zone, Jaune was finally able to get from his earlier blast only to find himself groaning from the sudden headache he was receiving.
"Ugh… ok. Did anyone get the number of that thing that hit me?" He grumbled before noticing a formation of Bullheads firing in his general direction. "Ah crud!" He raised his shield again expecting the attacks to connect but soon came up short when he noted a strangely familiar girl rushing to his side.
"Don't worry General. I'll protect you." A number of floating blades hovered in front of the boy deflecting every shot.
"Ah… wha?" Jaune raised a brow only to find himself once again… feeling nauseous. As he gazed at the girl who came to his rescue, he felt a familiar sensation running down his spine. His body began to sweat, his head began to spin. Something about this felt familiar… something about her felt familiar. But still… he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Please cover your ears, sir." Penny stated pulling a few of her blades back to form a rotating circle. Immediately, Jaune felt a surge of power running around him, like a manner of Dust gathering in a mass concentration. He did what he was told and covered his ears and what happened next blew him almost literally away.
The rotating ring of swords fired this strange beam. It was as if the massed amount of energy that gathered on the blades was released in a form of energy that cuts through everything.
And in that moment… Jaune remembered…
He couldn't tell what it was he was remembering but he was sure his mind was remembering something.
He saw ships… large ships. Ships the size of buildings and skyscrapers. Ships that were in the shape of cathedrals and memorials alike. Warships… with enough weapons to level a city. He saw the Atlesian Armada hovering proudly above the city of Vale. It stood there like a proud testament to the might of Atlesian Army. Formidable, strong… unstoppable.
Jaune saw the many soldiers and pilots who proudly served on board those vessels, each and every one of them knowing where to be and what to do in whatever situation that comes across. These were the men and women who were ready to protect the people of their country and ready to give their lives if need be.
Jaune felt safe to see them… he felt a sense of security having these mighty warships loom overhead like giant umbrellas to whether the storm. He felt safe hiding under their shadows.
But that sense of security was soon lost when a bright and powerful beam suddenly cut in, tearing the armada apart. Like a knife through hot butter, it sliced through the fleet, destroying one vessel after the next leaving only wreckage in its wake.
The fire burned… it burned all around him. It burned everything from the sky to the ground. Everywhere Jaune looked there was only fire. He tried to voice for help but found the air he breathed, poisonous and vile. As the flames consumed him… he fell to darkness and continues to fall even now…
(An hour later)
"Ugh… my head." It took a while for the young knight to finally get up from his slumber. The sound of police sirens and ambulances stirred his tired brain alerting him to the presence around him. When he finally regained conscious he quickly realized that he was lying on a stretcher near one of the ambulances. He looked around seeing the number of officers and paramedics scatter as they brought in more wounded from the docks. As the members of the White Fangs were moved in droves, the memories started to click together.
That's right. He came to town to have a day all to himself… but instead he got roped into something stupid and it spiraled out of control that he couldn't tell up from down anymore.
"How are you feeling?" The boy was relieved to the soft voice of Pyrrha who cooed beside him. How she managed to get here was a mystery and right now… Jaune could hardly care. "Does it still hurt?"
Not anymore.
Jaune stifled a laugh thinking of such a cheesy reply. "I've been through worse." He said finally from his chuckle. He expected the redhead to laugh with him but instead she just turned away looking rather embarrassed for some reason. It was when he stood up from the stretcher did he realize that someone had gone through the process of removing his shirt which exposed his plain chest. It was rather embarrassing for him too but much to the boy's surprise there was something else.
There was a scar on his chest. And not just one… but a bunch of them. They scattered around his body like someone decided to test his torso with an icepick to see which one would break first. Did he get these from the fight earlier? No… that wouldn't be possible. He was certain that his aura was still active at the time. It should've absorbed all the damage done to him and he would've remembered if he got cut. Perhaps this was something less recent.
"Here…" Pyrrha offered the boy back his shirt which he gladly accepted to return a sense of modesty in his chiseled tone. "Are you feeling alright, Jaune? You're not in pain, are you?"
"I'm fine." He smiled back reassuring her worries. "I didn't get hurt from the fight but it seems like someone knocked me out. What happened?"
But someone got to answer his question before Pyrrha could. "The good guys win and the bad guys lose. Plain and simple." Sun walked in on the two, showing his trademark cocky smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living Pretty Boy. Took you long enough. Some of us here were afraid you weren't gonna wake up. But I told them it'll all be fine and it looks like I was right."
"Hey there Sun." Jaune remembered the Monkey Man before darting at his partner. "Oh and this here is Pyrrha. She's my partner. Pyrrha, Sun. We… met just today."
"Hello."
"Sup." The scruffy man nodded back gesturing a wave. "Anyway, good to see you on your feet. But you kinda missed the best part of the fight man. You should've seen it. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Lasers everywhere and pew pew! Pow! Aw man I'd pay good lien to see that again."
"Guess I missed it." Jaune groaned back not really all that excited before suddenly remembering the girl they were with. "Oh wait! What about Blake? What happened to her!?"
Sun simply flashed the boy a smile and pointed with his chin towards Team RWBY who appears to be having a moment of celebration. "I don't think we need to worry about her anymore. I think… she just needed somebody to listen."
Jaune didn't really understand what was going on, but seeing how Blake was starting to show some hint of a smile was definitely progress. It seems like whatever it was that was bugging her with her friends have finally been resolved.
"Looks like that's one story with a happy ending." The boy remarked with the other two agreeing.
"It would've been better story if we caught that Torchwick guy too." Sun added suddenly rubbing his neck sheepishly. "And… I think you're partly responsible for this ending too." Jaune simply returned his comment with an arched brow. "I'll admit, I was wrong about you Pret… mean… Jaune. At least I thought you were just another pompous dude with a big mouth but you're actually a lot more than meets the eye. There aren't a lot of humans out there who'd risk their own necks for someone else, much less a Faunus."
"Oh… well… I was just… you know… doing what I thought was right."
"Is that so?" The monkey prince smirked back looking like he was just impressed. "Well whatever the reasons you did for Blake, you're a stand-up guy in my book and that means something in Vacuo."
"Oh uh… thanks." He answered almost blushing.
"Well I'd better go. It won't be long before one of these cops recognize me and decides to put me in the slammer for a whole day. I'll see you around Beacon." And just like that, the monkey Faunus leaped off leaving the two Hunters to ponder his words.
Pyrrha watched with amused interest to how Jaune handled those praises. He blushed and stumbled on his words, looking like a dog that just got scratched in all the right places. She could already picture him with his tail waggling happily and a smile printed on his face.
"That was nice of you." She added suddenly, breaking the boy off his mild embarrassing moment. He turned back with a questionable look only to earn a smile from the redhead Amazonian. "Blake told us what happened. How you helped her back then."
"Oh… did she now?" The boy replied hoping that she didn't hear his exact words.
"I was right about you." Pyrrha laughed slightly, handing her partner a cup of hot coco. "You really are a nice person Jaune."
"Yeah, and look where that got me." He gestured to the surrounding area which pretty much looked like the insides of a battlefield. It felt like the docks itself was caught in a tsunami, tornado and an earthquake put together leaving nothing crumbs in its wake. "First semester of Beacon and already I made the headlines. I'll be lucky if they didn't expel me when I get back. You think they got a record for the fastest kid to be expelled from Beacon?"
"You're not getting expelled Jaune." Pyrrha reassured him, smiling. "It might not seem much but you helped stopped bad people from doing harm. You also helped your friend when they needed it."
"And some help I turned out to be." Jaune recalled the fight seeing how pathetic he was as the other two Faunus kicked butt.
"Don't sell yourself short Jaune." Pyrrha tried to comfort her partner, tapping his shoulder. "You may think that your actions may be small, but it is those small acts that have the power to change the world. And besides… there are a lot of people who appreciate what you've done, even if they don't show it."
"You… really think so?"
Pyrrha's smile widened a bit when she looked behind Jaune, seeing Blake fiddling with her arms glancing nonchalant yet brazen as can be. It is as she was looking for the right moment to approach but at the same time not wanting to interrupt the pair. "Why don't you find out?"
She then gently moved aside leaving the boy to ponder even more questions until the cat ninja quickly came in to fill the spot.
"Blake?"
"Hey… Jaune." The cat replied shyly, her eyes darting from side to side not wanting to make contact with his. "You're looking… better."
Shyly the boy scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward for her to approach him. Strange. It seems like everything he's been doing is embarrassing. "Yeah well… I have my aura to thank for that. If it wasn't for this I'd probably be dead a hundred times over. How about you? How are you feeling?"
"Me? Well… I'm fine." She replied coolly, fixing her hair and such, unconsciously making sure that she didn't have any twangs or loose hair sticking out from the fight. "I didn't really get hit. Unlike you."
"That's good to hear… but… that wasn't what I meant." The boy returned inching closer to the young Faunus. "I was asking… how are you feeling?"
The raven haired cat tweaked a smile before turning to her team who waved back. She returned the gesture before finally answering with a relieving sigh. "I'm feeling quite good. Thank you for asking." Jaune grinned only to find Blake turning away from embarrassment. "But that's not why I came to talk to you. To be honest… I came here to say… sorry."
"Sorry?" He echoed.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this. Even though it had nothing to do with you, I somehow got you involved in something dangerous. You have every right to be mad. I… didn't listen to you even though everything you said back then were right. It's just that… I let my emotions get the better of me and it made me act before thinking. We could've just called the authorities and left but instead… I had to go in and ruin the whole thing. You must really hate me for getting you in harm's way."
"Hey… don't ever think that." Jaune stopped her patting her shoulders. "What happened here, I brought on to myself. There's no one I can blame here but myself for taking all those actions. I did what I thought was right and besides… my dad did always say that I should always lend an ear to a lady no matter who she was."
"That's… rather one-sided, don't you think?"
"Yeah well… it hasn't steered me wrong yet so… why bet against the streak?"
Blake couldn't resist smiling at this point. The boy in front of her was just so gullible that you can't help but smile. She couldn't tell whether he was a great guy or someone who would believe anything. It just felt so stupid that she, a former assassin of the White Fang would be comforted by this wimpy kid of all people. The world must be going mad.
"Anyway… thank you, Jaune. I really appreciate what you've done for me."
"No problem. But right now… I'm feeling rather hungry. I haven't had lunch or dinner yet."
"Well… if you want, I can point you to a good restaurant that just opened around the corner."
"Great because you're buying. And you and Sun still owe me for that tea in the café."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On the other side of the destroyed docks, hidden away from prying eyes, Penny sat in one of those fancy cars, looking out the window as her friends gathered.
"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." A voice off screen said to her in a scolding manner which she bobbed her head to.
"I know sir."
The car drove off, leaving the colorful figures further behind before they vanished into the scenery.
"Penny… your time will come. Just be a little more patient."
"I'm sorry sir. It's just that… I thought that for a moment… that Mr. Ironwood was there."
"Don't be absurd Penny." The voice mocked. "General Ironwood isn't scheduled to arrive till the Vytal Festival. You must've been mistaken."
"No sir. His aura was huge." Penny stood by her information making the man in the shadow raise a curios look. "It was larger than anything I've seen and it was just so… bright."
"Brighter?" That word sparked an interest in the man. "How large was this… aura?"
"It was huge. Even larger than Mr. Ironwood."
"Is that so?" A cocky tone came from the man off-screen. "Well then. That certainly changes… everything…"
