Ignore the troll


Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 20


Roman kept a wide berth from the psychopath asleep on his sofa. His safehouses were pretty much always fit for one person at most, not that the kid had minded. The moment he'd been in and safe, he collapsed on the seat and was snoring. He didn't even care that Roman was still up and potentially a threat.

As if Roman dared to try anything.

He'd seen the news – always valuable to keep your ear out for it, and your name out of it – and he'd seen what happened to those who underestimated Jaune Arc. This isn't some random kid I have on my sofa. He's a stone-cold killer.

Or close enough. There'd been some degree of exhaustion the night before where he'd been about to kill a helpless police officer. That didn't do much to exonerate him but Roman was prepared to write it off as the kid being at his wits end. The others? Not so much. Wherever this kid went, people died. Roman was determined to not be added to that list. Sadly, he had all too much experience with that, especially recently.

First stage of that was being useful. Roman headed to his kitchen and checked the fridge, wincing at how off some of the produce was. There was a frozen loaf in the freezer however, and he tossed some slices in the toaster while cracking open a can of baked beans, pouring them into a glass jug and putting that in the microwave. Cooking had never been his thing. Proper cooking, that was. If it was hot, filling and could be heated in under three minutes, he was in.

The smell of beans on toast didn't wake the kid up, but the sound of the morning news playing off the miniature TV in the kitchenette did. The content of it wasn't so important since they were the news. The only thing Roman hummed at was confirmation his `saviour` really had taken out Goodwitch and hospitalised her.

Unhinged, dangerous and with the power to back it up. Roman grimaced and downed a coffee. Just my sodding luck. This is that Cinder chick all over again.

The creak of the sofa flexing under the man's weight warned Roman he was getting up. There was confusion on the kid's face – and that was problematic. Roman drew attention to himself before his guest could become surprised and kill him by accident. "Breakfast is ready if you want some." He watched the kid jump and spin to face him. Roman was far away and very unarmed. "Only beans on toast. Not had much of a chance to stock this place up, so the eggs and milk are all gone. I can do juice or a coffee, but only black."

Jaune stared at him for a long few seconds, no doubt recalling the events of the day before. Roman let him. Rushing someone deadly enough to go toe to toe with Glynda Goodwitch wasn't the right way to start a morning.

"I can get some bacon delivered later," he said. Talking was good. Talking was familiar. "Some of my men do the supply runs around here. No risk of us being found. The landlord owes me favours – too many to think about going to the authorities. This is about as safe as it gets for people like us."

People like him, anyway.

"Where-?" Jaune trailed off, listening in on the news as it spoke of Roman's breakout at the hands of the very boy before him. It was that which clued the kid in. "Right. I broke you out. I remember. My head is… I wasn't thinking too straight. I was just so tired of being chased around. So… done with it all."

Short fuse, then. Roman made a note of it. The kid didn't look quite as murder-happy now, but that could obviously change if he got in a bad mood again. It was normal to get so angry you wanted to hurt someone – just not normal to be so willing to act on it. If he didn't push the kid to that, and as long as he remained useful when someone else did, his life should be assured.

"You helped me out, kid." Roman came over with the second plate and a plastic tub of juice. He put them both on the coffee table and watched the boy wolf it down like five-star cuisine. Bean juice flew everywhere. Clearly, he hadn't eaten. He looked like he'd been sleeping rough too. The clothing didn't make any sense as far as fashion went and was almost certainly stolen. "That means I'll help you. That's the deal we made, yeah?"

I'm useful, he was saying. You need me. Don't kill me.

"Mmh. Yeah. Hm." He swallowed and took the whole carton, tipping it back and drinking greedily. "Ah!" He wiped his mouth clean. "That's why I helped you. I need someone who knows Vale. You were just the first I saw on the news."

Yikes. Blow to the ego aside, Roman counted his lucky stars. While it was safer being in prison than attached to a wanted killer, he had a feeling Cinder wouldn't have been so forgiving of him falling behind on dust shipments. That could be a problem too, if Jaune thought he was welching on him to play courier for someone else.

"I do have some work of my own I need to do, but-" he stressed the `but` before the kid could get upset and start shooting. "I'm more than willing to repay you for breaking me out – and there's no saying our interests can't coincide. Tell me, though. What is it you're after? I can't much help if I don't know what I'm helping with."

"It's my-"

He cut off suddenly, clamming up faster than one of Junior's goons in a police station. His eyes narrowed on Roman. Smart kid. Smarter than he'd given him credit for. Revealing your weaknesses too early was dangerous in this line of work. He's new, but he's learning – and fast. Roman kept a perfectly neutral expression, not giving away anything.

"Chivalric Arms has hold of some things that are important to me. I need help finding them, breaking into their facilities, and getting them back."

"Chivalric Arms. The weapons manufacturer?" He received a careful nod. "Hm. Dangerous work, but you know what, I might just be able to help you there." An arms company would have a metric shit tonne of dust, and right now he was behind schedule. Perilously so. "I take it we're talking hidden facilities. Otherwise you'd have walked up to the front door. To be fair, their offices here are tiny. It's a subsidiary. I doubt they have anything there but paperwork."

Jaune looked up. "Would that reveal where their hidden ones are?"

"I doubt it. You don't put a front company up and then leave a literal paper trail there for illegal enterprises." Seriously, the kid was good at the murder but just about useless otherwise. "You sure they have facilities in Vale?"

"Yes. We tracked them here-"

"We?" Roman interrupted.

"The White Fang. I was with them before I was…" His lips peeled back. Roman recoiled from the vicious snarl that was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. "Before we got split up," he said, which was definitely not what he'd been thinking.

"You got problems with them?" Roman asked carefully.

"No. Not with the White Fang. I've been trying to find them actually."

"Lucky. I'm stepping into talks with them myself – or I was before Goodwitch and some brat in red knocked my Bullhead out the sky. Should be able to put you in touch." And it was fortunate there wasn't bad blood there, or Roman would be up a creek without a paddle. "Alright. What other evidence do you have?"

"The train I came in on. There were carriages filled with robotic combat droids. They were in the warehouse too. Plus, I was attacked there by for Chivalric Arms agents. They killed a worker to get to me."

"Whoah. Whoah. Hold up. They iced someone? Just like that?" Roman leaned forward. "You sure this is Chivalric Arms? They're an arms company."

Jaune's face became very, very cold. "They're much more than an arms company. So much more."

Roman wasn't sure what to believe. In the end it didn't matter. If he wanted to come out of this in one piece, he had to side with the dangerous kid in front of him. Keep him happy. Keep his attention aimed elsewhere. Be helpful, polite, and too valuable to get rid of. If that meant believing CA were some conspiracy group bent on world domination, then bring on the tinfoil hats!

"Fair enough. If they were sending people to collect the goods, they have a depot here at least. I know a guy," he said confidently. "Deals in information. Let me get in touch with him and I can have this checked out. You came to the right guy, kid."

"Yeah…"

"Geez. Try and sound a little more excited, yeah?" Though if he was willing to be patient, that was a good sign. Junior would have to be really pressed on this one – he didn't want the man half-arsing it. "One thing I do wonder, though, is why the robots. Seems like a weird thing to ship into Vale. Are they staging an invasion?"

"The droids are for me," Jaune said. "They're to stop me."

That much hardware for one person? Seemed like a waste. "You'd think they'd send huntsmen."

"Huntsmen don't do anything to me." The boy's smile was chilling, not only because of the fact he smiled at all, but the sad little edge to it as he said, "They die too easily."

Roman shivered.

/-/

Winter arrived at Beacon with Cardamom and Jasper ahead of General Ironwood and the main force, thanks in part to their presence in Mistral being closer, and because of the lesser preparation involved. They stepped off their aircraft at Beacon's docking points and moved toward the school building at a steady clip, leaving their pilot to handle the particulars.

I wish I could go see how Weiss is doing, she thought. Her sister would be in lessons at this time and there would be opportunity to meet with her later. Still, she wished there were less pressing matters to deal with. The Vytal Festival would have been a fine time to catch up.

"Winter." Qrow met her, and for once without any vitriol.

Understanding the mood, Winter nodded swiftly back. "Qrow. Are you to escort me?"

"I am. You can leave your tagalongs behind."

"My `tagalongs` are soldiers," she said pointedly, "Not potted plants. Have there been rooms prepared for us? I can't well leave them standing in the middle of a schoolyard." There almost certainly were quarters prepped for them, but it was obvious Qrow didn't know. "They will wait outside the door if they must."

"Fair enough." Qrow turned away. Winter fell in beside him while her entourage marched behind. "Is Jimmy on his way?"

"Yes. He may take a day or two still. There are far more logistical concerns in moving a fleet than a single team. How is she?"

"Not in any danger. Knocked around, but awake and frustrated."

"That's good. Not the latter-"

"I know," he said grimly. "We both saw the aftermath in Mistral." He was unusually sober. "She's lucky to be alive at all."

Beacon was quiet inside, lessons in progress. Qrow took them to the infirmary, where she could see several figures inside. Waving Cardamom and Jasper to wait outside, she entered with Qrow, quickly spying Glynda Goodwitch laid out on a hospital bed with bandaging around her head and chest. The headmaster stood beside her, while a bouquet of flowers and several cards littered the nearby stand of drawers.

"Specialist Winter," Ozpin greeted. "I apologise for not being able to greet you officially."

"There's no issue. I understand this was a result of Jaune Arc."

"Yes."

"We underestimated him," Glynda croaked.

"Don't speak. You're on bed rest, Glynda."

"Bed rest doesn't mean I'm unable to form words." Struggling into a sitting position, the proud woman settled back on her pillows. "He was better than I expected him to be. Knowing of his Semblance helped initially, but he was able to assess the situation and see a way to take our Bullhead out the air. He even lured is into turning out backs on the crane."

"Did you maintain minimum distance?" Winter asked.

"We did. It wasn't enough. I thought that if I stayed outside it and hurled objects in, their momentum would hold. It worked, but I couldn't aim at him for fear of causing grievous harm. It wasn't as much an advantage as I thought it would be."

"It probably doesn't help that you announced your intent to arrest him," Qrow pointed out. "There went any chance of him giving up…"

"What was I supposed to do?" Glynda snapped. "Tell him we'd take him in peacefully and try to bring his aggressors to justice? There were witnesses everywhere, not to mention the VPD. It would have been an international incident."

"She's right," Winter said calmly. "Atlas' official stance on this is that Jaune Arc is a terrorist. Any and all negotiation with said terrorists is to be considered invalid. Had Atlas heard of Miss Goodwitch saying something along those terms, our ambassadors would have strong words for the Council."

"And the Council would have come to us," Ozpin confirmed. "They might even have tried to take him into custody and extradite him to Atlas for trial, where I'm sure he would disappear en route. Accidents happen after all. They could even say it was a botched rescue attempt by the White Fang, and that Jaune Arc and the crew perished. Our only hope is to arrest and hold him long enough to find the truth, and for that Glynda had no option but to use force."

"Great." Qrow laughed bitterly and took a long swig. "Then we're boned. Can't talk to him, can't do this peacefully, and sure as hell can't fight him. What do we do, wait for Atlas to come turn Vale into a warzone?"

Winter scowled his way. "General Ironwood has no such intention."

"Oh, I'm not talking about intent. Jimmy might want to fix everything, but is the kid going to let him? Will he even listen, or does he just pull the trigger first? How many are dead now?"

"Five bodies were found in the warehouse," Ozpin said.

"Fuck's sake. Five more on his list."

"Not necessarily. One of those has been accounted for as an employee, but the other four are unknowns. And I do mean unknown. We've not been able to find record of them even after cross-referencing with Atlas and Mistral. All of them human, too, so little chance the White Fang is involved."

"Chivalric Arms?" Winter questioned.

Ozpin smiled sarcastically. "I'm sure the official answer would be that they're unaffiliated criminals. You should know that by now."

"Of course. Very well-armed and trained criminals." Winter sighed. "I'll let General Ironwood know. I hate to be insensitive and I apologise for talking on this in an infirmary, but what of the criminal he's apparently allied himself with?"

"No apparently involved. He freed Roman Torchwick from the VPC Central station. They were too busy responding to the train station and combing the city for Jaune Arc. They didn't expect him to come straight to them." Ozpin sighed. "He had no affiliation with the man before. There was nothing to suggest this course of action."

"He needs intel," Qrow grunted.

"The reasons why are obvious in hindsight," Ozpin agreed. "Torchwick – for all his flair – is little more than a two-bit thief. His altercation with your niece and Glynda is the most violent he's ever been. What he lacks in ability, however, he more than makes up for in his ability to evade capture. I fear that with him working alongside his benefactor, it will be even harder to locate them. They will have gone to ground by now."

"Locate Chivalric Arms," Winter said instantly. "We know Arc will go there. We need to find them first."

"We've been trying. Peter and Bart combed Mountain Glenn and the nearby area."

"The city. It has to be in the city."

"And what, no one ever noticed?" Qrow asked. "It'd be easier to hide this in Grimm land, and they certainly have the firepower to pull it off. They're an arms company after all."

"While that's true, Jaune Arc will struggle to leave the city, and I doubt he would be staying here unless he had reason to believe his family are in the area. I've seen the records of the damage. There were combat droids in there, the likes of which the SDC use."

"This is the first I've heard of that," Ozpin said, eyes narrowing. "Where did you hear this?"

"Intelligence sent through to Atlas. Clover – he works for General Ironwood – was able to intercept it before it could go missing. The robots weren't stamped with the SDC logo. They were on the same shipment, but I've accessed the Schnee logs. There was no mention of them." Left unsaid was that Jacques was not fool enough to risk himself smuggling arms into another country, nor did he need the money one might offer for it. "CA has a presence in the city. Otherwise, they wouldn't risk bringing hardware like that anywhere close. They're already taking a great risk shipping weaponry here."

Ozpin tapped his fingers on his cane, eyes closed, and lips drawn into a thin line. "I fear you are correct," he eventually said. "While I will not say Vale's checks and customs are perfect, there'd be little point running illicit arms through the city if you didn't have to. The gates and docks have higher rates of catching drug and dust smuggling. The SDC is exempt from many security checks, making that vehicle a convenient way to smuggle goods into Vale."

"I can look into it," Qrow said.

"Do so. Keep Winter in touch. I'm sure she will report to James when he arrives?" He waited for her to nod in answer. "Good. I will have to speak with the Council. There's little I can do to change their minds, however. This is going to turn into a full-blown manhunt."

"I'd like to speak with the faunus you brought in," Winter said. "The one who worked with him."

"I would prefer you wait until James' arrival on that. One interview will be trying enough without the girl having to do it twice."

Winter's frustration mounted but she accepted it as she had to. Ozpin was in charge here, at least until General Ironwood arrived. With any luck, that would be only a day or two away. "As you wish, headmaster. If we're done, I'd like to speak with my sister."

"Yes. Thank you for coming. I have your contact details should I need you. The only thing I shall ask is that you hold your questions for myself. I have complete faith in her."

"In my sister…?"

"Not her. You'll see soon enough."

That didn't fill her with much in the way of confidence. Something told her it might be a good idea to expediate the meeting with her younger sister. Winter saluted, rounded on one foot, and marched out the door.

"I'll go with you," Qrow said, strolling up. "I know where their dorm is."

"That's appreciated. Let's go. Glynda, I hope you recover soon and well. I'm sure General Ironwood will come and see you once he arrives." Winter received a tired smile in return before the teacher went back to talking with Ozpin. Winter opened the door and stepped out.

Cardamom and Jasper saluted and fell in behind the two of them.

/-/

"Winter! You're here!"

Weiss' exuberant greeting would have earned her a sigh and a stern warning normally; she was a military officer and that had to be observed before their relation. Only once she confirmed herself here on non-work matters was it acceptable. In normal times, that was. Now, her attention was taken up by something vastly different.

Ozpin had partnered her sister with the defector.

Winter's fingers itched to draw her sabre. A warning cough from Qrow snapped her out of it and explained why he'd felt the need to come along. He knew. They all did, and no one bothered to tell her.

"Sister. It is good to see you." she replied, voice as warm as she could make it. Her eyes were fixed over her head, toward the nervous looking faunus sat on one of the beds. The girl was wise to feel fear. Winter imparted a warning with her gaze alone – I'll be watching you.

"I didn't expect you so soon," Weiss gushed. "I'm not ready. Forgive our room – it's a mess!"

It was, though most of that was due to the strange bunkbed setup they had chosen. Bunkbeds were hardly unusual in the army, but the manner in which they'd jury rigged these together promised an accident later down the line. Why hadn't Weiss spoken to the headmaster? Surely there was something the school could do to prevent accidents.

"I'm here on business, Weiss, not solely the Vytal Festival. This is your team, I take it?"

"Ah. Yes." Weiss coughed and straightened herself. Good. "I apologise for not introducing you first – I had intended to pen a letter, but there hasn't been the time."

"Understandable. This visit is without warning. Continue."

"This is Team RWBY, led by my partner, Ruby Rose, with Ruby's sister, Yang Xiao-Long, and her partner Blake Belladonna."

"Nice to meet you!" Weiss' partner said quietly.

"Hey there," the blond greeted.

Winter ignored them both. Her and the faunus stared one another down. The girl – no, the White Fang agent – raised a hand and uttered a quiet greeting. Weiss didn't appear to notice the tension in the air.

"Blake's quiet," she explained away. "And I know I'm not team leader, but I'm working on helping Ruby become adept at the role. I have complete faith in her-"

"Weiss." The address had her clamming up. "There is no shame in not being made team leader. I'm sure you will learn just as much following orders as giving them. That is how I started within the military. Good day to the rest of you as well. I apologise for the shortness of this. I am Winter Schnee, Specialist of Atlas. Weiss, may I have a word with you outside?"

"Is Weiss in trouble?" the blonde asked.

Though her sister would never dare ask it, Winter could see the same question reflected in her. "Not at all," she said. "I only want to explain on her the reason why I'm here. My sister is free to relate it back to you if she wishes, but there are some matters of family we must speak on." Looking back, she said, "I'm sure Qrow will be content to keep you company."

Traitor, Qrow mouthed.

"Uncle Qrow's there? UNCLE QROW!"

Winter sacrificed the scraggly man to the missile his niece became, drawing her own sister away. With a quick nod to Cardamom and Jasper, she had them fanning out to ensure no one could come close enough to listen in. Weiss noticed and looked more than a little alarmed. It wasn't every day they spoke under armed escort.

"Winter," she whispered. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes, though it's not you." Winter kept her own voice low. "You've heard of the case of Jaune Arc, I presume?"

"Of course. He hurt Miss Goodwitch yesterday, didn't he? It was all over the news and the headmaster made an announcement this morning. He's substituting for her lessons himself." Weiss stopped speaking when Winter raised a hand.

"I only asked if you knew of him."

"I-I'm sorry."

"You can decipher, then, why I might be here in Vale."

"You're here to bring him to justice."

Justice. That word was absent from so much lately that hearing her beloved sister utter it left her cold and empty. "Yes. That's right." She couldn't tell Weiss the truth, not and risk her sister trying to do something about it. She was so strong willed that she might try swinging her weight around to absolve the boy, and that would draw Chivalric Arms – or whomever was behind this – down on her. "I'm here to locate and stop him if possible, though I shall be waiting for the rest of the military to arrive before I make any concerted efforts at that."

"You'll get him," Weiss said confidently. "I know you will."

I wish I had an ounce of your faith in me, she thought. Against Jaune Arc, she was sadly more helpless than Glynda. At least she could use her Semblance to throw objects into his range. Her summons would presumably cease to exist the moment they came close to him. Her only option, therefore, would be to close into melee. That was a poor idea even if she was many times more skilled than he. One mistake would cost her life.

"I'm grateful for your belief, Weiss. The reason I wanted to speak with you, however, is to warn you of his previous allegiances. You know that he worked with the White Fang before arriving in Vale. I have no reason to believe he would hate us for our name, but considering their mutual agreement, he may well act against you if he is asked to by them." Winter took a deep breath, knowing this would not be accepted easily. "I want you to stay in Beacon."

Weiss blinked up at her. "I already decided to stay here."

"No, Weiss. I mean that you cannot enter the city of Vale. I want you in Beacon at all times."

"Sister, no, that's unfair!" Weiss' protest was as immediate as it was expected. "You can't put a curfew on me. No, this isn't even that – it's house arrest! We'd planned to go out as a team this weekend. We were going to solve our issues over dinner-"

"You can do so in the cafeteria. I hear Beacon's cuisine is unmatched."

Weiss bit back words she'd no doubt regret and stomped her foot. "Winter!"

"No, Weiss. I am putting my foot down on this. Jaune Arc is a deadly risk-"

"I'm a huntress! I can fight him if he tries anything."

For a second, she thought she'd been shot – so violent was the twist in her gut. The thought of Weiss and Jaune even close to one another terrified her. "Absolutely not!" she roared, making Weiss jump back in fright. Cardamom and Jasper looked over worriedly, and she fought to bring her temper under control. "Absolutely not," she repeated in a calmer tone. "This is not someone I want you anywhere near, let alone facing. Remove the very thought from your mind. If you were to go up against him, you would be leaving beaten if you are fortunate. In a body bag if you are not." Weiss opened her mouth, but Winter wouldn't have it. "Don't argue with me, Weiss! I've seen what he can do. You haven't!"

"I… well yes, I… I didn't say I wanted to go find him…" She swallowed and straightened herself up, trying in vain to stand her ground. "But you can't lock me to Beacon. You – You don't have the authority to do so."

"On the contrary. It won't be announced until General Ironwood arrives, but he is taking over Vale's security for the Vytal Festival. As a soldier under his employ and a commanding officer myself, that means I have power to make decisions that influence the safety of the city and its citizens."

"How is that relevant to this? I'm not-"

"If you were to go out in public and Jaune Arc decides to take you captive, it would place everyone near you in danger." Winter watched understanding, and anger, dawn on Weiss' face. "As such, you are a danger to those around you. It is therefore my decision – and my order – that Weiss Schnee is to be detained if she is seen attempting to leave Beacon other than for school-sanctioned trips. Once the Festival starts, you and your team shall be granted escort to and from the stadium."

"Winter, you can't do this!"

"I can and I have," she said. "I'm sorry, Weiss. You will understand in time why this is necessary."

In time, but not now. Weiss was too proud to cry and too disciplined to scream in anger. Instead, she rounded on one foot, slapping Winter's chest with her hair, and stormed away, never once looking back. The door to Team RWBY's dorm opened and slammed shut. Winter released a long breath, running a hand through her hair.

"You did the right thing, ma'am," Jasper said. "Anyone would have done the same."

"I know. That doesn't make it any easier, however. At least this way she will be safe. Arc has no reason to attack Beacon and would be a fool to do so."


Oh God, this internet. Spent three hours on the phone today trying to sort things out and every single person has a different explanation for what is going on. To say nothing of me being made to do router reset after router reset on each call because they "have to go through the basics". It's driving me insane and I still have no internet, despite three different people telling me they'll "have it on within the next thirty minutes".

Gah!

Update: It's done! It's fixed! Four hours total of calls. Much faffing with router settings. Some climbing to toy with aerial. I have internet! Gosh, today has been a rough day...


Next Chapter: 29th June

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur