Cover Art by CHE3ZY.
I'll be going on leave this week. I'll try to update but just giving you a heads up in case you don't see anything. As always please like, share, and leave your thoughts in the reviews section. Please let me know if you find any outstanding errors in any of the previous chapters because I sometimes miss things. I hope you enjoy this one. Here's chapter 21.
Eight Years Before the Start of the Series:
The weather was as depressing as the mood. The clouds were dark, the cold Solitas air blew hard, and a light rain poured down onto the souls below. The candidates were formed up perfectly in their individual squadrons: Alpha through Echo. They were dressed in their service dress uniforms, along with their overcoats. Their uniforms were pristine; the attention to detail was evident. The only thing that set the different squadrons apart, aside from the space between them, was the different color berets they wore. The candidates of Alpha Squadron wore maroon berets, in Bravo Squadron they wore red berets, those in Charlie Squadron wore grey berets, the candidates of Delta Squadron wore green Berets, and the members of Echo Squadron wore black berets.
Three years passed since they arrived here and, in that time, they endured hellish physical and mental training that only increased in difficulty with each passing day. While the training was monstrous, the results spoke for themselves. They were now all between the ages of eight and ten and yet they were stronger and faster than their normal peers thanks to the intense training. Their auras were unlocked after they finished hell-week at the end of their first year of training. Hell-week was a weeklong event that put the candidates through the meat grinder. It consisted of seven days of brutal training with only five total hours of sleep.
The completion of hell-week was met with the rewarding of their respective berets. The berets were symbolic more than anything really. They served to distinguish the different squadrons from each other whenever they were in formations such as this, and they served to signify that the five squadrons would branch out into different specializations. Alpha Squadron would specialize in Combat Search and Rescue. Bravo Squadron in Infiltration and Sabotage, Charlie Squadron in Reconnaissance and Intelligence, Delta Squadron would specialize in Assault, and Echo Squadron in Counter-Terrorism.
The day would come when their qualification training to become full-fledged Guardians would end. On that day, the Alphas would be experts in battlefield trauma, hostage rescue, and personnel recovery behind enemy lines in any type of environment. The Bravos would be able to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and sabotage vital equipment as well as carry out discrete assassinations better than anyone. If vital intelligence was needed, then the Charlies would be the first choice to go in and perform the necessary reconnaissance and surveillance. If something needed to be destroyed with extreme prejudice then you'd send in the Deltas, who would bring the noise with heavy weapons and explosives. Lastly, the Echos, the manhunters, would become the premier choice in eliminating terrorist organizations and the like.
While each squadron was to specialize in a certain mission area, it didn't mean that the specialization training didn't overlap. All Guardians would need to know how to administer first aid, sabotage enemy equipment, infiltrate, gather intelligence, perform reconnaissance, conduct direct action assaults, and hunt down terrorists. What made the difference was that one squadron would be better in a particular mission skill set than another squadron. This way, each squadron was a jack of all trades but also a master of one, so to speak. Despite their specializations, the squadrons would have the same end goal: kill Salem and save Remnant.
After hell-week, the next two years of training, while still physically demanding, encompassed far more than the first. They were trained by the general and their instructors to be proficient in the tactical employment of an unusually wide degree of modern weaponry, explosive devices, blades, knives, and firearms (foreign and domestic). They were also trained to be highly proficient in all forms of hand-to-hand combat. Their instructors taught them the important things taught at the Huntsmen Academies, but they also taught them what wasn't taught in the academies. The would-be Guardians were taught extremely lethal techniques that normally would be banned from the curriculum of a Huntsmen Academy. On top of this baseline training, the candidates of each squadron would begin to learn the basics of the different squadron specialties such as medical training, infiltration, heavy assaults, tracking, …etc. The plan was for them to become jacks of all trades first before eventually having them master their assigned skillsets. That was everything they'd done up to this point.
Per General Ironwood's syllabus, the coming years would have the candidates undergo additional training. Not only would they need to maintain mastery over everything they'd learned, but they would also need to become highly proficient in tactical driving (on and off-road), piloting aircraft, apprehension avoidance (including picking handcuffs and escaping from confinement), and even constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). That wasn't all, however. They were also to be trained in High-Altitude High Opening (HAHO) and High-Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachuting, they would need to become qualified in combat closed-circuit diving, they'd need to learn surreptitious entry operations (picking or otherwise bypassing locks), and they needed to learn vehicle hot-wiring. In addition to that, they needed to learn Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) techniques to fight and survive in extreme environments as well as learn how to perform hacking operations and perform tactical communications tracking.
The art of war was the bread and butter of these children. Objectively speaking, it was safe to say that the candidates, with their long and extensive training, would undoubtedly become the most lethal warriors on Remnant…those who survived the training and didn't die that is. That subject of death was the reason for this formation ceremony.
General Ironwood stood at a podium as he spoke to the neatly formed-up candidates, all of who stood at the position of attention and all were unfazed by the cold weather and rain. Doctor Haze, wearing a winter coat, sat a bit behind him and held an umbrella above her head, shielding her from the rain. The instructors stood off to the side of the general at the position of parade rest with ceremonial rifles, and they also wore winter gear.
The last two years had been rough for everyone. During that time, they'd lost eight candidates. Zero-Zero-Two was the first to go. His body was found hanging in a supply closet. The weight of the stress and trauma of the program came crumbling down on him, and so he took the only exit he saw. The entirety of Special Mission Unit 170, which was comprised of Zero-Four-One, Zero-Four-Two, Zero-Four-Three, and Zero-Four-Four, died during an escape attempt. While escape attempts happened every so often, they always failed and the escaping candidates as well as the rest of their brothers and sisters would be punished. SMU 170 and SMU 154 gained a bit of infamy for their repeated escape attempts. This escape attempt, however, was different from all of the previous ones. While would-be escapees never made it out of the facility, which was more secure than any prison on Remnant, SMU 170 managed to make it out of the facility by stealing a Manta dropship. Considering that they had yet to learn how to pilot aircraft, they didn't get very far as the Manta crashed. Instructors Red and Black found the crash site and a trail of blood in the snow that led them to the remains of Unit 170. The torn clothes and small bodily remains were clear evidence that the four met their end via a Grimm attack. What most likely happened was that the candidates were severely injured in the crash and in their weakened state they couldn't properly defend themselves from the Grimm. The same Grimm attacked Instructors Red and Green, but the experienced Huntsmen were able to kill them. They had to give the candidates some credit, though. They actually made it out of the facility, and while a true escape was near impossible due to how far north they were in the remote frozen wilderness, they came closer to freedom than anyone. Candidates Zero-Two-One, Zero-Six-Six, and One-Zero-Zero died in training accidents. Zero-Two-One died via a fatal gunshot wound to the head during a live-fire exercise when his aura wasn't active, Zero-Six-Six met her end in a spar when her aura was broken and a blade stabbed her through the heart, and One-Zero-Zero died from hypemic hypoxia when one of the training rooms caught fire.
One-Zero-Zero was the reason for this ceremony today. They'd conducted identical ceremonies after the deaths of the other candidates, but today was for One-Zero-Zero. There was no casket laid out before them. The program's extremely classified nature demanded that the fatalities of the program were cremated, and their ashes were scattered.
To the candidates, they'd lost eight brothers and sisters over the last two years. To the instructors, they lost students. While they were prohibited from forming attachments to the candidates, their deaths did sadden them. General Ironwood and Doctor Haze took the deaths differently. They were the ones who created this program, and they were the ones who brought the children here. In a way, the general and the good doctor were like the surrogate parents of the children in a very twisted way. They felt more responsible for their deaths than anyone. They knew this program would result in fatalities, but it didn't mean they didn't feel remorse. They needed to remain strong, however, and they needed to move forward. Salem wasn't going to wait for them to recover.
"…and while his death means he will not join us on future fields of battle, One-Zero-Zero will live on in our hearts and minds," the general's words were genuine. His voice was strong, but there were clear hints of a deeper sadness that lingered. "He was more than just a good soldier; he was our brother, and it is for these reasons that we honor him here today. Never forget him."
Doctor Haze nodded solemnly. The brilliant scientist's eyes began to water but she refrained from letting tears flow freely.
The sea of candidates still stood at attention, but it was clear that the general's words impacted them. He was their brother and now he would no longer be there with them during the rest of their training or their future missions. Out of all of the candidates, the three who were hurting the most were Zero-Nine-Seven, Zero-Nine-Eight, and Zero-Nine-Nine. One-Zero-Zero was their teammate. In their eyes, they'd failed to protect him and now here they were with their brothers and sisters paying their respects to him. General Ironwood and Doctor Haze weren't lying when they said that they needed to rely on each other to survive.
Instructor Green broke the silence.
"PRESENT ARMS!"
The instructors raised their rifles in sync as the general and the many candidates brought their hands up to salute.
"READY! AIM! FIRE!" commanded Instructor Green.
The instructors proceeded to fire a single shot before Green proceeded to repeat the command a second time.
"READY! AIM! FIRE!"
The shots rang out again.
"READY! AIM! FIRE!"
The shots echoed once again.
"SHOULDER ARMS!"
The instructors did as Green commanded and shouldered their weapons.
The general lowered his hand and paused. After a painful moment, he spoke.
"Let us sing the soldier's hymn to our fallen brother."
General Ironwood took another moment before he began to sing a somber tune. The candidates joined the general in his singing. The sound of their combined singing echoed everywhere. The hymn was a somber one, but its words were powerful. The hymn dwelled not on war and death, but on the eternal peace of heaven, the Mansions of the Lord, to which a fallen soldier is commended by his comrades, who promise to stand guard and remember him always. The hymn's message made clear that in that blessed place there was no more war, no fear or pain, no anguish or loss, but just divine embrace where there was no darkness but instead a light that would shine for eternity. The choir sounded dignified, their uplifting voices bringing forth an atmosphere of hope for their fallen brother.
Beacon Academy Present Day:
As if it couldn't have come sooner, the semester finally ended. No more homework, no more exams, and no more wasted time for the next two weeks. They had two weeks to find Torchwick and get some answers out of him. They had all the gear and supplies they needed to carry out a covert operation. The only thing left for them to do was to find someone or something that could lead them to Torchwick, and that was what they were currently doing.
A hologram of a map of Vale was projected from Penny's eyes onto the floor of their room. Her brothers stood before, staying silent as she spoke.
"From what I could find in the Vale police department records, this area of the city is home to the majority of Torchwick's activities," she pointed to a highlighted area of the city, "the same area is also home to various elements of the Vale criminal underworld. While sightings of Torchwick have not been reported since the incident at the docks, I believe that we would have the best chance of finding a lead to his whereabouts here," she paused momentarily to see if they had any questions before she continued. "As we already know, we must proceed with discretion if we are to avoid unwanted attention. Therefore, I suggest we try to gather information through the bars and clubs in the area. Reports indicate that they are regularly visited by criminals and the like. We might be able to eavesdrop and discover some useful information."
Terre looked to his brothers, silently seeking their opinion on the matter. Jai and Rahm merely nodded.
"Good work Penny," said Terre, "very good work. You've learned well. We'll follow your plan and head there and see if we can't find a lead."
"Thank you, Terre," she said with a smile.
"Who's staying and who's going?" Asked Jai.
"You and I will go and see what we can find," Terre answered, "Rahm and Penny will stay here and keep an eye on the others."
Penny frowned, clearly unhappy with the proposed plan.
"Actually," she said, "I would like to go."
"Penny," Rahm began.
"Please," she looked at him with pleading eyes, "I have done everything you asked me to do, and I have grown tired of sitting idle. I want to help."
"Penny," Jai said sternly, "it's only been two weeks since you blew your cover."
Penny closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh.
"I know that, but I know I can help. Please. I am just asking for a chance to prove myself."
The super soldiers looked at her, studying her intently. She'd changed. She wasn't the same little girl they met all those months ago. Terre was right. She learned well, very well. The Guardians silently nodded to each other before Terre spoke.
"If that's the case," said Terre, "then Jai and I can stay back and hold down the fort while Penny and Rahm go."
Penny jumped up in joy.
"Thank you! You will not regret this!"
She proceeded to hug each of them with great strength. Rahm cleared his throat as he was straightening himself out from the monstrous hug he just received.
"No thanks are necessary," said Rahm, "but I want you to remember that we're going to gather information. We aren't going to start a fight. The last thing we need is to scare off any potential leads or worse."
"You can count on me, Rahm."
Jai's scroll pinged, alerting him to a new message. The super soldier retrieved his scroll and opened the message and began to read it silently.
From: Jaune
Hey Jai. If you aren't too busy, do you think we could talk face to face? There's something I'd like to talk to you about.
"Is it Pyrrha?"
Penny's question got Jai's attention, forcing him to look up from the scroll.
"No," he replied, "it's Jaune."
Rahm and Terre looked at each other before they looked back at Jai.
"What does he want?" Asked Terre.
"To talk it seems," replied Jai as he made his way to the door. Before he exited the room, he paused briefly, looking over his shoulder. "Best of luck out there. Call me if you need me."
"I'm surprised you and your team didn't go home for the break," Weiss said with curiosity, "what made you all stay at Beacon?"
Terre was seated opposite of team RWBY in the dining hall. The super soldier took a drink of his water before he answered.
"The weather in Atlas isn't the best this time of year. We decided to stay here where it was warmer," he lied.
Weiss nodded in understanding. She knew from personal experience how cold Atlas got during this time of year. Many of those in the higher echelons of Atlas society would travel to Vale during this time of year to avoid the cold.
"What about you?" Terre asked, trying to steer the conversation away from him. "What's keeping all of you here?"
Weiss looked down with a frown.
"Home isn't exactly high on my priority list at the moment," Weiss answered.
Terre didn't press the issue further. He merely nodded in understanding.
"Going home would have been too much of a hassle," said Blake as she took a bite of her salmon.
"Yang and I wanted to stay close to Blake and Weiss. We can go home anytime; it's only a short bullhead ride away."
"Understandable," said Terre.
The five continued to eat in silence for another few minutes until Yang spoke up.
"So, Terre," she said, "where are Jai, Rahm, and Penny?"
Terre swallowed the food he was chewing before he answered.
"I believe Jai is with Jaune at the moment, and Penny and Rahm went into the city."
"What for?" Asked a curious Ruby.
Terre shrugged. "Penny wanted to take a walk through the city," he lied.
Yang's eyes widened in sudden realization before she shot up from her seat, startling Weiss, Ruby, and Blake.
"I know what we should do!"
"What should we do?" Asked Weiss.
"We should all go out together to Vale and properly celebrate finishing our first semester!"
"Like going out to a fancy restaurant?" Asked Weiss.
Yang scoffed.
"No," she replied, "that's lame. I'm talking about our three teams going out and having a blast and painting the town red. I'm talking about drinking the night away and waking up the next morning and not remembering what happened."
"Uh…" Ruby began, "is that a good ide-" Ruby didn't get the chance to finish her question.
"I'M GOING TO TALK TO TEAM JNPR RIGHT NOW!" Yang sped off in search of the aforementioned team, leaving her teammates and Terre to look on with mixed reactions.
"She certainly is headstrong," Terre noted.
"You have no idea," replied Ruby with a deadpanned expression.
"Thanks for coming man," said Jaune, "I appreciate it."
Jai nodded. The two were seated on the rooftop's ledge, overlooking the main campus.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Jaune looked a bit uneasy for a moment as he tried to formulate his question. The blonde sighed before he spoke.
"You and Pyrrha have been training me for months now, and before I ask my question, I want you to know that I appreciate all your help."
Jai nodded. The blonde's gratitude was unnecessary in his opinion. He wasn't doing it for Jaune. He merely did it because Pyrrha asked him to.
"You don't need to thank me. Thank Pyrrha."
"Believe me I have, but she is part of the reason I wanted to talk to you about."
Jai looked at Jaune with curiosity, silently telling him to continue.
"I don't know how to say this, but it just feels like something is off during my sparring sessions with Pyrrha."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Yeah," he replied, "there's no doubt that you and Pyrrha are amazing fighters and the both of you are leaps and bounds better than me."
That was putting it lightly. Pyrrha was a prodigy who won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row and Jai was a child soldier who endured the most grueling training on the planet and then survived human experimentation to become a super soldier. There was no comparison between Jaune and them.
"But…" he trailed off, "…it just feels different when I fight against her. I know that both of you aren't going all out against me, but with you, it feels natural. When I face Pyrrha it feels as though sometimes I move on my own…I don't know how to describe it really. I wanted to ask you if you noticed that too?"
Jai simply stared at the blonde for a moment. The Guardian had to admit that he was impressed. It was clear that what Jaune lacked in combat skills he made up for in intelligence. It was starting to make sense why he was chosen to lead team JNPR instead of Pyrrha or Ren. He honestly felt that those two were the most qualified to lead, and he wasn't the only one who thought that either. Rahm and Terre felt the same way.
In any case, Jaune wasn't wrong. Pyrrha had been guiding Jaune's movements even before the blonde began training with him and Pyrrha. After the incident in the Forever Fall Forest, Jai had confronted her about secretly helping the blonde, and the subject of the blonde's confidence potentially being hurt came up. To say Pyrrha had been conflicted on whether or not to tell Jaune that she helped him kill that Ursa would have been an understatement. She'd asked Jai if he thought telling Jaune the truth was a good idea. In all honesty, Jai didn't know but he told her he'd support whatever course of action she chose. In the end, Pyrrha decided to not tell Jaune. She didn't want to take any chances with hurting his self-confidence.
Jaune's first training session went about as well as one could expect. In reality, it was less of a training session and more of a figure out what he needed help with. Turns out he needed help with literally everything. After the first week of training, Jai began to notice that during some of Pyrrha's sparring sessions with Jaune she would occasionally use her semblance, just ever so slightly, to influence Jaune's movements to bring his sword and shield in the proper position. He didn't bother confronting her about it again. He understood why she did it. Jaune was far below the average student at Beacon. He was certain that if she hadn't given him those little pushes here and there then Jaune would have been even further behind the curve. What better way to help him build muscle memory than by using her semblance to subtly move his body into the correct position in the middle of their sparring sessions? While he understood her rationale for it, that didn't mean he agreed with it one hundred percent.
In his personal opinion, it seemed that she was babying him a bit by not letting him figure it out on his own. He and his brothers and sisters in the program didn't have the luxuries Jaune had. They had to figure these things out the hard way and if they couldn't get it right then everyone was punished until that one person figured it out. But then again…maybe it wasn't fair for him to judge through the lens of his training and experiences. It was clear that Pyrrha's natural ability was supplemented with rigorous training, but Pyrrha wasn't abducted and forcibly conscripted to serve in an extremely classified super soldier program. He wasn't really in a position to fairly judge. He guessed that was another reason why he didn't confront her about it. He merely provided assistance at her request; she was in charge of his training as far as he was concerned.
This right here, however, was a complicated situation. He never planned on telling Jaune about Pyrrha's subtle guiding hand, but Jaune was here asking him if he knew anything about it. In all honesty, it wasn't his place to say. On top of that, he had no plans of throwing Pyrrha under the bus.
"I can't say that I've noticed anything like that, Jaune," he lied, "are you sure you're not overthinking it?"
"I…" Jaune began, unsure of how to answer, "…I-I'm not sure. Maybe? I don't know Jai. I've just been having a weird feeling during some of our sparring sessions lately."
"How long ago did you start noticing this?"
"Just recently," he answered, "within the last week."
That made sense. Although Jaune still had a long way to go, the fruits of his training were beginning to show. He took his training sessions seriously and he improved each day significantly. It was only natural that he'd begin to start noticing Pyrrha's actions as he gained more experience.
Jai hummed in fake thought, doing his best to feign ignorance. One of the positives of being raised to be an emotionless killing machine was that it was easy to lie when necessary.
"I'm honestly not sure what to say then," said Jai.
Jaune nodded in understanding.
"Thanks, Jai. Maybe you're right. In any case, I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out." Jaune extended his hand to the super soldier.
Jai looked at the blonde's extended hand for a moment before he took it and shook it firmly.
"No problem," he replied. The two ceased the handshake before turning to look out towards the campus.
There was silence for a moment before it was interrupted by the sound of the rooftop door slamming wide open, causing Jaune to jump in surprise and nearly fall off the ledge if it weren't for Jai's hand clamping down onto his shoulder and keeping him steady.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief before he looked at Jai.
"Thanks for the save."
"Don't mention it," replied Jai.
"There you are Jaune! I told you we'd find him here Ren!" The sound of Nora's energetic voice was unmistakable. "Also, good news! Jai's here too!" She yelled over her shoulder.
"Nora, you and I both know that Pyrrha told us we could find him here," came the reply of team JNPR's quietest member as he entered into view from the stairwell.
"I recall no such thing!" She said in an overly dramatic voice.
Jai and Jaune shared a look momentarily before they turned their attention back to her.
"Hello Nora, hello Ren," said Jai, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Yang's come up with the best idea!" Nora jumped up and down in elation. "We're all going out to celebrate finishing our first semester later tonight! That means you and Terre need to let Penny and Rahm know."
"I see…" said Jai as he glanced at his watch, seeing that it was 1630, "I'll be sure to let Penny and Rahm know," he stood up from the ledge and made for the door.
"Where are you going?" Asked Jaune.
Jai looked over his shoulder before he replied.
"To speak with Terre," he lied. As he descended via the stairs, the Guardian retrieved his scroll and began to type away on the digital keypad.
To: Pyrrha
We need to talk.
Vale:
Penny never got tired of venturing out into Vale. She was always sure to jump at the chance to join Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Nora, or Pyrrha in the city for whatever reason. Whether it was shopping, getting food, or simply just taking a stroll, she never got bored with her friends. Her brothers, however, were a different story. The boys had little interest in venturing out into Vale if it wasn't necessary. If Ruby, Weiss, or Pyrrha ventured into Vale then they'd have to go as well. They normally didn't mind visiting Vale too much, unless of course it involved shopping. While Penny loved it, the boys hated it (which said a lot about emotionless killing machines) because of how much time it wasted, and Penny was always sure to tease them about it.
As she and Rahm walked, Penny's scanners were busy analyzing the surrounding area, searching for any potential threats. The area of town they were in wasn't exactly the most affluent; nor was the bar they were headed to. It was called the 'Jaguar's Paw.' The bar was faunus owned and was predominantly frequented by faunus, but it was also known to be visited by human criminals. Hopefully, they'd encounter White Fang members or thieves connected to Torchwick. On that note, her digital mind was also running through a few internet videos on bar etiquette. Penny determined that if they were to find a lead at this bar then they needed to know how to act. The two were dressed in casual attire. Penny wore her usual outfit and Rahm wore his black and orange sweatshirt, white pants, and white sneakers with orange trim.
"There it is," said Rahm.
Penny's eyes followed Rahm's gaze. There it was. For a bar located in one of the shadier parts of town, it didn't look all that bad. The owner certainly had been on top of the upkeep of the place.
"You remember the plan?"
Penny nodded.
"Yes. If one of us overhears something of interest, then I will record the conversation."
"Good," he said.
The two were just outside the bar now. Penny reached for the door and held it open.
"After you, Rahm."
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Pyrrha asked.
Jai was seated across from her on a picnic table in the gardens of Beacon Academy; the two were alone.
"Pyrrha," he said, "Jaune knows."
Pyrrha looked at him with confusion.
"Pardon?" She legitimately didn't know what he was talking about.
"I stayed quiet because I said I would support your decisions, but I know you've been subtly using her semblance to guide his movements on occasion during your sparring sessions with him, and now Jaune knows too."
Pyrrha's eyes widened intensely. She knew Jai was perceptive, but the fact that he noticed that spoke volumes about his abilities. She hardly ever used her semblance overtly, only doing so when she was specifically training it. During actual fights or spars, she would use it to such a degree that it was hardly noticeable. In the case of Jaune, she used it to an even lesser degree, using it just enough to discretely guide his movements.
Pyrrha hung her head in shame.
"What did Jaune say?"
"He asked me if I noticed anything strange during your spars with him. He said he perceived as though his body were moving on its own during the last week in training sessions."
"What did you say?" Her head was still hung low.
"I lied and said I hadn't noticed. I told him he might be overthinking things, and it seems as though he's bought that lie for now."
"I'm sorry Jai." She couldn't look him in the eye. Not now. Not with how disgraceful she felt.
He looked at her with curiosity.
"For what?"
"For getting you involved in this mess, and for not listening to you about telling him the truth."
"Actually," he said, "I never said you should have taken a particular course of action. I merely asked if you were going to tell him."
Pyrrha blinked. That was technically true.
"Regardless," he said, "your apology is unnecessary. I said that I didn't know what would have been the proper course of action back then and that I would support you no matter what."
She smiled briefly, happy to hear his words of encouragement. Pyrrha brought a hand to her head as she thought of a way to explain this.
"I understand why you did it," he said.
"You do?" She brought her head up to look him in the eye.
Jai nodded. "When we started training him, Jaune's ability was well below average. You did it to help him build muscle memory and increase the rate of his progression."
Pyrrha was impressed with his deductive skills. He was right, and not just mostly right but one hundred percent right.
"I don't necessarily agree with it entirely, but as far I'm concerned what you say goes as far as his training goes."
She couldn't help but smile at that last part. She let out a stressful sigh as she rubbed her temple.
"This is all my fault. Jai," she said, "what should I do?"
He looked at her for a moment before he replied.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't take part of the blame for this. I should have brought this to your attention sooner. In all honesty, I didn't think he would notice. I underestimated him. He's progressed at an impressive rate and what he lacked in ability he made up for in intelligence."
Pyrrha nodded. Jaune did possess an astute mind.
"I know I wasn't entirely sure when we first talked about this, but I've been able to get a better picture by observing him these past months, and because of that I think you should tell him the truth. While I believe he's bought the lie, for now, I doubt it will remain that way for long."
She flinched at the thought of what Jaune's reaction would be to the truth. Would he be angry with her? Would he hate her? She was honestly terrified.
She definitely wouldn't use her semblance to guide his movements in future training sessions, that was certain. She wasn't certain, however, of when the appropriate time to tell him would be. Today was a poor day to tell him, considering he'd just asked Jai about it. It couldn't hurt to wait a few days before she told him.
"You're right Jai," she said, "I'll tell him the truth, but not right now. I'm going to wait a few days before I tell him, and I won't use my semblance to guide his movements anymore."
Jai gave her a nod.
"I'll support whatever course of action you decide to take."
"Welcome to the Jaguar's Paw," said the bartender, a tall bear faunus. "Our drink menu is right here," he handed Penny a menu, "I'll give ya a minute to look it over."
"Thank you," she replied.
Penny glanced through the menu, wondering what to order for Rahm and herself. Her eyes stopped on one drink in particular.
"That one looks interesting," she said to herself quietly. She looked back up at the bartender with a smile. "May we please have two E-85s?"
The faunus looked at her as though she were crazy.
"Uh…" he began, "maybe you want to start with something else?"
Yeah, preferably something that wasn't straight gasoline.
"No that should be fine," she said confidently.
The bartender shrugged. It looked like another couple of kids were trying to prove their worth. Looks like he'd be adding two more faces to the wall of shame. He glanced over to the opposite side of the room where there was a wall with pictures of passed-out patrons all over it.
"Would you like those drinks mixed or straight?" He asked.
Penny looked at the drink menu again, searching for something to be added to their drinks. The videos she watched suggested that mixing alcohol with a flavorful agent was often preferred to drinking it straight. Her finger hovered over one in particular.
"Interesting," she said, "the peppermint schnapps seem colorful. We will have those please."
The bartender gave her a thumbs-up before he went about preparing the drinks. Rahm, meanwhile, was looking on as the whole thing played out. He leaned in closer to his little sister.
"Penny," he whispered low enough to ensure no one could hear, "we don't drink. What are you doing?"
"It would look suspicious for us to be in a bar and not have an alcoholic beverage," she replied.
Rahm blinked. That actually made sense.
"Fair enough," he said.
The bartender returned with their drinks. Rahm's enhanced nose twitched at the smell of the drink. He swore it smelled like straight gasoline. Rahm looked at the beverage with a raised eyebrow before he looked at Penny, who was looking at the bartender.
"Did you want to open up a tab?" Asked the bartender.
"No thank you," she replied as she retrieved a credit card from her pocket and handed it to the bartender.
Penny and the boys had each been given a credit card by Doctor Haze to use for miscellaneous purchases. The cards didn't have a spending limit, and everything was billed directly to the Atlas military.
The faunus swiped the card before handing it, along with a receipt, back to the synthetic girl and giving her a nod of thanks.
Penny raised her glass as Rahm looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I studied up on bar etiquette on our way here," she whispered, "I deemed it necessary to play the part well."
Rahm couldn't help but let a small smirk etch itself onto his face. This truly wasn't the same little girl he met all those months ago. She'd grown and learned so much in that time.
"I'm impressed, Penny." He followed her lead and raised his glass to clink it with hers.
"Thank you," she said, "that means so much to me."
Rahm nodded before he turned his attention to his beverage, eyeing it for a moment. Neither he nor his Guardian brothers had ever had alcohol. All they ever drank was water and the occasional fruit juice during breakfast if they were serving it that day. When he was just a trainee, he remembered seeing the instructors drinking in their free time and how boisterous and lively they became when they drank. Before they underwent the surgical procedures that turned them into superhumans, Doctor Haze gave them an in-depth overview of what would be done to them and how it would affect them. Their senses would be enhanced far beyond the scope of normal human anatomy, and they would become bigger, faster, stronger, smarter, etc. That much was a given. The surgeries and drugs they were given would enhance so much more, though. Their immune systems and their metabolisms would also be enhanced. Doctor Haze said that they would never have to worry about diseases, debilitating drugs, toxins, or inebriation. Their metabolisms burned four times faster than normal, meaning that their bodies could filter out harmful material without issue. He took a sip of the beverage and nearly spit it out if it hadn't been for his self-control. His mouth and throat felt like they were on fire. That was undoubtedly the worst thing he'd ever tasted in his life, and that was saying something considering he'd eaten insects and rotting meat during his survival training. The bartender, meanwhile, was trying his best to contain his laughter.
"How does it taste?" She asked.
"Terrible. I have no idea what would drive anyone to ever drink this."
"I wish I could taste," she whispered, frowning as she did so.
Rahm put a hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe your father will be able to help with that, but let's try to stay focused for now."
She smiled before she gave a big nod. Her eyes glowed for the briefest of moments, signifying that her internal audio recorders were on standby. Rahm's eyes scanned the room, looking for anyone of potential interest. There were quite a few faunus, but none of them sported any White Fang tattoos. The humans he spotted weren't discussing anything noteworthy. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was 1730. Yeah, it was definitely a bit early. It looked like they were going to have to wait a little bit longer. He glanced back to his drink and narrowed his eyes before he grabbed the liquid fire and downed it in one gulp, leaving Penny confused and the bartender in shock.
"Why did you do that?" She asked. Didn't he say that it was the worst thing he ever tasted?
There was a slight grimace on Rahm's face. He took a moment to shake the sting out of his throat before he answered.
"If we're going to be waiting here then I'd rather not do so while slowly drinking that jet fuel. I'd rather bite the bullet sooner rather than later."
The sound of glass hitting wood got Penny's and Rahm's attention. In front of Rahm, there was a freshly made drink waiting for him. Rahm looked at the bartender with a raised eyebrow.
"It's on the house kid," he said with an amused smile, "that was impressive. Do it again."
We got to see more of the darker aspects of Project Guardian in this chapter. Looks like Jaune is beginning to finally catch on and it looks like Rahm has discovered how terrible the equivalent of ever clear is. Tune in next time to see where things lead our favorite super soldiers.
-Dude64