Chapter seven: Revelations

(a/n- this hasn't been a problem yet but let me clarify it right now. Not all the POV changes occur at the same time or in the same order. The one your about to read for example doesn't occur on the same night as the Jaune POV later. It's probably obvious but, I had the thought of confusion and wanted to make sure you guys understood (even though you probably did anyway). Alright, enough of that, onto the story!)

"BOSS!"

I looked over, seeing one of my lackeys running towards me, holding his gun tight to his chest. "What is it?" I asked, slightly annoyed at him having interrupted my poker game. He was about to speak when, suddenly, I saw the lights flicker. I heard what sounded like something whistle through the air before the lights came back on, my eyes widening at what I saw. The lackey that had come to assumingly warn me about something, stood there,what looked to be a long, silver dart through his throat. I could only tell it was a dart by the small feathers on the back of it, a light blue color. I jumped back, me and the other four boys grabbing our guns as we aimed towards the darkness, looking for some kind of movement to tell us who we were fighting.

"Negreo Caress. Also known as 'The Shark'."

I turned towards where the near monotone female voice was coming from, aiming my gun towards that area, but found that there was nothing but shadows. I turned back around, my eyes widening as I saw a dart finding it's way into another one of the card game players. He fell down, dropping his gun as he accidentally fired off a few rounds, said rounds hitting the wall nearby. The rest of us tried to gather around, slowly walking towards the door. Then, the voice spoke once again.

"Allegations of first, second, and third degree murder, human trafficking, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, insurance fraud, tax evasion, grand larceny, first-degree robbery, manslaughter, money laundering, assault and battery, and statutory rape."

I felt something nick my ear as I slowly turned, seeing my left hand man fall back, one of those darts pinning him to the wall. "Show yourself!" I yelled into the darkness, my right hand man and I backing up towards the door. "FUCK THIS! IT AIN'T WORTH IT!" my right hand yelled, dropping his gun and rushing towards the door. He tried pulling, pushing, and even slamming against it… but it wouldn't budge. His eyes widened as he looked around, "Please! I don't wanna di-" he didn't get to finish, he was pinned to the door by one of those darts through his throat a second later. In the meantime, I turned back towards the turned over table, only to finally see the person assaulting us. I didn't bother to get much of a look, I just pulled the trigger… only for my gun not to shoot. "Huh?!" "Good luck without your firing pin." the woman, still cast in shadows, said, holding up a small metal piece, the one that should've been in my gun. She just moved it behind her ear, behind what looked to be a bright blue beret on her head.

In a bid of desperation, I threw the gun at her, but she caught it effortlessly, spinning it around and seeming to almost disassemble it right there, putting the firing pin back inside. She aimed it right at me. "GAH!" "Amazing how things break if you take out just one part." the woman said as fire went up my arm, the bullet entering my shoulder as I looked up towards her, seeing her aiming the gun towards my chest. "You've gotten away with things because the witnesses won't come forward, mostly out of fear. You thought you were untouchable. And, by all rights and standards, you are." the woman said, pulling back the bolt on the gun as I gulped, knowing what was about to happen to me. I just shut my eyes as I saw her aim it at me.

"But you're not bulletproof."

…

I pulled the trigger, watching as the bullets lit up the room as the door was turned into a piece of splintered drift would, the man's body nearby cut in half as he started convulsing, the bullets flying through his chest, arms, legs. The gun was so inaccurate that some might have hit his head too. It was rather hard to tell to be honest. When I heard the clicking, the gun empty, I tossed it to the side, walking over and lightly pushing on the door… only for the entire thing to fall down, revealing the back alley behind the small building. "May have overdone it with that one." I thought, frowning slightly. I should've just killed him with a dart, would've been much nicer and more clean that way. Speaking of which, I turned around and started grabbing my darts, shoving them beneath my beret before I walked out into the street, seeing the streetlights slowly coming on. I looked at my wrist-watch, finding that it was almost ten o'clock at night. It was 9:58 when I entered the building.

"Two minutes to kill five men? I'm getting slow."

…

"What am I going to do?"

I asked, looking over at Ren as Pyrrha lay beneath us, Ruby, Yang and Nora playing in the backyard. I'd gone over to Ren's house after closing time, leaving Blake to lock up (maybe not my smartest idea but hey, I was desperate) to ask him for advice. Once the work day was over, I checked my scroll, only to find a message. "You have to hire Maria Long." from none other than Winter, the mysterious benefactor of my store. Ren, being the naturally observant and intelligent person he was, was the first one I thought to ask. That and, frankly, he was the only real friend I had. I might recognize some customers if I saw them on the street sure, but Ren was different. He was one of the few people that I'd really clicked with after I left home to start my store, and we'd gotten along well for the most part. Other than the fact he didn't forgive people for even the slightest misstep. He was still mad at me for the time I accidentally dropped a cake he made almost two years ago!

"Let me get this straight. Blake's blackmailing you into letting her keep the job, but this 'investor' in your store is forcing you to hire Maria if you want to keep getting the funding? So… what's that have to do with the baby?" he asked, pointing towards Weiss. I knew I shouldn't have brought her out of the store, but I couldn't get her to stop clinging to me, even once she seemed to calm down at the prospect of me leaving. That and, after what had happened this afternoon, I didn't really want to leave her alone with anyone for awhile. I smiled down at her, "She's… it's a long story alright." "Tell it quickly, neither of us have time for a two hour story." he said. I nodded, knowing that he was right. Ren was a real 'don't beat around the bush' kind of guy. Tell you what he thought if you asked him, and he didn't know the meaning of the word sugarcoat. "I found her in an alley and this investor told me to keep her secret if I want this funding to keep coming in. They want me to keep her healthy, happy, and most importantly, hidden. Which means you have to keep her a secret. Can you do that?" "... you're kidding right?"

I just nodded, "Right, right…" I said, slightly embarrassed that I'd ever questioned it. I'd told him a secret two years ago… I didn't even remember it anymore, and he never told anyone. Now it was just gone, stored away in his head, a secret even to me. "Why not just hire both? Didn't you say you could afford to?" "That's the thing, they seem to hate each other. How can we get anything done when they're at each other's throats, two seconds from a fight, and driving away customers?" I asked, laying my forehead down on the kitchen table we were sitting at. I just didn't know what to do. I heard a giggle and felt a light poking on my chin. "Pa-pa!" I heard. I smiled at that as I sat up, cradling Weiss against me as I leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'm right here sweetie. Papa's not going anywhere." I said, slipping into that babyish tone of voice again. When I looked up, I found Ren smiling at the scene, but then that smile slowly dropped as he started rubbing his chin. I could almost see the gears start turning in his head as I straightened, hoping that he'd come up with some genius solution for my problem.

"Hire one for half the day, and the other for the other half."

I raised an eyebrow, but then slowly I started to smile, letting out a small chuckle as I leaned back. "Ren… you are a genius." "I have my moments." he said, smirking slightly as he whistled, Nora bounding towards the open screen door, pushing it open and jumping up on Ren's lap as he started petting her. Ruby and Yang ran in too, Pyrrha rushing to greet them as Ruby clung for dear life to Yang's back, the two bigger dogs circling one another as they usually did. "One for each shift… why didn't I think of that?" I thought as I stood, whistling as I walked over to Weiss's crib, laying her in it and tucking her in before I handed her the little stuffed bear, her little arms wrapping around it as she seemed to pull it beneath the covers. "You know why this, Winter person wants her kept secret?" "No clue… only thing I can see wrong with her is being adorable! Yes you are! Yes you are!" I said, smiling down at Weiss as I slipped into that babyish voice again. Ren just smiled, nodding as he leaned back in his chair. Nora walked over, not being as hyperactive as usual, and just laid down, Ren calmly petting her behind her ears.

In the meantime, me and the other three dogs left walked towards the door. I set Weiss on the ground for a second as I slipped my shoes back on, Ren didn't like it when people wore shoes in his house, I shivered at the memory of the last time I tracked mud into his house. "Glad we're friends." I thought, I'd hate having someone like Ren not like me… mostly since my job didn't really allow health insurance as part of the package. I opened the door, watching Yang and Pyrrha walk out. I smiled as I saw Ruby curled up on Yang's back, the little ball of fur fast asleep. "Guess Nora really tuckered her out…" I muttered, looking down at the other two. Pyrrha was fine, mostly since she hadn't been playing with Nora all that much, and Yang was still awake… albeit it looked like she was struggling to keep walking. "Alright girls, we're heading home." I said, looking down towards the two grown dogs, one puppy and two year old baby.

It was maybe five minutes down the road when I heard something, something I frankly didn't want to hear. "Oh hey, uhh… Jaune right?" I heard a voice say behind me. I looked over, only to see someone rush past me, said person jumping back and planting what looked to be a skateboard in front of me. It was a black board with a bright green design along the center, as well as near the ends. The wheels were painted with what looked to be flames. I looked up, finding that the person I was talking to was dressed in what looked to be a long, dark purple hoodie, ending at her waist with black short-shorts beneath it. They also seemed to have a lighter purple shirt beneath the hoodie, considering the bits of light purple falling down past their waist, the sleeves being rolled back to expose the lighter purple as a t-shirt, and it coming up past their chest. What made me realize who it was, and that it was a girl and not a guy, was the eyes… and the hair, no definitely the hair.

Her hair stuck up in almost every direction, like spikes coming from outside her hoodie. It was also what looked to be mint green, her eyes being a shade darker than that. I still had a hard time believing it was the same girl though. "Oh, uh, do I know you?" "Officer Chloris Mr. Arc. Have a nice night now." she said, repeating the same line she'd used when we first met. I just nodded, it was definitely the same person. She just… looked completely different out of uniform. "Sorry I didn't recognize you, you look so… so much…" "Like a guy? Yeah, I get that a lot." she said, smiling at me as her eyes trailed down. They actually widened a bit as she saw Weiss staring up at her, the bright and innocent green orbs meeting the older woman's wild ones. "And who's this?~" she said, putting on a higher, more babyish voice as she leaned down, smiling down at Weiss as she laid her skateboard upside down on the ground.

"Oh, uh, this is Weiss. She's my… niece! Niece, she's my niece." I said, hoping that she was too distracted by Weiss's adorableness to actually notice the nervousness in my voice. Thankfully, despite her being a police officer, she didn't seem to notice, just keeping her eyes on Weiss. "Aww, you're watching her while your sister's busy?" "No uh… sort of. It's… she's dealing with some personal issues right now… I'd rather not talk about it." I said, looking away from her. It may have been an act to get her not to ask too many questions, but I wasn't lying. My sister, one of them at least, was going through something I'd rather not discuss. Thinking about it made me worried about her… I needed to call her when I got back, check up on her. The officer/skater nodded, frowning towards me. "Ah… I understand. I know how it feels… you're worried about her aren't you?" "Yeah… worried that I won't see her again." I said, muttering the last part. She stood up straight, placing a consoling hand on my shoulder as she smiled.

"Hey, if my sister can get better after twenty years of doing that crap, anybody can." she said, her eyes flashing with sympathy as I nodded, returning the smile. I met her eyes again, bright green one's meeting blue ones as I spoke, "Thanks Officer Chloris." "Reese." she suddenly said, keeping that same smile. I raised an eyebrow, "Reese Chloris is my name. You can call me Reese." "Well, whatever you want me to call you… thanks." I said. She nodded, kicking down her skateboard and rolling away, likely towards the industrial park if I had to guess. There were plenty of things to skate on and very few people to get in the way out there. Especially at seven o'clock at night. I watched her skate away for a few seconds before I turned around, walking towards the pet center. Along the way there, I thankfully didn't see that many people, most not being out on the streets on a Friday night, more than likely either in clubs or at home, depending on what they wanted to be doing. Even if they were out, most people knew that I travelled with three dogs anyway, so most wouldn't bat an eyelash at me.

It took ten minutes before I saw the familiar center, and I saw Blake still standing by the entrance, keys in her hand as she smiled at me. "Glad your back Jaune." "Have you been waiting out here the whole time?" I asked, considering I'd been gone for almost an hour. Blake just nodded, tossing me the keys as I easily caught them. She walked over to Yang, scratching behind her ear for a second, before she gave me a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow morning Jaune." "About that… there's been a small change." I said. She raised an eyebrow, casting a threatening look towards Weiss. I knew what the look meant, that she'd squeal on Weiss being under my care if I fired her. "Don't get the wrong idea! Nothing's changing with you other than your hours. I need you to come in at six and work until noon from now on. I need more help during the mornings you know? You seem really good with setting things up." I said, hoping she couldn't see through the bold-faced lie… well, she was really good with setting things up, that was true, but I wasn't busier in the morning, I wasn't busier any time of the day, it was usually just a steady flow of customers trickling in through the day.

Blake just nodded, seemingly not suspecting anything. "Alright then, but how will this affect my salary?" "You'll get paid nine lien per hour instead of seven." I said, increasing her from the minimum wage to a somewhat decent wage thanks to the less hours she could work. She just nodded, smiling slightly towards me. "I understand. I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Bye Jaune, bye Weiss, bye Yang." she said, smiling towards the three of us as she turned and walked away, heading down the sidewalk and turning down an alley as I just walked in, finding that Blake had yet to lock the door. She couldn't really have been waiting outside since I left could she? I mean, she'd have had to been waiting for an hour if she was. I walked inside, the dogs walking past me as Pyrrha and Yang both laid down in the dog bed. I set Weiss' crib down as I walked over to the doors, shutting them, locking them, and setting the alarm, learning from last time. Didn't want another robbery now did I?

With that done I walked back over to the counter, picking up Weiss's crib in one hand, the sleeping Ruby in another as I walked towards the back door, opening it and shutting the door behind me. When I turned around though, I found I had an… unexpected visitor. Laying on my bed, there was what looked to be a small cat, black fur covering it's body. I raised an eyebrow as I walked over to it. I seemed to disturb it, since it sat up a second later, amber eyes gazing at me with a sort of cool intelligence. "How'd you get back here little friend?" I asked, smiling towards the cat as I laid Weiss's crib on the floor nearby, setting Ruby in her cage and locking it the way I always did. The cat just meowed in response, walking across the bed and sitting back on it's hind legs. I walked over, gingerly moving a hand towards it. I let my hand hover near it for a second and, when it didn't back away or hiss at me, I let my hand rest on it's head. It rubbed against it, purring as I pet the small black cat.

I smiled as I moved over, laying the small cat on the ground as I stood, picking up Weiss and sitting her crib on the nearby counter. I didn't want to wake up to Weiss screaming about claw markings on her body. I undressed like I always did, setting my clothes in a hamper and making sure to shut it this time before I picked up the cat. "You'll have to stay in the bathroom tonight kitty." I said, giving the small cat a smile as I set it down on the tile floor. I shut the door behind it, hoping the cat wasn't smart enough to open the door. Even so, I left Weiss on the counter just in case as I laid down, letting my eyes slip shut as I felt the darkness of sleep overtaking me.

… (a/n- you didn't really think it was over after that, did you?)

"The mission has changed Blake."

I felt myself morph out of my cat form, slowly standing up, naked, in the middle of my new bosses bathroom. I leaned my ear against the door, listening for any sound that might indicate someone stirring. Nothing, not a sound other than the breathing of a puppy, baby, and teenager. I opened the door slowly, it soundlessly swinging open on it's hinges as I shut it behind me just as quietly. I stalked forwards, until I was standing right over Jaune's bed. I crouched down, lying against the ground as I reached over, grabbing my clothes from beneath the bed and pulling them out in front of me. I rummaged through my pockets for a second until I found it. The small needle and bottle. I stood, walking towards the still sleeping baby as I stabbed the needle through the cork lid of the bottle. I filled it up with the colorless liquid before I looked down, setting the bottle on the counter.

"We cannot allow this child to remain in such an insecure location."

I heard the voice of Ozpin saying, giving me my new orders. "Don't worry baby… this will only hurt for a second." I thought as I slowly moved forwards, aiming the needle towards her forehead. "YIPYIPYIPYIPYIP!" I nearly jumped as I set the needle down, walking towards Ruby as I saw her barking her head off at me. "Shh! Shh! It's okay, it's me! Blake!" I whispered, opening the cage to try and keep the small pup quiet. Though, she only bit my hand when I got close. I hissed as I jumped back, hearing her yipping her head off. I was about to straight up kick the puppy to shut her up when I saw the door flung open, slamming against the wall. "RUBY!" I heard two voices yell in sink. One of them a red headed girl with what looked like a bushy tail, the other a blonde girl with long hair and what looked to be a two fox ears. I recognized their scents. Pyrrha and Yang.

They were faunus.

"Calm down!" "GET AWAY FROM HER!" Pyrrha yelled, rushing me as she nearly slammed me against the back wall. I looked down, seeing her eyes clouded with fury as I saw Ruby suddenly changing, entering her human form as well. Of course, I'd suspected her from the start, she was always a little too smart of the husky puppy. I pulled my right arm up, slamming my elbow down between Pyrrha's shoulder blades as she crumbled, holding my hands out in my familiar combat stance as Yang and Ruby rushed me. I felt Ruby bite my thigh as Yang started snapping at me, my hands around her neck the only thing keeping her at bay. "Jeeze! Anyone every tell you about a breath mint?" I said as I moved one hand back, punching Yang in the stomach before I reached back, yanking Ruby's tail. "EEH!" Ruby squealed in a voice that, any other circumstance, I would've found adorable. Now though, I was only focused on the three women in front of me.

And then I heard the stirring.

I looked over, all four of us freezing as we saw Jaune bolt upright, looking around with wild eyes. "Weiss!? Ruby!? What's… what the…" he said, his eyes widening as his face gradually started heating up. We all stayed there, as if none of us really knew what we were supposed to do next. All of our faces were as red as Pyrrha's hair when Weiss shook us out of it. How? By starting to cry. Jaune started fumbling for words, trying to figure out what was going on. "I, Blake, Faunus, how? Naked girls…bedroom…" he didn't get to say much more, as after a second I saw his head suddenly get slammed against the wall, his body crumpling to the ground. I saw Yang standing there, her fist held out.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I PANICKED OKAY!"

Pyrrha, the one that had asked her why she did that, looked over at me. "What were you doing with Weiss?" she asked, her eyes holding a sort of ferocity in them. I knew that kind of ferocity, I'd seen it on mothers all the time. I held up my hands, "I didn't intend on hurting her alright? I'd planned on bringing her somewhere safe. Until you three came along that is." I said, muttering the last sentence. I reached down, lightly rubbing at my thigh where Ruby had nearly ripped out a chunk of my skin. I looked down at Jaune. "Guys… he knows. What now?" Ruby asked, her eyes showing a sense of fear as she clung to her sister, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's stomach. I shook my head, walking towards the counter as Pyrrha kept a close eye on me. "I've got an idea. This was supposed to keep Weiss asleep until morning, but it should work about the same on Jaune. I'll get dressed for when he wakes up and we can make him think it was all a dream." I said, hoping it would actually work.

Pyrrha walked over, grabbing the crying Weiss and cradling her, as far from me as she could get mind you, as she kept watchful eyes on me. "If you so much as give me one reason why you'd hurt Jaune I'll rip you apart." "Killing innocents isn't in my job description." I said, placing the needle in Jaune's neck and slowly pushing down the plunger. I waited a few seconds before I filled it again. "What're you doing?" "He's almost fully grown, it'll take more to keep him sedated than it will Weiss." I said. It would take two, at least two to keep him sedated all night. It might take more but, she didn't want to risk giving him an overdose. After I gave him the second shot, I set the bottle and needle back next to my clothes, moving back around and sitting on Jaune's bed. "Now we wait until morning." "We've got time then…" Yang said, leaving it hanging as she sat down, Ruby laying her head on her sister's shoulder. Pyrrha sat down as well, cradling the now sleeping Weiss against her breasts as she swung the little girl gently back and forth.

I sighed, "Alright I get it, I guess I owe you an explanation. What do you want to know?" "Everything." the three faunus said in unison, Yang and Pyrrha's eyes burning with curiosity and fury, while Ruby's… they were closed as she let out soft snores, nuzzling into the crook of her sister's neck and shoulder. It was way past her bedtime to be fair. I sighed, "You'll know my boss better than me. His name's Ozpin, he's the head of our organization." the two girls exchanged looks, Yang slowly nodding as Pyrrha looked back at me. I could about guess what question she was going to ask next. "What exactly is your organization?" she asked. Predictable, but we were so seclusive the only one's that knew we existed were those we'd contacted. Even the White Fang and the huntsmen didn't know we existed. The White Fang thought we were huntsmen, and the huntsmen thought we were White Fang.

"We were formed two hundred years ago by faunus from the White Fang and humans from the huntsmen that wanted peace, instead of the destruction of a single species. We adapted methods and missions to try and keep peace between the two races instead of trying to destroy each other. To maintain balance. Unfortunately, since the Fall of Ghira, the White Fang aren't really willing to listen to us. And since Ozpin left the huntsmen to lead our order, the new leader isn't willing to negotiate with us either. Add to the fact that the world believes the faunus are extinct, and we've got our work cut out for us. We're trying to make the faunus that live in secrecy as pets, wild animals, or in complete seclusion equality when humans don't even know they're being mistreated." I said. The two girls nodded, taking in the information. It was a noble goal sure, and as far as fruitless wastes of time went, it wasn't the worst one I could be doing. I could be trying to conquer the human race or destroy all the faunus that remain in the world. "You never did say the name of your order." Yang said. I had a feeling she would ask that.

"Among our members, we are known as the grimm."

"That's not a very 'noble' sounding name." "We are known as grimm because of the ancient legends. On our missions we wear the masks of the ancient monsters so that we won't be recognized. That or we just kill everyone there. The name strikes fear into those that hear it, even if they don't know the old myths. We used to be called the maidens, but it really didn't have the same intimidating effect as 'grimm' does." I said, smiling slightly. I'd been the one to suggest the name once Ozpin took over. I was getting rather tired of being called a maiden by everyone at our bases whenever we all gathered in the same place. Pyrrha nodded, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "What does any of this have to do with little Weiss?" she asked, unconsciously holding Weiss up slightly. I sighed, I knew that would come up. Even though I didn't want to really admit what was going to happen. I figured though, that they deserved to know the truth.

"That baby in your arms will either save all faunus... or destroy them."