Chiaroscuro
"Please! Spare me! I-I'm not even a member of that crew, I was just forced to travel with them!"
Amber locked her gaze at Jaune's back who stood between her and the remaining delinquent in front of them from the latest bunch to try and jump them. Blake had been trailing behind after picking off the last of the stragglers behind the treeline but came up to the area where the trio was standing beside a crossroads in the forest.
"So what? Now it's okay to take things from others just because some thugs wearing matching pirate bandanas took something from you?" Jaune berated with an irked tone, advancing on the man who'd just fallen on his knees to keep begging for forgiveness.
Not to say the man's reactions didn't make sense; thoughts of revenge and the seeds of hatred against the people who'd left him in the cave to fend for himself had once threatened to grow in Jaune's mind. But such shallow thinking had been tempered by the void, an otherwise hollow echo chamber that actually turned out to offer surprising clarity when it was silent enough to let the young man really hear himself think. Before long, he realized that most times his emotions flared up, it was from the feelings of loneliness and uncertainty without anyone to lean on, not from the malice or deserved condemnation of others. His temper would be quelled for the sake of keeping his life while navigating a den of emotion-sensitive Grimm, and with enough repetition eventually became a non-issue even before meeting Amber in the first place.
In the end, what had the students done? The most they could… they weren't even really students yet, and could likely offer little assistance had they jumped down with him into a death zone that possibly would've ended in their demise as well. They'd made the right choice to play it safe and call for help. As for the professors? Well, they'd likely done their best, too.
But there was the rub.
'Best' wasn't good enough. How could it be, when creatures like these could be anywhere, placing innocent lives at risk? Innocent lives were being lost all around Remnant, and for what? If the Grimm population was going to continue thriving without their source being checked, it shouldn't be for lack of trying.
And now Jaune was willing to learn, adapt, and hunt by whatever means necessary to reach his goal. No matter who stood in his way.
Cro, don't do anything excessive, Amber warned, eyeing the broad man's large tears streaming down the side of his face, His Aura is barely a sliver away from gone.
Jaune bared his teeth in a snarl at the man, making the larger man who was already on his knees cower even more as he clasped both gloved hands together in placation.
It's not what I'm getting at, here. I'm calling his bluff.
"What?" Amber whispered aloud with Blake now beside her, who turned to glance at the maiden in curiosity since she was unaware of the mental conversation as Jaune delivered his sentence.
"Wanna know something funny I've learned since coming to Mistral?" he began, calmly but with no less malicious intent brewing under the surface as he took off his goggles and squinted at the man as if to be sure, "I've noticed that unlocked Aura flows a little differently around people when they're afraid. It's, what's the word, static-y? Blippy? Tough to explain."
The man glanced at Jaune and then to Amber and Blake, as if tacitly pleading for them to extricate him from his dire situation, but Jaune snapped his fingers a few times to get the man's attention back at him.
"Hey hey, up here buddy," Jaune continued, slowly putting his goggles back on with Harbinger and a small smirk, "But after being the fourth or so last bandit standing to try and weasel their way out of a well-deserved beating today, I've learned something new. When someone talks under pressure, sometimes their Aura flares for just a second, almost as if it were for self-defense. Like yours just did a few moments ago. Coming from an innocent guy who's supposed to have lost the will to fight? Funny, right?"
Blake noticed Amber subtly gripping her staff, her narrow-eyed gaze trained on the man as if by some unheard order before the ravenette too mimicked the motion. It turned out to be for the best, as the man's supposedly repentant expression began morphing with Jaune's following words.
"Well here's the punchline: turns out, Aura doesn't start flowing like that out of self-defense. I've realized… it's because the person is lying."
The man's face indeed had morphed, but into one of heavy contempt and bloodlust that struck Amber as not unlike Junior's when he'd been felled, Jaune's next order flying in at the speed of thought before the man could speak.
Amber. Take what's-her-face and brace yourselves quick. I smell something like Electric Dust on him. His attack may be able to hit us all and hurt the girl, otherwise.
"Well kid, guess you got a point there," the man spat, his sneer turning to a smirk as his voice dropped to a heavier and grittier tone than the helpless mild-mannered one he'd used before, "Captain's gotta cover for the escape of his crew, after all… and also to teach bastards like you not to mess with the Picotee Pirates! Nowhere to run and too close to dodge, so take this and die!"
Slamming both fists into the ground, veritable torrents of red lightning erupted from his gloves and up through every tree, stone, and standing object around the entire area. Blake yelped as Amber suddenly pulled her to her side by the waist, her other hand gripping Autumn that was held out already thanks to Jaune's warning and slammed against the ground at the moment the man's fists did the same. It was right on time to counter the blast with a circular electric field of her own, the cackling red electricity held back from the ground around them by a ring of faint electric magic with the staff at its epicenter.
"AHAHAHA! How's it feel, punk!? Not so tough now that you got a few thousand volts cooking ya from the inside out, innit!? I got a spot on my nice lil shelf of glass boxes where I keep heads of over-confident chumps like you with your name on it for after I'm done with ya!"
Amber's eyes widened at the fact that while she and Blake were now protected, Jaune had made no motion to do the same. As both young women watched the harrowing display of the litany of red forks of lighting dancing around and into Jaune's body, the man continued cackling even over the sounds of a few electrically charred trees falling in flames in the vicinity. It took a moment before the man's laughter started slowing, and merely another moment more for Amber and Blake to realize what was going on.
Jaune hadn't moved at all, simply letting the electricity do its work before slowly lifting Harbinger to elbow-level. With none of the electricity touching any visible part of skin anymore, which had been well-protected by a familiar bounded field of earthen aura around Jaune, Amber watched as the Materia arm began to hum with power. The man's jaw went further slack as he realized his own gloves, evidently the source of this overpowered last-ditch-effort attack, seemed to lose charge, until finally all the electricity in the area along with the forest flames and even the very smoke in the wind all receded into the open palm of the metal weapon itself.
"Not bad," Jaune began nonchalantly, all color draining from the man's face as a few tendrils of red electricity coursed between both the fingers of Harbinger as well as those of Jaune's actual hand, "Thanks for the top up. I'd have let you go, but that attack did technically put my partner as well as our stalker at risk..."
"I'm not a stalker! And my name is Blake!"
The only reply Blake received was the sight of Jaune now bodily punting the man well over the level of the neighboring treeline, neither of those present - including even Jaune himself - expecting a Nevermore to suddenly come out and swallow the man whole as soon as he'd reached the apex of the trajectory of his flight. A beat of silence passed through the clearing at what had just happened, Jaune finally slowly turning to face them with wide eyes behind his goggles and a thumb hiked up behind his shoulder toward the scene.
"First of all, things woulda been different if he wasn't tryna put my head in a box."
Elsewhere, a similarly partly cloudy sky could be seen through the glass panes at the top of a certain spire, only the muted sounds of video and clicking heels in motion heard in the large room.
"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but that may be the first time in nearly ten years I see you forego your first mug of coffee in the morning."
Long slender fingers barely showing even the first signs of aging wrapped around the handle of said mug, the murky contents within having stopped steaming long ago. The mug itself was carried away while a pair of wizened eyes pored through the recorded live feed from not even twelve hours prior over steepled hands.
"Glynda," the man easily spoke, but caught the woman's attention with the way his voice demurred as he went on, "Do you remember… my prior record for most strikes in one second?"
The deputy paused, looking up in thought for a moment as she easily multitasked rinsing off the mug before putting it down on the counter top, "Hm. I believe it was just over fifty, though you mentioned it may have risen to around fifty-five in the previous reincarnation or two."
"Hm," the man concurred with a nod, as if he truly did need the reminder with how rapt his attention had been by the security footage playing in front of him.
Glynda Goodwitch walked over, her curiosity piqued at whatever must've been on the Headmaster's scroll. On it, she saw that he'd been watching the same eight or so seconds of somewhat laggy black and green night-vision footage from the incident at the docks placed on loop.
Unable to resist any longer, she broke the silence with a single word, "Ozpin?"
"Watch closely," he began immediately as if having been waiting for her question all along, fingers tapping a setting a few times to slow the play speed to half, then a quarter, and then to eighth speed, "What do you see?"
With her hand adjusting her spectacles, Glynda actually had the shrewdness of watching the whole thing once over before letting her brows furrow in confusion.
"That's odd. They're each facing Roman and his unseen assailant holding him at blade point the moment he fires his cane to disorient everyone, but the young woman in the bowler hat disappears for just an instant before reappearing right where she was before… with every White Fang radicalist now out of commission."
"A pity that neither of the three assailants happened to face the camera during the clip," he commented first with a sigh, seemingly thinking aloud before getting around to addressing her response, "But yes, your observation appears to be the case."
"Ozpin," Glynda now repeated, standing up straight and adopting the very air of professionalism around her that commanded respect of people of high ranking from all kingdoms who knew her, "You cannot possibly be inferring that this young woman incapacitated an entire squad of armed terrorists in merely the span of an eighth of a second?"
The old man leaned back in his seat, his steepled fingers lowered as his gaze turned up to her, "No. Not at all..."
"Well-" she began with the apparent reassurance, only to be cut off by the man's explanation.
"...because the video was already at one-eighth speed by the time you walked over."
Glynda's eyes narrowed, her jaw slowly falling slack at the man who repeated without a single trace of jest in his tone.
"This entire clip covers only one second in real time."
Like the composed woman she was, the deputy recovered elegantly, her glance shifting back and forth between the screen and the man only a few more times before she placed a palm to her hip in thought, "Then, it seems we are not working with mere vigilantes then, are we…"
"It would seem not."
"But, perhaps Huntsmen? It would coincide with the reports we've received thus far if these individuals then have something to do with the elusive rumored Grimm-slaying team running amok over the past week," Glynda reasoned, to which the Headmaster merely shook his head.
"Unlikely. Her associate had just blown up an entire SDC Container full of live Dust not a moment prior without any hesitation. Any Huntsman knows that wanton destruction of private or commercial property without authorization nor exonerable motive is a punishable offense, up to and including the indefinite suspension of their Huntsman License if convicted."
"If."
Ozpin cocked a brow, "Of Schnee Dust Company property. Even citizens know that this would only be a matter of when. Thankfully, this clip will never see the light of day, neither in Vale nor Atlas."
"Oh?"
"Yes," Ozpin noted before procuring a second scroll in all black to show her its screen, "Our contact, who continues adamant on his innocence and ignorance of all events involved, has taken initiative to peruse all video records of the night and deliver us the only copy that shows the altercation as a show of loyalty and good faith."
Glynda took the scroll in her hand, her eyes roving over the mostly redacted contact details of the person on the other end of the message who'd seen fit to reply with just three words.
=𐊔=
Q
Team: ▁ ▁ ▁ ▁
MSG: IT WASN'T ME
ᙿᙿᙿᙿᙿ
"I see," Glynda replied simply, giving the scroll back, "Not necessarily convincing, but knowing Qrow, it's about as far as he'd go to protest his innocence in any case."
Ozpin took the scroll and nodded, but not before returning his glance to the screen at the part where the White Fang were still pointing their weapons at the unknown duo.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Glynda followed up with another question she'd had no doubt her superior had likely asked with the information at hand, "Do you believe there might be reason to suspect… that they are perhaps Beacon students? With that level of training and control…"
Her words hung in the air for a moment, the old man sighing with a shake of the head as his gaze rewatched the same footage over again, "We have every Beacon students' Semblance registered and rated, first years and up even after graduation… several of which are related to augmented speed. Mind you, however, the framerate of this clip is easily one hundred and twenty frames per second captured by the only security device in the area that survived the skirmish, recovered by Qrow before the VPD did. Aside from Miss Rose, no one else in our database could come close to performing feats like these in the video…"
Ozpin turned to give the woman a knowing glance, "That is, unless you're of the belief that the dead can once again roam the land of the living."
Glynda paused, for only a moment understanding his words as the mental image of a cloak much like their first year ruby prodigy, except white in color, flitted through her mind. But it could not be… the Rose of that generation was and had been long gone.
"Well, speaking of Miss Rose," Glynda informed instead, "If you'd like, perhaps I should then call in team RWBY for the debriefing we'd considered. We could gain insight from something we might've missed with their testimony…"
"No need," Ozpin rebutted softly, waving his hand in dismissal of the proposal, "According to the report, they arrived long after these intruders had left the scene, and what little footage we do have cut out soon after this clip without any indication on what happened next. Team RWBY has suffered enough tragedy for the semester to date… for now, let them rest. They reacted to a disturbance in the area and investigated it like true Huntresses would, and the four of them are now back here, safe from harm. And that is what's most important."
Glynda bowed her head in acknowledgment, though a brow cocked not soon after, "I see the footage has caught your attention, not unlike the night Miss Rose faced Roman Torchwick. We may not know their aims… but if we could find this young woman and she were to prove sympathetic to our cause… does this mean you consider making her a candidate?"
The two shared a poignant glance, each knowing full well as to what she was referring to with candidacy, before the old man let his hands fall in earnest with a sigh.
"All options are being considered. To further his claim to innocence, our contact has vowed to scour the kingdom for her whereabouts until she is found and brought in for valuation… what he can confirm for now with his intel is that this duo does not seem to be related to Salem or her agents from the attack on the Fall Maiden last year. Whether the third assailant holding Roman at blade point from behind is a part of their team or not remains to be confirmed."
Satisfied with the planning that had already been put into rectifying the current situation as well as to assay the temporary alarm the morning news had caused the day prior, Glynda Goodwitch gave a final nod before turning to walk out the office.
Her final remark was from over her shoulder, "Then I wish Branwen the best; aside from the evident affinity for wholesale destruction, the young man travelling with her doesn't seem like he will be too much of an issue."
Ozpin held back a small sigh, his lips turning to a tight frown at her words and at the initial pangs of caffeine withdrawal as well. It wasn't until she had physically left his office entirely that he returned to the screen of the tablet still playing the clip.
"I wouldn't be so sure," he finally muttered, the full pull on his attention from before returning upon reaching the few frames in the video clip where he could tell that the young man in question noticed the faunus pointing guns at his female companion and turned his hooded face only barely toward the camera's line of sight. As seen before, the young woman then disappeared for what was presumably the disarming of the entire White Fang troupe.
Rewinding a bit and then for the first time slowing the video speed a few more times until every individual frame went through the screen several seconds apart, the Beacon Headmaster watched how for just a moment what seemed to look like a snarl crossed the edge of the young man's face… before in a single frame, just one, he disappeared and reappeared with what looked like a streak of ghostly dark electricity connecting him to nearly each and every one of the faunus attackers, showing that he had been the one to cover much more ground than the mere handful of troops the young woman had incapacitated herself.
After that, the clip reached its end, looping back to the beginning once more where the hooded figure continued to hold the old man's gaze.
"Who... are you?"
"Seriously, who even are you!?" Blake practically cried out as the trio walked along the path to Higanbana, "Some of the things you did shouldn't even be physically possible!"
"That's what I said," Amber muttered under her breath, to which Jaune simply rolled his eyes.
Eesh, spare me the two-sided battle.
The partners mostly tuned out the third and rather talkative member of the trio that had been all but gushing about Jaune's versatile abilities after their dispatching of the Picotee Pirates, her incredulous tone making way to what Jaune almost had the interest to gauge would turn out to be yet another philosophic take on strength and societal class systems before Blake's gaze froze ahead in realization.
Jaune and Amber were finally forced to pay full attention to the faunus girl when she suddenly stepped forward in front of each of them to bar their path. She held a look of brilliant hope in her amber eyes that probably had enough positive charisma in them to spark a revolution.
Blergh…
Jaune swallowed the involuntary gag reflex at the influx of positivity radiating from the faunus girl as she began, motioning toward each of them, "You! And you! Do you each realize how much you can change things!? The two of you, together… my gods, we could make a real difference in the world as we know it!"
Jaune and Amber simply traded glances.
Can we turn it off, please? I liked it more when she was just a paranoid stalker, not this… randomly optimistic freedom fighter person?
You think so? Amber replied with a cocked brow in amusement, I actually kind of like how easily she's able to shift moods like that when she gets herself going. I like her, Cro. She's entertaining~
Of course, Amber was not about to admit how the part she liked the most was that, unlike their previous travel companions, this particular brunette was making no efforts to cling onto her partner whatsoever.
Well, aside from that odd doting of hers constantly directed toward him that had prompted her to hitch a ride across continents just to learn more about him… that didn't really count.
"You two have to realize, Remnant needs change…" Blake continued, adamant in driving her point home to these two beacons of hope.
"We know," he drawled in reply.
"Too many innocent people suffer fates that they wouldn't have to if those in power had the initiative to do so…"
"We know."
"Then," Blake continued, her eyes widening with unexpected mirth at Jaune's replies. She was being validated! Her ideals were being understood by these people! "Then, you understand why people like us fight! The White Fang and the good they used to stand for! And why I became one of them!"
Jaune looked her right in the eyes, at least as far as the girl could tell from behind his goggles, before giving his simple yet unwavering reply.
"Yeah. And?"
Blake drew back at the flatness of the response, her brows furrowing as to what his answer actually implied. Was her being in the White Fang not a surprise to them? The fact they'd been travelling with an ex-terrorist? Could they possibly have noticed it already, perhaps by analyzing her fighting patterns modeled after White Fang combat training methods?
Her eyes widened once again with awe… perhaps they knew, and didn't even bat an eyelid at travelling together with a potentially hostile operative with assassin-level combat training! Was this the true hidden power of a fully-realized Huntsman the calibre of Yang's and Ruby's uncle!?
"You… y-you knew? Who I was?" she was barely able to stammer out, her feline ears twitching with excitement.
"Nah. We just don't care."
The equally flat reply practically made the ravenette trip over air, stopping her stride for a moment to gape at the two partners that walked on before finally huffing in righteous frustration.
"Wha-!? What do you mean you don't care!" Blake cried out, stomping back towards her companions. Amber silently scoffed from where she was walking up ahead.
And she's back.
Mood flipped again, too. You sure you find that entertaining?
First of all, you're the one who antagonized her. Second: Extremely.
Oof, you're a scary woman, Ammie.
You best not forget it~
"Are you even listening!?" Blake cried out again from right beside them; which, they weren't, "If you understand the sheer injustice plaguing society down to its very foundation, and you seek to change it, doesn't it make us practically the same!? If they've already stooped to working with humans, my old cause could use people like you to gear it back toward what it once was - an actual influence for the greater good!"
"We fight for our own cause," Amber noted matter-of-factly, "One of much greater weight and urgency."
"What could possibly be a more pressing cause than the need for unity and equality across races in Remnant!?"
Jaune's stone-cold reply brought a pause to the conversation, "Death."
After a moment, Amber knowingly sighed, but added, "I'd have gone with Life, but yes. Equality is all fine and dandy, but answer this, Blake: how many innocent people - human and faunus - die every day indiscriminately at the hands of Grimm?"
After the telling moment of silence from Blake, Jaune followed with another question, "And you ever ask yourself why?"
Blake practically winced in confusion at the question and how serious they were in asking it, the next moment of thought causing her features to soften and an ear to droop a bit as she searched for a reply.
"Honestly… I wouldn't know what to say. It's… just the way it is…"
"Yeah no," Jaune continued, his gaze still set forward as they continued walking along, "The Grimm are the real disease, and like any, they came from somewhere. Even if different strains of them have infected every corner of Remnant. We're going to find the source… and destroy it."
For all the respect she had for them, Blake still couldn't help but scoff aloud at that.
"That's… preposterous, though!"
"So is your misguided hope in forcing equality through strength," Amber retorted simply with a small one-armed shrug.
"Not at al-!"
"Of course it is," Amber continued, even Jaune cocking a brow as he listened to her opinions on the matter from the peripherals of his vision, "Who ever said equality is equal? It is not, since to enforce it, an unequal measure of strength would be required depending on the situation as well as on the third party needing correction. 'Equal enforcement of equality' does not exist, because as you probably well know, there is no One-Size-Fits-All option."
Blake couldn't help a small nod in agreement, as she too knew that there were a variety of humans relative to the cause - some sympathetic, some neutral, and many apathetic - who would require an array of either diplomatic or aggressive negotiation approaches to reach their goal. One wouldn't correct a prejudiced book club of 70-year-olds the same way one would a militarized faunus hate-group of people half their age, after all. The Fang had tried the steamrolling option where all humans were treated as if they were Schnee executives in the making, and more often than not, it caused as many problems as it solved.
She listened as Amber continued, "Even if the enforcer's strength is unquestioned in such an arrangement, if someone feels slighted or threatened by the system, all they'll need to do is focus on that perceived 'inequality' of their chosen adaptive enforcement to rally others to their cause and bring about the cycle all over again. Having good intentions or even unparalleled strength does absolutely nothing to change that fact."
"That's… that's not true at all!" Blake balked at the last statement, but drew back at Amber's flat gaze that invited her to reflect a moment more.
Blake hated what she realized: from Ghira to Sienna… from Sienna to Adam… changes even within the White Fang had taken place, not because they had stopped wanting the same goal of 'equality', but based from perceived 'inequalities' in their enforcement of it. Too diplomatic, too aggressive, too conservative, too extreme… it was a cycle, a never-ending shuffling of ideals brought about by the next person strong enough to force it on others. But… it couldn't be true… could it?
"I see you're starting to get it now," Jaune finally interjected, a keen eye watching Blake and the very aura around her as she reached an understanding, "We don't care about politics… but luckily, neither do the Grimm. So if you can spare us the judging looks, we're gonna focus on our specialty. Just think about it as… a difference in values."
No sooner had he said that, however, that Jaune stopped cold in his tracks, sensing what felt like swaths of Aura moving through the ether around them in the woods after plenty of practice with constant ambushes over the past few hours. He turned to see Blake also on alert thanks to senses he could only assume were feline in nature, Amber momentarily confused at the sudden shift in mood before the sounds of cracking branches nearby caused her to pull out Autumn in a guard position as well.
"Great, just what we needed," Blake hedged as the dozen faunus wearing telltale Grimm-like bone masks that even Jaune and Amber began to recognize emerged from the woods to surround them, "A White Fang ambush."
"Stay where you are! Don't move!" one of the armed assailants barked, somewhat quite literally as well judging by the canine growl that followed.
Blake raised her arms, using the motion to send Jaune an aside, "Be that as it may, don't expect the Fang to look at your 'difference in ideals' with as much understanding. They're set to achieve their goals no matter whom they have to use to-"
"Ohhh, so these guys are the White Fang," Jaune spoke up with a snap, finally remembering that they'd seen them at the docks and one under Mountain Glenn before turning to Amber, "Did you know these guys are the ones Blake has been talking about?"
"It's a first for me, too," she replied with a shrug, adding when she saw Blake's scandalized glare, "What? I'm not from the kingdoms."
"Blake?" a man suddenly spoke aloud in realization.
"Belladonna?" another added in alarm, "The Belladonna!?"
Blake turned to glare at Jaune, amber eyes burning a hole right between his goggles, "Now of all times you choose to remember my name!?"
To add insult to injury, Jaune merely stated with unquestionable innocence even Blake couldn't possibly refute as the Faunus closed in some more, "Meh, I didn't know it was supposed to be important… to be fair, I still don't even know what you guys do."
Blake's eye twitched, not knowing whether to accept it until either before or after stabbing him first. Jaune's brows furrowed with unenthused annoyance as a mental voice crept into his mind at the sight.
Ooh, I know that look in her eyes. You're a very easy person to murder mentally, Cro. Just FYI. Now I've yet another reason to like her.
Hilarious.
"What business do you have travelling with a deserter?" the lead faunus demanded, a pair of leathery wings extending out his back.
"Is that why you stopped us?" Jaune asked innocently, "It sounded like you didn't even know who she was a minute ago…"
"Answer the question! You've trespassed on White Fang territory and are therefore subject to questioning and the enforcement of execution should we discover any plot to undermine our operations!"
Huh, so is that what they call random shootings and robbing people blind these days? Jaune mentally snarked in reply.
"Wait, your territory? I didn't see a sign," Amber now spoke up inquisitively as well, glancing at Jaune, "Did you see one? I'm sure if something like that were in the forest at all, we wouldn't have taken this route. Sure your group isn't just trying to pillage innocent passersby like the other bandits along the road?"
"Silence, woman! You're human and that's reason enough to take the dust, weapons, and very clothes off your back made by oppressed Faunus across Remnant! You will do as we say or we will shoot!"
Jaune quickly whispered to Blake as the leader of the group's attention remained on Amber, the only obvious human in the group, "Look, we're already running behind schedule as-is, so I've got an idea. Just cover your eyes and ears cuz I imagine this next part won't feel so great for you, either."
You too, Ammie. I'll explain after.
With Amber now silent, the lead Fang member thrust the barrel of a gun towards Jaune's face from several paces away, "You! In the goggles! Hands up where we can see them! Don't make me repeat it again!"
"Yeah yeah, fine…"
Jaune leisurely raised his arm and Harbinger over his head as the man yelled across the clearing for the others to hear, "And are you human, or faunus!?"
Blake noticed the fingers on Harbinger reach out and charge up with subtle tendrils of electricity, so she did what Jaune had told and closed her eyes as well as flattening her ears. Amber promptly saw and did the same.
It was right on time for a smirk to cross his face as his fingers formed the shape he desired.
"Who cares?"
SNAP
The lead faunus cried out, he and the entire troupe dropping their weapons as they covered their eyes and ears in pain when Jaune's snap exploded with a hard pulse of smoky air and a concentrated flash of bright lightning between his fingers. He placed an arm each on Amber's and Blake's shoulders to guide them forward since the flash had also overloaded each one's vision as well. While it was faint due to the ringing in her ears, Blake could still make out several ex-comrades crying out with ruptured eardrums from a fetal position around them, not missing the telltale rusty scent and occasional splotches of red running down the sides of their heads that reminded her just how much hidden power resided in whom she was travelling with.
It took several minutes more for the ringing to stop in Blake's ears as well as her vision to stop swimming, but when she became aware of their surroundings, it was with the next village already in sight.
"-put the air between two fingers, compacted it then superheated it?"
"Yeah, I learned that's kinda how lightning works a long time ago, so I thought, hey, why not try skipping the zappy part and go straight to the 'boom'?"
The conversation finally recognizable to the faunus girl, Blake turned to face her companions right on time to see Amber facepalm and reply to the explanation.
"Thunder. You weaponized thunder, of all things."
"To be fair, I might've overdone it a bit."
Amber sighed with a small shake of her head, "Only you, Cro. Only you."
"Oh, hey you," Jaune greeted aloud in Blake's direction when he noticed she finally wasn't as dazed as before, "You were kinda shaken up for a while there. Feeling better?"
Blake simply blinked a few times at the young man, her mind still trying to process just what exactly he'd done. She shook her head, finally letting her ears droop as she walked ahead beside them.
"That was an elite troupe back there… each trained as thoroughly as I was with my old partner and ops squad in the Vale branch. You took them out in a second, Qrow. Less than a second, actually."
There was so much going through her head now that it was clearing up, and the first thing was that the moment HQ received word of such a threat roaming Mistral of all places, they would declare all-out war if need be to neutralize it. Even so, if they had just shown but a fraction of their power to so easily dispatch Fang members with skills the likes of which could challenge most other Huntsmen in their own right, Blake slowly was realizing that the ones she'd be worried about in the next skirmish were the Fang themselves.
"It's just," she continued sullenly, "I've been so used to seeing things in terms of sides and factions that it never occured to me that someone could simply choose to avoid it all like you both do."
"Mm, I wouldn't say that," Amber noted in reply, her eyes trailing up in thought recalling the very mistakes she'd made in the past with that line of thinking, "Avoiding society and its qualms won't get you anywhere in the end, and if that was what we were doing, it wouldn't really work out in the long run. It is very unwise to assume one will never find someone evenly matched with yourself, or even stronger. Then you'll be forced to make a choice… which is usually the one you wanted least. I would know, after all..."
Jaune nodded with a small shrug, "Like I said, it's just a matter of different values. You might think we're in the grey here, a third party denying the black and white of justice or the lack of it in the world, but we're not. They're each there, they each exist. No one can deny that. But there's also no such thing as a grey area - you're either for, or against something. Choosing not to act on it or have an opinion doesn't change the color; in the end, it just leaves the fight to those who care enough about it to have it, whether it's a pointless fight after it's all said and done or not."
Oh? I didn't know you had a thoughtful side to you, Cro…
He didn't really reply to Amber's appraisal, simply turning to gaze at his partner as he continued, "It's really not much to think of, y'know. When you're hunting with your life on the line, you choose to either strike or run, and you don't have time to really think of the loopholes around it because there aren't any. But just because you avoid both options to stall or wait, it doesn't take you out of the hunt… all it does is either give you a chance to gain the upper hand, or your prey the opening to eat you alive. There is no grey in these things. If you're neutral in one thing, it's just because you've chosen to fight for something else… even if just for your choice to do nothing at all but survive."
Blake's eyes momentarily widened, wondering what he might've meant with hunting prey that could in turn kill the hunter with such a casual tone, but she instead tried to argue anything she could against it.
"But that has nothing to do with our cause. This isn't a hunt, Qrow. This is to seize a better future for everyone! Sitting back and doing nothing won't solve anything!"
"Have people lost their lives for your cause?" he questioned immediately, "Have they suffered, bled, laughed and cried with their achievements or failures? Hm?"
"Well… y-yes."
"Then that's the hunt. You and yours saw a lack in something they needed, and went out to claim it, risks and losses be damned," Jaune concluded with a subconscious glance at his lost arm, "Words, weapons, it's the same - you want something and the world isn't making it easy to achieve. All I can tell you there is to stay alive and keep fighting. But we've chosen our fight, so we have no right to participate in yours."
The trio walked on, the village becoming bigger while Amber continued walking close by Jaune's side with the occasional smile in his direction and Blake ruminating over the information in her mind. The occasional glance in the partners' direction always made her furrow her brow; the way they looked at each other felt like they were having a conversation no one else could hear. Turning her gaze back ahead, Blake couldn't help but reprimand herself for being unable to answer him earlier. They had to be either human or faunus, didn't they? Even if they identified as something completely different, it didn't change the fact that prejudice and discrimination affected them in some way or another, right?
Blake sighed, noting that her hesitance had probably come from the fact that her argument hadn't been met with direct rebuttals, but those of someone who refused to take part in the matter altogether for reasons she frankly couldn't condemn, even if they were a bit far-fetched. Thankfully, she was mature enough to note that someone's choice to remain neutral in a global issue didn't automatically mean that they were devaluing it… but with so much potential, they could use their strength to at least influence people to listen.
'That's it!' she mentally exclaimed, ever the persistent one in her ideals to make things better.
For as long as she knew trying to make the world a better and safer place for everyone was the greatest good, nothing and no one would be able to stop her!
"Would you at least consider it?" she asked aloud, Jaune and Amber turning to glance at her.
"Hm?"
"Would you consider helping the Faunus, please?" she asked, swallowing the gag reflex that came from using the p-word in who knows how long.
Jaune sighed, giving a slow shrug before replying, "I told you. The only thing I'll promise is that we won't discriminate against those who stand in our way as we seek to eradicate all Grimm on Remnant."
"Oh, come on! I was trying to be reasonable that time!"
"So was I. I promise we will apply equal deadly force to whoever tries to stop us, both humans and faunus alike."
"That doesn't even answer my question!"
And so, Amber watched the two continue to go back and forth in their argument even as they walked into the village of Higanbana proper, each of them both turning out to be masters of deflection and sardonicism in general in their own right. In fact, it wasn't until the entrepreneurial owner of the rental company addressed on the back of the voucher came out to greet them that all of them paused to gawk at the sight.
"You!?" Amber and Jaune cried out at once at the balding owner with bits of grey hair poking out the sides of his head.
"Me?" the aging man echoed, even Blake owlishly staring at the obvious resemblance.
"Yeah! You're that shopkeep from Vale!"
The pause stretched for a moment more before the shopkeep, though this time dressed in a retro suit and tie one might find on a used car salesman, snapped his fingers with a grin.
"Oh! You must mean my brother! Hah, so I see business is well in Vale, eh? Good for him!" he noted with a loud chuckle at the end, all three of the visitors trading bewildered glances before Amber finally composed herself enough to procure the voucher.
"Yes, well," she began, presenting the voucher which he then took and inspected, "We had a pub owner in Shion tell us about your services, which would come in handy for our planned trip to Mistral City."
"Hoh, Verdell must've really taken a shining to you three to give this away," the shopkeep grinned as he flipped the voucher to the back to check its legitimacy, "Hm hmm, well I've got an all-terrain in the shop that just got a tuning - it's great on handling, can tow three times its weight, stands up to most Grimm, and it runs on a Hard-Light core; no need to charge it with Dust fuel!"
"Alright, sign us up," Jaune agreed with a nod, the shopkeep leading them all into his shop to fill out the paperwork and then to the hangar-sized garage where all three teens were surprised to see housed all manner of impressive machinery and equipment.
The change was a quirky reminder that even with something as humane as filling out paperwork or walking a few hours through a forest, this world seemed to relish in promptly showing the young man that his life and the world he lived in was anything but normal.
"M'kay, this should have you all set for the next week!" the shopkeep now exclaimed as he procured a set of keys and a small contract with written details all along the side, "Just return it by this time next week at the address listed at the bottom - in good condition, of course - and you're all set!"
He gave the contract to Amber before momentarily disappearing into the garage. The sound of a revving engine coming to life practically sent chills down the teens' spines with the power behind its ignition, the large vehicle coming to the fore with the grinning shopkeep up front.
They cocked their heads a bit to the side as they studied the hulk of a vehicle - in the shape of a large, angular buggy which could easily seat five, there was an entire part of the roof that could mechashift away, likely for an armed civilian or Huntsman to pick off any Grimm that got too close. Overall, the metal plating was thick, sleek, and gave the overall look a nearly militaristic feel.
Seriously… this guy actually makes a profit letting people literally take these off his hands!?
As if reading her mind, the shopkeep hopped out and remarked what Jaune figured he'd probably had to explain to most new customers already, "Sometimes we get Huntsmen looking for cheap alternatives for transport during a mission in Mistral, but most times it's civilians looking to move product or their home to a new village fast enough to avoid being found by Grimm. Believe it or not, we have successful delivery of rentals more than ninety-eight percent of the time! Turns out when you put a bit of trust in people, they respond in kind."
He gave a warm smile to the group as he placed the keys in Jaune's hand, Blake watching him go with a slightly raised brow.
"Hmph."
"You coming up or what?" Amber called out after Blake, she and Jaune already seated in the front seats as Blake turned to face them with crossed arms in front of the ATV.
"You know that little pep talk in the end was just a nice way of saying 'you better bring it back,' right?" she hedged before shifting her weight a bit to plant her feet in protest in front of the imposing vehicle, "And you never answered my question, Qrow. Will you at least consider aiding our cause? I may no longer identify as a member of the White Fang, but I do remain committed to bringing equality to those who suffer an-"
"Look, we really don't have all day and I will put this thing in drive," Jaune hedged with a flat look in her direction, "You gonna get in or move out of the way? I don't wanna get blood all over the fender."
"Oh, stop," Amber whispered with a snicker, only more than smug about completing the thought in her mind.
You can't fool me, Cro. I know you were protecting her back at the clearing; you just want her to be safe. So play nice.
Jaune and Blake locked glares for a moment longer before Jaune finally relented with an eye-roll.
"Fine. If I see humans picking on faunus, I agree to… I dunno, smack 'em around or something."
"Ugh." Blake glanced to the side with a scoff, but she let her crossed arms drop as she began walking over to the side of the vehicle behind Amber with a mutter, "Should've known not to expect much from it."
Before she could pull the handle, though, the lock hatch suddenly engaged, her amber-eyed gaze flying up momentarily to see Jaune staring right back at her from the front seat through the window.
"I'm sorry, was that sass I just heard?" he called out loud enough from within for her to hear.
Amber could've sworn she heard a feline hiss from somewhere before Blake's voice came through with ill-hidden reluctance.
"...No..."
"Great. Hop on."
The lock disengaged, letting Blake climb aboard for the armored vehicle as she couldn't help but wonder just how in the world he could've heard her from the opposite side of the vehicle.
'Is he really not a faunus?'
It was a thought that had her sneaking glances at him multiple times over the first few minutes of their ride, and she would've asked him about it directly considering his ambivalence on the matter when the Fang had asked him earlier. However, if she could call it ironic timing, a flash of something caught her eye from the woods, making her speak up for another request.
"Can someone retract the roof? I think I saw something."
"Mm, sure," Amber noted as she found the button and did just so, the wind whipping across everyone's hair for a moment before Blake was finally convinced.
"We're being tracked."
"Grimm?" Amber asked, to which Jaune shook his head.
"Don't think so."
"Can you tell?" Blake asked Jaune directly with some curiosity, remembering how he'd seemed able to sense the Fang presence which only bolstered her theory that he was in fact some kind of faunus.
"Eh. It's kinda hit or miss at certain speeds," Jaune stated before the sounds of machinery not from their vehicle bled into the clearing, "But I'm starting to catch your drift. We're gonna be surrounded soon."
Amber's eyes widened, taking several glances around her surroundings with mounting panic, "But we're in this vehicle, we'll be sitting ducks along the open road!"
"Well we're not bailing. We just paid for this thing."
"It was a free rental!"
"Look, no problem," Jaune placated with a hand up in her direction, "I was thinking of something earlier after dealing with the bandits from Shion. Remember that force field thing you do? Deploy it around the car."
Amber practically balked at the scope of Aura-usage he was expecting from her, "Cro, I cannot do th-"
With her rebuttal paused when Jaune placed his hand on her shoulder, he turned briefly to glance at her with that ghost of a smile on his face she knew so well. He had an idea.
"Yes you can. I got a pretty good hunch earlier that my top ups can do more than just keep your Aura levels healthy," he began before turning back to face the road and willing aura into his hand, "Strengthen."
Blake watched with surprise how Jaune's Aura slowly began rippling across Amber's body, the young woman herself seemingly unsurprised with the phenomenon… that is, until her attempt to extend her aura went much further than previously expected.
"Cro! It's… it's working!?"
"Well how 'bout that," he remarked with a small grin at the bubble of Aura that finally solidified around the vehicle.
Which was fortuitous, considering that the moment it solidified into a dim bubble of translucent energy around the moving vehicle, the entire area was bombarded with all manner of rockets and gunfire.
Blake held on with quick reflexes at the railing, the two women crying out with surprise and panic while Jaune grit his teeth behind the wheel. Keeping his arm on Amber's shoulder with some of what little Gravity Dust energy he had left, he spun the wheel as much as he could to correct the drifting spin the sheer forces of impact had forced the vehicle into.
"C'mooooon!" he cried out finally, the gunfire finally coming to a halt just as the vehicle emerged from the smoke skidding to a stop right beside several tree trunks that it would've crashed into had he not hit the brakes sooner.
All three of them frazzled and panting heavily at the incredibly near miss, Jaune turned to his side and behind to address the girls, "Everyone alright?"
Amber and Blake each gave quick nods with wide eyes, but any further speech went unheard when voices began echoing out from the woods beside them.
"I almost couldn't believe it."
"Indeed I could not."
"The estranged nightshade of the Fang."
"And the man we're told fell an entire squadron with a single snap."
"He held out against our ambush."
"Yes, this should be reported."
"They must be apprehended for questioning."
"Yes."
"This is good."
"Alright, cut the crap," Jaune called out, evidently miffed now that he'd regained his composure, "I can't even tell how many of you are talking! It's just plain weird."
At that, two men in hoods stepped out from the treeline, their steps in perfect sync as the group noticed the tall fox ears poking up from one of their heads… along with practically an entire garrison of militants emerging from the woods behind them, armed to the teeth.
"A small concession."
"Of course, the least we can do now that your defenses have all but verified the reports of a powerful Huntsman causing disarray in our ranks in Mistral."
"Moreso the company which you keep," the pointy-eared man stated, looking at Blake.
"Who are you?" she shot back with narrowed eyes.
"Another concession."
"Yes, a small concession," the one without ears began, the posture of each man rigid and formal as he introduced himself, "My name is Corsac Albain, and this is my brother Fennec. We have been sent to ascertain the threat level of your group, as well as to verify your identity, young Belladonna."
"Very troubling."
"Troubling indeed."
"We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but understand if you can no longer support our cause."
"It is a wearying fight, after all."
Blake narrowed her eyes, her ears flattening atop her head in disdain at the implication.
"Who says I'm done fighting?"
"So," Jaune interrupted, drawing her gaze and the slightly irked ones of the brothers as well, "Is this how you show how 'understanding' you are with members who leave? Spring a rocket or two en 'em as a surprise greeting? Seems a little violent, isn't it?"
"Young man, I'm not sure what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you, we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe."
"Nor must we explain ourselves to the man who attacked our forces without warning. Due precaution was necessary, and re-engagement was prioritized over verification of intel at the time."
In other words, shoot first, ask questions later if anyone survives? Amber noted mentally in reply which only Jaune could hear, I'm almost beginning to miss Vale. At least everyone knew why the shooting was happening in the first place.
Told you that you jinxed us.
Hush, you.
"What we've heard?" Blake echoed, not letting the new pair focus on her companions and deflect the situation - classic White Fang rhetoric, "We've seen firsthand. Your fanatics were working with humans! Humans the likes of Roman Torchwick, at that!"
A brief silence befell the clearing, Fennec making an innocent, sideways glance at his brother. Amber couldn't help wince at that as well, that with having shared the name and all with that man for some time.
"Though it pains us to admit," Corsac began through evident encouragement from his brother, "It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you are quite familiar with the young adept and his... extreme philosophies."
Blake held back a scowl, unsure how much they knew or why they would bring such a thing up at a time like this.
"We assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang as a whole," Fennec added, though Blake was having none of it.
"And how can I be sure of that?"
"We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang's tactics are admittedly... more aggressive... since your father stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie," Corsac noted, causing Jaune and Amber to cock a brow at the news Blake apparently hadn't meant to ever tell them, "But in light of these developments, we are to request a concession of our own."
"A small concession, indeed."
"You are to accompany us to the Throne Room and explain your actions to our High Leader, and respond for today's crimes against the Brotherhood."
Fennec raised his arms which his brother followed in perfect sync, each motioning towards the armed vehicles coming into the clearing and additional militants as well, "As you can see, you're in no position to refuse."
The motion had also served to show that each of the brothers were armed as well at the hip, though Jaune's gaze remained on the locked vehicles that had no real entry point to hijack even at high speeds. They didn't seem to have any weaknesses he could exploit with his limited elemental reserves either, unless he wanted to cook the passengers alive with sustained electric blasts from the outside.
Blake's ears drooped a bit at the odds stacked against them, her morale unfortunately taking another hit when she saw the Huntsman in whom she'd been in nearly constant awe drop his gaze with a shake of his head. Jaune turned to face his partner with an annoyed huff.
Well that sucks. Ammie, what are the odds we get out of this without killing anyone again?
We? Excuse me, that was all YOU that time. Even if accidental.
Amber turned to give him a small frown, which the brothers in the clearing took as a reason to trade smug smirks.
And… the odds are very low.
And if we leave the girl behind?
Cro! Not the time, I'm nearly out of Aura anyway and they'll obviously hurt her if we leave her behind!
Jaune groaned as he pinched his nose in frustration. The next flurry of thoughts shot back and forth in a matter of seconds.
They'll probably just keep coming if we just escape or take them out without killing them. This is annoying.
You think they'll be a problem?
Not sure yet…
Amber narrowed her eyes as a new realization slowly dawned on her.
You're… you're actually curious, aren't you? To see if they're stronger?
Would it be bad to say yes? Jaune mentally admitted with a minute shrug, We've got a few days till Al gets back, and honestly what we've seen so far on the surface people-wise… I dunno, maybe the Faunus would be stronger? Besides, we're not really going anywhere while we have our third wheel and upcoming return to Shion to send them off anyway, so...
We would essentially be restarting from zero in any case, she echoed in agreement, Well. It seems person-to-person combat has helped you grasp your abilities much faster than the week of Grimm bounty missions… these people know Blake, and I've yet to decide whether or not it's a good thing. If you've been able to adapt so quickly to humans, I do wonder how you will grow against faunus and their more heightened characteristics.
My thoughts exactly. I just have this bad feeling our really talkative rebel here will have… ~opinions~ about our choice. Didn't they say she ditched them already?
Mhm, yes. I suppose we will simply cross that bridge when we get there.
He dragged a palm down his face before conceding in a motion that took Blake entirely by surprise.
"Alright, fine. But we're taking the car. It's paid for through the next six days already."
Far above them, red eyes blinked, surveying the scene below perched from its branch at the highest of treetops. With a little caw, the pitch black bird of prey spread its wings and fluttered away towards the north, no longer intent on watching the humans below for the time being as they began to be escorted away by their new captors.
After all, a creature of Grimm it was not.
A/N: Sorry for the late upload! Woke up really late, ah well. And ah, no one got my uhaul reference last chapter. It's a moving equipment rental company across the US and Canada that I worked with as my first corporate job. Turns out I had some talent and became the youngest new hire to manage teams and corporate partners from their headquarters within their first 6 months of tenure. Learned a lot of lessons but also got a taste of corporate politics for the first time, which, eesh, nuff said. I left before I could be banged down into just another cog in the wheel, but the lessons have helped me even to this day, so meh.
Anywho, the chapter moves things along as Jaune gets a grasp on his situation, his abilities, and his learning curve. Amber is so far the only one who's realizing that he's not so satisfied with what he's finding out so far. Besides, who only wants to fight scrubs on their way to Grimm extermination? No thank you. The trio are at least understanding each other along the way, but they really need a good sit down to discuss where they came from, which will come soon enough. Blake is being as stubborn as ever, pretty set on doing what she wants even if she doesn't really know why she's obsessing over it in the first place. How will all these pieces come together to form the climax of this arc? Well that, dear reader, is the right question.
In other news, I've seen my lovely cushion of pre-written content whittle away over the past few months... not because I'm losing the will to write or from lack of support, but because irl stuff has been insane. No one is really safe in this pandemic - economically speaking - so I hope you're all alright as well. I'll continue doing my best and if the worst comes to pass and I have to miss a posting date, then I'll just have to find a way to make up for that! The goal is not to have to get to that point in the first place! So, liked the chapter? Well feel free to Fave, Follow, and Review to show your support! Until next time, take care, stay healthy...
And Happy Reading!