Saw Wonder Woman recently and I have to say that if this is the level of quality we can expect from DCEU films from now on, then we're in for some really great things! Not to say that I hated the previous films – I quite liked them a lot, Man of Steel in particular, but I will admit that they were not without their issues, especially the theatrical version of Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad. That said, I will keep from having high expectations until Justice League is out.
Also, Fate Grand Order to be released in English on June 25th! As someone who sadly can't read Japanese, this is the perfect opportunity for me to start playing it and experience all the joy/frustration that I see others experiencing with it. Having spoiled myself about the events of the game thus far, I can already tell I won't be looking forward to certain boss battles, ha ha ha.
Man, it would be nice to do a Nasuverse fic one day… alas, I lack in-depth knowledge of the more technical terms to risk such a thing. But maybe one day that'll change.
As it is, to Mo Eazy, firstly thanks for the review! Secondly, you're right. Normally I'd have gone and said this in a private message, but I feel that I should make it 'official' so to speak: following the conclusion of this fanfic, my next fic will be a Highschool of the Dead one! Heh, given how long it's been since I've written for it, I can't help but wonder how my writing now may impact what I want to do for it… only time will tell! In any case, I hope you, Mo Eazy, and others will look forward to it!
Now then, onto the chapter!
Chapter 35
Amber allowed herself a serious quirk of the eyebrows. Here she was, finally allowed to traverse the campus of Beacon at her leisure now that she'd been able to successfully argue with Ozpin and Ironwood about being able to stretch her legs.
Her first order of business had been to go and grab a late breakfast while the students still remained in their dorms to rest.
She'd been surprised when Jaune had approached her just after she'd gotten some food and she'd been utterly shocked to then learn of what the young man's 'friend' had been up to just last night.
As it is, she could only stare at him from across the table with her mouth slightly ajar, completely forgetting she'd just been chewing on something. It took a few seconds before she realized this and blushed for a second before finishing the bite.
She was somewhat thankful that her new friend here was blind, at least in the sense that he couldn't actually see what had happened there.
"Wow," she then said after swallowing and wiping her mouth with a napkin. "That's really… quite something."
The blond young man having described in almost explicit detail what Tenebrous had done to that power-thief and her two lackeys, the Fall Maiden could only feel once more a certain fear of the god, its capabilities being so great and terrifying even while in such a reduced state that for a couple of seconds, her warm and delicious meal failed to calm the chills she got.
That said, it was also funny as hell.
A not-so-small part of her had really been itching to pay that woman back for her ambush and for taking a portion of her maiden power, an action that had left her near-death and comatose. Amber considered herself to hardly be a vindictive person, but such a thing would naturally stir up some pretty negative emotions in just about anyone, especially after the painful and invading feeling that she'd been overwhelmed with when Cinder Fall had used that glove on her.
As such, to hear of the horror tropes that the god had enacted – at Jaune's behest, no less! – upon those three arrogant and darkly ambitious crooks was music to her ears, so much so that she had to keep for laughing a little as she took another bite out of her breakfast omelet.
She wasn't all that successful, however, chuckling as she ate.
But when the chuckling managed to stop, she smiled softly at the young man before her. "Thank you," she said simply, yet from the heart.
Another not-so-small part of her found some form of delight at the small blush of embarrassment that graced Jaune's cheeks. "W-Well, you're welcome. If you don't mind me saying, I hadn't really been intending to get revenge for you… but I'm glad you enjoyed it anyways."
Another little chuckle on her part, her mood already doing pretty damn good this morning. "Kind of hard not to enjoy it under the circumstances."
Jaune nodded in agreement as the blush slowly vanished. A thoughtful look appeared on his face now. "I just hope it'll deter them from getting involved anymore."
Seeing his expression, Amber too looked serious now. "How sure are you that they've learned their lesson?"
"Well, Tenebrous and I had a brief talk about last night. We both think that at the very least, we won't have to worry about them getting involved with the Trial directly. Which is good enough for us, I'd say. Still, it's something to think on until we see and know for sure how they'll react."
"But I think Ironwood will be keeping an eye on them for us in that respect, right?" Amber proposed.
James Ironwood, in spite of his current workload with preparing for the Trial, had taken to issuing the deployment of small drones to monitor Cinder Fall and her two lackeys from afar, but only when they'd left the dorms since bugging their room would've been too difficult given how paranoid and sharp those three must have been. Well, that and Ozpin, despite his own opinion on the criminals, had put his foot down at the general bugging the room.
'Student' privacy,' he'd said almost sardonically at the time. Really, what an odd man Ozpin could be at times. And to think she had yet to know him for that long.
"…Come to think of it, I'm surprised he's not already aware of your friend's little fright fest," Amber then commented. She'd bumped into the general and Ozpin earlier before even coming here for breakfast and the former hadn't so much as made a peep about anything like what Jaune had just told her.
"Well, the drones can't monitor them all the time – apparently, they're a new thing in terms of development, so they're keeping from using them too long and too often lest something goes wrong," Jaune explained. "And he can't exactly send soldiers to stalk them, not when just about everyone under his command is required to be tending to other things."
Amber nodded. Fair enough.
It was at this point that she took notice of something that she honestly should've seen right off the bat.
"Your 'coat' is gone."
Jaune merely smiled a little sheepishly. "I asked him to go keep an eye on my sister and her friends."
"They're already up and about?" Amber couldn't help but sound surprised. Given how exhausted all of the students were from reconstruction efforts yesterday, she was surprised any of them would already be up.
"Well, not willingly on my sister's and her team's part – apparently, team RWBY had woken up early thanks to Ruby's efforts and she dragged them across the hall to wake up my sister and her team and then she dragged all of them to one of the training rooms. They've been there for the past two hours so far." Jaune looked amused as he explained all this.
"Heh, I doubt your sister appreciated that. Especially since all of them are probably still recovering from the Breach," Amber replied as she finished off her omelet.
"She didn't – she messaged me, begging me to help her get away from team RWBY and, I quote here, 'return to the sanctuary of rest.' That's how I know this happened at all."
"What was your response to her message?"
"I pretty much ignored her pleas and messaged 'Training this early? You make our ancestors proud! Best of luck, sis!'" Jaune looked like he was about to laugh a little.
Amber couldn't blame him. It was a fairly minor thing, but it showed the sort of peaceful everyday lives that they all were trying to protect.
So instead of laughing, the Fall Maiden smiled softly at the young man before her, leaning forward a little as she rested her head against one of her hands. "Well aren't you just the most supportive big brother ever? What a lucky girl," she teased gently.
Jaune's smile turned a little wiry in nature at that. "That's kind of you to say…"
Amber knew right away by the subtle shift in his voice that she'd just triggered something. So stopping with the teasing, she eyed him curiously. "…Something wrong?"
"Err, not exactly. But…" He trailed off.
"But?"
"It's about my sister, actually."
Amber quirked an eyebrow. Seems like her comment had sparked something in Jaune. "How so?"
"Well, to be perfectly honest, she may be quite important in the upcoming Trial… so long as she can awaken her semblance, that is."
Okay. Now that grabbed the entirety of her attention. "What do mean? Does she have some kind of special power too?"
Jaune looked thoughtful at that. "Well, it's certainly a special power – my friend and I can certainly account for that much. But it's not in the same fashion as the silver eyes or your maiden power. It's something else."
The Fall Maiden could only stare, completely befuddled. That was rather vague. "Okay… care to elaborate a little? And why such a long face now?"
"I'm afraid I can't quite answer that first question. Tenebrous knows for sure what my sister's semblance is since he can sense that sort of thing, but not so much on my part… still learning how to do so. All I know is that it's not exactly conventional, at least as far as that term can be applied to semblances." The blond young man paused. "As for the second question, well, I just have to question sometimes if I really am that good a brother. I mean, I came here to Beacon partially to watch over her yet at the same time, I and others are going to be relying on her to provide much needed support during the Trial. And that's still not getting into the attention I keep paying to the Trial rather than her nowadays. With that in mind, can I really be called a good brother?"
Ah, now she saw the reason why her teasing words had caused this sudden shift in him. "Well, I'm afraid I can't give you a completely objective answer there." Her immediate response made him wince just a little. She wasn't done just yet, however. "But it's pretty obvious that you care about her a lot. Only a complete idiot wouldn't be able to tell that you'd much rather have her well away from the fighting. Using her, as you think you're doing, is probably not the best thing to do, but if she's anything like the other students here, she'd be jumping into the fray of her own accord anyways. So if anything, all you're doing is apparently trying to provide a direction for her, whether she knows it or not."
At that, Jaune seemed to perk up a bit more, his dull blue eyes staring at her in such an intense way that Amber couldn't quite keep her body from heating up a little. "W-Well, in any case, it's not like there's such a thing as a perfect big brother or anything, so if trying to be that was your main worry, then you ought to just give it up. Just focus on doing what you can for her and the others, and then I'd say you'd be a great big brother."
That had been little more than a well-spoken ramble on her part, but it seemed to have the desired effect since her listener's expression was no longer sullen, but rather a bit more cheerful, a small and thankful smile on his face.
"I… Amber, thanks," Jaune could only say softly.
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling back. Thinking quickly, she spoke up again. "So. Now that I'm done with breakfast, care to do me a favor?"
Jaune blinked at that. "Sure. What kind of favor?"
Amber's expression turned serious. "With the Trial approaching so quickly now, absolutely none of us can afford to be lax. Myself included, obviously." She took a bit of a deep breath and stared directly into her listener's dull blue eyes. "Put summarily, I need to make sure I'm back in top form. My aura and maiden power may have kept my body from atrophying for all that time, but I need to make sure that I'm still as capable as I was before overall… and my 'fight' against your friend during the Breach didn't exactly help me gauge things, considering the circumstances."
Jaune's eyes narrowed as he evidently tried to digest what she'd said. "Wait, so are you saying-?"
Amber smiled in challenge. "Spar with me, Jaune. I think it'd be a good thing for the both of us."
Oh, the look of complete of shock on his face right then and there… she couldn't help but relish it.
This ought to be interesting, to say the least.
It was a new day and with it was hopefully the beginning of a new era, in a sense.
Adam certainly hoped so.
Having returned to the safehouse hours ago and subsequently reestablishing contact with the White Fang, Adam was to be picked up soon and taken to one of their many secret strongholds back in Mistral. He'd made sure to specify he be taken to said stronghold for it was there that he'd be able to start gathering up some support and resources.
He hardly had any official authority there due to the organizational structure of the group, but he knew that many members there were of a similar opinion as him in terms of how things should be done. So garnering support for the future attack shouldn't be too difficult to do; it was simply a matter of stoking the flames of vengeance in the right people there and then letting them take care of any further recruiting.
Especially when they see the Grimm he'll be having at their side during the future attack.
Of course, he'll be leaving where exactly he got the Grimm from as well as who had provided them. For now, he owed Salem that much in terms of confidentiality.
Speaking of the woman…
Seated within the safehouse, Adam let out a 'humph' in a most derisive fashion. He was no fool. He knew that Salem very well had her reasons for wishing to crush Vale and presumably the other kingdoms as well – she seemed like that kind of person. In any case, it'd been impossible to miss the bloodlust that the woman had been trying to suppress. No doubt that whatever exactly her plans were, she'd be aiming to wipe out the White Fang alongside everyone else as well, himself naturally included among the numbers.
Salem turning against him was, simply put, an inevitability. But for now, she seemed content on using him just as much as he was using her for this kickstarter in garnering resources and support.
So now his main concern, aside from planning out the smaller details for the attack, was just how best to deal with Salem once their goals ceased to coincide. He was no fool – she was plenty strong all on her own and the Grimm at her beck and call would only make taking her out that much more difficult. Getting past the Grimm shouldn't be too hard in theory, but with her in control of them, he ought to expect the beasts of darkness to be much more difficult to maneuver around and take down. Casualties would be quite heavy since he'd need an entire platoon of White Fang members to storm her place and deal with said Grimm.
The question was, however, just what else was Salem capable of. He knew that she was powerful, but how powerful exactly when on her own? What sort of capabilities did she possess? Did she have any kind of personal weapon?
A part of him wanted to say no to that last question, for she'd been without one during his brief time there at her castle. However, another part of him countered the initial thought by bringing up the simple fact that she'd had the homefield advantage completely at the time. What need of a weapon would she have had when she had that many Grimm around her? Ergo, even that otherwise simple question had no certain answer.
Still, at the end of the day, she was but one person. No matter how powerful she may be, no matter what kind of combat style she may have, and no matter how many Grimm she can call on, Adam was confident that taking her down shouldn't be a suicidal task. It was simply a matter of having enough skilled operatives at his side to fight against her as well as the possible element of surprise. After which, wearing her down little by little should be a relatively easy task so long as they remained alert.
…Or so Adam was trying to tell himself.
Truthfully, he was wary of the woman. There were far too many unknown factors about or at least related to her to make any kind of decent battleplan against her as of this moment. So it was his hope that once she'd sent the promised Grimm to him, he'd be able to perhaps gleam some new information about her from that one movement. A futile hope, yes, but it was the only thing he had to work with as of now.
…Oh well. If nothing else, he could certainly believe that she won't be attempting to get rid of him and the White Fang until Vale at the very least had been completely crushed. Given how much time would pass until that desired moment, he should hopefully be able to come up with something concrete by then.
Until then, he'll focus on the more pressing matter at hand.
And only then, once it's been done… Salem will get what's coming to her.
Glynda inwardly groaned as what could only be another long day in the making truly began for her.
Having awakened early once more to prep for the day, she found some solace in knowing that once again the students would be busy assisting in the city with further reconstruction efforts. Despite her own less than stellar mood right now, she will readily admit to being proud of the students, both from Beacon and from the other academies, as they readily helped out despite how fatigued they must still be both from still recovering physically and mentally from the Breach as well as from previous efforts in reconstruction.
That said, just because classes would still be canceled for the rest of this week didn't mean she could afford even a moment of rest. In light of the Breach, it was high time to reassess lesson plans so that they were more vigorous, to better prepare students so that an event such as the Breach would never happen again.
Or so she and the other faculty members liked to tell them. In reality, there was still that horrific Trial coming up that she and the others had been told of by Jaune and that god, Tenebrous.
And it was thanks to this Trial that she and the others were spending so much time each and every day now trying to figure out ever more effective ways of preparing for it.
Calls were made pretty much daily to coordinate with the other professors from the academies as well as with any other members of the Atlas military back in said kingdom – thankfully James was taking care of that particular task – in order to make sure they were all on the same page and doing their part to ready things for what was to come.
It sure wasn't easy by any stretch by the word and that was really saying something given her own definition of 'easy' and 'hard,' but so far they were all getting by, it would seem.
Now if only she didn't have to deal with this on top of literally everything else from before…
Stifling a second uncharacteristic groan, Glynda walked out of her room, fully dressed and putting up her usual mask of stern indifference and began to all but stalk her way down the halls. Maybe she could swing by the cafeteria for a moment to grab a quick bite to eat. Nothing major; an apple or two would suffice for now until later.
Walking in the direction of the cafeteria, however, she ended up slowing down and narrowing her eyes upon seeing Jaune and Amber exit the building.
Well that certainly wasn't a sight she'd been expecting to see for some reason. Probably because she still wasn't quite used to the new fact that Amber now had Ozpin's permission to walk around the campus. Hardly something she had a problem with given how stir-crazy the maiden would have eventually ended up being, but still… a part of Glynda questioned the decision just a little bit.
She hoped Ozpin had made a good decision.
That aside…
"Good morning," she called out to the two as they started walking in her general direction.
"Oh, Glynda. Good morning!" Jaune greeted with an awkward wave.
"G'morning," Amber greeted more calmly.
Glynda inwardly hummed in confusion. Amber appeared to be leading her blond assistant somewhere by the hand.
"I take it you just had a hardy breakfast, yes? And may I ask where you two will be running off to now?" She tried to inquire as casually as possible about the hand holding and how Jaune's uncertain expression contrasted significantly with Amber's determined and smiling one.
"Hmm? Oh, we're just off to use one of your training rooms," Amber replied in as casual a manner. She motioned to Jaune. "I want to see whether or not I've gotten rusty thanks to my coma, so Jaune's going to spar with me."
"Oh, I see," Glynda said with a nod.
Made sense, can't fault her there.
…
…
Wait, what?!
A little shakily, Glynda looked back and forth between the Fall Maiden and Jaune, the 'Apostle' of a god. Memories of the spar between him and Peter rushed forward in her mind and with the stories of the maidens suddenly feeling fresh to her, the deputy headmistress could only pale ever so slightly.
If these two actually did fight…
Oh lord, no, the sheer amount of time and effort she would have to expend to fix the room on top of everything else she had to do…
Taking a split second to compose herself, Glynda eyed Amber as neutrally as possible. "That's a very wise thing to do. After all, your power will be required during the challenge ahead of us. That said, if you want to really test yourself and see where you currently stand, why not spar out in the forest? From what I understand, you were a wanderer prior to ending up under our care. You can still test to see if your senses and instincts are still used to fighting in such a terrain since the upcoming battle will likely be taking place in such a setting."
She saw the way Amber's eyes lit up and Glynda ended up nearly letting out a sigh of relief as a result.
"You're right!" She turned around promptly and began to drag Jaune with her, who could only blink numbly this whole time. "Then if you'll excuse us, Glynda. Come on, Jaune! Time to show each other what we got!"
"O-Okay…" the young man in question could be heard muttering. "Just try not to burn the forest down, alright?"
As they slowly disappeared from her sights, Glynda really did let out the relieved sigh she'd initially repressed.
Now that had been a close call.
After all, God only knows how tired she'd have been if she'd had to deal with cleaning up after those two in addition to everything else. Seriously, this honestly felt like more of a trial in and of itself.
She could only imagine how much worse it'll be once the Trial starts for real.
…And yet, while she did dread what was to inevitably come, there was a small part of her that couldn't help but-.
-No. No, she wasn't that kind of person anymore. She had far too many people to look after and care for to afford being such a person again.
…No matter how much a part of her may be wishing otherwise.
With a grunt of annoyance aimed at herself, Glynda began her trek again to the cafeteria, her mood worsening already.
She sure hoped this wasn't a sign of the day to come.
"Well? How are things coming along?" James Ironwood couldn't quite keep the gruffness out of his voice as he made his call.
Thankfully, the subordinate he was calling either didn't notice or was able to simply ignore it. Hard to tell with her sometimes despite how much he trusted her.
"Last I talked to them – sometime last night – they said that the paladins were more or less ready, sir. Only a few more tweaks to be made, supposedly," answered his subordinate from the other end of the line, Winter Schnee.
Older sister to Weiss and Whitley Schnee and scion of the family for having, to quote the woman's unbearable father, the 'gall to abandon the family,' Winter Schnee was easily one of his most talented and trusted operatives. As a specialist, she was heads and shoulders above most others in his army, both in rank and in power, intellect, and skill.
Alas, she was back in Atlas, serving as his stand-in regarding other matters while he was here in Vale. At first, her duties had been fairly minor, merely tending to some meetings and hearings that he ought to have been doing, but with this damned Trial now on the figurative horizon, James was quick to imagine that the white-haired woman had almost as much on her plate now as he did as she acted as his direct intermediary between him and his R&D division.
Not that he was complaining.
"Good. How about our other projects?" he asked of her.
"Our AK line is still in the process of receiving complete weapons upgrades and given that our R&D division is trying to balance this with everything else, I personally estimate they'll be fully upgraded by the end of the month," Winter stated.
James suppressed a 'tsk' at that. AK was short for Atlesian Knight, the android foot soldiers that the kingdom of Atlas had created some odd years ago. They've undergone a handful of complete overhauls since then, but there's always been a need for further improvements, both to their AIs and to the physical capabilities they possess.
Ordinarily, the AKs could easily dispatch any rioters and the more immature Grimm such as Beowulves and even some Ursas… but only in small numbers. With the ever so lovely description of the Trial that Jaune Arc and the 'Power' had given him and the others, the Grimm would be coming at them in such vast numbers that James was now halfway expecting a veritable sea of blackness to just try and crush everything underfoot.
As such, the AKs would be far more crucial now than ever; they'd make great foot soldiers in this upcoming endeavor, since for every 'death' the AKs suffered, that would hopefully mean one more person would be spared a gruesome fate.
And if everything goes well, the AKs along with the paladins should hopefully be able to provide much needed suppressing fire and artillery support while his soldiers and professional huntsmen and huntresses held the line and even press forward.
But there were a lot of 'hopeful' lines of thought there and as general of the Atlas military, that wasn't something James could afford to rely on. He had to rely on numbers, on concrete evidence, and reliable intelligence. Hope was a damn nice thing to have, but it wasn't a good substitute for everything else.
So it was with barely withheld frustration that he spoke again. "I understand. Still, if possible, tell them to hurry it up. If need be, tell them to not bother with tests – the upgraded AKs will be getting plenty of 'field-testing' in due time anyways."
As things were, if what Winter had just said was accurate – she often was accurate in her estimations – then the AKs would have ended up completely more or less just as the Trial started. That obviously wouldn't do.
But his own command just now was hardly going to make things better in immediate hindsight. Even Winter seemed to be thinking such a thing if the troubled look on her face was anything to go by. "Sir, I wouldn't really advise that. As it is, our R&D crew are spread thin already and many of them looked just about ready to start a mutiny when I last paid a visit. Even though you've secured all but a blank check for them, what they need now is more people. Either that or more time… and I believe we're short in supply on both, sir."
James really tried not to growl. Winter made a damn good point.
With most of the army here with him, there were hardly any back home in comparison. That said, he did have a small crew of technicians here on some of his airships so perhaps he could send them back to R&D and see if they could lend a hand in speeding things up.
"I'll see what I can do about the manpower part," James said slowly. "As for the issue of time in general, that's something out of all our hands."
"Sir, if I may, why not allow me over there by your side? With all due respect to our men, I alone am equal to a few platoons! Surely, I could be of more help-!" Winter began.
But before she could allow her emotions to start getting the better of her, James cut her off with a swift motion of the hand, the gesture immediately silencing her.
"You certainly are, Winter. And that's why I need you to remain in Atlas," he replied. Her zeal was admirable, but it was also because of how strong she was that she had to remain in Atlas.
During the Trial, the Grimm would be swarming everyone at Salem's commands. Vale wouldn't be the only place hit – the other kingdoms would be forced to fend for themselves as well. And while he would be damned before letting any kingdom go undefended, he couldn't afford to concentrate so much manpower here in Vale. He'd need capable people such as Winter to remain in Atlas to combat the Grimm there when they come, both on the frontlines and from a commanding position.
"In any case, I have Penny here with me, currently undergoing a maintenance check before the day is to truly begin. While her skill may only be equal to that of first or second year trainee, her overall power and combat capabilities will be enough to make up for it for the time being. And it's not like I am not capable of fighting on the frontlines," he began.
As if to emphasize the point, he made a fist with his right hand, the joints within the robotic limb loudly tightening in a threatening manner. On its own, it was naturally much stronger than his original arm and when enhanced with his aura, he could easily deal with even the largest of Beowulves and Ursas.
"…Very well, sir," Winter reluctantly responded.
If James were anyone else, he might have simply acknowledged the response and leave it at that, but he knew much better. Winter's sense of duty was strong, but that most likely wasn't why she'd requested to come here.
"I'm certain your sister will be fine," the general commented naturally. "From what I understand, she and her team were among the few to emerge fairly unscathed when compared to others during the Breach."
If there was one thing that Winter held dear more than her duty, it was her sister, Weiss Schnee. Given what he's told her, however, of the Trial that was to come, it was only natural that the specialist would start to fret over the overall safety of her dear younger sister.
"…I know she will, sir. Nonetheless, thank you," the woman said with a small yet honest smile of gratitude. Not even she, an otherwise upright and stoic person for the most part, was able to quite keep her nerves in this situation.
Not that James could hardly blame her.
"Then if there's nothing else, specialist…" he began.
"I'll relay your orders to the R&D division, sir. As well as tend to other matters," Winter finished for him. Giving him a quick salute, she was the first to end the call just as he returned it.
Now that the call was over with, James let out a long sigh as he sagged back into his chair, feeling drained already.
For what felt like weeks when in fact it was merely a few days thus far, he'd likely made more calls than he ever had before and even then it was far from over. There was still much to be coordinated and although his forces currently here will remain here until the Trial, he still needed to send at least some manpower and supplies to the other academies as well.
But with the AKs taking so long along with the paladins, he was beginning to seriously worry about whether or not the preparations he'd personally set in motion would be ready in time to make a difference.
"Damn it all…" he muttered, wishing already for a strong drink. Alas, he was no Qrow, meaning he had no nearby stash of alcohol nearby. Looks like he was going to have to wait.
His scroll beeped suddenly, nearly making him jump due to how out of it he currently was. Nonetheless, he recovered well enough and answered it. It was audio only this time, no visual call.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but it's about the woman you asked us to keep track of," spoke the soldier on the other end of the call.
By that, the soldier meant none other than the maiden, Amber. The young woman had finally been able to get permission from Ozpin to leave her chambers and explore the academy… much to his consternation.
While he had no issue with allowing the maiden to stretch her legs lest she go stir-crazy, the complete lack of guards she had was driving his paranoia into overdrive. A powerful maiden she may be, but there was no telling just what could happen. Given the sort of power she could easily command, it was critical to keep her safe and well rested until it was time to finally cut loose.
So to this end, he'd taken the liberty of having one of his men commandeer one of their smaller drones to follow her from afar, ensuring there were no sneak attacks on her person. He did this without Ozpin's knowledge or permission, of course; the last thing he wanted was to get into an argument with him over it that would only be a waste of time and energy.
Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, after all.
In any case, he was certainly feeling alert now. "What is it? Has something happened?" he demanded. Damn it, he knew he should have tried harder to talk the woman into keeping a low profile still. Had that criminal, Cinder Fall, made a move? Was that even possible in her current state?
"Well, I wouldn't say something's happened… but something might," spoke the soldier in an awkward voice. "She's heading for the forest with a guy in tow."
…A guy? Seriously? He knew she'd been more than a little frustrated being cooped up, but he hadn't been expecting her to be frustrated in 'that wa-.'
Wait a second.
"Was this man by chance someone in his late teens? Blond and blue eyed? Dressed in plain clothes?" he asked, already knowing the answer now.
"Uh, yes sir! From what the drone's audio detection picked up, it seems like his name is… Jean?"
"Jaune…" James automatically corrected. He was massaging his temple with the fingers of his robotic hand, already feeling a headache about to start.
In the extremely brief time he's come to know Jaune Arc, it seems like the young man had a knack for throwing metaphorical curveballs at him. First the very existence of Tenebrous, the truth behind the Grimm and Salem, the Trial… and now whatever the hell he knew Jaune was about to do.
"According to what else the drone picked up, I think they're going to the forest to spar, of all things," spoke the soldier.
At that, James nearly froze outright.
He's heard of what Jaune is capable of thanks to the conversations he's had with Ozpin and Glynda, not to mention the video he was briefly shown of the blond fighting against Peter.
If he really is about to spar with a maiden of all people…
"…Send me the exact coordinates of their location as soon as possible!" he said before ending the call.
No longer feeling fatigued for the moment, he immediately got up out of his chair and started to make a run for it.
The absolute last thing he needed was a repeat of what had happened at the end of the spar between Jaune and Peter. And if Amber somehow went through something similar…
He feared that there might not be much of a forest left should such a thing occur.
In which case, all the more reason to hurry the hell up and observe the spar from as close a spot as possible. God help him if he actually needs to step in and stop things before they escalate too much.
For what felt like the thousandth or so time during his stay at Beacon, Jaune was feeling pretty damned confused and taken aback in general by how things have played out.
So he could tell himself with complete certainty that suddenly being dragged off to spar with Amber was only the tip of the iceberg of weirdness that he would be experiencing all too soon.
Not that he was particularly against it – Amber did raise a good point in that she needs to be at top form to be of the most help during the Trial. And unlike before, where he'd worried about fighting her because she might try to kill him, he knew for a fact that now that she was in the know, such a fear was unfounded.
Still didn't make him feel any less nervous as he continued to follow the Fall Maiden deeper into the forest. To Tenebrous even when in his vastly reduced state, a maiden may hardly be much of a challenge, but to someone of his level? Yeah, that was an entirely different story.
"So," he began suddenly. "Think we're far enough away?"
Amber hummed a little before responding, her aura, now almost fully restored shining brightly to his otherwise blind eyes. "I believe so."
He stopped and watched as the woman continued to walk forward, but at a much slower pace than before just as she let go of his hand – hmm, how odd for her to have done so all this time though – and then proceeding to stop fifteen feet away from him.
"Alright! So let's not waste too much time here. The rules are simple: fight until one of us is knocked down five times or until one of our auras is almost completely depleted. I'll be trusting you to keep an eye on that part."
Given his Aura Vision, he could tell just how much a person's aura had been worn down, so that made sense. He nodded in understanding. "Okay, sounds good. But didn't you used to have a weapon?"
From what he understood, Amber had once possessed a simple staff during her traveling days, but following her coma, it seems to have just completely disappeared. He had no idea if it'd simply been broken all that time ago or something else had happened to it.
But in response, the maiden merely chuckled. "Not to worry – my maiden power can do a bit more than simply manipulate the weather."
With his Aura Vision, Jaune could only watch in fascination as a small part of Amber's aura split from her body and sank into the ground, moving and forming within it until it took the shape of a polearm, made from the very earth itself as it rose up into her outstretched hands. This occurred in the span of mere seconds yet to him, it had felt to have taken longer due to how intrigued he was by the process.
"Wow… that's really handy!" He ended up commenting like that before he even realized what he was doing.
In response, Amber could only laugh once more a little. "Coming from a guy who's the Apostle of a god, I'll take that as a compliment." Then her aura shifted as her emotional state changed. He could literally see how serious the maiden now was. "Well then, with all that said and done, let's get started, shall we? And don't you dare take it easy on me, even if I did say this is a spar."
Seeing her shift into a stance, Jaune did the same, smiling as he did so. "Don't worry. With you as my opponent, holding back kind of wasn't an option from the start."
An emotion he couldn't quite identify caused Amber's aura to fluctuate momentarily before it disappeared. "You know, a girl could really get a swelled ego from all that flattery. Not that it's a bad thing."
"Now then…" the woman began. "Let's go!"
And with those words, their spar finally began.
Heh, been wanting to do a fight between Amber and Jaune for a long while now. Originally, back when I'd been planning out the major parts of this story, I'd intended to have them fight during the Breach event, but then had changed it to have Amber encounter Tenebrous instead. I did so in order to showcase how exactly conflicts would go with her between both the god and its Apostle, that way you guys will see exactly the sort of power gap the two of them have currently have.
Well with that said, peaceful times – for a certain definition of 'peaceful' – won't be lasting much longer. Aside from a few more shows of preparations, this story will be reaching its final arc fairly soon, though said final arc will be lasting quite a while due to all of the things I have planned for it.
Hope you'll look forward to it!
Until next time, everyone! Take care!