Author's Note: Oh my, V6 is taking no prisoners.
"Oh, you want more answers from Ozpin? Okay, fine, why not?" - Miles Luna, probably
Anyways, there's an important tl;dr down at the end of the Closing Thoughts I'd recommend you read if you're curious how this story will continue to handle Volume 6.
Enjoy.
Chapter 34: "Things are in motion now, whether or not you or I like it. I've got a few plans of my own laid, and when shit hits the fan and you find yourself stranded, I could always use a right-hand man, someone to balance out Neo. You keep that in mind." – Roman Torchwick
Jaune's POV
The door to the room finally swung open and in walked General Ironwood, with a folder in one hand and both of my swords grasped by the middle of their blades in the other, with Crocea Mors sheathed in its shield.
"Am I being interrogated?" I asked pointedly as soon as he closed the door behind him. I had no qualms about letting my voice sound agitated.
"Interrogated?" Ironwood repeated back to me as he made his way to stand on the other side of the table from me. "Why would you think that?"
"Oh, I don't know," I answered back, agitation ramping up a little, for show. "The fact that this room is called 'Interrogation #4' might have given me that idea."
"No, you are not being interrogated," the general answered, a bit of annoyance in his voice, but more in response to my attitude than anything. "You are being debriefed."
"At least buy me dinner first."
Ironwood gave me an unreadable stare for a few moments and I returned it unwaveringly. "Qrow warned me you had a mouth on you," he dismissed offhand. "I asked you to meet me here because it is somewhere private where we can discuss the Breach and your mission to Mountain Glenn. If this were a real interrogation, the lights on those cameras would be on," he said, pointing to the security cameras in the corner. Sure enough, they were dead.
"If this were a real interrogation, I'm sure my human rights would have been violated by now, too."
"I also would not be bringing you back these," Ironwood stated by laying my sword on the edge of the table, while intentionally not rising to my comment or even acknowledging it.
"We couldn't have done this in, say, your office, or someplace less cold and depressing?"
"I am the head of both Atlas' combat school and military. What on Remnant leads you to believe that this isn't less cold and depressing than my office?" the man asked slowly, the corners of his mouth curling up at his own joke. It put me at ease a little, but it very much felt like the sort of joke that Ozpin would make to attempt to lull you into a sense of comfort, but less subtle. To his credit, it was also funnier than Ozpin's usual attempts. It gave me sort of an impression that Ironwood was more rigid than Ozpin, but it didn't feel like that was a bad thing. "Do you know why you are here?"
"I'm betting that you're about to tell me anyways," I responded sarcastically, only to get a flat look from the man. "Fine, I'll go along. Debriefing, just like you said."
"Correct, but not what I'm asking for," he countered. "Why are you here, on my ship, in what is admittedly a poor choice of room for this meeting?"
I remained silent. I did know why, but he was setting up something specific, and it was always better not to be caught guessing at the motives of others.
"As a student of Beacon, you are legally considered a Huntsman from Vale and, as such, are not beholden to the requests of any nation's military, and yet you are here 'willingly.' Care to summarize why?"
To his slight frustration, I remained silent. He was setting up his authority quite deliberately, which was again a much less subtle tactic than Ozpin. It was brazen and brutish, but there was a transparency to it that I appreciated, which I suspected was his intention.
"Four days ago, a joint operation between Beacon Academy and the Atlas Military was initiated for search and destroy in Mountain Glenn, targeting White Fang activity. I know that I'm stating the obvious here, but bear with me; you were one of eight students sent on that mission and you are here for debriefing on that mission, despite the fact that it was led by Beacon, not Atlas. The operation crippled a White Fang attack on the city of Vale but resulted in a train crash that created a breach for Grimm to enter the heart of the city. This incident, the Breach, was contained by your teams until Atlas personal could arrive to reinforce the area; the Breach was promptly sealed not long after."
"Oh, this is going to be one of those debriefings, okay," I grumbled, pretending to be upset, which was not hard at all. "I was there, general. I may have been a little out of it at the end, but I remember the chain of events well enough. Last I heard, there were zero casualties, though several injuries, so you can skip that part, too."
"Very well," he responded, seeming at the least pleased that I was a little more involved in the conversation. "I bring it up because in response to Atlas' rapid deployment, the Council of Vale has seen fit to officially hand over the investigation into the White Fang and the Breach, and the security of the Vytal Festival, to Atlas, in an effort to promote efficiency and strengthen ties between the kingdoms."
I nodded to show that I was following along and also that this was new information to me, or at least, to let him think this was new information to me. And it was, technically; Roman had explained his intentions for the Breach after a few tense words between the two of us, and one of those was to ensure that Atlas would be sticking around for the Vytal Festival. One of her plans, Roman called it disdainfully, with the pronoun pretty clearly referencing Cinder Fall. Overall, the plan was a shitty one from Roman's point of view—get captured by Atlas after a seemingly botched terror strike, and then…wait.
"Trust me, kid, I don't like Cinder giving me up to be interrogated by Atlas, especially not after the trouble I've gone through to get away from Atlas, but I've got an idea what she wants me on that ship for, and I've got some ideas of my own, too."
What worries me is the scale of Cinder's next move. After I chewed Roman out for dragging me into a terrorist attack, he seemed keen not to tell me exactly what is was he knew about Cinder's plan. He just indicated that he was required to stay aboard Atlas' flagship as a prisoner until the Vytal Festival, when Neo would be sent to free him, and then…blank. And then they'd be given further instructions, so he said. And Roman clearly didn't like it, but the fact that he was allowing himself to be forced into doing it told me a lot about who Cinder Fall was.
We both know that there aren't a ton of reasons that you would want a man aboard an airship...
"You are the last to be debriefed, Mr. Arc—"
"Jaune is fine," I cut in, feigning friendliness, or at least non-hostility. "Mr. Arc was my father. I think."
Ironwood gave me a funny look for that line which made me smirk a little, at both his reaction and my own joke.
"Jaune," Ironwood corrected, pushing past it. "As I was saying, you are the last of the team sent to be debriefed. Do you know why?"
"You were too nervous to talk to me earlier," I cut back with a joke. "It's okay, I get it a lot. It's not every day you meet a famous porn star."
Ironwood, who had by now taken a seat opposite me, rubbed his forehead and eyebrows with one hand while taking a deep breath. "Remind me to recommend that you are never paired with Qrow Branwen ever again."
"That's all it took to get me away from Qrow? Shoulda gone with that line sooner."
"The reason that you are the last to be debriefed," Ironwood cut in sharply, raising his voice slightly to drown mine out, "is that no one else on that mission was taken hostage by Roman Torchwick."
I went to point out that at least one other person was taken hostage by Torchwick, but bit my tongue at the last second. While I am certain that it is of no consequence, the only other person I could mention is Yang, and throwing her under the bus to deflect attention from me was not something I was willing to do. She's already giving up too much to help me out; I will not make her regret that more than she already should. Especially not when I knew what Ironwood was getting at, and that it didn't apply to Yang the same way it did to me.
"Oh, so that's what this is," I answered finally, recomposing myself after the near-slip. "You want to know if I heard anything."
"I already know the details of every other part of the mission from at least one other member. The only areas I have no accounts for are when you and miss Xiao Long were taken hostage, and then when you split up after breaking free," Ironwood added on. "If you did hear anything critical from the White Fang, I trust that you would have reported that when your statement was taken. I'm more interested in piecing together a few things that I still don't understand."
I took a moment to weigh his words. His assumption wasn't wrong, and if I had heard anything relevant, it would have gone into my statement. That is, if I hadn't negotiated with the Fang and orchestrated how Yang and I would be treated that whole time. If the White Fang had any more attacks like this planned that I was aware of, I would have found a way to tip off Atlas about it; I'm not leaving the Tribe to join one of the only groups worse than them. Roman figured out that pretty quickly, though, and was cautious not to tip me off about any other operations like this, if there were any.
Quite frankly, Ironwood has nothing on me; Roman and I were careful. He treated me like he would have treated any other hostile Huntsman in front of the White Fang, and in my original surrender, I did nothing wrong. If any of the White Fang grunts survived the tunnel and the crash, they wouldn't have been able to give any information on me that would reflect badly. And once Torchwick and I had a chance to speak…candidly on the train, he made it clear that this was his last time running the White Fang.
"Let's get this over with, then. Ask away, general."
"Take me through what happened after you and miss Xiao Long fell through the hole into the under-city, up to when you boarded the train." Ironwood leaned back in his chair and brought a hand up to rub his chin idly, giving off a very calm and relaxed feeling. In all likelihood, he was relaxed, and I did my best to mimic it, trying not to give away that I already saw where this was headed. I had been allowed to keep my armor and clothes after the Breach despite how the back of my shirt was drenched in dried blood, but that didn't mean that it didn't at least raise suspicions.
Better to have to speak of it to Ironwood than Ozpin, I guess; doesn't mean that I have to make this easy for him.
"Sure, easy enough. The hole opened up under Yang and she fell in first, with me falling shortly after. I flexed my Aura and managed to not be completely knocked out by the fall, but I did take a nasty hit to the head; Yang was out cold when I found her. She still hadn't come to when the White Fang surrounded us." Ironwood listened patiently, nodding along slightly and occasionally glancing at his notes, but never for long enough that he was checking anything important. "Things were tense between the White Fang and me, and they were eventually… reasoned with, and agreed to take us both prisoner; I couldn't risk fighting them without Yang getting killed."
"How many would you say there were?" Ironwood interjected quickly, more looking for details than to trip me up.
"I don't remember…" I mumbled back. "Maybe twenty or so? I could have taken them if I wasn't worried about Yang's safety."
"Noted," he said, writing down the number in his notes. "Please continue."
I eyed him suspiciously for a few moments, before deciding to play along further. "They had me carry Yang—" like I would have let anyone else touch her, "—to their encampment. When Torchwick found out, he realized that we had others in the area and ordered the trains to leave as soon as possible."
"So they weren't planning on striking when they did?" Ironwood cut in, focusing on a detail that I was all too happy to focus on.
"I doubt it. Doesn't seem like a very well-timed strike if it didn't kill anyone."
"Ugh, you better have Atlas waiting at the damn breach point. Once Cinder realizes that this plan was compromised, she's…well, I'd take my chances with Atlas over her."
That raised the question of when, exactly, this strike was supposed to take place, which I'm confident Ironwood has already drawn a conclusion about. Roman always danced around the subject of Cinder's ultimate goals—as anyone smart man who knew anything about it would—but it felt more and more like Cinder had dangerous intentions, and that Roman knew more about fairy tales than he liked. Cinder was undercover in Beacon and was trying to set up a terror-strike on Vale to keep in her back pocket, which could have served as a great distraction if we hadn't spoiled it.
"Is that so?" Ironwood asked, his voice a bit curious.
"Yeah, if they could have waited a few weeks, they would have hit during the Vytal Festival." As was their plan, which was the subject of a little shouting match between Torchwick and me. Roman was quick to blame Cinder on being the one who wanted a terror strike during the Vytal Festival, and I was quick to establish that I did not join this enterprise to be accessory to mass murder. I'm sure that I could have done something to move civilians away from the target area if the plan had gone through, but that was only if they had filled me in on the plan beforehand; Cinder didn't strike me as the trusting type. I made it very clear to Roman that I wanted to know everything that they were up to, and Roman delivered on the spot, telling me about another of Cinder's schemes to distract Ozpin (in vague terms) and confirming to me that distracting Beacon was, indeed, the purpose. I would have to be a fool to think he's told me everything, but at the very least, I know that he's not keen on what Cinder's trying to pull off. "I assume that's why Torchwick was to angry about us being there."
"Interesting. It's much the same conclusion I've come to, that the attack would have been more successful during the Festival. Your teams performed admirably to foil this." His praise was genuine, if a little patronizing. "Continue."
"Torchwick ordered that we be tied up and put to the side and then left to oversee loading the train, taking both my swords with him. I convinced the grunt that was going to tie us up that he was wasting his time, since I wouldn't be going anywhere with Yang unconscious."
"He bought that?" the general asked, part surprised and maybe a little impressed.
"He sure did." Not that hard to convince him when you have his boss order him to do it, though. "Shortly after, Yang came to, and with a little bit of my Semblance we were both back in fighting shape."
"Healing, right?" he cut in to ask. "Your Semblance, that is."
"Healing?...yeah, close enough," I shrugged off. At this point, it wouldn't matter if that aspect was confirmed, especially if I didn't need to correct him and go into the finer details of Aura Amplification. "When things started exploding, we split up to search for our weapons, which is how I ended up on the train."
"The explosions were Qrow's doing," Ironwood explained for me, which I took with a nod. It felt like his style, or at least, it didn't feel like Winter's. "As he put it, it was a signal for the rest of the teams to find."
"Sounds effective."
"So you boarded the train," Ironwood stated, glancing down at his notes as he did so, "and the next record I have of you is Torchwick holding you hostage to keep miss Belladonna from attacking him—"
"That's correct, until Yang showed up and decided to call his bluff."
"Indeed, and how did you feel about that?" Ironwood asked in a voice that sounded far too much like he held that decision against Yang for being reckless. I may not have been thrilled that Yang was throwing a wrench in Roman's and my plans, but I wouldn't hold it against her, and I certainly wouldn't let anyone else use it to detract from her.
"Pretty pleased," I answered back with a grin, catching the general off-guard. "I didn't really like being a hostage anyways. Good on Yang for calling his bluff."
"You could have been hurt if he wasn't bluffing," Ironwood countered, a bit sternly but more like he was making sure that I knew the stakes. If anything, he wasn't sure how to react to me not wanting to implicate Yang.
"If."
He gave me a funny look for a few seconds, before shaking it free and noting something on his file. "Very well, then. How did you become a hostage again?" His voice was very loose and unassuming, but I knew that to be a front, if only because it was one of the few things he has no account of.
"Tried to get my weapons back from Torchwick without getting caught. One of his Fang members had better hearing than I anticipated and I got caught. Extra set of ears…" I kept my answer as simple and loose as his question had been, both in a show that there was nothing to hide and in a silent show that I could play his games too.
"Yes, well, I can see the advantages that having an extra set of ears would grant," he tacked on, finding no holes to poke in my answer. "Are you sure that's all that happened?"
"I did hit my head pretty good, but I'm pretty sure," I answered back, going out of my way to use that line about my head again, keeping the idea of a bad memory in his mind.
Ironwood looked me over for a good while and I returned the gaze, before he sat up a little in his chair and readjusted the folder on the table. "Jaune, I want you to know that there are no cameras or recorders of any kind in here, and whatever we discuss stays between us. Since I have been charged with this investigation and the Festival's security, I am not required to share any of this with Headmaster Ozpin, and I happen believe that's important to you."
I tried really hard not to change my expression or look at him differently at that, but he had certainly changed things just in that one statement. In a way, it was a small victory, an omission that I had won the little game and he was the first to break the façade. On the other hand, it was easily possible that he was only feigning this to gain an upper hand in said game—sacrificing your queen, so to speak—which is why I watched him suspiciously while doing my best not to seem so.
"Ozpin and I aren't seeing eye to eye on things right now, so you have my word that anything we discuss stays between the two of us." He paused to give me a moment to think over this. It was unreasonable for me to expect that he meant that anything would be kept from Ozpin; I have a feeling that telling him that Raven and I were planning on turning Ozpin's next Maiden would make its way to Ozpin within five minutes. He did, however, seem honest in his intentions, and depending on where he wants to lead this conversation, I am open to the possibility of giving him what he wants, given that it is minor. "With all that said, are you sure that there wasn't anything else that happened?"
That still doesn't mean I'll let it be this easy.
"I mean, I'm pretty sure."
I met Ironwood's eyes again, and he was watching me with a disappointed frown, making it clear that both of us knew I was lying. He looked like he wasn't certain what he wanted to do, or maybe just what he could do, and I certainly did nothing to make things easier on him with my denial.
"You know, these were recovered from the tangled wreck of the train engine," Ironwood shifted gears pointedly and tapped my swords. "I thought they'd be damaged, since most Huntsmen's weapons would have some internal contraptions in need of repair after a collision like that, so I took the liberty of having them inspected by our own weaponsmiths. They were completely fine, no defects or kinks whatsoever, I'm told."
"They're both pretty simple designs," I answered in explanation. "Nothing like a sword that morphs into a scythe or anything. Just one sword that morphs into smaller swords, and then a plain ole sword." Angau Glass had a little bit of mecha-shift to it, but there wasn't much more than blades sliding together and interlocking. It did actually shift and the blade would curve to form katanas or a nodachi, but even that was relatively tame for Huntsmen standards.
"Yes, well, they did find one thing wrong, just not with the weapons themselves…" he trailed off, looking to me for a reaction. I feigned surprise and waited for him to elaborate, with the charade becoming clear to us both. "Blood, Mr. Arc. I'm told the weapons were not thoroughly cleaned since the last time they spilled actual blood, not Grimm blood; it looked as if they blades were wiped off hastily."
"Oh?"
"In addition to that, Atlas has since sent teams to comb through the remains of the White Fang camp in Mountain Glenn. No actionable intelligence was found, but there were bodies of White Fang members found in more than one location."
"Oh, those poor terrorists," I commented, pretending to be heartbroken. "That's just so sad to hear that their days of murdering people were cut short." Ironwood gave me a flat look for that, before continuing.
"Obviously, no one is going to be disciplined for ending the life of a terrorist, least of all by me," Ironwood stated sharply, though it was meant to be somewhat reassuring. "We've already been able to attribute several of the casualties to Qrow Branwen—it seems that setting off bombs and fighting through hordes of White Fang while waiting for backup can get…messy. What we can't attribute to him are only a couple of White Fang, and since your weapons were bloodied, I figured I'd give you a chance to help me out on this."
"I don't know what to tell you," I deflected. He was making it obvious, but I would have him come right out and say it.
"One of them was beheaded," Ironwood added on.
I gave him a shrug.
"You're not in trouble here, Jaune. Why'd you hide it?"
"What makes you so certain it was me?"
"All of those details, the fact that you are the only unaccounted-for person, and that you were soaked in blood without having broken your aura," Ironwood answered back confidently. "And your team stated that you claimed said blood was not yours."
"Yeah, fine, it was me," I admitted with an eye roll. "You caught me."
"How'd it happen?"
"When Yang and I first fell, they weren't going to take us both alive, just me. When they made a move to shoot Yang while she was unconscious, I didn't let them," I answered, emphasizing that last part. "I took out two shooters and drew them—and their fire—away from Yang. One headless swordsman later, they were scared enough of me that when I offered to surrender if we both were taken alive, they accepted."
"I see. And why not lead with that?"
I shrugged. "Maybe I'm just too used to dealing with Ozpin. He tends to enjoy it when I hide things from him."
"So he does," Ironwood grumbled, nodding. "True to my word, this will remain between us. Truth be told, I did not expect to hear anything incriminating from you, nor have I; I'm sure if I were in your shoes, I could not have done better. You have my praise for your actions, Jaune."
"Am I free to go then?"
"Yes," he answered, and I was out of my seat as soon as the words left his mouth. "Although I'm sure your friends will have their own questions. Feel free to ensure them that my investigation has determined that you acted correctly in this matter."
"Will do," I answered, making a note of that in my head as I began strapping Crocea Mors and Angau Glass to me. I certainly have no plans to bring it up, but they did all see blood on my clothes, so I'm sure I'll get asked about it. Having Ironwood's approval might smooth things over for some of them.
"Mr. Arc?"
"Mmmm?"
"We inspected both of your swords and your shield," Ironwood stated, stopping me from opening the door and leaving just yet. "They are in fine condition, the sword and shield combination especially; impressive, given its age."
"Thank you," I answered as evenly as I could as ice ran through my veins. No one has seen my shield yet, for the reason that I can't risk Ozpin confirming my identity through the symbol on the front. Ironwood stared me down the first time he heard my last name, so it clearly wasn't lost on him either.
"Such an elegant design, what with how the trim and the crest contrast the white shield. Interesting, isn't it?"
His words hung in the air as proof that he had seen the symbol there, and his tone made it crystal clear that he knew exactly what it meant. I looked up to find him watching over me intently, all too aware that the game between us had very significantly shifted back into his favor.
"It's all I have left of my family," I responded quietly, hoping the honesty there would be all that he needed to hear. "An heirloom."
"I take it you know how Ozpin would react if he saw that symbol?"
I nodded, all pretenses from being having evaporated. I didn't exactly know what he would do, but I knew that it was better to keep him in the dark as long as possible. Dragging up the Arcs would mean dragging up my past, which is too complicated to risk Ozpin knowing right now.
"Very well, then," the general stated, waving a hand to dismiss the matter. "Should you ever want to know more about that symbol, the Headmaster would be the premiere source of knowledge, but that will be up to you. I gave you my word that he won't hear of this from me, after all."
"Why not?" I cut in, meeting the general's eyes and making it clear that we were speaking honestly now.
"Ozpin and I…aren't agreeing on a lot of things right now. There's a reason that I've pushed so hard to take control of security for the Festival. Ozpin already has…a lot on his plate right now; it's easier for this to stay between us. Why, did you have any problems with that?"
"No sir," I answered quickly.
"I thought not. Give your team my regards, Mr. Arc."
"Jaune!" Ruby shouted before bursting into a streak of red and shooting across Beacon's airfield, coming to an abrupt stop directly in front of me as I stepped off the ramp to the Bullhead. Rose petals scattered in the strong winds from the Bullheads. "Hi."
"Hi Ruby," I responded automatically, walking past her without so much as looking at her to get on her nerves. As I looked past her, I found the rest of her team and the rest of mine approaching as a collective unit. "Well, that can't be good. Did I do something wrong?"
"Other than walking right past me?" Ruby huffed at me.
"Hey guys," I called out as we approached, again ignoring Ruby. "How were classes?"
"Boring~~" Nora sang out without hesitation. "All we did was get our final grades back in each one. The day was so slow."
"Final grades, huh?" I repeated. "How'd you all do?"
"Weiss set the curve," Yang called out quickly, though grumbling 'again' under her breath, "Pyrrha, Ren, and I all did good. Blake still won't show us hers because she's stubborn—" Blake gave Yang a flat look but didn't object, "—Nora…passed, and Ruby did just enough that I'm not gonna send a picture of her grades to our dad."
"Hey, I had to jump up two years!" Ruby protested.
"I know, which is why I'm letting them go…this time," Yang teased back, much to Ruby's frustration.
"Did anyone find out mine?" I asked curiously, not that I needed to be told how bad they were. Of the many things I'm balancing, grades were never even on the table.
"Uh…" Yang stalled, confirming my hunch.
"One might say they were…" Pyrrha tried to answer but looked away when I looked up at her.
"Bad," Nora finally called out.
"Your scores for Miss Goodwitch's class were tied for the top!" Ruby cut in, trying to keep me cheerful. It didn't take a genius to guess who I was tied with, too. Pyrrha was beaming a little, proud of either herself or her partner, but probably both.
"And your scores for everyone else's were almost at the bottom," Weiss tacked on, dragging down Ruby's cheer.
"Eh."
"Eh?" Weiss repeated in shock. "That's all you have to say?"
"I guess that's what happens when you grow up an orphan in the woods. Really, we're lucky that I can even read…" Really lucky, actually, considering where I did grow up. Yang's eyes met mine and I could tell we were both thinking about what being taught to read would have been like for a child in Raven's Tribe, though thankfully she did pass the job off onto someone else. 'A is for apple, and B is for the blood of my enemies which you will have to spill someday.'
C, as it stands, is for Raven herself…
"At least Beacon doesn't really fail students," I concluded with a shrug. Sure, you could get kicked out of Beacon for behavior, but according to Raven, there was hardly ever a talented fighter failed out of Beacon because they couldn't memorize facts very well; if anything, dull but dangerous students made for better pawns. "Enough about that. Why did you all come to collect me in the airfield?"
"Because we missed you, silly," Nora answered, not trying to hide how patronizing she sounded.
"We were bored," Blake answered flatly. "And they wanted to needle you for answers."
"Blake!" Ruby chastised, more embarrassed at having been sold out. "Don't listen to her, Jaune. She's crazy."
"Oh, good. So you don't have anything to ask me?"
"Well…" Weiss chimed in. "Now that we've all been debriefed…"
"You guys have seriously been waiting to ask me about the mission for over three days?" I asked, amused that they thought by asking me they'd somehow ruin Ironwood's investigation. Even Ironwood wasn't concerned about the investigation, since it was pretty open and shut: the Fang made a power play, and we shut it down. There wasn't much that we did that worried the head of Atlas' military. "You know what, fine, but can we do this somewhere other than the airfield?"
"Oh…yeah," Ruby responded as if remembering something. "Ask him."
"We were all heading into Vale to eat," Pyrrha explained when I looked around confused. "We were going to ask if you wanted to come with us?"
"Who all is 'we'?"
"All seven of us," Ruby answered. "Now that the mission is officially over, we're going to celebrate."
"It sounds like I don't have a choice but to come with you," I pointed out with a roll of my eyes.
"You don't," Yang chimed in. Nora gave me an exaggerated (and somewhat threatening) nod to confirm this.
"Alright, I give. Let me at least go put my weapons and armor up."
"Do it quickly," Ren pleaded, sending a nervous glance at Nora; the message was clear. Don't keep Nora waiting for food.
I nodded and jogged off towards the dorms, finding the hallways empty; everyone probably had the same idea we did—celebrating the semester ending instead of defeating terrorists, at least—and since they didn't have to wait for me to get back from general Ironwood's ship, they had already left.
I made it to our room easily and began unstrapping the holsters for my swords and all of my armor, made easier now that I only have wrist and shoulder armor. I just chunked them on top of my bed, not really having time to go put them in my locker, before stripping off my shirt and searching for a new one. My wardrobe isn't exactly abundant, so it was more a matter of just grabbing a new shirt at random; it would look decent enough with jeans no matter which one I took, since I didn't wear a lot else.
There was a knock on the door, and instead of calling out I just headed over and opened it straight away, since I was ready to leave anyways.
"Can I help you?" I asked Yang, who had been waiting with a semi-flat look.
"How'd your talk with Ironwood go?" Yang asked, cutting to the point and making it clear she wasn't in the mood to be messed with.
"Uh, good?" I answered automatically, earning a flatter look that told me she wasn't asking for the group. "Ironwood has no reason to know about the Tribe, or at least not my connections to them. He was just verifying that I was the one to take out the last few White Fang bodies they found." I made sure to keep my voice down, even though there wasn't anything wrong with what I did. I fully expect to be grilled about what my meeting was about (and why I was covered with blood during the mission) over dinner anyways, so I watched Yang to see how she'd react to the topic being brought back up. Maybe it would prepare me for how the others would take it, even if Yang already knows.
She didn't react to it at all.
"Oh, that's good to hear," Yang responded flatly. "So he didn't ask about you working with Torchwick?"
I froze at the name-drop and Yang continued to give me a flat, unimpressed look.
"…was it…that obvious?" I asked, suddenly concerned that I was no where near as subtle as I thought, and that maybe the general had been toying with me earlier.
"Fortunately for us, no," Yang answered back, giving me a little relief, even if I did not miss the pronoun used. She pulled out a scroll from her pocket and held it up like it was the key to everything.
"What's that?"
"The reason I know about Torchwick," Yang answered back, still giving me a bit of an agitated look that I now recognized as annoyance over not telling her about Roman myself. "Neo gave this to me to pass along to you. Once I saw her, everything sort of clicked…"
"Okay, I know it looks bad, but I—"
Yang cut me off by placing a finger over my lips, though the slight frown she wore kept it from feeling too affectionate.
"Are you working with him because you want to, or you need to?" Yang asked while keeping her voice low and taking her finger off my lips.
"Need to," I answered back honestly. "I—" Yang cut me off again the same way before I could begin to explain how Junior set me up with Torchwick in the first place, though with her expression softer this time.
"That's all I needed to hear. I've decided trust you, Jaune, and we're in this together now. Got it?" I nodded after a few moments of meeting her eyes, and she removed her finger from my lips. "You're an idiot if you thought that this, of all things, was where I was going to draw the line," Yang admonished with a little sarcasm.
"Can you blame me?"
"No," Yang answered after pausing to think about it. "No, but after seeing what you're up against, it's hard to hold much against you. We are absolutely going to talk about all of this," Yang punctuated by jabbing a finger into my shoulder, "but not now. We should get going; they're still waiting on us. Here," Yang offered me the scroll she said came from Neo.
"Have you looked at it?" I asked, more curious than worried. The scroll should have the files Roman was supposed to be getting to me about my family, but with Neo, there really was no telling what was on there.
"I did, yeah. I was…curious, and a little angry at you for hiding the whole Torchwick thing, so I read through some of it. It's…" Yang trailed off uncertainly, staring off at the ground while trying to find the right words. I hope to dust that Neo loaded it with more of her 'photos' and that Yang had to go through that. "You'll want to take some time alone to read them," Yang stated softly, her eyes coming back up to meet mine just as soft as her voice had been. If it was about my family, it wasn't pretty, judging by Yang's expression.
Yang broke that off after a few seconds by walking down the hall and waving for me to follow. "Come on, if we keep them waiting any longer, they're going to jump to conclusions for why I tracked you down in your dorm…"
"It would be mean of us to let them think something that wasn't true," I called back, testing the boundaries like always. "We should do them a favor and just prove them right."
Yang stopped and turned back to cut one eye at me coyly, before continuing on without responding.
"Wait, so the four of you took out how many Paladins?" I asked in disbelief.
"Uh, all of them," Nora boasted back, with even Pyrrha struggling to hide a satisfied smile. Roman had 13 to begin with, I think, lost one to Raven and one during the rally, and then more recently stored two of them in Vale without Cinder's knowledge, which left Nora, Pyrrha, Qrow, and Winter to take down nine Paladins without any difficulty. "Isn't that right, Yang?" Nora practically growled, challenging Yang to dispute her achievement.
"That's right," Yang admitted, throwing her hands up to indicate she wasn't encroaching on Nora's boast. "I saw it with my own eyes after I handled my end."
"Oooh, oooh," Ruby burst out, the sugar from her dessert already hitting her, "how did your fight go, Yang? With that girl who tried to stab you?"
The waiter for the restaurant we were at gave Ruby a funny look for being so excited about something as violent as an attempted-stabbing and subsequent fight, which gave me a brief glimpse into how strange a civilian life would be to me. The waitstaff had already seated us outside on the balcony, which except for us was empty, wisely keeping us separate from the civilian diners inside. We didn't mind; preferred it, actually, as it meant we could talk over things without worrying about anyone nearby overhearing. And from the looks the waiter kept giving us, I have a feeling we won't see him again until we're ready to pay.
"She was frustrating, that's for sure!" Yang let out before taking a sip of her drink—a margarita rather than a strawberry sunrise, for the simple fact that this place didn't have a full-service bar. It was some sort of mix between a casual grill and a sit-down restaurant, meaning that Yang would have to make do with their limited selection. She had been a little annoyed that they didn't have her drink, and also that no one else ordered any alcohol, making her look like that friend out of the group. Even if she, well, kinda is that friend out of the group. "It felt like every time I did something, it only made things worse. If I ever see her again, I'm sicking Pyrrha on her…" Yang finished with a laugh, earning a couple from the group; Pyrrha was a little put off by the comment, but did a good job of ignoring it as she remembered it was all in jest.
"How'd you get away?" I cut in, giving Yang a knowing smirk. Assuming this is Neo we're talking about, Yang might be understating things; frustrating doesn't begin to describe how it was fighting her with a polearm that one time…
"Get away?" Yang repeated offended. "I'll have you know that she was the one to run away, thank you very much!" Yang's response was exaggerated for effect, but she did meet my eyes momentarily, letting a silent message pass between us. It was Neo, alright.
"Yeah, Jaune, Team RWBY doesn't lose fights or get taken hostage!" Ruby cut in, sticking her tongue out to make a point.
"Except that time that Yang was knocked out earlier in the mission," Ren pointed out.
"Ren, no one asked you," Ruby cut back flatly, never taking her eyes off of me. I put my hands up to show Ruby I was conceding the point, only rolling my eyes after she looked away.
"I only landed one punch on her, but I nearly knocked her off the train with it," Yang cut back in, getting us back on track. "The look on her face when I pulled her back onto the train was priceless, too," Yang added on, subtly meeting my eyes briefly once more. "She ran off after that, and no one's seen her since."
"Why'd you pull her back up?" I asked, getting Yang's attention and meeting her eyes once more. I saw recognition there, and it was the last thing I needed to confirm that it was Neo she fought, and she knew what it meant when she saved her. She knew what she was getting into, and that I probably didn't want her in it. With that determined, I amended the question to distract the rest of the group. "I mean, if she was kicking your ass easily—"
"Objection!" Ruby cried out.
"—then why risk that? It's not like the cave wasn't wide enough that she couldn't land next to the train safely." I threw in that last part just so I didn't sound so flippant about causing someone's death, even if I kinda am. At least, when its warranted.
"Uh, the Grimm?" Yang answered back as if it were obvious, doing a better job than I had of hiding the subtext we had shared. "Knocking someone off the train pretty much meant they were gonna die."
"Not that there's anything…wrong with that, per say," Weiss jumped in, her voice slow and a bit uncertain. "They were all terrorists, like actual, trying-to-kill-innocent-people terrorists. Having to kill one of them wouldn't be…a bad thing," Weiss tried to expound, but didn't like how she was describing it, panicking a little when she caught Blake's eyes. She had worded things poorly, for sure. "You…you know what I'm trying to say, don't you?"
Blake took a deep breath with her eyes closed for a moment before answering. "I do, yes…and you're not wrong. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but they're the ones trying to hurt people. Anything that we had to do to stop them is their fault, not ours." Blake finally looked up and around the table, finding nothing but supportive faces. "That's not to say you did anything wrong by saving that girl, Yang."
"Of course not," Ren added on. "Just because it's justified doesn't make it any easier to take a life, nor should it. It shouldn't ever be easy."
Ren's words were met with absent nods and averted eyes from five of the other seven people at the table, everyone's thoughts no doubt trailing to how they would deal with that. The sixth of them, Yang, looked up to the seventh, me, eyes wide with concern. I met them for a moment before trailing my eyes down to stare off at the table instead, going over Ren's words in my head.
"Did any of us have to go through that?" I asked the group softly. Everyone was silent for a few moments more, before Ruby broke the silence.
"Uncle Qrow did, when he was waiting for the rest of us to find him." Ruby spoke with more confidence than I would have expected for a fifteen-year-old facing down the morality of killing someone, but it seemed she still had that spark in her eye. It wasn't that surprising, even if you didn't know that he was one of Ozpin's most trusted—and utilized—weapons. "He hardly counts, though; he's been a real Huntsman for years…"
"I-I did," Nora let out quietly, staring down at the table more dejected than I had ever seen her before. The demeanor did not fit her at all and immediately lent gravity to the situation that no one missed. "I didn't think about it before, but I…I knocked at least one guy off the train when we fought the Paladins."
The silence around the table shifted, a little tenser and more uncertain than before as everyone else looked around at each other, no one certain what to say or do.
"And no one is holding that against you, Nora," Ruby stated reassuringly, breaking the silence. "You did the right thing, and we're all here for you." I made sure to grunt my approval to Ruby's statement, and others did too.
"I know that, silly," Nora answered, trying to sound like her normal self but coming up hollow. "It's just…a weird feeling," she trailed off quietly, still not looking up at us.
Subtly, Nora started to desaturate slowly, and less subtly, Ren's chair moved closer and his arm wrapped around Nora's shoulders. Nora looked up for the first time when she cut her eyes at Ren for deciding that suppressing her emotions was the best way to help her, but she allowed herself to be pulled into his side anyways.
Two things bothered me about this. Nora, of all people, struggling through the consequences of her actions was infuriating, because it felt wrong to see her hurting. She was our own, crazier Ruby, an endless supply of unshakable positivity and energy, and the biggest factor in our team cohesion so far. To see her like this was… It was weird. It was wrong, and it made me want to whatever possible to fix it.
And I could help her, too; I've been through that and I could guide her through it. But I would need my friends to accept that why I could help her, and that brought up the other thing bothered me.
"I don't think I agree with you, Ren," I called back to his previous statement after a few moments had passed, long enough that Nora wouldn't think I was talking about her anymore. "Because it does get easier. After the first time, it still stays with you, but it doesn't haunt you as much. I hope you're not right, because I don't know what it means when it should matter to you and just…doesn't."
"How do you…?" Weiss asked nervously, not able to finish her question.
"I took three on that mission," I answered solemnly, keeping my eyes on the table. "And, no, they…weren't my first."
Another silence hung in the air as I stared off at the table, though unlike the last few times when everyone was staring off at something else, I could feel all their eyes on me.
"The others?" Pyrrha asked from next to me, her voice tense and too loaded to read easily.
"Morally ambiguous," I answered, hoping that it was honest enough. I forced myself to meet her eyes for a moment, and they were as unreadable and loaded as her voice had been, so I looked back down. "Not all of them were as noble as defending the innocent, but none of them were murder," I added on, probably lying about that last part. "All best left in the past, though."
The words hung in the air a bit. I forced myself to look up from the table once again, but I could only bring myself to look at Blake or Yang—the two people who already knew that I had killed people. The guilt I felt now that I was putting this out there was foreign; it is the first time in my life that I was surrounded by people who would care that I killed anyone. Part of wanting to be better and surround myself with better people was having to acknowledge out loud that I didn't necessarily belong among them.
The mark that I was in the right place was that I didn't fear that they'd hold it against me.
"But you are leaving them in the past, right?" Ruby asked leadingly, her eyes wide but the hope held there infectious.
"Yeah," I answered with a nod, meeting her eyes now. That's the idea, anyways.
"Then those don't matter anymore," Ruby declared with a finality that I personally didn't feel about the subject. "You left that life behind you and are working hard to be a better person, and that more than makes up for it. Anyone who disagrees will have to take it up with us, right guys?"
No one said anything, but no one objected, either; everyone did at least nod in agreement, even if I did get a few looks. If nothing else, I could trust that this would stay between us, and that they wouldn't hold it against me. In short, I could trust them.
I did meet Yang's eyes, and I had to look away almost immediately out of guilt because of how worried for me she was. She too had caught onto how Ruby specified that I had left that life behind me, it seems.
"How did you do it?" Nora asked me directly after another pause. It wasn't a question of morals or right and wrong, though; she was reaching out to me to see how I got through it, and to see if that could help her, and I am more than willing to help her.
"Impaled one, stabbed the second in the throat, beheaded the third," I answered back, my voice a bit distant. I looked up to find wide eyes around the table, even from Yang who knew of them but not the details. I would be foolish to think that the details would make them change their mind on supporting me, especially when not doing so would also be to revoke support from Nora, but…the shock on their faces still hurt.
"And…it doesn't bother you anymore?" Nora asked, again reaching out for guidance here; she was the only one who hadn't been shocked by my first answer, too busy dealing with her own emotions to have room to judge. Or maybe she just had a different perspective now, one that the others couldn't appreciate without crossing that line themselves.
"I've seen what happens when I let someone who's trying to harm people live," I began to answer, thinking back to times where I refused to kill people and as a result, members of the Tribe had died. Even if I hadn't been angry enough to find the motivation the next time, Raven made sure that I would be broken of that mentality after that. "The guilt from failing to stop a killer is a lot worse than taking someone's life, and that was only protecting people I didn't know." I kept things light on details, but was still honest about it. "But in this case, no, it doesn't bother me at all."
"Why not?"
"Instead of protecting some faceless citizens I've never met, I killed those three guys to stop them from killing Yang while she was unconscious," I answered back firmly, keeping my eyes soft for Nora but making it clear that my convictions were unchanged. I had a feeling that's what she was looking for, and that it was what she needed. "Truth be told, it was one of the easiest things of my life. Try not to think about it as you killing him just because he was bad, but try to think about it as if it was any of us he was trying to hurt."
Nora's eyes met mine for a moment before they flicked around the table, before settling on Ren, who still had her pulled to him, although he wasn't using his Semblance any longer. Nora looked back up to me once and nodded, and I could see the gears turning there. She was strong; she would be fine. Maybe better than fine.
I would make sure of it, too.
"Thanks for dinner, guys," I said towards Pyrrha and Weiss, who had already declared that their respective team's dinner was on them, as I stood up and pushed my chair in.
"You're leaving?" Ruby asked, eyes going wide and nearly freezing me to my spot. "You don't have to go, Jaune. We want you here."
Ruby's voice was nervous and on the edge, and it felt like she meant it about more than just this dinner.
"I know, Ruby," I answered with a chuckle as I tussled her hair, fighting not to roll my eyes at her display of emotion. "I'm not going to do anything drastic, jeez. I just need to clear my head."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't worry about me so much. I've just got some…old memories that this stirred up. Trust me, I just need some time to think," I answered, speaking loud enough that it was obvious I was addressing everyone. My eyes glanced to Nora, who almost imperceptivity was nodding along to what I said. "Nora will at some point, too, so be sure to let her. At some point, you just have to face things by yourself."
"Pffft, think," Nora commented, already beginning to sound a little bit like her normal self. "As if."
"That's the spirit," I called out with a roll of my eyes. "I'll see you guys back at Beacon."
I really did have to fight the urge to chuckle as I walked off, and I did fight it off, mostly because I do appreciate the gesture, even if it wasn't necessary. I just had to think over a few old memories and, if Neo's scroll in my pocket was any indication, some new information.
Closing Thoughts: Well, we did it. We're officially through all of the Volume 2 events in this story. It literally only took longer than I thought this whole story was going to be, and lasted past when I wanted to wrap things up by, but hey, that doesn't matter. I'm sure you guys like more story than less story, anyways.
Things should pick up from here and V3 events won't take as long because there was a lot of set-up work to do here in the past twenty or so chapters. I have at least one chapter planned to take place in the 'break' between semesters, and it will probably stretch into two. There are two planned interactions that have been set up and have to take place before things get rolling again, but they wouldn't mesh well back-to-back, so I'll have to pad them with another scene or two, which is why this may become two. It depends on how many words the fight scene will take up...
Also, in the actual show, things are moving along at breakneck speed in terms of getting more juicy backstory when compared to previous volumes. That's awesome, but it means that things are starting to change significantly; again, a good thing. However, it does make it less likely that I'll be able to carry this story in V6 territory. When I began this, it had a hard ending/culmination corresponding to the Attack on Haven in the show, and since this story was intended to be finished before V6 dropped, my plan was to end the story and move on. If V6 played perfectly into how I ended this fic, then it was possible I extended the fic, assuming doing so wouldn't undermine the conclusion I planned out. That always seemed unlikely, and it does appear that we're treading into new waters in the show.
I'm trying to be very careful and hesitant about incorporating anything from V6 in this story, because until the season ends, things can change; hell, we didn't even know who the Spring Maiden really was until the second-to-last episode last season. There are already some questions raised this season that I've been obsessing over how I could fit them in (what was the first question asked to the Relic? is Neo back? who's the old lady?) that I have to force myself not to incorporate yet.
Tl;dr: This story is a Volumes 1-5 story, and will stay that way until completed, when I will re-examine if the story can be made better by continuing.
Comment of the Week: by CirqueDeSolaire
"Idk, 35 chapters in and Pyrrha and Jaune still just dont "click". Not to say that you wrote them badly, but the way that they're written makes a romance between them kinda stiff and akward. Pyrrah still doesnt know everything about Jaune and barely accepts the parts she does know about(though she tries to hide it), but still she idolizes and thirsts over him for what? Because he can give her a good fight? Because he doesn't idolize her back? At this point Yang or even Blake seem infinitely more compatible. Not saying you wrote the romance wrong because I understand it's not the main focus of the story but, maybe try to focus on them a bit to deepen the start of their relationship? The way things are now, with how overly intense her very obvious feelings are feels a tad shallow."
You sound more emotionally mature than Pyrrha, and have a better perspective than Pyrrha.
Okay, that sounded mean, so I apologize for that, and I'll try to phrase it more precisely.
Yeah, Pyrrha and Jaune are an odd fit, and anyone who is not invested in the situation can see that. Ozpin certainly recognizes it, and it's been a little while but he is placing his bets that Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune will lose out to her moral compass. He has a lot to gain from that bet, seeing as he is taking measures to ensure that Pyrrha's moral compass points to him.
The people who can't see that it's a bit of a doomed outing are those too close to it, who all also happen to be emotionally-immature/inexperienced teenagers: Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, etc.
To Jaune's credit, he isn't actively seeking a romantic relationship, per say; he might could very easily parlay things into that (this is a love angle/triangle after all), but he has more...serious desires for Pyrrha. He still needs her trust and support if he's going to push her into being Ozpin's Maiden and then be able to control her. Jaune is smart enough to see the path of least resistance is getting close to Pyrrha in the way she wants, and as V3 gets going, look out for him to try that.
Jaune is too close to the situation, too, and is at risk of overlooking how they might not fit together. That would be compounded if a proper love triangle does develop...
Poor Pyrrha, on the other hand, is going to have some soul-searching to do. Some part of her knows that Jaune isn't maybe what she needs, but the girl deserves some slack. She grew up on a pedestal and that clearly has hampered her emotional development, not being able to interact like a normal person should. All she feels knows is that Jaune treats her like she wants to be treated and that he does so while matching her strength and lighting a fire under her that she's never really experienced. I'd be curious, if not head over heals, too.
somewhere in the distance, Barbara shed a tear for that awesome pun
If she follows Nora's advice, she'll very soon have to confront that who she wants Jaune to be and who he is don't line up perfectly. Their outlooks on the world, their philosophies, are very different, and sooner or later that will come back around. When dating, it's paramount that you ensure that you and your partner share the same world view, or your relationship will hit an insurmountable roadblock at some point; teenagers are not exactly known for planning their relationships long-term.
The longer it takes Pyrrha to stop and think things through, the more shocking such a reveal to her would be.
And Yang only complicates things for Pyrrha. From Pyrrha's perspective, Yang clearly is getting close to Jaune, and whatever she knows hasn't scared her off or dissuaded her. Pyrrha doesn't have the luxury of sitting back and really thinking over things here, because she's afraid that if she decides that Jaune is worthwhile after doing so, it will have cost her the opportunity anyways. The fact that Yang is okay with things might force Pyrrha to overlook things. I mean, she handles things very poorly in Volume 3 of the show, displaying an emotional immaturity over not wanting to give up her crush for her perceived Destiny.
I'm not using immaturity as a bash here, either, but she simply wasn't as ready as Ozpin thought. Or maybe Ozpin did know, but accepted the risks. Either way, if she handles the severity of her situation in the show that poorly, imagine how much worse she might do if all of Jaune's past and current activities are also thrown on her shoulders at the same time.
Yeah, these coming chapters are gonna be hella fun on my end.
Long story short, Solaire, you are correct that the Pyrrha-Jaune angle seems off, but I would ask for a little more faith here. The state of the love triangle right now is very much so intentional, and all three members have some difficult choices ahead.
"Careful, [Turquoise Leaf] may just come back...
I really love this fic thus far, and honestly I can't wait for Jaune to realize Raven isn't necessarily evil. Sure, by no means is she a good person, but maybe seeing Cinders ultimate throw down at Beacon will reveal that." - Toombs
Is it strange that I'm starting to miss the constant threats on my life and attempts to bully my readers into a revolution to depose me? Maybe that's his plan, and if so, it's working. He's letting me stew, working in the background.
Or, he's watching V6 and is threatening Miles and Kerry for a change. Maybe that's why this volume has been so good so far...
I kinda feel like in Tom & Jerry, where Tom finally catches Jerry but Jerry is depressed and welcomes death.
1) I didn't realize that Jerry was a millennial and
2) Man that sounds a lot darker than I remember cartoons as.
"You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. I just...do things.
"[Ike] has plans. The [reviewers] have plans. [Coeur Al'Aran, God-King of RWBY Fanfiction]'s got plans. They're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds.
"I'm not a schemer; I try to show the schemers how...pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that [bringing Ike's house of cards down] was nothing personal, you know that I'm telling the truth." - The Joker, who dances with the devil in the [turquoise] moonlight.
Okay, that quote was all over the place, but you get my point. See you guys next week.