So, I was at court yesterday! Work related and not fanfic, but basically a tenant was arguing they didn't have to pay the business for ground floor offices they had fully rented off us and used for months. Super stressful, not least of all because my key evidence was inadmissible because – and get this shit – my accountant forgot to send it to the court and defence team for them to look at despite me asking him to. As such, defence couldn't prepare a counter-argument and the evidence had to be thrown away.
You have no idea how stressful it is to be in a court case when all your preparation and work beforehand has been taken away from you. Luckily, downright miraculously even, the judge still sided with us, and we won it. It was a civil case in small claims, so no need for a jury and all that, but still… yesterday was agony for me. Judge chewed me and spat me out too, which fair, but also annoying to experience when your accountant told you he had sent all relevant files but had not. And ofc the defence didn't make the court aware of the discrepancy until last minute (as they obviously would) so I didn't get a chance to fix it. Sneaky bastards.
Cover Art: Curbizzle
Chapter 21
"Team JNPR? So, you – we – would have been team leader?"
"Yeah, it was a shock to me as well." Jaune laughed – honestly did – and said, "And an even bigger shock to Weiss. I think she assumed she'd be leader of her team and Pyrrha of mine. Kept giving me evil looks for days after, even past when she made up with Ruby. Can you imagine me – us – as a team leader?"
"I'd say no," Xiong said, "but I've had my own share of leadership, so I know we have the potential."
"Do we?"
"You haven't experienced it yet?"
"Ah. Well." Jaune winced. "Pyrrha says I'm a good team leader and General Ironwood complimented me on the fight with Magnis."
"Then I'd take that to heart. He's a military general; I dare say he can recognise good leadership."
"Oh please!" Jaune waved his hand, blushing at the praise. It felt and sounded honest, and he didn't know why Xiong would care to lie to him anyway. Maybe he just wasn't used to having friendly versions of himself around. And those being a criminal and a literal Grimm version of me. This is crazy.
"Mom always said I was born to be a leader." Grimm said. "So it wasn't as much in doubt on my end. Still, there's a marked difference between knowing how to lead and putting it into practice."
"Your mom-? You mean Salem?"
"Yes."
Jaune grimaced. "What's it like having a psychopath who wants to end the world as a parent?"
"That," Grimm said firmly, "is my mother you are insulting."
"I didn't mean-"
"You did." Grimm breathed out through his nose, causing his nostrils to flare. "I shall let it go. Mother is… different here. Back home, she is as loving as loving can be. A doting parent, if a little over-protective. She almost sent an invasion to conquer Vale just to make sure I was safe. She sent Cinder to track me down and drag me home." He shook his head. "Moms, right? What can you do?"
Jaune couldn't help but feel most people didn't have parents who tried to conquer kingdoms to keep you safe, or for any reason whatsoever, but this time he kept his foot out his mouth. "So, Salem is different here?"
"Yes. Less family-oriented, less calm and more driven to rage. I think she's lonely." He let out an unhappy sound. "And despite my best efforts, she refuses to let me close. I wish I could do more for her."
Against all odds, Jaune felt sorry for him. "Hey, you tried, right?"
"I did. Thank you. I don't think she sees me as her son. Logically, she understands it, but she refuses to accept it."
Oof. Jaune couldn't really imagine how much that'd hurt. It would be like if Magnis came back, and Nicholas kicked him out and refused to accept him because he came from another world. He'd never really thought much about what it must feel like for the iterations to come to a strange new world – he'd focused more on how crazy their worlds sounded, never realising they felt the same way. "Are things better in your world?" he asked.
"Much! In all honesty, I'm looking forward to getting back to it."
"Then, you know, why are you fighting here? Not saying you should kill yourself-" Except that he'd just gone and implied it, "-but you don't sound as… uh… bloodthirsty as I expected, so I don't think you want to destroy the whole world or anything."
Grimm looked troubled. Pained. "Mother's… Mother's goals are not my own…"
"Then why fight for her? Why not join our side?"
"I asked myself the same question when I was summoned and after Jinn explained this conflict to me. I even prepared myself to leave and do so." He laid a hand on the table, leaned back and closed his eyes. He looked troubled. "And then I saw her face. Salem, my mother, and yet not. A woman without love and without hope, who had been let down and abandoned by everyone who ever should have held close to her. I asked myself if she wasn't like this because no one had stood by her, and I knew then that I could not. I couldn't be just one more person to turn their back on her. Even if she refuses to love me back, even if she hates what I represent, I will stand by her and do my best to show her that she is not alone. What else can I do?"
"Damn."
"An unfortunate situation you find yourself in." Xiong agreed. "Though I can't say I don't understand your motives. There isn't much I wouldn't do for my own mother."
"Same," Jaune agreed. Even Agent inclined his head slightly. "Wow, I… I don't know what to say. Other than that it doesn't feel right that we're enemies. I don't hate you."
"Thank you." Grimm smiled. "And for what it's worth, I never hated you or anyone else in Beacon. If we fight… when we fight… I want you to know that it is with reluctance on my part."
"Yeah, I get it."
"But…" he said, "You cannot let that reluctance hold you back from doing what you must. I will not give up on Salem. I cannot. Therefore…" He sighed. "You must try your best to kill me."
Jaune didn't know what to say.
"Don't tell the others about what I'm truly like," Grimm begged him. "Tell Ozpin if you must, and General Ironwood, but do not fill Yang, Ruby or Weiss' heads with stories of how I truly am. Things will be easier for them if they believe me a cruel monster."
"Will they be easier for you?" Jaune asked. "It doesn't seem that way."
"No. But at least you will know the truth. It somehow feels good to have at least one person who will remain, who will know that I was not just some mindless avatar of rage."
"I'll remember." Jaune promised. "Whatever happens, I'll remember that you just wanted to save your mom."
"Thank you."
/-/
"You seem bored."
Fate sighed under his breath when the old bastard approached him off by the edge of the party where he'd retreated to when the brat started covering old ground. It was inevitable, he supposed. The brat might have believed Headmaster was doing this out the goodness of his heart, curiosity or some other bullshit, but Fate knew better. This was all about information gathering, and Headmaster was at the heart of it. Know your enemy. The only reason he was still here at all was because even that lay stacked in their favour.
"What should I care to hear my shitty history repeated again? Unlike you, I lived through that piss poor excuse for a life."
"And many others if what I hear is to be believed."
Ozpin really needed to fix his backdoor access. Naïve of him to leave it open all things considered, but the old man wasn't known for being trusting and obviously hadn't thought he might share it, even in another world. In hindsight that was foolish. They'd met so many different Jaunes by personality and circumstance that it had to be possible there were variations in their Ozpins too. Some might be more foolhardy or reckless; some might be faunus; some might even be unambiguously evil.
"I'd love to hear more of your stories," Headmaster said, "but something tells me you won't share them."
"It'd take days to recount them, and I don't remember much."
"Oh? Memory loss? Or is it that the human mind can only contain so much?"
"Damned if I know."
"Hmmm." Headmaster smiled that enigmatic smile of his and took a quick drink of beer. He knew too much, Fate thought instantly. The bastard knew more than he was letting on. "Do you know that in my world, aside from being headmaster, I'm also the school counsellor. I provide advice, an ear and sometimes even therapy for my students."
"It's Oobleck in mine."
"Barty?" Headmaster appeared surprised. "Hm. I could see it. I can't see you in therapy, however, if you'll pardon my saying."
"Killed a few White Fang and didn't show the necessary emotional fallout," Fate made sure to stress the latter sarcastically. "Goodwitch decided that was a bad sign and forced me into it."
"Ah, she would do that. But of course your lack of a reaction stems from the amount of death you've seen. Not that Glynda could have known."
Fate shrugged. He didn't blame Goodwitch doing what she did best – honestly, he liked her. Not that kind of like, despite what everyone would groan about, but out of all the teachers she was both the most genuine and the hardest working. Port and Oobleck were good people, but they were easily distracted and lazy as sin.
"If I may," Headmaster said, "I don't think you are in a healthy mental state either."
He had to laugh – he really did. "You fucking think!?" There was no helping it and Fate burst out laughing, so hard that the brat and the others actually looked over. Fate gave them the middle finger and let them go back to story time. "Of course I'm not in a good state. You think I don't know that? Who the hell would be after being stuck in what I am?" He caught Headmaster's surprise and scoffed. "You thought I didn't know? Did you honestly think I don't know how much of what I do is unhealthy or a coping mechanism? Fuck me."
"Not everyone your age is so self-aware."
"I'm older than you, sonny."
"Hm. I suppose you are. Old enough to have a tonne of baggage to work through and an unhealthy way of dealing with it."
"You talking about the sex or the drugs?"
"Why not both?"
"My body resets when I go back," Fate said, "so cigarettes, drink or hard drugs make absolutely no difference. Even if I destroyed my body, if I found a way through I could just die, reset and repeat the same actions without the drugs to have a way to freedom. I could do the same if there were any other little accidents, though I'll have you know I wear protection."
"Then you're aware you whoring yourself out is nothing more than a coping mechanism?"
"And that I'm clinging to brief moments of physical fulfilment as a means of fighting off the crushing grief, stress and/or depression threatening to push me to suicide?" Fate rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am. Sorry, but if you're looking for some big revelation to shock me then you're two hundred years too late. The only good thing about my body resetting is that my tolerance for dopamine does as well. Even if the emotional connection isn't there and even if I've done it ten thousand times before, I'm reborn a virgin and can be swamped in pleasure all over again. If it weren't for that, I'd have probably gone insane by now."
"A brief respite from an otherwise miserable existence."
Fate shrugged. It wasn't like the man was wrong, and it wasn't like he much liked being this way. Back at the start he'd undertaken it more out of curiosity and genuinely loving his friends, but over the centuries it had become one of the few ways to distract himself – like a veteran collecting stamps to keep his mind off the horrors of war. "It's the only existence I have, and suicide doesn't help. Trust me, I've tried. That's why this is going to be a holiday for me."
"The war?"
"Yep." Fate hooked his hands behind his head and leaned back against the nearest wall. He balanced a foot on it. "Fuck this war and these gods – they're probably the ones responsible for the hell I've suffered through. I'm not lifting a finger to help them or play their game. More fool on all of you for doing so. I won't remember any of this anyway, so what's the point?"
"To save the lives of your loved ones?"
"I can't pull that off in my world, jackass. Do you really think I can here?" Fate sighed. "Besides, they're not my loved ones." He nodded toward the brat. "They're his. Most of them can't stand me."
"Yes, you've done your best to make sure of that, haven't you?"
Fate cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Eh? I think it's my magnetic personality to be honest."
"Really? I think it's an intentional act to protect yourself from the emotional distress of what you plan to do."
"I think you've lost me."
"You call this a holiday," Headmaster said, tapping his jaw with a sly smile. "And yet rather than have fun and treat it as one, you've gone out your way to alienate your friends as thoroughly as you can. Ozpin's notes say you've dedicated your entire existence to trying to save them in your world, and your own words corroborate that, and yet the moment you're here and made aware of what's at stake, and given a wish that could save your world, you turn on them and declare no interest in competing. Interesting decision."
"I'm venting." Fate said. "This is the first time they've ever accepted my curse. I can finally say things about past lives, talk about it – call our some of their bullshit. It's cathartic."
"Catharsis would be comfort, and you turned to both cigarettes and sleeping around almost instantly. By your own admission, those are things you do when you're feeling stressed." He grinned. "I thought this was a holiday. Odd that you feel just as, if not more, stressed during it than you do your normal life."
"I'm in a stressful situation."
"You are," Headmaster admitted. "I don't think anyone can deny that. But still, you've intentionally riled up Pyrrha, alienated Ren and Nora, attacked Jaune at every opportunity. It almost seems like you're trying too hard."
"He's a brat." Fate said. "A naïve, stupid brat. I can't stand being reminded of how useless I was when it all started."
"A nice excuse, but we both know your insults don't stop at him. You despise all of us. Every Jaune – every person who wears your face. You hate me as well. I can see it."
"You're an arrogant prick who acts like he knows everything. What's to like?"
"And Hunter. What was he?"
"Wise to run for it."
"Barista?"
"In over his head. Poor sap never stood a chance."
"You say that without any pity. I think the reason you hate every Jaune, the reason you hate on the Jaune of this world so much, is because you hate yourself. You despise yourself."
Fate sighed dramatically. "Is this your angle? Seriously? Yeah, I do hate myself. I think that's part and parcel of the whole driven to suicidal tendencies thing. If I was stronger, better, faster, etc, I might have been able to save everyone the first time. You're not dropping any bombshells here, prof."
"I didn't say that you hated yourself for your past lives. I said that you're hating yourself more now, here on this so-called holiday of yours. Rather than take the time to relax as you profess, you're alienating yourself. That runs counter to your stated goal."
"That's a long-ass way of saying you can't psycho-analyse me. Don't sweat it, you can't get it right every time."
"Oh, but I think I had it right the first time, Fate."
"Yeah? Do tell."
"You're alienating yourself on purpose, ensuring that your friends and allies – who you love enough to die time and time again for – hate you as much as possible. You goad them on, rile them up and paint yourself the misanthropic bastard so that they'll turn on you."
"Clutching at straws, prof."
"You do this not because it's cathartic or because it pleases you – the constant whoring and smoking to calm yourself down is evidence of that. You do it because it'll make things easier for you."
"Bah. If anything, them being whiny bitches is a pain in my backside."
"Emotionally, yes, hence the despite need for relief. But strategically it's another matter. If they hate you, if they betray you, then it'll make it so much less painful for you when you have to betray them."
Fate stared. Headmaster looked so sure and confident, almost cocky. "Hah." Fate laughed. "You really are a hack, aren't you? So much for being all-knowing. You couldn't be further off the truth."
"Oh?"
"This is a holiday. Betraying them would imply I gave a shit about this war. I have no reason to if I'm not competing."
"True." The man took a drink of his beer; for a moment Fate thought he would have looked more natural with a cup of coffee. Ozpin, the bastard. "But them, for someone who claims to have no interest in the war, you sure are interested in finding out as much as you can about your potential enemies."
"Are you talking about me being here? Not my idea – the brat came to me."
"Not just here. I've seen the training records of your spars."
"Fucking Ozpin and his backdoor access. Does he want to lose this war?"
The man smiled. "I'm sure they'll be closed after tonight. Needless to say, I saw how you agreed to take part in the spars despite having no part in the war."
Fate shrugged. "Everyone was being whiny bitches about it. Easier to give a token effort then try arguing them off."
"Ah. So the fact it gave you an opportunity to get a handle on Knight and Leviathan's skills, combat styles and Semblances was just a coincidence?"
"You're reading into things a little too much there, pal."
"And, of course, you were one of the only people to know that Leviathan did not have his aura."
"You knew." Fate pointed out. "By your own admission here."
"True. It could have been me. And yet it was not."
"Could have been anyone," Fate said. "I wasn't there. I didn't even go with them to the docks – lucky break there. Between Ashari, Grimm, Null and Leviathan, I might not have survived."
"Then there is still an unknown sniper to account for."
Fate blew on his cigarette. "I guess there is."
"Odd. I'm told that a sniper rifle isn't something you can just pick up and use at range. The distance, the wind, the low light and all of those obstacles at the docks. Not to mention how small a target Leviathan would be, and the difficulty in picking him out among others that looked almost identically like him. It would need to be a very proficient individual indeed. Someone who had mastered the art of the sniper rifle."
Fate rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a sniper?"
"No, Fate. You look like a man who would do anything to save his friends, who would try anything to save his world, and whom would have all the time in the world to learn any skill that might help him."
"I said it before, and I'll say it again – you're clutching at straws."
"May Zedong lost her sniper rifle recently. Her locker was fired into the Emerald Forest."
"Happens. Rocket lockers are stupid ideas. Cardin launched me in one."
"Someone would have to have known her keycode."
"And that's me, is it?"
"Interestingly, Ozpin has taken to keeping records of women you sleep with."
"Okay." Fate said, face pinching up. "That's creepy. He and I need to have words."
"May Zedong was among them."
"Cute girl. May has a no-dating-teammates rule but is otherwise a bit of a party animal. Not sure what your point is, though, unless you haven't noticed, I've been around a little. I mean, fuck, Ozpin has a damned list."
"I'm just saying it's an interesting coincidence."
"One man gets shot by a sniper and I happen to have slept with the girl who has a missing rifle." Fate pointed out. "That would be convenient if I hadn't also been with, like, twenty other women. At that point it'd be more suspicious if I hadn't been with someone. Besides, sleeping with someone doesn't mean I know her locker number. You have backdoor access. Check the cameras if you want to."
"I did."
"And?"
"There was an unusual security glitch around the lockers at that time. Whomever set them off knew full well of the cameras and how to close them down."
"And let me guess, that's my fault as well?"
"Was it a difficult shot?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Was Yang hurt when he died? Did she blame herself?"
"Of course she did!" Fate said. "Stupid girl would blame herself for Ruby bumping into a door if she touched it last. It's just how she is. I had to tell her that Leviathan knew and accepted the risks."
"It must have been hard."
"Eh." He shrugged. "Yang is hard-headed, but she isn't dumb."
"I meant lying to her."
"I'm done here." Fate pushed off the wall, only to pause as Headmaster placed a hand on his chest. "If you don't unhand me, I'll un-hand you."
"Jaune, Yang, Weiss and Blake – that's your team if I recall Ozpin's notes." Fucking backdoor. "It must have been a relief to know that with Leviathan's death, none of them are anchors anymore. That still leaves Ruby and Ren, however. Ren is likely spared since Hunter fled, and Barista died under mysterious circumstances, saving you a job there. You can't take Knight out on your own, however. Will you really have the strength to kill Ruby? How about Nicholas? Will you kill our father like you did Barista?"
Fate took the man's wrist, twisted and pulled it off him. "I'm not a part of this war so it's a pointless question. Take your so-called counselling and give it to someone who needs it. Or better yet, shove it up your ass."
/-/
By the time the night came to an end, Jaune couldn't say it had been as bad as he thought it'd be. Xiong and Grimm weren't bad sorts even if the latter was on the wrong side. At least Xiong was neutral. Agent, well, it was hard to get a read on him, but he listened and nodded here and there, and he hadn't started anything despite that he could have. That had to be a good sign.
Fate and Headmaster had left early to have their own little talk and Fate didn't look best pleased. Jaune approached the older man and cleared his throat. Headmaster turned and said, "Ah, so, how did you find the experience? It's interesting to meet likeminded people, no?"
"It was… fun. I guess."
"Good. I do believe I offered you a little something by way of incentive." He reached into his coat and brought out a sheaf of papers. "Here. The promised reward for the night. I hope you won't mind that my details are absent. Then again, Ozpin ought to be able to figure out what I can and can't do for himself."
"He'll be figuring out how to close a backdoor access." Fate growled. He snatched the documents out Jaune's hands and leafed through them. "Tch. It's good. At least we got something from this shitshow."
"We?" Headmaster asked. "I was under the impression you weren't competing in the war."
"We. Him. We're literally the same person." Fate pushed past Headmaster and to the door. Jaune smiled in apology and hurried to keep up. It was best they be gone before everyone back home worried too much anyway.
They'll have figured it out by now anyway. I'm going to be in so much trouble.
"We got the Intel," Jaune said, more to himself than Fate and mostly for reassurance. "Do you think Ozpin and Ironwood will be able to make anything of it?"
"Sure. Sure." Fate leafed through the pages. "Null to Cinder as expected. Ashari to Emerald? That's an angle they might be happy to look at, though it says here Headmaster thinks that's likely to send Ashari on the warpath. He's added notes to each one. As if he wasn't already being looked at as one of the most dangerous. Is he trying to send us a message? Playing both sides like this will make him a target. Well, fuck him. Not my problem."
"But they'll be happy to have it, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah." Fate rolled his eyes. "Not so happy they won't rake us over hot coals, but happier to have it than not. Pyrrha is going to shit bricks when she hears what you did, though. Hah."
How was that funny? Fate just liked to laugh at his misfortune. Jaune was about to say something else before Fate grunted and ripped out a few pages. He tore them up before Jaune's eyes and tossed them onto the pavement just outside the building.
"What was that for!?"
"Useless shit. His analysis on Leviathan and Barista isn't needed anymore."
"Oh. I guess he has the ones who aren't around as well as those who are."
"Pretty much." Fate tossed the folder at him and Jaune clutched it to his chest protectively. "Hood up, boy. And take a good look around. Just because we agreed not to fight here doesn't mean we can't lead Ironwood back here."
"I think Headmaster would expect that and be gone by the time we do…"
"Doesn't hurt to try. Come on, we'll call for a pickup."
"Aren't we going to try and sneak back to Beacon?"
"Hah! Not checked your scroll?"
Jaune had turned it off for the obvious reason of wanting to be able to sneak through the Emerald Forest without a ringtone drawing every Grimm in the area. He hadn't remembered to turn it back on. Doing so now, he gulped at the 64 missed calls and 42 texts he'd received in the last two and a half hours. The most recent, from Ruby, simply said: "You are in SO MUCH trouble when you get back."
Yeah, that sounded about right.
/-/
As the two departed, a shadowed figure stepped out the door with the moonlight reflecting off their glass mask. He strapped the hook back onto his arm, slid a knife into a pouch at his side and looked down. His boot pushed scattered scraps of paper aside, then drew back as he took to one knee and reached out with a gloved hand, picked up a single piece and brought it before his mask. It contained one word.
Fate.
Kneeling, Agent carefully collected each and every scrap.
We finally get to understand a little of why Grimm continues to fight for Salem's side despite not wanting to hurt anyone – he is best son, of course, and just wants to try and show his mom that someone out there still cares for her.
I know a few people have asked for Raise to be here, but he really can't be. His story has only just started, and I don't want to give so much away. Xiong was a little more acceptable because I knew people would start to see the character development he is showing here by the time he shows it. Raise has a lot more growing to do, and I don't want to spoiler it.
Next Chapter: 16th April
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