(Chapter 17)
Jaune and Penny made their way down the sidewalk at a slow pace with Jaune deep in thought.
"Partner, what are we doing first?" The blonde stopped walking as he was absorbed by his thoughts before he massaged his temples and spoke to his best friend.
"First, I need to get some non-lethal ammo for tonight, after that we'll see what time it is and find a spot to stake out at, then once we're set up, give a call to Whitley and the General." The ginger android nodded to him with a rare 'serious smile' as the blonde had decided to dub it.
An hour went by as they traveled across downtown vale before arriving at a huntsman grade arms supplier. The two shared a look before Penny decided to ask the blonde a question.
"Have you been here before Partner?" The blonde glanced up at the sign before he looked back to his partner and responded.
"Only one time, and I didn't even get anything. I wanted to see if I could get Crocea Mors sharpened, but at the time, I didn't know that it would never lose its edge, shine, or begin to rust. The lady behind the counter looked at it, pulled out a book, and five minutes later she tells me that it didn't need any upkeep. So, I just thanked her and left."
The ginger gave a nod to her partner as the two of them walked into the building, the bell attached to the doorframe ringing as they entered. The two took slow steps towards the counter as they admired the weapons lining the walls and filling the display cases and tables.
As they scanned the room, the sound of footsteps and ruffling papers began to grow louder. A few moments later, and a woman in her mid-twenties emerged from behind the curtains leading to the back of shop. She was slightly tanned, had neck length, curly blonde hair, and wore an outfit that was as revealing as Yang's, if not slightly more.
"Welcome in Y'all!" The woman's thick accent called out to the two from they stood, a few feet away from the counter. She looked up from the papers she was holding and gave them a look before she spoke again.
"Oh don't be shy now you two, I don't bite!" The two stepped up to the counter fully, and once there, the older woman studied them both, her eyes lingering on the taller blonde teen. Her face was scrunched up a bit, as if trying to figure something out.
"Have we met before Sweetie?" Jaune brought a hand up to the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed before he answered the woman.
"Once. I brought in my sword and shield for maintenance, but you told me it didn't and wouldn't need any." Immediately after explaining, the woman's eyes widened in recognition as she spoke again.
"Well how about that! What brings ya back to my li'l ol' shop here?" The leader of team JCKP unholstered his gun, before removing the dust cartridge inside and placing it on the countertop next to the firearm. The woman picked up the highly stylized revolver before double checking it wasn't loaded and pointing it at the wall away from her customers, testing the grips and weight of the weapon before studying the sides with a professional level of admiration.
"Whoever made this weapon ain't just a professional, they're an artist, on level with my Paw-Paw. Everythin' about this weapon is just so modern and nuanced that even if I disassembled the gun, I'd probably still miss somethin'." The gun was placed back onto the counter as she continued speaking.
"So, I'm guessing y'all are here for some ammo?" The teens nodded and the woman picked up the dust cartridge next to the weapon and inspected it. After a few moments, she gave a gave a nod before turning to her computer and searching for something. After a few minutes, she smiled and placed the cartridge back down onto the counter before addressing the partners.
"Lucky for you, I have some empty dust cartridges in this size in the back. So, you just want me to get you some more non-charged dust?" The blonde shook his head, causing the country girl to smile as she leaned on the counter and gestured for the blonde teen to explain.
"I'm looking for non-lethal ammo. Do you have any suggestions for what I should use?" The older woman looked a bit surprised at the request and turned her attention back to her computer. After a few minutes of silence, the blonde woman rotated the screen towards the two students and began talking again.
"As far as non-lethal goes, there aren't a whole lot of options to begin with I'm afraid. But, I went ahead and pulled up what I have in stock that's actually worth your time." The taller blonde looked at the list as the shop owner continued to talk.
"First, your most obvious choice is stun dust. The S.D.C. makes it, though it's just lightning dust that's been intentionally debased, so y'all won't have any unfortunate accidents." The arms supplier scrolled down on the list until she came upon the next product.
"Next up is concussion dust. Also meant to be non-lethal, but it comes in a wider variety. The C.D.I. used to make it. Now the thing-" Upon seeing the confused look on Jaune's face, the woman halted in her explanation as the blonde voiced his obvious question.
"Sorry but, what's the C.D.I.?" From his side, his ginger haired partner decided to answer.
"Coal Dust Industries. The C.D.I. was a budding business started by a Mantle-born citizen, and many suspected that they would grow to one day be a competitor to the dust giant, the S.D.C. But the company experienced an unforeseen and rapid decline in profit until they were forced to declare bankruptcy. There are many speculations as to their sudden decline however."
Upon hearing the name of the business, the blonde thought about his dark-skinned teammate and the unusual dust he used in his weapon, followed by the subtle change in demeanor that Flynt used to have whenever Whitley was near. He winced as he began to ask Penny a question he felt he already knew the answer to.
"Penny…does Flynt have any relation to this?" The android girl nodded her head in confirmation as she answered him.
"Friend Flynt is the founder's son." A groan escaped the blonde leader as he brought a palm to his forehead. Luckily, the two seemed to get along better, albeit awkwardly, after the midterm. The shop owner coughed a bit loudly, gathering the two's attention before speaking.
"Listen y'all, much as I love talkin' to ya both, I've got quite a few rush orders I need to get back to workin' on, so how about I do you a favor honey?" Jaune looked skeptical before he replied.
"What were you thinking?" The woman laced her fingers together on the counter and rested her chin on them, smiling as she spoke.
"The little bit of C.D.I. dust I have left is reachin' the end of its shelf life. I reckon it'd be better off in your hands doin' some good rather than losin' its shine in the back of my shop. So, if you wanna buy some of what I have left, I'll give y'all a discount, today only!" Jaune eyes widened at the offer, before returning to normal as he adopted a thinking pose. He stayed like that for a moment before smiling and nodding to her.
"So, we still don't any intel on the ones responsible for Amber's condition, and now, Salem has her own inner circle similar to our own." The calculative tone of Glynda Goodwitch spoke out in the clockwork themed office of Ozpin. Her question was met with a shake of the head, causing her bite her lip in anger as she clenched her fist.
"Glynda." The gentle tone Ozpin used caused her to let out a large exhale as she adjusted her glasses and unclenched her fist. Ozpin knew how much this meant to the woman. She was firmly against Amber becoming a maiden, and her biggest supporter after she was given the responsibility and curse of her powers.
"Qrow, how goes the search for the new summer maiden?" James took this time to insert his own question into the long discussion. The man in question let out a sigh as he took a swig from his flask before answering with a faraway look on his face.
"I ain't found anything. Spent the last half year in either Vacuo or in grimm territory. Trying to get in good with each nomad village in the desert takes time and finding them again after I leave isn't easy. As for the other thing, only reason I found that out was after I met with one of my sister's informants at Shade. Once he told me what Raven wanted me to know, I made my way here."
The headmaster of Atlas nodded in response to Qrow's answer, stuck in his own thoughts about what should be done before Ozpin decided to speak again, gathering everyone's attention.
There's no use in us wallowing in our lack of progress. For now, we all need to stay vigilant and report in whenever we discover anything." The other three occupants of the room nodded to him before he poured himself another mug of cocoa and asked his fellow headmaster a question.
"On a less stressful topic, how are the preparations for this year's Vytal Festival coming along?" The man's features seemed to lighten at the topic as he responded to the question.
"The preparations are going smoothly. Amity Colosseum will be ready to begin its scheduled flight to Vale for the tournament come time. And how are things on your end Oz?" The spectacled man smiled as he answered his longtime friend.
"Beacon will be prepared to welcome all of its guests visiting for the Vytal Festival, rest assured. Though, something tells me that this year's tournament will be one of the most interesting." Qrow having just finished taking another draw from his flask decided to ask a question despite his buzzed state.
"What makes you say that?" The white-haired man gave another quiet, mirthful smile in response before taking a sip from his mug and voicing his thoughts.
"Aside from the sheer volume of students I expect to be participating, the number of students who stand out amongst their peers is staggering." Everyone around the room nodded their heads at the ancient man's assessment.
The Atlesian general felt a vibration coming from his pocket and retrieved his scroll. The time read 1951, and below the time he saw that his blonde-haired student had sent him a message. He opened the message and started to read through its contents before his expression gradually shifted to one of alarm. The large man let out an uncharacteristic sigh as he began to massage his temples.
"Ozpin, you need to have a look at this." With that, the green-clad man raised an eyebrow as he accepted the scroll that was being handed to him. A few moments went by, before he handed the scroll back to the disciplined man and finished the rest of the cocoa in his mug off in one draw.
"Well, that's certainly alarming. Can you get him on the line?" The headmaster of Atlas nodded before sending a response back to the teen. All present in the room waited silently for a few minutes, before the scroll began to ring. The general answered it immediately and put the teen on speaker.
"Hello. Are you there General?" The voice on the other end sounded incredibly familiar to the blonde woman in the room, but she couldn't place it.
"Yes, Ozpin is here as well, and I have you on speaker." The four adults could hear the voice on the other end of the scroll call whispering to someone. Seconds later, the teen on the other end resumed speaking.
"I understand, and sorry for the delay. I asked Penny to keep an eye out while I moved to somewhere we could talk."
"What's your status?" The boy on the other end, was silent for a moment, before he answered.
"Me and Penny have been staking out here for a few hours now, we wanted to see if anything was actually going to happen before calling you. We were gonna give it another hour or two before the police showed up, but they're acting strange."
"Strange how?" The blonde took a moment before he responded to the general's question.
"They've set up a perimeter around the docks to keep the public away from here, but they aren't checking anyone's I.D, and none of them are patrolling the cargo yard at all, just keeping the perimeter." After he said this, the four hunters listening to him speak came to a shared conclusion, but before any of them could voice it, Jaune spoke again.
"I called Whitley to see if any of the rumors I heard were true, and he messaged me back not too long ago telling me that there was a big shipment of dust coming in tonight. Also, I found out who is behind all the dust shop robberies that have been happening in Vale."
This tidbit of information surprised the hidden protectors of Remnant, and this time it was Glynda who voiced a question.
"And who would that be?" There was a sound of surprise from the other end of the call before they asked a question in response.
"Ms. Goodwitch?" The woman realized why the voice on the other line sounded familiar.
"Jaune?" The surprise in her voice was clear and her face wore an incredulous expression. The leader of team JCKP shook his head before regained his focus as he spoke again.
"Roman Torchwick, and he's working with the White Fang." He gave them a moment to digest that information. The four listening on the other end all wore similar looks of thought. Ozpin cleared his throat before addressing the younger man.
"Jaune. While this info is no doubt helpful, and I assure you it will be used to do some good. I believe I can speak for your headmaster as well when I say that if there is even a chance that Roman Torchwick will make an appearance near you, then you need to be elsewhere. He is a graduated huntsman, despite having gone rogue."
They waited for a moment and when the teen didn't answer, began to fear something happened. A few more moments went by before Jaune spoke again.
"Sorry, thought I heard someone. But, the only reason me and Penny ar-"
"Penny and I." Everyone present sent a look towards Glynda before the blonde teen on the other scroll line spoke.
"…are here, is because Blake and some other guy named Sun planned to stake out here first. Penny is keeping an eye on them from where we are as well as looking out for Torchwick." This news made Ozpin rub his temples in exhaustion and Glynda grit her teeth at the cat faunus's foolish behavior.
Ozpin made a hushing motion towards Ironwood, and the man muted their end of the call before the spectacled man spoke to the general. The headmaster of Beacon retrieved his own scroll before trying something, and after a few moments of no results, spoke to his fellow headmaster.
"It seems that Ms. Belladonna has turned off her scroll." This comment made the general's eyes widen before he voiced his thoughts.
"Wait, you have a Belladonna attending your academy?" The man in question nodded his head, and the general could feel his own headache beginning to form.
"Oz, this isn't a good situation. If something happens to her-"
"We'd have a political shitstorm on our hands." Qrow cut off the general, but his comment was no less true, and they all knew it. The cyborg thought to himself for a moment before he let out an exhale and unmuted the line.
"Jaune, are you still there."
"Yes Sir." The man paused for a brief moment before he continued speaking.
"I want you to run damage control. Do not engage unless the Belladonna girl does. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir. I'm gonna go rejoin Penny now if that's all." The man took a deep breath before he spoke to the teen one last time before ending the scroll call.
"It is. Stay safe." With that, the tall man ended the call. Ozpin immediately addressed the former member of the Branwen tribe.
"Qrow." The man needed no further words.
"On it Oz." And with that, he ran towards the opening window, and turned into a crow and began to fly towards the Vale shipping yard. As he flew off, Ozpin took out his scroll tablet and began typing away furiously.
"Would one of you like to explain to me what is going on." The irate voice of Glynda Goodwitch rung out through the office of Beacon's headmaster. Ozpin fixed her with a look before continuing to type away as he spoke.
"Currently, I'm writing a letter to the council concerning the likely involvement of the police in this heist, Qrow is heading to Vale in order to-"
"You know that isn't what I meant Ozpin. How does Jaune know James?" The man paused in his typing as his eyes met Glynda's before he laced his fingers together and spoke.
"James is his headmaster. Jaune withdrew from Beacon instead of letting me expel him. After that, he transferred to Atlas's huntsman academy." The man went back to typing, and the blonde disciplinarian looked lost before addressing Ironwood.
"Why would you accept that boy as a transfer student? He faked his transcripts to sneak into Beacon." The large man sighed before he answered.
"I'm well aware of what he's done, but it was a favor for Oz. However, whatever expectations I have for the young man, he continuously finds a way to shatter. He's thriving at my academy, with a squad that supports him and an environment that lets him grow." At this point, Ozpin decided to add another bit of information.
"Also, because he attended Beacon, despite how short his tenure was, he has legitimate transcripts now." The woman seemed to want to argue but was silenced by a look from her leader. She just sat down in one of the seats in the office, before removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Glynda," the voice of the Atlesian headmaster caused her to look at him as he spoke.
"I can tell what your thoughts on the boy are, but I assure you, whoever you remember from when he was a student here at Beacon isn't the same young man that has been one of my students." He pulled up the boy's records and handed the scroll to the woman.
She looked it over for a moment and was thoroughly surprised to find that the boy was, true to the man's words, doing quite well. She handed the scroll back before placing her glasses back onto her face. The older man gave her a small, indulgent smirk as he spoke again.
"Would you like to hear about how he performed during his midterm?"
As the scroll call ended, Jaune moved the device away from his ear slowly and kept both of his hands in the air besides his head in a surrender pose, mindful of the thin blade being held against his neck from behind.
"Neo, that you?" He heard a quiet whistle from behind him, confirming his suspicion. The petit woman kept the blade positioned at his throat as she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. Cerulean blue eyes met mismatched pink and brown as the two said nothing.
"So-uh, c-could you maybe put your sword away? Please?" The cautious, and slightly pleading tone the blonde had spoke out, and the ice-cream colored woman tilted her head and brought a finger to her chin as she thought about it. Jaune felt the blade push against his throat a bit further before, it was pulled away and sheathed.
He let out a sigh of relief as he lowered a hand to his side and brought the other to rub his throat. He met eyes with the shorter woman and saw that she was signing to him.
'Where have you been?' Okay, a simple enough question to start with.
"I'm a student in Atlas's huntsman academy. I got kicked outta Beacon once they found out about my transcripts. Got offered a deal, so I've been making the most out of it since." The little lady studied him for a moment before nodding and signing her next question.
'You were at Junior's today to get info about tonight, why?' Jaune recoiled slightly in surprise but recovered quickly as he remembered what Neo could do.
"Someone I know planned on getting involved with tonight, and I need to know what she might be walking into." Neo could tell, Jaune wasn't lying, and decided to continue questioning him.
'Who were you talking to on the scroll.' The blonde waited for a moment before he answered her.
"My headmaster, General Ironwood." The girl's eyes narrowed, and he saw her clench Hush tightly, and quickly continued to speak.
"I know a little bit about what's going on with you and Roman. Junior told me about the last time they saw him. I want to help you two out, but I don't know how." The girl began signing angrily after he said this.
'You can help by not being here! You know Roman wouldn't want you to get caught up in this bullshit we're being forced to do. And if he doesn't keep bring in dust…' Neo's bit her lip while her eyes narrowed, trying to fight back tears as she remembered having to watch Roman get beaten by their boss for the complication a few months ago.
She shook her head trying not to let her thoughts linger on her partner's punishment as she met Jaune's eyes with a determined glare.
'I'll protect Roman. No matter what.' Jaune stayed silent as he faced the petit woman before he spoke softly.
"I know. I don't want to fight you, either of you," He took a step towards Neo, and she prepared to draw Hush before Jaune drew her into a quick hug as he spoke again.
"I'll find a way to save you two, but first I have to make sure that no one dies tonight. On either side of this." He took a step back and the woman gazed at him with a look of pure disbelief. She sighed one last time before using her semblance to disappear.
Jaune took a deep breath before he slapped both of his cheeks lightly and made his way back to his partner. She was exactly where he'd left her, keeping her optics focused on the rooftop where Blake and Sun were supposed to be. He said nothing as he laid himself down to his stomach and retrieved a rangefinder he'd purchased from the arms dealer earlier in the day and began surveying the cargo yard.
The night vision it offered was invaluable for the current situation the blonde found himself in, and was able to see that the yard was still devoid of any activity, and when he looked back to where the faunus of team RWBY was, he was surprised to find that she was alone.
"Hey Penny, where'd Sun go?" The girl turned away from the yard to face her partner as she answered him.
"Friend Sun left around the same time you left for your call with the General. He went away from the docks, but I don't know more than that." The blonde nodded to his partner and shifted his position so that he was kneeling before pulling out the package of ammunition he'd purchased from earlier in the day and opening it.
Inside were several different types of dust cartridges as well as a letter explaining what he was working with in detail, which he began to read after stashing his new ammo on his person for use. Minutes later, his partner interrupted his reading of the letter.
"Partner, Friend Sun has returned to Blake's side. And with an armful of apples?" The leader of team JCKP was relieved that the blonde faunus just got hungry, before a loud sound and lights began to fill the cargo yard. Jaune had to shield his eyes and was worried when he saw a bullhead touch down.
Not but a few seconds later, the loading ramp lowered, and through the lens he could see masked figures exiting the aircraft followed by a familiar red-headed thief. He seemed to bark commands to the numerous faunus that were beginning to move through the yard, and after he had a moment of solitude, retrieved his scroll from his pocket.
He seemed to be doing something, before he turned around and looked to where Jaune and Penny where hiding, before his expression shifted to one of resignation as he subtly shook his head from side to side.
But, before Jaune could debate what to do, he spotted a black and white figure approaching rapidly from behind the dapper criminal. Before he knew what was happening, Blake was standing behind Roman with Gambol Shroud held at his neck, immediately drawing the attention of all the White Fang grunts.
"What is she doing!" Jaune hissed as he narrowed his eyes through the lens of the rangefinder, before putting the device away and loading a stun cartridge into his sidearm. To his side, Penny stood next to him as he was preparing.
"Are we going Partner?" The blonde met her eyes before he sighed.
"Since I didn't know if we would have time for me to get my sword, all I have on me is my gun." Jaune was intensely irritated at the situation, having thought Blake to be smarter than to pull what she just did. His irritation was shaken away when he saw one of his partner's blades from Floating Array being held in front of him. He glanced at the ginger and was met with a thumbs up as the wire detached from the blade.
Holding it in his hand, his first thought was that it was incredibly light, as well as perfectly balanced. Unlike his own sword however, it had a flat side instead of two edges. After a few practice swings, he nodded to her, and a sudden explosion from where Blake had apprehended Torchwick caused the two to leap from their perch and rush towards the action. But the explosion that Roman caused created a large amount of smoke that was practically a signal to several others who were searching around Vale for their cat faunus teammate.
As Jaune and Penny were running towards the commotion, more bullheads arrived, bringing reinforcements to the number of grunts at Roman's disposal. The blonde met his partner's eyes as he reminded her of what to do.
"Just like we went over. No lethal force, don't let anyone die, and try to keep property damage low." The girl gave a salute as they began to split apart slightly, shouting out to him.
"We're combat ready!" And with that, the two went in opposite directions to try and thin the number of White Fang.
As Jaune approached his target group of grunts, they heard the telltale sound of someone running towards them and turned around to see him rushing them. They raised their weapons and prepared to begin firing, but Jaune was quicker as he aimed at the grunt closest to him and squeezed the trigger.
A shocking projectile flew before striking the grunt, causing his body to seize up and convulse before a couple of seconds later, all movement aside from rhythmic rising and falling of his chest ceased. One of the grunts fell to a knee to check on their fallen comrade, before the rest of the group began to open fire on the blonde.
Seeing that the round did as intended, the blonde rolled to the side to avoid fire, finding cover behind a large shipping container. He peeked his head out to see that the grunts were beginning to surround and approach the container. The blonde took a second to compose himself as he listened to the footsteps coming closer.
Hearing a lesser number of footsteps coming from the left, he ran out of cover and revealed himself as he jumped forwards, surprising the two grunts who hesitated in their shock. The precious seconds would cost them though, and as they finally regained their bearings, the leader of team JCKP took a stance and fired two rounds at the Fang soldier to the left, one missing and the other landing a solid impact on his chest.
The man fell before his female companion managed to fire a few shots at Jaune, forcing him to roll to the side awkwardly to avoid getting hit. A stray bolt from her spray came dangerously close to the tall teen's head, causing him to narrow his eyes and drop to a kneel before taking a shot at the woman that found its mark, hitting her in the stomach.
The sound of rushing footfalls from behind him caused the teen to rush to the other end of the container he initially hid behind for safety. Jaune carefully peeked around the edge of the container to see four more foot soldiers searching for him in a sloppy attempt at a formation. He silently watched as they carefully approached the unconscious bodies of two he'd recently dispatched before moving to the next side of the container and climbing to its top.
Moving deathly slow, he found two of the group had moved to try and awaken their comrades, and that the other pair was standing guard watching either end of the container for movement. A few moments later, and the group of four joined their downed comrades in blissful unconsciousness.
Jaune spied the shipping yard turned battleground for where he should go next. He spotted his Partner engaging a large group of White Fang with her the blunt sides of the many blades that made up her weapon system before looking elsewhere, trusting her restraint.
As the blonde continued scanning the battlefield, he'd spotted the person he was specifically here to keep alive, mowing through the Fang grunts with a miniscule amount of restraint compared to her monkey tailed accomplice, who was dispatching his enemies without deploying his weapon.
Wincing as he watched some of the Fang get rough treatment from the cat faunus, he looked to the right and was alarmed to see Roman lining up a shot at Blake. Quickly, he aimed a few feet in front of the flame-haired criminal before firing off several shots, surprising the man and making him jump back before he could take his shot.
The man met the blonde's eyes and a look of conflict settled on his face as he prepared to have to fight Jaune, but out of the corner of his vision, he spied a shadow rushing him. Turning and raising his weapon to defend himself, he was met with the unrelenting aggression of Blake. The two engaged in a high-speed duel, with the former Fang member letting loose a flurry of strikes mixed in with her semblance.
To her anger, the older man blocked or deflected every strike, swipe, and lunge with ease, and predicted every feint, movement, and dash perfectly before counterattacking with a punch to the face. He blocked a few more hits, before a trio of cane strikes opened the girl out for a hit that sent her sailing a few feet away.
The man didn't receive a reprieve as the moment Blake was sent away, Sun engaged the man with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. Another fierce, rapid duel broke out, and to the shock of both Blake and Sun, the man was reading the teens move perfectly, but in the way he was forced to dodge the monkey faunus's attacks, left himself open to a swipe from the black-haired girl.
A growl later, and Roman's eyes caught sight of a hanging S.D.C. container. Jaune followed the man's gaze and his eyes widened as he realized what the older man was preparing to do. Not but a second later, the large metal container was shot down, forcing the two faunus teens to roll out of the way.
From where she moved to, the mysterious member of team RWBY's eyes widened as she caught sight of Jaune, before she raised her hand to say something. He felt a slight pain coming from his shoulder as his aura dropped, before turning around to face the one who took a cheap shot at him.
He calmed a little bit before seeing a shorter, female Fang member shaking in place where she stood, with her lips quivering as she stared him down. The tall blonde holstered his gun, before walking towards the shorter female.
"S-Stay back!" Her threat went unheard as the blonde strode forwards with an unreadable expression.
"I-I'm warning you!" The girl's demands grew increasingly desperate as Jaune came closer, with Blake watching quietly to see what would happen.
"Please…" Despite her begging, the teen didn't stop, she looked away from him, and though her weapon was practically jumping in her hands from her shaking, managed to fire a single round in the teen's direction. Jaune tilted his head to side and leaned with it slightly, letting the round pass by him harmlessly, if not a tad close for comfort.
"…" Saying nothing, the shorter girl refused to take another shot even as Jaune grew closer. Having finally reached her, the teen grabbed her mask before pulling it from her face. The girl looked to be about the same age as Ruby if he had to guess and looked rather plain all things considered. But the tears running down her face and puffy red eyes spoke volumes.
He stared at her for a minute before crushing the mask in his hand, causing her to jump slightly. Letting the fragments fall to the ground, he stared at her for a moment before sighing as he rubbed his shoulder from where he was hit. He nodded to the side and the girl looked to see that nothing was there before she got the message.
The boy turned away from her as he began to run towards Roman, never noticing how wide Blake's eyes were from what she saw, or how the girl watched him leave before throwing down her gun and running the opposite way to leave the shipyard.
As the blonde ran to intervene, a voice rung out across the shipyard.
"Hey!" causing everyone present to look to a warehouse rooftop where the leader of team RWBY was standing with her sniper-scythe deployed. The blonde was about to say something, but the sound of three approaching bullheads drowned out his thoughts.
The blonde idly noticed that his Partner had caught up and was standing next to him, also eyeing the bullheads.
"Do you want me to bring them down Jaune?" The blonde looked to her as he thought about it before he nodded to her. He handed her the blade from her Floating Array that he ended up not needing before moving away to give her some space. She fanned her blades out in front of her, charging up her laser attack, before pushing forwards, slicing two of the three bullheads in half.
As the grunts fell out of the cleaved aerial transports, the girl used her blades to catch them by their clothes before pinning them to the ground. Both her and her partner spotted the remaining bullhead preparing its departure with a container of S.D.C. dust attached below. She prepared to send her blades into the bullhead to pull it back to the ground but was halted by a hand on her shoulder by Jaune.
She gave him a confused look, before letting her blades store themselves back into their storage unit, while the blonde gave a slight sigh of relief. He looked to see, Blake and Sun staring at the fallen bullhead halves sinking in the harbor before noticing that Roman was nowhere to be seen.
Sirens blared in the background as the five teens sat on large wooden crates, no one having said a word since the battle ended. All around them Valean police officers were escorting their own in handcuffs for their suspected involvement with the attempted heist.
A pair of people were walking towards the group, drawing their attention. The group of five turned to see Weiss and Yang walking towards them, the former's eyes focused solely on Blake. Ruby immediately moved to placate the heiress, worried at another possible conflict while her sister stood off to the side.
"Look Weiss it's not what you think she explained the whole thing you see she doesn't actually wear a bow she has kitty ears and they're kinda cute-" The rapid run on sentence was cut off as Weiss ignored her partner, opting to walk to her faunus teammate and stare at her for a few moments. After a moment of silence, Blake was the first to speak.
"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"
"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" The white-haired girl gave her teammate a moment to think about what she'd done before continuing.
"Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided..." Ruby, Yang, and Sun all waited silently, worried that the issue wouldn't be resolved, while Jaune and Penny sat curious to what the outcome would be.
"I don't care." This threw the black-haired girl for a loop, while Sun and her other two teammates let out a sigh of relief.
"You don't care?" The question was hesitant, but the Schnee answered quickly.
"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" The girl nodded back just as quick before she replied.
"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-" As she began to try and explain, she was cut off by the shorter girl.
"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." The girl cast a look behind her teammate, staring at Jaune, Penny, and Sun before she continued.
"Someone else." Blake eyes found Ruby and Yang, who both gave her a grin, before wiping a tear from her eye as she answered her partner.
"Of course." The white-haired girl nodded, before walking to Sun and leveling a finger at him.
"I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" The monkey faunus laughed nervously before the girl turned toward Jaune and her eyes narrowed.
"And as for you, I-"
"I certainly hope you're going to thank that young man, Ms. Schnee." The comment caused the huntsman students to turn to where the voice came from and were shocked to see Ozpin and Glynda approaching them. Blake's ears flattened against her head at the glower she was receiving from the deputy headmistress.
The Atlesian girl cleared her throat before responding to her headmaster.
"Pardon me Headmaster, but I don't see why I should give this lying cheat-" At this point, Jaune had to voice his thoughts.
"She said after forgiving a former terrorist." The girl's eyes narrowed as she grit her teeth and took a step towards the blonde, reaching for Myrtenaster. Not one to be intimidated anymore, the tall teen let his hand fall to the grip of his firearm warningly. Ozpin walked between the two as he continued talking.
"Ms. Schnee. Are you aware that Ms. Belladonna's actions tonight classify as vigilantism?" At that, the heiress froze, as did the rest of her team, save Ruby.
"Uhm, what's that?" The girl's whispered question didn't go unheard as Glynda was the one to answer.
"It means she did the police's job without the authority to do so. Similar to your own situation prior to coming to Beacon, Ms. Rose."
"Except she got rewarded for it." The blonde's comment caused everyone to look at him again. The expression he had on his face wasn't one of anger or malice, not even irritation, but there was something behind the look he was wearing. A cough from the headmistress had everyone's attention as she began speaking again.
"…Be that as it may, its unlawful, and a punishable offense. Under-"
"But him and that girl fought too!" Blake's sudden outburst caused Jaune to meet her eyes with a glare. The girl tried to avoid the look she was getting before Ozpin decided to finish what Glynda was saying.
"Let the adults finish speaking Ms. Belladonna." The comment caused the girl to shift her eyes towards the ground as the spectacled man continued to speak.
"Under normal circumstances, Ms. Belladonna would be expelled, and the rest of your team would undergo an evaluation to determine whether or not it'd be worth keeping you enrolled in my school." The flat tone he spoke with had the girls sweating a bit.
"But that won't be necessary thanks to that young man." Team RWBY wore shocked expressions as they turned to look at the now irritated blonde standing off to the side. Ozpin gave them a moment, before continuing to speak.
"If Jaune hadn't contacted myself and Glynda, making us aware of what was going to possibly transpire tonight, I'd have no choice but to expel Ms. Belladonna, and deliver her to the police." The girls all turned to see the former Arc ignoring them, opting to sit on a wooden crate and look through his scroll.
"But, thanks to him. I was able to organize and send what was left of the V.P.D. that wasn't corrupt to deal with the mess here. All the officers involved as well as the incapacitated White Fang will face justice for what happened here tonight, and as a bonus, he kept property damage to a minimum. And thanks to his partner, Ms. Belladonna didn't become a murderer." This caused a look of horror to appear on the bow wearing girl's face as she looked to her headmaster.
"One of the many grunts you severely injured tonight faced the very real possibility of death. You managed to nick his femoral artery at some point, and from what I was told, he came quite close to dying. If it wasn't for Jaune's dear friend applying sufficient medical aid, you would be in handcuffs too." At this, Weiss decided to try and voice another thought for the sake of argument, pointing at the blonde teen.
"B-but, what about him? He fought too, surely some of the injuries were caused by him." The older man shook his head at the girl before walking towards the leader of team JCKP and speaking to him.
"Pardon me young man, but may I borrow your firearm for a moment." The teen raised and eyebrow, before nodding and retrieving his weapon to hand it to his former headmaster. The man admired it for a moment, before pressing a button and flicking his wrist to the side, causing the cylinder to swing out.
He pulled the partially depleted dust cartridge out from where it sat and held it up for everyone present to see, studying it for a moment himself before he questioned the Schnee.
"Ms. Schnee, would you be able to identify what kind of dust this is?" The girl looked at it for a moment, before her eyes widened and she answered the man.
"Stun dust." The man loaded the cartridge back into the weapon before swinging the cylinder back into place with an expert motion of his wrist. He handed the weapon back to the blonde leader of team JCKP before he spoke.
"Precisely. And after examining their wounds, the paramedics informed me that the only major injuries that any of these men and women suffered were from a bladed weapon." The man gave the girl a moment to linger on his words as he went to a new topic.
"That aside, Torchwick escaped, and there is nothing that can be done about that. He is a graduated huntsman, and despite not being a violent criminal, is still quite dangerous."
At this, Sun held a hand up as he tried to give his input.
"Excuse me Sir, but me and Blake got some good licks in on him." The older man chuckled as he adjusted his glasses before replying.
"Mr. Wukong, I assure you that Roman Torchwick is not someone any of you even begin to approach in either skill or strength. If he wanted to dispose you, he would have done so, in seconds." This sent a chill down the monkey faunus's spine as the white-haired man gave him a moment to ponder his words before speaking again.
"I should know. Once upon a time, he was one of my best students." This caused everyone present to look at him with shock, even Jaune. The Headmaster of Beacon turned around and began to walk to a waiting bullhead slowly as he spoke out to the group one last time.
"I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet," he paused before he sighed and finished speaking.
"and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe team RWBY is another one of them." With that, the man boarded the bullhead, leaving all the teens to think on his words. Glynda decided to speak out before standing off to the side with her arms crossed.
"Girls, you have five minutes to say whatever it is that needs to be said, and then you will be boarding that bullhead where we will discuss your punishments." The members of team RWBY looked at their former friend. For a minute nothing was said, before finally, Ruby delivered a harsh elbow to her partner. The girl met her leader's eyes, before relenting.
Stepping forward, the girl cleared her throat before she began to speak.
"Arc. I w-" The blonde cut her off before she could go any further.
"Jaune. Remember, I don't get to call myself an Arc anymore." The girl winced, before she amended rephrased and continued.
"R-Right. Thank you for preventing my teammate from finding herself expelled and/or facing criminal charges." It was simple and to the point, but the delivery made it impossibly more awkward. Jaune looked to the girl standing across from him, before he grunted out his response.
"Whatever." A pregnant pause hung in the air, everyone feeling the heavy tension permeating the space. Ruby looked between the two before she cleared her throat and leaped in between them, attempting to lighten the mode.
"Yay! We're all friends again!" Just as quick as she tried however, Jaune voiced his thoughts.
"Not so fast." It was Jaune's turn to have everyone's full attention as he continued.
"After everything that's happened, sorry to tell you Ruby, but there is no chance of us ever being friends again." His words caused the smile the girl was sporting to vanish as she looked at her first real friend sadly.
"But…why not…" The tall blonde just looked at her before he answered.
"Like I told you the other day, I'm happy with what I've found. But that doesn't mean we can ever go back to being how we used to be." The younger girl nodded her head in understanding, but it did nothing to spare her feelings or stop her tears from flowing freely down her face. The little reaper used her semblance to retreat onto the bullhead where less people would see her cry.
Blake, Weiss, and Yang all rushed to the bullhead to try and comfort their short leader. Glynda took measured steps towards her former student and met his eyes. Neither spoke before the blonde woman's eyes shifted to one of remorse.
"You…deserve an apology for how I conducted myself at your expulsion hearing." The blonde said nothing as he motioned for her to keep speaking.
"It should have been obvious to me when I saw you in combat that you had no formal training at the time, but I just chalked it up to you being incompetent. Then when the truth about your records was brought to me, I lost hope in you, and it was replaced with contempt." She sighed as she took of her glasses before continuing.
"Earlier today, your headmaster showed me highlights of your midterm practical exam. Watching how you carried yourself, how you led your team, how you'd grown; it made me realize that I failed you as a teacher, Jaune." The younger blonde studied her for a moment before he rubbed the back of his neck as he responded.
"I forgive you." The older woman was slightly thrown off, but before she could question his decision, Jaune continued.
"It must be nice though." The woman looked at the slightly pained expression the teen wore before questioning him.
"What?" She looked down and noticed the teen's fist was clenched so tight, he was shaking as he spoke.
"Getting to make as many mistakes as you want and always have some exception made for you." The woman stared at the younger man softly as he let out an indulgent sigh. The woman placed her glasses back on as she waited for the young man to continue, knowing the frustration he must be feeling at the moment.
"It's strange though, I thought I'd gotten over it. I really am happy with how my life is, but once I saw them again, I relived my last conversation with them. I guess a part of me still can't let what happened go...and I hate it. You, I can get. You were just doing your job, so I can't hold a grudge. But, I can't help being angry with them." Jaune felt his partner grab and hold his hand gently, making him sigh before smiling as he faced his former professor.
"I'll forgive them one day, but for now," He gave his partner's hand a gentle squeeze back, causing her to give him the most reassuring smile he'd ever received before he finished speaking.
"I'm not going to waste my second chance."
(A/N)
Heya! Hope you like the chapter. Haven't written one around this length in a while, so it was nice to get a big one done.
Bonus points for those of y'all who know the character I basically used as a design for the arms dealer.
Besides that, wanna get some more people in the discord, but I'm thinking of ideas on how.
Oh, also, I bumped the story rating down to 'T', because there really isn't anything making it an 'M' at the moment, and we can just adjust it back when the time comes.
Think that's all I got for this A/N,
B.J.H.