Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY
Author's notes: Hello and welcome to my new fic. This one's a bit of a side project born from a plot bunny that won't leave me alone. Before you start reading, let me just get some things out of the way. This is an AU where Salem doesn't exist, Cinder still had a plot during the Vytal festival but things went wrong for everyone.
Two bits of inspiration went into this fic. First, is obviously ye olde betrayed! Jaune. Expelled for his transcripts, all of his friends turning on him and hating his guts, him finding a new path beyond Beacon yada yada yada. But there's a twist or two in there.
The second bit of inspiration is a Hideo Kojima game, no, not the one you're thinking of. And no, not the other one you're thinking of now either. If you do know which game it is, then you probably already know the ending of this fic.
With all that said, I hope you all enjoy this fic and have a nice day.
Chapter 1: A dead woman walks into a bar
"So, the customs issue has been taken care of?" Jaune said in an even tone. Straightening his crooked tie and smoothening out the creases in his suit, Jaune wiped off the blood on his knuckles with a wet cloth.
"Y-yes boss! The shipment is through." His underling swallowed nervously.
"Chin up Pete, have a little confidence in yourself. Nobody's going to fear you if you don't look the part." Jaune clapped the man on his back and offered a friendly smile.
"Y-yes boss! Sorry boss!" Pete stammered.
"And relax, I won't eat you. Good help is hard to find these days." Jaune let out a belly laugh and Pete forced himself to join in, sounding somewhere in between laughing and crying.
"ha ha… haha… hah…"
"Relax. Deep breath… count to four… exhale. Yes, like that. See? Not too difficult is it?" Jaune smiled again when Pete managed to bring his breathing under control.
"You know what? I'm in a good mood right now. Here's a little bonus for getting that strawberry shipment to clear." Jaune whipped out a fat stack of lien and placed it into Pete's front pocket.
"Take the rest of the night off and buy yourself a hot meal, yes?"
"O-of course Boss! Right away boss!" Pete snapped off a hasty salute that in his nervousness looked more like a sudden seizure.
"We'll work on that confidence issue of yours in the future, for now I ah… have to man the bar again." Jaune chuckled, making Pete gulp nervously.
"Oh, and on your way out, would you kindly take out the trash?"
Pete's eyes flickered to the two bloody figures on the floor. Both beaten to an inch of their lives, their faces were swollen purple messes and they lay there trembling and moaning in pain. Pete's gaze snapped back to Jaune and he nodded quickly.
"Mmhmm, keep up the good work Pete, and enjoy the rest of your night." Jaune offered one last smile before turning and heading for the door.
Pete didn't move, not until a shadow in the corner detached itself and disappeared too. Releasing the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding in an explosive sigh of relief, Pete fought to keep himself upright, his shaking legs nearly giving out from the rush.
Holding one hand over his pounding heart, he sucked in several deep breaths to try and calm himself. Another meeting, another brush with death, Pete spared the bloody bodies a pitying glance before getting to work. Grabbing one, he started dragging him to the backdoor, ready to drop him by the dumpster.
"Sorry bastards, why'd you have to cheat? The boss hates cheats." Pete mumbled to himself. Anyone caught cheating in JauneDice's casino would be cordially invited to a personal meeting with the boss. Then things got messy.
"Hey, on the bright side, you didn't get it." Pete tossed the body to the ground unceremoniously, ignoring the pained groan. One down, time to get the other.
"Crawling home beats leaving in a body bag."
Another day, another busy night. Jaune hummed a small tune to himself as he slid a drink down the counter to a patron before reaching for a clean glass to prepare the next one. Running through the motions with practiced efficiency, Jaune allowed his mind to wander as habit took over.
Seven years, seven long years since being expelled from Beacon and taking an alternate career path. Jaune's face fell slightly and he sighed, his dream of being a huntsman was forever out of his reach, and even now it was still a sore spot.
"Eh, one out of two isn't so bad." Jaune chuckled, so he didn't get to be a huntsman, at least his name would go down in infamy.
"Plus, the job perks are pretty nice, ah here comes the guest of honour." Spying the door swing open and a hooded figure stepping through, Jaune plastered on a fake smile. The figure soon vanished from sight, disappearing into the crowd.
Picking up an empty glass and wiping it down with a rag, Jaune wasn't worried, they'd come to him eventually, they always did.
Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen… finally at the eighteen-minute mark, a small mousy woman sat herself down in an empty seat. Brown hair, brown eyes, a dusting of freckles on her face, nothing outstanding, exactly the kind of person who'd be impossible to pick out of a crowd.
"Ah welcome to the JauneDice Miss, what can I get you?" Jaune nodded to her and offered a pleasant smile.
"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas. Please." The woman said softly.
"Ah, very well, one Strawberry Sunrise coming right up." Jaune flipped the empty glass into the air, caught it and started work on her order.
"So, what brings a fine lady like you to this establishment on a night like this?"
"…I'd like my drink soon." She said after a pause and Jaune nodded.
"Of course, of course, right to business. But before that, I'd just like to say, you're looking very healthy for a dead woman, Ms Sustrai."
Emerald's weapons were halfway out of their concealed holsters when she froze, feeling cold steel pressing into the back of her head.
"Thank you Grey, but that won't be necessary. Ms Sustrai is here today as a valued customer and not to cause problems, right?" Jaune shot her a pointed look.
Emerald sighed and dropped her semblance, revealing her true appearance. Hair slightly longer now and a faded scar across the bridge of her nose, she otherwise looked remarkably similar to how she did seven years ago.
"Alright, you got me." Emerald raised both arms in surrender. The gun to the back of her head remained for a few more seconds before it fell away.
"I'm looking for information and muscle for a job." Emerald said, getting right to the point.
"Mmm… alright then, first, your drink. Now come with me and we can talk business in the back." Jaune handed Emerald her Strawberry Sunrise and motioned to one of the other bartenders on duty to cover for him. Beckoning for Emerald to follow, he led them to a small office in the back.
Emerald took a look around the sparsely decorated office and plopped herself down in an empty seat. Nothing much to write home about, a desk with some files dumped on it and a monitor in the corner. The walls and ceiling a plain industrial grey, a lone AC unit in the back keeping everything chilly.
Turning her attention to Grey, Emerald frowned, unable to get a read on the figure. As per the name, they were dressed in varying shades of grey and had a hood up. The most striking thing about them was the featureless full-face mask obscuring their face completely, she couldn't even tell if it was a man, a woman or something else entirely under the getup. They moved to stand behind Jaune, an imposing sentinel whose very presence promised pain if she stepped out of line.
"I have to admit, I really thought you died seven years ago. The collapse was very… definitive." Jaune said, steepling his fingers and staring at Emerald like something fascinating that just crawled out from under a rock.
"I'm hard to kill, not for lack of trying." Emerald shrugged and ran a finger across her scar.
"Dug my way out later and escaped."
"Mmmm, you've been 'dead' for seven years, why come back now?" Jaune probed.
"To settle a score. But that's none of your business." Emerald said.
"Heh, well information really is my business. But sure, you're the client so let's get to what you need. You said something about looking for information and extra hands?" Jaune threw his arms up in surrender, backing off on prying further into Emerald's history.
"I want the identity of the person responsible for that fuckup seven years ago." Emerald's tone held an undercurrent of barely suppressed rage.
"…You're going to have to be a little more specific." Jaune said after a pause.
"A lot of shit went wrong with Cinder's operation. You know, Atlas getting the drop on us, the White Fang going complete cuckoo and that earthquake? And whatever the fuck was up with those bombings."
"Screw the rest, Atlas is my concern. Someone ratted us out to Ironwood and I, want, their, name." Emerald growled.
"Yeah, I figured someone squealed with how thorough the old tinman was. But that could be anyone. Could have been Roman, could have been Neo, could have been Mercury, could even have been you." Jaune shrugged.
"I didn't have the full plan, shit I didn't even know what I'd be doing until I got my instructions for the day. As far as I know, the four of you were the only ones in on it, so if there was a mole, it's one of you."
"No. It was someone else, Agent Orange." Emerald insisted.
"…Ha… hahahah… ahahahah! Y-you're kidding right?" Jaune burst out laughing, then noticed Emerald's stony expression didn't budge.
"You're chasing a ghost story. Agent Orange is a myth."
"Wrong, he exists. I found proof of it in Atlas, he was active in Vale seven years ago then vanished shortly after things went to hell. Coincidence? Fuck no." Emerald glared at Jaune, daring him to challenge her.
"So, you want me to go ghost hunting, find the man behind the myth and deliver him to you? If Agent Orange vanished seven years ago, then any trail he left is ice cold by now." Jaune said.
"So you're saying it can't be done."
"No, I'm saying it's a pain in the ass." Jaune folded his arms and reclined in his chair.
"I can't magic up info when there's nothing to be found and I'm not in the business of selling lies either. Do you have any idea how hard trying to track down someone who doesn't exist is? It's a lot of effort for a whole lotta nothing, and I really don't see what's in it for me."
"They say you lie as easily as you breathe, but right now all I hear are excuses. Your information network not up to par?" Emerald challenged.
"Oooh… nice try, but no, insulting me won't get me to go on a wild goose chase. And please, save us both the time and don't try to offer me lien." Jaune rolled his eyes at the provocation.
"But since you're so interested in this ghost story, let me give you a little freebie. Agent Orange isn't a person or a group, it's a designation. Officially, Agent Orange never existed. Unofficially Agent Orange were three spies operating independently behind enemy lines during the Great War and all three retired a few years after the peace accords. Since then, there have been enough rumours about Agent Orange that the title must have been passed on in some capacity, but they're so off the books that there's nothing to dig up."
"If they're an Atlesian unit, then there must be some proof. Even if there are no records, someone must know." Emerald fired back.
"Oh yeah, some people should know. Most of them were accidented over the years. Right now, the only person who might know is old Ironwood himself and even that's debatable. And look, I might own Vale, but my reach does not extend to Atlas. And I don't know about you, but I can't just walk into his office and ask about a spy that might not even exist." Jaune shrugged.
"The point is, digging into Agent Orange is a waste of my time and I'm not interested. If that's all the info you want, then I'm afraid I can't help you."
"So, all I have to do is make it worth your time then?" Emerald's grim face gave way to a smug smirk.
"If you can." Jaune shrugged again.
"Information is your business isn't it? Then, how about a trade. You look into finding the Agent Orange responsible for this." Emerald hissed and pointed to her scar.
"And I'll give you a piece of intel that you'll be very interested in."
"You're saying you have info I don't already have? Eh, sure, why not. My reach in the other kingdoms isn't as big as I'd like, so I might have missed something. But how do I know you're not bluffing?" Jaune asked.
"You gave me a freebie so here's one in return." Emerald withdrew a wallet and pulled out a small photograph. Tossing it on the table, she watched Jaune's eyes widen and a myriad of emotions cross his face. Shock, fear, disbelief, anger had their turns, then he recomposed himself and slipped his poker face back on.
"Alright. I will admit, out of everything you could have brought me, this… this I was not expecting. Not expecting at all." Jaune nodded and bit his lip.
The photo was a little blurry but its contents were unmistakeable. An image of Pyrrha Nikos crossing a street somewhere in Vacuo lay on his table. No doubt about it.
"If you're going to hunt a what'd you call it, ghost story? Then you might as well hunt two. Looks like you didn't do a very good job offing her all those years ago." Emerald smirked as a brief flash of anger cut through Jaune's poker face before it faded.
"She's dead. I made sure of it. There's no way this picture is real." Jaune hissed.
"Yeah, I thought you might say that. How about this?" Emerald drew her scroll and set it to play back a video. Grainy footage from a surveillance camera filled the screen, showing Pyrrha ordering food at a roadside stall. The thing had even captured the audio and Jaune twitched upon hearing Pyrrha's voice on the other end.
Voice, appearance, mannerisms, all of it was identical to his partner. The video could have been a fake too, but if so, it was a damn convincing one. Enough to warrant looking into asap. Jaune sucked in a deep breath and took a moment to mull things over.
Finally, he broke the silence and offered Emerald a wry smile. "I assume you have more than just these two?"
"Of course, this is just a freebie." Emerald said.
"Alright! You have my attention, looking into Agent Orange is now worth my time. Just… make sure you keep up your end of the bargain even if you don't like what I find." Jaune threw his arms up in surrender.
"Of course. So we have a deal then."
"So it seems. Hooo… tonight's just full of surprises. Now, next order of business. You wanted to hire some of my guys? Got a job planned?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. But I'm not interested in hiring your goons Arc."
"Oh?"
"I want to hire you personally." Emerald said, causing Jaune to blink in surprise.
"Me? You know I'm not just some thug now, right? Part of the reason I'm the boss is because I don't want to get my hands dirty anymore. Ah, my operation can run itself even when I'm not around, so it's not that I mind, but my services aren't going to come cheap."
"I know, but I need your semblance. It has the ability to boost other semblances, doesn't it?" Emerald said.
"…So it does. I didn't exactly try to keep that secret, but it's not common knowledge either. Heh, you ever considered being an info broker? It pays well if you know what you're doing." Jaune shrugged.
"We'll see. I suppose I should tell you what I'm hiring you for. An SDC shipment will be sent from Atlas to Mistral in two weeks. Malachite's spiders are going to try and hijack the train and steal the shipment for themselves. They'll succeed of course, and then we'll steal the shipment from them once they've done all the hard work." Emerald inspected a nail nonchalantly.
"Oooh… a chance to screw Lil Miss Malachite over? Now you're speaking my language. Alright, guess I'm in. If it goes well, I might even give you a discount." Jaune rubbed his hands together expectantly.
"I'll be back in a few days with more deta-"
"On one condition." Jaune interrupted.
"Grey comes along too. It's not that I don't trust you, but… I don't. I've been in the business long enough to know there ain't no shortage of people willing to put a knife in your back so Grey's there to watch mine."
"Suit yourself, as long as he… she? Doesn't get in the way. Who the hell are they anyways?" Emerald glanced at the imposing figure, still unable to get a read on them.
"Don't know. Grey is Grey, they found me when I was in deep shit and pulled me out. Since then… I haven't had a more loyal subordinate, and if keeping that loyalty means not digging into who they are, so be it. Good help is hard to find and harder to keep." Jaune said.
"And you aren't afraid it's a trick?"
"If Grey wanted to betray me, they'd have done it long ago. Their loyalty is above question, so don't you worry about that."
"If you say so. As I was saying, I'll be back in a few days with more details on the heist. That train is carrying millions of lien in hardlight dust, I'm sure it'll be more than enough to cover your fees." Emerald rose and dusted herself off, heading for the exit.
"Joy, I have to fence my own payment. Wonderful. You'll excuse me if I don't see you to the door." Jaune said drily.
"I'll show myself out. Oh, just a question. How'd you know it was me at the bar?" Emerald asked.
Jaune smirked and held up Emerald's now empty Strawberry Sunrise glass. "I heard you were back in town, figured you'd pay me a visit eventually. Your illusion was almost flawless, just remember to change your reflection too."
Jaune tilted the glass such that Emerald caught her own image in it and smiled.