Troll in Reviews

As has been noted, there is a troll in reviews spamming guest reviews and trying to frame people by writing their name in the name slot. Just ignore it. It's not worth the effort of paying attention to and I'm only writing this message so people are aware.


Chapter 4


Jaune ran his thumb over the frosted screen, touching the faces of his sisters, all smiling happily at him. The photo was one included in a newspaper report on their tragic death. It was an old one taken from their home, back when they'd all been together. His own face sat in the middle, half-smiling and half-complaining about the two fingers poking up over his head like rabbit ears. Above him, his father, Nicholas, beamed happily.

"Hey." He looked up, seeing Blake approach with a steaming mug of something in one hand. She made space in the grass next to him and sat down, offering it with a smile. "You didn't have anything to eat. Adam wanted me to check up on you."

The mug smelled of tomato; it was some kind of soup. He took a sip and instantly felt sick. "I'm not hungry," he said, placing it down.

"Try anyway. Your body is, even if you're not."

His stomach growled to emphasise the fact. Laying the scroll he'd been given down, he picked the mug up again and tipped it back, closing his eyes and forcing himself to swallow. It tasted of blood. Or rather, it tasted of tomato and lentil, but his imagination filled in the gaps. His stomach clenched, ready to retch, but he forced it down and closed his mouth, wiping his lips clean.

Two months. That was how long he'd been a part of the White Fang now. Two months, four raids and one ambush they'd walked into without realising. Bloody and horrifying affairs that had him waking up in sweats.

"You'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it."

"I know." Blake sighed. "I was trying to help."

"It's been two months already. I can't believe I still feel this bad."

"It takes time. Do you think I got this far in a few days?" Sighing, she stretched her legs out in front of her, hooking her fingers over her toes and stretching next to him. "It was hard for us all at first. Even Adam looked haunted the first time he had to fight. We tell ourselves it's okay because it's for a better cause."

"Is it? Okay, I mean?"

"I don't know." Her golden eyes slid to him. "Is it okay for you if it's to find your family?"

"Yes. I'll do anything."

"Then you can't regret killing," she reasoned. "You can hate it, but you can't regret it because regret means actually wishing you didn't." Blake sighed. "I still hate it myself. I just… I don't know. I agree with everything Adam says but…" Angrily, she shook her head. "Ignore me. Focus on yourself. In a way, what you're doing is self-defence. At least when it comes to saving your family."

He doubted that would hold up in court. By any moral convention he was on the wrong side of history. The needs of the many were supposed to outweigh those of the few, yet he'd already been directly responsible for more than ten deaths. That was the size of his family including his parents, so any more was, on statistical terms, a bad trade.

Who could think like that, though? Who could say that their loved ones' lives didn't matter more than those of strangers? Each target they struck made sense. Part of Adam's plans to keep them all in good morale was to explain why we were attacking each location. The first outpost had been to stop the refugees being located and rounded up, being sent back to Schnee mines like property. That included Lavender, who would have been taken to Atlas and almost certainly would have disappeared back to a hidden lab or been `silenced` before she could incriminate anyone.

The bases since then had been little different. Arms labs. Weapons testing facilities. A holding camp for escaped Schnee workers. Every attack was explained, both in terms of what they'd be doing and why. When he'd asked Adam the purpose behind that, he'd said it was because the White Fang were volunteers and not soldiers. It was better to treat them as such and give them the option to protest any attack. Jaune hadn't. Not one. Did that make him guilty of murder by omission? Probably. Not that it mattered since he was a murderer by action, having taken life already.

"Is there any news on my family?"

"Adam is looking," Blake promised. "Don't tell him I told you but he's putting a lot more effort into it than you'd think. He wants to find one quickly so he can prove the White Fang can help. Says you need an early taste of success before you lose spirit."

The news comforted him, even if it shouldn't. Adam was only doing that because of his Semblance and how useful it was, but if he had to pick between someone trying to earn his Semblance by helping him and someone tying him to a lab bed like a test rat, the choice was obvious. At least Adam was trying. It hadn't yielded anything yet, but he told himself two months wasn't a long time when they had next to nothing to go on.

Except it burned. Every day he was out here was a day where they were locked away being forced to go through the same torture he had. Injections. Blood tests. Shocks. Bright lights. Invasive surgery. The sickness. Throwing up on his own chest and then being unable to get rid of it. It was all in his head, a medley of horrible memories that had his teeth grinding so hard together he was afraid they might shatter.

They were still going through that. Mom. The girls. They were all… Angrily, he closed his eyes, grinding down on that powerful urge to just run off and find them. As if by charging off into the wilderness he'd just `stumble upon them` and save the day. He needed the White Fang. Needed Adam and his informants.

"I know it may not look like we're trying all that hard, but we're the combat team," Blake went on. "There are others in Atlas who work as scouts to find targets for us, not to mention informants in the city and even the military. It's those people he has looking for your sisters."

"Right." He forced himself to nod. "Thanks for letting me know. I wish Adam had."

"Adam has a lot of pressure on him to perform. If he didn't tell you, it's only because he wanted to bring good news and not excuses. He's a great leader but he's terrible at talking to people. He probably thought you wouldn't want to know unless it was good news."

The only reason he hadn't asked Adam was because he knew how busy the guy was and how much danger the rest of the White Fang were in. Demanding more effort on his family meant less spent on helping the faunus, which was the White Fang's primary goal. It would be selfish in the extreme, and Adam would be put in a spot where he had to either fulfil that or deny him. Neither option was good.

It might have worked if it was just one family member, but he still had six sisters and his mom missing. Assuming they weren't all in the same facility, he needed Adam willing to help him. Not pressured. If Blake's right then it doesn't matter anyway. He's trying.

"Tell me about them," Blake said, pointing to the scroll.

He sighed. "Did Adam ask you to come comfort me? Is this pity?"

Blake took a breath to argue, then suddenly deflated. Her words came out a whisper. "We lost two people in the last attack."

"Shit." His eyes closed. "I'm sorry. How?"

"They took too much aura damage and fell. Adam and I can't be everywhere and we're facing trained soldiers. Things like this… They just happen. No matter how well we try and plan things, there's always accidents."

He hadn't noticed their numbers having dwindled. That said a lot about him, didn't it? Or about how obsessed he was with his own problems. The faunus had it just as bad, except they were worked to death in horrible conditions.

"It was bad luck, then?"

"Bad luck or just inevitability. We're facing Atlas after all." Smiling weakly, Blake shrugged. "Adam is blaming himself. Looking at the plan to see what he could have done differently. It's not a good time to be around him. He'll wear himself out and then I'll go to him and we'll sleep it off." Blake scratched her arm. He knew that meant sleeping together; it was no secret Blake and Adam were involved.

He wasn't sure what Blake's lack of enthusiasm meant. Would it be worse because Adam was in such a bad mood? Should he say something? Was it his place to say something?

"I guess I'm looking for something to distract me as well," she said, taking the option away before he could decide what he was meant to do. "It'll be even worse when we have to tell their families."

Volunteers, not soldiers, which made everything so much harder. And Adam and Blake weren't trained and experienced commanders. Blake was his age, Adam a couple of years older, and they'd be thrown into this just as easily as he had.

Either way, Blake needed distracting. And to be honest, so did he.

"Saphron is the eldest." He pointed. "She was always the second mother, always helping mom out with cooking, cleaning or looking after us. She's married now, to a girl called Terra. They even have a kid – we were going to Atlas to see them when all this happened. The next two are Coral and Sable. The first twins. They're… well…" Jaune smiled for what felt like the first time all day. "Sable was a lot like Saphron, caring and soft and doting on everyone younger than her. Coral couldn't have been any more different. She never fit in all that well. Too clinical and sometimes rude. I always thought something was up with her. She could be cold. Harsh. There were times I thought she wouldn't have cared if we were all dead, then times she'd be watching over us without us noticing until the last second. I'd say she's the most complicated of them all."

"What about those two?" Blake pointed to two girls who looked identical but for a shock of blue hair on one and a shock of green on the other. "They have to be twins as well."

"Jade and Hazel, the terrible twosome. Identical twins with attitude. They swear all the time and they loved to terrify the guys back home. They're only a bit older than me, but they act like I'm the baby brother. They're vindictive but protective. The one time a girl bullied me, they came down on her like a tonne of bricks. In their words, because they are the only ones allowed to bully me. They were absolute cows around the house. Messy, loud, rude. You name it, they're it." At the time it was always such a pain in the ass, but now… Gods, he wished they could have it back.

"They sound like fun. Did they dye their hair that way to be different or is that somehow natural? I've seen weirder hair colours. Mostly from Ilia."

"It's dyed. We could always pick them apart. Even if they're twins it always seemed obvious, but they got super pissed after Jade's ex-boyfriend got it wrong and grabbed Hazel's butt thinking it was Jade. He got a real handful."

"Is that why he became her ex?"

"No. They were used to mistakes by then and it was just an accident. He got yelled at but that was all. They were still dating when… when…" He cut off, eyes closed, fists tight. "I-I just assume he's moved on by now, since he probably thinks Jade was killed by Grimm." Blake rubbed his shoulder. It didn't make him feel much better. If anything, it was going to make him cry. He forced himself on before he could. "You met Lavender. Younger than me but not the youngest. Sweet and kind. Sickly." His breath trembled. "But she's free, at least. Safe."

"My parents will look after her. Ilia will also be there."

He nodded. That was, he reminded himself, so much more than everyone else had. "The youngest is Amber. The one held against my chest."

"She's so small. Like a little you…"

"Don't let her hear you say that. Amber's the youngest and she knows it; knows it and hates it. Always the baby, always the babied. She's sweet if you talk to her like a normal person but talk over her head even once and she'll never forgive you."

Blake laughed. "Sounds like she has something to prove."

"That's a good way of putting it. She used to follow me around and imitate me when we were younger, but once she went to the same school I did, I guess she realised her big brother wasn't so cool."

"Oh? There a story there?"

"Nothing much to tell. I was the average kid. Boring. Amber still loved me, but she stopped looking up to me like I farted the moon and stars." Jaune laughed along with Blake, rubbing his thumb over Amber's smiling face.

"They'll be okay, Jaune. They're all potential carriers so they'll still be alive. The potential of your Semblance will keep them from alive."

He knew what Blake was doing. Appreciated it. But after hearing what they called Lavender, he knew that wasn't true. The scientists would be trying to force out their Semblances, and the second it didn't match his, they'd be killed. Disposed of. Like trash. Easier than keeping a living, eating and breathing security risk around.

"They'll be okay," Blake insisted, rubbing his back.

"I know," he lied. "I know."

/-/

Ironwood read through the reports with a frown that felt all too commonplace nowadays. The news was both good and bad – good that Winter had managed to root out some suspicious placements in his unit, but bad that those slipped under the radar in the first place. He'd always thought himself meticulous and aware. This painted a picture so different he wondered if he was still the same man anymore.

If he'd missed this, how much more had passed by under his nose? The workload of a General was far more than the Captaincy he'd held before, but this was ridiculous. Did I slip? Or did I let myself be distracted by the bigger picture? Either way, this is inexcusable.

Winter stood before him, hands linked behind her back, waiting for his evaluation. His first instinct was to praise and go from there, but he forced himself to read through every single page before making a decision. In his mind, Winter was beyond reproach, but such arrogance in his own judgment was what had led to this in the first place.

One of his guards had been a bank balance inflated beyond what it should be. The first excuse upon Winter's interrogation was that he was also self-employed as a security consultant, and lo and behold his official records stated as such. His company was fully registered, had clients and full tax records.

However, a deeper look revealed that those clients did not exist. The records stamped and accepted by a tax office famous for its meticulous investigation of any and all anomalies came back frustratingly sparse. Ironwood had once paid too much tax in as a soldier. Once. He'd been dragged into a meeting and thoroughly chastised on his error, then made to fill out his tax forms in front of them. They'd been brutal, and yet this had been allowed to pass. And if you couldn't trust Atlas Revenue and Customs, who could you trust?

No one, apparently. They could trust no one.

He was gone now. Stripped of his position and under investigation. Ironwood had him under guard lest his former employers come try to silence him as they had Harrison, but they couldn't be sure it was even the same people. Shameful as it was to admit it, Atlas had more enemies than just these ones. Hell, these ones were apparently allies of Atlas, if guilty in their own right for such disgusting methods. This latest mole could be White Fang, media or even being paid by another Kingdom for all he knew.

Brothers save me from all these spies. Life was so much easier two months ago.

"This is a good report," he finally said, laying the last page down and taking a quick drink of water. His head was pounding. "Thank you for compiling it, Specialist, and you have my gratitude for rooting out apparent traitors in our midst. I trust that all who remain have been vetted."

"To the best of my ability, sir."

No one could guarantee that meant innocence, only a heightened degree of competency. There hadn't yet been an attempt on the Cotta-Arc family. The Ace-Ops were watching them at all hours, even monitoring their new quarters while they slept. Constant scans of said quarters revealed little, though a scan of Winter's office revealed a listening device under her chair and woven into the fabric which still had her fuming.

His own furniture had immediately been replaced and checked. Nothing. That worried him. It meant that they had something else to monitor him with.

"Have we had any luck tracking down the other Arc family members?"

"None, sir. I've had Clover go through everything twice hoping for a stroke of luck but it's just not there. On Zeki's suggestion, I've asked any and all transfers of medical equipment, blood bags and blood stock out of Atlas to be reported to us, but I'm not sure how useful that will be. It can't be hard to take blood from outside the Kingdom, or to find personnel who share a blood type with the victims."

"It's worth a shot, Winter. Tell Mr Zeki to continue forwarding any ideas through."

"Sir." Winter saluted. "If I may, sir, how are Mrs Saphron and Terra taking this?"

"The fact that their brother is now a wanted terrorist? Poorly, Winter. Poorly. Mrs Saphron is distraught but I have the sinking suspicion her wife doesn't even fault him for making that decision. She's much more aware of our situation."

"She worked in the CCT, sir. It's not hard to imagine she could find some of our records. I could speak with her…"

"No. I appreciate the offer but I don't want to alienate them." There was no telling what might happen to them if they left his sight. The son still had the potential to carry Null within him, and that made him too tempting a target.

"With all due respect, sir, was it wise to tell them the truth?"

"Wise? No. Necessary? Yes. If we're going to keep them close then they'd have figured it out eventually. Ideally, that wouldn't happen until we found one of their sisters, but we don't live in a world of ideals. The second they'd have read an article showing the boy lived, they'd start asking if anyone else did. Any silence from us there would turn them against us."

In the end, if they were going to find out one way or another then he'd decided it was best they be frank. Get it out the way, let them shout at and blame him, then start working on ways to fix this. Easier to deal with their anger now than later in a critical moment.

"Our best bet is to track him down before this gets worse," he said, considering the question done. Winter didn't protest it. "His plan is obvious enough. He's going to try and find those that remain in captivity, and the White Fang are going to help, both to earn his loyalty and to expose us for this whole mess. Our options are limited. We either find them first and bring him in, or we stop him."

"Atlas wants the latter, sir."

"Of course it does. And to brush this under the rug."

The guards at the door shifted unhappily, but Winter remained unphased. "If we step too far out of line, we'll be recalled."

"That's why we won't be going against the consensus. We shall focus on capturing the target, but he will be under our jurisdiction. Any attempts for him to be taken away will be met with force. We can't have a Semblance like that running around free, let alone working for the White Fang."

Ironwood sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, aware of the hypocrisy. It was the same excuse the other officers were giving him for why they should move to kill on sight. Bomb him from the sky the second they located him and not place anyone at risk stepping within range of his Semblance. The worst part was that he couldn't tell if those supporting his call for the boy to be taken alive and rehabilitated were on his side or didn't want to see Null and its potential lost to Atlas.

Who was his enemy - those who voted against him or those who voted with?

"Do we have anything to show for the last two months?" Ironwood asked. "Aside from rooting out spies, that is. Are we really no closer to locating even a single family member beside the Cotta-Arcs?"

"I'm afraid so, sir."

Infuriating. Ironwood slammed one hand down on his new desk. Angry as he was, the news didn't stun him in the slightest. It spoke of a concerted effort to keep them from the truth. Something he'd known they'd be up against but also knew they couldn't do anything about. They had to operate within the rules of the military, which meant that so long as their opponents didn't, they'd have the advantage.

They needed results. There'd be no chance of convincing Arc they were his best chance of finding his sisters without having something definitive to offer. Empty platitudes weren't going to cut it, especially now with so many out for his head since he'd officially joined the White Fang. The SDC had even made mention of offering a reward, though he'd managed to curtail Jacques for now. The last thing they needed was mercenary huntsman roaming the countryside making matters worse.

"Dismissed," he said. "All of you."

Winter saluted and the two guards took the instruction for what it was, saluting and stepping out to give him a moment of privacy. Ironwood downed the rest of his drink and popped a painkiller while keeping the water in his mouth. Washing it all away, he tapped on his terminal and began a call. It patched through to the CCT and rang four times before being answered. An image appeared, Ozpin's face flickering into view.

"James. To what do I owe-?"

"Wait." Ironwood held a hand up. He typed into the terminal and watched as a scan initiated. It took a few seconds, with Ozpin waiting patiently on the other end. When it came back, Ironwood sighed. "We're clear. Apologies, Oz. I was checking fro listeners."

"I was going to ask if the situation had gotten any better but I suppose that answers the question for me. No progress, then?"

"None on locating Arc of his missing family. Plenty on discovering just how compromised my teams are over here."

"Oh dear. I've done a little searching on my end as you asked. It turns out a nurse in the medical facility Mr Arc and his family visited received a rather large payment from an undisclosed bank account. I've had it tracked but, naturally, it's been closed for almost a year."

A throwaway account. Nothing unusual. "And the nurse? She's not dead, is she?"

"Not dead, no, but unhelpful. She confessed all she knows, but all that amounts to is that she was something of a talent scout. She honestly believed it was for a huntsman academy to scout promising students. She had no idea it might be criminal."

An idiot, then. Not unusual, but nothing they could use. This proved the matter deeper and proved Ozpin's innocence – not that he'd been in doubt. The whole thing came back to Atlas, though he was sure the bank account would be somewhere far flung like Vacuo.

"You have my support, James, but I'm limited in what I can do." Ozpin sighed and Ironwood heard a door open on his end, seeing Glynda in the back of the screen. "I must go. Keep me updated on anything that happens. I've an interest in his Semblance myself."

The call ended, Ironwood leaning back with a loud sigh. Little progress. As usual.

But did Ozpin have to make that last statement sound so ominous?

/-/

Jaune brought down the handgun and peered through the dim light. While everyone else in the camp might have perfect night vision, he didn't, and his scroll set up with the torch pointing at the target didn't help much.

"Three on target. One a little low, but still a hit." Adam's voice came from behind. "You're getting better."

Flicking the safety on, he holstered the gun at his waist. "Blake is a good teacher."

"Hmm. I'll tell her that. She'll be pleased to hear it." Adam tilted his head. The `walk with me` gesture was obvious enough and Jaune made a quick excuse to grab his scroll and came back, following Adam through the camp and toward the outskirts.

It was late evening, though most everyone was awake. The White Fang worked nocturnally, sleeping through the day and waking up early evening to march, the better to evade Atlas patrols and make use of their genetic advantages. Today was a rare moment of rest, with them intending to meet an informant before planning their next move. Leaving the loose perimeter of the camp, the two of them stood in the treeline nearby, out of hearing distance of the camp, though not sight.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune asked.

"Something you need to see." Adam brought out a rolled-up newspaper from his coat. "My informant brought this with them today. You're on the front cover."

Another wanted poster and article. The first time he'd realised he'd been made a national criminal, he'd almost cried. Adam had been there to shake some sense into him, telling him this was what he signed up for. Nowadays it affected him little.

"What about it? It's another article on how dangerous I am." He skimmed the subtitle. "Though I notice they're still not mentioning my Semblance."

"It's not in their best interests to advertise how useful you'd be to enemies or rivals."

More evidence that the group behind his family's kidnapping held power. Or influence. They could have come clean and made the researchers the criminals, but those were never even mentioned. The stories always painted him as a survivor who had broken free from somewhere. Sometimes it was a mental facility, while other times it was a hospital – him waking up from a coma and leaving.

Early on, they painted him as a victim waylaid and misled by the White Fang. That soon changed. He became deranged, dangerous and unpredictable. To be avoided at all costs, but for anyone who saw him to inform the authorities.

"They experimented on me yet I'm the criminal…"

"Technically, you are," Adam pointed out. "And technically, the ones who experimented on you aren't."

Jaune put the paper down. "Excuse me?"

"It's how the world works." Adam shrugged and leaned back against a tree, watching him through his mask. He always kept it on and Jaune knew why. "Do you know why laws are made?"

"To set rules that keep the peace."

"Close. It's to control people. Sometimes, for good reasons – like making theft or murder illegal. Other times, the reasons are more self-serving, like having to pay taxes on time or being forced to serve in the military. They're a set of guidelines put down by those in power to control the masses. To instil order, but not peace. Order. Whatever their idea of order is. That's why laws differ from Kingdom to Kingdom."

"Because what they class as order is different?"

"Yes. But it's all founded on the same principle. Power. Look at how it's enforced. What happens if you break into a shop to rob it and get caught?"

"You get arrested and put in prison."

"And why don't you just break out?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to."

"Because you lack power," Adam repeated. "Crimes have punishments because they're threats. Consequences. They say that you should follow this law because if you don't, we'll punish you for not doing so. So, if that's the case, why do some people still break laws?"

Jaune thought for a second. "Because they don't fear the threat."

"Yes. Or there is a bigger threat they fear more, like a desperate person stealing to feed their family because the thought of their children dying is worse than that of being imprisoned. Sadly, it goes the other way too. A threat is only as good as the power to enforce it. Take the SDC for example. Slaver is illegal, but you've seen what they do." Adam brought a hand up and removed his mask, showing the grisly brand. "You've seen this."

"They don't care about the laws…"

"Because they're powerful. Because Atlas knows that if they look too closely, the SDC will up and leave to another Kingdom, taking with it all that money, employment and those favourable dust contracts."

Jaune scowled. "So what, they're allowed to break the law!?"

"They're not allowed. They're just too powerful to stop. Or Atlas is powerless. That goes both ways. Imagine for a second that an important person from Vacuo fled to Atlas, taking with them important and secret information that would benefit Atlas. Vacuo naturally wants the person back to punish and imprison them, but Atlas refuses. Why?"

"Because Atlas is stronger than Vacuo."

"Correct. Were it the other way around, Atlas could exert pressure to force Vacuo to capitulate. I don't mean war, though it could be. Trade deals, embargoes and withholding technology or dust could all force Vacuo to give in. Because both Vacuo and Atlas know this, it never comes up. Vacuo doesn't take the risk and gives in before an argument can even begin, and thus peace – and order – is maintained."

It was the same for him. He was just one guy – one guy with a powerful Semblance, but still one person among hundreds of thousands. If Atlas came in on his side, promising to find those responsible for his family and bring them to justice, then they would have to dedicate if it was worth it to do so.

These people, whoever they were, had power. Power enough to take his family, kill his father and imprison them in numerous labs to test on. Power enough to have Atlesian soldiers guard them, and underground facilities manned with robots. None of that would be cheap or easy to procure, so they had resources, power and wealth.

He had a Semblance and justice.

From Atlas' perspective, it was all too easy to see who they should align with.

Even if they wanted to do the best for him or for the right of law, they'd be afraid the people behind it all might leave and work for another Kingdom instead. Could they take that risk? Of course not. It's just like the White Fang. No matter how hard they try or how much evidence they produce, Atlas will never turn on the SDC because it needs them.

The truth didn't matter. Justice didn't matter. Only stability.

"I'm the criminal because I'm going against the order," he said. "And they're not because it's easier to pretend they don't exist, so long as they don't do anything obvious or against Atlas. That's what you're saying."

Adam nodded and pushed his mask back into place. "It likely goes deeper than that. Either influence in the right places or those in power taking money from this organisation. The point remains that Atlas won't ever act. Only you can."

"And that means going against the law. It's all about strength?"

"Not strength necessarily. Strong countries can be bullied if you have something they need. It's about power, be that information, resources or strength. Back when the White Fang were peaceful, we lacked power. Atlas had to choose between giving into our demands and alienating the SDC or ignoring us and pleasing the SDC. It was a balance of angry and powerless faunus against the biggest and wealthiest company on Remnant."

An uneven balance. Put like that it was no wonder Atlas didn't help them. It just wasn't in their best interests. All they'd do was make some poor faunus happy.

"Now, we're more impactful," Adam said, nodding back to camp. "Now, when they choose the SDC over us they know we'll launch an attack. And when that happens, their people get angry. They demand answers. Action. All of a sudden, it's not just some powerless faunus protestors causing problems, but everyone in Atlas. They can't afford to ignore us anymore."

"They hunt you instead."

Adam shrugged. "Risk of the job. And that's mostly the SDC's influence again steering Atlas against us. If we hold out long enough, make our voices loud enough, Atlas will be forced to listen."

"And voices means attacks?"

"Actions speak louder than words. Tell me, did your pleas change the minds of your captors?"

"No. Action did." Jaune scowled. "Is this your way of telling me to stay with the White Fang?"

"Not really. The same principle works with us, you realise. You have power to negotiate with me, like you did when I agreed to help. And you're too powerful for me to force into anything. You could drop our aura and get us all killed if you wanted to, and there wouldn't be a thing I or Blake could do about it."

"I wouldn't."

"I trust you on that, but the point remains." Adam didn't look too worried, which Jaune assumed was a good thing. "The point I'm making is that if you ever wished to leave, you're free to do so. Don't feel I can force you to stay. If I did that, I'd be making the same mistake your captors did."

"Why bring this up now…?"

"Because of that." Adam pointed to the paper. "Read it."

Jaune did so, hands tensing and scrunching the paper up the further and further he got. When he was done, his fingers had dug through the weak pages and torn some of it off. With his body visibly shaking, he brought the paper down. "They have Saphron."

"And they're calling for you to hand yourself in peacefully, saying they'll clear your name." Adam looked unimpressed but still said, "It's your choice in the end, Jaune. I've no interest forcing your hand if it means turning you against us."

He almost wished Adam would take the option away from him. Staring down at the pages, he read the quote – apparently from Saphron – begging him to turn himself in and `come home` to her.

Home. Home?

How could she say Atlas was home? Home was where the heart was. Where your family was. For her and Terra that might be the case, but his home was in Ansel, abandoned, while everyone else was scattered around Atlas as prisoners based in human labs. How could she say that?

Or had she said it at all? They were words printed on paper. He had no proof it was from her. No guarantee. They could have forced her to say anything or tricked her. On the other hand, they might have told her it and meant it, but what guarantee was there it would work? These people were in Atlas and he was the carrier of the Semblance they were willing to kill for.

How long would it take for him to `die` in an accident?

To wake up back in a cage…

"D-Do you think it's real?" he asked Adam.

"I have no idea." The honesty cut. He'd honestly hoped Adam would just say no. "Apparently, she's under the protection of General Ironwood. I know of him, but not enough to tell you what he's like. It could be that he genuinely wants to protect her. At the very least, it's going to look terrible if anything happens to her. As for whether he'd be able to get your sisters back…"

He trailed off, and that spoke of nothing good. General Ironwood might try, but he was in Atlas and Atlas was already covering things up. There wasn't any mention of finding his family in here. They might argue that was to prevent a panic, but the only thing they'd promised was to clear his name.

Would they even try? And if they did, would they find anything?

As far as Atlas is concerned, the group that took me doesn't exist. You can't prosecute something that doesn't exist. I'd be walking back into the hornet's nest with nothing but one man's assurance I'll be okay. Saphron didn't count. He trusted her, but she didn't have any power. Didn't have any say. The only one who did was this Ironwood man, and he'd not been there to save him from the lab.

That was Adam and Blake.

"I'm staying." He tore the paper in two and tossed it down. "Atlas can rot. If the offer's still open, I'll take it after I save everyone."

"Glad to hear it. In that case, I may have some good news for you."

Jaune's heart leapt into his throat. His hands were on Adam's collar, eyes wide and body shaking. Adam didn't push him off. He sighed and gently removed Jaune's fingers, stepping back.

"May," he said. "I may have good news. I can't promise anything and these places are secret for a reason, so it may end up being a complete bust. I don't want to get your hopes up by promising something I can't guarantee."

"Anything," Jaune begged.

"Alright. Alright. Calm down. The scouts stumbled upon what they believe to be an Atlas facility based about a day out from here. That's why we're camped here and why I needed to meet with my informant. What I typically do when we find a place is cross-reference it with informants in Atlas. They try to find what it is, what its purpose is and anything else. From that, I can figure out if it's a good target to hit. Not all are. If it's a forward outpost to clear out Grimm, we'd be looking at soldiers and huntsmen, and while you could invalidate the latter, our issues aren't with huntsmen protecting everyone from Grimm."

Schnee mining outposts, holding facilities and weapons testing had been their targets so far. Those all made sense in terms of what the White Fang wanted, with the most military having been the scouting outpost that would have spotted and intercepted Lavender and the other refugees.

"What made this one different?"

"The fact my agent couldn't find anything. He's up in the military and everything is organised somewhere, but he couldn't even find a mention of this place. That means one of two things. Either it's something Atlas doesn't know about, or something they want kept secret."

"A lab…"

"Maybe," Adam stressed. "But it could also be a bunker, an abandoned base or a completely different group of people entirely. We're going to check it out, and by we, I mean me, you and Blake. I don't want to risk the others on this."

He knew Adam was trying not to get his hopes up too high but it was impossible not to react. His heart was racing and his body tingled. This could be it. Progress. It might not be and that was a very real possibility, but if this place was unknown to Atlas then they had to check it out.

"H-How did we find it?" he stammered, too excited to speak calmly. "If it's so hidden."

"Because we stay hidden as well. Our scouts look for routes for us to take without being spotted, and that means travelling off the beaten path. Deep valleys. Rough terrain. Rocky areas that Atlesian armour would struggle on. We move from one concealed location to another, which conveniently happens to be the exact kind of place you'd set up a facility you wanted concealed from Atlas as well."

Luck, then. Or rather being in the right place at the right time. They weren't a small procession so staying off the radar meant some uncomfortable hiking at times. The scouts either must have stumbled right on it or seen movement. Maybe Bullheads coming and going or Atlas personnel where none had any right being. That would have been reported back to Adam, who would check it with his insiders and the rest was history.

"When do we move?"

"Tonight." Adam nodded back to camp. "Ready up. We move in three hours."

Nodding, Jaune charged back into camp, dodging past other White Fang until he reached his tent. The nerves were gone. Fighting Atlas was hard, but if one of those monsters who tried to kill Lavender put themselves in front of him, he'd have no qualms pulling the trigger. Picking up a fresh vest with ammo packs sewn into pockets, he pulled it on over his grey and black uniform, then pulled his mask into place. Through the thin, slatted eyeholes, the world felt distant.

In the mirror, the slats glowed yellow and purple before they became dark again. The familiar eb and flow of his aura flicking off and on again washed over him. The control came easier, even if it wasn't perfect. It would be enough to take advantage of an opening when an opponent had to reload. He'd have their aura ripped away and be on them within moments. Turning away from the mirror, he marched out the tent.

I'm coming. Hold on, everyone. I'm coming.


Bit of a longer chapter today. Jaune's first proper taste of action will be next chapter. I've just allowed two months to pass so that he can reasonably have a little more skill at that. What he managed before was mostly due to luck and the aid of Lavender's Semblance.


Next Chapter: 2nd March

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur