No real notes to put. This chapter is ending an arc, I suppose.

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 21

Jaune stumbled over to a seat in the safehouse and sagged into it, head falling into his hands. Oobleck ignored him and rushed to lock the door, draw shut the blinds and secure the premises. At least in that regard one of them was able to think straight.

"I think we've lost them," he said. "We'll give it some time here and then move back to Beacon. I'll instruct someone to cleanse this safehouse just in case. We can't afford to take any chances. For now, however, we can relax." Oobleck moved over and sat down slowly in a couch opposite him. "How are you feeling, Jaune?"

What a ridiculous question to ask. There were too many answers.

"S-Shouldn't we have captured him alive?"

"In an ideal situation we could have, but that was anything but. Our operatives had just been attacked and had fled into the sewers. We know he gave pursuit but there is no telling how many others might be in the area. Magician kept watch through Vanguard's mask and informed me there was one enemy missing, the short girl with the multi-coloured hair. Had she been following, then attempting to take a prisoner alive would have slowed us down enough for her to catch us. The risks were too great, and even greater if you consider he saw you without you mask, and that he would have seen me had we tried to take him in. We already know who his leader is, that she is working with the White Fang, and that she means ill to Vale."

Oobleck waved a hand dismissively. "What little else he could have told us would only be plans this woman would change should he be captured. To learn that, while considering all the risks involved? It wasn't worth it. Not with you injured and already needing my help."

The man leaned forward and gripped Jaune's face with one hand, thumb below the eye, peeling the skin down while he looked inside. "But let us not hide behind such questions. Vanguard is dead. How do you feel?"

"How do you expect me to feel!?" Jaune yelled, pulling back and slapping Oobleck's hand aside. "Do you expect me to be happy?"

"No."

"Then what? Why even ask?"

"You are angry," he said. "Upset."

Jaune shoved him away with both hands. "No shit. He died in front of me. I couldn't do anything! I just… I just…" His anger faded as quickly as it had come, replaced instead with despair as his face fell into his hands.

"You did not fail," Oobleck said, "however you may be feeling right now. Believe me when I say I have been in your shoes more times than I can count." He sighed. "I realise those words are of no comfort to you right now, but I would have you remember them regardless. What happened here was not your fault, nor Vanguard's. It was the fault of our enemies."

"Cardin," Jaune rasped. "Not Vanguard. Cardin."

"I'm sure he would rather you remember him as Vanguard. Cardin was many things, but the one you knew was a mask and nothing more. As the one who trained him, I can assure you that he would not want you to remember him as a racist and ornery thug. Vanguard was much more than that. He was a man of honour, distinction, but also someone who cared for those under him. Cared a little too much, one might say."

Enough to give his life for one…

Jaune's shoulders began to shake.

"I'm afraid this is going to seem callous, but we can't stay here and we don't have time to grieve." Oobleck hesitated, but pushed on when Jaune made no sound. "I will already be missing from Beacon, and with what will surely come from this, it's important that you be present and accounted for, or at least that you have an alibi. We need to return."

He was right. It did sound callous.

Despite that, the words – utterly devoid of emotion – helped somewhat. Sympathy might have sent him into a fit of crying, and had Oobleck shown his own anguish, it would have probably done the same. As it was, the words pissed him off, but that was better than falling to pieces. He nodded silently.

"We will have a funeral for Vanguard in a few days. You will be invited. Until then, you need to remain strong. If not for yourself, then do it for him. He gave his life so that you could continue yours. Don't let that be wasted."

"I… I understand."

"Not yet, you don't. But in truth I hope you will never have to. Come on." Oobleck placed a hand below Jaune's shoulder and helped him to his feet. Though insistent, his voice was soft and understanding. "Let's return to Beacon. Things will make more sense there."

/-/

"Where is he…?"

Blake checked their dorm for the third time but there was still no sign of him and that wasn't good. She'd caught the news about an explosion in Vale – blamed as a potential terrorist attack – and known instantly that it wasn't. All of this, at a time when her partner just so happened to be on a mission for the VSS? She wasn't buying it.

I should have known something was wrong when I saw Oobleck leave like that. He was obviously in a rush. She bit her lip and let herself back out, rushing toward the Bullhead docks. Something has happened. I just know it.

She tore out her scroll and brought it to the latest news. An image showed a view of Vale from a Bullhead above, while Lisa Lavender's voice spoke.

"Vale Police are out in force as the terrorist attack that shook Vale comes to an end. Reports indicate there to be only one fatality, a faunus known locally as Tukson, proprietor of a nearby book store. As of yet, no element has claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Council have tentatively suggested it may be of White Fang origin. Vale News will keep you appraised of any developments in the case, but right now, this is Lisa Lavender signing off."

The video ended. The name wasn't a familiar one to her, but even if it was she knew the White Fang wouldn't go this far to kill a single person. They'd have done so in private, especially if it were a faunus. Blowing up faunus wouldn't help in the recruitment of more, and she doubted the White Fang would take credit for it.

She rounded the corner and gasped as she ran into a solid chest and bounced back. She would have fallen if not for a pair of hands catching her shoulders.

"S-Sorry," she gasped.

"It's not a problem." The voice made her freeze. Doctor Oobleck stood before her with an amused smile on his face, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Where are you going in such a rush, Miss Belladonna? Is something the matter?"

Blake managed a strangled croak. Somewhere inside she knew she needed to say something, and to not act so blatantly suspicious, but her eyes fell to his hands instead and noticed the black gloves he wore. Her eyes widened.

"Miss Belladonna?"

"I-It's nothing, sir. Doctor, I mean."

"You seem to be in quite the rush. Is there anything I can help with?"

"N-No. I was just… I was just trying to escape someone," she lied. "An irritating friend. She's trying to ply me for information on one of my teammates that she likes. I ran away because she was so persistent."

"I see." Oobleck chuckled. "Well, I shall leave you to it then. Have a good day, Miss Belladonna."

"You too, sir." She nodded and watched him step by, only allowing herself to breathe when he was gone. One hand came up before her face and she was annoyed to see it shaking violently. "Calm down," she hissed. "He can't do anything to me here. He doesn't even know."

It had to be the gloves. She and Adam would only wear gloves when they didn't want to leave fingerprints, and that suggested the teacher had been somewhere and done something he didn't want anyone to know about.

What if Jaune…?

No. She couldn't believe that. The corridors rushed by as she sprinted further down the halls in the way he'd come from, checking every nook and cranny for a shock of golden hair. Once she was outside in the gardens between the school and the Bullhead docks, she paused. He had to come back by Bullhead, but if Oobleck was back then that meant he must have already been in Beacon. With that in mind she drew out her scroll and used their team tracker; a device that only worked when people were close and only when they had their scrolls activated.

The blip on the screen gave him away. She tracked it down to Port's classroom – an odd place to be on a weekend, but one that she was sure no one would be going anywhere near. As she pushed open the door and entered, she saw him.

He was huddled in a corner with his legs drawn up to his chest, eyes hidden in his knees. His arms were wrapped about them and although he heard her entrance, he didn't look up. If anything, he drew further in on himself.

It was not a position she'd ever seen him in. Even when he was furious with her and when she'd found out his secret he'd been composed. Frightened yes, but able to look her in the eye and reason. He looked broken now, a remnant of the person he normally was.

"Jaune…?"

He didn't move.

Blake swallowed and stepped a little closer, the door closing softly behind. Emotions had never been her strong point, not in the sense of not feeling them but in knowing what to do when others did. Adam had never been one for them and those members of the White Fang that did usually found solace in their own family and friends.

And I suppose I'm that for Jaune… even if we're not quite as trusting as we once were.

"Jaune… it's me, Blake. Is it okay if I come close?" There was no response and she wasn't sure what she would have done if he'd said no anyway. Probably nothing different. She reached out and touched his arm with one hand. He flinched. "Jaune, it's me. You're safe." She hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," he breathed. His voice was hoarse, uneven, and it was obvious he'd been crying.

"I…" Something told her asking if she were expected to believe that would be a bad idea. "You know that's not true. Something is wrong and… I know we're not as close as we used to be." If they had been at all. "But I am your partner, and… I'd like to think I'm your friend as well. You can talk to me. If you want to, that is." She sat down in front of him on her knees, feet splayed behind her. "You can't stay like this, though. If the others saw you…"

"I know that. Why do you think I'm here?"

"I think you're here because it's your mission not to be suspicious…" She watched him cautiously. "That's all well and good, but what about you? You can't focus everything on your job. Didn't Oobleck even say that himself? That you should have a life outside of being a spy?"

"He did, but… but…"

She touched his shoulder with one hand, aware of just how much he was shaking. She didn't say anything, however. She just rested her hand there.

"He's… gone…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is gone? I just saw Oobleck a second ago."

"Not Oobleck… he…" Jaune bit his lip.

"Is it someone you're not allowed to tell me about?"

He nodded.

Okay, that made things complicated. Blake sighed and sat beside him so that their shoulders touched. A more forwards person than her might have hugged him, but she wasn't that person and she was fairly sure he'd know how fake it was. If she couldn't know the truth however, then there was little she could do to help him. The only time she'd seen people as bad as him was when someone...

"Jaune," she began warily. "Did someone… die…?"

"Vanguard…"

The word meant little to her. "Is that a person?"

"Vanguard was my… my teammate. We were supposed to investigate something. It was supposed to be easy. We didn't expect anything to happen but… but… they were waiting. We walked right into their ambush."

She had a feeling he wasn't supposed to be telling her these things, but she held off, simply allowing him to speak.

"We were outnumbered and out skilled. No, I was. I was weak and couldn't hold out as well as he could. He fought two while I nearly died to one. We tried to escape – I was so sure we had, but then…" He laughed bitterly. "But then he died."

"How?" Blake asked.

"He killed himself to save me – blew himself up to take out the person attacking us and to let me get away."

"And the person who you were fighting?"

"Dead."

Blake nodded. That was good, but she could see why it didn't make him feel much better. The whole thing was complicated. Jaune alive, but now that she clearly looked he was badly hurt and scuffed, bleeding from one arm and with smudges on his face made worse by his tears. Just the sight of it made her stomach churn and she wished again that she could be a better person for this job. Pyrrha or Ren would be far better than I, but neither can know thanks to what he is. No one can.

"Did Oobleck just bring you back here?" she asked uselessly.

Jaune nodded. "People would miss us both if we were missing and… after what happened in town, anything suspicious is bad. He needs to be seen. I… I need to be seen."

"Not like this, you don't…"

People would ask questions if they saw him – and they would be the kinds of questions that demanded answers, be they out of concern, compassion or something else. Pyrrha wouldn't let it go, and she doubted Ruby would either.

"Isn't there something he could have done? If anyone sees you like this they'll know something happened."

"I-I'm trying," Jaune sobbed.

Blake's heart twisted. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! It's not your fault, just… maybe he should have done more to help you. If he needs you to act normal, he should try to make you feel normal. Not just leave you like this…"

Except that even as she said it she could see how difficult that might be. There was no magic wand that could be waved to make him feel better about losing someone… and Gods, now that she thought about it she realised just how much of a shock that must have been for him. You're not like Adam or I were. You're in much the same business but you're not ready for it.

Oobleck was probably counting on that to be Jaune's excuse. While people would want to know what had upset him, he could make up any story – maybe even that he'd been rejected by someone he had feelings for, or that he'd received news that a beloved family pet had died. It was disgusting, but it would work, and given the fallout they must have been dealing with from the botched mission, making things work was important.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered. She gripped his shoulder a little tighter and tried to impart some of what she felt. Sympathy, understanding, or even just a worthless sense of camaraderie. "I'm here if you need me."

The words felt weak, even to her.

But even if they were, Jaune shifted against her, and before she knew it he'd thrown his arms around her and buried his face into her chest – knocking her to the ground. Her eyes widened, but closed a second later once she heard his violent sobs against her and felt moisture dampen her clothing. His body was wracked with sobs that he kept inside, a hideous and ugly sound of raw grief.

Her hands came around to gently rest on his shoulders, her head tilting back as she let the much taller and heavier man lay practically on top of her, his head in her breasts. To anyone watching it might have seemed a different scene, but watch even a second longer and no misunderstandings could be had. His fingers gripped her shoulders as he cried.

"It's okay," she whispered, coaxing them out. "It'll be okay…"

It wouldn't be. They both knew that.

They just chose to pretend otherwise.

/-/

"Well, looks like we found him." Emerald's nudged her ex-partner's body with one foot, jostling him to the side and spilling a little of his blood on the concrete. Her nose twisted at the unfortunate odour, not just of his death but also of the sewer in general. Up above, sirens continued to wail, but they hadn't found her and even if they discovered and analysed her blood, she was confident it wouldn't be traced back.

Neo stood nearby, arms crossed and an equally displeased look revealed. Her outfit was smudged and burned from the explosion she'd been caught in. She'd come out better than Mercury, at least. Emerald sighed again and thumbed her scroll, waiting for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Emerald," Cinder's distinctive voice whispered.

"Ma'am," she replied, shifting unhappily. "I… I'm calling to report on the ambush you told us to erect."

"I'm judging by your tone that it did not go to plan."

"No, ma'am," she replied. "We… well… Mercury is dead."

A pause, a second's silence.

"I see. And your opponents?"

"We think one of them died but it looks like he took himself out with an explosion, injuring Mercury in the process. The other looks to have escaped, though Mercury followed him down into the sewers."

"Was Mercury killed by the explosion?"

"No. He was executed with a bullet to the back of the head."

"How quaint," Cinder chuckled. "Well, that is a regrettable setback, but nothing we cannot recover from. Is Neo alive?"

"Alive but a little battered. I took a knife to the back, as well." Emerald winced as she said it, not only from the pulling pain, but also from the knowledge Cinder wouldn't particularly care. If she was alive, that was all that mattered.

True to form, Cinder rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Roman has someone who can see to that for you. Return here for now and we shall plan our next move. At the very least this suggests our enemy is more organised than we originally believed."

"Ma'am?"

"There was a third person, Emerald," Cinder explained with a sigh, as though frustrated to be made to point out something so obvious. "Unless you would convince me Mercury somehow followed his prey but then allowed an injured opponent to get behind him. No, there was another. They also seem… rather advanced to be mere mercenaries or anti-White Fang elements."

"I'll say," Emerald grumbled. "They had military-grade gear at least, not to mention a car that exploded remotely, almost taking Neo out in the process."

The multi-coloured girl snarled at the memory and massaged the joint between her neck and shoulder with one hand. She did not look pleased.

"I see. Not all is lost, then. We have dealt the enemy a blow and narrowed down the possibilities of who it might be. You've done well, Emerald. Return here for now and recover."

"And Mercury?" Emerald asked, nudging his body once more.

"Give him whatever send-off you will."

The scroll flashed off a second later, and Emerald stored it away with a sigh. She hated failure, though not as much as Cinder did. At least in that regard they'd only technically messed things up. It could have been worse. It was worse for Mercury, whose wide eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling of the sewer above, above which the police continued to scurry.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, Mercury," Emerald said, placing one foot against his shoulder. "See you around."

He rolled over the ledge and fell into the thick, viscous goop of the sewer, his body sinking beneath it and drifting slowly away. Maybe it would be found after a while, but she doubted it. It would no doubt get caught in something too small for it to pass through, then decompose or be devoured by rats and insects. She gave it a faux-salute as it went. Neo tapped one foot impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get out of here. I'd kill for a hot bath right now."

/-/

Oobleck's hands twitched a little more than they usually did and there was a full glass of whiskey in front of him as he worked at his desk. Those were the only differences to what might normally have been see as Glynda Goodwitch knocked and entered his office. He looked up to meet her eyes, all the while showing nothing of what he felt inside.

"Glynda. How can I help you?"

"Good evening, Oobleck." She nodded. "Have you heard of what happened in Vale?"

"Some kind of terrorist attack, was it not?" He scratched an X through Ruby Rose's history assignment, or at least the parts of it that were blatantly copied from her sister. "I've heard the news, but it's disjointed as of yet. I'm sure we'll find out more later. Why do you ask?"

"Ozpin is concerned as to what it might mean." Glynda sat down and then glanced to the bottle on his desk. "May I?" He waved his hand, and she poured herself a glass and sipped from it with a sigh. "Thank you. I don't normally drink but times occasionally call for a glass."

"He's working you hard, I take it."

"Unfortunately so. The Council wants Ozpin and Beacon involved in this investigation, though I've no idea why. Meanwhile, much of the paperwork for it is falling into my hands."

"I'm sure that is due to the White Fang influence. The average police officer is hardly equipped to deal with them."

"And students are?"

"No, but Ozpin has influence with many established huntsmen as well, not to mention ourselves and Peter." Or not so much Peter, but everyone else applied. "Given that you interfered to prevent Torchwick's earlier robbery, they've likely decided it best if Beacon gets involved."

"It's my fault, then," she said. "Great. Perhaps I should have stayed out of it."

"And leave Miss Rose to face him alone?"

Glynda sighed. "No, you're right. I could hardly do that." She sipped some more of his expensive whiskey and smiled. "You're surprisingly wise at times, Bart. It's easier to talk to you than Ozpin."

"And Peter, I would imagine."

"Peter is good to talk to, but is not much of a listener." She leaned back. "Ozpin, meanwhile…"

"Trouble in paradise?"

"We are very much not involved, thank you." She shot him a glare. "If he and I spend so much time together, it's only because our positions demand it."

"It was simply a jest."

"Not a very good one." She glared at him for another second but let it go and drank a little more. "No, I can't say Ozpin or the Council are wrong in this, but I'd rather they spend their wealth a little further and bring in some professionals. Relying on us is all well and good, but Torchwick is well aware, or able to find out, when our lesson times are. We're hardly infallible."

"True, true." Oobleck placed down his pen and glanced to his scroll when it beeped. He looked to Glynda, but she waved a hand telling him to go ahead and handle his business. Had it been a call, he wouldn't be able to – not in front of her – but for a simple message there was little problem. He picked it up and glanced at the ID, withholding his reaction when he realised it was the current lord of the Winchester family. The only remaining member of it now.

The message was simple. "He did what duty demanded."

The scroll slammed down onto the desk.

Glynda flinched, and regarded his calm expression with one of curiosity. "Not what you wanted to hear?"

"Forgive me," he replied. He drew a deep breath and let it go, and there was nothing but a smile on his face afterwards. "It was simply not the message I wished to receive."

"Oh?"

"An old friend being a fool. Nothing to concern yourself about."

"I know plenty about old friends being fools," she sighed.

"Ironwood?" he prodded. While these little meetings had not been easy to establish, Glynda had proven to be a woman overworked. Not necessarily underpaid, but in need of someone to vent to every now and then. He had been quick to provide that shoulder, and the little information he had gleaned had proven valuable.

"The same. Sometimes I wonder how he could have changed so much in so short a time…"

"Circumstances can do that to a man. Isn't he coming here soon for the Vytal Festival?"

"In a couple of weeks, yes."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"It must be over a year ago now," she sighed.

That was a lie, of course. He'd watched them meet before term started. Even so, Oobleck nodded and commiserated with his colleague, listening to her vent about an old friend who had once been full of life and cheer, now of efficiency and cold calculations.

I know a man like that, Oobleck thought, amused by the comparison. He had hardly come out of being made the Director of the VSS without being changed fundamentally. You could only send so many people to their deaths before something shifted inside of you. Vanguard… Cardin… was just another name and face to remember. I hope you never have to do the same, Rat. I'll try my hardest to give you that small mercy if nothing else.

"I just wish things could be different," Glynda said.

"We all do, Glynda. Believe me."

"I just wonder if I could have done something different…"

"Those thoughts plague us all," Oobleck said, knowing the woman before him had no idea just how close her words cut to the bone. "All we can do is keep moving forwards, however. If you do not have the strength to do so yourself, then find someone who can help and rely on them, if only for a little while."

"Isn't that weakness?" Glynda asked.

"A man with a broken leg is not weak because he relies on a crutch. It is not a replacement for the injured leg, only something to support him until he is strong enough to walk again. We should all be fortunate to have such people who can help us." He reached for the bottle and poured himself a full glass, and then refilled Glynda's. As he held it out to her, his face showed nothing of what he felt inside.

It rarely did anymore.

/-/

"Are you ready?" Blake asked.

Was he? Jaune smiled at her and shook his head, but the two of them were outside their dorm room and he knew it wouldn't get any better. His face was red, his hair lank, and his eyes were rimmed with unmistakeable signs of tears. They'd stopped a while back however, and he knew it would take days for the pain to recede entirely, if it did at all.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," she said.

He appreciated the words, but they were a bit silly. "Where would I go?" he asked. "I think Pyrrha and Ren would have something to say if I vanished for a day or more, let alone the teachers when I don't show up for class." He sighed. "No. I have to do this."

She nodded, and although she didn't say a word it was impossible to miss how close she stood to him, a silent show of support on top of what had already been more than he'd ever expected from her. She could be taking advantage of you, his paranoia whispered. Don't let your guard down.

He ignored it. If she'd wanted to take advantage, she would have. His guard wasn't down. It was shattered. Or it had been before, but it couldn't afford to be any further.

With a heavy sigh, he reached out and opened the door to their room.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, glancing up. Ren was beside her, the two working on some homework together. The redhead's eyes lit up when she saw him, and she opened her mouth to say something.

She paused. Paused and looked him up and down – truly took him in. Her smile disappeared, and she rose quickly to her feet.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

The immediate concern, honest, blatant, directed purely at him, was almost enough to break his fragile self-control. It would have if he'd come here first, he was sure of it. If Blake hadn't found him and drawn the worst of it out.

"One of Jaune's friends passed away," Blake answered for him, reading his silence and knowing he'd be lost if he tried it himself. When Ren and Pyrrha looked at him to see if it was true, it was all he could do to shrug helplessly. If he'd tried to speak, he knew only a croak would come out.

"Oh, Jaune," Pyrrha gasped. She closed the distance between them in an instant and wrapped her arms around him.

His breath hitched, but he managed to stay in control. Ren came second, closing the door behind the two of them and placing a comfortable hand on his shoulder. There was nothing but sympathy on his face, and even though he didn't speak, it was enough to show that he would be there if required.

"Was that why you left in such a hurry earlier?" Ren asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry," Jaune croaked, the tears coming forth once more. "I… I…"

"It's fine," he said. "We understand."

"Nora and Ruby wanted to come over earlier," Pyrrha warned.

Ren nodded. "I'll make our excuses. I'll tell them I've come down with something. I won't mention any of this."

Jaune nodded his thanks.

Pyrrha drew him down so that they were both sat on his bed, her with her hands behind his head, Blake stood nearby, unsure but imposing and defensive in her own right, and Ren on his scroll, blatantly lying to his childhood friend in order to protect his teammate's fragile state of mind.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Pyrrha heard. She smiled.

"What are friends for?"

/-/

A girl sat on the edge of a cliff, feet dangling over the edge and looking down onto the vast expanse of the Emerald Forest. It was like an ocean of green that spread out before her, filled with Grimm and other such terrible monsters. She swung her legs again but did not take the plunge. It wouldn't have meant anything more than a rough landing and a frustrating climb, anyway. Instead she watched the sun set and sighed as grass behind her crunched, indicating a visitor.

The figure came to a stop several feet away and did not come closer. That was for the best. She was liable to lash out as it was.

"I heard about Vanguard," the feminine voice said.

The girl shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Magician. He died a good death."

"Is any death good?" Magician asked.

"A death that accomplishes its objective is. He chose to take it in exchange for an outcome he desired. That the outcome came to pass is proof his end wasn't in vain. The Director avenged him."

"Vanguard won't be avenged until the monsters that did this are dead," she hissed.

The other behind her did not disagree. "What will you do, then?" she asked. "Will you hunt them down and risk your own life?"

"Did the Director ask you to speak with me? Am I that predictable now?"

"No… at least to the former." The girl behind her chuckled, but there was no humour in it. "I'd think it obvious you'd be upset if this happened. I came of my own choice. Vanguard will be avenged, but only if you don't do anything foolish."

"I won't," Magician growled. "I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were. You and he were close, however."

"Close enough that I wouldn't make his sacrifice pointless by getting myself killed," she replied. "I won't imperil the investigation, you can trust me on that. If I did, I'd only be giving those monsters a chance to escape."

"I'm glad to see you understand." The figure took another two steps, and a hand fell on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "We will avenge him, Magician. I promise you that. But we won't do it by running off half-cocked and letting them take more people away from us."

Magician nodded.

"I understand. Are you entering the fold once more…?"

"No. The Director has me working on something else. I just stopped by to make sure you were doing okay." The hand released her, and the girl stepped back. "I'll see you around, Magician. Don't worry. When push comes to shove, I'll be there to kick some ass alongside you."

Magician nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the setting sun as the other Agent departed. Once she was alone, she let out a long sigh and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin atop them.

"Cardin…"

/-/

"He's still not answering?"

"No." Russel put his scroll away and slumped on his bed. "I'm worried, man."

"We all are," Sky said, sitting next to him. "Chill, though. It's Cardin. The big guy will be fine, I tell ya. I bet he's busy with some hot babe in Vale as we speak. You know how he is. He'll saunter in tomorrow with a big-ass smile on his face."

Russel smiled, but it was strained.

"It's just not like him, you know…" He sighed. "Maybe I'm over-reacting."

"You are, Russ," Dove said. He'd been pacing too, but now wore a confident grin. "Mark my words, he'll be banging on the door come morning. Have a little faith in him. He's our team leader for a reason. Heh, when he hears about how you worried like an old hen, he's gonna tear a strip out of your hide."

Russel laughed.

"Yeah, he probably will." He tried one last time but when Cardin didn't answer, put his scroll on the bedside table. "Think we should lock the door and pretend to be asleep just to teach him a lesson?"

"And deal with the training he'll put us through in return?" Dove barked a laugh. "No thanks."

"Pussy."

As Dove and Sky bickered and laughed, Russel shot one last look towards the door and sighed. The guys were right. He was freaking out over nothing. Cardin would come roaring back in the morning and everything would be back to normal.

He was sure of it.

Well, it's a bit of a reactionary chapter, obviously. People have to lick their wounds, and this is more to show what happened and what didn't happen since a lot of people wondered if Oobleck had Neo or Emerald prisoner. The answer, obviously, is no. I also wanted to show the vast difference in how everyone reacts to the death of one of their own, not just in terms of Oobleck, Jaune and Magician – but Emerald, too.

And no, they didn't take Mercury prisoner anyway. As Oobleck said, it would have been great in an ideal world, but they had a split-second to make a decision and he and Jaune are basically stuck in the sewers directly where the enemy are, with Jaune injured and clearly needing help to escape, and Oobleck needing to make a choice between help Jaune or take a prisoner, knowing the latter will slow them down and give the enemy a chance to catch up.

So yeah, it would have been the best choice to take him prisoner, but it just wasn't an option.

And you know what, I said I wouldn't and I'm not going to say who the pairing of this story is, but I'll say who it's not, if only because I've been getting constant messages whining about it. It's NOT Blake x Jaune. I know there is still a whole host of people going "Oh, Coeur always writes Blake x Jaune and this is the same. I mean look, the two are talking and in this chapter Jaune just wept on her. That's clear romance. Nothing is more romantic than crying and dribbling snot all over a girl. NOTHING!"

Well, sorry to excite but this isn't a Blake x Jaune story.

Next Chapter: 24th December

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur