Chapter 5: First Mission
(Beacon Academy, Team RWBY Dorm, Thursday)
Blake had always been an early riser, normally she would use the time to finish up homework that needed doing, do laundry undisturbed, or have a quiet cup of tea before Nora woke up.
Today though?
She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sleeping form of Jaune and Weiss. She was worried about him, but for much more practical reasons than everyone else. She had seen it too many times on her time with the White Fang. Someone goes through a traumatic event, they cling to someone, use them as an emotional crutch to keep limping along. Eventually, events would always conspire to take that person, that crutch away, and then the person that needed that crutch would freeze, lock up, shut down.
Jaune didn't lock up against the Beringel, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen. Blake shook her head. Maybe she was just being paranoid.
But then there was the elephant in the room, no, more like the bull in the room. If antagonizing Adam's White Fang was Salem's next move, then that would put all of her friends on a collision course with Adam.
Including Jaune and Weiss.
Try as she might, Blake couldn't get Adam's threat from the Battle of Beacon out of her head.
I'm going to destroy everything you love, starting with her.
Blake shuddered as she remembered how Yang had charged Adam, and then Adam had tried to disarm her... damn Yang and her puns.
If it hadn't been for one of Sun's clones...
It had been pure luck that Sun and Neptune had shown up when they did, but thanks to them, they had managed to escape, Blake being the only one wounded, with the stab wound in her gut.
Adam was going to come for them, all of them. As much as Blake tried to ignore it, she knew.
The least she could do is prepare them as best she could if they had to fight him. Blake smiled despite herself, before... everything, her advice to Jaune if he was fighting Adam would've been "Run."
Now, though?
He couldn't hope to beat Adam one on one, partially due to the fact that Adam's Semblance made him Jaune's worst possible matchup. However, Jaune had improved by leaps and bounds in both swordsmanship and aura control under Weiss's guidance. Plus, Jaune had gotten upgrades that he had been insisting on keeping under wraps until Combat class.
Now, with all that taken into consideration, Blake decided that her advice to Jaune on fighting Adam would be something that he was very familiar with.
Hold the line.
She was drawn out of her internal monologue by all of the scrolls in the room buzzing at the same time.
Blake grabbed her scroll in a flash, it was a text with file upload. What caught her eye was the contact info.
Kitty Cat.
For security reasons, Roman had insisted that everyone use his nicknames for them as their contact name for him. Blake opened the message.
"Found a member of Adam's murder brigade that isn't totally happy about it being a murder brigade. Wants to spill the beans in exchange for protection. More info in the file."
Blake tapped the icon, then promptly fell out of bed when she saw who the defector was.
Ilia Amitola.
Out of everyone on team RWBY, Weiss was the lightest sleeper, normally. When she was snuggled up with Jaune, she rivaled Yang in her ability to sleep through things. Ruby on the other hand...
"Blake... are you okay? Did you fall out of bed?" Ruby said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Ruby, check your scroll." Blake said simply.
Ruby did, and her reaction disappointed Blake a little. "Well, that's great! So, what's got you spooked?"
"Me and Ilia were friends, back when I was in the White Fang, she..." Blake reorganized her thoughts before continuing, "If she wants to leave Adam's faction, things must be very bad."
Ruby stared off into space for a moment, no doubt due to lingering drowsiness. Then her eyes lit up, "We need to have a strategy meeting, with everyone, as soon as possible."
As Blake was nodding her agreement, their scrolls all buzzed again, this time with a text from Professor Ozpin.
"Please convene in my office in half a hour. We need to discuss how we will approach this development."
Ruby sighed, "I'll wake Yang up..."
Blake braced herself. Waking Yang up this early was somewhere between not a pleasant experience and signing your death wish.
(Beacon Academy, Ozpin's Office, 31 minutes later)
"My apologies for waking you up so early, James, but this was a matter that I believed we needed the whole group for." Ozpin explained.
From the monitor to Ozpin's right, General James Ironwood inclined his head. "I appreciate that, Oz, but I was already up. I was putting the finishing touches on something I need to run by you and the Vale council..."
Meanwhile, on the monitor to Ozpin's left, Roman Torchwick literally did not have the patience for politics. "This is great and all, really, it's fascinating. But I can only stay on this line for so long. What's taking those kids so long?"
Ozpin sighed, "I would imagine Miss Valkyrie wanted pancakes."
"Oz, please tell me you're joking." Ironwood said, "I expect the students you select as guardians to be the best for the job!"
"They are, James. Not because of their power, or their strength, but because of what's in here." Ozpin punctuated his statement by tapping his chest.
Ironwood was about to say more, when the elevator vomited out Glynda Goodwitch and teams RWBY and JNR. Glynda Goodwitch wordlessly took her place behind Ozpin, her annoyance most likely coming from being woken so early.
"Thank you for coming, everyone." Ozpin began, he gestured to the screen with Ironwood on it, "For those of you who haven't met him yet, this is General Ironwood."
Jaune was easily able to say that he was intimidated by Ironwood. It was as if he was staring into Jaune's soul.
"Now, for the reason we're here instead of sleeping." Ozpin continued. "Mr. Torchwick, it's your show now."
Roman cracked a grin, "Well, thanks, Ozzy. I've always wanted a show. Do I get a theme song?"
"Come on, Roman. Cut to the chase, even I'm not in the mood for jokes." Yang said.
Roman raised his hands in mock surrender. "Tough crowd. Well, alright then, right to it. Earlier tonight, me and Neo were scoping out a couple of possible White Fsng hideouts, when one of them made us."
Jaune raised his hand, "Uh, sorry, what do you mean they made you?"
Roman gave him a blank look for a second, then his eyes lit up with realization. "Right, should've known you wouldn't know the lingo, Boy Scout. It means that we were spotted, and that the person who spotted us realized we were up to no good."
Jaune frowned, "Isn't that bad? If they know you're snooping around..."
Roman nodded, "Typically, hell yes, that's bad. Especially in this situation, but I digress. The person who made me, so happened fo be our defector. My guess is that her back's against the wall for one reason or another. Maybe Bully Boy wants her to do something she doesn't want to do, I don't know."
Blake spoke up, "That doesn't make any sense. There's no reason Ilia would be on guard duty, that's not what she does."
"What exactly is her role in the White Fang, then?" Ironwood asked.
"Well, she's a chameleon Faunus, so stealth missions, mainly, but also..." Blake trailed off, she knew that this was not going to sound good. "Occasional assassination missions."
The silence was deafening.
"Well, that adds a wrinkle." Roman quipped. "Especially since she said that she won't talk until she gets to meet with Kitty Cat and Ice Princess."
The deafening silence continued. Finally, Jaune broke it. "It's a trap."
"We can't pass up this opportunity though, Mr. Arc." Ironwood said. "Miss Belladonna, what is Ilia's actual position in the White Fang?"
"That's... hard to say. When I left she was still a little bit below me, and for all intents and purposes, I was Adam's right hand." Blake explained.
"While the possible intelligence gain is incredible, so's the risk." Ren said. "If we rush into this, we could find ourselves in a brawl with the White Fang, or worse."
Ruby piped up, "What if it isn't a trap, though? What if Ilia really doesn't like what Adam's planning and doesn't want to be a part of it?"
"Exactly, Ruby," Ozpin said, "I believe it is in our best interest to aid Miss Amitola's defection from the White Fang, despite the potential risk."
"Well, if we're going to spring the trap, we shouldn't be stupid about it." Jaune said. "Roman, I assume you have her stashed in a safe house?"
Roman raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've got Neo watching her, they're near an area with a lot of foot traffic, so it won't look suspicious when you guys roll in."
"Okay..." Jaune trailed off as he began to think.
"Maybe we should-" Ironwood began.
Weiss cut him off, "With all due respect, General, please be quiet. Jaune's doing what he does best."
Ironwood frowned, "And that is?"
Weiss smiled. "Strategy."
After a couple of minutes, which were interrupted a couple times by Jaune asking a question, which were promptly answered by Blake or Roman, Jaune revealed his plan.
"Alright, so, we're going to be smart about this. We won't have Blake and Weiss go in at the same time. Blake will go in first, talk with Ilia for a bit, then after that, Weiss will go in."
"That's a great plan kid, really. Truly you are a mastermind," Roman quipped, "And, what, you kids are just going to be standing around?"
"Nope," Jaune countered, he pointed at Ren and Nora, "Because our favorite arcade is right down the street from that safe house, so until Weiss is needed, we'll be on a double date."
"Uh... Jaune... We're not..." Nora started.
"It'll be fine, Nora, we're going to be undercover. We'll need to sell it." Ren said.
Jaune continued, "Plus, when Weiss is needed, we'll all head over as added security, just in case it is a trap."
"I don't see any problems with the plan." Ozpin said, "James, do you have anything to add?"
Ironwood shook his head, "No, I don't, I just have one question. When is this happening?"
"Saturday, probably," Roman said. "That way people won't think twice about the lovebirds being away from Beacon."
Nora blushed and Ren suddenly became very interested in the ceiling.
Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose, "Is that everything you have for us, Mr. Torchwick?"
"Yeah, why do you-"
The viewscreen Roman was on blinked off.
"Goodbye." Glynda said savagely.
"In any event," Ozpin said. "We'll go forward with Jaune's plan. Now, you all still have a couple more hours before you have to get up for class, I'd advise you to get some more sleep.
Teams RWBY and JNR couldn't agree more, and trudged to the elevator.
"So, James, What was it that you wanted to run by me and the Vale council?" Ozpin asked.
"With a possible White Fang resurgence on the horizon, I wanted to station a small peacekeeping force in Vale." Ironwood said.
Ozpin gave Ironwood a look that suggested that the General has just suggested that Salem did nothing wrong. "James, the council would never-"
"No robots," Ironwood interjected. "Just flesh and blood soldiers, handpicked for their ability to put people at ease, and protect them. In addition, the peacekeeping force will be led by one of my best Specialists."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Winter Schnee."
(Beacon Academy, Combat Class, Friday)
The first meeting of Combat Class was traditionally the most anticipated event of the first week of every term, and this term was no exception. This time, however, a change had been made.
Combat would be a joint class between all years of students.
Glynda Goodwitch walked onto the arena, and the upperclassmen quickly hushed the first years, not wishing them to attract the ire of their ever-strict Professor.
"Welcome to Combat," Professor Goodwitch said. "You might be wondering why you see students from the other years here. I won't sugarcoat it, the stakes have been raised. It would've been very easy for what the press calls the Miracle at Beacon to be a nightmare. You all need to be prepared for that eventuality, whether you're a first year, or a fourth year."
She continued, "As such, Combat will now be a joint class between all years of students. The hope is that you can all learn from each other, and make it so that if those that would divide us make another attempt, they will be met with nothing but defeat. Now, with that being said... I think it would be best to start with a bit of a spectacle. Velvet Scarletina and Yang Xiao Long, would you please change into your combat gear, and come to the stage?"
After they had changed into their combat gear and took their places, Coco called out, "Don't hold back, Velvet! Show 'em what you can do!"
It took a lot to shake Yang.
The way that Velvet smiled, in a way that Yang thought seemed... almost predatory... that did it.
"Begin!"
Yang launched herself forward with shots from Ember Celica, aiming to deliver a thunderous punch to Velvet's head, but Velvet ducked under it, and retaliated with a high kick.
Kicks, huh? This'll be annoying. Yang thought.
She didn't know the half of it.
Yang whirled around to begin her counter attack, and was met by a hail of bullets from glowing blue machine pistols with blades attached under the barrels.
Wait... that's Ren's weapon!
Then it hit Yang. Metaphorically. Velvet was using Hard Light dust, that's why she was always taking pictures of everyone, to build her... arsenal.
Yang's eyes flared red, and her hair caught fire as her aura absorbed the hits from the hard light bullets, then she charged, first drawn back to deliver an earth shattering blow...
The hard light version of Stormflower blinked out of exsistence, only to be replaced by Gambol Shroud. Velvet cartwheeled out of the way of Yang's blow, then threw Gambol Shroud at Yang in its grappling hook mode...
Big mistake, Velvet.
Yang snatched the pseudo-Gambol Shroud out of the air, and yanked on it, pulling a very surprised Velvet towards her. Yang greeted her with an uppercut.
"Yang wins by knockout!" Glynda called out.
And so it went. Several more matches were had, some of the first years had an opportunity to show what they had, and it was obvious that the presence of their upperclassmen were inspiring them to push past their limits.
"Now, it's time for the last match of the day. If I'm not mistaken, there's a grudge match from last year that still needs settling." Glynda said.
Every second year student in that room knew exactly what she meant, and who she meant. "Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester, to the stage!"
The two leaders rose from their seats, and grinned at each other. A far cry from how they used to treat each other, or rather, how Cardin used to treat Jaune. Since then, they'd settled into a friendly rivalry.
They quickly changed into their combat gear, and took their places, their eagerness evident.
"Begin!"
Jaune drew his sword and advanced, shield at the ready. Cardin surged forward to meet him, swinging his mace in a horizontal arc, which Jaune caught on his shield, knocking it aside. Cardin spun, letting the recoil from Jaune's block add momentum to his next swing. Which would've hit, if Jaune hadn't had a sudden revelation.
His shield was strapped to his arm. Which meant he could switch to a two handed grip on his sword if needed, like right now. Taking his sword in both hands, Jaune blocked Cardin's follow-up blow, and beat him back with a shield bash.
"Well, nice to see you've leaned a few new tricks, Jaune." Cardin taunted.
Jaune grinned. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet, Cardin."
Jaune clicked over to wind dust, and swung, sending a wind slash at a very surprised Cardin Winchester, who somehow still had the presence of mind to block.
It was Jaune's turn to charge, and charge he did. He showcased his hard-won skill as he went through a series of wind dust assisted attacks, from slashes to stabs and back again. Cardin gave as good as he got, his mace's fire dust crystal quite literally turning up the heat.
Regardless, Jaune was gaining ground. Cardin's aura was in the yellow, and Jaune was still in the green.
Cardin grinned. "Well, you've shown your new stuff, so I'll show you mine."
Cardin lunged at Jaune with an overhead blow, Jaune raised his shield to block, and was brought to his knees by the force of the blow.
Since when is Cardin that strong?
Cardin followed up with a kick that knocked Jaune across the arena, after he landed Jaune scrambled to his feet. "What the hell was that, Cardin?"
The former bully grinned. "Rage, my semblance. I unlocked it over break. The lower my aura gets, the stronger I get."
"Well, that's... problematic." Jaune quipped, "The thing is you're about to have a problem too."
Cardin frowned. "What?"
It was Jaune's turn to grin. "You're wearing metal armor."
Jaune's sword crackled with lightning.
Cardin didn't even have time to swear before Jaune unleashed a bolt of lightning from Crocea Mors, Cardin had tried to dodge, but the bolt still winged him, the electrical current spread across his armor, causing it to hurt as much as a direct hit would.
It also took Cardin's aura to a fraction above where Professor Goodwitch would stop the match.
Cardin smacked the ground with his mace, causing a line of fire to erupt towards Jaune, but this was a technique that Jaune had seen Cardin use before, so he simply sidestepped it. He then retaliated with a wind slash.
Using his semblance powered strength, Cardin lept over the attack, and attempted a brutal two handed smash.
"Hey! He's stealing my moves!" Nora called out.
Jaune rolled forward, then spun, catching Cardin with a wind gust in midair, and causing him to collide with the protective barrier that Goodwitch set up.
"That's it!" Glynda called out. "It's over! The winner is Jaune Arc!"
Jaune was laughing as his friends dogpiled him, but behind the laughter, the smiles, and the kiss from Weiss, there was an undercurrent of sadness.
I wish Pyrrha could've seen this.
(Beacon Academy, Men's Locker Room)
Dammit, Cardin, just do it.
Cardin was not looking forward to this conversation, but now was the best chance. He had Jaune alone, no one else around... he sighed. Might as well bite the bullet.
"Hey, Jaune?"
"Yeah, Cardin?"
Cardin took a deep breath. "You know i can hear what happens up on the roof from my dorm room, right?"
Jaune froze. "Uh... Cardin..."
"I know about the video, Jaune." Cardin said. "My whole team does."
Jaune was silent, so Cardin continued, "I'm not here to condemn you, or to judge you for it. If you need someone to talk to that isn't your team or Weiss, I'm here."
Jaune fidgeted for a second, and Cardin thought he might clam up, but then...
"I'm scared, Cardin."
Cardin blinked, and waited for Jaune to continue.
"I'm scared that I won't be strong enough to protect them."
Cardin was puzzled. Most Grimm were simple for Jaune now, so why was he so worried? "Protect them from what? The Grimm?"
Jaune laughed, but there was no humor in it, "Sure, let's go with that."
That sent a chill down Cardin's spine. What the hell did Jaune mean by that?
Jaune got up, and walked out, "Thanks, Cardin. I know our relationship hasn't been... the smoothest. I'll let you know if I need someone to talk to."
Cardin wasn't sure if he was ready for that or not.
(Downtown Vale, Outside Roman's Safehouse, Saturday)
It's no big deal, Blake. Just open the door, and talk to someone you consider a friend, someone who may or may not be planning to kill you. Damn it, Jaune's got me paranoid.
This particular safehouse was a ground floor unit of a deserted apartment complex, which probably allowed Roman to have a secret passageway built.
Blake knocked on the door, and was greeted by Neapolitan, who quickly ushered her inside and shut the door.
"Blake?"
For the first time in more than a year, Blake stood face to face with Ilia Amitola, the only actual friend that Blake had when she had been in the White Fang. Sure, she thought Adam had loved her but...
Nope, not thinking about that right now.
"Ilia, it's good to see you." Blake said. "How've you been?"
Ilia laughed humorlessly, "You mean other than feeling like I'm being pulled in ten different directions at once?"
Blake blinked, she didn't think that things in the White Fang, even if it was Adam's faction, could've gotten that bad.
Right?
"Ilia, what's happened since I left?" Blake asked.
"Well, Adam's gone mad, for one." Ilia explained. "He says he's still fighting for equality, but... as much as I want specific humans to suffer for what they do to us... the attack on Beacon, that wasn't what I signed up for."
At this point, these were all things that Blake had guessed already. What was so important that Ilia would go to humans for help?
Ilia continued her tale, "After the... miracle at Beacon, Adam disappeared for a couple of weeks, and when he came back, he had this... bag with him, that no one was allowed to look into. Ever. He was very clear on that."
Blake winced. Adam being very clear on something usually meant that someone almost got beheaded, or dismembered, or disemboweled.
"A couple of days ago, he called me to give me an assignment. I arrived early, and I... accidentally saw what was in that bag." Ilia explained.
At this point, Blake was on the edge of her seat, metaphorically speaking, "Ilia, what was-"
Ilia cut her off, horror seeping into her voice, "It was a Grimm! It was this... sphere with tentacles! And Adam was using it to talk to someone!"
Well, that proved once and for all that Adam was working with Salem directly now. Blake took a breath, "Were you able to tell who he was talking to?"
Ilia nodded, "Yes, but all I have is a name, and I have no idea who it is."
Blake already knew, but she had to hear Ilia say it. "Ilia, this is very important. What was the name?"
A moment of silence. Then Ilia spoke.
"Salem."
Blake sucked a breath in, "Ilia, we need to get you to Beacon, right now. Professor Ozpin will need to hear all of this."
Ilia fidgeted, "At the risk of sounding like a petulant little girl, not until I've had a chat with the Schn- with Weiss."
Good, she's throwing off Adam's indoctrination already.
"I understand, Ilia, really I do. She's only a few minutes away. You can have that chat with her, right here." Blake said.
Ilia blinked. "Wow. I didn't expect that. I expected a, 'no, you have to wait until we're at Beacon.' Isn't that risky? If they find us..."
There was absolutely no mystery as to who they were.
Blake smiled, "Don't worry, Ilia. She won't be coming alone. We've got backup just in case things go of the rails."
(Downtown Vale, En Route to Roman's Safehouse)
Everything had been going so well, at least, that's what Jaune would tell you. Ren had defeated another challenger to his totally official title of Dance Dance Revolution champion of Vale, and Weiss and Nora had bonded while Jaune and Ren partook in the manly ritual of cooperatively shooting things on a screen.
Then they got the call, right before they were going to introduce Weiss to Air Hockey, too. Oh well, there was always next time, right?
Thoughts of the next arcade trip were far from Jaune's mind though, right now, he was focused on bringing everyone home alive. Jaune didn't like it, this was a very run-down area of town, and they stuck out like a sore thumb.
He was going to throttle Roman, the foot traffic he mentioned was around the arcade! Once you went down the street the safehouse was on, all the foot traffic vanished!
They made it to the safehouse without incident, but Jaune couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. Weiss quickly proceeded inside to meet with Ilia.
"Ren, hit the shadows. If something happens, I want an ace up our sleeves." Jaune ordered. Ren nodded, then left to find an appropriate hiding spot.
Jaune motioned to the upper floors of the abandoned apartment complex, "Nora, I want you on overwatch. If you see any White Fang, you light them up."
Nora nodded."On it, Jaune. Don't worry, we're all going to come home." Nora proceeded to clamber into position.
"I hope so." Jaune said to no one but himself. "I hope so."
(Roman's Safehouse)
Ilia couldn't believe it. Here she was, face to face with Weiss Schnee. It was ironic, really, considering the mission that Adam had given her before she made a run for it, was what allowed her to make a clean getaway.
The mission? Kill Weiss Schnee.
There was a voice in her back of Ilia's head that sounded all too much like Adam, whispering that if she didn't strike down the frigid Schnee bitch in front of her, then nothing could save her from the weight of Adam's displeasure.
That was the clincher though, Weiss didn't match that description at all. She was overly formal, sure. But she didn't seem like the Ice Queen that Adam claimed she was.
"Hello, Ilia," Weiss started, "I'm-"
Ilia cut her off, "I know who you are."
A very awkward silence descended.
"At least, I thought I did." Ilia continued, "But you're nothing like what I thought you'd be."
"I suppose you were expecting a frigid, racist, ice queen, yes?" Weiss asked.
"You hit the nail on the head, Schnee." Ilia winced, "Sorry, it's going to be a while before I can break that habit."
Weiss smiled warmly, "That's okay, Ilia, your own pace is fine."
Ilia nodded, then launched into what the main point of this conversation was. "Okay, so to the point, do you remember a few years back, there was a big dust mine collapse?"
Weiss shuddered, "I remember, or rather, how furious it made my father."
Ilia continued, "Everyone who died in that accident was a Faunus, including my parents."
"I am so sorry, Ilia, I know it might not mean much to you, but I am truly sorry." Weiss said.
"What are you going to do to prevent more tragedies like that mine? Once you become CEO, that is." Ilia asked bluntly.
"Well, actual safety regulations for one! Father may be many things, but he is such an idiot when it comes to safety! I've shown him proof that it would cost less in the long run to makes the mines safer, but does he care? Ha!" Weiss ranted, "It's always about the shareholders or the profits. It's sickening! Ilia, when I take over the SDC I promise you that I will make it known for honor and opportunity again. Instead of the symbol of greed and corruption that my father has turned it in to."
Ilia blinked. She certainly hadn't been expecting that. "That's everything I'd hoped you'd say. Although, if you don't follow through, I probably won't forgive you."
Weiss smiled, "Don't worry, Ilia. I'm a honorary Arc since I'm dating Jaune, and an Arc always keeps their word."
(Outside Roman's Safehouse)
"We've got trouble." Ren said over the earpieces they all wore, "White Fang, probably just a routine patrol, this is their territory after all."
"It's just as well that we're all done here, then." Blake said.
"We're leaving then, right now." Jaune said.
Blake, Weiss, and Ilia exited the safehouse, and Ren and Nora joined the group.
"Aw, and here I wanted to blow up some terrorists today!" Nora complained.
Ilia couldn't help but smile at Nora's antics, Blake had warned her that the pint-sized berserker could be a bit much, but it reminded her of happier times, which she was grateful for.
"We're not home yet, Nora." Jaune said. "You might still get the chance."
Ilia regarded Jaune, he was quite serious, but it was possible that was because they were on a mission, he was all business. Goodness knows that Ilia had seen that type before.
Weiss, on the other hand, was worried about him. "Jaune, are you okay?"
"I'm just worried." Jaune replied, "It's just with the White Fang involved, and us..."
Weiss didn't really have an answer for that. What could she say?
They made it to the extraction point, which just so happened to be the usual pickup spot for grabbing a bullhead for Beacon.
"Ren, go ahead and call us a ride, would you?" Jaune said.
After a moment, Blake drew a breath in. "Dammit."
"What is it, Blake?" Weiss asked.
"They're here." Blake confirmed. "The White Fang."
"Where?" Jaune said. It was dark out now, so his vision was sub-par when compared to Blake and Ilia's.
Blake pointed down the street in front of them. "There, big group, coming right for us."
"Ren, what's the ETA on our ride?" Jaune asked.
"Ten minutes. They have to fuel up."
Jaune weighed their options. They could try to outrun them, and go up the back way to Beacon. That was discounted almost immediately, that way was treacherous enough without darkness and the White Fang to deal with.
So, that left them with one option. Stand and fight.
The squadron of White Fang came into view, a random selection of grunts, led by a hulking man wielding a chainsaw sword.
"Crap, that big one is Adam's lieutenant, goes by Banesaw." Ilia said.
Jaune filed the information away for later use.
"Ren, let the pilot know he might be setting down in a hot zone." Jaune ordered.
The man that Jaune now knew to be Banesaw stepped forward. "I think you kids might be lost. The last Bullhead to Beacon left a half hour ago."
Jaune flashed Banesaw his trademark grin, "We'll take our chances, thanks."
They couldn't see his expression behind his mask, but his tone of voice betrayed Banesaw's malice, "Why don't you kids come with us, we'll make sure you're well... taken care of."
Jaune's mind was racing, had he not seen Ilia yet? Wait where did she...
Oh, right. Chameleon Faunus.
"I'm afraid we'll have to pass on that," Weiss said. "You'll pardon me if I don't have a high opinion of the White Fang's hospitality."
It took all of Jaune's willpower to keep from laughing.
"Jaune, Ilia's still right here." Blake informed him, quiet enough that Banesaw and the others wouldn't hear, "She's just invisible, so they won't see her."
"Look, this doesn't have to end in violence," Jaune said. "Just walk away before you make a mistake that you'll regret."
Banesaw responded by revving his chainsaw blade, and the White Fang grunts drew their weapons, some guns, some blades.
"Nora? Blow up some terrorists." Jaune said, drawing his sword.
Nora grinned, drew Maghnild, and let loose with a salvo of grenades.
After Nora's opening barrage, Ren and Blake darted forward, sowing chaos among the White Fang grunts with their deceptive fighting styles, Blake with her dust clones and Ren with his natural agility.
"Time to try out my new upgrade!" Nora yelled. With a press of a button on Maghnild's handle, it changed to hammer mode, and became electrified. With that, Nora leapt up, and brought the hammer down in the middle of the White Fang formation.
Banesaw charged right at Jaune, aiming to cleave him in two with his massive blade, Jaune blocked, and shunted the blade aside, driving in into the ground. Jaune reprised with a cut to Banesaw's legs meant to disable him.
It only made him angrier. He retaliated with a horizontal slash that knocked Jaune off his feet, Banesaw then attempted another overhand strike on the momentarily fallen Jaune, only to have the blow blocked by a glyph.
"You will not touch him." Weiss said, her voice as hard as granite. Jaune scrambled to his feet, and resumed his stance, this time with Weiss at his back.
Banesaw attacked again, but as he reared back to strike, his arms were caught by a glyph. Following up, Jaune brought his shield down on one of Banesaw's arms with a sickening crack, earning a roar of pain for his effort.
Released from the glyph, and nursing a newly broken arm, Banesaw called for a retreat.
"FALL BACK! We can't win this!" Banesaw roared. "This isn't over, Schnee, not by a long shot."
The White Fang forces made a rather disorderly retreat, some limping, some needing to be carried. A couple of minutes later, the Bullhead that Ren had called for landed, and Qrow hopped out of the passenger compartment.
"I thought you kids said this was a hot zone?" Qrow asked.
Jaune couldn't help but laugh, with the danger past, adrenaline and fear gave way to absurdity. "It was!"
"I swear, you kids are going to be the death of me. C'mon, I've got a debriefing to... wait, where's..."
Ilia blinked back into visibility.
"Oh, right. Chameleon Faunus."
Everyone boarded the Bullhead, and Jaune finally let himself relax.
I kept everyone safe. I was able to protect everyone.
This time.
A/N: This chapter was a pain in the rear. Blake is hard for me to write, and what do I do? "Oh hey, Clem, you know that chapter of Don't Want Your Absolution you're working on? You're gonna have to write Blake."
Anyways, there's another review that made me realize that there's a detail that I've touched on, but didn't really go into in my A/Ns.
Jaune is not going to be overpowered, and when he unlocks his semblance, it'll be the exact same as canon.
Now, is Jaune stronger than he is at this point in canon? (Midway through volume 4) Yeah, probably, but I wouldn't say he's overpowered.
Anyways, now that I'm done pussyfooting around and gotten to the actual plot, things should start moving at a faster pace.
There's always time for fluff though. Always.
Also, this chapter is the longest piece I've written so far. Nice.
Next Chapter: Qrow debriefs Ilia, Tyrian does some snooping about Beacon, and Roman has a midlife crisis.