Happy Easter weekend to everyone.

Bit of an awkward chapter for me. Basically, I use my lunch hours at work to plan ahead for some stories – nothing wrong there; I use the time while I eat. But, well, I left the plan for this chapter at work because I forgot I'd have Friday (yesterday) off for a national holiday. You're probably wondering how hard it could possibly be to remember one plan for one chapter for two days, but to be fair I have forward plans for all my stories running around in my head and really do need to write them down to make any sense of them.

Anyway, I'm sill going to write the chapter, but even now about 3,000 words in I absolutely can't remember what the last scene was meant to be, lol. Poop. I guess I'll think of something to add, check my notes on Tuesday and then run whatever it was I had planned in the next chapter.

Normally I wouldn't have much of an issue but it's like that feeling when you know you had a plan, and you know this isn't what you meant to write and it keeps niggling away at you. I'm staring at the page dismissing every idea I have because it's "not what I planned" originally. Ugh. This shows me to stop keeping files on my work pc.


Cover Art: Curbizzle

Chapter 22


Jaune wished he could blow off the criticism, angry comments and accusations of recklessness quite as easily as Fate did. The iteration puffed away with a bored look on his face, leaning back on two legs of his chair as Miss Goodwitch became the latest in a long line of people to start tearing their self-esteem down. Or his, anyway. He was the only one actually feeling even remotely contrite.

"-and what would your team have felt if you died out there?" she asked, going for the big guns. That was overkill since Jaune had buckled at the words `I'm disappointed in you` from Pyrrha, but Glynda seemed to want to get through to Fate and didn't much mind if Jaune was torn apart in the shrapnel. "You may have scant regard for your own wellbeing but that is not shared by everyone else here. Think of the consequences your actions would have on others for once!"

"I'm sorry," Jaune said for the hundredth time.

"I can see right down your cleavage when you lean forward like that," Fate said. A younger woman might have blushed, blustered or drawn back to cover themselves. Miss Goodwitch slammed her hands down on Fate's shoulders and gave him an even closer look with her face inches from his.

"I will not be distracted by a child playing at games," she hissed.

Fate grinned. "See. This is why I've always wanted to get into your pants especially. A mature, confident woman who-" Glynda pushed and Fate, already leaning on two legs, windmilled his arms as he fell, "-whoah! Oof!" His chair, and he, bounced on the floor. "Damn it, woman. I thought you said you don't play games!"

"This is no game. This is a war."

"And we gathered pertinent and important intel." Fate complained. Those behind them, Team JNPR and RWBY both, glared hotly at his back, but Fate kept his eyes on Ironwood. "And lest I read that expression wrong, old Irondaddy doesn't have a problem with it."

"Don't call me that," Ironwood said.

"James!" Glynda hissed. "Do not condone such reckless actions."

"You know that I would not. Normally." He weathered her gaze with an apologetic shake of the head, then raised the folder Jaune had given him. "But this? This could change everything about our strategy and tactics. I'd never normally approve of a student risking their life, and I certainly wouldn't have accepted the mission, but it's over now, they are back safe, and they have brought us key information."

"Does that mean we're forgiven?" Jaune asked.

"No." Nicholas and Magnis growled as one.

"No." Ironwood agreed. "It means that Ozpin and I accept that, in the grand scheme of things, your actions were not without merit. It doesn't mean we approve of them. If a soldier breaks orders to go off on their own, the fact they come back with positive results does not mean they're off the hook." His words earned a pleased nod from Miss Goodwitch and another from Ozpin. Jaune groaned under his breath. "I shall leave your punishments to Ozpin and Glynda."

"Mr Arc is to be put on curfew and not allowed out of his dorm after eight in the evening." Miss Goodwitch snapped. Jaune whimpered, more for what his teammates would do than the punishment itself. "As for Fate, I dare say you'd see that as a reward. You will be spending every evening for the next week in my office in detention with me."

"Ooh." Fate grinned from his position on the floor. "Sounds kinky. Am I to be your slave?"

"Yes. There is plenty of paperwork to be done. I'm sure you'll be thoroughly exhausted by the end of it and in no position to continue your extra-curricular activities with the female population of the school."

"Ah." Fate realised that this was an elaborate punishment based around cockblocking him of all things and groaned. "You truly are a witch. And after we risked our lives to bring you this information. Where's my medal? Where is my commendation? Where is Winter in a skimpy uniform with a paddle telling me I've been a naughty soldier?"

"Specialist Schnee is busy parsing through a copy of the intel with Warchief," Ironwood said. "Which is fortunate for you, as I dare say she would take issue with your comments." He, ironically, didn't seem to. It was strange how General Ironwood let all the iterations get away with their oddities. It felt like he didn't care what they did so long as they were useful in the war. That must have been the military leader in him. "While you're all here, several pieces of information provided by Headmaster and collected by our allies are important to know."

"Can we really trust anything he says?" Yang asked. After a second of being stared at by everyone she blushed and grumbled. "Sir."

Ironwood chuckled. "You needn't call me that and it's a very good question. We should be suspicious of Intel provided by an enemy and aware of the risks of misinformation. That said, we shouldn't dismiss it out of hand either. That is what Winter and Warchief are doing right now. They are comparing what this says with what we know and trying to find any inconsistencies. You will all be informed if any are found."

"But it looks okay so far?" Ren asked.

"It does. Headmaster – whatever his motives – has provided quite the comprehensive dossier. The only one missing from this is Agent, the iteration the two of you met at the event."

"Headmaster didn't appear to recognise him either." Jaune piped up, hoping to get out of trouble at least a little bit by being useful. "We – well, Fate – thinks he was following us, but he never attacked for some reason. He had all sorts of weapons on him, and Headmaster asked if he was a superhero or a secret agent."

"The name suggests the latter. Interesting. It seems Headmaster's motivation may also have been information gathering if he pressed on that. I wonder if he brought you there specifically to barter information for information."

"We didn't give any."

"You do not believe you did." Ozpin interrupted. "And I trust you would not willingly do so. That does not mean he didn't glean something from you."

"Bah. Not like he needed to." Fate said. "Since you've been giving him access to every record you have since this all started. Way to go, Oz. Real good information security there. He knows everything about us – including our Semblances, pasts and how we fight. All thanks to your stupid backdoor access."

Team RWBY and JNPR made to tell Fate off, but Ozpin surprised them all by removing his glasses, placing them down on the desk and nodding. "You're right," he said, sounding old and worn. "In my hubris, I have made a mistake most grave and given the enemy valuable information on all of you. For that, I am sorry."

"Sir…" Glynda began.

"The backdoor channels have been closed. I put them in place and left them there because I did not think anyone would know of them. In truth, I'm still shocked he does – the Ozpin of his world must have trusted Headmaster implicitly. A part of me now wonders if I am not in his head, but if so then I can't help but think I would reach out to me."

"Jinn summoned iterations of Mr Arc." Ironwood said. "Bringing you might have been seen as an unfair addition."

"True. Whatever the case, I have closed those channels and will not open them again until this is all over. If I have to at all. Given the information Headmaster already has, there's precious little he could get from Fate and Mr Arc."

"Unless it's them he wanted Intel on." Ren said. Ironwood gave him a wave to continue, and the normally quiet young man did. "Headmaster reached out to Jaune specifically and couldn't have known Fate would come. In fact, Fate would have been the least likely person for Jaune to go to. That information you collated, sir, I expect you had files on all the iterations but not Jaune himself."

"Beacon's systems do have the normal files on your teammate, Mr Ren, as they do all of you. Had he wanted them, Headmaster could have accessed those without issue. You raise a good point, though. Mr Arc was personally selected; therefore Headmaster has an interest in him that few other iterations do. This could be a sign that he believes Mr Arc will have a larger part to play in this war, or it could just be that he was chosen as the most likely to be an unbiased middleman and pass this information onto us."

"Are we going to get the intel anytime soon?" Blake asked impatiently.

"Blake has a point." Weiss agreed. "Discussions of what Headmaster sought to gain from this is likely better suited for yourselves than us." She addressed the teachers and General Ironwood with that, earning a few slow nods. "We just need to know who we are up against and what we should be afraid of."

"True." Ozpin inclined his head in acceptance. "James. Will you do the honours?"

"Grimm," Ironwood began. "Ability to summon, customise, control and speak with Grimm – he can either bolster their intelligence enough to facilitate conversation or, and more likely, we've been incorrect on them being fully mindless from the start. He is anchored to Salem, making any attack against his anchor impossible. Ashari, stated here to be a time traveller not unlike Fate, but older and more successful." Fate swore from his spot on the floor. "His Semblance is the ability to transfer aura from himself to others, offering limited healing and bolstering their reserves. He doesn't use it so often, taking a more frontline approach than his Semblance would imply. Incredibly skilled. His anchor is Emerald Sustrai – and that is good information to have. Ashari was able to defeat both your teams in combat handily, but Sustrai should not be nearly so much a challenge. Any one of you should have a good shot against her."

"We take her out, then?" Yang asked. "Sounds easy – he was a nightmare to fight even when he was going easy on us."

"That's the next problem I'm afraid. Headmaster's notes state that Ashari has a very protective attitude toward Sustrai, going so far as to threaten Cinder to her face when his anchor is in danger. This could mean he is close to her in his world, or that he simply wants to win this war and is taking steps to cover his greatest weakness. While Sustrai is the easiest and perhaps only real way for you to deal with Ashari, you should expect him to stop going easy on you the moment you involve her. His attitude could turn deadly with the flick of a switch."

Jaune swallowed. Of all the versions of himself they'd fought, Ashari felt… not the most dangerous but the most terrifying. There had been something incredibly wrong with him when they fought. Like Yang said, he'd spared them, practically fought them like they were kids, but he'd done so with a huge smile on his face that just… it just felt wrong. Creepy. It reminded Jaune of the smiles on killer clowns in movies, an expression where friendliness and easy murder mixed into something terrifying.

I really don't want to see what he's like if he starts taking us seriously. I'd rather fight Grimm alone – at least he isn't likely to rip my head off.

"What do we do, then?" Pyrrha asked. "With all due respect we can't take Ashari."

"Delay." Ironwood said. "Fight him on his terms, seek to retreat and hope he goes easy on you. As cruel as it is to say, if you have a chance to completely and utterly kill Emerald Sustrai before he can stop you then take it, but you must be certain it will work. Failure may well mean your lives."

"No pressure…" Yang quipped.

"And the end of this war and the lives of everyone on Remnant."

"I was being sarcastic, okay!? I'm very much aware of the pressure!"

Ironwood smiled oddly. "Moving on, we have Null. Here, Headmaster has come through in spades. The man's Semblance is Nullification, which turns off any aura and Semblances in a short radius around him. We don't have the specific distance. What we do have is confirmation that it also turns off Null's Semblance, rendering him just as vulnerable as anyone else. He is anchored to Cinder, who Headmaster has handily informed us has a Semblance to control glass but can also control fire thanks to dust weaving in her clothing. Her skill level is far above her age according to this."

"Then Null is the target." Ruby said.

"Yes and no. He is by far the easiest to kill, but also the most dangerous iteration they have on their team in terms of what he can do in return. Make no mistake, any of us – from the weakest of you to myself to Ozpin – will die to this man if he gets the drop on us. Headmaster has managed to get some small information on his world from the man, or second-hand from someone else. Apparently, Null comes from a world where his entire family was kidnapped, killed or experimented on to try and recreate his Semblance as a weapon, and he had to rescue them. He is therefore untrusting of any of us, more than happy to kill us, and he will do anything to win this war and resurrect his family in his world. And I do mean anything. We have had, until now, unconfirmed reports of other iterations being murdered in Vale. We're certain now that Null has been hunting and killing the competition before they can threaten him. Let me make it clear now," he said, "None of you are to engage Null."

That drew the expected complaints from some of the stronger members of the two teams, namely Yang, Blake and Nora who felt they were more than up to the task of beating him. They probably could if they managed to get an even fight.

"No." Ironwood said. "Null's power makes him a unique counter to any huntsman-capable opponent. You might have the edge for ninety-nine per cent of the fight, but a single moment of weakness will mean a bullet between your eyes and that will be the end of it. He can afford to take hits on his aura as long as he needs to because he knows he only has to hit you once to make it stick. Null's weakness is, paradoxically, our strength. He is strong against huntsmen because he can negate the aura and Semblances they rely on but place him against a squad of my men and he'll be forced to fight as a huntsman himself or be torn apart in a hail of gunfire. It's that area he's weakest in."

"Then who deals with him?"

"I will task Warchief to deal with Null, and he'll do so with teams of soldiers. If you see him, you are to retreat and keep your distance. His nullification power has a range. Miss Rose, you can snipe him from a distance to prevent him using it. If in doubt, retreat while shooting at him. He can't drop your aura if he's under fire himself."

"There is no information in the dossier on Headmaster himself," Ozpin changed the subject, "but that's to be expected. It does contain a little on Xiong, but only to cover his neutrality and his value as an information broker. According to this, Xiong has no combat skills to speak of and, in Headmaster's words, isn't worth engaging. His anchor is as of yet unknown."

"Hadn't we already agreed Xiong was worth more left alone?" Weiss asked.

"We had. This is just reiterating the message." Ozpin set the file down. "One thing we've learned from this, aside from our enemies, is that no one's information is complete. Agent remains an unknown entity and there might yet be more iterations out there. Be careful, be cautious, and do not engage Null in combat. Sadly, we also know from this meeting that Grimm has been collected after fleeing Ironwood's forces. He will likely be back with Cinder soon, and I doubt we'll have so easy a chance to find out where they are hidden a second time. Any questions? No? Good. On related news, we've cleared Revolutionary from the infirmary, and Ironwood and I are happy that he will be an addition to our forces."

Oh, the White Fang version of himself? Jaune perked up a little to ask, "Where will he be staying? Will he get his own room?"

"For now, yes. We've decided that even if he doesn't have an anchor he should have someone to work with, both for cooperation and to keep an eye on him. Miss Belladonna, we were hoping you would take that role due to your past with Mr Taurus. We feel you'd be best suited to protect Revolutionary."

"And to seduce him." Yang said, then buckled as a red-faced Blake drove an elbow into her gut.

"I'll look after him," she snapped. "Sirs."

"Very good. By all means he seems a cooperative and spirited young man, and the White Fang of his world sounds positively idyllic compared to our own. I think you will get on well with him."

/-/

"And this is our dorm." Blake let the iteration in. He was wearing a Beacon school uniform and didn't look all too different from their Jaune like that. If you ignored the healing bruises and marks across his face. "You said you never came to Beacon so I can send a map to your scroll if that helps."

"Thank you. That would be great."

Yang watched him and Blake interact, then spared a glance for Ruby and Knight. Ruby was paying no attention as usual. Knight was just too cool, too amazing, and he was recounting an adventure wherein he – and them in a sense – had climbed a mountain in Atlas to complete some grand quest. Ruby was hooked. There were times Yang wondered if this was the first signs of her sister developing a crush, but it didn't feel that way. It felt more like what she used to be like with mom – hero worship. To be fair to her, it wasn't hard to fall into listening to Knight's stories. He was good at telling them.

"And this is Yang, Weiss and Ruby. I guess you know them already. That's Knight."

"Hello." Weiss offered a hand that the Jaune – Revolutionary – took and shook. "I'm a little surprised you're this relaxed around a Schnee given your role. Is the White Fang in your world really that different from ours?"

"Well, you support us and even Jacques Schnee publicly thanked us for exposing corruption in a logging camp of his…"

Okay, well, that sure as hell sounded different. Weiss looked gobsmacked, and Blake muttered something about it probably just being a pr move on Jacques' part. Yang agreed, but that didn't mean it still wasn't a big deal.

"Things are really different," Revolutionary said. "The White Fang here, we were really surprised – I mean I was really surprised – to see how violent they are. And to side with Cinder and Salem? We hate Cinder in my world. She's a bitch."

"She's a bitch here as well by the sounds of it." Yang quipped. "I guess that explains why Adam had you in a cage."

"Mm. I refused to fight for them. Whatever wish I could get isn't worth enabling that kind of behaviour. It's not what we – I, or the White Fang – signed up for. We're trying to make the world a better place, not destroy it!"

Man, they really were different from their White Fang. It was hard to get an accurate read on what Blake thought about that. On the one hand, this White Fang were everything she wished their own could be, but on the other that almost meant there was a world where things hadn't been this bad, and that she'd never see it. "You said the Blake of your world hates you," she said, earning a glare from the Blake of her world. "Is there a reason for that?"

"I think it was a misunderstanding for the most part. The White Fang was like this before I took over, and she probably thought I was just another Adam." He winced and cupped his head. "Sorry, my head is still hurting. Um, yeah, we – I mean I – think that Blake would have gotten on with us just fine if she wasn't afraid we were trying to go after her or putting her at risk."

"There's no ill feelings, then?"

"None that I know of."

Yang caught her partner beginning to relax at hearing that. Heh, you're welcome, Blakey. It wasn't her place to butt her nose in, but she knew her partner wouldn't have the guts to ask otherwise. "That's cool. No reason you and Blake can't get on here then, right?"

"No reason at all." Revolutionary smiled. "I'm happy to have someone on the right side of the war to work with. You may not be my anchor but I'm happy to fight for you."

"A-Ah. Yeah." Blake's neck burned red. "That's fine."

"Is something wrong?"

"Every other Jaune either wants or has been in her pants." Yang answered. Blake looked about ready to strangle her, but Weiss couldn't hold back her laughter. "I think she's worried you'll be the same. Or maybe she wants that."

"I do not!"

"Hah." Revolutionary laughed, but even he sounded embarrassed. "I'm not – I already have someone. Ow!" He cupped his head. "Not that there's anything wrong with her!" he said quickly. "Look, I'm sure she's absolute perfection incarnate for whom her raven locks flow like midnight on a starry night for some people, but I'm taken."

Yang raised an eyebrow. Weiss stopped laughing.

Blake…

Blake looked mortified.

"What?" Revolutionary asked. "Was it something I said? Uh. My head is still screwy from what Adam did to me – and he might have mentioned you a few times."

Now, Blake looked even redder. "He said that…? He called me that…?"

"In… a manner of speaking. Let's just say Adam is a little into the `obsession` category and not afraid to recount his feelings through copious amounts of poetry. Most of it bad. Ow. Fuck." He winced. "It is bad, though."

"Are you okay?" Yang asked. "Should we call Tsune?"

"No! Your doctor scares us. Me. I mean me. Um, I think I just need a rest. Sleep it off, you know? Adam was kind of an ass; the White Fang were worse and my whole world has been flipped on its head. At least none of my White Fang were there doing that to me or I'd not know what to think."

"Your White Fang?"

"My friends. The people working with me. I guess most of them would be in Menagerie right now. I kinda hope they stay there. Vale's going to become a battlefield before long."

"Could we reach out to them?" Weiss asked. "More allies might not hurt."

He shook his head. "They wouldn't recognise me as an ally right now. I had to earn their trust and there isn't time for that. Plus, I doubt Sienna would want to hand the White Fang over to me in this world."

"Sienna?" Blake sounded shocked. "Sienna Khan? She's still alive in your world?"

"Yes. Why? Did she die here?" He took a step forward. "Who killed her?"

"No – no, she's alive. I think. I was just surprised because I couldn't imagine Sienna giving control of the White Fang over to a human. She's the one that convinced Adam and I to join the White Fang in the first place. I assumed she'd despise you for taking over."

"Uh. Ahah…" Revolutionary picked at his cheek with a blush. Yang had seen that expression enough on their Jaune, normally when he was trying to hold a conversation with Weiss without embarrassing himself or asking her out. Yang's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah. Let's just say Sienna and I reached an understanding-"

"You're banging Sienna Khan!" Yang shouted, pointing.

Ruby and Knight stopped talking. Weiss swivelled on her bed. Blake's jaw dropped as she rounded on her borrowed iteration with a cry of "WHAT!?"

Revolutionary blushed.

"Um. Aheh. M-Maybe…?"


This was harder than it had any right to be. The second section was just so hard to write even though it shouldn't have been. I just had a voice in my head the whole time shouting that this wasn't what I was supposed to write. Like, I know, I forgot the plan, get over it brain. We'll pick it up on Tuesday and then slot it into next week. No big deal. Just do a filler segment based around White Fang Jaune.

Brain: "Nooooo! We had plans! We had ideas! Noooo!"

Ugh. Annoying.

Yes, this is an admission that the second half of this chapter is pretty heavy and pointless filler, but then it's probably best for me to just own up to that. I didn't want to push the plot on because I'm sure the thing I'm missing and can't remember is time-sensitive and needs to go here to make sense. Ah, it's so annoying to not be able to remember it. All this new planning for Arc Corp and making up new anomalies for it isn't helping my recollection any.


Next Chapter: 23rd April

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