A/N: Explanations at the bottom, for those of you who are curious about my hiatus. Alright guys, next chapter, eh? Also, I don't really think I'll be able to reply to all of your reviews. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll always read them, but I don't exactly know how to respond to all of them. If there are reviews with questions, then I'll definitely answer them, but as for general comments on the story, I'll just keep them in mind while I write. And trust me, I will be referring to those points down the road.
Anyway, the next chapter's here, glad you came back to read it.
Enjoy!
Island of Vytal; Bestia Wilds: S.H.D. HQ Facility
Jaune's room...
Jaune pulled on a pair of grey combat trousers, and slipped on a collared black jacket. He tucked the jacket into his pants before securing his pants with a black tactical belt, but not before slipping a few pouches onto it, filled with various miscellaneous tools that would be useful for the mission ahead, as well as his mag pouches and his hard-case drop-down thigh holster for his pistol.
He stepped over his duffel bag that contained his guns and strode over to his wardrobe, pulling out his tac-vest. He inspected it briefly, noting that the first-aid kit, radio, multi-tool and turnakit were all in place, as well as his mags. With a nod of satisfaction, Jaune set the piece down into the duffel bag before walking over to his desk, where his pistol lay disassembled.
He'd been cleaning it before Jasmine had offered to grab lunch, and now it was time to put it all back together. He plopped down into his chair and got to work. Not even a minute later, the gun lay polished and freshly lubricated on a dirty mechanic's rag. Satisfied, Jaune racked the gun three times, lockingnit back on the third. He angled the gun downwards so as to let light shine into the chamber, and he noted that it was empty. To make sure of that, he inserted his pinky finger and felt around. Empty.
He hit the slide release, sending the slide forward, before rolling his chair over to his bed, where two gun cases lay. He reached over his rifle case and grasped he handle of his pistol case. Bringing it over to him, he spun the dials tl the correct numbers and clicked open the locks, swinging the lid up and open.
Inside was a foam cut-out, where Jaune placed the gun. To the side was a separate cutout, already occupied by a loaded magazine of hybrid fire-shock dust rounds. He closed the case and spun the dials again, locking it, before placing it on top of his rifle case. He briefly contemplated taking a look at his rifle, but decided against it. He'd already performed maintenance on it, before he'd started working on his pistol, actually.
He thought about his magazines, but shook his head. All of them had been loaded, so that was taken care of as well. With a sigh, Jaune stood from his chair and went over to his duffle bag, zipping it closed and tightening the straps around it to make it as small as possible. He grabbed his two gun cases and set them beside his duffle bag before flopping ont his bed. Using the remote that was on the shelf beside his bed, he turned the lights off and prepared to go to sleep. Some might think it odd that he slept in all of his gear, but for him, it just meant less hassle in the morning, and more time to do last-minute check lists.
He gave a quick glance at his watch, and saw that the time was 2000 hours, and he bawked a little at the numbers displayed on his watch. He'd lost track of the time as he was preparing for the mission. Hell, he'd spent almost the whole entire day making sure nothing was out of place, missing, or unmaintained.
He let out a tired sigh, feeling his eyelids grow heavier and heavier with each second. Just as the sandman was about whisk him away to the land of dreams, his watch buzzed. He let out an irritated grunt before dragging his wrist across the bed sheets next to his face. He stared at the notification that popped up on the holo-screen.
Crossroads: Mission Parameters
He warred with himself over what to do. He couldn't possibly ignore such a thing, but he already knew his mission parameters. He'd already gone over them the day before, when he was first assigned to the task. But what if there were changes to the plan?
"Ugh. Dammit," he muttered before opening the node. He sat up in his bed as he read the file.
To: Agent Echo-113
From: Crossroads
Mission parameters have been altered. You are being deployed with team Rainbow.
Target has recently been found to have ties with the White Masks, a highly lethal sub-division of the White Fang. Your orders are to aid in the capture of the target and assist in keeping him alive. Transportation has already been arranged and will arrive at 0900 hours tomorrow to pick you up. More details will be discussed upon your arrival at RAINBOW HQ. Once you arrive at the station, two Rainbow operatives will be present on-site to escort you to HQ.
Any inquiries should be brought to attention before tomorrow.
PS: Stay safe.
Jaune rose an eyebrow at the info, and chuckled once he read the little note at the bottom. Crossroads was his mission handler, and he'd met her a couple of times. She was pretty sweet when she wasn't on the radio, directing the agents of Bravo Company, the unit Jaune was in.
What bothered him, however, was the sudden change of plans. He knew of the White Masks, and without a doubt knew about the White Fang. He also knew about RAINBOW team, the less subtle counter-terrorist unit of the I.G.B., right on par with the Division.
It was an exciting concept, to be sure. He'd heard of a lot of their exploits, especially their most recent operation in Harklett University, the Beacon Academy equivalent for civilians.
He noted the time that he was set to leave tomorrow and set an alarm for 5:30, plenty of time to do any final checks.
With that, he gave a final sigh of relief and once again flopped onto his back, this time immediately shutting his eyes. He was out like a light.
Jaune woke to the sound of... broken plates?
Wait, that wasn't right. He didn't have any plates in his quarters.
He opened his eyes, and saw a scene of utter chaos. Food littered the ground, tables and chairs lay upturned, broken, and scattered around the room. He saw himself, wearing a dark brown blazer with gold trimmings, white undershirt with a red tie, and black slacks with dress shoes. Odd, he didn't remember ever owning such clothes. After a moment of thought, Jaune realized something.
Why was he seeing himself from an outside perspective?!
He looked down and saw that he was in the same specter form as his daydream from earlier. He was ethereal. He sighed and watched the scene unfold.
The Jaune in the vision flew towards Ghost Jaune and slammed into the floor. He recovered fairly quickly and immediately ducked. Just in time, too, as an array of miscellaneous pieces of food sailed over his head. He looked up and lunged to the side as a girl with blonde hair and lilac eyes leaped into the air, donning a pair of...
'Wait, what?' Ghost Jaune thought to himself. He rubbed his spectral eyes just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating in his dream, and in fact, he wasn't. The girl had a pair of turkeys on her hands, acting as... boxing gloves? That's what he could deduce anyway, given how the girl had just sent one hell of a haymaker into Visionary Jaune's face. Said girl wore a similar attire as his visionary self, with exception of a plaid skirt with black stockings in place of slacks.
Looking around, he saw similar scenes of combat, in which different kids his age fought with pieces of food as weapons.
He saw a pair of leeks being used as daggers by a raven-haired boy, a sword fish used as a rapier by a white-haired girl, and even a watermelon, speared onto a pole, with the whole assembly being used as a war hammer.
His eyes turned to see a different fight between a raven haired girl and a... girl with... red hair...
Ethereal Jaune walked over to their fight, feeling a sense of familiarity upon looking at the crimsonette. He immediately recognized where he might've seen her.
'Was she the one at the top of Beacon Tower in my vision during lunch?'
She looked the part. And if she was the one who spoke on the tower, then it would connect a lot of dots for him, given how young she looked. She actually looked familiar, in the sense that he had seen her in the real world at some point.
Regardless, the red-haired girl seemed to be dominating her opponent, overwhelming her with the sheer volume of her attacks. He watched as she parried the other girl's dual breadsticks with her lone one, and landed a strike on the side of the other girl's face before spinning and kicking her in the stomach, sending her crashing into a nearby table and obliterating it.
He watched as the fight became more intense, and he was baffled by the collateral damage that these guys were causing. The shocking thing was that there weren't even that many teens actually fighting. By a quick head count, Jaune deduced that there were only about eight to nine people in the room, excluding himself.
...people who practically destroyed about 90% of the room's furniture and pretty much all of the food. If he had to guess, this was probably a cafeteria, given the sheer volume of food present.
He watched as the all of them split evenly into groups of four, each group occupying opposite sides of the caf.
Visionary Jaune had gone with the red-haired girl, the raven-haired boy, and the crazy ginger-haired girl with the watermelon hammer to the other side of the room, opposite of Ghost Jaune's position. Beside Ghost Jaune stood the blondie with the turkey gloves, the white-haired girl with the swordfish rapier, the ravenette who he had seen surfing across a table with a lunch tray, and a raven-haired girl who had used a sausage link as a chain whip.
Oum, that entire train of thought was a weird one.
It seemed like the fight had come to a climax, and that they were all about to settle it with one last showdown. He watched excitedly, eager to see the outcome of the fight. They all charged at each other with loud cries of determination, and...
Jaune twitched in his bed as his alarm woke him from his sleep. He lifted his left hand and slammed down on the watch with his right, turning the aggravating noise off. He sat up, rubbing his face to get the sleepiness out of his system.
As he was rubbing the crust out of his eyes, Jaune thought back to his dream.
'This can't be normal. I've never met these guys in my life, so why am I imagining them in my dreams? And in such vivid detail?'
That was another thing, too. Just like his vision during lunch the previous day, this dream felt all too real, like he was reliving a memory, except it was a memory he either had no recollection of... or hadn't experienced yet.
'This... this has to be my semblance. There's no way I can just make up these people in my mind like that, it's the only explanation. At least, the only explanation I can think of.'
Jaune sighed as he got out of bed.
"I'll ask Irene about it when I get back." He murmured, stumbling into his bathroom to prepare for the day.
Vale; City of Vale: Safe House Lupa
Present Day...
Pyrrha didn't dare try to escape, not when she was being so heavily monitored.
She slouched against the wall of her 'cell', merely a concrete storage room with a wooden door that could easily be broken through by someone of her caliber. But doing so would be suicide. She'd been stripped of her weapons, taken to Oum knows where.
She looked out of the little window on the door, and she could just make out the shoulder of her cell's guard. He, like Jaune, had been wearing that stupid orange watch on his left wrist. She'd seen it on her way into the room.
Her friends, stripped of their weapons like she'd been, had all been separated and taken to different rooms, each with their own guard. She prayed with all of her hope that they were okay.
Suddenly, the door handle began to turn, and she watched as it opened to reveal Jaune, wearing his mask once again. She knew it was him because of the uniquely colored pistol at his side. He had brought in a folding chair, unfolded it, and placed it on the ground before sitting down on it backwards, leaning on the backrest with his elbows.
"Pyrrha... do you understand why you've been brought here?" He asked.
She remained silent, head bowed and lips set straight into a thin line.
Jaune sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You stuck your nose in the wrong place. And... for that, I'm sorry."
Pyrrha's head snapped back up, anger burning in her eyes.
"Sorry? That's all you have to say. Sorry. How about explaining what this all is? Or why you had to leave? Or why you never even told us? When are you going to tell me that?" She questioned.
Jaune was quiet for a moment, and Pyrrha almost thought he wouldn't answer her. Then he stood from his chair, walking over to her. She tensed up, thinking this was a trap.
He knelt down and rested his hand against her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt her aura being linked to. She made to push him away, but Jaune merely raised his hand to stop her.
Not even a second later, something felt... different. She looked down at herself, but there was nothing wrong with her body. Then she looked around, but saw nothing out of place.
Jaune then stood up and walked back to his chair, sitting in it just like he had before.
"I know you have no end of questions, but I promise you, I'll answer most of them, if I can. And don't worry about Gheist outside, he won't be bothering us."
"Why?"
He crossed his arms before resting his chin atop them. "Because you're my friend, and you deserve answers. Fair warning, however. There will be questions that I can't answer, or won't answer fully."
Pyrrha sighed, nodding reluctantly.
"So, what do you want to know?"
She thought carefully. Most likely, he wouldn't tell her the exact specifics of his 'job', but maybe he would give her a general idea? Maybe his semblance, too, but she highly doubted that.
"What is your semblance?" She asked.
Jaune chuckled. "I didn't think that was a question you'd ask, but it's understandable. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say it has to do with time."
"As in, time manipulation?" She pushed, straining for more.
Jaune responded with a light shrug. "I don't know, like I said, not much detail."
"Well, what else could you do with time?"
"I don't know."
Pyrrha frowned. So he intended to play dumb with her? She internally groaned before moving on. "What do you do?" She asked.
"Figured that was one of them." Jaune remarked as soon as the words left her mouth. "Again, no specifics. I... guess you can say I'm a soldier. I'm being deployed to fight people, not Grimm."
"Good people or bad people?" She asked, a bit scared of the answer.
"Bad people, I promise. People like the rioters I told you about." He replied. His voice had been firm, laced with steel, as far as Pyrrha could tell. She hoped that meant he was telling the truth.
She nodded.
"Anything else?"
Pyrrha looked down at her knees, her mind rifling through the possible questions she could ask. There was so much she wanted to know that she knew he wouldn't say. What was he doing while they'd been searching for him? How long has he been this... this... secret agent? She wanted to that and more, but her mind was so jumbled she couldn't even begin to form a proper sentence. Finally, she settled on a question she'd asked herself since she arrived here.
"Why did you leave without telling us?"
Jaune paused, seemingly frozen in place. For a second, Pyrrha thought that his own semblance had affected him as well, before he sighed, lifting his hand up to take of the hat, headphones, and mask, as well as the sunglasses. Now his face was exposed for her to see. He looked the same as he did the last time she saw him, except that he, somehow, looked older. Like there was a weight that pressed down on him that Pyrrha had never seen before. His eyes bore guilt, which she was glad to see. That meant that he actually cared about it enough to feel bad.
"That was my fault. If I just told you that I wouldn't be back for a while, then maybe you wouldn't be in this position."
Pyrrha shook her head. "I probably still would. Because I'd still look for you."
Jaune chuckled, the familiar goofy smile spreading across his face.
"You would. I should've expected that," he admitted with a grin. "Anything else you want to know?"
Pyrrha shook her head.
With a sigh, Jaune let time flow normally, and let his smile drop from his face, setting it into a neutral expression. "Now we've gotta talk seriously. Like I said, you're here because you stuck your nose in the wrong place. And now, we're in this rut. There's only a couple options available to you. You could be sent to a federal prison for treason."
"Treason?! For what?!" She shrieked, causing Jaune to wince.
"I should've said this earlier, but I work for the government. That's why everything's coated in so much black."
"But treason?" She asked again, calmer this time.
"You attacked a federal agent of the I.G.B. In the eyes of the law, you just committed treason."
Pyrrha slumped against the wall. "What are the others?"
Jaune sighed and put his balaclava back on, as well as his other head gear. He slouched forward onto the chair, his head pointedly glancing away from her. "We could have one of our operatives rewrite the memories pertaining to this whole fiasco. You'd be able to go back to Beacon, completely healthy and fine."
Pyrrha rose an eyebrow in skepticism. The deal sounded too good. Too good to be true. To just let her free like that? No, there's no way. "What's the catch?"
Jaune shook his head. "There is none. You just... forget about all of this ever happening. And you go back happy with your friends."
"Our friends, you mean. Right?" She corrected, a smile on her face. His face turned away from her slightly more. Then, it hit her. If she was going to forget everything about this whole event, then that'd mean she'd have to forget everything about the source of it all. She'd have to forget the person who started it in the first place.
"But if I do that... then I'd forget you... wouldn't I?"
Jaune tensed up, that much Pyrrha could see. She saw his hands clench into fists, before he hid them from view behind the chair's backrest. "It's the best option. You'd be able to live out the rest of your life. You can still pursue your huntress career."
"I won't. If it means forgetting our time together, then no."
Jaune lifted his head, and Pyrrha could imagine a frown underneath his mask. Or even a smile, happy that she'd said no. It was hard to tell.
"Pyrrha, you're being unreasonable."
"I'm not forgetting about you."
"You are throwing away your life! Can't you see that?!"
"There has to be another way!"
Jaune flinched, and Pyrrha noticed. "There is, isn't there?"
"No."
"Jaune, tell me." She pressed, moving forward to sit right in front of him.
"There isn't!"
A pang. A small, almost minuscule ache in her chest.
"You're lying."
Jaune shook his head, refusing to meet her gaze. "Pyrrha, there is no other option."
"Yes there is!"
"It's too dangerous."
"So, there is another way!"
Jaune flinched again, this time, standing up to leave. He was about to walk to the door when he felt a pair of arms encircle his abdomen. They held onto him tightly, preventing him from moving. He thought of using his semblance, but thought against it as he heard Pyrrha's ragged breaths. She was crying.
He could feel the wetness of her tears through the back of his jacket. He felt her body shake against his as she let her emotions show. He could feel his own resolve begin to waver.
"P-Please Jaune... I don't... I-I don't want to forget you..."
And there it went. He could practically see his will shatter like glass in front of him. With a reluctant sigh, he slowly turned in Pyrrha's arms, grasping her shoulders lightly and pushing her away, just enough so that he could talk to her without having their faces being inches away.
"I... ugh... There is... another way. Dammit, I'll regret this later." He mumbled the last part to himself, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I could... I could recommend you as a recruit for the organization. You'd be working with me... which in all honesty, I'd rather you not."
Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion. "What? Why?"
Jaune sighed, stepping away from her and scratching the back of his head. His gaze remained on the floor when he spoke to her next.
"Do you honestly believe you'd be ready? Being what I am is far more dangerous than you know. You think being a Huntress is bad? Think again." He looked back up, his sunglasses staring straight into Pyrrha's emerald irises. "And even if you are prepared to face that danger, are you prepared to kill another man? To take away their life, never to be seen by their loved ones ever again?"
She visibly recoiled at the notion.
"I knew it." Jaune grunted, before turning away. "You have two hours to make your choice. After the allotted amount of time has passed, I will return to head your answer. Consider your options carefully."
He reached for the door handle when he felt Pyrrha grab his hand.
"Wait!"
He turned to her, peering at her from over his shoulder. She stared at him with a stern gaze, mouth set into a frown.
"Promise me that you'll give the others that third choice. Give me your word." She demanded.
"That's not something I can..." he faltered when he saw that Pyrrha's gaze remained unwavering, her eyes still hardened and her expression unfazed. She was serious about this.
With a sigh, Jaune turned and knelt before her, taking her hand into his own, closing hers into a fist and placing it against his heart. He held his right hand up, but kept his head bowed. "I, Jaune Arc, swear to you, Pyrrha Nikos, that all options will be laid bare once the time I speak to our friends comes. This I vow on the Arc name, for you have my word."
He raised his head and stood. "There, it's done. I... I have to go now."
Pyrrha nodded, stepping away from him and back towards the wall. She sat down against it, but didn't slump. She had a chance. She had two hours to resolve herself. She could do it!
Jaune stepped out of the room feeling exhausted, more exhausted than he'd expected. He knew that these talks with his friends would drain a lot out of him, but even still. He sighed as he pulled up a holographic list on his watch, which had a full list of his friends' names. He tapped on Pyrrha's, check-marking it before reading the next name. Oh boy.
"Alright, Snow Angel. You're up." He muttered to himself, making his way through the safe house. The walk was brisk, but it was also tiring in itself. The safe house had received even more refugees by the looks of it, as there was now barely enough room to move around. He twisted his body to avoid bumping into a guy, only to step another guy's foot. He was quick to apologize, but didn't stay around long enough to hear the response.
It took Jaune only about two minutes to get to Weiss' cell. He nodded as he passed her room's guard, which was Cam. She nodded back to him, and tilted her head towards the door.
"You here for questioning?" She asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. How's she doing?"
Cam clicked her tongue in annoyance. "She's been demanding that I let her out. Though she died down around the two hour mark."
Jaune nodded as he patted her shoulder. "Thanks. I'll be going in now."
Cam chuckled. "Heh. Good luck dealing with that."
Jaune opened the door and stepped inside, greeted by the sight of the Schnee heiress sitting in the corner. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was quiet. He sighed before crouching down before her.
"Pst. Ice Queen. Wake up." He whispered. He poked her on the shoulder and leaned back as she swatted at him.
"I am awake, you dolt." She retorted, opening her eyes and sitting up, resting her hands in her lap.
Jaune backed away and sat cross-legged in front of her, at a respectable distance. He cleared his threat before he began.
"I'll just... get right down to the chase. You're here because you stuck your nose in the wrong place, and you are now suffering the consequences." He stated. Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"We're all stuck in this dilemma because of you, Arc. If you hadn't left, then maybe we wouldn't be dealing with this whole situation." She replied calmly, though a faint trace of annoyance could be heard in her voice as well.
"I... wish I had that option, Weiss. But I couldn't have stayed. I was called, and I'm bound to answer."
Weiss' eyes seemed conflicted, as if deciding what she wanted to say. "Then why get so attached in the first place?"
With a flinch, Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Do you want the truth or the lie?"
"Haven't you told us enough lies?"
"I... guess so." Jaune admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "I got attached to you guys because... you guys were really my first friends in a long while. Before you guys, I never really had anybody besides my family. Well, except for... nevermind."
"Except for?" Weiss inquired, but Jaune shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. It's nothing of your concern, for now. Do you have any more questions?"
"Who do you work for?" She asked.
"Heh. Direct, aren't you?" Jaune chuckled, leaning back on his hands. "Can't tell you exactly, Weiss. But I will say I'm federal."
"Federal as in government?" Weiss asked to clarify, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes. But that's all I can say. Anything else?"
"Why did you leave?"
Jaune sighed, scratching the side of his chin. "I already told you. I was called, and I had to answer."
"That's it?"
"Yes, that's it." He confirmed with a nod.
"Was it all a lie?"
The last one threw Jaune for a loop. He tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? Our friendship? Or rather, whatever relationship we had, anyway."
"I didn't hate you, Arc. But you were rather annoying. If you hadn't asked me out so many times, I would have maybe been a better friend to you."
Jaune chuckled lightly. "I guess that was a bit annoying, wasn't it? I'm sorry. I should have stopped."
"Well... you did. Two weeks before you left." Weiss replied, her gaze on her hands. She looked back up to him, this time with a bit of sadness. "Was that all a lie, too? All of those times you tried to ask me out? Was that just a part of your facade?"
Immediately, Jaune shook his head. "No. Originally, yes, they were. I wanted to push you away, given your family name and your connections. But over time, as I got to learn more about you, I realized we had quite a bit in common, and I thought that something could actually work out between us. Not to mention, you were drop dead gorgeous."
"Not for family name? Or my wealth?" She asked, her face flushed.
"I'm... actually ashamed to say, but I didn't make the connection between you and the SDC until right before the Forever Fall trip towards the end of the first quarter." Jaune admitted, twiddling his thumbs together in embarrassment. Weiss could imagine a blush on his face if he didn't have the mask on.
At that, Weiss started to snicker, before she erupted into a full blown fit of giggles. Jaune slowly began to chuckle along with her, and soon they were both laughing at his expense. When they calmed down enough a few seconds later, Weiss continued.
"What clued you in?"
Jaune snorted. "I stepped on a pamphlet somebody had dropped in the hallway. It was called 'Dust for Dummies,' or something like that. Then I saw it was branded by the Schnee Dust Company and... well... that's when I realized it."
"Wow."
"I know, right? I felt like such an idiot."
There was a moment of silence as the two calmed down from their laughing fit. Weiss suddenly remembered something.
"So, why are you here again?" She asked.
Jaune snapped his fingers, and Weiss could practically see the light bulb blinking over his head from the ridiculously hilarious pose he had unknowingly pulled.
"Right! Forgot. We have to discuss what you'll do from this point on."
Weiss tilted her head in confusion. "From this point on?"
Jaune nodded, and his tone of voice became serious. "Like I said before, we're in this mess, and there are only a couple ways to resolve it. There are tw-three options. Because you... well... attacked a federal agent, you could be sent to a federal detention center for treason."
Weiss gulped. "What's the other one?"
"We could... have one of our operators tamper with your memories, make you forget everything about the whole incident. You could get off scot free, go back to Beacon healthy and fine."
"That's not all there is to it, right?"
Jaune clicked his tongue. "Tch. You too?" He let out a sigh, rubbing his face. "You would forget everything about me. That's it. It isn't much of a downside, so this is probably the best option."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Jaune. That's a horrible thing to say." Weiss scolded. Jaune merely scoffed at her.
"Weiss, can you honestly say that if you hadn't been dragged along on the search for me, you would miss me? If I just disappeared from Beacon and never returned, and nobody else gave a care in the world?" He asked.
He already knew the answer, naturally. He wasn't exactly someone Weiss would call a friend. Heck, he was practically a pest. He knew it, that's how he wanted it at first. Like she said, maybe they could have been better friends, but as it stood right now, there was no reason for her to associate with him, not when it risked her life whether she picked the first or third option.
But, that was why when he saw her hair bob as she nodded, he was gobsmacked in shock. He tried to form some sort of sentence to show his disbelief, but all that tumbled out was a clumsy, "Huh?"
Weiss felt herself smirk at the confusion in his voice. Knowing him, he'd probably expected her to say no, that she wouldn't miss him at all. Granted that, maybe a few weeks prior, she would have said no, but now? Knowing a little bit more about the Arc made her realize something.
"Yes, I would miss you Jaune. And so would everyone else. Plus, now that you've... told me a bit more of the truth, I'd like to restart. I guess... wipe the slate clean? I hope there's an option that allows for that."
Weiss watched his covered face for any hints of an expression. From the little outlines of his mouth, it seemed he was biting his lip. So there was?
"It... There... migh-no, there is the third option. But it's far more dangerous than you can imagine."
Weiss scoffed at the thought. "Jaune, please, I'm training to be a Huntress. It's inevitable for me to to experience danger in my life."
Jaune shook his head. "Not like this. You'd experience danger, yes, but mostly against Grimm. In my line of work, you'd be... facing against people. And..." He paused to look at her face, to see her reaction. "...you'd be killing them."
She'd reacted like he thought she would. She looked like she'd just been struck by a hammer to her gut, her expression twitching, undecided on which emotion it should settle on. He could guess a few of the emotions that were running through her head. Confusion, denial, maybe even a bit of anger?
And he was right, not that he knew. Weiss wasn't exactly sure what to think about that. A storm of thoughts rushed around her brain, leaving her wordless and numb. How was she supposed to respond to that? She couldn't just agree, but she didn't really want to disagree either. She knew her friends, well, at least most of them would more than likely choose the third option just so that they could stay friends with Arc. His team would, without a doubt. And Ruby, being Jaune's first friend at Beacon and vise versa, would undoubtly do the same. Yang would probably choose the third option to keep an eye on Ruby.
And Blake...
...well, Blake didn't really have a reason to stay with Jaune. They never exactly talked, and even then it was only for school, if Weiss remembered correctly. But even still, that was half of her team that would be risking their lives on some kind of secret mission, and if Weiss chose the second option, it would be without her knowledge.
Jaune seemed to pick up on Weiss' struggle, and coughed once to gain her attention.
"I'm not expecting an answer right away." He assured her, leaning forward and patting her shoulder. "I'll be back in about two hours. That should give you plenty of time to think it over."
His boots scuffed against the concrete floor as he uncrossed his legs and stood, and Weiss watched as he left the room. When the door closed shut with a resounding thud, and she heard the bolt of the lock slip back in place, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
She let out a small laugh. How things have changed, to the point where Jaune Arc, the alleged Vomit Boy of Beacon, had left her feeling breathless. But regarding her options, it was true that the second option seemed to be the best one out of all of them, being able to live peacefully with the trade-off off forgetting one person. Though, didn't't the third option align with her goals, too? To follow in the footsteps of her sister and carve out her own name as Weiss Schnee instead of just a Schnee? And if it meant hiding her identity, then perhaps she could fade from her father's clutches as well.
Now that she thought about it, the decision just became a little bit harder...
Jaune's hand slid from the door as he stepped away, feeling a little less exhausted than his talk with Pyrrha, but still a little worn out. And next up was... the troublemaker...
"Alright, Blake. What'll it be?" He murmured as he stepped into the crowded hallway of Safe House Lupa.
A/N: Hey guys... wow... it's been a while.
First off, I would like to say that I'm very sorry, and that I probably deserve all of the criticism some of you, or a lot of you, will undoubtedly feel. To sum up why I disappeared off of the grid for as long as I did, I hit a road block. This has never really happened to me before, but I think this is what writers would call "Writer's Block". Basically, I have no idea how I want to move through with the following chapters.
Don't get me wrong, I have everything else laid out and planned. I have my points plotted and straightened out (probably), but the problem is I have no idea how to execute them. Well, let me rephrase that. I'm screwing myself over with how to execute them. I have a lot of ideas in mind, and some sound really good to me at first, but when I try to put them on paper, they just look horribly wrong. That's why this chapter took so long for me to write.
I had to take into account the relationships between the characters, and figured out which questions would suit them. How weird would it be for Weiss to ask how long he's been a Division agent when their relationship is equivalent to a restrained dog and ball that's five feet away? Pointless and weird comparisons aside, I've screwed myself over by having so many ideas on how a scene should go, and it might take a while for me to straighten everything out. I promise you, I'm really trying here, but it's so utterly frustrating to hate what I've put down on paper, I feel like I want to break something sometimes.
*sigh* Anyway, things are getting a little complicated here. I'm actually going to be smoothening out some things in the previous chapters as well, and I'm definitely going back to fix chapter 6 (or was it 7?), as well as some other problems you guys pointed out to me. And I'm also going to fix some mistakes that I know will screw me over later on in the story. So I'm basically doing a slight overhaul, if that makes any sense. I know how weird my brain is.
Anyways, guys. Thanks for reading, I'm glad you guys stuck around to see this chapter, and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night.
IU13, signing out.