Here we go

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 40

Fire and wind tore through her veins causing blood to boil. It was painful; it was wonderful; it was relief; it was fear; it was all of it coming out like water from a burst dam. Somewhere during it Ruby fell to her hands and knees, convulsing and arching her back, choking on screams that no longer had breath to sound.

It was both the greatest and the worst feeling of her young life.

Something in her body shifted. Gave way. Her legs became wet and she didn't know if she'd wet herself or climaxed – both were possible! The power surged one last time, roaring through every inch of her body and expelling out in a final howl of wind.

And then, nothing.

Until the roof of Nora's shack came crashing down outside, splintering apart in a horrifying sound that was sure to draw everyone's attention – if the absolute firestorm ripping up the Black Arcana wasn't evidence enough.

Panic gripped her. It was time to run.

Where, she didn't know. The rules were always the same in the slums – run first, ask questions later. Ruby bolted for the door and out, desperately trying to not be seen. Her magic responded, the familiar waves washing over and hiding her from view. Invisibility, she thought. Stay invisible. Don't let them see me. Please, Wildmagic, don't let me down now.

Cloaked figures were rushing toward the devastation. She ran the opposite way, toward the walls at the corner of the compound Nora's workshop occupied. The walls were too tall to be climbed easily but she hopped up, kicked off one wall at the junction of the corner and caught the lip, hauling herself up and over, scrabbling down the other side. Her heart raced as she charged on, legs thumping down into the grass, determined to put as much distance between the scene of the crime and herself as possible.

The bracelet on her wrist felt heavy. Cold. Did she rip it off? Lose it before Ironwood could track her? That would only look more suspicious, but if he'd been watching or had a way to track back, then he'd know for sure. Or would he? How accurate was it? Accurate enough to notice when it stopped working in the Sanctum. It had to stay on. All she could do was create distance.

Did anyone see me go there? What am I supposed to do if they did? The usual response was telling Yang and then having her threaten the person into silence. Not much use here. Would I have to deal with them myself?

Could she?

If Wildmagic responded to her desires, she could in theory badly hurt someone if she convinced herself it had to be done and she wanted it bad enough. It was the consequences of that she was more worried about, the very real possibility of killing someone who didn't deserve it.

"Stupid surges," she all but wept. "Couldn't you have waited just another week!?"

/-/

"Thank you for your time, Initiate Valkyrie," Ozpin said, leading the intimidated girl to the door. "Rest assured you're in no trouble – why, there are plenty of your fellows who saw you in the Black Arcana cafeteria. There's nothing to worry about."

"B-But it was my experiments that went off…"

"No one was hurt. Just a little damage. Though, if you'll indulge my curiosity, this didn't impact your recent experiment, did it?" The poor girl was so upset she looked at him with absolute confusion, as though she couldn't even piece together what he meant. "The sensors and memory box," he prodded. "For the Azure Arcana?"

"Oh! That!" Laughing nervously, she shook her head. "No, Grand Arcanist, I finished the prototype and sent it off for testing earlier today. I wouldn't start on the main one until I knew it worked so no, nothing was there to be damaged. And I don't keep my notes in my workshop. Not after the last ones went up in – uh… an accident."

"Accidents within the Black are common, my dear." He thumbed his Arcanum and the single black gemstone within it. "As I well know. Run along now. You're awfully stressed, so why not take the rest of the day to relax. Deal with your workshop tomorrow."

"Y-Yes. Thank you, Grand Arcanist." Nora glanced back into the room with just a little fear. "A-And Specialist Ironwood. Goodnight." Outside, Specialist Marrow approached with a smile and a friendly word, throwing an arm around her shoulder and leading her away, chatting the whole time. At least someone in James' entourage had the sense to be as such.

Ozpin closed the door, turning back with a heavy sigh. "I hope you are pleased with yourself, James. You've scared a poor Initiate half to death."

"A small price to pay, Ozpin."

"Yes – if it might lead to anything, but not only did Miss Valkyrie have a perfectly acceptable alibi, she's also a confirmed member of the Black Arcana. You know as well as I that Wildmages cannot hope to infiltrate their order. The techniques required are too precise."

James sat on one of the seats in the room, hooking his arms behind him. He appeared as tired and haggard as Ozpin felt, but the sharp gleam in his eyes told of steely determination. "The girl works in explosions. Those would not be difficult for a Wildmage to fake."

"You've already had your people investigate her, then? I'm not surprised. The explosions I might grant you, but her recent work is of a different nature entirely."

"My people did not know about that," James admitted.

He wouldn't have. The project for the Azure was both private and relatively new, while James had no doubt been basing his information on Miss Valkyrie from what her peers within the Black knew, and that, as he understood it, was that she had a penchant for things of a destructive nature. To put it simply, the information was outdated. It was a flaw James would not have made within his own Collegium, but here, well, he was on new ground.

"I shall confirm it for you then, James. Her work is not something a Wildmage could accomplish, certainly not one in the midst of a surge. And, of course, we have proof she was nowhere near the location as it happened."

"I accept that, Ozpin. The girl is clean. But it is better safe than sorry!"

"Within reason, old friend. Within reason. The White may have its purpose but let us not stray so far we forget what that is." He came to take a seat behind his desk, leaning his elbows upon it and his chin atop his hands. "Regardless, we have confirmation now. The Wildmage is within the Collegium. That is… troubling."

"It's also an opportunity."

"Beware, James. I will not take kindly to you framing danger to my students as a boon."

"Not that," he said. "And I agree, the safety of the students is important. I'm only saying that we need not fear for the Wildmage attacking innocents in the city. The Covenant is safe. Whatever happens will happen behind closed doors and the world at large will be none the wiser. Of course, we should still see it done quickly. Before there are any casualties."

"Agreed. So, what do we know?"

"For a fact, we know that the Wildmage must be an Initiate. Leaving aside that any Arcanist would be heavily tested, if a Wildmage was able to infiltrate our ranks for that long, they'd certainly know how to handle their surges by now."

"Yes. This is a new development, and as such a new entrant."

"Possibly." James, as ever, wasn't willing to rule anything out. "The easiest thing to assume will be that the Wildmage is a new addition. However, it's also possible they might be an older Initiate as well. Someone who has until now been able to hide it."

Possible, but less likely. Surges were something still relatively unknown – few Wildmages were captured alive, and those that were hardly knew their powers better than the Arcanists themselves. The surges came without fault and without warning, demanding Wildmages use their powers or have them wrested out from under their control. Such compulsion made them dangerous, for even if they wished to do no harm, they inevitably would.

The eldest of Initiates were too unlikely. Those seeking to join Arcana or become an Arcanist themselves were too entrenched in their works. That was where a Wildmage would be revealed, for the delicate magics required for the Arcana would be all but impossible for them. The only one they could slip into easily was the White, and that was no accident. The Trials of the White were as much a trap for Wildmages as they were tests for aspirants.

"The first three years," Ozpin eventually said. "I cannot believe someone was able to conceal their nature longer than that."

"I happen to agree. If someone were that skilled, they could have kept it hidden now. These surges are coming faster and faster – first in the Slums, then bringing down the wall and now within the Collegium itself."

"Search among the staff as well," Ozpin said.

"You believe they snuck in through the wall? I hadn't considered that." James rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing to flinty chips of ice. "Yes, the distraction would be a good time to infiltrate the Collegium, and we wouldn't think to look among the staff or guards. Very well. With your permission, I shall extend the search."

"Only to those newest. I do not want the staff feeling threatened. Look for those close to the Black. I can't help but think Miss Valkyrie's workshop was not chosen by accident. A blast of that size, why, they may have heard of her focus just as much as we."

"They wanted to pass their surge off as her experiments going wrong?" Ironwood scoffed. "Clever, but not clever enough. The bell towers would not react to that."

"Our intruder would not know that, though. Would they?"

"True enough. I'll see it done. If we're to believe they snuck in recently, that shouldn't be too many people to check anyway. Twenty, maybe thirty. I doubt turnover here is any greater than Atlas. I can be sure of that by the end of tomorrow. And I shall be subtle," he promised. "We shall interview them as to their locations and, if needs be, provide for them the same trackers we have the students."

"Speaking of…?"

"I'm afraid not. We were outside the Collegium when the surge began. Harriet was watching the equipment and by the time she isolated where it was, there were at least forty Initiates in the area, most of them of the Black. We interviewed them naturally, but they were all either working nearby or responding to the noise and investigating. We did a scan of all the students after. All bracelets are accounted for and within the Collegium walls. None were removed."

A shame, but perhaps also a good thing. It painted the picture that the students might yet be innocent, for a guilty party would surely have tried to remove their tracker. Or they had been unlucky.

"Keep looking," he told James. "We shall seal off the Collegium and scour it head to toe. If the pattern holds true the surges will increase in intensity. With our attention focused inward, I doubt the Wildmage will be able to escape the next one."

"My thoughts exactly. We've narrowed the potential Wildmages down from hundreds of thousands to under a thousand in a single day." Ironwood stood, smiling. "The net is closing. Soon, the monster will be caught."

/-/

Ruby stayed huddled in her and Weiss' dorm, shaking and watching the door, waiting for someone to come bursting through and demand she follow them. It had been three hours now since the surge and no one had. The suspense was killing her. It was at times like this she would have gone and hidden in the Sanctum with Cinder; the older Wildmage would have kept her distracted with stories and questions, calming her down. More than anything, she missed that. Things had been terrible ever since those Arcanists from Atlas showed up.

Weiss was nowhere to be seen, probably out studying or at the White Arcana. That was a relief of its own since it let Ruby hold her face under the strange magical bath and wash the frightened tears away. Then, just to sell the idea she'd been here all along, she had a hot bath and soaked in it until the water turned cold.

Yang would have loved something like this. The whole city would, and Vale would have been a better place if the Collegium spread out their magic a little. Emerald to heal the sick, Crimson to guard the outskirts and the Black to make things to help keep the slums safe from the floods. Instead, the Arcanists holed themselves up in the Collegium, turning it into a paradise at the expense of everyone else. Sinking down into the water, Ruby brought her knees up to her face, clenching her eyes shut and holding onto herself.

The incessant tingling sensation of her Wildmagic was absent now. Peaceful, like a placid lake after a storm. She felt a calm deep inside that she hadn't for the last two weeks – but that calm was purely physical. I didn't feel it coming on as bad as the first. Or was it just that it came quicker? The last had built up and up until she had to release it or explode. This one cam harder still and it reminded her of the people hooked on the Alchemist's tinctures back home. They'd start off normal and just wanting a little more, but the longer and longer it went, the more they became like feral animals, willing to do anything for their next fix.

Wildmagic didn't feel exactly like that. There'd been one time she had been hooked on those tinctures and it had been a want deep inside for more. Yang kept her away until it left, and she felt sick and tearful after, sobbing her pain away. Dipping lower in the water, she breathed bubbles out through her nose. The Wildmagic wasn't nearly as appealing and she could happily go her whole life without another surge. It was more like her body had to vent the energy, like a goose full to bursting and pushed a little too far.

Great, and now I'm imagining the Arcanists fattening me for slaughter.

A knock at the door to the bathroom had her jumping out her skin and splashing water everywhere. "Ruby? Are you in the bath?" Weiss' voice. And not angry. Ruby's chest rose and fell but she forced herself to lay back, shivering in the now cold water. Act natural.

"Y-Yeah. I'm in here. Why?"

"I have a friend of yours here." The way Weiss said it suggested she wasn't sure if that was true or not. Ruby's eyes bulged, just imagining who that might be. It couldn't be Jaune or Sun because Weiss knew them. What if it was Marrow with a summons for her to see Ironwood and the Grand Arcanist? What if it was Ironwood himself!?

"W-Who is it?"

"Says her name is Nora."

Nora? Ruby slumped down again, splashing back with a desperate gasp. Then she tensed again. Nora! The same Nora whose workshop she'd blown up. Shit! "T-Tell her I'll be out in a second!" Water splashed as she stumbled out and to a fluffy towel. If Nora knew, she had to deal with this now. "I'll be right there!"

Her feet skidded across the floor as she tried to climb out, dry herself and get dressed at the same time. Her elbow hit the tub, her knee scraping the floor. Tears prickled at her eyes, but she forced herself through it, splashing some cold water in her face, hauling her blue robes over the top and scraping her scalp raw with the towel before pushing out. Weiss was there, as was Nora.

"Ruby!" Weiss gasped, scandalised. "You didn't have to be that quick about it. Your hair-"

"H-Hi Nora!" Ignoring her, Ruby tried not to panic. "You needed me for something?"

"Fine. Sure. Ignore me." Hands on Ruby's shoulder pushed her down onto her knees. Weiss took the wet towel from her and started to rub her head softer, working it in slow circles much like Yang used to, muttering the whole time. It might have been nostalgic if the situation were different.

"It wasn't that urgent," Nora said. "Well I'm here now. Did you take the prototype to the Azure Archives?"

"Yeah. It worked. It worked really well." To cover herself, she said, "I was going to come tell you tomorrow about it so you could work on the rest. I came back to my dorm to have a bath and a nap to celebrate."

"Great!" Nora grinned. "So, you didn't come to the Black Arcana?"

"No," she lied. "Why?"

"Ah, well, one of my experiments went off and did some damage." Nora laughed nervously. It was unnatural and forced, perhaps forced by someone else. "My workshop ended up ruined, which would be bad if I weren't going to get all this payment for the job you got me so… that's it. I wanted to make sure it worked so I can start on the bigger version straight away."

Nora knew her workshop wasn't an accident. It was her enchantments and her work, so she had to know what was and what wasn't possible. Since it all worked on magic, none of it would have blown up without someone there. Why keep it a secret, then? Had she been ordered to, or did she just not think it worth telling a first year Initiate like her?

"You weren't caught in the explosion, were you?"

"Me? No, no. I was in the cafeteria. Lots of people saw me there!" Nora added that almost desperately. "I-I mean, ugh. Sorry, I'm a little scattered right now. I didn't lose anything important to this job. Well, I lost the book on language, but the Grand Master said that's fine. It wasn't a rare book."

Meaning she'd spoken to the Grand Arcanist, which wasn't exactly the normal thing that happened in an Initiate's life. They must have questioned her, which meant they were looking for the one responsible. And since Nora was doing all that work for her…

The suspicion was going to come crashing down on her head. It might take them a while, but once they crossed out all the other possibilities, they'd have to start noticing the connection between Nora and her, and it was common knowledge! Even the Grand Arcanist knew. It was a surprise she hadn't been hunted down and summoned already, even if just for an interview.

Could I claim I stayed in the Azure Archives? No, they saw me leave and I can't run the risk of someone counteracting my excuse. I'll just have to stick with coming back here for a bath. Nothing unusual about a student being lazy and Weiss hadn't been around to call her bluff or she would have done so already. At that very point, Weiss was running her fingers through Ruby's hair, smoothing and straightening it out with her hands.

"Ruby…?"

"Hm?" Ruby blinked at Nora. "Sorry, what? I didn't hear that."

"I can tell. You're looking awfully relaxed there." Nora giggled. "I was saying I'm not going to be able to work on the project today. I'm a little… well, a lot of my stuff got destroyed. I need a day to take it all in."

"Oh, sure. Yeah, that's fine. The Azure will understand. I'll tell them." Eager to get back onto that and away from her surge, she said, "They're really excited about your work. You should have seen them. There were Arcanists two or three times my age rushing off to follow my instructions when I tested it."

"That's good. Great even! Maybe I'll not repair my workshop at all. I might just wait and buy something bigger with this pay-out. Anyway, I should go." Nora pushed herself up from Ruby's bed. "Thanks for understanding and thanks to you as well, Lady Weiss, for letting me in."

"Not a problem, Lady Valkyrie," Weiss responded politely. "A friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine."

"If that's so, call me Nora. I'll see you both around."

"Friendly girl," Weiss said once she was gone. "Is that the one you were talking about before, the one in love with Lie Ren?"

"Hm. Yeah."

"I feel sorry for her then." Weiss drew Ruby's hair back and clenched it between her fists, straining out some final moisture. "There. You at least look somewhat presentable now. Really, I'm not sure what you would do without me. Make a fool of yourself no doubt."

Ruby smiled and stood up. "Probably. Were you at the White today?"

"Yes. I was being… I suppose you'd call it being put through an introductory set of lessons. Did you have something similar for the Azure?"

"No. They just let you do whatever you want."

"Hmph. Different Arcana, different rules. I suppose that plays into yours – they're all about individual research, no?" That was accurate enough that Ruby nodded. "You never told me what it was you want to research." Ruby tensed. "There has to be something you want answers to. What is it?"

Arcana secrets? It was well within her right to say but it'd be so unusual for her to care about stuff like that, that Weiss would know something was up. And she was with the White now. Friends or not, Weiss was with the enemy.

"I want to research Menagerie and what happened there."

"Ah." Weiss' smile faltered. "That makes sense. I always assumed – no, that's unfair. You always seemed to carefree that I thought it didn't bother you, but I can see that was the wrong thing to think. You want to know why it happened, then?"

Ruby nodded. "Why it happened, what caused it and if it can happen again."

"And for what purpose? Not revenge, I hope. The Grimm aren't things you should be facing, Ruby. Not things any of us should be facing." That was a weird thing to bring up. Also specific, curiously specific.

"It's not like I'm wanting to go find them. I just want to know why it happened."

"Right." Weiss relaxed a little. "That's fine. Understandable, even. I can ask around the White if you like, see if they know anything. The White Arcana of different Collegiums tend to be connected. They send messages and the like."

"Is it okay for you to tell me anything?"

"I can ask," she said. "The worst my teachers there will say is no. It doesn't hurt to try."

"Then sure." Blake would appreciate the information if nothing else, and maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for the White Arcana to have other things on their plate than her. "But don't get in trouble for it. I can find stuff on my own. And I'm not doing any research in the Azure. I'm just reading books. That's what Nora is helping with, an enchanted object to help us find the books we want."

"That's surprisingly mundane."

Ruby shrugged. "It's called the Azure Archives for a reason. There's a lot of books."

How many, Weiss would never know without joining. Since the fake Archives were known as the Azure Archives to everyone not of the Arcana, it wasn't against the rules for her to say that. Let Weiss and the White assume she was working in the upper ones. There were probably White-Azure Arcanists there who would know the truth, but they could confirm it in the Azure. It wasn't suspicious and it wasn't against the rules, so she'd look innocent either way.

This surge came on a lot quicker than the last one, though. What if the next is even sooner?

Finding out about Wildmages might have to be pushed back. Finding a place to surge safely was the bigger challenge.

/-/

"What is your name?"

"Jaune Arc.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"What is your name?"

"Jaune Arc."

"What are you?"

"Huntsman."

"What is your name?"

"Jaune Arc."

"What is your roommate's name?"

"Sun Wukong."

"What is he?"

"Newblood. Faunus. Friend."

"What is your name?"

He gritted his teeth. "Jaune Arc."

The White Arcanist stepped back with a subtle nod to the Huntsman standing nearby, sword in hand. It was lowered, Jaune's hair released and his head free to fall back onto the wooden stool he'd been pushed into. Two other Arcanists in the room watched from a distance, for all the threat they'd be. That was why three more Huntsmen waited by the doors. In case he lashed out.

"Recount for me your mission," the Arcanist instructed.

"I was sent out with a pack of huntsman and several Arcanists to cull the outskirts. We left the Collegium at noon and arrived at the outskirts by one, stopping to eat outside before entering on the request of the Arcanists." The Arcanist looked to the Huntsman beside him, who nodded his agreement. The detail was important. The more he could remember, the better.

"Good. Continue."

"We entered the outskirts at two. The Arcanists wished to split up to cover more ground. They…" His face scrunched up. "They wanted to make a competition of it. The one who could kill the most earned something from the loser."

"What was it?"

"I… I can't remember."

"Gold or a favour," another Arcanist said. "Something petty."

"The specifics don't matter," the one before Jaune snapped back. "The important part is his recollection of it. Do be silent. You have forgotten this detail, huntsman? Is that correct?"

"I didn't really listen. It was pointless babble." Having no way to confirm that true or not, the White Arcanist nodded for him to go on. He knew from experience that they'd err on the side of caution and assume it a lie anyway. "The lead huntsman suggested we stay together but the Arcanists insisted. They had something to prove."

"You made no attempt to argue?"

"No. They were the ones in charge. Not us."

"Hmm. Acceptable. So, you split up and continued the hunt? I assume you fought and killed Grimm. Do you remember anything of their numbers?"

He didn't. "Increased," he said, knowing that was true. "There were a lot more than we were used to seeing."

"Specific numbers, huntsman." Jaune's silence said it all. "I see. More lapses. Well then, let's skip ahead. Tell me how the Arcanist fell." The Arcanist listened to him recount the final moments as best he could, pausing to ask seemingly inconsequential questions. What spell the Arcanist used. Whether he cried out. His name. The exact manner in which he died. Whether or not he begged for mercy. If he was dead before his body hit the floor. How painful Jaune thought it might be.

Each to test his memory. Jaune answered as best he could, flatly. The Arcanist had been as any other and none of his concern. There was no capability to mourn his death, let alone the desire to. "I slew the Grimm afterwards, but it was too late to render aid. I paused to take stock and try to figure out where the rest of the huntsmen would be."

"And then…?"

"I…" Jaune looked down. "I lost track. I was lost in thought and…"

"You didn't come back. Hmm." The Arcanist pushed away from him and toward a small table. "The Arcanists who found you told me you mentioned someone's name. A meeting with someone. Who was this?"

He hated to bring her into it but couldn't not answer. "Ruby."

"And she is…?"

"A friend. An Initiate. I'd promised to meet with her today and… well, we were going to talk about things."

"You remembered her?"

"It was a promise."

"I see. It is good to keep your promises and having a memory to hold onto will serve you well." The Arcanist smiled. It wasn't a kind smile, but nor was it cruel. Polite. Cold. Still somehow comforting. "You're not yet so far gone as to become a warden of the Sanctum. A single lapse is accepted, even expected. You will be watched for further. Until then, I deem you fit to continue your work."

The relief was crushing. His entire body sagged into the seat, shoulders slumping and feet sliding down. In a way he'd known, if only because had he really lost himself, he wouldn't feel such relief in the first place. Or fear. The sound of tinkling glass caught his attention, however. The Arcanist had a small crystal vial in his hands.

"We shall take care to dose you a little further regardless. This should help centre your memories." The Arcanist stepped up to him, a tiny glass needle in hand. Knowing what was to come, Jaune opened his mouth and held out his tongue.

The needle did not pierce flesh. Such was not its purpose. The tip was angled down to his tongue and the moisture it had been dipped into naturally flowed to that point, forming a droplet that hung from it. A single drop fell, splashing and sizzling. The pain was immediate, and his muscles turned to solid iron. Hands gripped his shoulders to hold him still as his knees and feet locked together, heels digging into the floor. Through it all, he had the will to keep his mouth open. Three drops. Always three drops.

By the time the third drop came, his mind was on fire.

"What is your name?"

"J-Jaune Arc."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered, vision swimming and body wracked with pain. His tongue felt like it had both inflated to fill his mouth and dissolved to ash at the same time. His toes were curled so far he could imagine them curling back up through his feet and coming out the top. "I-I'm seventeen," he choked.

"What are you?"

"Man. Newblood. Friend. Huma-"

A hand gripped his chin and squeezed his cheeks in. "What," the voice hissed. "Are. You?"

"Huntsman. Weapon. Tool."

"Good." He was released. "What is your name?"

His stomach rolled. He was about to be sick. "Jaune Arc…"

"What are you?"

"A weapon."

"Who are you?"

"Jaune… Jaune Arc…"

"What is Ruby?"

"Friend.

"What is Ruby?"

His eyes crossed but he couldn't see anything either way. He realised it was because he'd closed them to block out the pain. Why? There was hardly any pain at all, only an icy cold rushing through his body, ice dipping into every vein, every limb, freezing him through.

"F-Friend," he said, but he was no longer sure. "R-Ruby is my friend."

"Who are you?"

"Jaune. I… I'm Jaune. I think..."

"What are you?"

"I'm a weapon."

"What is Ruby?" the voice asked for what seemed like the tenth time. And yet this time, the answer felt so obvious he wasn't sure how he had missed it.

"Distraction. She's... a distraction..."

"Yes," he said. "She is. Now, what are you?"

"A weapon."

"Who are you?"

"A weapon."

"What is your name?"

Jaune's dull eyes opened. "Weapon."

Not at all shady.

Next Chapter: 17th May

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur