Here we go

Cover Art: Jack Wayne

Chapter 93

Emerald felt her anger for the fake Jaune waning.

That made her angry.

He was so passive, so unobtrusive, so nice that she couldn't find reason to be upset at him. He never mentioned his family, her father or whatever happened between the Arc and Ashari family. His skills at evading an argument were almost as good as his skills avoiding her blades. Snarling, she cut through the air he'd occupied and charged in, aiming to wipe the smirk off his face.

The fact he wasn't smirking at all was irrelevant.

Their melee was rough and frantic, all knees and elbows and flashing steel. He was fast but not as fast as her. Skilled but not as skilled as her. He was stronger physically, and that let him force her back a little, but it was his endurance that really pissed her off. He just wouldn't go down! Blow after blow, aura loss compounding, and yet he grunted through it all and kept going, scoring several small hits back that didn't hurt her body so much as her pride.

It finished with her knee in his fact, the crash of his body hitting the mat and Miss Goodwitch calling the spar to close.

"Victory by aura loss, Emerald Ashari."

Panting, she stepped back, making no effort to help her partner up. His aura was in the red, but that didn't mean much. Honestly, his red was about her yellow. Some people had all the luck. Wiping some sweat from her face, she waited for the teacher's analysis.

"Mr Arc. A solid performance despite the loss. You did not rely entirely on defence and tried to trade blows. Dangerous, but given your opponent it was likely your only choice. I would suggest working on your fitness, if only to heighten the advantage of wearing your opponent down over time."

Jaune nodded. "Yes, Miss Goodwitch."

"Miss Ashari." Glynda watched her with narrowed eyes. "A poorer performance than I'm used to seeing from you." Emerald stiffened. "For you, I would suggest calming down and remembering what your father taught you. It was not to fight like a berserker."

She gritted her teeth. "Yes, Miss Goodwitch."

"That's all for today," the teacher announced. "Shower and dress. You're dismisses once you are done. Well done to all and keep up your training." With those parting words, the teacher turned and left, allowing them to rush for the changing rooms. There weren't enough cubicles for everyone and no one really enjoyed the communal showers. It was a race Emerald dove into, only to be yanked back by Yang.

"Whoa there, speedy. Let's have a word."

Nooo. Emerald growled as Miltia, Melanie and Neo beat the rest and dove into the cubicles. The fourth was sealed shut by a white glyph and everyone glared at Weiss as she primly walked up, ignored the people who couldn't get in, and stepped through and into it herself. Grumbling, the other girls went for the mass showers. Yang pulled her away from that and into the main locker room. Had she been any less exhausted, she'd have shrugged her off.

"Okay." Yang pushed her down onto the bench and planted hands on hips. "What did Jaune do this time?"

Emerald jutted her jaw out. "Nothing."

"Then what has you so pissy?"

"Nothing."

"Right. Sure." A roll of her eyes. "He's done nothing to upset you and that's upset you?"

Finally, she understood. "Yes."

"What?"

Or not. Emerald sighed.

"Let me get this straight. You're annoyed at the fact he's done nothing to piss you off?"

Emerald nodded.

"Jaune – your partner – has been nothing but nice…" Yang waited for her to nod again. Emerald did. "And because he's been nice, quiet and stayed out your way, you're angry? Is that what you're telling me?"

"That's what I'm telling you."

"That…" Yang sighed. "You realise you're being an idiot, right?"

Emerald scowled. "Aren't you meant to be on my side? You're my friend."

"Being your friend means telling you when you're being a moron. You can't blame him for not giving you a reason to dislike him. Have you ever considered – and hear me out here; it's crazy, I know – that he might not be as bad as you first thought?"

Her answer was immediate. "No."

"Maybe you should. Sun likes him."

"Sun likes everyone," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He'd befriend a rock."

"Whitley thinks he's okay."

"Whitley just says that because Jaune doesn't have any interest in me."

"Ruby likes him."

"Ruby is Ruby."

Yang sighed, eye twitching. "I like him."

Emerald glowered.

"I'm just saying, this has to stop. You looked nuts out there. I could have wiped the floor with you ten times over and that's saying something. Maybe if he was getting aggressive back, I could understand it, but it's hard to see him as anything other than a victim if you're the only one acting out. You're not even this prissy around Cardin."

Obviously. Cardin just lost his whole family. Emerald had hated the guy, but family was family. After experiencing what it meant to have one herself, she wouldn't insult his by keeping a grudge while he was grieving.

"You know what I think, though?"

"Something stupid probably," Emerald grumbled.

"I think you're running out of reasons to dislike him," Yang continued, ignoring her. Ignoring her words and her sudden and loud scoff. "I think you've realised he's not all that bad and you're starting to get along with him, and that annoys you. It feels like losing if you admit it, so you invent reasons to hate him." Yang smirked. "I think you like him."

"I think you're insane."

"Not like him, but as a friend. I think you've stated to realise he's alright."

"And I think you're not getting enough oxygen to your brain," Emerald shot back. She stood and turned her back on her friend, calling the conversation over. Like him? Jaune Arc? Ha. As if. How could she consider him a friend when he made her so angry? You didn't regularly get the overpowering urge to smash your friend's face in.

"Deny it all you want," Yang called after her. "But if you keep acting the bitch when he's not doing anything, people are gonna turn on you."

/-/

"Am I a bitch?"

Ruby jumped with a squeak, hurling up a whole tub of tubes with blood samples in. The glass tubes dances in the air, each threatening disaster if they struck the floor. Semblance kicking in, she blurred left and right, collecting each and every one back in the rack before spinning on her heel, face red and heart racing.

"Em!" she howled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"How should I sneak up on you?"

"Oooh. Not at all." Putting the rack down on the infirmary side, she held a hand over her chest, willing her pulse to even out. Bad enough to be surprised but she'd just gotten done categorising the blood samples. The task wasn't an easy one because despite her profession, the sight of blood still made her feel icky.

Miss Tsune told her that was normal, but insisted she'd soon come to realise how beautiful it could be. Miss Tsune said a lot of things, most of which her innocent mind blocked out without conscious effort. It was the only way to survive without losing her mind.

"What were you saying?" she asked once she was done.

"Am I a bitch?"

"Um." How to answer that. "Right now, or…?"

"In general."

"No. I don't think so. At least, you're not to me. Why?"

"Yang said I was acting like a bitch."

"Yang says a lot of things," Ruby sighed. "Why don't you tell me how it happened? You can come sit down if you like. I have the afternoon off once I've done this." That was, unless some crazy accident happened and she was called back in. Miss Tsune said that was unlikely, though. Most injuries happened during class time.

Sitting down, she listened to Emerald recount her story and why Yang said what she did. Ruby stayed quiet, recognising this was a rare occurrence where Emerald couldn't rely on Yang for advice. That she'd come to her had Ruby feeling giddy. Sure, it was only because her father wasn't around, but that didn't mean anything. The world could be ending and she'd still go to her father first.

This still made her, what, the third most trusted person in Emerald's head? Score! There was always that doubt with friends that both she and Yang had; the niggling worry of whether they were really her friend, or just Yang's who was putting up with her. This proved otherwise and she wasn't going to muck it up by answering badly.

"And then she said I liked him!" Emerald spat. "Me. Him!"

"Jaune?"

"Fake Jaune."

Ruby rolled her eyes and spared a prayer for anyone else called Ruby on the planet. "Riiight. Fake Jaune. I guess that's better than Imposter Jaune. Anyway, I don't know if you're being a… well, a thing."

"A bitch?"

"That thing." Mom never liked it if she swore. "But maybe Yang isn't wrong…" Emerald's lips thinned out. Okay, bad angle. "What do you think you are?" she tried. "Do you think you're being unfair to him?"

"No."

There was just a hint of doubt there. "Really?"

"I'm not," she insisted, even more so. "Why do I have to like him? Why do we have to get along? I didn't pick him as my partner. I wanted Yang. I wanted Yang, Weiss and Whitley. I'm fine with Sun, but I don't want him on the team."

"Isn't that a little unfair? I don't think Jaune asked to be on the team either."

"You like him," Emerald accused.

"I barely know him! I like you more." The defence was quick. "I only met him because Yang introduced us. He seemed okay."

He'd been nice and friendly and hadn't at all looked down on her for her age or the fact she didn't want to be a huntress. Not that she'd say that to Emerald. There were a lot of people in Beacon who thought she was stupid for not wanting to be a huntress. Though she was less cool.

Miss Tsune assured her it was because this was a school for huntsmen, so it only made sense every student here thought it was the best job ever. No one that mattered thought that way about her, but it had been nice to know her sister's new teammates didn't feel the same way. Jaune was friendly and called it amazing she was learning to be a doctor so young.

Sun was just Sun. She had the feeling she could have decided to be a circus clown and he'd enthuse about it. He was kind of cool like that. Strong, confident and always with a huge smile and a happy greeting for her. He'd even taken to picking her up and hugging her whenever he and Yang came to visit.

"Your face is red," Emerald whispered. "Don't tell me you like him!"

"Jaune? Nooo. I like S – Nobody. I like nobody." Ruby's face burned. "And if I did like somebody, it'd be none of your business and definitely none of Yang's. Why? Do you like Jaune? Is that why you're angry?"

"Why are you getting so defensive?"

"I'm not defensive!" Ruby yelled defensively. "You're defensive! And this isn't the point. We're meant to be talking about you and Jaune." Quieting down, she said, "Why don't you just try and get to know him a little more?"

"Don't want to."

Ugh. Emerald was her friend and awesome, but sometimes she could just be so… so ugh! "I really think you should," Ruby insisted. "You're not going to be able to change the teams now that they're decided. It's better to sort the problem out instead of ignoring it. Medical knowledge 101. Don't ignore the symptoms of a problem."

"Does it have to be a problem, though?" she asked. "Can't we just ignore each other?"

"You could… but I think the fact you're here talking about how it's a problem means that it's become a problem." That logic sounded faultless to her. "And if Yang is bringing it up as well, it's a problem. You need to address it."

Scowling, Emerald looked away.

Okay. This wasn't working. Think. How would mom get around this? Oh, that was kind of obvious.

"Or you don't have to…"

Emerald's head perked up, interested in a way out. Ruby hid her smile, going for her best Summer Rose expression. The `sure you can, sweetie` smile mixed with the lingering `but…` that ended all arguments.

"You can just ignore him and not do anything and be mean, but Jaune might be upet when he finds out."

"That doesn't bother me."

"Oh? I thought you loved him."

"I don't love him!"

"Wow." Ruby held a hand over her mouth. "I thought you loved your dad…"

Emerald gasped. The sound was so sharp, so sudden, that Ruby felt bad. "I love him!" Emerald insisted, all but lunging forward to grip her shoulders. If she didn't have aura, she might have been shaken dizzy. "I love dad. I didn't mean him. I love him, I love him, I love him."

"W-Wait, I didn't- ah. My head." Ruby pulled away. That worked a little too well for her liking. "He loves you," she quickly said. "You know he does. Everyone knows he does. It's not even a secret at this point."

"Yes." Emerald's breathing was quick. Panic, Ruby's new training told her. Symptoms in wide eyes, hyperventilation and grasping hand motions. A few potential treatments came to mind, most solving problems Emerald didn't have. She was a nurse-in-training, not a psychiatrist. "Yes, he loves me. I love him. We're family. That's all that matters."

"Y-Yeah, but I was just thinking you might be able to impress him if you made friends with Jaune." At Emerald's confused look, she said, "Fake Jaune."

Sorry Jaune. I know you're real…

"And Yang obviously doesn't think you can do it," she pointed out.

Emerald froze. "What?"

"What I just said. Yang is only stepping in because she thinks you won't do it on your own." Almost casually, she added, "She thinks you can't do it. That you wouldn't know how."

"I could do this if I wanted to."

"I know," Ruby lied. "I know. But Yang obviously doesn't think you can, or she thinks you need her help…"

She knew she had Emerald when her eyes narrowed. If there was one thing Emerald hated to be questioned on, it was her ability to look after herself. Ruby didn't doubt that if they were both suddenly dumped on a street in the middle of nowhere, she'd be in trouble and Em would be fine, but that didn't translate to other skills. Emerald was terrible as a people person.

But she still got annoyed if someone brought that up. Annoyed and, Ruby knew, competitive. It didn't help that Yang joining the ASH Gym also meant Emerald felt she had to compete to be the best there to earn her father's praise. Em and Yang were friends, but they were also rivals.

"I don't need her help to fix this!"

"I'm not saying you do. It's just that Yang-"

"Yang is an idiot."

Ruby smiled. "She can be sometimes. Are you going to prove her wrong, though?"

"Obviously. I'll show her who needs who."

Emerald turned and stormed away, mumbling a farewell before slamming the door. A brightly coloured chart displaying male and female sexual organs and their internals wobbled and fell to the floor. Ruby wondered if she could bin it without Miss Tsune noticing. It was weird talking to patients when they kept staring at it over her shoulder.

"You did quite well there," her teacher said.

Ruby jumped for a second time. "Why does everyone keep sneaking up on me?"

"Because you have no situational awareness." The fox faunus chuckled into her hand. Her bushy tail swayed back and forth behind her, wagging a little too much for Ruby's liking. "Tricking her into accepting help was quite sneaky. I approve."

"Your tail is wagging."

Tsune's smile grew. "There's no particular reason."

Ruby moaned. "What are you planning for me now?"

"Glynda just called." Tsune's mask broke, excitement bubbling through as her mouth opened and closed, breathing heavily with bright and hungry eyes. "Someone couldn't find a can opener and tried to open a can of beans with their bare hands but didn't use aura. They've cut off two fingers. Oooh. Come, my apprentice." Tsune gripped her shoulders and pushed her back toward the infirmary, tail wagging furiously. "It's time to learn how to sew extremities back on!"

"B-But I haven't even learned how to apply sutures!"

"I know. Isn't it exciting to be skipping ahead?"

Ruby would have liked to answer, but the door slammed open and Glynda rushed in a very panicked and very much shouting young man surrounded by his teammates and dripping blood all over the floor. All the blood drained from her face as well, making her just as pale as he.

It didn't help when one of his teammates, a blue-haired girl, shoved two severed fingers into her hands and screamed "FIX THIS!" at the top of her lungs.

Why had she thought this would be less stressful than being a huntress again?

/-/

"He's talking to her right now."

Jaune sat in a dinghy rented apartment with Raven opposite him and the book he'd taken from the temple in Vale open on the table before him. Raven had her eyes closed, using her Semblance to tell where people were. Though it was the opening of portals to people she was bonded with, Raven also had a vague idea of where they were. It wasn't exact, but it had been enough to let her know Yang was in danger on the train in Mountain Glenn, and to open a portal on something moving at high speed.

It was a trick of her Semblance. A lot of Semblances had them; little things that made them work and that you didn't think of. Without it, Raven might open a portal into a wall, vacuum or inside a person. There was no telling how gruesome that might be.

Probably a fetish for that out there.

Whatever the case, she could tell where Ozpin was and while she couldn't distinguish what he was doing, she could feel him in comparison to other bonded. She could differentiate as well.

"Is Leonardo there?"

"I don't know. I never trusted him." No bond. "They're not in danger right now."

"He must be trying to recruit her." Jaune's fingers itched and he wanted nothing more than to help, but after what Helena revealed, he knew his intervention would do the opposite. Pyrrha didn't trust him. Why should she? He stared down into his pale ale.

"You're not going to cry, are you? I'm not dealing with that."

"This is a big deal for me…"

"So was finding out Summer was meant to be dead to me. Get over it. That she's alive to think you're a creep should be better than her loving you and being six feet under."

Raven was right. Not king about it, but right. Doesn't stop it feeling terrible. First Blake and now Pyrrha turned against me. At least Pyrrha hasn't joined Salem. Yet, anyway. Leonardo would be pushed to make a move and he didn't doubt it'd be quick if Pyrrha decided to join Beacon. Jaune downed his drink, considering murder as he did.

If Ozpin didn't know he was a traitor, killing him now would be all sorts of bad. It would set him on edge and heighten security at Beacon, and while that might be good, the resultant panic and chaos in Mistral wouldn't be worth it. When Leonardo died in their time, he died rooted out and exposed to the world. People rejoiced at his arrest.

There was never much evidence though. He wasn't stupid;the only reason he was caught was because Salem showed her hand. They could try and find evidence, but how difficult would that be, and did they have the time?

"Can you read it?" she asked suddenly.

"No." He sighed and leaned back from the pages scrawled in incomprehensible script. "Not in the slightest. And here I was hoping I'd get some magical translation gimmick thrown in."

"What about the pictures?"

"There are some diagrams," he said, flicking back a few pages. "Quite a lot actually. It's like an instructional manual." He showed her one page where two robed figures flanked someone who was laid out flat on a stone plate. He'd have said ancient sacrifice but for the lack of any sharp implements and the image several pages on where the figure stood up again.

"Surgery?" Raven guessed.

"No. I don't think so. Look, you can see the man is perfectly healthy here."

On the first image, the man's abs and chest were drawn in limited detail, but clearly. It was one of those typical male pictures with a square jaw, flat chest and perfectly symmetrical pecs. The kind of ideal and stylised ink drawing of a male figure. Enough so that it wouldn't have been hard to draw a line and some blood if that was the intent.

"They're doing something to him," Raven said. "Does he look different when he gets up?"

"No." Jaune moved ahead. The robed figures had stepped back and the man stood. He didn't look any different from the first image but was picking up a sword and shield. He'd have said it was a prophecy of him if not for the fact the shield was a small, round buckler and the sword was a stabbing shortsword. "He's going off to battle. Probably against the Grimm."

"Some kind of preparation then." Raven hummed. "Since we're assuming this isn't just some superstitious and backward group of witchdoctors, I'd say this actually does something to make the guy better at fighting. It's not just tradition. It has a purpose."

Jaune looked up. "You think it's unlocking aura?"

"It might be. We use the chants now but there's no guarantee the same would have been true back then." Her fingers tapped on the table. "This would be a lot easier if we could ask Ozpin. Or if Oobleck could translate it for you."

"He's still struggling over the murals. Give him this and he'll die."

Raven chuckled. "No Relic in the pictures," she noted. "So that's not necessary for whatever is going on. Again, Jinn would know; a shame we used her questions. Do you want to try and re-enact this?"

"Enact it? How? I can't ready any of this."

"No, but we have the diagrams and that stone plate looks like the one you mentioned in Vale. Since the book was found in the same temple and all, may as well assume that's the place."

"You want me to do this on you?"

"That eager to get me undressed, Jaune?" Raven grinned. "Nice try."

"That's not what I meant!"

"I wouldn't let you do it on me anyway," she said, more serious. "You just ripped out a maiden's soul in that temple. I'm not letting you mess around with mine in the same place. I can give you someone from the tribe though. It's not like you're doing anything to them." She laid her finger on the page. "Nothing in here looks like it could hurt anyone."

"And what?" he asked. "We just expect something to happen because I mimic the procedure?"

"Sure. Isn't that what the point of this is." Raven grinned and tapped her finger on the page again. "And look here. Closely. At the hand of the robed person."

Jaune did so, leaning in and straining his eyes. It was small, simple and really just a circle with some lines, but there was something on the back of the robed man's hand. The detail in the sketched picture was too small to say for sure if it matched his, but the coincidence was one that couldn't be ignored.

"Shit. I missed that. Wait, you don't think this is the maiden transfer, do you?"

Raven's fingernail tap-tapped the man's genitalia.

"Oh. Never mind."

"It might be something similar," she said. "Remember, Ozpin chose to make the maidens and apply their restrictions. They didn't exist at the time these Ashari did, but he still knew how to do it. That implies prior knowledge. Or experience."

That was a fair point…

"And with Ozpin here, it might be a rare opportunity for us to do this in Vale without him noticing."

"On whom?" he asked. "I know you said someone from your tribe but what if it works? What if this makes someone more powerful? I don't mean any offense but…"

Raven stopped him with a hand. "I get it. I know what my lot are like. They'd only challenge me for leadership if they thought they could, and nothing would keep their mouths shut. I have someone else in mind. He's…" She looked for the right word. "He's a fucking idiot, but he can be trusted."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely. I can say with one hundred per cent certainty that he won't tell anyone and he'd never side with Salem."

That could have been any one of his and her old friends. "Anyone I'd know?"

"You know him. I'll handle it." Raven stood, dusted off her drink and then stole his and finished that as well. She belched loudly, slammed the can down and wiped her lips. "I'll sort shit out. You may as well make contact with Ozpin. He's going to find out you were here considering the scene you made. Would look suspicious if you didn't talk to him."

"Is he still with Pyrrha?"

"No. He's moving away. Someone else is near her, though. Qrow."

Guarding her. That was good. Ozpin would want her kept safe just as much as he did, and Qrow would be able to do that. "If he's under attack, will you help him?"

Raven scowled. "I told him I never would."

"Make this an exception."

"I have a rule," she insisted. "One time."

"You've saved me more than once. Does that make us different?"

"Ass." Raven pulled away and tossed her hair, drew her sword and opened a portal back to her tribe. "I'll step in if I must, but you're the one who has to pick up the pieces if that happens. Ozpin already wants me back. Last thing I need is to give them the idea I'm going soft."

Jaune smiled and couldn't help but throw out, "Is it really an idea? Looks real to me."

The portal closed with a final "fuck you" filtering through.

/-/

Emerald made sure to bide her time until she could catch him alone. It would be hard enough doing this on her own, let alone with Yang or Sun hovering around. And if she asked him to talk in private, Yang would follow. The moment came when Jaune went off for what Yang said was late night training he always did on the roof. Sun was off with Whitley, the two being relatively friendly whenever she wasn't involved.

Emerald excused herself for an early shower and bed, but instead headed to the door. Yang didn't notice, trapped in her Semblance. By the time it wore off, the pillows she'd left under the covers would convince her friend she was asleep.

Closing the door, she made her way to the rooftops. The staircase leading up was abandoned so late at night and she couldn't hear anything above. Creeping up, she checked the door and found it unlocked. Creaking it open, she peeked out.

Jaune – not the real one, obviously – was standing in the middle of the roof. He wasn't training like Yang said he would be, but instead looked like he was waiting for something. Or someone. He was alone, so this was her perfect chance to confront him. Better to do so before his sparring partner arrived. She stood and placed a hand on the door.

A red portal tore open in the air behind him.

Emerald recognised it. If she hadn't, she might have panicked or shouted something, but after the Bloody Woman had invaded their home for booze and food so many times, she'd gotten used to it. The very second she saw it, she knew who it was, but she was still surprised when the black-haired woman stepped through and started talking to Jaune.

Is she upset dad didn't get with her? Maybe she wants the younger look alike.

Fine with her. Winter was bad enough, but this woman was a pig. Not to mention she never thanked dad for all his hospitality and the stuff she stole. Still, it was weird that she knew both of them. Did dad know that she was here in Beacon? Emerald hunkered low and listened.

No use. They were too quiet. Jaune was stood with his back to her while Raven was looking at him. Not at her, but she could if she looked up and focused on the door. Emerald took the initiative instead, fixing her eyes on Raven and moulding her Semblance. All she would see now was Jaune and what she expected, allowing Emerald to creep out the door and closer. She even made it so that Raven wouldn't hear or perceive of anything other than him. Jaune didn't notice. He had his back to her and was listening to Raven, and since Raven didn't say anything, he had no reason to look behind him.

She crept closer, close enough to listen in.

"-picking you up without warning. It's important."

"You've not said what it is," Jaune said. "Wouldn't I get in trouble leaving Beacon?"

Leaving? Is she taking him somewhere?

Was that a bad thing? Would it be terrible if she didn't have to sort their issues out because fake Jaune got abducted? Tragic, obviously, but not her fault and there was nothing she could do. All very sad. Many tears shed.

"Do you think I care about that, brat? This is bigger than Beacon."

"Yeah, but you're not the one who might get expelled."

Raven sighed, hand on her forehead. "Fucking hell. Okay, it's a ritual."

Jaune perked up. "Like magic?"

"Yes. Yes, like magic."

"A fairy ritual?"

What…?

"Yes, it's a fairy ritual."

"Oh man." Jaune shook on the spot. "Are you going to make me a fairy and induct me into your family? I… I can't believe it. I knew you cared!"

Raven looked like she was restraining a scream. Her face twitched and her eyes were closed. "As much as I want to hit you right now, you're closer than you even know. Fine. Yes. It's a ritual that will – if it works – maybe make you more like me. It's not a guarantee though."

Sounds suspicious. And dangerous.

"Sounds risky," Jaune said, displaying more brains than Emerald would have given him credit for. "What happens if it doesn't work?"

"By the sounds of it, nothing. You lose a couple of hours and I look stupid and bring you back. Look, I'll sweeten the deal. Help us out and I'll get your sword an upgrade. You've been bitching about it not doing anything special for a while."

"Really? Yes!" Jaune jumped on the spot. "I want a rotating dust sheathe. Oh, with chambers for different dust so it coats the blade in elemental effects when I draw it. Can it fire dust, too? Like a canon?"

"Sure. If you want to blow your leg off." Raven rolled her eyes. "I'll decide the upgrade. And it'll make sense. You know me, brat. I don't waste time on things that don't bring results. It'll be worth it. Believe me. So, will you do it?"

"Yes!" Jaune lunged forward and hugged the woman tight, locking her arms to her sides. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Brat! Let go of me or I swear I'll-"

The metal door behind them slammed open. It surprised Emerald so much it broke her concentration. It also broke her control over what Raven saw, causing the woman to blink and suddenly realise they weren't alone on the rooftop.

Not alone at all.

"RAVEN!"

"S-Summer?" Raven tried to step back but still had Jaune holding onto her. All the blood had drained from her face. "How? Why didn't I sense her-?" Red eyes drifted down to Emerald and understanding dawned.

Her Semblance had prevented Raven from noticing anything outside her and Jaune.

"You stupid brat! I'll-"

"Raven Branwen!" Summer all but hissed the words, storming across the roof with her white cape billowing behind her. "You will do nothing to my students. I think it's high time we had a little team reunion. Don't you?"

Good job, Em.

Obviously, I'm not a hundred per cent on how Raven's Semblance works, but I feel it must have some ability to sense or detect people, else how could she know who she is opening a portal to or where they are or what is happening to them. Unless her doing so for Yang was just ridiculously lucky. And come to think of it, how did she open a portal on a fast-moving train? Maybe the portal moves to stay within range of the recipient? That might make sense since if it didn't, she could open a portal to a location and leave it open, assuming no aura drain (which seems likely there is an aura drain).

Ah. Semblances are weird and unexplained.

Next Chapter: 8th February

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur