A Cosmic Journey

A/N: After a whirlwind first week of June, I'm proud to say that this story has reached 100,000 views! It's a milestone that does not go unappreciated, and it's one that'll be used as motivation for the writing ahead. A big thanks to all those that have given this story a chance, and a promise that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

Chapter 36: If It Ain't Broke

Chapter Date: 06/08/20

'I wonder if this is how Summer and Tai felt having Raven as a teammate in the beginning.'

CLANG

"Getting distracted while fighting ME?! Grit your teeth, Higure!"

WHAM

I slid back despite my guard against Vernal's side kick, then ducked before her chakram could fire at my face.

"Okay, time!" I hastily blocked another two slashes. "I said time, Vernal!"

"Tch. Clearly, your stamina needs work. You were a damn sight more lively back then." Vernal stepped over to the side of the arena where her bag was, yanking her towel out to wipe some of the sweat off herself. "Been a decent workout so far though."

"Not everyone trains to be a fighting monster like you," I muttered, sheathing Mirror's Edge and flexing my fingers. "Also, people tend to fight harder when their lives are on the line, like the case was for myself, Nora and Ren."

"That's back when the tribe was at the top of their game…" Vernal seemed to lament, before she focused back on me. "Anyways, wanna spill on exactly what we're doing here, and why it's needed for what you mentioned?"

'Well, at least she's cognizant of the fact that there are cameras around.' I glanced over to the stands and hoped that Ilia could aid in the explanation, before remembering that she'd left ten minutes ago to track down where Blake was. That, and something about "leaving the room clear", whatever that meant.

"I figured that having the sparring and training here at Beacon would be better than at Signal, considering the proximity to everyone else at the moment. Was I wrong in assuming?" I teased as I walked closer to where Vernal was, content at seeing the former bandit mutter under her breath. Stepping into the range for private conversation, I made sure that our heads were angled away from the cameras, just in case. "The reason I asked for you is because there's an event of the criminal kind happening in Vale in a couple days, one that a few concerned students intend to infiltrate and potentially bust up."

"Do you have a hard-on for throwing yourself as a wrench into criminal operations?" Vernal asked flatly.

"Bwuh?"

"I mean, from what I hear, there was that thing with the Cleansers, screwing with the Tribe multiple times, and stopping Torchdick's robbery, the last of which got you beaten and kidnapped. And the second one too, now that I think about it."

"Pffff-Unrelated incidents aside, this particular event is less about me trying to stop criminal activity, and more about stopping a friend from getting hurt while in the course of stopping criminal activity…also, the event is for the White Fang."

This time it was Vernal's turn to splutter, with the added benefit of her having just drank some water. "The Fang? Seriously? Do you enjoy pain and punishment? You just got kidnapped by an alliance that the Fang are part of? Also, who'd be so invested in stopping them that would force you to intervene on their part, and require extra backup?" The gears visibly turned in Vernal's head as seconds passed by. "Your team's out, considering that wading into a high-powered shadow war like this would be suicide for someone like Junior. Those coffee brats are too on the straight and narrow to pull something like this, and your Mistral friends aren't even in the city for the time being. So that leaves…the moody girl on Ruby, Weiss and Yang's team?"

"Color me surprised. How'd you hear about the other teams?"

Vernal colored slightly. "After listening to the brats back on Patch, it's been hammered into my head, especially with Ruby's high-pitched squeaks. So, is this a grudge sort of obsession, or…?"

I groaned. "Worse. It's the 'redemption and worthiness' type. And without the twins being able to participate, things would be precarious if it were just Ilia and I looking after Blake."

"Not for nothing, but you did promise I'd be able to beat the stuffing out of a bunch of people. All the covertness kinda makes that sound unlikely."

"Trust me. If this rally goes the way I think it will, we'll likely be forced to intervene one way or another."

"Wow, planning your missions around the expectation of getting caught. They really teach having realistic goals at Beacon, huh?" Vernal snarked. "Also, props for realizing that you needed backup, and kudos for knowing that I'm great backup, but taking down a whole-ass rally on our own is still pretty much a suicide mission."

"I know. That's why the goal isn't total submission, but sabotage instead. Guerilla tactics, something that I'm sure that the tribe should be familiar with." I paused as Vernal nodded along sagely. "Also, for the record, you make for terrible backup. Or a terrible partner, at least."

"What'd you say, fuckface?!"

"Our 'teamwork' back in the fight against Emerald and Mercury was pretty much us just yelling at each other before devolving into two one-on-one fights, with you getting Zwei for backup. If we head into the mission with that kind of sunny optimism, we'll get shredded and/or torn to pieces." Vernal grumbled some expletives under her breath, but made no rebuttal. "Today is about getting used to one another, for lack of a better phrase. Basically, I'm trying to slam our styles together and hope they form some semblance of meshing."

"Fine fine, I get it! So, what's the plan then?"

"Hah…I did promise you a full day of sparring and training…" I watched Vernal's eyes light up. "Discussion on the plan will come after that, hopefully with Blake around once we get a hold of her."

"Well, good to know that you can do more than just bluff. I can respect that." Vernal placed her water down and grabbed her chakrams, turning to face me with renewed energy. "Let's see how well we 'mesh' together after all this, huh partner?"

"I think you'll find that I'm full of surprises, Vernal…" I replied nervously holding Mirror's Edge at the ready.

"Doubt it!"

… … …

"You know Vernal, if you keep up with the jaw-dropped expression I'll get used to it more than you glaring at me." I leaned back, expecting a swipe in my direction, but it seemed that Vernal really was dumbfounded by my persona, among other things.

"You…Specter…Junior…Torchwick…Taurus?!" Vernal attempted to force out. While nearly incoherent, I was able to get the gist given her parroting choice words from the info dump I'd just laid on her.

We were seated in KMMI's dorm room, having finished our sparring sessions and showered up. After settling down, I proceeded to inform her about some of the specifics of the rally mission, the upcoming meeting with Torchwick and Neo, and most importantly, my identity as the Specter and what that meant to the evil powers at large.

"So you're really the Specter? You're not fucking with me, are you?" Vernal had regained her ability to speak apparently, and now eyed me with open suspicion from her position against my bed's backposts. "Who else knows about this?"

I sighed. "I'm not joking, and I wouldn't do so about things this important. As for who knows, that includes Lil Miss Malachite, Junior, the twins, Ilia and Blake. I also have the sneaking suspicion that Torchwick and Neo might know as well."

Vernal was counting off the number of people and coughing every time a particularly dangerous entity was mentioned. "Geez, I take back what I said about you slacking off then. You've…been busy then, with the jobs you've taken? And this last mission you went on, the one that landed you on the shit list of half a dozen killers…"

"Counting the fact that team STRQ were there and adding all the people affiliated with either side, it's well over a dozen," I admitted, before staring intently at Vernal. "Which is why my identity needs to remain hidden, alright? If I'm found out, there's Ozpin, Cinder and Adam to deal with, not to mention the Valean and Mistralian governments. And worst of all…Raven…"

At that, Vernal actually starting laughing, her head knocking back against the foot of my bed. After a good half-minute of her doing so and my glancing quizzically at her, she composed herself slightly. "Actually, now that you mention it…Raven's been trying to figure out who the Specter was for years. She said that a successful operative in Mistral meant less success for the tribe. Lumping in how you managed to escape from that clusterfuck of a battle, it explains why she was even more on edge now…she thought you were tracking her! Hahaha!"

'Oh…that's not good…if she's aware that Amber was the Fall Maiden, and everyone there thinks that I know about the Maidens…nuts, she might think I know about her being the Spring Maiden! I mean, I do, but that's knowledge that no one but her should have at the moment!'

Vernal somehow managed to ignore my hyperventilating to continue speaking. "You know, when Raven finds out that you're the Specter, she'll kick your ass twice as hard now!"

'AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-'

A knock at the door interrupted my internal screaming, and the door opened after a moment to show Ilia walking in with Blake. The cat Faunus froze the moment that she saw me, and having Vernal casually sitting in the dorm likely didn't help matters.

"For the love of gods Blake, just get inside." Ilia's freckles flared red for a moment before Blake slowly walked inside the room, and my partner shut the door before turning to see my surprised look. "Uhhh, sorry. It's just been such a pain having to track Blake and get her to come back. I had to listen to five talks about the White Fang! Five!"

"The last one wasn't all about the White Fang…" Blake mumbled bashfully, drawing Ilia's ire.

"No, it was about extolling how nice Weiss Schnee can be 'if I give her a chance'. Which is worse!"

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty. Can we all have a seat and plan an illegal raid like civilized people now?" Vernal smirked as I glanced in her direction, the tattooed brunette having beat me to the phrase by one second.

Blake, however, had locked up once more as her eyes darted around the room and noted the current or former criminal status of all its occupants. Before she could flee though, Ilia had locked a hand around Blake's wrist and guided her to her own chair, my partner opting to sit on her bed.

"Great, now that everyone's here, let's get started. Yes Blake, we know you've been researching the White Fang, it's almost common knowledge at this point. Yes Blake, we know that you found out there's a White Fang rally happening in Vale in a couple of days. Yes Blake, we know that you were planning on attending this rally alone, without any form of backup AND without informing anyone else. So…anything the curious kitten would like to state in her defense? And no Blake, I did not divulge any of your secrets."

"Not that he had to. I mean, all that bow twitching gave the game away well enough." Blake's hand snapped up to her bow as her eyes widened in fear, while Vernal's smirk grew in equal measure. "The tribe's dealt with undercover Faunus before, usually White Fang operatives. For no one to notice until now though, Beacon's either gotta be full of blind people or Kouzai's little information overload really got to you. Don't worry, he has a habit of doing that apparently."

"Y-you knew…" Blake looked near-catatonic at this point. "How long have you known!? Did you tell my team?!"

"Your teammates don't know." Blake sagged in sheer relief. "Mostly because I don't really care about your identity, and wouldn't care enough to tell them anyways." Blake proceeded to aim an amber-eyed glare towards Vernal.

"Vernal, stop antagonizing Blake. Blake, stop getting ready to bolt at every sentence out of our mouths. Ilia, thanks for the good work, I'll get you some food later. Now, if everyone's nice and calm, let's talk about the rally, and what exactly we're doing about it. Good?" After the sheer experience gained from curbing Nora, reeling the twins, and just dealing with Beacon itself on a daily basis, my tone bordered on near-Goodwitch levels of briskness. "Great. Now, to start, Blake. We'll be accompanying you to the rally, not to empower your misguided crusade, but to make sure that you don't do something stupid alone, get hurt and have eight different kinds of hell brought on the rest of us."

"I already told you I don't want-"

"Don't want my help, yup, got it. But you do need it." I stressed the word, and Blake's eyes narrowed. "Plus, if you don't let us help, I'm only a scroll call to Ruby away from letting slip that 'I saw Blake in Vale alone, looking like she's about to do something dangerous.'"

Blake surged to her feet. "You wouldn't dare, not with what I have on you!" She glanced around at a nonchalant Ilia and Vernal. "Do…do they know?"

"That he's the Specter? Yup. It's old news at this point. His whole team already knows." Vernal grinned. "You could tell your own teammates or JNPR, but I'm not sure either would be liable to care exactly. Guess your only option would be to tell Ozpin, and given that he already knows about you, Ilia, Miltia, Melanie and the Branwens, he probably won't care a jot about one more criminal."

'Except that Ozpin is concerned about this particular criminal, since I know about the Maidens, and he probably thinks so too!' I glanced over at Blake, who seemed stymied by Vernal's brutal logic. 'Please take the bluff, even if Vernal doesn't think it's actually a bluff!'

"Damnit…you planned this all along, didn't you?" Blake questioned accusingly.

"Yup."

'Nooooope!'

"Fine, you can help. But there's no way you and Vernal will be able to get into that White Fang rally." Blake looked resigned, but sharpened her focus back admirably quick. "Their standards might have lowered since I left, but there's still too many ways to spot a Faunus from a human to get you both in."

"Not a problem. Vernal and I weren't planning on entering the rally anyways. Our role is to act as support and diversion for when the time comes." Vernal looked at me like I was crazy, while Blake just seemed confused. Thankfully, Ilia seemed to be on-board at least. "The objective is make sure that the White Fang doesn't continue to draw recruits from the population of innocent Faunus, and to ensure that any arms that they've recently stolen make their way out of the Fang's hands."

"Arms? What did the White Fang get their hands on?" Blake asked worriedly. Vernal seemed to be excited at the prospect of black market weaponry.

"Some experimental Atlas tech, likely brought in by Torchwick."

"That's horrible!" Blake gasped.

"That's awesome!" Vernal pumped a fist into the air.

"Kouzai…" Ilia sighed as the other two devolved into loops of anxiety and excitement, respectively. "We just got Blake back to a normal operating state…"

"Oops…maybe I shouldn't mention the meeting with Torchwick then…" I whispered as Ilia winced.

"WHAT!?"

'Ah Grimmshit…forgot about Faunus hearing…'

… … …

"Sometimes, I'm not sure on whether you're actually a tactical genius, or just a guy with big ears and an even bigger mouth," Junior sighed, passing me a glass of liquid confidence.

"Likely somewhere in the middle." I conceded, sipping at my drink. Looking around, I noticed that Miltia and Melanie were conspicuously absent from the club's space. "Where are the twins at?"

"Vigorously ignoring the both of us," Junior grunted. "You know you're gonna have hell to pay for once this mission's over, right?"

"Mhmm." I downed a bit more of my drink. "And why exactly aren't they here to raise hell at the moment?"

"You really don't get women at all do you? Or more just people in general, maybe. It's because of what you're about to do, or rather who you're about to meet." Junior gestured toward the clock. "In their own way, they're pretty rattled by the thought of you heading out all by your lonesome to meet up with Roman and Neo. Being completely honest, I'm not too comfortable with the idea either."

"It's fine, Junior. Roman and Neo are pretty much in the same boat as us at the moment. If either one of us flips on the other, we've got information to assure mutual destruction." I examined the alcohol swimming in the glass. "And even if this is a trap, there's no one else around this time whose escape I've gotta secure, so I can make a break for it if need be."

"From Roman and Neo, maybe. But if that other illusionist shows up? Or Taurus, or gods forbid Cinder herself?"

"Well, I've encountered nearly all of them in combat at some point or another. I know how they work. The only one I don't have a full grasp on is Cinder, and if she shows up, that's news and information in of itself." I plastered a smirk on my face. "If the whole Fiendish Five show up though, I've still got a contingency for that."

Junior glared at me for a moment, trying to determine whether I was being truthful before giving up. "I still don't know how you manage to either lie with such a straight face, or keep pulling aces out of your sleeve. Considering the time we've spent together and my knowledge of your finances, that should be saying something." Then the broker clenched his fists and glanced around his club for a moment. "Speaking of liars, I'm working on tracking down the rats who've been feeding Roman information about my operation. Once I do, I'll make sure that-"

"No harm comes to them." I finished for Junior, fixing him with a reproachful look. "C'mon, you're an information dealer. You know as well as I do that there's no foolproof way to keep any information airtight. There's always a way around."

"Be that as it may, if there are rats scurrying around then my reputation's on the line to exterminate them," Junior replied gruffly.

"Orrrrr, you could work your way around that. After all, if you flush out the rats that exist now, Torchwick and others will just find new ways of infiltrating, and those methods will be unknown to you. Better the enemy that you know than the one you don't. Plus, once you've identified where the leaks are coming from, you can take that opportunity to screw with the leakers by giving them false information. Once a leaker's information is no longer good, their value becomes nonexistent." I finished off my drink and got off the stool, heading out towards my apartment. "Fear never works, at least not permanently. The current situation should be proof of that."

"Still a great idea to have some once in a while!" Junior called out, and I chuckled.

'Given who I'm about to meet, trust me when I say that I've got some fear in me.'

After a stop by the apartment loaned out by Junior for operations as the Specter, I made my way over to the meeting spot designated by Torchwick, or rather Neo. 'Huh, being on top of the ice cream place would give a pretty good view of the alleyway entrance and roof from here. That's probably why Torchwick had the spot-"

"Lovely night for a rendezvous, isn't it?" I paused my train of thought and turned to see Torchwick approaching in all his blasé confidence. "You know, when you first splashed onto the scene a while back, I profess that I was worried that you were here for me. See, there were stories and rumors about you floating in from Mistral, and none could really peg you for what your purpose was. You could've been a bounty hunter for all I knew, and I was the next big fish."

Torchwick grinning wasn't even a concern. Instead, it was Neo's absence that rang the alarms, and I twisted around with my eyes closed in time to spot the acrobat hurtling towards me with Hush. I deflected the parasol away from my body, then snapped my eyes open and jabbed out at Neo's sudden appearance, driving the enforcer away.

If Torchwick looked disappointed, he didn't show it. "I quickly discarded that theory after realizing that it'd be a stupid idea to hunt anyone in the middle of a convention of badasses. After that, my guess shifted over to a hunter against the White Fang, after hearing Taurus bellow and rage about the times that you'd shown up to wreck his missions. But something about that didn't fit either…"

Neo lunged forward again, and I pulled out two scimitars that Junior had loaned me off the standard stock for his men. Not as long as Mirror's Edge, and without a ranged option, they did the trick as I batted Hush away again, before blocking a heel to the chest. Launching a kick of my own, I slanted the angle of my leg so that it flew over Hush, forcing Neo to bend backwards to avoid the boot to her face.

"See, it was actually Neo that figured it out. Makes sense, given how she's better at spotting physical behaviors and whatnot. After she did some recon at Beacon, she had an inkling, but it wasn't till your little tiff that clinched it for her."

Now Neo was sending an endless barrage of lethal parasol thrusts. Its wielder smirked amusedly as I attempted to survive the veritable storm of strikes. Seeing an opening for a literal instant, I took the chance and slashed downward at Neo with one of the scimitars.

Luckily, I also knew from painful experience that it was a trap for her to set up a counter. 'Let's not keep the lady waiting then. Time to play.' Neo twirled around the strike and into a high kick, while her smirk faded slightly as she saw her expression mirrored.

This time the pain of a boot to the face was blunted, as my eyes stayed open while I swung towards Neo's face. A hasty interspersing of Hush block the strike as she back-flipped to bleed the momentum, her heterochromatic eyes shouting confus-

'Huh? Where did that move come from?' Having literally pushed past a strike from Neo, I was so surprised at the turn of events that I almost missed the fact that Torchwick was still speaking.

"-as you might, but there's very few ways to suppress technique when fighting for one's life. Props to you for recognizing that a switch of weapons was in order, as all of your own have been spotted out at this point. But it's a bit late for that at this point, isn't it, Kouzai?"

Neo had moved back to Torchwick's side, and was smiling at me like a content puppy, if it'd just returned mass slaughter. I sighed and breathed deeply, controlling my heart rate as I had my eyes closed and searching for any other recognizable Aura signatures. None were present, but that didn't mean I was being reckless. "Nice try, Roman. Were I less experienced, I might've taken off my mask to show my real identity, but you probably have some sort of recording set up to verify just in case."

Melodic Cudgel touched the ground as Torchwick leaned into his weapon while chuckling. "Whew…you're just as paranoid as the rumors give you credit for. No wonder why you haven't been caught by either Cinder or Ozpin, not to mention the Valean and Mistralian governments."

"Enough with the foreplay. If your curiosity's been sated, there's precious little time before the rally happens."

"As you wish. Even assuming that you're not Kouzai Higure, I'm sure you've been informed that the rally tomorrow will be headed by Adam Taurus, and feature some fancy new Atlas weapons to ironically use in their fight for 'equality and justice.'"

"So you've said to Junior already. What kinds of weapons will be showcased at the rally?"

"Regular point-and-shooters. Nothing spectacular to start, but after Taurus heads out it'll be up to the new imports to pick up the slack."

"So you've mentioned." I was thankful beyond belief that our makeshift group wouldn't have to deal with anything as ridiculous as a Paladin. "Any new information that our side should be aware of?"

"Two things, actually. The first is that Taurus expects that his ex will show up at the rally, so take that as you may and plan accordingly." Even masked, I'm sure my surprise was recognizable to professionals like Torchwick and Neo. "That's part of the reason why I asked for you to show up. With you around, Taurus' focus on both the rally and his girl will be shot."

"Meaning that I'll have Adam Taurus' unadulterated killing intent all for myself." I finished dryly. "And the other piece of information?"

"Right, that." Torchwick actually looked a tad sheepish, though he hid it well with his trademark smirk. "After No-legs got himself caught, Cinder's started making it protocol that at least two figures in authority must be present at important functions at all times. Tomorrow's rally is one of those, meaning Taurus will have himself a platonic plus-one."

"And would you happen to know who that second person might be?"

"Ah ah ah, like I told Junior, I can't give too much of the game away, or it'll be my head and you'll all be left with nothing." Torchwick tapped his hat. "The information was about the number of people, not who. If you are who I think you are, you'll piece things together."

"I can feel the confidence already," I sighed. More than I expected, and less than I wanted out of the meeting. I turned and began walking away, making sure to keep my eyes closed in case of further attacks by Neo. "Rest assured, we'll bring some noise to the rally."

"I'm sure you will. And one more thing, kid." I paused, and turned sideways to level Torchwick with a masked stare. "Masks and the like are only good so long as you go whole hog on them. If you don't find a way to keep the mask and the person separate, and make sure the two are separate, some less scrupulous people than Neo or I'll catch on. And believe me…you do not want that."

This time, it was Torchwick and Neo that moved, and quickly disappeared off the rooftop as I remained still, silently staring up at Remnant's broken moon.

A/N: Next chapter's shaping up to be a doozy, but I'm looking forward to it as well. I'm also looking forward to getting a haircut later in the month once my area opens up, because it's been a hot minute since the last one.

Gizmo Gear: I'll assume you're referring to Neo and Roman cottoning onto who the Specter is, 'cause there's almost a flow chart at this point of who knows what secrets. Gods knows Kouzai must have one in those books of his.

Raidentensho: Leader classes are an element of Beacon that isn't confirmed in canon, but I'm sure exists, so we'll see about having some time with our leader characters.

HappyHulk: Tuesday might perhaps work for the short term as an update day, but I suppose I'll have to sit down and think about what fits the schedule better, as I'd prefer to avoid any jarring schedule changes if I can help it. And writing weekly is kind of an outlet and exercise all its own, so I'm happy that its able to help any readers as well.

The-Anti-Akuma: It's unfortunate that Kouzai was reprimanded for the reunion match with Vernal, but it's part and parcel for how Ozpin operates. In order to keep Amber on Beacon grounds, best to prevent an entourage of students accompanying her. As the organizer and original purveyor of that negotiation, Kouzai is the one that seems to have the best chance of circumventing Ozpin's rules thus far, and happened to be readily available for punishment after the fight. Then again, there are times where Kouzai manages to get away with things that are entirely his fault. It's a matter of who's available to link to the trouble, and how characters perceive the chain of events.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 06/15/20