Chapter four: Huntsmen, faunus, and babies

"Bring forth the beast."

I felt myself dragged forwards, harsh grips on my arms as I trudged along, my way completely blotted out by the blindfold I'd been clad in. I felt myself forced to the ground, my restraints locked into place behind me. "Reveal him." I heard the deep voice say again. I felt my blindfold torn off, and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light. I looked around, seeing only a few men standing there. The one that first caught my eye was standing in front of me. His eyes were hidden away behind a mask, carved of wood and painted to look like a demonic bull, with large horns sticking out of the head. Beneath that he wore a large black robe, stretching down to his feet. Most noticeably, he held a red katana in his hand. He approached me, crouching down. "So you are the one? The slayer of huntsmen?" he asked through an obviously disguised voice. I just smirked,

"You already know the answer."

He pulled back, nodding towards the shadows to his right. I saw a figure emerge from them, this one wearing a strange eagle mask, with two feathers painted along the sides. He was dressed in a long, black robe. "The last member of the order of Scorpio. The last of his kind." he said. He had a voice like a teenager, no question he was young. I just chuckled, my eyes narrowing in on him. "I'd prefer it if you used my name and not my title." I said, narrowing my eyes dangerously. I saw another figure walkout beside him, leaning down on one knee towards me. The way this one walked, as well as the shape, this one was female. She was wearing a form fitting white robe, with a stranger mask than the other two. This one was made of green, red, and blue swirls, all made to spiral into the center. "We don't know your name. Care to tell us?" she asked. Her voice was high pitched, but she sounded like she didn't really give a damn.

"My name is Tyrian Callows thank you very much."

The bull masked one nodded, walking over to me. He tapped the blade in front of me. "You know why we've brought you out of your cell." he said. I nodded, smirking wildly at him. Of course knew. They'd never let me out of my cell normally, unless… "You want me to kill someone hard to get, right?" I asked, looking between the three. All three of them nodded, looking between one another. The bull masked one moved behind me, but I could still hear him just fine. "Weiss Schnee. Two years of age. The daughter of the late Jacques Schnee. Only her sister remains in hiding. This little girl is our key. Find and kill her. Kill anyone that's come into contact with her. Can you do that?" he asked. I started laughing, soft at first, then louder, and louder, until eventually I was looking up at the ceiling with the amount my head was being thrown back. "Of course I can! I killed her old man! She's no different!" I yelled.

CLANG!

I let out one last chuckle as I felt my chains shattered, my hands free. I looked back, slowly moving my tail as I tried to get the stiffness out. I didn't want to sprain it now did I? I stood, rising up and taking a breath. Then I let it go, crouching down as I readied my stinger. I looked over, strangely seeing someone walked closer. This one was unmasked, chained up too. She was clad in brown rags, with a collar around her neck. The most obvious thing that gave away the nature of her visit was the lack of animal traits. A human girl. I stood, walking over to her. She leaned down, reaching up towards me. I couldn't help but let out a high pitched squee as I saw it. My blade, MY BLADE! "OH AT LAST!" I yelled, snatching it from her as I swung it around, holding it right up. Then I looked down, holding the blade parallel to my shoulder. The girl looked frightened, but I just smirked.

"GAH!"

The girl was dead before she hit the floor, her head rolling away towards the bull masked man. I laughed, "There there sweetie~ Papa's sorry he hasn't been there with you. Look at you! All dulled and silver… you should be bright red with the blood of humans!" I said, pouting a bit before I gently ran a hand up my blade. I reached up, flexing out my tongue and licking along the side of my blade. I crouched, a shiver running up my spine. "OH it's good to taste from you again!" I said, swinging my blade to try and get the excess blood off of it. I looked down, grabbing the sheath from the dead girl's corpse and sheathing my blade. I looked back over at the masked figures, seeing that only the female one had sported any kind of reaction, backing away as the head rolled towards her. I smirked, stabbing my tail down with lightning speed and skewering the head on it like a kebab. I held it up, making the girl face me. "You were pretty… now you're beautiful~" I said, moving my stinger back and tossing the girl's head away.

"He's perfect… you're gear is in the next room. I'll lead you there." the bull masked one said, walking ahead of me. I just held my blade by the sheath, walking forwards with him. I looked around, frowning at the room around me. It was so plain, so drab, so boring. Like everything else around here. I smirked, "I know you hate this place sweetie, but papa's gonna make everything okay~ We're gonna make our own beauty in this world." I thought, looking back up as, for the first time in almost ten years, I saw the outside of this room.

"We'll make our own beauty, in the red blood of our enemies~"

(a/n- switching to… you'll figure it out soon enough.)

"Was your mission successful?"

I nodded, looking over at my superior. James Ironwood. I just nodded, moving my hair back over my head as I saw him placing a few files on the desk. He looked tired, but I didn't blame him. Keeping the world safe was a hard job. "Yes sir. My sister… I mean, the package has been delivered into safer hands." I said, stopping myself short of using emotion in my voice. In my line of work, emotion was what got people killed. He nodded, sighing as he ran a hand back through his hair. "It'd be so much easier if you hadn't left Oz…" he muttered, looking down at what looked to be a pair of spectacles. They were tinted black, and they clearly didn't belong to him. An old keepsake from a time before him. "Sir, the huntsmen stationed in Vale have reported killings. We suspect white fang involvement." I said. The White Fang, the one organization that could hold it's ground against ours. The one we sought desperately to destroy.

He nodded, his eyes hardening as he reached down, pulling out a folder and making a few notes on it, right before he handed it to me. "Funny, years ago I'd only trust my best operative with this kind of thing. Ironic I'm entrusting a seventeen year old girl with it now." he said. I just smirked at him, putting a hand on my hip as I used one of the few chances I got to break out of the 'perfect soldier' act. "I am your best operative sir." I said. He chuckled, reaching beneath his desk and pulling out his pistol. He laid it down, cleaning it as I couldn't help but notice the engraving. "De tenebris nos tueri lux1. Our motto." I thought, taking the folder and walking back away. "And Schnee?" I heard him ask. I turned around, my feet planted together and my back straightening out of habit. The habits that they trained into all of the huntsmen. "Yes sir?"

"Don't let your emotions affect your mission."

I just nodded, turning away and walking out of his office without another word being spoken. I looked at the walls, seeing the familiar paintings. The battle of Fort Castle, the Menagerie campaign, and even the fall of Ghira. Every last one of them commissioned by us, for us. No outsiders would see them. I couldn't help but frown when I saw the second one. "Campaign… looks more like a massacre." I thought. The painting showed huntsmen and the world's armies working together for the first and only time, finally attacking the faunus' homeland, and seemingly wiping them out of existence… completely. What the painting didn't show, and what most history books wouldn't tell you, was that the people of Menagerie weren't just monsters, they were civilians. Most of them were content to stay on the island and wait out their days. Then… we came knocking on their doorstep, right after shooting their cousins full of holes.

"We want to wipe out the White Fang… but are we any better?" I muttered to myself, frowning as I saw one of the figures in the painting. It was my mother, in her younger years, before her illness had taken her. She held a fire in her eyes in that moment that I'd never seen in her around my father, and she always looked so keenly alive in the heat of battle. I looked down at the floor, looking at the file. The White Fang want to destroy humanity… but we tried to destroy the faunus. "Guess we're getting what we gave huh mom?" I thought, opening the file. It was a file on Weiss's newest caretaker, one Jaune Arc. Average build, average height, blond hair, blue eyes, owned the Beacon Pet Center in downtown Vale. Accordingly he was good with animals, lived out of his store, and owned basically the only pet store in town. Of course… most of his clientele were getting killed off now. I flipped the page over, seeing a picture of him. In the picture, he was holding out his arms, in them was a little husky puppy, a collar with the name 'Ruby' printed on it. He had the biggest smile I'd seen on anyone on his face.

"Easier to be happy when you don't know how to be afraid." I thought, gripping at the file's edges as I turned around, walking back towards my room. My mission was simple really, make contact as soon as possible. I read down the list, smiling slightly as I saw my cover. I was to go in as a potential employee. I was to simply be an assistant, a minimum wage worker at best. He would certainly need the help. If his file was right, he worked almost all hours of the day when he wasn't sleeping. I smiled when I looked back at the file, seeing the cover name I was to use, as well as my identity. "Maria Long. At least I get to keep my white hair." I thought, hair dye was the only part of the disguising process I hated. All I had to do this time was change the color of my contacts and wear it a different way. Not that it would matter, no one knew what I looked like anyway. I walked towards my room, smiling slightly,

"You'll be meeting me Jaune. Alot sooner than you think."

(a/n- okay, now back to Jaune's POV)

"Can you do it?"

I asked, looking over at Weiss as I stood near the edge of the door, talking on my scroll. The man on the other side sighed, and if I was right, he'd be shaking his head right about now. "Asking me to make something like this on such short notice… oh well, it'll be easy. Sure." I heard him say. I had to stop myself from letting out a sigh of relief as I walked over to Weiss, picking her up as she held up her arms. I balanced her in one hand as I held the phone with the other. "Thank you so much. This is the last time, I promise." I said, smiling slightly as I felt my face flush with relief. If he'd refused my offer, I'd have had to build the little contraption myself, and that wouldn't end well. As Ren could tell you, I wasn't the best at creating things. "Don't mention it Jaune. I'll have it done and installed by one o'clock, but I expect an explanation for why you need a crib of all things." he said. I felt my muscles go rigid as he said that, but before I could do much, I felt the phone get wrenched from my hand. I looked over, seeing Weiss holding it.

"GAH GO WAH GO!"

"UHH YOU'RE BREAKING UP GOT TO GO!"

I quickly yelled, making some fake static noises to try and throw him off before I shut off the phone, tossing it behind me before I looked at Weiss. She just let out more giggles, waving her arms up at me. I sighed, cradling her in my arms again as I sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. It was noon right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could pull it off by one. He was one of the most skilled carpenter's I knew in Vale, possibly in all of remnant. I smiled down at Weiss, moving my hand up and tickling her. She squirmed in my arms, laughing as she curled her arms up like most babies did. I stopped after a minute, cradling her again. "Don't worry, soon you won't have to be back here all the time." I muttered, smiling as the little girl started calming down. I'd only had her three days, but already I was starting to understand how having her only stay in the back was going to be a problem.

I'd had a close call with a customer when Weiss started crying and I had to go back. Thankfully it was the blind guy that normally came by here and not his girlfriend. She'd have seen Weiss and told the whole town I now had a kid to take care of. I'd made up an excuse about it being some kind of alarm and, amazingly, he bought it. I was going to be more careful from now on though. This way, if Weiss needed attention, I could do it without having to go into the backroom. No one came behind the counter anyway. I stood up, walking towards Weiss's crib when I heard what sounded like a knock on the back door. I sighed, setting her down in her crib before I walked over. I walked out of my bedroom and over to a door with a neon exit sign over it, opposite the adoption center. When I opened it, I looked up, smiling at the giant in front of me.

He was seven feet tall, also one of the tallest people I knew in Vale. He already had what looked like a tool belt and fair bit of material with him. Strangely, he also had what looked to be a cage in his right hand. "Hey Yatsuhashi. Before you do anything, this has to stay completely between us, okay? You can't tell Fox, you can't tell your friends, and you certainly can't tell Coco, okay?" I asked, smiling and hoping he would accept. He sighed, walking in and laying the tools across from him, setting down the cage near me. I looked in, smiling as I saw the familiar brown rabbit coming out of her little home inside. "Got it. Watch Velvet for me while I'm working would you? Bring the animals inside." he said, jerking a thumb behind him at my bedroom door. I nodded, smiling at him as I whistled. Pyrrha and Yang both bounded over, both sniffing at the cage as Velvet just cowered away from them. Even for a rabbit she was shy.

I walked back in the bedroom, shutting the door behind me as Yang and Pyrrha both went over to Ruby's cage, where Ruby herself was absent. Instead she was just seemingly in a staredown with Weiss, both of them regarding each other with unblinking eyes. Then, Ruby broke, looking at me when she saw the rabbit cage. She started barking as she dashed towards me, clawing up at Velvet, who again just cowered away. I smiled as I leaned down, picking Ruby up the way I normally did, something I'd neglected to do for awhile thanks to Weiss. Now I had two babies to take care of I guess. One human, one not. I set the cage down on the nightstand, Velvet cowering as far from the entrance as she always did. I walked over to Weiss, holding her in one arm and Ruby in the other. Then I set back on the bed, laying Ruby on my lap and petting her with one hand while I rocked Weiss with my other.

It went on that way for quite awhile, until I heard it. I felt my heart nearly stop when the door suddenly opened, "Jaune how big… oh." Yatsuhashi said, looking down at the baby in my arm. I moved my arms around to completely hold her as I looked at him. "Um…" I didn't try saying 'I can explain', since I knew he already knew. I had a baby to look after, and he was building her crib. Instead, he just sighed, turning around and walking back out to the front. "Least I know how big to make it now." he said, shutting the door behind him. I just say there for a moment, still looking after the door until I felt Weiss grab at my face, dragging me back into reality. I looked down, smiling at her as I cradled her in both hands. Then I realized just how wet her diaper was. "Guess you need a change." I said, smiling slightly as I grabbed Ruby, laying her on the floor as I walked into the bathroom to change Weiss into a clean diaper.

When I walked back out, I noticed that Yatsuhashi was standing there, cradling Velvet in his arms like I was Weiss. He nodded towards me, giving me a rare smile. "The crib's done to your specifications. You should be able to keep her there during the day… and here." he said, reaching into his pocket and tossing something at me. I just shut my eyes as I felt the small object bounce off my face, falling onto Weiss. When I looked down, I saw she was holding what looked to be a little stuffed bear. When I looked up, he just nodded, "Might do her good to have a little friend." he said. Then he turned around, walking out the door past Pyrrha and Yang as Ruby barked at his heels the whole time. When the door shut, I just looked down, seeing Weiss wrapping her little arms around the tiny bear, hugging it too her as she made more of those adorable baby giggles.

After a few minutes I stood, walking out towards the front with Pyrrha and Yang in tow, Ruby hanging off of Yang's back like I'd have expected her too. When I walked in, I saw exactly what I'd hoped for. It was what looked to be a filing cabinet from the outside, with a few drawers built into the sides as was normal. Though, when I opened it, I found it was anything but ordinary. Inside was a sort of white cloth, made to be comfortable and easy to lay a baby down in. When I set Weiss down, she immediately smiled, moving her arms along the sides of it. I reached lower, pulling the other drawers to find them to be regular, used to store things I guessed. Maybe diapers and the formula I kept buying. I shut them, picking Weiss back up. I smiled down at her, and she seemed to smile back, her little teeth showing behind her lips. "At least I don't have to worry about her teething." I thought.

(a/n- switching POV again.)

I set down my binoculars, nodding to myself as I saw Jaune lay the little girl in the crib next to him. "He's taking good care of her it seems." I muttered, speaking to no one in particular as I stood up. I looked down at the stores roof from where I was standing, no skylights, no vents, nothing I could use to get in. Good. It meant anyone coming after Weiss would have to go through the front door and the guard dog. "Don't move." I heard from behind me. I sighed, holding up my hands as I slowly turned around, feeling the gun at my waist and the six inch dagger on my forearm. I saw a man standing there, his eyes cold and a rifle pointed at me. He had the mark on his arm, one of two axes crossing each other.

A huntsmen.

I took a step back, smiling slightly towards him as I tried to play it cool. "You up here bird watching too?" I asked, gesturing towards my binoculars. He didn't seem amused, glaring at me as he flicked off the safety on his rifle. "Cut the crap bitch. I know you're one of those White Fang faunus bastards." he said, aiming down the sight at me. I couldn't help but let out a giggle at that one. He seemed confused, lowering his rifle slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "You haven't done your homework have you? I haven't been in the White Fang since the fall of Ghira. Though, you did get one thing right." I said, smirking slightly. I rushed forwards, him firing a few silenced bullets at me as I flipped over them, landing right next to him. I reached over, punching him in the stomach as I reached up, flicking a switch and taking the magazine from his rifle with the other. I tossed it behind me, off the roof, as I jumped back, reaching up and pulling off my black bow, exposing my secret to the man.

"I am a faunus."

He reached at his side, pulling out a knife and rushing at me. I just waited, standing at the ready. When he was close enough, I reached up, grabbing his wrist with one hand before I jabbed him in the stomach with my elbow, forcing his knife above his head. Then I kicked off the ground, jumping up before I wrapped my legs around his neck, forcing him to the ground with the sudden imbalance of weight. I grabbed his knife, tossing it off the roof before I pulled out my own, holding it to his face as I squeezed my thighs together, choking him. "Who… are you?" he asked as I saw his face turning red, struggling for air. I relented, standing up before I grabbed his shoulders, hoisting him up. When he looked down, his eyes widened. Probably considering I was holding him right over the edge of a five story building.

"The name's Blake Belladonna. Ghira's daughter"

Then I let go, watching as the man fell down, landing, appropriately, onto a dumpster. When I looked down, I saw him slowly moving. He'd survive… maybe. "Not that it's really my problem. He would've killed me." I thought as I tossed my hair back over my shoulders, striding over to the edge of the roof and picking up my binoculars. When I leaned down and looked through them though, it seemed the store was deserted. Jaune must've gone back to the bedroom with Weiss when I was dealing with the huntsman. I turned around, walking back towards the building entrance as I hastily re-tied my bow. Didn't want the world to figure out faunus still existed right? I walked in through the door, heading down the stairs until I came upon another door, as well as a small duffle bag. I grabbed it, opening it to find it had my normal clothes inside of it. What I was wearing at the moment was more suited for recon than blending in.

I looked through the window at the door, feeling heat creeping up to my face as I reached behind me, pulling back on the zipper. When I got it all the way down to just above my rear, I simply stepped out, blushing a bit as I looked out the window, making sure no one was about to walk in and see me naked. "I know it's easier to switch into my animal state in this thing but man it's embarrassing!" I thought as I reached down, grabbing out my actual clothes from the bag. I dressed quickly, pulling on the underwear, skinny jeans, bra, simple black t-shirt, and then at last my belt. I stored away my weapons in the outer compartments of the bag, just in case, and then put the jumpsuit in the larger part. When I slung it over my shoulder and walked out, binoculars around my neck still, I just looked like an average sight seer in Vale, maybe a bird watcher too at that rate. I reached down, pulling out my scroll and looking through my list of disguises, seeing which would best suit me for my next task. "Hmm… girl next door look. That could work." I thought with a small smile as I laid it back in my pocket.

"Looks like I'm getting a job if I want to keep watching Weiss."

1: This roughly translates to "From shadows we protect the light", for those of you that were wonder and/or actually cared.