Sorry I'm a bit late, tough week. Hope you enjoy!

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It was the first weekend since classes started and Jaune was spending most of it training in the emerald forest, a habit from the previous two years of constant training. He tried to invite his team but Weiss was busy drilling Ruby in history and Yang said she had something to take care of in Vale.

Alone in the forest, he swung his sword at the air and raised his shield to block the imaginary counter-attack. He needed to be faster, Pyrrha had used her speed to win so it only made sense that he would need to improve what caused his failure. You're not going to get better fighting the air you know, let me help provide a target.

"No!" Jaune stopped Whitback as he felt material begin moving. "What if someone comes by and sees me fighting a clone of myself huh?" Jaune already drew a lot of attention with bizzare rumors about him already circulating around school. We're in the middle of the forest Jaune, who in the world is going to see us? The beowolves?

BOOM

A gunshot more akin to a cannon went off as if the devil himself was listening to Whitback. An instant later the bullet struck Jaune with tremendous force, the following explosion told of the amount of dust that had been packed into the single round.

Whitback was quick to act, cutting off the damaged cells and working to reform the sword arm that was blown clean off. Jaune was grateful his body no longer felt pain nearly as intensely as normal, else he might not have recovered so quickly.

Charging forward with his shield raised, Jaune didn't waste time rushing towards where the bullet were coming from. Another shot echoed and the ground at Jaune's feet erupted in a cloud of lethal shrapnel, taking off any freshly formed material that didn't have the chance to re-harden yet.

Whitback gave up trying to reform Jaune's sword arm and instead worked on reinforcing the shield, making it thicker and large enough to reach their feet. Another shot smashed against the growing shield, making a large dent and charring the area around it but doing little overall damage.

"What do we do?!" Jaune had spent so much time with close and mid range fighting that he had no idea how to handle what felt like cannon fire coming from so far. Stay calm, I think I think I can tell where the shots are coming from.

Another shot rock their wall-like shield. "Then what?! Gonna throw a sword at him?" Jaune didn't mean to sound so rude but losing an arm and being pelted with hellfire had him panicking a bit. Basically.

With the shield giving them a breather, Whitback formed Jaune's arm with a spear that looked suspiciously similar to Pyrrha's. Whitback waited for another shot to hit before making an opening in the shield and throwing the spear with as much force as it could muster.

The following crash and cease in gunfire spoke volumes of Whitback's accuracy. "Good shot…" Jaune mumbled as Whitback pulled the shield back inside and fixed their armor so it looked like nothing happened.

After a short run they came across the body of a female, dog eared faunus laying face down with Whitback's spear on one side and a massive sniper rifle on the other.An anti-material rifle? Whoever sent her knew small-arms wouldn't work on us.

"Looks her aura saved her life." Jaune pointed out when he noticed the girl's chest moving, filling Jaune with an odd sense of relief. I could try searching her memories while I use her biomass to replace what she destroyed.

"We're not killing her, she's not a threat anymore." Jaune wasn't learning how to be a Huntsman just to go back to being an animal. She was trying to kill us, chances are she will try again as soon as she's able.

"Stop it Whitback. We're taking her to Ozpin." Jaune could understand Whitback's defensive behaviour, She did tried to kill them, but he still didn't agree with it. Flipping the body over only proved to complicate things more when a shining white grimm mask shone brightly on the assassin's face.

"of course…" Jaune groaned to himself, he already guessed the White-Fang would learn about him when Adam escaped but he didn't think they would risk getting so close to Beacon. I still think it would be better to get rid of her now.

"I know Whitback…" He sighed to himself while lifting the faunus in one arm and her rifle in the other before making his way back to campus. He was grateful most of the students didn't spend their weekend wandering school grounds, else he might have had some awkward questions to answer.

Walking through the elevator into Ozpin's office, Jaune was relieved to see the headmaster at his desk with Glynda to his side. Both looked at Jaune with a curious expression "I take it you're not here for school business." Ozpin motioned to the unconscious form in Jaune's arm and took a sip of coffee.

"Not exactly…" Jaune put the faunus down face-up so the two adults could see her grimm mask. "We have a bit of a problem." Ozpin raised an eyebrow and lowered his cup while Glynda kept her face stoney but the anger that radiated from her caught Jaune a bit off guard.

"Terrorists dare attack my students…" Glynda hissed under her breath and glared daggers at the assassin before raising her riding crop to focus her semblance. The assassin suddenly jerked upwards into the air and was put into a nearby chair none too gently.

"What happened?" Ozpin asked calmly while Glynda restrained their new prisoner who was still failing to regain consciousness. "I was training in the emerald forest when she attacked with this thing" Jaune stated and dropped the rifle he had been carrying on Ozpin's desk, the length of the barrel overhanging the edge. "Whitback stopped her."

"Clearly." Ozpin said while Glynda tried and failed to wake the prisoner. What is he going to do with her? And about the White-Fang attacking us? Whitback asked and Jaune relayed the questions.

"She is going to be taken to the police, interrogated and incarcerated until her day in court. As for the White-Fang." He paused to think for a moment "Well there isn't much we can do without Adam's location, assuming Adam is the one who sent this assassin."

The White-Fang was a massive organization with many different branches and members, there's no telling how far word spread of who Jaune wass and what he did to hundreds of White-Fang.

That's not good enough. Whitback couldn't accept that, Jaune was at risk and they would do nothing? Let me see the prisoner. It didn't ask but demanded. "Whitback we can't-" NO! I am not asking! Whitback was uncharacteristically forceful, forcing Jaune to take a moment to process what it had said.

This woman tried to kill you! Do you not understand that?! What if next time they send more people with bigger guns? Do you think we're invincible?! Jaune didn't know what to say, mostly because that's exactly what he thought. "...We're not…?"

NO! We need biomass to recover and live! What happens if they find a way to isolate us and destroy us from afar? We cannot let this problem keep getting bigger. Whitback felt like he was beating itself against a steel wall, it couldn't understand how Jaune failed to see the risk.

Jaune's frown deepened, He could see Whitback's point, but didn't… couldn't accept killing as the better option, not anymore. "We. are not. killing her." silence followed and Jaune almost turned his attention back to Ozpin and Glynda.

Fine, I wont kill her. Whitback stopped him. But we're not doing nothing. Let me have control. Jaune hesitated, he wasn't sure if he could trust Whitback to hold back. I have never broken my word and I don't plan on starting now. She wont die. Jaune didn't like how specific it was but he relented "If you're sure…"

Whitback walked towards the unconcious girl and Glynda raised a hand to stop them, a bit nervous about the instability displayed. "Jaune what are you-" Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her and continued observing what Jaune and Whitback were doing.

Raising their hand, Whitback pulled the grimm mask off the young woman and pressed their palm against her forehead. A moment later their gauntlet melted away and the blackened veins covering their hand extended further, easily breaking the already severely weakened aura and pushing into their victim's flesh.

The assassin jerked forward suddenly, eyes bulging and muscles tensing as Whitback entered her bloodstream and went straight for her brain. Her veins visible darkened and Jaune felt a strange dizziness, then his vision blurred and reality seemed to shift suddenly.

Feelingd that were not his own suddenly bombarded him, fear and pain among the strongest but he didn't feel his mind become hazy like negativity tended to do. Instead the feelings only sharpened until thoughts that were not his own began swimming around his head.

'-out of my head! You aren't real!' The new "voice" in his mind screamed angrily, it had to be the woman's but what did Whitback do? Jaune tried to say something but he couldn't feel his mouth or any other part of his body.

"I am very much a reality, and in this reality I am everything there is." Whitback's voice was clear and curt, revealing nothing. 'What do you mean?/ you aren't real, this is just a dream./ can't think straight./ feels like spiders in my head!' her thoughts were racing and jumbled, unable to slow or focus.

"Who sent you?" Jaune could feel Whitback putting pressure on her, influencing her mind and body. Whitback forced her adrenal glands to increase production, sending her into a panicked state and keeping her from orientation herself and fighting back.

'I-I don't want to die./ can't stop the itching!/ Adam would kill me./ can't betray him.' Jaune could hear her struggle to process what was happening, her feelings of fear, confusion and anger boiled over and threatened to make Jaune sick.

"Why did Adam wait so long to attack?" Whitback pricked at all her pain receptors one by one, simulating the feeling of being cut over and over. 'Have to get away./ They're killing me!/ Why did he listen to that Woman!?' Even without a body Jaune still felt something cold well up at his core, this was wrong and he yet he couldn't do anything to stop it. Why didn't Ozpin or Glynda step in and do something?

"What did he tell you?" Whitback pushed harder, limiting oxygen flow to the brain and slowing her down but making her more compliant in the process.

'Please stop… What's happening to me…? he said he found brother's killer…' The lack of oxygen caused her thoughts to slow and quiet but they continued to ring in Jaunes mind over and over.

Was this punishment for his crimes?

\-/

"We shouldn't be allowing this." Glynda stated to Ozpin while Jaune stood rigid as opposed to the prisoner who twitched and convulsed uncontrollably. Glynda noticed how the blackened veins spread throughout the poor woman's body but focused around the head. "This is wrong."

"Do you remember James' reports? The ones concerning White-Fang prisoners?" Ozpin didn't take his eyes off Jaune while talking, his face void of emotion. "You know as well as I that any member that the White-Fang, aside from recruits, don't talk easily."

"Even so, this is going too far. Look at her" Glynda motioned to the assassin who continued to suffer through a nightmare unlike any other. "Would you say a month with a police interrogator is any better than a few minutes of agony?" When terror could draw a swarm of grimm, city officials were quick to encourage law enforcement to use any method that could prevent an attack.

"They attacked him in the emerald forest but what if they come closer? What if they brought five rifles with such explosive power closer to school?" He didn't need to say any more, Glynda understood.

Jaune could regrow and recover from seemingly any wound but what if other student got caught in the cross-fire? Even a skilled student would be at a disadvantage against such firepower, a single direct hit could be enough to send aura levels critical.

Jaune twitched slightly after several minutes and the blackened veins started to retreat and withdraw back into him. As the last bit of material receded the assassin took a gasp of air before falling off the chair while Jaune staggered backwards in a daze.

"Jaune?" Ozpin tried to get his attention while putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to steady him. "Are you alright?"

"That took a lot out of us, we just need to rest…" Jaune responded in a calm, almost robotic tone of voice. "Whitback? What happened to Jaune?" Ozpin asked while Glynda checked the prisoners vitals and prepared her for transport.

"He's… Coming to terms." Whitback said carefully, worrying both Glynda and Ozpin. Ozpin felt guilt prick at him but he still believed he chose the lesser of two evils. "What did you learn?"

"Adam sent her, just like I had believed but she thought of something strange. She believed it was a woman who ordered the attack through Adam."

"It could be Sienna Khan, their leader." That would suggest the leader of the White-Fang wanted Jaune dead, Ozpin hoped that wasn't the case.

"No… I got the impression this assassin didn't think she should be taking orders from whoever the woman was. I believe there's a person or group of people that is separate from the White-Fang, that somehow convinced, forced or coerced Adam into attacking."

Ozpin thought of only a few groups or people that could influence high-ranking White-Fang members into action but only one of them would have an interest in Jaune or more specifically the unique type of grimm inside him. It was only a chance at this point but if Salem's group was involved… Well Ozpin would much rather deal with Sienna and the White-Fang.

"If that's everything." Whitback said with a slight nod before turning and walking into the elevator, all without taking a second glance to the woman it tortured.

"That was a mistake…" Glynda said quietly once the elevator left.

\-/

Whitback leaned heavily against the wall of the elevator, its body feeling much heavier than normal. tapping into a human brain without causing serious physical harm was not an easy task. Made none the easier by Jaune's reluctance and his insistence on sparing a clear threat his life.

"Jaune? Can you hear me?" It tried to prod but Jaune either couldn't hear or was ignoring it on purpose. Either way he left Whitback with full control of an exhausted body that wanted nothing more than to collapse.

"Jaune?" Whitback was caught off guard by the voice and his hands morphed into claws beneath his cloak instinctively. "Blake?" How did it not sense her? Was it really so tired that it didn't hear her footsteps, smell her scent or sense her Aura? It calmed itself and fixed its hand, grateful the cloak covered its mistake. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I saw… Something a bit strange." She said cautiously. "Were you carrying something before you went up there?" She motioned to Ozpin's office and Whitback suppressed the spike in its frustration, it was not a fan of acting.

"No." It stated simply "Weiss is waiting to study with me, I need to get going." It was a simple lie that Whitback hoped would get it out of the situation quickly. "Um sure. Of course." She spoke stiffly, eyeing it curiously while moving aside for it to pass.

Whitback quickly made its way to their team's dorm, making sure to avoid any other students along the way. Once inside the room Whitback didn't spare a glance to the studying Weiss or Ruby before falling into the bed.

"Tough day?" Ruby asked, looking up from her textbooks. "You could say that…" It mumbled quietly, already starting to put itself into a kind of hibernation to recover Jaune and itself.

It might be more vulnerable while in such a state but it could still react if something disturbed them and they needed the time for Jaune's Aura to replenish the energy Whitback needed to function regularly.

"You know I don't think I've actually see-" It didn't hear anymore as for the first time since its conception, Whitback fell asleep.

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I hope I kept this chapter cohesive, some new things Whitback is doing and I hope I introduced them properly and explained them without buggering it up. I plan on going into more detail with the energy and aura thing but in case I don't describe it properly (Or forget ) If you think of it as a health bar, it's constantly degrading and Whitback needs to constantly consume Jaune's aura to stay at full. But what he did drained it far quicker than normal so he needs to slow the degradation a different way to compensate for the added need of energy, thus sleeping. Finished ramble explanation bs, sorry bout that. Please let me know if you think it's fecked to hell! as always I hope you all have a good day/night.

ps. sorry for the bad grammar with its and it's, turns out using "it" as a pronoun kinda screws with my autocorrect.

chendong2698 I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it! I always appreciate the encouragement and oftentimes need it. Thanks for staying interested!

Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh Glad to hear you're still kicking! I will do my very best, the main reason I don't do it is because I believe I'm very good at capturing proper human "chemistry" in writing, basically I worry it would sound too superficial or forced. That being said I do very much like the potential chemistry Ruby and Jaune have with their personalities! I'm happy to hear you agree with Jaune's and whitback's "powerlevel" so to speak because i did worry that i'd gone overboard with the numbers but with this chapter it might make more sense for aura to be considered a bit weaker than canon as a shield. maybe. Anywho I hope you enjoy this chapter despite the distinct lack of rouge! Next chapter should be far more interesting in that sense! Hope to keep hearing from ya!