Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)

Troops died left and right as the oncoming Grimm stripped the border wall of its defenses, overwhelming the metal shields and spears of their enemy not through individual strength or cunning, but by throwing themselves at the huntsmen one-by-one, not caring how many of their comrades the humans took from them and continuing to push on mass. Although the Grimm possessed no traces of any personality, they moved with religious fervor, uncaring for any limbs lost or grievous wounds.

"Ah, damn, and I was one day from retirement." One blond with a flattop grunted out roughly, cigar in mouth. His sunglasses reflected the impending death heading his way. "Damn, those Grimm bastards are gonna pay for—"

Squelching, the heavy claw of an Ursa stomped on their opponent's heads, the bone and brains clinging themselves underneath their feet and grinding into greenish mush. On the top of the wall, the commander of all of the surviving humans and faunuses stood, unwaveringly beautiful with her short orange hair blowing in the wind. Her husband turned around, telling the guards to retreat back and to stop defending the wall, to which she hesitantly complied with.

But…

The troops stood steadfast in her place, sending her a bittersweet smile and waving goodbye to their beloved leader. "For the queen!"

The Queen screamed in protest to her kins' resignation.

"NO!" Activating his aura and jumping off the top of the wall into the city, her doting husband held her bridesmaid style while dashing behind to meet up with the inner defenses.

"Yeah! The queen rocks, dudes!" One trooper with a mohawk and clown face paint yelled out in support as his fellow troopers met his chorus, repeating thoughts of a similar nature.

"I heard she could burst someone's head open with just her thighs!"

"Fuck, the king is a really lucky guy then. I wish I had a woman that would do that to me!"

"Hell yeah! I like my women like I like my coffee, if it's not killing me, then I can't get an erection!"

"Yo, wait a second, what the fuck are you putting in your coffee?" The excitement noticeably died down as several pairs of eyes turned away from the enemies of man to question the man, creating an awkward silence. Even the Grimm seemed to pause for a second, one Beowulf's eyebrow raised as it stopped its attack momentarily.

They didn't know who did it, but someone coughed.

"Paint thinner."

And like that the gratuitous violence resumed.

A black tidal wave consumed all life in its path. The Grimm piled themselves over the top, spilling into the stone streets below and drooling like dogs hungry for food. There was no strategy to the beasts' movements, only pure, unadulterated force through the sheer size alone.

"Hey, why aren't we using our aura?" One soldier asked his nearest fellow man before getting impaled through the head by the claws of a Beowulf.

"Dramatic effect, man," answered his comrade as he too was bitten in half by an unsuspecting Ursa, now just a torso with its guts spilling under him, "like come on, read the room, dude."

Finally, inside the inner wall and nearing the escape route meant for the civilians, it was only then that they realized how hopeless the situation really was.

Nevermores circling above, the fires from inside the castle burned brightly like a beacon amidst the midnight sky. Homes destroyed. Families torn apart. Arms and heads hacked off like butter. Flailing wildly in the nearby dirty river, a colossal Grimm shark swallowed women and children who dived in to save themselves. Rows of teeth ripping and tearing flesh of the innocent.

However, Queen Nora Valkyrie refused to relent, pressing her remaining troops forwards onto death while marching along them. Her husband Lie Ren resilient to the end and no longer content to just survive or guarantee her safety against her own will, joined her hand and squeezed before giving the most wonderful, beautiful woman he knew a final—

"Nora, you shouldn't play with your food." Ren lightly scolded before he took a sip of water.

Nora carefully placed a carrot (a flock of Nevermores) on the top of her mashed potato walls and fortress, which she had strategically covered with peas (troops) and next to the gravy (river) for good measure to protect the roast beef (civilians) underneath.

Ren sighed as Nora ignored him and provided "battle-accurate" sound effects with her mouth.

"Bwkack!"

He probably shouldn't have let her play any of Jaune's video games. Sighing, Ren took a bite of his bacon cheeseburger and recoiled in disgust.

And then took another bite of his burger.

Too greasy for his taste. Too much meat for his liking. Too fatty for his palette. Ren hated it. The cheese felt and tasted like plastic in his mouth, and the lettuce and tomatoes were too dry, brown pigments covered green like sandpaper. The buns, stale. Why did Jaune eat these all the time? Ren could actively feel his blood pressure rise as he placed the burger back down and decided to grab a handful of fries.

Too salty.

Too unhealthy for his own liking. Valean food was always too greasy for him, and eating it just made him think he was just cutting his life short.

In hindsight, it was rather silly, trying to eat the same food as Jaune as some surface level attempt to understand him. People were infinitely more complicated than that, and Jaune too was no exception. Moreover, Ren couldn't deny that Jaune was completely justified in being upset with him. He was the one who went behind his friends' backs to try and get Jaune kicked out. It wasn't as if Ren didn't recognize that. He was clearly the perpetrator here, and a core tenant of his own moral code was self-awareness. He could beg and apologize to Jaune all he wanted, but it would genuinely solve anything. And Ren probably could brush it off, act like it never happened, and Jaune would probably go along with his acting. He was too much of a nice person to hold grudges for too long, but Jaune deserved better than that. Actions spoke louder than words after all.

However, the idea that he was completely in the wrong irritated him. Without aura, Grimm ripped through people like paper. A fact of life he had unfortunately learned at a young age and then proceeded to hit him over the head repeatedly until he finally accepted it. The local neighborhood kids in Kuroyuri. The childhood friends he would have grown up with. The father he only had as a child. The mother he never got to truly know as a person.

Warnings from the past.

Without aura, it would simply take one misplaced strike during training to cause a fatal accident.

Ren took another bite as Nora looked at him curiously.

He didn't want Jaune to die, and he didn't think it was a good idea for him to stay at Beacon, but… like the Headmaster said, he prized his friendship with Jaune.

What reason did Jaune have for staying? What was the source of his unhealthily low self-worth? Jaune, for all Ren knew, came from a privileged middle-class family that—while admittedly rural—surely hadn't suffered any major tragedies. Jaune wasn't ever alone the same way Pyrrha was, and he hadn't ever suffered from the loss Ren and Nora had felt as mere children. He hadn't ever gone hungry.

Professedly, Pyrrha—oddly enough—shared Jaune's own low self-worth for reasons that eluded the pink-streaked Mistralian as well, but, judging by her reserved body language, it was likely due to the loneliness Pyrrha had felt thanks to her fame. Although, Ren doubted that was the real reason, judging by how cocky and competitive she got in a match. Her fight with the solo team member was proof enough of that with how she humiliated the blond-and-black pompadoured huntress-in-training after she had taunted the Mistralian redhead.

Damn it.

Ren lost either way. Either he lost someone he cared about the same way he had lost his parents or lost someone he cared about as a result of him breaking their own bond.

Then there was that wager Jaune had made with Ozpin. In between the Two of Hearts massacre and Jaune's treatment by Doctor Sawyer, a person who Ren had found to be strange yet exceedingly helpful thanks to his semblance, it simply slipped everyone's minds.

And the man on the horse, how did he play into this?

What exactly did it mean to be extraordinary?

And if Jaune won Ozpin's game, would it be enough?

And how would it affect their participation in the Vytal festival? Thousands of people would be expecting Pyrrha Nikos to show up, but Ren doubted Ozpin wanted any public hysteria if Jaune got injured. And at the same time, the disappointment felt by thousands of Pyrrha Nikos fans could cause some issues if it were to attract Grimm. Which sounded ridiculous on paper, but Ren had already met hundreds of ridiculous people throughout his life.

Noticing the furrowed brow on Ren's face, Nora stopped her deadly battle of wills (foods), the over-imaginative violence temporarily pausing. "So? What'd ya think of the burgers, Renny?"

Ren's contemplative expression relaxed into something far more affable. "I don't think it suits my taste buds."

Nora hummed as she spun the spoon in her hand. "Well, I'll eat if you aren't going to finish it. It's not good to waste food." Before Ren had even answered, Nora had already grabbed the half-eaten burger off of Ren's tray and shoved it into her mouth, palming as many fries as possible before stuffing that too down her esophagus, swallowing the mass of food with one singular, loud gulp.

Nora, for all intents and purposes, was his polar opposite, but she never failed to put a smile on his face, regardless of if she occasionally acted obnoxiously. Ren knew better, obviously. The main reason she acted out was always for his sake, trying to cheer him up or at least amuse him. That's what everyone else didn't understand about Nora. Although she acted childishly selfish at times, she always had the well-being of others in mind.

"Be careful not to choke, Nora."

"What's this about Nora choking on something, Renny boy?" Yang waltzed next to their table alongside the rest of her team. The shit-eating grin on her face stretched from ear-to-ear. "You getting something we aren't?"

Playfully nudging her with her elbow, Yang wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, and Nora dropped her spoon onto the battlefield of her dinner plate in shock, accidentally saving the Queen's troops via Deus ex machina and chuckling awkwardly as if to pretend to shrug off Yang's innuendo. "Come on, spill the beans, girl!"

Taking out her book, Blake took a seat and rolled her eyes at Yang's attempt to embarrass the Valkyrie as Ruby and Weiss left to get their food trays. The lines were relatively packed at this hour, but, as huntsmen and huntresses in training, they couldn't afford to operate on an empty stomach.

"So, where's Jauney?" Yang sat down and leaned back in her chair, opting to wait until the line died down before getting her food. Pursing her lips, Yang brought a hand to her chin. "He's been in the nurse's office for a while now, hasn't he? Twice within two days or so as well, now."

Turning to Blake, Yang snatched her book. "Blakey, isn't that strange? Shouldn't his aura have already recovered by now?"

"Well, it is odd." Blake retaliated, ripping the book back from Yang. "Although, I don't think it's too big of a deal."

Yang shrugged.

"So, what classes have you guys signed up for?" Yang casually asked. "Ruby's thinking about taking the horse riding and combat class, but between you and me, she kinda sucked at it back home. She couldn't ever get the horses to obey her while trying to put a pair of miniguns on it." Bringing a hand up to her mouth, Yang giggled. "I guess you could say she was—"

"Horsing around?" Blake interrupted; disappointment made clear by the dead expression in her eyes. "Come on Yang. I know your jokes are bad, but that was literally bottom of the barrel."

"Yeah! Booo! You should feel ashamed of yourself. Acting like a child." Nora huffed childishly, still secretly upset at the innuendo, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hay! I get it, everyone's a critic." Yang dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Nah, but you really should have seen it. I'm planning on taking it with her, but the minute a horse chomps down on my hair, I'll be turning them into glue."

Nora tugged on Ren's sleeve. "I want a pony too! Please?"

"Nora, I don't think—"

"Owning a horse is a lot less fun than it seems, Nora." Her tray now full, Weiss interrupted, having brought back a simple chicken salad. "I got a pony in place of an actual party for my birthday one year. They ended up being a lot of work. There's actually a lot of maintenance you need to do in order to take proper care of them."

Nora looked up from her scroll, having already registered herself and Ren for the course.

"What was that?"

Ren and Weiss sighed together.

"It's actually a really popular class." Sun Wukong took a seat next to Blake as Neptune sat down next to Weiss. "Though, after running into the Professor himself, I gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan. Dude was kind of a douche."

"But it was weird how similar he looked to Jaune." Neptune sipped on a box of apple juice. "We were gonna sign up for it, but, hey, Sun decided not to."

Ren's eyes widened.

Just what was Ozpin planning?

Saphron Arc, having placed Petey in Beacon's stables for her younger brother, stomped her way through the halls of Beacon in search of her runaway sibling.

Six months.

Six fucking months of wondering if her little brother was dead or not. Six months of consoling his only younger sister that her big brother was fine.

He hadn't answered any of their texts nor had he made any effort to reach out. Not even a single text to just say he was safe.

She understood why he wouldn't want to talk to Mom, but he had abandoned them too.

And the first time he texted them in six months, the first thing he did?

He asked her wife to ask her to go home and bring his childhood horse to Beacon Academy? How the Hell did he even manage to get into a school like this? It's not like he was good enough for a place like this. He hadn't even texted her directly. Otherwise, she probably would have told him to fuck off or something. She loved her younger siblings, but Jaune drove her absolutely, positively crazy.

The castle-like interior was like a maze. She was getting nowhere.

Tapping on the shoulder of what looked like a teacher—some blonde lady with a purple sundress and a glare that looked like it could kill, Saphron politely opened her mouth. "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be a teacher, now, would you?"

The woman looked at her funny before catching herself. "No, but is there something you need, Miss…"

Saphron spat on her palm and shook her hand, causing the girl in the purple dress and pompadour to recoil in disgust. "I'm Saphron Cotta-Arc. It's a pleasure. I hate to bother you, but you wouldn't know where team JNPR is, would you?"

Staring at her hand momentarily before wiping it off on the wall of the institution she upheld, the young lady's eyebrows rose before guiding the woman to her younger brother's room.

The minute Saphron walked in on Jaune and Pyrrha, she exploded.

"Saphron, what are you—"

"What the fuck is your problem, Jaune?" Saphron growled, reaching for Jaune's collar and pulling him up from his bed to her face. "We didn't even fucking know if you were alive for the past six months, and now you casually just reach out to my wife as if nothing happened? Only for a fucking horse?"

Pyrrha shrunk back into the wall.

Was this really one of the sisters Jaune had spoken about? The ones who he talked about lovingly almost all the time? The ones who he recounted stories of to his team?

Feeling like she was intruding on something personal, the solo team member had already left with Pyrrha following close behind as she inched near the door.

Saphron turned around to face the celebrity before she could fully escape. For a split second, Jaune could have sworn he saw the hazy outline of a humanoid being whisper something into Saphron's ear before disappearing.

Was he just seeing things? Was he really losing his mind?

"Nuh uh. You're staying. Tell me, Jaune, are we just some fucking burden to you? Do we just not matter to you? Do you not need us? Are we just some tool for you to use?"

Jaune swallowed and took a deep breath. "No, of course not, Saphron. You know—"

"Bullshit." Saphron pointed a finger at the redhead. "You, tell me, does Jaune ever talk about his training back home? Does he ever talk about us?"

Scurrying back, Pyrrha crossed her arms in front of her face defensively. "I'm not—"

"Of course, he doesn't. 'Cause he was so abused and hurt by us, right, Jaune? Is that it? Do you just hate us?"

Despite what his friends thought, anger was a trademark of his household. "Saphron, you know why I don't want to see Mom right now, please, don't be like this."

"Do you hate us, Jaune?"

"I—"

"Answer the question. Do you hate us?" Saphron looked like she was about to throw a punch. "Because your life is just so terrible thanks to us, right? It's our fault for your own shortcomings, right?"

"Please don't be like this, Saphron." Jaune pleaded on deaf ears.

"It's our fault you're some fucking toxic, idiot loser, right? It's our fault Dad didn't train you, right?"

Jaune felt his blood rise and willfully held himself back from tearing up as Saphron dug into his weak point. "Saphron, please…"

"It's our fault Dad got killed, right?"

"Oh God… you should have taken him and not Ronnie, if you were going to take away at least one of the men in my life…" His mother sobbed as she laid on the floor, broken and defeated.

Jaune gritted his teeth into dust as he squeezed Saphron's hand and ripped it away from his collar.

"You know, what? Yeah! You're right, Saphron! I have always hated your guts. Ever since I was little!" The idiot continued, not stopping even after he met Saphron's shocked expression with fury. "And you're right. My shortcomings are mine alone! I only have myself to blame, but I hate you even more than I hate myself! I always have! And I know how messed up that sounds! And I hate myself even more for feeling that way! I love you! Do you know how infuriating that is?! To love someone and hate them at the same time?! You think I enjoy this? I just…"

His breath hitched painfully, bringing his hand to his mouth.

"I just… didn't want to feel worthless anymore. I couldn't stay under that roof." Not while she was in the same house. "I just wanted to be free from all that, you know?"

Pyrrha wasn't good in these sorts of scenarios, but she placed a hand on her partner's shoulder regardless.

And it hurt her to see Jaune like this.

"I'm sorry, Jaune." Saphron faltered, reeling herself back in. "Just… I love you too. Just text us every once in a while, okay?"

"This… You should have at least contacted me directly."

Saphron slammed the door behind her.

"You can't just run from us."

"He's trying to goad me into taking action." Hidden away in a warehouse near the harbor, Adam Taurus flickered his gaze towards the image on the TV. Gleaming in the unlit White Fang base, the screen displayed the deceased body of a bright red-haired dog faunus who had his animal features forcefully ripped off and two bits of metal shrapnel stabbed into his forehead as if to imitate horns. His left eye had been gouged out as well, indicating that this was intentionally done and not some sort of psycho's "art."

"Sir! I understand that, but we simply cannot let this act go unpunished!" His subordinate cried in outrage.

"Oh, he'll get everything he's asking for and more, have faith." Adam placed a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "But we mustn't act too hasty. We are not the sort of fools who act out thanks to a simple provocation or insult such as this."

Cinder had cut off all contact from him, meaning there were two likely options as to what was going on.

One, Roman had somehow killed Cinder when Adam was unable to, or, two, Cinder was simply too busy dealing with the other details of her foolish plan. However, Cinder Fall did not seem like the kind of woman who'd mismanage her time. His swift defeat at her hands was proof enough.

If he was being genuine, he'd gladly take Roman Torchwick over Cinder Fall. Cinder, for all her pseudo-charisma and her charm, was like a wailing infant, upset that she couldn't get the toy she so desperately wanted; it was inevitable that she'd fail. He'd take a moronic thief over a delusional fool easily.

"I understand that, sir, but when exactly are we gonna make those fuckin' humies pay for everything they've done to us? For every faunus who had suffered in the mines of the SDC?" The subordinate growled out, as if threatening an invisible enemy.

Adam moved his gaze towards him.

And smacked him in the face as hard as possible.

Gob smacked, his newly appointed right-hand opened his mouth, only for Adam to grab him by the collar.

"Enemies or not, we shall not refer to humans as humies nor disparage them for being born human. We are not some petty group of faunus hicks who simply chew tobacco and disrespect our enemies as such. Otherwise, we just perpetuate the cycle. Do you think mankind has simply oppressed the faunus for all of history? Are you truly that foolish? Faunus civilizations have done equally terrible injustices to humanity. Those who we fight are no more justified than ourselves, do you understand?"

"But sir! We're terrorists!"

"We do what we must. Though our enemies are the same as us, with the small exception of lacking our animal parts, we do whatever we can to assure the freedom of our people. There are good and bad humans just as there are good and bad faunuses. But…" Adam trailed off, towering over the now terrified, yet oddly entranced young man. "Regardless of this fact, we have a duty to guarantee the future and the domination of our people in the new world we wish to forge. A world where we break the cycle. The humans that die as a result are simply sacrifices. A means to an end. It is unbecoming of us to disrespect them like that. We are not so petty as to kill others as payback for some slight against us as individuals."

Adam, despite what Sienna Khan may believe, was not some ideological fanatic the way Blake Belladonna once was. Although he truly suffered from the SDC mines, he could not simply blame the entirety of humanity for the actions of a few. Conflicts such as this are too nuanced to simply say one side is entirely in the right or wrong, despite what Blake Belladonna believed.

No.

What he was doing was simply destiny in the making. If the world operated off the notion of causality, then he was simply destined to walk down this path from the moment he was born. Hundreds of years of cause and effect had led the world into requiring a savior such as himself. Someone who was willing to become a devil and to do whatever was necessary to guarantee the happiness of his people. His own psyche be damned.

"Do you understand?"

His subordinate nodded his head vigorously. "My apologies, sir."

"Good." Adam turned his back to the man.

"But what about that Blake chick? Is she a sacrifice too?"

Something fierce boiled inside of Adam Taurus.

"I care not for her, nor any friends she may have." Adam clenched his fist. "I admit, I cherished our friendship, but I cherish the freedom of my people more. I am not some bitter ex-boyfriend nor some warrior of vengeance. But, if I need to, I shall personally take care of her. Right now, however… "

Yes, causality, the most fundamental rule of this world, had guided him here. This was his destiny.

"Our main priority is Roman Torchwick."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Whew. It's been awhile, huh?

So, I know this chapter was a little heavy, but I prefer it like this, as this encounter was something I've been building to since chapter 1. Both parties are in the wrong here, but as for many conflicts like this, it's more complicated than that.

Definitely tell me what you think. If I get enough negative feedback, then I can always edit this. I'm always open to change or improve something, so please tell me.

Also fuck circuits lol.

SixthrougheleveN: Oh wow, thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate them. They mean a lot. I enjoy writing this sort of stuff, and I assure you there are definitely better fics out there. However, it really is heartwarming. Thank you! As for Ren, I have something planned in store for him that ought to be interesting, but I enjoyed the song you recommended nonetheless! With exception of some of the more specific aspects of stand abilities, I try to start out with an enemy stands already preemptively plotted and designed ahead though, but I still appreciate it!

Thank you for reading!