Beta: ShadowMeister234
Yang watched as Sun and Pyrrha clashed in the arena in a dance of metal. It was quite the spectacle for the crowd that had so far gotten very few. It was all intentional on Pyrrha's part, a return to form for the Mistral champion to delay the fight. It had been pure luck on their part that Pyrrha had gotten paired off with Sun, but it was luck they were happy to make use of. Pyrrha could drag out the fight as long as she needed to since, as hard as her fellow blond was trying, he was never going to beat Pyrrha. The extra time wasn't necessarily needed, but any little bit helped before the confrontation they would be having after this fight.
If nothing else it gave Yang some time to settle her nerves.
She still had trouble coming to terms that her partner and team leader had been replaced by an identical clone. It wasn't that she didn't believe Jaune's and Emerald's story, crazier things had happened, but without seeing it herself, the idea just seemed so distant like it had been ripped straight out of a sci-fi novel. What was next? Secret government androids pretending to be human?
Honestly, Yang hoped so. It would be a much easier conspiracy to deal with than the one involving her former partner, or the conspiracy involving her potential new partner depending on how you looked at it.
That was by far the hardest part, figuring out what to do with this new Blake. When Jaune had come back and explained the situation to her and her team, he had made it very clear that there was a very real possibility the fake really did just want to incorporate herself into Blake's life without any ulterior motives. If that was the case, then obviously one of her goals would be returning to Team BRYL. Jaune hadn't specifically stated it but the implication that she, Russel, and Sky would have to decide if that was something they'd even allow, hung in the air.
It felt dumb to be thinking of these things when she hadn't even met the new Blake in person, but with how fluid this situation had become if they did decide to trust this new Blake, Team BRYL might be forced to vouch for her sooner rather than later.
It wasn't just about trust though. Even if the copy had the best of intentions, she still wanted to replace Blake, and that was a big deal no matter how you looked at it. Was it right to just let someone take over Blake's life? To trick everyone into believing she was someone she wasn't and let everyone believe that the body they had seen strung up in the arena was the fake one. It didn't feel right, but it also didn't feel right to deny what may be a genuinely lost soul the right to live a normal life.
Yang didn't have the best relationship with Blake, but they had still been partners and Yang had failed her in the worst way. Was she failing her again by considering her existence as a bargaining chip? Yang tried to imagine what she would want in the same situation if it was her or even Ruby that died and someone with the same face appeared wanting to replace them.
"And the victor is Miss Pyrrha Nikos!"
Professor Port's amplified voice broke Yang out of her daydream with the force of a marching band. How could the fight already be over? Pyrrha should have been taking her time. A quick look at the arena and the scoreboard revealed she had.
Yang had been spacing out for the last ten minutes, practically an eternity when it came to combat matches. A battered Sun and a nearly pristine Pyrrha were already shaking hands. If Yang wanted to catch him as he left the arena, she'd have to leave right now.
Her fingers wrapped around the incubus mask Jaune had given her hidden inside a Vytal Festival tote bag. It was the key to finding out where Sulfur was hiding and hopefully put at least one problem to rest. She had tried to find Blake by looking at Sun through the mask while he had been fighting, but it had been such a barrage of colors that it made her head hurt. That guy seemed to make friends with everyone he met. The only way she was meeting Blake was if Sun brought them together.
Hopefully, he buys her story.
Yang caught Sun just outside the competitors' entrance, his head under a faucet of running water. "You know, you're supposed to drink that, not bathe in it."
The monkey faunus glanced at her with one eye. "You're Yang, right?"
"And you're Sun. Good match by the way. Even if you didn't win."
Sun pulled his head from the water and shook his hair like a wet dog. "It's fine. I'm just impressed I was able to last that long. Pyrrha Nikos is no joke, but I'm guessing you didn't come to see me just to compliment me on my performance."
Harsh and to the point, nothing like how he was a couple of weeks ago. Looked like Emerald and Jaune were right that he would be all wound up after getting caught yesterday. Well, being direct was one of the reasons she was sent. That and Sun would have flipped if Jaune or Emerald tried to approach him.
"You know I'm Blake's partner, right?"
Sun bent his legs like he was prepared to make a run for it. "Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"
"Listen, stop acting so shifty. I know my partner isn't as dead as she wants the world to believe. I also know you know where to find her."
That definitely got his attention. "How do you know that?" he accused.
Yang performed the greatest eye roll of her life. "From her obviously. I am her partner. Who do you think covered for her all those nights she didn't come back to Beacon."
"She didn't say anything about you."
Yang cut him off before he could give it any more thought. "And she didn't say anything about you either until last night. Imagine my shock when I found out my partner who I thought was held up in protective custody was actually hanging out with her boyfriend."
Sun blushed. "We're not like that."
Yang sighed and ran her hand through her hair hoping she wasn't being too dramatic. "Look, she asked me to give her this," she held up the tote bag, "so can you just take me to her."
"I don't know," Sun shuffled. "Even if you're Blake's partner, you're a stranger to me. How about I take that bag and give it to her myself."
Yang pulled the bag away from Sun's encroaching hand. "Sorry, being strangers works both ways. I'm not just handing this off to you. Plus, I would actually like to see my partner and make sure she's okay."
Sun refused to look her in the eyes as he thought about her ultimatum which was a bit worrying since if he pieced together that she could have learned about Blake from Jaune, it was all over. Luckily, Pyrrha had apparently delivered a few too many hits to the head for him to make the connection. "Fine, you can come along, but keep your head down. We can't let anyone know she's still alive or it will be a disaster."
"Sure thing."
Sun seemed a little disappointed to find he wasn't the only one entrusted with Blake's secret as he took them through the arena in several twists and turns. The guy was obviously doing everything in his power to make sure they weren't being followed. If anyone, even Emerald, had been tailing them he probably would have caught them. Fortunately, Jaune accounted for this and decided it best not to risk having Emerald stalk him again. Unfortunately, that meant Yang was on her own if things went sour, at least for a little bit.
After what felt like forever, Sun took them to a deserted part of the colosseum. It was a maintenance hallway that probably would have taken them into Amity's inner workings had they continued deeper. As it was, they stuck close to the entrance where they could still see the battle arena and the noise of the crowd would drown out any secret conversation they were having.
Sun leaned against a wall still on the lookout for any stalkers. "Blake will be here soon."
"Hopefully sooner than it took us to get here." Yang took a seat on the other side of the hallway faking exhaustion after having walked so much. In truth, she was trying to make herself as small as possible in hopes Blake wouldn't notice her until it was too late. The same lie she told Sun wouldn't work on the imposter after all.
Worst case scenario, Blake would refuse to show herself at all, but the worst didn't happen and a few moments later the imposter appeared without comment on Yang's presence. Though that didn't last for long as the first thing Sun did when he saw Blake was demand if she really did ask Yang to make a delivery.
The two girls locked eyes. With a single word, Blake could end this whole charade, but Yang had to believe she wouldn't. Not if there was even the slightest bit of truth in what she told Emerald and Jaune. Still, it was a bit nerve-wracking that she was drawing it out for so long.
The staring contest continued until the imposter finally broke it off to look at Sun. "Yes, I did. Yang's a friend you can trust her."
Yang sighed in relief, Sun didn't seem completely satisfied with the answer. "Why didn't you tell me about her? I thought we were in this together."
"I'm sorry," the feline faunus bowed, something the real Blake never would have done, "and we are in this together. It's just things are really complicated, as you know, and I can't tell you everything. Please just trust me."
Sun's posture loosened just a bit. "Alright, I trust you."
"Thanks, now if you wouldn't mind, could you stand outside and guard the entrance. Yang and I have something private to discuss."
"But—"
Blake placed a hand on his shoulder and hit the poor guy with a beautiful smile. "Please. I promise it won't take long."
Sun blushed and rubbed his head as he finally gave in. "Fine, I'll wait outside. Shout if you need anything." The monkey faunus took several looks back before moving out of sight.
"You sure have that guy wrapped around your finger, don't you?"
Blake giggled. "Sun's a sweet guy. He really has been a huge help. I would have never gotten this far without him. The real Blake would have been lucky to have him."
Yang's brow rose. "Oh, not even going to try and hide it."
Blake shook her head. "Would there be any point? Jaune and his rude girlfriend told you all about me, right?"
"They did."
"Then you know what I want to do."
"You want to become Blake and rejoin our team."
"I do. The only question is if you'll let me."
Yang wasn't ready for this conversation. "If I do." Bile filled her throat. "If the team decides to go along with your lie. What happens to the real Blake?"
The imposter tilted her head. "What do you mean? Nothing happens to her. She's dead."
Yang's fingers twitched as she imagined what it would be like to smash her fist into that confused face. "I mean what are Blake's parents supposed to think? Her friends? Sun? Are you just going to pretend to be Blake forever?"
"Of course." No hesitation. Either the imposter didn't care or was just incapable of understanding Yang's problem. "It might be awkward at first but even if I can't completely copy Blake's mannerisms eventually everyone will just accept my version of Blake as the right one, and honestly, I believe my version to be vastly superior."
Yang had to force herself not to get into a fight right there. Yes, Blake had major flaws. Yes, she had been a bitch to deal with. Yes, she had abandoned the whole team, but nobody had the right to claim to be a superior version of her. Flaws are what made people who they were. Yang knew that better than anyone. A more sociable Ruby or a mom that didn't abandon her wouldn't be better versions; they'd be different people. Blake deserved to be remembered for who she was, mistakes and all. Not overwritten by some false idea. That this fake was suggesting just that was infuriating.
Yang did her best to bite back her temper, but she knew she was close to boiling over. "How can we trust you?"
"That's not fair," the fake rebutted. "I can't prove a negative. Besides, building trust is what being on a team is all about. I'm sure we can get along if we just work with one another."
Yang disagreed. Maybe if the imposter was trying to become her own person and only temporally needed to replace Blake to get a foothold in this world, then Yang might have been able to accept the proposal. But as it stood, they would never see eye-to-eye. Blake deserved her identity even in death.
Yang had made her decision. "What about your creator? Are you loyal to Sulfur?"
The fake twitched. It was subtle, but it was there. "I don't know who that is."
"Then you won't mind if I check." Before the false Blake could respond, Yang pulled the incubus mask from her bag and held it to her face. Just as expected, there were only two strings of fate coming from the imposter. A green string clearly connected her to Sun and a purple one that traveled through the floor towards Beacon.
Oh, actually a third string had just appeared. A black one connecting the imposter to Yang herself.
The moment the string appeared Blake shouted, almost like she already knew what the mask was, and Sun was quick to come running, his weapon already drawn. "Blake, what's wrong?"
"It's Yang! She's an assassin the White Fang sent to kill me."
It didn't matter how little sense that claim made. Sun bought it hook, line, and sinker. He attacked using the shotguns embedded in his staff to create a hail of bullets. Yang backed away and her aura took the damage she couldn't dodge, but the incubus mask wasn't so lucky. By the time Sun's guns clicked empty, the mask was in splinters on the floor.
Crap, hopefully, Jaune wouldn't be too upset with her.
Not that Yang had much time to think about it as Sun was already upon her. For a guy who had just finished getting his ass handed to him by Pyrrha, he still had an abundant amount of energy. Guess that's what love did to you.
Yang's gauntlets deployed with a satisfying snap. It had been so long since she last used them thanks to her broken arm, but now that she was back in business, you'd better believe she was fired up and ready to go. If those two thought they had the advantage just because it was two-on-one, then they were going to be in for a rude awakening.
Not giving any thought to defense, Yang brute-forced her way through Sun's attacks and his guard delivering a swift uppercut and then a brutal punch to his stomach. His aura, already low from fighting Pyrrha, shimmered treacherously.
The imposter realized that her precious boyfriend was in a losing position if left alone, so she stepped in to defend him while he retreated back to catch his breath. The fake glared at Yang while drawing Gambol Shroud. It might have been Blake's weapon, but the imposter held it with little confidence. While the real Blake would have been able to throw and whip it around the hallways with pinpoint precision, the fake kept it in its cleaver form without any signs she intended to use any of its other functions.
"Why did it have to be like this?" the fake hissed. "It could have worked. We could have been a team. We could have been friends."
"You lied about Sulfur."
"So what! Blake lied about everything." The imposter lunged forward, swinging her weapon in an arc that was much too wide. Yang went in for the counter-attack only for the fake to bend in a way that crunched her body into an almost perfect right angle and had Yang's fist hitting nothing but air. That was an inhuman level of flexibility the real Blake just didn't have, that no one had. It was like she didn't have any bones.
Yang barely pulled her arm back fast enough to catch the blade on her gauntlet, but just as she did, Sun was back on her swinging his gunchucks at her face and delivering a healthy amount of dust-propelled lead in the process.
Yang quickly blasted herself away to keep her aura from taking a horrendous beating. It was far from a perfect getaway and she felt the stings. By the time she landed Sun and the fake were already preparing another combo attack. They had clearly been practicing.
Yang put her guard up. Alright, this might be a little more difficult than she imagined. Hopefully, the cavalry would get here soon.
Jaune ran through the underside of the arena stands looking for Yang. He had been listening in through the hidden scroll she had on her, so he knew roughly where she was, but this place was still massive. He wished Emerald and the rest of team BRYL was up on the colosseum searching with him, but they had stayed at Beacon so if the mask did pinpoint Sulfur's location somewhere inside the school they would be right there to confront him. That wasn't working out so well, and now Jaune was searching through one side of the arena while Pyrrha searched the other.
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
Jaune barely stopped in time to avoid being hit by the flying monkey faunus. Instead, Sun was taken in by the hard embrace of the metal arena wall. Looking the other way, Jaune saw the force that had sent Sun flying was fighting with the fake Blake. Yang wasn't losing per se, but the way Blake dodged all her attacks was grotesquely unnatural.
He didn't have time to observe the uncomfortable motions for long since Sun picked himself off the floor and ushered in a deep seething growl. "You."
"Me," Jaune said reflexively, which wasn't the best choice since a moment later he summoned his shield to block the whirl of metal and bullets. Sun wasn't so much attacking him but beating on his shield with as much strength as he could muster which was actually quite a lot. He could already feel the burn in his arm.
"Wait, I don't want to fight you," Jaune pleaded.
"Shut up, I'm not going to let you hurt Blake even if it costs me my life."
"Listen to me. The person you're fighting for isn't really Blake. It's a fake made to look like her."
Sun laughed. "You think I'm going to believe that. Next, you're going to tell me she's been infected by an alien mind probe. Just leave us alone!"
Jaune was being pushed back under the sheer aggressiveness of Sun's assault. "I know what I'm saying must sound insane, but just look at her. The way she's moving isn't normal."
Sun did look, and the sudden intake of breath pointed to him seeing something he didn't like, but just as quickly his sight returned exclusively to Jaune. "You can't trick me."
Jaune continued to be pushed back until his back made contact with Yang's. "Hey, I'm having a bit of trouble over here," she said. "Mind if we switch?"
"Sure." They pushed against each other and spun around so Yang was now facing Sun and Jaune was facing Blake. Sun very much got the worse end of the deal as his furious assault was put to a swift end under Yang's own furious assault.
Jaune also found an easier time with his new opponent. Blake might have been able to bend and twist at impossible angles, but her offense was a mess. Jaune only had to slightly move his shield to block every attack, and with Blake not possessing nearly the amount of strength Sun had, Jaune found it easy to stand his ground.
"Why did you tell her!" Blake whined. "I thought you understood. Now you've ruined everything."
Jaune was reminded of times his younger sisters (and sometimes the older ones too) would throw fits whenever they didn't get exactly what they wanted. Looking at Blake felt exactly like those times and his eyes couldn't help but soften. "I do understand. It must be so hard for you, but I also understand this was never my choice to make. Neither was it yours. If you want to become Blake Belladonna you have to earn it. Just because you share her face doesn't mean you deserve it. I don't know if that was your own decision or if it was Sulfur's, but That's where you went wrong. Yang gave you her answer and you need to accept it."
"No!"
Blake's blade bounced off Jaune's shield and opened the door for his counterattack. Blake might have been able to avoid all of Yang's attacks, but the sudden appearance of a sword mid-swing was enough to catch Blake off guard. Still, it was a testament to her acrobatics that, even with only moments to react, she was able to readjust and bend to avoid the majority of the blade. It wasn't perfect though. Crocea Mors cut a slash out of Blake's shoulder, and it was a true slash since apparently, this Blake was without aura. (Did that mean she lacked a soul as well?)
However, what was more interesting was what leaked from the wound instead of blood. The liquid was thick, sludgy, and burned a dark crimson color. Jaune couldn't place it at first, but then the unbearable smell hit him. Dear Brothers, he would never forget that smell as long as he lived. It was the smell of the sap from the Lover's Tree in Forever Fall. The sap Sulfur had been so giddy to get his hands on. At least this put to rest any lingering doubts that Sulfur was involved.
Blake covered the wound looking mortified and quickly checked to see if Sun had noticed. Lucky for her, he was too busy getting the beating of a lifetime to notice anything else. It wouldn't be long before Yang finished the job and Blake was condemned to a two-verse-one. Three-verse-one when Pyrrha arrived.
"Surrender and take us to Sulfur," Jaune offered. "It's still not too late to talk this through. There's still a chance for you."
Whatever Blake was going to say was drowned out by a sudden bang followed by a tremor that nearly sent Jaune tumbling off his feet. "What the hell!" Yang yelled from behind just as another blast rocked the arena.
Jaune looked at Blake for an explanation, but her expression said that the explosions were as unexpected to her as it was for him.
Through the entrance of the hallway, he could see black smoke rising from the stands and people running around in blind panic. Then the arena screens that should have been broadcasting the tournament fights changed to display a dark red screen and a black chess piece, and a voice that Jaune could barely hear over the continuing explosions and screaming people played through the arena speakers. The parts that Jaune could make out had something to do with faunus discrimination and Atlas overreach. Regardless of the specifics, Jaune could tell none of it was good. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, alarms blared throughout the entire colosseum with an announcement that reached everyone's ears.
"WARNING, INCOMING GRIMM ATTACK. THREAT LEVEL 9."
In a panic, Jaune turned toward Blake, but she was gone. So was Sun. The faunus pair had used the brief moment of distraction to flee.
Jaune cursed himself for being so careless.
Yang punched a wall in anger. "Damn it! What is going on?"
Thirty minutes later, they still didn't have an answer to that question. It was complete chaos. Grimm were everywhere, Atlas robots had gone haywire and were shooting everything in sight, White Fang members were converging on Beacon, and there was even a massive Grimm dragon flying around.
Unmitigated disaster didn't even begin to describe it.
Yang and Jaune watched an Atlas battleship fall out of the sky from their seats on the bullhead where they were joined by about a dozen other students. Most of the licensed Huntsmen and students were busy with evacuation and defense of Amity colosseum, such as Pyrrha, but their bullhead was flying them down to Beacon with the unenviable task of assisting the minimal defense there. Jaune, as neither a Huntsman nor a student, really shouldn't have been allowed on this flight, but the chaos didn't allow for a thorough review of records. A weapon and the will to come along was enough as far as anyone was concerned.
"This is awful," Yang said as the Atlas ship crashed into the Emerald forest in a blast of flames and metal that lit up the sky and revealed the thousands of dark Nevermores that circled above. "Do you think this is Sulfur's doing?" She leaned in to whisper.
Jaune didn't know. This seemed like something that should have been far beyond the capabilities of one enigmatic student. Then again who knew how capable he really was. He had managed to create a sentient being from sap after all. That said the voice on the screen had definitely been feminine, and Sulfur just didn't seem like the type of person to care enough to bother with a voice changer. If Jaune were to bet, he'd have to say Sulfur wasn't responsible, at least not fully. Someone else had put this all into motion.
He told Yang as much and he surprised him by agreeing. "I just don't see why he would put this much effort in killing Blake, creating a fake one, have her try to rejoin the team, only to cause a Grimm invasion before she even could.
"Who knows what that guy is thinking, but I see your point."
"Well, once we get our hands on him, we'll just beat the answers out of him."
That was only if they could find him. The incubus mask had only pointed them to Beacon before Yang used it as a bullet sponge which wasn't exactly a very specific location. Still, they had scoured Beacon for him, so assuming he had been there the whole time, he must have been hiding out in one of the few places they hadn't checked which actually narrowed things down considerably.
"He has to be somewhere in Beacon Tower where Ozpin's office is." It seemed insane Sulfur could sneak around right under the headmaster's nose, but that was one of the only places they couldn't investigate normally. As selfish as it was, this chaotic invasion was their only chance to infiltrate the tower.
Yang seemed to reach the same conclusion and failed to meet his eyes in what might have been a look of shame. "Listen, I don't think I can come with you to that. Not that I don't want to," she quickly clarified, "but, um, as you can see Beacon is under attack. Russel and Sky are fighting out there to protect it. I can't just run off to chase after Sulfur. I'm a Beacon Student first and foremost. It's my duty to defend it. Even if Sulfur is behind this, catching him isn't going to put an instant stop to this. I have to help."
Jaune stopped her before she came up with an entire list of explanations. "It's all right. I completely understand," and he meant it. "Beacon is your home. You have to fight for it just like Pyrrha is. I'm just an outsider here."
Yang released a breath probably having expected a lot worse. "Thanks." Her eyes darted around the ship. "Did you get a hold of Emerald?" The sour look Jaune gave her was more than enough to give it away, and Yang winced. "Still no luck."
"None." Yang had been able to call and talk to her team almost immediately, but he couldn't get a hold of Emerald at all. Worse, it wasn't because the line was busy or the signal was busted. He just kept getting her voice message like she was choosing not to answer, or couldn't answer. It really had him worried.
The fear he felt must have been showing externally since Yang put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry too much. Emerald's a badass bitch. I'm sure she's fine."
He wished he could share her confidence.
The bullhead pulled in for a landing and was immediately peppered by bullets, courtesy of the White Fang members guarding the landing pad. It didn't stop the bullhead from touching down and when the doors opened the handful of White Fang were no match for the group of students.
Still, it was only a drop in the bucket compared to what else was out there.
Jaune stared at the distant tower rising high above the rest of Beacon and glowing like a lighthouse. Getting there wasn't going to be easy. Best he start now before he got cold feet. "Welp, guess I'm off."
Yang smiled in a way that would have melted the hearts of half the guys at Beacon had they seen it. "Kick his ass."
"I'll try my best."
"And Jaune."
"Hm?"
"Be careful."
Jaune gave her a brotherly smile which felt a little too much like a final goodbye for her liking. "You too."
Yang watched his back for a few moments as he jogged off towards the tower before forcing herself to look away before she chased after him, or worse, shed a few tears. Yang Xiao Long did not cry and she especially didn't cry over some guy she had only known for a few weeks. Besides, Jaune would be fine.
With her confidence returned to its natural high, Yang ran to where Russel and Sky said they'd meet her. The journey there was eventful, Grimm here and Atlas robots there. All easily crushed beneath her fists, but nothing that really stood out.
That was until she reached her destination: Beacon's cafeteria. The unmistakable smell of blood permeated the air so heavily that it was like a red mist. Bodies were strewn about the floor and table, not many of them, but all Beacon students and mutilated in horrific ways.
In the center of this carnival of blood was a lone man in a black coat smeared with an excessive amount of red. Growling like the Grimm themselves, he brought his katana down on a body, hacking away at it like his weapon was a cleaver instead of a sword. Every time the sword came down the mass of flesh that had once been a person squelched and Yang almost gagged.
She didn't know if it was that small sound that alerted the man to her presence, but regardless he slowly turned to look at her revealing a white mask and bull horns. Worse, when he adjusted his body, Yang got to see what he had been abusing. She could really only tell because of the clothes, but the body (turned out it was bodies) belonged to Russel and Sky, the last remaining members of her team.
Yang was stunned which gave the man, no the beast, time to lumber towards her like a monster from a horror movie. "Finally. I've been waiting for you." His words came out in hot breaths of air and his shoulders rose and fell under the strain of his own rage.
Yang took a single step back and raised her guard unhelpfully, noticing that she couldn't stop her arms from shaking. Was she serious? The enemy in front of her was nothing like the monsters she encountered in Cryphilictal, and yet as the beast continued to shuffle forward, it really did feel like he was. "Who are you?" Yang shouted with more bluster than she was feeling.
The beast didn't respond directly. "It was your job to protect her. She put her life in your hands and you failed her. She's dead because of you! And now, I'm going to rip you apart in her name."
The beast sheathed his sword, and then a moment later Yang was overwhelmed by a flash of red and black.
Cinder relished in her victory. Ozpin laid dead after trying to defend his precious maiden. The old man did put up more of a fight than she had been expecting, but that just made her triumph all the sweeter. All the planning and all the waiting had finally paid off, perfectly she might add.
The fall of Beacon had been like a symphony. Every piece had performed its role exactly how she intended. Vale was in chaos and the Atlas army was in shambles, and it was all because of her. Never in her life had she felt so good, so powerful, and the sensation of the full maiden powers coarsening through her veins and warming her skin only elevated that feeling to nirvana.
And this was just the beginning. Soon she would have the powers of all four maidens. Not even Salem would stand a chance against her, and then the world that had tried so hard to hold her down would finally be hers.
Someone was clapping.
It was a sudden realization and one that she frustratingly couldn't pin down the beginning of. Had the applause just started or had they been going on for a while masked under the noise of her personal symphony.
The source of the sound approached her. Their heels clicked on the floor like thunder. Their face filled out with a grin looking as smug as ever. "Congratulations," they said, "I didn't think it was possible for you to look so happy."
Little did he know that she was about to become even happier. After all, the one odd thorn in her plan had just shown itself almost as if it was asking to be killed. She must truly be blessed. "I'm surprised you made it here, Sulfur. Were you after the maiden powers as well because if you are, you're too late. They're mine."
Sulfur didn't drop his grin but he did stop clapping. "As a man, I don't have any particular interest in the maiden powers. If I did, I would have taken them a long time ago. You don't know how bored I've been waiting for you."
He had been waiting for her? Ridiculous. Unless, "Is this where you've been hiding all this time you rat?"
"Can you blame me? It would be a waste to not make use of all this space." He gestured to the frankly enormous underground vault that held precious little besides whatever machine the former Fall Maiden was attached to. As long as he didn't trip the security coming down here or made an attempt on Amber, Ozpin would have been none the wiser. It just went to show how much of a fool the old wizard was to let not one but two people invaded his secret sanctuary.
But, why had Sulfur come here if it weren't for Amber? There were safer, easier places to hide, so he must have had a reason. She would admit that she was curious about his plans, but she wouldn't allow herself to be stalled by him.
"While I'd love to stay and chat," Cinder told him," I'm afraid I have an escape to make. An escape that involves as few witnesses as possible. At least take honor in the knowledge that you will be the first to experience my new power."
Sulfur stood motionless as Cinder raised her arm ready to set his body ablaze. Yet just as she was calling her powers forth, she collapsed to her knees, vision blurred and sweat pouring down her brow. She suddenly felt so weak and even sick.
"Looks like it's taking effect," Sulfur said from above her.
Cinder barely even had the strength to look up at him, and her voice came out hoarse as her tongue flopped uselessly in her mouth. "What did you do to me!" Her head felt like it would split open.
Sulfur chuckled. "You did it too yourself. I wasn't the one that forced you to take Amber's soul and thus her maiden powers."
Saliva, possibly even vomit, ran down Cinder's chin as she felt herself losing control of even the most basic bodily function. She wanted nothing more than to kill the smug bastard lording over her, but spitting out a single word was the best she could do. "How?"
"How what? How did I know to plan all this, or how did I manage to put you in such a sorry state? The first question is rather easy. You see dear Cinder, it doesn't matter how well you scheme or excellent your execution is. You can put a million different steps and misdirects between you and your goal, but as soon as someone figures out the end, which I might add was rather obvious once you know about Ozpin's hidden vault, learning the plan becomes meaningless. All they have to do is wait at the finish line and trip you up right after you cross."
Sulfur squatted down to Cinder's level since she could no longer keep her head up to face him. She desperately attempted to summon her sword to slice his neck, but no matter how much she strained her semblance wouldn't respond.
"As for the second question, that also has an easy answer. While the underlining configuration of maiden powers is infinitely complex, to the point I doubt anyone besides Ozma could have ever created them, the observable process is as simple as can be. It's just a transfer of data from one person to another. Now, what do you suppose would happen if someone added some additional data to that transfer? A virus if you will."
Cinder didn't answer, couldn't answer, but Sulfur didn't care. He was mostly talking to himself at this point, the bastard, not even looking at her for reactions. She hated it. She wasn't someone who should ever be ignored, yet he continued to do so.
"I poisoned Amber. Not her body but her soul. It wasn't difficult thanks to that machine Ozpin had her hooked up to. It would have killed her had you not been gracious enough to step in, and you know the best part? It all could have been avoided. Since the maiden powers normally disconnect themselves from a person's soul before transferring over, that means my poison should stay with the original host, but you got greedy. You wanted Amber's soul as well didn't you? Couldn't leave anything to chance, could you?" He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up until their eyes were leveled. There was a kind of endless darkness in his eyes that Cinder found she couldn't look away from.
"Now, I hear you wondering, why would I do this? It's because I'm not finished setting up the stage. I can't let Beacon fall apart. There's still so much to do, and you dear Cinder have become quite the nuisance with all your mayhem and destruction. Don't get me wrong, I love what you've done with the place, but we're not ready for that act yet, so we need a brief intermission. Now, how should I go about that?"
The grip on Cinder's hair tightened. It probably would have hurt had she been able to feel anything at all. "How about using the maiden powers you're so obsessed with? Tell me, do you know Nora Valkyrie? Beacon student, redhead, hyperactive, I'm sure you've seen her around."
Cinder gasped although it came out as more of a gurgle. She knew what he was doing, and she refused to accept it.
"How about I show you a picture to jog your memory."
STOP! She struggled but it didn't amount to much.
He pulled his scroll from his pocket and showed Cinder a picture of a smiling redhead. "See that's Nora. Isn't she adorable?"
Cinder shut her eyes and did everything she could to remove that girl from her mind, but it was too late. Trying not to think of something only made you think about it more. So Nora was the last thing on Cinder's mind as a single bullet shot through her forehead.
The path to Beacon Tower was not only dangerous but gruesome. Most of the corpses he came across were White Fang members, broken robots, and normal people caught up in it all, but there were a handful of students and even a few full-fledged Huntsmen. They had obviously fought their hardest to protect the school and paid the ultimate price for doing so.
Jaune tried not to think about it too much while also trying to ignore the screams resonating from elsewhere. It was difficult. His body wanted to go and help, but his mind knew that would be a strategic mistake. There were plenty of Huntsmen that could help with the rather obvious problem of the Grimm invasion, but he was the only one that knew to go after Sulfur. It should have been him and Emerald, but he still couldn't get a hold of her even after several more calls.
She wasn't dead; Jaune refused to entertain that idea, but it was a reality that they probably wouldn't be meeting up, and he was going to have to deal with Sulfur alone.
The inside of Beacon Tower was a mess with cracks in the walls and holes in the ceiling, but it was devoid of anything that would try to harm him. He supposed for the Huntsmen this was neither an important nor strategic place to defend so they had all gone elsewhere unintentionally bringing the Grimm along with them.
It was a lucky break for Jaune as he got into the still functional elevator without any trouble. There were many floors above him that he could have gone to, but he chose the highest one, telling the elevator to take him to the headmaster's office.
If Jaune was even the slightest bit correct about Sulfur's character then he would definitely be there either to watch the invasion from a bird's eye view or to rummage around in Ozpin's office.
The elevator dinged and the door opened to an office that still looked to be in perfect condition despite the carnage being displayed through the windows. Jaune found himself being drawn to it. Seeing the invasion from the ground floor had been horrid, but from up here, the view was damn well traumatizing. The tower was high enough to paint the hellscape in its entirety but not so high that Jaune couldn't see the grisly details. It was like the breach of Vale but on steroids. Truthfully, Jaune felt a little sick just looking at it.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Sulfur took a place beside him as if it were the most natural place to be. Frustratingly, he kept himself just out of sword range.
"I couldn't disagree more. This is a nightmare." Jaune shuffled slightly to try and get a bit closer to Sulfur, but Sulfur noticed and shuffled away.
"There's no need for violence. I just want to talk with you."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"But I do." Sulfur's eyes flicked in his direction. "I want to thank you."
Jaune's stomach dropped at the thought that this monster would want to thank him for anything. If only his silver arrows were charged or drawing an etch wouldn't be so obvious, he could blow this guy away. "What for? We've only had a few conversations with each other."
"True, but it's not what you said to me, but what you did for me." Sulfur smiled which wasn't at all unusual, he seemed to always be wearing one, but this one was different. This one felt genuine. "When you and your friend arrived in Bury, you opened my world. Showed me just how exciting things could be. I'm forever grateful to you."
Bury? That was the settlement he and Emerald traveled to when they first became partners. The place trapped in a time loop. "You were there?"
"Of course I was. I've lived there all my life after all."
Jaune's heart skipped a beat. "You were the one that started the time loop!"
"Incorrect. It was pure coincidence that the old watchmaker created a time loop there, and pure luck that I happened to be just outside the village and thus outside its effects when it happened. Perhaps it was fate." Sulfur laughed like he had just told some joke. "No, I didn't have anything to do with its creation. I just played along. Much like right now."
"Why didn't you break the loop," Jaune growled. "It should have been easy for someone that grew up there. You could have saved all those people."
"It's simple. I just didn't want to. Tell me Jaune, when faced with something like that would you really want to stop it and just go back to your normal everyday life, or would you prod and poke? See what all you could do. It was very entertaining to see how much I could change in a single day."
"I would stop it! People's lives are much more important than stupid curiosity." Jaune felt a fire rage inside him.
Sulfur looked down like he was disappointed in Jaune. "I see. Well, I expected you'd say that. Still, I wonder if you're just lying to me to save face, or if you truly believe what you're saying."
"Of course, I believe it. Who wouldn't?"
Sulfur swiftly turned his way with his arms spread out like he was about to hug him and even took one step closer. "Why do people like us. People who can't resist the call of the unknown world. When you first got to Bury, I'll admit I was angry that you tried to break the loop. I even tried to stop you like I did for those one-note Huntsmen, but after watching you, I realized that that was limiting myself. That there was much more excitement to find if I just looked for it. You showed me that, and that's why I'm so grateful."
"You're nuts," Jaune spat, "and I'm nothing like you. I don't do this for fun. I do it to help people."
"You say that, but actions speak louder than words. Take right now for example. People are dying all over Beacon, yet you're standing here instead of helping them."
"That's—"
"Yes, I'm sure you've come up with all sorts of excuses to justify it to yourself, but the truth is you came after me not because I was the bigger threat, or because I had something to stop this massacre, but because I'm the more interesting target. The Grimm, the White Fang, they're known entities. They're boring, but I'm new. I'm mysterious. I'm exciting which is why you came to me. It's more fun."
Jaune found himself taking a step back. His chest felt cold and his hands were shaking. There was no way he was like that. "That's not true."
"What about before the invasion? What were you and Emerald doing to prevent this loss of life? Looking for Pyrrha's imaginary friend? Going on dates? Chasing after Blake? What was the point? What did any of that accomplish? Face it, you've been running around to the beat of your own drum while the tragedy piles up around you."
"Shut up! We didn't know this was going to happen. We couldn't have stopped it."
"Are you sure? Are you really sure?" Sulfur chuckled. "Maybe you should ask your girlfriend about her little side alliance. Might give you some insight."
"You're lying! Emerald wouldn't help cause this."
Sulfur tapped his finger on the window. "Help isn't quite right, but she didn't do anything to stop this. She just played along. The same thing you just yelled at me for. Perhaps she's just more honest than you."
Jaune stepped forward, his anger boiling down to the tip of his sword. No more trying to be sneaky and clever. He wouldn't stand to hear any more of Sulfur's words, and if that meant getting into a one-on-one brawl then so be it. "Why you—"
Sulfur interrupted Jaune's battle cry like he didn't even hear it. "Oh look, I think I see Yang out there. Oh dear, she doesn't look too good."
Despite every nerve in his body telling Jaune to not give in to Sulfur's words, curiosity and fear got the better of him. He looked out the window, and true to Sulfur's word, he could see a head of blonde hair being carried away by some guy with a scythe, but the part that mattered, the part that fueled his already boiling blood to the extreme, was he was pretty sure Yang was without an arm.
"Such a shame," Sulfur mocked. "If only someone had done something earlier, Yang might have been okay. No, she definitely would have been fit and healthy. Well, better late than never and it looks like the star of act one has arrived."
In the distance, the Grimm dragon flew around Beacon's courtyard terrorizing everyone that was there and shrugging off tank shells and semblances like they were nothing. Until a redhead girl suddenly shot up in front of the dragon. Her eyes glowed with fire as she raised her hammer, crackling with purple lightning, high above her head before bringing it down on the dragon's snout. More lightning literally shot down from the sky to assist her attack and the dragon plummeted to the ground."
Sulfur clapped and even whistled like he was watching the climax of a movie. "That's what I'm talking about. I'm responsible for that by the way. I gave Nora the power to fight off this invasion." He turned away from the window and stepped right up to Jaune's face. "Meanwhile, all you've been doing is wasting your time."
The blade of Jaune's sword hit Sulfur's neck, and with a roar Jaune tore the steel all the way through, popping Sulfur's head off his shoulder like a broken jack-in-the-box. Yet not only did the disembodied head keep smiling, it kept talking.
"Guess that's the end of that. I had fun regardless. Once I finish setting up the stage, come back to climb the tower. I'll be waiting for you."
Sulfur's head hit the floor and splattered into a pool of disgusting smelling sap. His body soon followed, joining the pool and leaving no signs that the sap had ever formed a person. Jaune spat on it even though he knew the real Sulfur wouldn't feel it.
It didn't make Jaune feel any better.
The invasion ended almost as quickly as it had started. The Grimm were wiped out, the Atlas robots were back under control and the White Fang had fled. It was hardly a victory though, or at least it didn't feel like it under the mountain of corpses. There was no celebratory mood. Just weeping from those that had lost friends and family and guilt from the ones that hadn't.
Jaune shuffled through Beacon like a ghost not sure what he should do, or if he should do anything at all. Sky and Russel were confirmed dead, and Yang and Pyrrha were nowhere to be seen.
The only person he did find was Emerald and wasn't that a shock. After spending so long worrying and not being able to get a hold of her, she appeared so easily after everything was settled.
Almost like she was waiting for it to end.
"Jaune are you okay." Emerald ran up to him and hugged him. "You look terrible."
"Thanks for the info." Jaune pushed her away from him.
Emerald huffed, but Jaune didn't care. "Did you get Sulfur?" she asked.
"I didn't. What were you doing all this time? Do you know how many times I tried calling you?"
Emerald froze then quickly avoided his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I was helping to fight off the Grimm. Not exactly the best time to take a scroll call."
Jaune examined her from top to bottom: clean clothes, shiny hair, unmarked skin. She was perfect. Much too perfect for someone that just came back from a fight. "You're lying, and for someone who used to make a living as a thief, I'm surprised you're so bad at it. Where were you really?"
Emerald leaned back, no doubt surprised Jaune would ever take up such an accusatory tone with her. "How dare you. I'm not lying—"
"Did you know this was going to happen?"
"What?"
"Is that why you didn't want us to tell Ozpin about anything?"
Yeah, let her have it. You're sick of her shit.
"Is your new friend more important than all these people's lives? More important than my life!"
"Never!" Emerald screamed back. "What do you even know anyways?"
"Sulfur told me about your deal."
Emerald was appalled "And you trust him more than me!"
Jaune gritted his jaw so hard it looked like he might crack a tooth. "At the moment, yes."
Emerald must have stood there for more than a minute with her mouth just hanging open. How dare he. Her mind spoke when her voice could not. After all you've done for him. After all you sacrificed. Are you really just going to take that lying down?
"Fine," she said once her mouth decided to move. "I wasn't fighting off Grimm. Happy now."
"No. Tell me why."
Emerald hissed. "A few days ago that woman that tried to recruit me before I met you finally got her wish. She ambushed me when I was alone and forced me to feed her information about Beacon and what we were doing. I didn't know what she was planning, but when the Grimm suddenly invaded it became pretty clear. While it was all going on she contacted me and had me use my semblance so she could sneak into Beacon Tower undetected. I didn't want to but if I didn't she would just kill anyone in her way. It was safer for everyone this way." Emerald wrapped her arms around herself and refused to look at him.
"Not safer for you, it wasn't." Jaune's voice was overflowing with concern. "Why didn't you tell me I would have dropped everything to help you."
"I wanted to protect you," Emerald whispered. "You might have dealt with monsters before, but that woman was a different breed of monster. She would have done anything to get what she wanted."
Jaune's anger started to fade away over Emerald's truly crestfallen expression. He wanted to hug her and tell her that he was sorry, but before he could a wayward thought pierced the back of his skull.
She thinks you're weak. She thinks you're incapable. You've fought as hard as anyone else and she still coddles you. She doesn't trust you at all.
The anger came pouring back. "I didn't ask for you to protect me," he gritted. "We're partners and that means we do things together. This might have all been prevented if you hadn't been such a coward."
Jaune caught the hand that came around to slap him, and he took a fair bit of pleasure watching Emerald try to pull it back. Jaune held it there for a little bit longer, showing Emerald which one of them actually needed the protection, before letting her slip free.
With a scowl. Emerald brought her hand to her chest and even rubbed her wrist like he had really grabbed her that hard. "Maybe you're right," she admitted. "Maybe I made the wrong choice, but you don't have the right to talk to me like that."
"And you don't have the right to try and slap me for saying something you don't like."
Emerald opened her mouth like she was about ready to spit venom, but unexpectedly she stopped herself and closed her eyes to take a deep, frustrated breath. "Look, I think we're just worked up because of what happened. Let's not fight right now. If you didn't get Sulfur we still can. He should still be around here."
Jaune felt his anger dipping for the second time, and yet again another intrusive thought tried to reignite it.
She's trying to change the subject. Don't let her.
Jaune ignored that one. Besides, he had a much more important confrontation to address.
"No, I'm done."
Emerald looked on ahead flabbergasted. "What?"
Jaune drooped his head. He was so tired. "Look around. We lost. Sulfur had us running around like idiots this entire time. We were just pieces on his board. I'm done, Emerald. I'm done pretending. Becoming a caretaker was a mistake."
Emerald couldn't believe what she was hearing. Where was the man who got so excited about any little spell he created? Where was the man who threw himself at Cryphilictal to save a single girl? Where was the man she had fallen in love with?
And he had the nerve to call you a coward.
"So that's it! You lose once and just call it quits."
"It's not just once!" Jaune had tears that he had probably been holding in since leaving Beacon tower, running down his cheeks. The pain in his voice was almost too much to bear as he let everything out. "I've never won. Not once. All I do is screw everything up. I didn't save Bury. I let you get hurt with the spider-slug. I got tricked by Roman into doing his dirty work. I nearly got all of us killed in Cryphilictal, and now this. Beacon is half destroyed, Vale's in chaos, people are dead and I didn't do a damn thing to help."
"That's not true."
"What? Are you going to bring up how we beat one single grimm at Whitley's house, or maybe when we brought back that playground?" Jaune gave a small pathetic laugh. "Yeah, what incredible successes those were. They should build statues in our honor."
Jaune sighed letting out the last of his will before standing up straight and staring Emerald dead in the face. "I'm going home," he said simply, "and I'm asking you to come with me." Jaune held out a vulnerable hand.
No.
"No." The word left Emerald's lips before she could stop it and then it was too late to take it back. "I can't," she whimpered, trying her hardest not to burst into tears. "Not like this. Not with the cowardly shadow of the person I love. The person I loved."
With a blink, Emerald was gone, lost in the shroud of her semblance. Jaune lowered his hand, the tears still running down his face, but he didn't feel sad over Emerald's rejection.
He only felt empty.
Journal Entry #11
I suppose I won. It wasn't like I expected to feel elated, but I still thought it would be more satisfying than this. Maybe because it was overall too fast and easy. Too many people fighting against each other, too many plans layered on top of one another. Of course, it's because of that situation that I could slip through the cracks and come out on top, but that isn't a very interesting story, is it?
It's as if when the hero raced up the tower to save the princess, the tower collapsed because the builder didn't follow the proper safety regulations. Sure, it might be good for a bit of a laugh, but if that were the conclusion to a story with a thousand pages of setup, you can bet there would be people out for blood.
To have a good story, the hero has to face the dragon or the evil wizard or whoever in that final heart-pounding clash. Everything before that is simply filler. It's the hero's job to train and become stronger for the challenge ahead while it's the villain's job to plan and scheme so they aren't unprepared when the hero takes on the challenge.
Unfortunately, I am still unprepared. This was a good dress rehearsal, but the stage isn't set quite yet.
So while it pains me, I have to break up the hero and his leading lady for the time being. It was painful to watch two rising stars break apart, but they should know better than most that emotions are chaotic, illogical, and fragile. They can be easily manipulated by normal means so it's little wonder that magic, or in my case magic adjacent, is so effective on them.
Of course, the worry is that they won't rekindle and thus never attempt to climb the tower, but if that's the case then they wouldn't have ever been the heroes of the story, would they? Maybe there are no heroes and this is no story, but assuming they are.
Well, just because the hero exists doesn't mean they'll win in the end.
AN: This was probably one of the hardest chapters I've ever written since there was so much going on. Maybe it should have been two chapters, but too late for that now. Hopefully, you all enjoyed it even if I still feel like it gets a bit clunky at parts.