Blake's Mistake
By wildstraydog
Chapter Twenty-one: Invasion
It's still strange to see how close this story is to ending. With each chapter things will be growing hectic, and I might try and pump another one of these bad boys out so I can finish this story pretty soon. Glad to see that the Victim is being received well, it's kind of the replacement Blake and Jaune story for this since its ending.
For everyone that has always supported this story through good and bad, I tip my hat to you in thanks. I've grown a lot in my writing because of this. I'll be throwing up a poll up on my profile by the time this is published, so please vote and check it out.
The Wait was the worst part of any plan. Everything on their end had been prepared, and all that Blake needed to happen now was for Cinder and General Ironwood to enact their invasion. She was trying to pass the time by reading a book in her dorm, relaxing on the haphazard bunkbed they created at the beginning of the year. She found it so odd to be here again, her absence almost feeling like years. Yet nothing had changed and all of her belongings remained untouched, collecting patches of dust in the closet. She began to wonder what the rest of her school year would have been liked if she never took Jaune out.
He was across the hall sorting out last minute details with Reese before initiating the counter virus. JNPR was able to make it to the singles without Jaune, though Pyrrha insisted that it wasn't because of his absence. She still remembered the reaction from the champion when they proclaimed their love for each other... how embarrassing that was. She still found it so bizarre that it only happened last night-they were now together. Blake's heart leapt at the thought, a blush always emerging on her pale cheeks. Just another reason they both needed to make it out alive. The White Fang promised to assist, but would that be enough to combat Ironwood's army?
The key to winning, was hacking the robotic soldiers dispersed across Vale's city. Ironwood needed to be stripped of his main forces with Reese's virus so the White Fang could concentrate on repelling whatever Grimm Cinder planned on unleashing in the city. Blake shut the book she was reading and jumped off the bed, releasing a sigh. She felt like a prisoner again-Jaune insisted that she not leave her dorm until everything was ready, but that didn't make it any less worse. She grabbed her scroll and texted Jaune for the twentieth time that day.
Blake: Are things coming along? Simple enough. She would have been satisfied enough if she was able to watch the tournament from within the room. The reception on her scroll was far too weak to stream anything visible.
Jaune: Swimmingly, I'll be over in a bit.
She placed the scroll back into her pocket and walked over to the window, looking down at the myriad of students making their way over to the fairgrounds. She would have loved to explore the various stands that folks from around the kingdoms constructed for the tournament. Even from behind the window, she could smell the cooked fish from one of the vendors, her mouth salivating for a taste. Blake let out a sigh and launched back onto her bed, resigning herself to glance over another chapter of her book-she couldn't remember the last time she found reading to be a chore. Perhaps it was anxiety.
The door swung open and Jaune rushed in with a halfcocked smile on his face. His low pants caught her by surprise, and she leapt down. "Jaune, are you okay?" he lifted a finger as he caught his breath.
"Y-yeah, sorry about that, but I got some news." He released a final pant and lifted himself up off the floor, adjusting his breastplate so that it was comfortable.
"What is it?"
"The virus is ready, but it needs to be uploaded into the CCT tower-the final singles rounds begin tonight, so we don't have a lot of time." Jaune explained, holding up a small yellow USB driver.
"I can't leave this room Jaune..." She drawled.
"Yeah I know that, but we need someone sneaky and," Jaune lifted Blake's hands and placed the USB into her open palm. His shimmering blue eyes never left hers-they both blushed at the proximity, but he didn't pull away, subverting his gaze in embarrassment. "Everyone else is busy with the tournament, except you."
She clenched the USB in her palm and felt the grooves of the device against her skin. How was she supposed to sneak into the CCT main severs? The building would be guarded like a hawk by Ironwood's soldiers. "I understand we're pressed for time, but I'll need a hefty distraction for it to work-that and I don't know the layout of the tower."
"That's why Reese planned ahead." He searched her room for a blank sheet of paper and tore a page out of Weiss's journal on her desk.
"Please don't tell Weiss I did that." Jaune pleaded. She planned to do so anyway, as the thought of Jaune cowering from Weiss was too hilarious to pass up.
"Is there a way for me to access the servers without going through the entrance? I'll have to wear a disguise regardless, but they'll search anyone suspicious." She watched as Jaune drew horizontal tunnels onto the paper, taking the pen and circling one square at the edge.
"Along the back of the tower is a service shaft," Jaune said. "If you can climb up and crawl through the ventilation, it will lead to the main server room... there is one problem though." Blake sighed, his tone an obvious indicator of another obstacle. She already crawled through too many vents for one year.
"What's the problem?"
Jaune coughed into his hand. "The servers are on the top floor, so... I don't know how you'll be able to crawl vertically up the shaft."
"..." That would be a significant problem. She might have cat ears, but the shaft would be impossible to climb-but there was the elevators.
"Is there an entrance to an elevator nearby?" Jaune's eyes widened and he nodded, drawing another path onto the notebook paper.
"Right here," He pointed, "If you crawl over here, it should open up to where the elevators are operated. Are you okay with that though, it might be dangerous?" Everything they were doing could be classified as such.
"I'll be fine, but we should hurry." She headed for the closet and shuffled around the hangers to find an appropriate disguise. A long black cloak would be too obvious for Ironwood's men, it would have to be something less conspicuous, like a school uniform. She could blend in with the other students visiting the tower during the festival.
The uniform would be enough, and she was lucky enough to have brought the giant red bow she wore while in the city. The only part of her disguise that was still lacking was suitable contacts that could hide her eye color. She noticed Jaune watch in curiosity as she fished around in Yang's corner of the room, remembering a time when her partner thought it would be funny to experiment a little.
"I forgot how cute you are with that bow." She froze for a second and blushed, quickly shuffling through the makeup supplies in Yang's drawer until she found a pair of green contact lenses that would fit.
"You should head back to Amity," Blake stuttered, flattening the skirt of her uniform. She was still adjusting to their newfound relationship.
Jaune grabbed her by the shoulder and twisted her around, his eyes narrowed in worry. "Blake, promise you'll be safe... okay?" She nodded, leaning onto his neck to relish in his warmth. It was a sensation she never wanted to disappear.
"Jaune we might have a problem!" Reese announced as she barged into the room with a squeak. Blake jumped away from Jaune in sheer humiliation.
"You scared us." Jaune gasped.
"Oh sorry, didn't realize you two were having a moment-congratulations by the way." Reese giggled. When this was all over, she would find them some privacy if it killed her, especially away from Yang.
"Yeah, congratulations." Sun recited from behind, an unenthusiastic smile on his lethargic face. She knew this would happen-Sun was a great person, and at one time she might have considered going out with him. That all changed however when Jaune entered the picture.
"So what's the issue Reese?"
"Yang got matched with Mercury," She said, "I looked into the system and noticed an algorithm change-someone manipulated the pairing." Blake thought back on Mercury's performance earlier in the year.
"We don't know anything about him or Emerald, we need to warn her to be cautious. I'm sure if Cinder arranged for the match she's planning something." Blake stated, thinking of the possibilities-Mercury was obviously holding back in his spar with Pyrrha, but could he beat Yang?
"I'll have Ruby look around and make sure nothing happens." Jaune said, flashing a reassuring grim in her direction. He was still leaning on a single crutch, but his feet weren't hurting anymore.
"Alright sounds good, I'll contact you Blake once you reach the CCT." Reese brushed past Sun with a chuckle, throwing a light punch into his shoulder before leaving.
"Jaune, do you mind giving us a minute alone?" He looked confused until she tilted her head in Sun's direction.
"Yeah, sure." Jaune mumbled.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone with Sun. He appeared a puzzled mess; his shoulders were lowered, and his blue eyes lack the energy he usually carried in his personality. Sun's lips were parted, as if he wanted to start the conversation with banter-he wouldn't of course, and even she didn't know how to broach the topic without appearing heartless.
This is almost harder than confessing.
"Sun... I honestly don't know how to start this discussion, but I want you to know that I will always consider you a good friend." He said nothing in response, only nodding along to her proclamation.
"Do you hate me?"
"Hate you," Sun asked back in disbelief. "I could never hate you Blake-I'm just a little bummed is all." She released a breath of relief and smiled.
"I never planned to fall in love with Jaune." Sun chuckled at her statement, his tail weaving back and forth until it settled around his waist.
"No one picks who they love I guess, but I'm glad you're happy." Sun rested his hand onto her shoulder and nodded before leaving the room. Blake expected much worse to happen, underestimating how mature Sun handled the situation. The conversation was so brief it shocked her-she hoped at least he would find someone special.
Only few minutes remained until she departed the locker room and faced her opponent in the singles bout, and Yang didn't know what to expect from mercury. He was an enigma, and connected to Cinder, meaning he was dangerous and unpredictable. She remembered the spar he had with Pyrrha in class and how nonchalant he was about giving up. She decided to invite her redheaded friend and ask for advice, hoping that Pyrrha might have glanced something about his technique during their fight in Professor Goodwitch's class.
She fitted Ember Celica tightly around her wrists and secured them, checking the shotgun shells to make sure there were no duds in the chamber. Across from her on a bench was Pyrrha, inspecting her own weapon as it shifted into its Xiphos form-ever since Jaune returned safely to JNPR, she was more enthusiastic around them. While he still couldn't participate, Jaune's presence filled the void that JNPR suffered for weeks. She gave a quick jab with each fist to make sure the gauntlets were wounded tight, and nodded in satisfaction.
"So Pyr, what can I expect?" Pyrrha broke out of her chore and set Milo down beside her with a shrug.
"Not much, we only exchanged one or two blows."
"I know he specializes in a kicking technique-it's his semblance that worries me, I have no idea what it is." People were different with how they handled that information. She herself couldn't care less if everyone knew about it, because there was no way of stopping it. But others like Pyrrha took advantage of hiding their semblances for use in battle.
"If you can, try and maintain some distance, let him come to you," Pyrrha advised, attaching Milo to her back. "Jaune is going to have us watch his teammates during the battle, so we have your back Yang." She grinned at Jaune's plan and relaxed-she was glad to have her friends watching over her.
"Miss Xiao Long, its time." An assistant from the tournament said. Yang pounded her fists together and winked at Pyrrha, skipping toward the exit.
She wouldn't let Mercury have the last laugh.
The CCT was as large as she remembered when she first arrived at Beacon months ago. The crowds near the entrance were lacking because of the tournament, but a few groups still mingled near the fountain. Blake adjusted the earpiece on her left ear as static blared into her eardrum, wincing at the annoying sound. Reese was going to walk her through the tower's security checkpoints and openings. The military presence at the CCT was noticeable from yards away as armed soldiers made their rounds around the CCT-she could guess the inside was even more heavily guarded. Ironwood didn't want any interference before his little operation went underway.
She took a moment to wait for the guards to become distracted and made her way around the back of the CCT, examining the structure to find the shaft that Jaune mentioned. To the upper right near one of the buttresses, was a small opening that was covered by a metal grate. Blake let out a sigh and hopped onto a ledge and climbed, being careful not to look down and excite herself. The further she got up the building, the wind picked up, a chill breeze assaulting against her bare legs as her skirt fluttered-hopefully no one was looking up.
The grate was made of typical cheap metal and screwed in by four or five screws-nothing she couldn't handle. While dangling with one arm onto a nearby railing, Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and cut open the grate for her to slide in comfortably. The shaft would have been tight if not for her slender physique, and crawling on all fours only took a few minutes to reach the end. A pathway opened up to several areas into the endless tunnel where a slight breeze filtered in. She pressed the bottom of the earpiece until Reese came on with her familiar laugh, and in the background she could hear Sun.
"Reese I'm inside," Blake coughed against the dust. "Which path leads to the elevator shaft?" Reese hummed into the earpiece until a mental lightbulb went off.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Sun stole food from me." She found it odd that Sun was over at Reese's. He mentioned they used to date back in Haven however.
"Directions?"
"Right, so you should crawl into the left shaft. That should lead to where the elevators function-be careful though as there operational." Blake took the advice to heart, not wanting to be crushed.
The ventilation began to open up the further she crawled, and the occasional cobwebs along the way stuck to her shortened hair. There was so much dust that it stained her cleaned uniform, ruffling her skirt up and pressing her bow against her ears. She would definitely avoid all forms of crawling into tight spaces when this nonsense was over. A glimmer of a light came into view as she came upon the end of the shaft, and the room opened up to a variety of cables and gears that operated the elevators. She could hear a low vibrating sound from below and looked down to see one of the boxes slowly moving up.
Blake jumped across before the box transcended higher into the room and hung onto a nearby cable, glancing at the almost bottomless pit. She looked up and noticed the hundreds of feet it would take to climb to reach the server room, so she decided to wait for the next elevator and ride it up as long as possible-only problem was the stop gaps. They were sharp and could puncture her if the box went too fast-it would require a lot of timing on her part.
"Reese," Blake shouted, "What floor is the server room?" a few seconds of static passed until her voice came on, somewhat muffled by the reception.
"About twenty floors up-once you're in the server room, insert the USB into the main computer located on the left of the room. It should be obvious, as it will be running the most processing power among the computers." Blake released yet another tired sigh and waited patiently for an elevator.
In the next few minutes, the vibrating of another box rolled up the shaft, and she hopped a ride. The elevator was moving at a steady pace but still gradually ascending the room-there was no way of knowing how many soldiers could be inside the server room, and knowing Ironwood he wouldn't be taking any chances. Surely he must have been suspicious about her movements the past week or so. She was bothered by how quiet the search for her in Vale was, and only Adam was able to track her down. But it was so easy for him... Ironwood had more means then her old partner and could have easily found her.
The paranoid thought frightened her.
Blake checked the painted numbers as the elevator kept going up and leapt off at floor twenty. The metal doors leading to the room were sealed, so she took Gambol Shroud and wedged the blade in-between the doors to force it open. She rolled into the room and slid behind a desk as the constant beeping noises of computers rang out like a catchy tune. She peeked over the desk and spotted a few men chatting in boredom about what the Wi-Fi password was. There was a only a few men to handle, but if the alarm was sounded the whole plan failed.
"Reese," Blake whispered, "Can you shut off the alarms?"
"Yeah, why are you whispering? You'll have three minutes." She muffled Reese's voice so the guards wouldn't hear it, and sheathed Gambol Shroud.
She jumped over the desk and flung her weapon across the room by her black ribbon tied around her arm, knocking out the first guard. The other three turned in panic and cocked their guns, only for Blake to appear from behind. She brought the blunt side of the cleaver onto the backside of two guard's heads. Their bodies collapsed on the floor, leaving the last soldier to rush forward in a frenzy. She blocked the knife he pulled out and pushed him back, roundhouse kicking him in the neck and sending his body against the wall.
That was easy.
She collected herself and scanned the room until she found the computer Reese mentioned. The USB inserted into a port and the server hummed, the machine slowing down as the virus spread through its system. Reese would be able to take control back from Cinder and make sure the Atlesian knights didn't go haywire-she could also prevent them from rigging the matches. It was the first victory in the battle.
Before turning to leave, she looked over at a monitor that was displaying the tournament live. Yang's match with Mercury was at a standstill, the boy proving more difficult for her partner then she imagined. She was tempted to stay and watch the outcome of the fight... there wasn't time, she needed to head back and get ready for the White Fang. Ruby and the others were there, so there was nothing to worry about.
She had to trust them.
"We might have a problem," Ren said to Jaune in the stands as they watched Yang's battle unfold. He looked over at his stoic partner and frowned, confused as to why he would make the statement when the battled was tied.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you not see Yang's movements?" Ren asked. He steadied his eyes onto the field, spotting his fellow blonde's sluggish movements. Mercury was pushing her back in the arena near the constructed river.
"What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know, but you should check with Ruby." Jaune pulled out his scroll and dialed Ruby, sweat pouring down his cheeks as Yang was pinned against a giant boulder. She was losing the battle fast.
"Ruby what's going, is Cinder doing something?" There was a pause on the scroll, until her panting became audible.
"I've run into an obstacle... I might need help." The sound of a sword whirred in the background of the scroll, and Jaune steadied himself up with his crutch.
Ruby was in trouble.