Here we go

Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 42

"So, how are you feeling today?"

Jaune winced. Ilia was the fifth person to ask that question in the last two hours, proof of just how surly Adam had been in his body. It still bothered him that someone had literally lived his life for a day without him noticing, but not as much as it did that Adam had done things with it. He was still working through the various new sets of orders and instructions, trying to find out if any were too violent or outright murderous.

So far, none had been. New training plans, advice for latter raids and notes on the various weaknesses of the organisation, such as their over-reliance on Lisa Lavender. Try as he might, he couldn't find reason to disagree with any of those.

"I'm better." Jaune said.

"Not going to bite my head off?"

"I wasn't that bad." He hesitated. "Was I…?"

"Well, you said I'd never have a chance with Blake." Ilia hopped up onto his desk, crossed her legs and then her arms. She stared down at him sullenly. "You said I was delusional for thinking she'll come to love me."

Well… Adam wasn't wrong, was he? Harsh as it sounded, Jaune was in full agreement on this one. Not that he had the guts to admit that to her face.

"Ah. Well. You know how it is. I was angry with Atlas and lashed out…"

"Yeah, so I heard. Angry enough to call off all co-operation with them."

"Yes. I…" What Ilia had just said filtered through his head. "Wait, I did what?"

"Cut them off," she said, making a snipping sign with her fingers. "Can't say I blame you for it – they were in it for themselves and put all the faunus at risk. I'm glad you decided to keep working with Beacon, though. They're better. We should work with them more."

And that idea surely had nothing to do with Blake. Nothing at all. At least Adam had only burned bridges with Atlas and not Beacon. He'd worked too hard for the latter. Was closing ties with Atlas really a good idea though? They were by far the biggest threat to the White Fang's continued existence. It was hard to tell if Adam had ended relations because he thought it the right choice, or if he'd done it just to spite the Kingdom he despised.

I could try and open them up again. Give Atlas another chance…

But what if Adam was right?

"You were snapping at Sienna yesterday as well." Ilia continued. "You might want to apologise to her. I bet the make-up se-" Ilia froze and looked behind her. Looked like she'd learned from her numerous foot-in-mouth situations. "I bet the make-up sex is amazing."

I really wouldn't know…

"Leave Sienna to me. No, not like that!" he growled when she made a whip-crack sound with her lips. "I mean that I'll talk to her. I actually need your help with something in the meantime. I want you to collate all the tips and information we've received from Lisa. I don't think she is yet, but if she ever betrays or turns on us, I want us to have some means of keeping her quiet. Call it blackmail if you like, but she has been breaking the law to help us so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Hmm. I don't know. After you were so mean to me…"

Jaune sighed. Life spent with sisters told him what this was. "What do you want?"

Ilia dropped the pretences immediately. "I want help with Blake."

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. Nooooooooo. Jaune had half a mind to walk up to the nearest wall and smash his head against it until Adam woke up. If that was how this whole thing worked at all. For crying out loud, Blake Belladonna wasn't even that hot. Sure, she was good looking in a broody, gothic kind of sense, but no one – no one – was good looking enough to warrant this level of devotion from not one but two red-headed terrorists.

"I really think I'm making progress," Ilia went on obliviously. "Right after the raid, when Sienna and Yuma were carrying your body out, Blake looked at us."

"Did she smile?"

"Blake? Ha. No. She sneered at you like she was hoping you'd die."

"How nice."

"And when she looked at me, she did nothing!"

Jaune waited. He really did. When it was clear that was it, he asked, "And…?"

"And she made eye contact!"

"Let me get this straight. Blake made eye contact with you." He waited for Ilia's nod. "And didn't show any other reaction." Another nod. "And this is considered a good sign to you…?"

"Of course! Before, she would have given me the evils. Now, she didn't even react. That means her opinion of me is growing!"

"Yeah, from someone she despises to someone she literally could not care less about."

"It's still progress!" Ilia growled. "Stop raining on my parade."

"What parade? It was eye contact!"

"It still counts! Anyway, I want you to help, not offer your flawed ideas on what she does or doesn't like. I know Blake better than you do."

"Okay, that's fair," he admitted. "You were her friend in Menagerie-"

"-and I learned her habits, her favourite foods, her favourite books, music tastes and even her preferred sleeping position. She spoons to her left," Ilia said conspirationally. "I have been conditioning my body to match her."

"I didn't need to know any of that." Jaune said.

"I will be the perfect big spoon!"

"I also didn't need that image in my head."

"Unless she wants me to be the little spoon…"

"Ilia…"

"Do you think she's a big spoon kind of person? Be honest with me."

"Ilia, I think she's a hypocritical bitch with a chip on her shoulder. I really haven't put any thought into how she spoons, with whom and in what positions."

"I bet you're the little spoon to Sienna."

"We're not having this conversation."

"Alright. Fine. I'll get to the point."

"I can hardly wait…"

"You're going to arrange more co-operative missions with Beacon in the future, right?" Jaune cautiously nodded to her question. It was all but inevitable they would. "Great. When that happens, I want you to find a reason to put Blake and I on the same team. Alone."

"I'm pretty sure Ozpin doesn't want Blake alone with any of us."

Ilia's eyes widened. "You think he's planning to compete for her heart?"

"That is… not what I said…" He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You know what, fine. I'll do it. Just be sure to keep your aura up."

"I always practice safe-"

"I meant generally! In case she stabs you in the back! And no, that's not a euphemism for anything other than cold-blooded murder." Sheesh, maybe Adam had the right of it. Part of him couldn't help but think Ilia would be better off with some cold, hard, truth. Blake was not interested in anyone from the White Fang. "I'll reiterate again, I really think you need to get past your one cat-fishing attempt and try online dating."

"The only cat I want to fish is-"

"Leaving now." Jaune stood and walked away while Ilia went on about just how deep she wanted to dive to fish for Blake's pearls. He picked up the pace after that line, preferably before his sanity snapped. "Ugh," he groaned when he was out the room. "I really hope Adam didn't hear that or he'll be insufferable tonight."

No answer. Whatever and however Adam was in his head, he couldn't communicate with him through the day. With all the craziness and the danger of the White Fang, Jaune really hadn't put much thought into how the situation between him and Adam came to be. That might have been an oversight, but to be fair he had a lot bigger problems than a dead man in his head.

It had to be a Semblance. Nothing else explained how it happened, and since Adam already had his own unlocked, it was probably Jaune's. If it was then he wondered just what else it could do, if anything at all. Would he end up with the souls of everyone he killed, accidentally or not, in the back of his head? That kind of mental overload sounded dangerous, like it could drive him into insanity.

How did I unlock it when I didn't even have my aura? How does anyone unlock a Semblance at all? I know some people get them as soon as they get their aura, but just as many don't earn theirs until later.

As nice as it would have been to designate some time and research to the matter, there were still more important things to handle. For one, he had to find out just how the overall attack on the Legion went. It'd been successful, sure, but had it achieved its goals and propelled the White Fang in the public's eyes, and had Sienna been able to find anything about The Legion's backer, the woman who tried to force them into service.

/-/

Team RWBY stood at attention in the headmaster's office. For Ruby, being there should have been a cause for concern, but ever since they'd been punished into becoming Beacon's PR machine, they were meeting with the headmaster more than anyone else. The fact that Coco was there only reinforced the idea they weren't in any trouble.

"Thank you for coming." Ozpin said. As usual, Miss Goodwitch stood behind and to his left, a looming shadow demanding discipline. No one challenged her. "I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you prefer first?"

"Um." Ruby piped up. "The good news?"

"Very well. Mr Arc has made contact with me from the White Fang, and he is alive and well."

"I thought you said it was good news," Blake muttered.

Yang elbowed her.

"The bad news," Ozpin went on, ignoring Blake, "Is that they are less than pleased with our associates from Atlas. They have called off all co-operation involving Atlas. This is unfortunate given how close we were to reaching a peaceful resolution, and it means we – or you – will have to pick up the slack."

"Question." Yang raised a hand and Ozpin nodded for her to speak. "Is this about Atlas starting the attack early?"

"Yes. It is, as far as I can tell, a culmination of two factors. The first is that they sought to claim all the glory for themselves. This is something General Ironwood specifically instructed them to do, so please do not blame the students in question. The White Fang naturally relies on its public opinion. Atlas sought to undermine that by suggesting this raid was conducted solely by themselves."

"And the White Fang didn't like that, huh? Typical."

"While their motives may or may not be self-serving, they have a right to be upset, Miss Xiao-Long. The White Fang were prepared to apportion credit fairly between all three parties present, as were we, and Atlas were the ones who chose to go against that. Whether or not you agree, I'm sure you can understand why this would lead to a lack of trust."

They all mumbled their agreements, even Blake. For Ruby, it was like someone offering to share cookies and then eating them all behind her back – like Yang had that one time when she was twelve and would never be forgiven for. The bond of sisterhood was supposed to be sacred. Maybe the bond between the White Fang, Atlas and Beacon wasn't so important, but it made sense they'd be annoyed.

"Even if Atlas were to challenge them on those motives," Ozpin continued, "Jaune Arc could simply say that he is angry because by starting the attack early, Atlas risked the lives of the faunus captives. Which is true. If they had not sent one to infiltrate their ranks, many would have died."

"You said there were two factors, sir," Weiss prodded.

"Yes. While the first factor is that Atlas sought to undermine the spirit of co-operation, the second is simply that Atlas and the White Fang hate one another."

"Tch." Yang crossed her arms. "It's all personal, then?"

"On both sides I'm afraid. That General Ironwood pre-emptively decided to break the agreement shows that he did not once believe both sides could work together. Perhaps the White Fang expected as much and only agreed to make a token effort for my sake. As it is, Mr Arc made it clear that he agreed to work with Atlas only because I asked him to."

"Isn't that good?" Ruby asked. "It means he's willing to work with you."

"It's good and bad." Coco said. "Because he tried, it went wrong, and now it's Ozpin's fault it did."

"Precisely, Miss Adel. Though he did not say it outright, the fact that I asked him to involve Atlas, and that him doing so nearly resulted in his death, does not reflect well on us."

"Probably worse for Atlas," Yang said.

"Oh, it is. Glynda?"

Miss Goodwitch coughed and drew a newspaper from under her arm. Rather than hand it over, she opened it up and read, "Blood spilled in our streets. Shocking news rocked the city of Vale this morning as authorities announced a joint effort between local academy Beacon, visiting military officer General James Ironwood, and allegedly reformed terrorist Jaune Arc and the White Fang, to close down an illegal blood sport operation targeting vulnerable faunus in the city."

"While the operation was successful, seeing over one hundred and twenty arrests and the closure of the illegally-operated fighting arena, video evidence streamed by the White Fang and reported by Lisa Lavender, of the VCN Network, shows Atlas representatives endangering lives by launching the attack ahead of schedule."

"While the police have said they cannot report on investigations in progress, news released by the White Fang through online channels and forums corroborates that their leader, Jaune Arc, suffered serious injury in the botched attack, and that were it not for their and Beacon's efforts in protecting the victims, many would have been slain."

Glynda paused to adjust her glasses, then spoke in her normal voice. "It goes on to offer thoughts and opinions from several contacted `experts` in the field, some of which agree with every side of the argument. One, however, points out that of the arrests made, many of the guests came from Atlas. There is now a conspiracy theory gaining traction that General Ironwood and Atlas sought to take over the attack specifically so that they could hide the fact that their own kinsmen made up eighty per cent of the clientele to the faunus deathmatches."

Ruby felt sick to her stomach. "Did they?"

"No." Ozpin said quickly. "James is as angry as anyone and is pushing for the harshest punishments available for those arrested. That doesn't change what happened."

"We didn't protect the faunus either." Blake pointed out. "They said it was both of us, but we were as surprised as anyone when Atlas started the attack early. No one was in position to help them."

"And yet the White Fang said we were." Weiss said. "Odd for them to lie and so willingly share the reputation boost."

"It's to make Atlas look worse." Coco explained. "Because now it looks like everyone but them were in it to help the victimised faunus. They don't mind sharing the rewards with us if it means taking a huge dump on Ironwood's image."

"Quite." Ozpin said. "Which directs back to my point that relations between Atlas and the White Fang are strained. Both sides made a token effort to work together, but both sides knew it would never work."

"The problem is that the White Fang tried harder, and Atlas were the ones who broke their word, so we can't even argue with their decision to cut Atlas off." Coco said.

"Indeed, Miss Adel. That is why I have reluctantly agreed to Mr Arc's decision. There was little else I could do."

He didn't need to explain himself to them, but Ruby appreciated that he did. Maybe it was a sign of trust, or maybe he wanted them to understand all the little things going on and not just follow orders. Either way, she felt like she had to say something. "You did your best, sir."

Ozpin smiled. "Thank you for saying that. I must say that Team RWBY and Team CFVY both impressed me with their professionalism. I have watched and looked over the videos the White Fang released – their own little PR storm – and you handled yourselves well in all of them. Especially given that the plan so quickly went south, and you were forced to improvise."

Ruby grinned. The rest of her team were pleased too, even Blake looked proud of herself.

"Additionally," he went on, "The overall commentary on said videos is favourable towards Beacon, especially from faunus. That Miss Belladonna is one herself is making us look inclusive – which we are," he added. "But it does not hurt to reinforce the image."

"I've been keeping an eye on our reputations myself." Weiss said. "Marketing is an important part of business and I'll need to do a lot of it once I take over the SDC. Between the fashion show and this, we're almost becoming miniature celebrities ourselves. I received a brand offer yesterday asking me to wear a certain type of sports shoe in exchange for a stipend. I refused, naturally. I would not look good in sneakers."

"I'll ask you all to avoid sponsorship deals unless vetted through me." Ozpin said quickly. To Ruby's shock, Yang groaned. "Yes, Miss Xiao-Long. I do mean that. Let's not cheapen what we do by profiting off it. That will look bad."

"But I got offered ten thousand lien a month to only drink Everybody Loves Grape soda. As long as I make sure to keep a can on me and take a drink from it at least once during or after every job and loudly say man, that's some refreshing soda…" Trailing off as they all stared at her, Yang sighed. "Yeah, okay, now that I think about it that sounds pretty mercenary. Forget I said anything."

"I will." Ozpin said succinctly. "And that one is rejected."

"Awww…"

"Moving on, the other reason I needed to speak with you is that we have been invited to a rare opportunity. Lisa Lavender, though whatever underground contacts she has, is organising a four-way debate between the White Fang, a representative of the Vale council, a representative from Beacon and one from Atlas. This will be televised live."

Wow. That sounded important. Kind of scary too, since so many people were watching the fiasco in Vale, what with the Vytal Festival coming up. She really didn't envy the poor soul who had to go and do that.

"And Miss Adel and I have decided, after much conferring, that it should be one of you who attend to represent Beacon."

Ruby's brain fizzled.

"Shotgun not!" Yang shouted.

"Shotgun not!" Ruby screamed.

"I'll do it." Blake offered.

"Absolutely not." Ozpin said pleasantly. "Aaand I do not believe it a good idea to send Miss Schnee as she would receive pressure from her father and General Ironwood for standing against her own Kingdom in a debate."

Weiss nodded, visibly relieved.

"The reason we want to send a student and not, say, myself, is to subtly alter the perception of us. This was Miss Adel's idea, so I will let her explain."

"Thanks boss." Coco stepped up, ignoring the quizzical expression on Ozpin's face at the odd form of address. "Okay, so, basically, it's like this. Council is going to send an old fogey – old, probably white, definitely rich. Atlas is sending Ironwood, who you all know. White Fang has to be Jaune. Do you know how that's going to look?"

"Awkward?" Yang guessed.

"Hella awkward, yeah, but I meant optics. Think about it. Two old men ganging up on a young man. People love an underdog and whether they realise it or not, when those two old men start ganging up on someone like him, people will start to get annoyed. Here's a young man trying to change the world for the better, and the two old fossils trying to maintain the status quo because it's easier for them."

Ruby found herself frowning at just the description. Coco was right. That sounded like an awful thing, especially since she was supposed to be on the side of Vale.

"If we send Ozpin, it's more of the same." Coco explained. "Plus, it makes things tense between him and the Vale and Atlas, which isn't something he needs."

"I do have to deal with them on a daily basis," Ozpin said.

"So, we send a young, innocent girl who is twice as bright-eyed as Jaune, twice as optimistic, twice as willing to get her hands dirty to help people, and what do people see? They see the future!" Coco waved her hand in the air. "They see a ray of light in the dark."

"So we're basically manipulating them?" Yang asked.

"Are we? Do any of you not want to save people? Am I wrong to say you're all willing to work hard to help people in trouble?"

The four members of Team RWBY shuffled awkwardly. No one said it because it sounded arrogant, but they did want to be that kind of team. Ruby liked to think they were well on their way to it already. To be a hero just like dad was, just like mom had been.

"Lies and manipulation are for politicians." Coco said. "It's why no one trusts them and why we're not sending one. We need someone young, awkward, shy and yet courageous, who can appeal to what people really feel and not sound like someone reading a speech designed by some multi-million pr company."

That sounded great. Except for one thing.

Ruby sighed. "You mean me, don't you?"

Coco grinned.

"Yep."

"Poo…"

/-/

"What do you mean I have to do a televised debate?" Jaune squawked. "When was this agreed? Why wasn't I notified? I was stabbed two days ago! Why would you agree to this!?"

"I didn't." Sienna puffed her cheeks out and glared off to the side. "None of us did. Your pet reporter arranged it and told us you'd be there. From the way she said it, I assumed it was something you had arranged beforehand."

It wasn't. Was this proof of Adam's fears, or was this Lisa doing her best to help them and assuming he would understand? Either way, she was overstepping her bounds by making decisions for him, even if he could see the value in it. He couldn't even not show up now. It'd look bad on him, like he had something to hide.

And now I have to talk live on TV? I mean, it was one thing to do it at the parade in front of all those people, but no one was asking me questions then. This is going to be a full debate.

"Should I ask Yuma and Trifa to have a word with Lisa?" Sienna's offer was tempting. "We can make her understand she has crossed the line without permanently harming her."

"No." Lisa had been useful thus far and this was still technically of benefit to them. More of benefit to her, though, as the one who would be reaping all the rewards of hosting a live debate between them all. "No, Lisa has done well for us so far. Let's see where this goes."

"Hmm." Sienna did not look pleased. "I admit this is a big step up for us. To debate live on TV is to be legitimised. Before, Atlas always said it would never negotiate with terrorists, and yet now they're going to debate with them."

It was better still for his goals. Because if he was seen as someone who could be talked to like this, it would only go to further show he wasn't a dangerous criminal that needed to be locked up.

"Of course," Sienna said, "It will only be beneficial to us so long as we win the debate."

Jaune blinked. "Can you win one of those…?"

"Not between the panellists. I mean the viewers. Atlas wants us to look like violent maniacs, so they will try and make you angry, to get you to snap or show your temper. Do so, and people will start to see the monstrous side of the White Fang again."

"I don't have a monstrous side. I'll be fine."

"Your temper showed at the parade…"

Okay, maybe he'd gotten upset then, but it worked out. His speech went viral. She was right though; he had lost his temper. While he liked to think of himself as a pretty chill guy, there were things that could set him off. General Ironwood, Ozpin and whatever politician came from the Council would be experts at keeping their cool. He'd have to be the same.

"Can't we send you?" he begged.

"Me? The leader who took the White Fang into violent extremism in the first place?"

"Never mind."

"It has to be you. Besides, your name is already down as having agreed to attend. Lisa was quick to claim that as a way to force the others to the table. After all, if you showed up and they didn't then all the attention would be on you. They can't allow that."

"I get it. I get it." He sighed. "It's just that I had other things I wanted to focus on. More immediate things."

Sienna cocked her head to the side. "What could be more immediate than an opportunity to legitimise the White Fang in so drastic a manner?"

In answer, Jaune gestured to his stomach.

"Oh." Sienna had the good grace to blush. "The person who tried to murder you."

"Yes, Sienna," he replied, voice full of sarcasm. "The person that tried to murder me. I'd kind of like to avoid a second murdering if that's cool with you."

"Shall I get onto Hei Xiong about that?"

"Please. I need to watch a whole load of talk shows to try and figure out how I'm meant to act."

"Actually, I've found you some help for that." Jaune perked up. She had-? At least someone was helping then. Jaune motioned for her to continue. "You may not know it, but Trifa is a huge talk show enthusiast. I asked her to run through some roleplay with you, Yuma and Ilia to give you practice on how it can work facing multiple antagonistic – or at least aligned against you – talk show scenarios. They agreed."

"Really? That sounds pretty handy. When are they-?"

The door slammed open before he could finish. Ilia stormed in, face turned dark red by virtue of her chameleon abilities. "How could you!?" she screamed, spraying spit in his face. "I trusted you! I believed in you!"

Jaune fell back off his chair. "W-What…!?"

"You said we would have a life together! You threw me away!"

"I-Ilia. What are-?"

"And the tests are in!" Trifa swept into the room, dressed in a tight-fitting grey suit, without her mask and clasping, of all things, a flashlight in one hand, holding the light to her mouth like a microphone. "Jaune Arc, you are the father! The baby is yours."

"W-What? What father? What baby?"

Yuma slunk into the room, naked but for a big, fat diaper around his waist.

"Wah. Wah." he said, looking utterly defeated and humiliated. "I'm a baby."

Sienna stood, patted a confused Jaune's shoulder and slipped out the room. "Good luck!" she called.

/-/

Roman Torchwick smoked as quietly as he could. Smoking was not usually a loud vice – or hobby as he preferred to call it. That said, Neo didn't make much noise to counter it, and right now the only sound echoing around their apartment was the horrid noise of her spoon bending in her vicious grip. The cause for that was an advertisement on TV about the upcoming debate, delivered by an ecstatic Lisa Lavender.

"So…" Roman wished he could take back his words even before he said them, but caution had never been his strongest skill. "I thought you said you killed him. He's looking… uh… remarkably alive… for a dead man…"

Neo's response was to snarl silently and dig her bent spoon into a fresh bowl of ice-cream. She shovelled a huge dollop into her mouth and munched away, drawing her knees up to her chest and glaring balefully at the TV screen. Roman cringed and went back to puffing on his cigar.

Get a partner in crime, they said. It'll be fun, they said. No one ever warned me about the ice-cream addictions and the chronic PMT.

One thing was for certain; Jaune Arc was going to regret not, in fact, being a dead man. Because if the look on Neo's face was any indication, she was going to make sure he stayed dead the second time.

Welp. Better him than me.

Jaune is going to be prepped for his TV appearance on a healthy dose of Jeremy Kyle, or whatever the US equivalent of that is. Those overly aggressive and obnoxious shows where tv hosts make entertainment out of revealing people's messed-up lives on TV to hundreds of thousands of people.

Man, I was glad to see Jeremy Kyle get axed.

Next Chapter: 27th July

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur