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Requested by:

Scrub Lord Yoda

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Every inch of him throbbed when he woke up the next day. It was like he'd been put through a thresher, which wasn't inaccurate considering how the day before had gone. He'd done his best, fought his heart out just like his opponent had, but… Well, it just wasn't in the cards, some times. And this was one of those times. Pushing himself up on the cheap little cot he'd been unceremoniously dumped in, he forced himself onto unsteady, aching feet and then took a breath and focused.

Just like he'd been taught, he felt out each and every injury on himself and catalogued them in his mind. A list of aches and pains ranging from bruises to what felt like a cracked rib to a small gash on his calf where armor had broken and cut him. Each one was listed out and catalogued, one after another, until he was sure he had them all. Then his Aura flared across his body and he sighed, feeling the bruises and welts from weapon blows powerful enough to dent armor heal.

Or at least, felt the pain ebb away enough to ignore it...

Sleeping on the dinky little cot hadn't helped any, though. He missed his nice bed, up in the manor…

"Best get used to it, though." He sighed, kneeling and tugging his trunk out from under the bed. Laying it on the old, cheap cot he opened it and grimaced. "It's the best you can expect for the next couple years… Until Beacon."

Inside the trunk he'd been given was a simple, light, padded gambeson in the typical navy blue uniform of House Arc. On top of it was a simple, dark brown traveling cloak and a purse of Lien with just over a thousand Liens. It wasn't much, all told, between an unmarked Guardsman's gambeson - bare, even, of Arc heraldry, which seemed to have been ripped off by the roughly restitched front - and a week and a half's worth of Lien - but it would get him started.

Unlike the armor he was going to miss, changing into the gambeson was relatively easy. It slipped on over his head and then laced up the sides, the arguably vulnerable tie points hidden under a stiff, fitted flap laid over it. It wasn't his mail and half-plate, to say the very least about the situation, but… It'd do the job.

At least, hopefully…

"Now as long as Saph delivers…" Like it had been prompted by his very words, he heard a quiet, almost meek, knock at the door and turned. Quietly, he tugged the door open and smiled thinly. "Hey, Saph."

Outside, it was still dark and his sister was waiting, a large, uneven bundle in her arms and her head covered in a thick wrap that didn't do much to hide her shock of blonde hair or her blue eyes. The rest of her was just as poorly disguised, wearing trousers and mismatched boots with a cloak tucked tightly around her in spite of the warm, dry night. Anyone in the world would have been able to tell she was trying to hide.

But the only guard he saw took one look at them shook his head and wandered off, head turned purposefully away.

"H-Hey, Jaune." She stammered anxiously, holding out the bundle to him. He took it awkwardly, setting it down just inside the door while she explained. "Just some, you know, food and stuff. Stuff I could sneak out after the, uh… Celebrations."

"Yeah." He smiled, "I figured there'd be a party."

"I'm so-"

"Did you get what I needed?" He asked quietly, kneeling to peel open the bundle. When he saw the ruby on the hilt he smiled, "Nevermind… Found it. Thanks so much, Saph."

"You're welcome, I guess." She murmured, "I can't stay long, though."

"I know." He answered, standing and drawing the old, worn blade free. Looking down its chipped, but still keen, edge he smiled. "Get goin', Saph. Before someone important spots you."

"Yeah." She nodded, suddenly stepping in to wrap a hug around him. "Good luck, baby brother. And I-I love you. So much."

"Yeah." He smiled, awkwardly holding her while his other arm held the sword. When she pulled back he said, "I love you too, Saph. And send Terra my best wishes, too."

"I will." She smiled, stepping back and adding, quietly, "I, uh, also packed some horse feed for you."

"Horse feed…"

"Yeah." She nodded, "I won't need it since someone stole my favorite horse, Triopmhe. A shame, too… We both grew up riding her."

"Yeah." He smiled sadly. Knowingly. "A shame, that."

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With a sigh, and a quiet beeping of his Scroll's alarm, Jaune's eyes slid open to look up at the simple ceiling of his room. Sitting up and rolling his shoulders he chuckled, "At least I got used to the cots…"

"When you have them." Mort chimed in, voice raspy as cruel sounding as always. "Same dream?"

"One of 'em." He nodded, standing and pressing his hips forward with his hands until he heard his back pop. Groaning, he explained, "Our first night out, after my disinheritance."

"Ah." Mort answered, "Well, I mean, at least you had some decent food for that first week. Remember?"

"Yeah." He chuckled quietly, "Minced meat pies and baked potatoes as far as the eye could see. Made starting out easier, at least… I could afford some bracers to back up my gambeson and that saved my ass once or twice."

"I think it saved your arms and legs, actually…"

"Oh ha ha, sarcastic swords are so much fun." he grumbled, pacing towards the bathroom to wash up, "Remind me why I asked my sister to bring you to me again?"

"Fireballs are fun?"

"Fair." He nodded, hesitating in the door to add, "I'm taking a shower before we head into the mines. You need to be cleaned?"

"Not right now, no." Mort answered, "Now after might be a different story…"

After weeks and weeks on the road, with at best a cold river to bathe on, a hot shower was downright divine. And they even had soap, too. The kind that smelled pleasantly, like soft lavender and… Well, and death if he was stupid enough to use it before going on a Hunt like he was. It was unfortunate, really, but he traded it out for his scentless soap before slipping into the shower nonetheless.

Hey, if Azure really wanted to be friends, what was one bar of soap?

"Good morning, Lord Arc." A guard, wearing the same older, somewhat weathered uniform that Rose 'n Grass seemed so fond of, said when he had finished getting dressed and stepped out, into the hall. "I was sent to escort you, to ensure you didn't get lost either on your way to the operation site or elsewhere on the property."

"Uh, good morning." He nodded, "How long have you been out here?"

"A few hours, Lord." The man answered simply, "Don't worry, though. It wasn't a bother waiting on you."

"That isn't creepy or anything…" Mort murmured quietly, putting voice to what Jaune himself was already feeling. "He was just… Waiting for you out here? In the mostly dark hallway? Why, though?"

"Orders." The armored man answered simply when Jaune carried over Mort's question for them. "Like I said. We just didn't want you getting lost, my Lord Arc."

"Alright, then…" He doubted they were here over him stealing the soap, at least, and he couldn't think of any reason for him to have been waiting other than what he'd said. So, Jaune smiled, "I'd love some food before I go in, if you don't mind."

"Proper breakfast?" The man asked, "Or calories for the job?"

"The first." He always fought better on a full stomach, even if his dad had brought him up on stories about how bad that had been. "Why do you ask?"

"I have some calorie bars, Lord." The man explained simply and shortly, which at this point seemed to be the only way he could explain anything. Turning on his heel he grunted, "This way to the cafeteria, Lord Arc. They're serving nutty pancakes and sausage today, if I remember correctly. I hope that's acceptable."

"It is." He chuckled, resting one hand on Mort's handle as always, "Out in the woods, I eat what I can find or kill. So some pancakes and actual sausage sounds just about perfect right now, mister…?"

"Blue." He answered, "Lieutenant Blue, Rose 'n Grass Security Holdings."

Jaune only nodded quietly, filing away the name for if he needed it later and letting the quiet man guide him. They got to the cafeteria soon enough, thronged by everyone else that lived in the building, and Lieutenant Blue stood silently while he ate. That was a bit creepy, but then, no one seemed bothered when Jaune glanced around, so he figured it was probably pretty normal for Lavender Town. So he ate quickly and quietly, trying his best to ignore the man standing over his shoulder.

Trying and, sad to say, failing.

But hey, he got his stomach's fill in the end.

When he was done he told the soldier and the man nodded, "Are you ready, then, Lord Arc?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "I'm good to go. Unless you're hungry?"

"I'm on duty." Was all the guard said, turning and walking off, leaving Jaune to follow behind.

It was kind of eerie, walking through the mostly empty hallways with the man and his stoic, complete silence. He tried to start up a conversation a few times, just to fill the void, but the mercenary didn't exactly seem interested in one. Jaune almost got the feel that the man didn't like him, even, but he couldn't place why. Regardless, after a good while and no successes, Jaune gave up trying.

He had bigger things on his mind.

"Creeps are weak to fire and light." Mort said as they made their way towards the job, "I prepared a few attacks to help with that. Ask if they know whether the Creeps have attacked the lighting system or not yet."

"They have." The soldier answered when Jaune once again translated the question over. "The cameras went first, then the lights. After they killed everyone that couldn't get away and took the shaft."

"Right." He nodded, "That… Sounds about normal."

"I've prepped a Dark Vision spell for you." Mort explained quietly when their group once again fell into silence, "Along with a few of the usual fire based ones that you like."

"Thanks." Jaune murmured, adding when the soldier turned a look on him. "For the advice and showing me the way around, I mean. These halls are… A bit of a maze, I guess. I might have gotten lost without some help."

"Mhm." His guide nodded, stopping as they rounded a corner and grunting, "Here, lift number eight. It'll take you down to the secure zone, where the Grimm are."

"Ah." He blinked, looking at the large, industrial lift at the end of the hallway. Heavy looking turrets had been placed overlooking it, and a pair of guards with them to actually turn them on if push came to shove. It was grungy, to be sure, but seemed sturdy and new, with a heavy iron cage lift open and waiting on him. "Thanks."

"Orders are orders, Lord." The man said by way of welcome, "Do you need more help?"

"Not unless you're offering to come down there with me." He joked, grinning and walking forward before the other man could actually answer. Waving a hand over his shoulder he called back, "Wish me luck, Lieutenant Blue."

The ride down was quiet and somehow even more eerie than the walk to get there, even as well-lit as the cage-lift was by the strings of bulbs all along the interior of it. He could even see the outside fairly well, between the arm-thick bars. Metal and wooden reinforcements, rock, lights strung up where they could fit- It fit the same style as every other mine or cave he'd seen in books, television or in the rare instances he went into caves. Which was honestly rarer than one might have expected, at least on the last front.

He did not like trapping himself when Grimm could wander up at any time, looking for a snack. Midnight or otherwise.

"You ready?" He asked as a warning light blinked on and, below him, he heard the sound of a large set of gears turning, dragging open some kind of barrier. "Once we're down there…"

"I know, Jaune." His companion answered quietly, "And I'm ready, yeah."

"Good." Jaune nodded as the elevator began to descend quietly, "Because we're about to be in it."

The next couple of minutes passed by in silence and a steadily thickening darkness. Every inch the elevator groaned quietly down into the mine shaft, more and more lights had been destroyed, which meant that soon the only source of light were the strings inside his elevator. A few of them sparked, dying lights lost in the darkness that he could barely make out as he strode to the side of the elevator that had the light switch on it.

Laying a hand on it he said, quietly, "As soon as it's out, Mort."

"I'm on it." They answered, "Whenever you're ready, Jaune."

Without another word, and just as he felt the e;evator jerk gently to a stop, Jaune yanked the switch down. Instantly he was cast into oppressive darkness, blinking at the wall of shadows until he felt Mort trembling beside him. Another blink, then, and when his eyes opened the world was a crystal clear universe of greys and whites and blacks. It was stark, to be sure, but he could see.

As pleasant as that was as soon as the door to his elevator slid open quietly.

The space surrounding the elevator's stopping point was wide, open, and roughly hewn as could be expected. Huge machines filled the space, mostly, scattered around in a mess of a roughly ordered chaos made up of tools and machines. And, scattered amongst the ordered chaos, was the mess of a more natural chaos. A more bloody one spread out around him, made of a dozen bodies and more, all scattered around the base of the elevator's raised platform and cast in stark, bright whites and blacks and greys.

Some had been caught at the base of the ramp, backs ripped open by razor sharp claws. But others, either before the ones on the ramp had died or after he couldn't tell, had gone down fighting. Pickaxes, hammers, one even had a jackhammer buried in the soil beside them where it, judging from the panicked claw marks carved into the stone, had killed a Grimm. On the ground, on top of overturned and destroyed machines, wherever they'd fallen, most of them had done so with a weapon of some ramshackle kind in hand.

And several of them lay near scattered Grimm plating, proving that they had taken down the monsters with them.

"Fuck me…"

"Not a chance." They answered silently, "But… But I thought that the miners had been evacuated."

"They never said that." He growled, yanking the sword free from its sheath and holding its gently tremoring blade in a tight grip, "The contract only said I had to clear it out. And Azure only said that the miners couldn't handle it."

"Guess we know how he was so certain about that…" Mort remarked humorlessly, adding after a moment, "I sense something coming. Creeps, probably, but I don't really know what could be drawing them in..."

"Good." He murmured, pacing forward and down the ramp onto the flatter, open ground. "I need to kill something."

"Yeah." Mort murmured, "I wonder what's bringing the Creeps in…"

Holding Mort Noire out in front of him, he ran a thumb along its length as he saw the Creeps bounding towards him, leaping off of walls and machinery alike. Smiling, he slashed down, through the dirt, and leapt back. As the creeps rushed on, almost a dozen of the creatures, he turned away and grinned. Mort, knowing what he aimed to do, let power thrum through the sword and set it trembling more as the power coursed. That lessened, though, as his Dark Vision faded.

And the Wall of Fire sprang to life, white hot flames licking the Creeps as they leapt through and setting them ablaze. Turning to them he grinned, running his hand along the trembling, magically imbued sword and setting it alight, too. Quietly, he lumbered forward as Creeps thrashed and chittered painedly, burning to death until his sword rose and fell on them, carving through hide and bone like a literal hot knife.

Revenge, at least, would let the dead rest.

Or at least, so Jaune prayed in the only way he knew how. By the edge of his white-hot sword.

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Covered in ash and sweat, Jaune stepped out of the elevator, hand so tight on Mort Noire that his hands began to throb. Standing at the corner with a guard to either side, Azure smiled, stepping forward and clapping his hands loudly, "Lord Arc! I knew you could-"

"Did you know?" He growled, grabbing the shocked man by the front of his suit and hauling him off his feet. His two guards didn't hesitate to answer, Atlesian rifles snapping up, but Jaune ignored them, "A dozen and a half miners are down there, or more. Dead. Left down there to- To fight and die."

"What?!" Azure hissed, face morphing from confusion, fear even, to rage. Turning to one of his guards Azure demanded hotly, "Who was in charge of the mine's evacuation?"

"Sergeant Teal, Guild Master." One answered, fingers flexing along her rifle anxiously. "Lord Arc-"

"Leave him and find Sergeant Teal!" Azure ordered, slapping aside the rifle and then staggering back as Jaune released him. While the woman left the man stepped forward to seize Jaune but Azure intervened, growling, "Leave him. Both of you, with me."

"That isn't how I expected this to go…"

Quietly, jaune nodded and followed the man as he stormed through the corporate mining office's floors. Guards and staff slid to the side as they went, occasionally scattering when Azure rounded on them with orders or demands. Soon, they reached the same office that he'd met Jaune in, where they'd eaten, and as they entered and the door shut the businessman stormed towards the other end of the room. One of his chairs was in his way and he hurled it bodily to the side while Jaune watched.

He made it halfway across the room before snaring and turning again, storming back around and towards the fireplace, which he leaned against to watch the wood burning within. "Lord Arc…"

"Azure?"

"I was told that all had been saved." He sighed, "I assure you I would have staged a rescue had I known they were there."

"I believe-"

His words were cut off by heavy boots on wood and the door slamming open, a matched pair of guards dragging in a spluttering, helmetless third who they threw to the ground. He was old, with eyes crowed by wrinkles and greying hair. Eyes wide and confused, he looked to Jaune, hand on his sword still, and then to Azure in worry and fear. Fear that redoubled as one of the guards stepped around and drew his sidearm, holding it out for either of them to take.

When Jaune hesitated, Azure did, asking, "Sergeant Teal?"

"Yes, Guild Master?"

"Did you report to me that the mine was fully evacuated?"

"N-No, I didn't- Agh!" A crack sounded and the man fell back, shoulder reddening as Azure's borrowed pistol smoked. The man tried to rise, to run, but the other guards were on him, hauling him up and pinning him to the wall beside the fireplace. "G-Guild Master!"

"Try again." He growled, taking a report one of the guards offered him. Turning it, he showed the man his own signature, "Your signature, your report, your mistake. Am I wrong?"

"I thought it was-"

"You thought where your job was to know." Azure cut him off, turning to Jaune and asking, quietly, "How many were down there?"

"I-I don't know." He answered, unsure of if she should intervene or not. "More, uh, more than a dozen, though, at least."

"A shame I only have ten rounds, then." Azure frowned, "You may leave us, Lord Arc, if you wish to. My Bullhead awaits you."

"But what about-"

"His crimes are negligence resulting in death." Azure said simply, "I sentence him to the same fate. My kindness to you has me asking you to leave if you don't want to see it, but justice is set."

Quietly, Jaune turned to leave as fast as he could. A few feet down the hall he heard the crack of the weapon. Sighing he pushed himself on as, quieter, it cracked again and again. Mort didn't say anything as he walked, taking his cloak from a passing maid waiting for him at the dock when he reached the rooftop dock. Climbing in he settled back and sighed, watching the afternoon sky dancing along the fog.

"Well." Mort finally said as they lifted away, the cargo hold thankfully empty enough to talk without fear of Jaune being heard, "That was… A thing, I guess."

"Yeah." He agreed, "It was."

"Need to talk about it?"

"No."

"Alright." They answered quietly, "Here if that changes. But for what it's worth, that seems fair."

"Yeah, maybe." He nodded, "Maybe."

For now, the job was done and he was on his way to Vale. Or, well, to Beacon, but that had always been the end goal. Years and years of end goal, in fact… He needed to write a letter home when he got through Initiation, then. Out on the Frontier there was almost no point, with how unreliable the post could be. But from the city to a well-established frontier town? It should be safe enough, and his family had to be worried about them.

And last he'd heard, well past eight months ago, his sister-in-law had been carrying, and he couldn't wait to see how that had gone.

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Little bit of frontier justice there, y'all. Shit's fucked.

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Smokey Panda :

Yeah, I've been looking at it a bit. Glad you're enjoying it tho~!