The Jaune Archive: To Survive and Prosper (OUTDATED)

by The Rade Blunner

The original version of the first installment of the Jaune Archive prior to being reworked. Please read Jaune: Hero of Beacon for the newer and updated version. The original summary can be found in Chapter 1 in this version.

5. In Her Shadow

UPDATE 8/17/2019: More interactions between Jaune and Penny are added on this chapter, and the footnote from Chapter 10 will be placed here since Caiaphas' former occupation is now revealed here instead.

---

Editorial Note:

The following chapter takes place four months from the last entry, specifically near the end of the first semester.

Before we begin, I would like to add another excerpt, this time it would be centering around Team RWBY's trip to Vale during the preparations for the Vytal Festival before complications between ourselves ensued. Since it was relevant to the following chapter, I felt that it was appropriate to begin this chapter with an excerpt to give the readers some context behind the following chapter's events.

I chose Ruby's account to provide the excerpt, as it presents an unbiased and a more bearable description of the event. Since my old memoirs, while nostalgic, were rather uncomfortable to look through, as if reading about my younger self in Jaune's writings wasn't shameful enough. Blake's own accounts, meanwhile are something that is better off being saved when it is absolutely needed. Trust me, once you've read it, you are going to thank me for not including it for the moment.

The Red Rose Diaries: Friday in Vale

Finally, the exams for the first semester are over! Hopefully, all of the days I spent studying pay off. I still have flashbacks of Weiss drilling us on our studies so she doesn't have to be embarrassed about her team's scores, ugghh! Anyway, to celebrate, we agreed to go on a trip to Vale once the exams were over.

People in Vale were already preparing for the Vytal Festival. There were balloons and streamers placed everywhere. A sign that says "Welcome to Vale!" was put up near the pier for all the visitors to see (The old guy who put it looked familiar, have I met him before?). Even the usually cold and grumpy Weiss was excited, and who could blame her? The Vytal Festival was the most exciting time of two years, next to Halloween (which is also my B-day!) and Xmas. There would be dances, parades, and the best of all, the tournaments! Oh, how I used to watch those a lot. Now I could finally participate in them myself. I can't wait! It's like a party where the kingdoms celebrate peace and harmony after years of fighting, which it kind of is.

Weiss took us to the docks for whatever reason. Made me wonder why someone like her would take us to a place that smells like fish. She said that she wanted to welcome the students coming from Vacuo but Blake pointed out that she wanted to spy on them so she could have the upper hand on the tournament.

That is when we found a Dust Shop in shambles, with the police trying to investigate it. The weird thing was the crooks who robbed it didn't take the money. I think the Torchwick guy from a few months ago was behind it, he still was on the loose after all. One of the officers said it could have been caused by a faunus group called 'The White Fang', a group which Weiss had nothing nice to say about, while Blake defended them and said they were just misguided.

Before things became a little more heated. Somebody called for help to stop a faunus. We went to see what all the fuss was about and we saw a faunus with a monkey tail who was about our age run past us. We figured that he was one of the students who came from Vacuo, so we tried to follow him so that Weiss could go on her plan to observe the competition, but we ended up bumping into someone that caused the faunus boy to get away.

The person we bumped with was a strange but very nice girl named Penny. We apologized and tried to go back into looking for the faunus boy but Penny came to us back, probably because I called her a 'friend' a few seconds ago just to be nice, so we just went with it. She said that she is here to compete for the tournament, even though she doesn't look the part. Weiss asked her where the faunus boy went while calling him a 'filthy faunus', [1] Blake didn't like that and that's when their argument about the faunus and the White Fang continued.

We didn't feel like hanging out any longer, so we just went back to our dorm at Beacon, and even then, they kept fighting. Yang and I could only watch and listen.

=o=

1. In my defense, he was literally filthy and being a faunus was the best way I could describe him. Outside the White Fang, I didn't actually have much of an opinion on the faunus in general. Regardless, I apologize for my behavior back then. I admit that my choice of words were very poor, as I was not exactly the most thoughtful person at the time. Growing up in a family that was constantly under threat by faunus extremists made me rather insensitive.

---

Chapter 5

In Her Shadow

---

"How many faunus lived and died,

In the Great Faunus Maaa-sacre?

Too many lived and not enough died,

In the Great Faunus Maaa-sacre!"

-Banned Atlesian Military Chant.

Thank The Brothers above that the examinations are done, they have been driving me insane for the past couple of weeks that if I see another problem on dust equations, I swear I would shoot the first person I see.

It was finally time for me to settle down after the prodigious amounts of studying. I decided to stay at my dorm to have a much needed R&R. Nora and Ren went out to Vale to have a 'totally platonic date' and watch city prepare for the Vytal Fiesta, while Pyrrha has to go for an interview for a Mistrali magazine, leaving me all alone in the dorm with nothing but my comics and video games, not that I'm complaining.

I finally had peace and quiet that I haven't felt for a long time. No interruptions, no training, no homework, no studying, no jackass bullies, no Grimm, no bandits, and no obnoxious noise, not from Nora and not from my sisters, just me and myself. That is until much later in the evening, sounds of arguing became more and more clamorous from next door. Of course, it had to be from Team RWBY, because there isn't any other team nearby that could generate the same commotion that these girls could make.

For the most part, I'm satisfied with my dorm, but if I were to renovate it, I would give it much thicker walls. It's no wonder why the school forbids playing loud music at night. These walls are so paper thin that you could hear your own neighbors snore. Since I used to live in a manor in the middle of the countryside, I never have a problem with noisy neighbors, I had noisy sisters though, but at least my room has more soundproof walls than the ones in here.

What disturbed me the most was that I heard Blake of all girls yelling. The other one was Weiss, but that wasn't surprising. Blake, on the other hand, wasn't the type of person to be open with her opinions, let alone raise her voice. If there was something that made Blake cry out, then something must be very wrong.

They have been going at it for hours and it was not likely going to end soon. It was then I decided that enough was enough and went to investigate what was going on. I would normally stay far away from these affairs and let themselves sort it out, Ruby was able to make up with Weiss when she was at what we believed to be her worst, and Team RWBY would eventually become a functioning team after all, but I needed to know what was their issue when the semester was about to end so I could maybe help. I don't want this to cause any problems if they do not solve it by the time the following semester begins.

I exited my dorm and went near Team RWBY's dorm as I continued to eavesdrop on their conversation. I needed to understand the situation if I were to help. "…It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss yelled.

"Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake cried, making me freeze when I was about to knock on their door, confused by what that exactly meant.

The world felt like it paused at that moment, I wasn't exactly sure why. Judging from what I heard, it seems that they were arguing over a group that Blake was, or was a part of, that Weiss seem to be against. I guessed that it might have something to do on why Blake was so aloof and secretive but because of the lack of context I was getting, I didn't know if that really was the case or not.

I heard Blake's voice trail off for a moment before she abruptly bolted out of the room, knocking me over without a word or an apology. I glanced at her as she blurred away from the hallway, shocked at what just happened. "Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby dashed out of her dorm and spotted me lying on the ground in front of the door. "Jaune! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I stood up, still puzzled over that commotion. "What was that all about?"

"We had a falling out," she tried to answer but it seemed as if she was having trouble coming up with a better explanation. "It's a long story. Look, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"Can you please follow her? I need to make sure she's alright."

I gave her a questioning look, faintly annoyed that I have to run another errand again. "Why me? You're her teammate, why don't you follow her?"

"I don't think she'd listen to us after what happened. I'm sure she'll be avoiding us. Look, just keep an eye on her. Talk to her if you know she'll listen." She said. I took a moment to think about it, looking at her worried silver eyes and to the other two girls. Weiss just stood there, staring at the window, while Yang was sitting on a desk chair, looking down not knowing what to do now that her partner just had a breakdown and ran away. "Please, Jaune. I trust you," Ruby begged in a sorrowful tone, unusual for a cheerful girl like her.

I held my chin before deciding to take her word. She had a point when she said that she would try to avoid them when approached about it. I was at least patient enough to hear her out, I just wanted to stop worrying about these girls. "Fine. I'll look for her. I can't bear to see your team broken."

She made a hopeful smile. "Thanks, Jaune. I knew I could always count on you."

I left the residence hall and went to the courtyard, it was the only logical place Blake would run away to since the other areas were closed during the night. It didn't take long to find her gazing at the statue in the middle of the courtyard. There was no one around but me and her. I hid back at one of the lampposts and watched her for a bit.

She slowly started to undo her bow, revealing the cat ears she has been hiding all along within these months. Somehow I wasn't surprised but I was rather disappointed that it all seemed to boil down to her simply being a faunus. I had no reason to judge them myself since I always saw them as humans with some animal features, and couldn't understand why are people still making a big deal over them. Pointless squabbles over these are only going to distract you from the real problems.

I had no idea on what to do next. She kept standing there, wiping her tears. I thought about going back to Ruby and tell her what I just saw, but I don't think I want to do that without Blake's consent. So I just stepped in and approached her to see what would happen. "Hey…"

She turned around with her eyes widened. Tears were visibly running down her face. "So… that's kind of explains why your bow was a little big." I mentioned, trying to give her a warm reassuring smile.

She was noticeably anxious but shortly calmed down when my tone and expression made it clear that I wasn't looking for a fight. "Now you know." She wiped off the trail of tears off her face. "You're going to tell the others aren't you?"

"Not if it makes you uncomfortable," I assured her as it wasn't my intent to further make this more complicated.

"I'm sorry for hiding this to you since the beginning. I was afraid that no one would like me for what I am," she said, almost avoiding my gaze.

"Blake, you had no reason to hide who you truly are. I can't exactly hate you for simply having cat ears. This is a school that contains all facets of life." I told her, speaking in a way as if I wasn't being a hypocrite when I also spent these past months masquerading my more unsavory traits, but at least I wasn't making race as an issue. If you ask me, I think she was being too insecure; I wouldn't put being a faunus in the same level as being a cowardly fraud.

"And what about people like Cardin?" She asked, trying to challenge my previous statement.

"People like Cardin aren't liked very much. You saw how Nora tried to stand up for Velvet, and even tried to break his legs over what he did to her." Though that last part was a result of me not shutting up. I'd still say that Cardin was a terrible example because he pissed everyone off all the same, faunus or not, and I can testify to that. I still remember what he tried to do months ago, thankfully I haven't heard from him much ever since.

Sadly, that didn't sound that it was enough to change her mind as she raised her voice and continued being agitated over her heritage. "Even so, there are still people out there who will not accept who you are and will look down on you for it.

That is when I started to lose my patience with her. People will always look for reasons to hate you, no matter how small or irrational it may be, race, being one of them. "So you're just going to keep hiding what you are?" I asked, raising mine as well, asserting my more authoritative tone as a leader in order to persuade her.

"Yes! Maybe! I don't know!" She cried, being more uncertain than she was. "Look, this is much more complicated than what you think it is. I really don't know how to say it to you."

I made slow steps toward her while trying to keep her calm. "Blake, just tell me what's wrong. We could figure this out."

"I don't know. I still couldn't show my face to my team after what happened back at the dorm." She looked down before looking at me. "They sent you, did they?"

"Yes. They did." I nodded hesitantly. It was becoming increasingly obvious that there wasn't any point to lying about it and I thought it was the time for me to have a little transparency if I was to gain her trust.

"So, mind if I ask you something?"

"I'm all ears," I nodded.

She hesitated for a moment before spitting it out. "Can you cover for me for now? I'm going to leave Beacon for a while. Please don't tell anyone what you just saw."

I widened my eyes at her request. "Leave? But—"

"I just need to think about this. I promise I'll come back and tell you everything soon. Right now, I'm just not ready..."

I pondered on her word. I didn't know if I should let her go when Ruby is worried sick about her. On the other hand, she did tell me to just make sure she was okay, she didn't exactly expect me to bring her back, but I still need to make sure that she didn't use this as an opportunity to disappear from us.

"Please…"

I stared straight at her amber eyes and I saw myself in her. While I still wasn't entirely sure about it, she seemed to trust me. If she didn't, she would have run away the moment she saw me. So there was little reason for me to doubt her. Although I don't agree over the reason, I understand what she was going through and I would have admittedly done the same if I was in her position. "If that's what you want."

"Thanks," Blake said. Within a blink of an eye, she was gone with the wind, nowhere to be found. I felt like I betrayed Ruby now that I let Blake loose but I felt like it was best for her team. If their problems with each other are really that bad, then they really do need some space from each other and think about it. I just hope that they would eventually figure this out together.

I walked back to the dorms and knocked on Team RWBY's dorm. The door opened and I saw Ruby. "So how was it?" She asked.

"Couldn't find her. I thought I saw her once, turned out to be a shadow clone. Sneaky cat." I lied.

Her eyes then widened. I just realized that I slipped an implication that I knew about her faunus heritage so I decided to try putting some ease on them. "Was it something I said?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry for bugging you into this. It's just that I'm worried about her," Ruby frowned, feeling as guilty as I was over her running away.

"She'll be fine, she did get to Beacon after all. I'm sure she could handle herself out there," I said.

That slightly reassured her but she was still apprehensive. "You're right. Well, thanks anyway. I'm sorry if we bothered you."

"No problem. I'm just glad to help." I nodded before the door closed.

I went back to my dorm. For that night, all I could do was worry for Team RWBY, especially Blake. I could only think about what she said to me then and I could only hope that I didn't make it any worse.

---

After the night when Blake went to the stray, I tried going back into enjoying my last weekend here in Beacon before the semestral break officially begins on Monday. Team RWBY waited for the whole day for Blake to come back anytime soon but sadly, she never came. Aside from that, Saturday was very much uneventful as I did nothing but laze around the entire day since there wasn't anything left to do aside from waiting for Blake to come back or maybe call me, if that would ever happen. It was rather difficult to relax a day of leisure after what happened the previous night, and Team RWBY never got a chance to relax as I did, and that made feel terrible for them.

A day after that, it was now a Sunday morning and there was still no sign of Blake but that didn't stop Blake's team from searching for her. They did not have any intention of stopping until they know she was okay.

I didn't want to keep worrying about Blake during the last day before the break so I decided to spend some time with my team and enjoy our last moments together before this semester ends. Nora, Ren and I went to Vale to hang-out for a few hours, Pyrrha said she was needed somewhere else and unfortunately couldn't come.

We went to an arcade. Ren and I played a light gun game, we've managed to complete it while carrying the guns with only one of our hand, looking like hitmen from a crime drama and receiving substantial amounts of tickets after beating it, which was added by the high scores we made thanks to our shooting accuracy. Although the game leans a little bit on the unrealistic side, the gunplay had enough weight that I was able to exercise my left arm when shooting.

Nora meanwhile spent nearly all of her money buying tokens to eventually win a prize from the dreaded claw machine. "Grr. Cursed machine! How dare you not let me win that cute widdle teddy bear wanting to leave this glass box you imprison him in?!" She screamed after another failed attempt.

Suffice to say, she would have spent a lot less if she just simply bought one. At least she's restraining enough not to break the machine and get us banned; her raw strength was enough to shatter the machine's glasses. I was already skeptical about getting her to play the strength test, something which she could undoubtedly break without even trying. But she couldn't bother to play that because she has been stuck on the claw machine since we arrived. Can't say I blame her though, I haven't won a single prize in my entire life from a claw machine myself, these things are so rigged against you that it led some people believe that it's made for scamming people out of their money.

"Token. You are my last hope. Don't fail me now." Nora held her last token before inserting it to the machine. She carefully controlled the crane above one of the teddy bear's positions. I can see her forehead sweating. She stuck her tongue out for maximum concentration, her turquoise eyes focused and calculating, doing her best to determine the precise position. The claw continued to hover above the target prize, stopping after Nora decided that it was time to grab it. She pressed the button, making the claw descend towards its designated mark.

Nora shivered as she watched the claw go toward the stuffed toy. The claw's closed, only managing to barely grab one of the teddy bear's hind legs. Nora quivered as the claw ascended back. Alas, the claw dropped the bear when it almost reached its destination, making it fall back towards its fellow prizes, condemned to stay inside a children's claw machine for more years to come, maybe even forever.

A little dramatic, of course, but that must have been how she felt during that last run.

"NOOOOOO!" Nora sent a scream, loud enough to be heard by all of Vale. The arcade goers all stared at us for a couple of seconds before going back to their respective activities as if nothing weird just happened.

She went to Ren who gave her a comforting hug. I felt genuine pity for her; these claw machines simply cannot be won. "Why? Why?! Why must the world be so cruel?" Nora sobbed.

Ren patted her back. "There, there. Nora. How about I get you one with the tickets we've won."

"Wait. Really? You would do that for me?"

"You've been my best friend for half my life, Nora. Of course, I'll do that for you."

We went to the prize counter. Ren gave out our tickets and used it to redeem a teddy-bear that is twice as big as the one Nora was trying to get. "Here you go," Ren handed her the stuffed bear.

Nora was a loss for words. As her childhood friend, she already knows that he'll be there for her, but even then, she was still surprised to see her friend generously give her a toy that she was trying to win. She hugged the bear before hugging Ren once again. "Oh, thank you, Ren! I am so glad to have a good friend like you!"

I smiled at the sight. Despite their obvious differences, it was nice to know that these two will always be at each other's side no matter the circumstance. If only Team RWBY treated each other like that the same way...

That heartwarming moment was suddenly interrupted when I felt my scroll vibrate. I took it out and saw a text message from Blake.

'It's time I explain everything to you. Meet me at the balcony on the second floor of the Café Noir in Downtown. Go alone, turn your tracker off and make sure you aren't being followed.

-B.'

Well, there goes my plans to relax for the entire day I put down my scroll and puffed but at least I now know where Blake was and by the looks of it, she's okay. Ruby and her teammates would be thrilled to hear about this, but I unfortunately cannot inform them about it at the moment. I wasn't sure what she's up to but I would have to honor her wishes because otherwise it just might make things worse.

"Look, I know this is short notice, but I have to go somewhere. You two have fun." I said before I part ways with the dynamic duo.

"Oh, okay. Stay safe, Jaune!" Nora said, holding her bear.

I went outside, I was already at Downtown so all I needed to do was go to Café Noir and hear what Blake had to say for all these nonsense.

---

It was only a short walk as the café was located only a few blocks away from the arcade. I went to the balcony on the second floor as Blake instructed, eventually spotting her as she sat on a table, wearing her bow again. She was with another boy who annoyingly almost has the same color scheme as mine, only missing something black on his top. He was also a monkey faunus, [1] seeing how he carried his cup with his tail.

I assumed that Blake's teammates would get the same message and also be present, but they were nowhere to be found. I found it strange how Blake would trust me over her own teammates. We still haven't talked to each other that much outside of that chance encounter at the library during the first week, even then our conversation, if you could call it that, during that day was rather brief. It's probably because I acted too nice that she ended up trusting me. Really, it's partially my fault that her teammates have been looking for her since Friday night.

"Oh good, you're finally here," Blake noticed me approach them.

"So, he's the guy?" The monkey faunus she was accompanying asked.

"Yes," She nodded before introducing us to one another. "Sun, this is Jaune. Jaune, I'd like you to meet Sun."

"Nice to meet you. Sun Wukong. Haven Academy." He offered his hand. He seems friendly enough that someone like Blake would even bother with him.

"Arc, Jaune Arc. Beacon, the same school as hers. Nice to meet you too," I returned the gesture and took a seat.

Blake looked a little puzzled from Sun's greeting. "Haven? That's an academy in Mistral. Aren't you from Vacuo?"

"Actually, yeah I am from Vacuo, but I study at Haven. I just went back there immediately after the break to meet up with my family before taking the first ship to Vale."

"Then why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"You never asked," Sun shrugged.

Blake rolled her eyes and took a sip of tea before turning to me and giving me a menu. "Here, get yourself something to drink."

"So does this place have any tanna?" I asked while reading through the menu, it was literally the first thought I had. I believed I have been separated from it's taste for too long and I could really use some.

She raised a confused brow. "What's tanna?"

I kept reading the menu and saw there weren't any it. "Nevermind," I replied, feeling slightly disappointed. If there was any consolation though, I would be able to drink it again once I get home the following day. "So where are your teammates, Blake? Whatever you're about to explain, I think they deserve to hear it."

The cat ears hidden beneath her bow twitched slightly. "I think they already knew, which is why I couldn't bear to show my face to them. But I did promise you that I will explain everything."

Fair enough. I only wanted to know what was going on, especially if it also meant getting Blake closer to returning to her team so I don't have to be too concerned over their affairs anymore. "Well, by all means, shoot."

She took a deep breath before she began. "Alright, here it goes… Jaune. Sun. Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

Although the name does ring a bell. I could recall hearing the name a few times, I just don't know when nor was I sure why it sounds familiar. "Can't say I have," I answered.

"Of course! I don't think there's a faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them." Sun spoke up. "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

Blake took another sip of her tea. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

I looked at her with mild surprise. Sun meanwhile coughed that he almost choked on his drink that he dropped it. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it." Learning that did made me slightly weary of her. If what Sun said about that organization was true, that this 'White Fang' were a bunch of violent thugs, then I should be careful around Blake. I did got myself to calm down, because if she was the criminal she used to be, then she would have stirred some trouble a long time ago. Then again, her aloof demeanor could always mean that she is up to something.

She began to elaborate more about her background. "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people—and I was there, I was at the front of every rally, I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference, but I was just a youthful optimist."

A youthful optimist… I know how that one felt. Which is enough for me to know that this will not end in a happily ever after as if that wasn't clear enough.

"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used faunus labor, and the worst part was—it was working. We were being treated as equals, but not out of respect... out of fear." She then finished her cup. "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress."

That was… eye-opening. Thankfully, it has disproved my suspicions that Blake was still associated with that group. Still, I'm disturbed that this was all happening because of racial divisions. Prejudices die hard, I suppose and by the sound of it, I don't think The White Fang is exactly helping with that regard.

"So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She looked up, wiggling her bow. It took me a few seconds to process what she said.

"So, have you told your friends any of this?" Sun inquired. Blake's expression and silence was enough to answer it for us. It really was that bad, and I wasn't going to let it affect her too much. I still needed my glorified meatshields to work properly which is why I was even there to begin with.

"I think you should." I asserted, letting her have my two lien. "White Fang or not, that's not the first thing that would come to their mind when they hear your name. No, no. They'll think of their teammate, Blake, that shy girl who wears a big bow and likes to read. Whatever you were before, it's now in the past. Let it go," I said in my best efforts in an attempt to coerce her into ending this needless drama.

"I wish it was that simple," she sighed. "I don't know, Jaune. Especially not with Weiss. She has a vendetta against the White Fang, since the SDC has been one of their major targets. I don't think she'll forgive me for associating with a group that has been sabotaging her family's company for a while."

Well, crap. That explains the commotion that happened during Friday night, it made me understand why Blake was hesitant to return to her team. This turned out to be more complicated than I thought.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you're teammates with a Schnee? Man, talk about some bad blood." Sun said.

"This all started when we were strolling together in the city and saw a dust shop in ruins. The police said that the White Fang was one of the possible perpetrators, and Weiss was inclined to agree. I couldn't help but defend the White Fang and tell her that they are misguided, that was when we started to argue. Eventually, it became heated enough that I slipped into associating myself with the faunus, I ran away and the rest is history."

"Wow," Sun remarked.

"So, do you still think that this is all just a simple dispute?" Blake questioned me, slightly raising her voice.

Although she did make the situation clear, it raised more questions that I had to ask. "Look, I see what you're going through. But couldn't you just tell them that you don't want to do anything with the White Fang anymore? You already saw that they do more harm than good that you left. So why did you even bother defending them?! You didn't necessarily have to make this more complicated," I pointed out, faintly annoyed that all of this was happening because of tribalism on her part.

"Even if the White Fang took their actions too far, it doesn't change the fact that Weiss made discriminatory remarks on the faunus. People like her are why some of them join the White Fang!" She gripped her empty cup. For someone who left an organization out of disgust, she really does love justifying their actions. And I thought I was a pathetic hypocrite.

"But does that make them any better?" I snapped, dropping the courtesy that I have been holding on these past months whenever I'm around my schoolmates. "You said that faunus were being treated as equals out of fear, right? I may be an idiot sometimes, but I know that's not equality, Blake, because all they did was be counter-productive about it. Do you really think that people take kindly to extremism? No, they instead gave them a good reason to fear the faunus when bigotry was then simply caused by ignorance. This is why tensions between the races remain, there is no peace because they are not even preaching it."

I realized that I have acted too much out of character but I was not in the mood on playing dumb and pretending that this was all okay. I knew that nothing good would happen if I just let this stand. Admittedly, I'm even not sure if I know what I'm talking about, I don't actually even care about any of this. For all I know, I could be making stuff up. I just want her to come back, forget about all of this and carry on trying to make sure I get the best out of surviving Huntsman training.

On the bright side, the café's second floor and exterior are empty. I don't like people eavesdropping on a rather personal conversation, it would have made this more awkward.

Blake paused but she wasn't giving up just yet. "You may not see it much these days, but the faunus are suffering a lot more than you think. Some of them were never given a choice but to join the White Fang because they're their only hope! What do you think they were supposed to do?"

"By proving them wrong!" I answered, she was taken aback by that response. "Success was always the best revenge. I've met faunus that prospered despite everything that they have to go through. They flourished so much that people begin to learn that they are more than just people who are different from being human. So instead of throwing violent, collective tantrums and giving humans a reason to hate you, why not prove that you're better than that? I know it's not easy and it's a long road ahead, but I do know that it's worth it." I took a moment to breathe. "Not everyone wants to put the faunus down, Blake, many of us are doing our best to give you a chance. So why make things worse for us both?"

Like I said, I was mostly talking in pure intuition and I actually have no idea what I'm talking about and I didn't even mean to preach. But whatever I just said, it was enough to froze her, she looked down her cup and pondered on my remark.

"I can't help but agree with him. He's made a good point." Sun said after silently listening to us for a while. Regardless whether I was right about what I said or not, it's good to know that somebody, a faunus no less, was vouching me on this. That's a sign that I did something right at least.

Blake sighed. "You're right. I guess the White Fang that I knew and believed in is gone. I don't even know what made me think otherwise."

Hearing that was a relief. I was finally making progress. "There's still a chance to set things right, Blake. And by choosing to become a Huntress, you already are trying to make a difference."

She looked at her cup for a moment before brightening up. "I'll take your word for it then."

Finally I was able to knock some sense to her. You know, stuff like this is the reason people tend to shy away from controversial politics like this crap, you have to deal with people who have a very black-and-white view of things when the truth is more complicated. It's a miracle that I was even able to convince Blake to stop defending her little extremist club. "Glad that's settled."

"So what's the plan now?" Sun asked.

"While there's no denying that the White Fang has been extreme a lot lately, I still don't believe they are behind these robberies. They've never needed that much dust before," Blake said. Apparently, we were still not done with the White Fang nonsense even after persuading Blake to stop sympathizing with them. If anything, I've only scratched the surface of the whole situation.

"But what if they did?" Sun questioned. "I mean—the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," Blake shrugged.

Fortunately, Sun had a figurative light bulb turn on above his head. "Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

That seemed to have caught her interest. "How huge?"

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"

"Well, you said that the White Fang hated the SDC's guts. So, if they do need that much dust, then what is the better way than to steal from the company they hate so much? I am very sure."

"Then we're going there now," Blake concluded. "Jaune, are you coming with us? We could use an extra hand. We're going to need your help should things go wrong."

Oh boy, I feared that it would come to this. But declining would only prove that I was a coward, and I couldn't have that, and someone from the school had to keep an eye on Blake. "Alright, but in one condition, after you're done. You'll go back to Beacon, and you'll apologize to your team and talk it out. Deal?"

"Can't really argue with that. Deal." she complied. She looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. "Best we get going, the White Fang could attack at any time. We need to be there before they do."

We stood up and left the café. I sent a message to my team saying that I'll come home late. And that's assuming that if I even get out of this alive. Hopefully.

"Hey Jaune, I can't help but notice that you're kind of familiar, I think I've heard about you before," Sun asked as we were making our way to the docks.

Apperently, people are still hanging on to that. I know El Segadore was a big deal on Vacuo, but I thought we have reached the point where that stupid story have died down and everyone moved on from it. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

He kept staring at me before he shook his head and carried on. "Eh, I'm probably going crazy. Sorry to bother you."

That was close. Somebody reminding me of that shameful event was the last thing I needed. Hopefully, it won't get worse from here. I just want to help out a friend to keep myself on Team RWBY's good side, now I'm getting involved in racial politics and low-key espionage. Hooray.

I'm starting to regret leaving the dorm that night. Blake acts so much of a cat that it felt I'm trying to herd a clowder of her.

=o=

1. He also happened to be the same faunus we tried to chase from the excerpt above.

---

They say that 'curiosity kills the cat,' and I spent the entire thing worrying that it wasn't going to be a figure of speech for long. Considering that we were about to face a group that are essentially terrorists. I fetched my weapons and hoped for the best while preparing for the worse. Blake better have eight more lives if this doesn't go well.

I've seen Blake fight more than enough to know how to have her use her skills to our advantage. The problem is that her fighting style relies on stealth and surprise attacks because there's only so much you could do when your weapon is a katana[1]-slash-simple pistol with a cable attached to it and the weapon's sheath that can be used as second melee weapon. I don't know much about Sun. When I asked how he fights, he answered that he uses a bow-staff that can change into two nun-chucks that also shoots bullets. His semblance has him summon clones of himself, but unlike Blake's clones, they possess some mass. Of course, like most other useful semblance, it takes up a lot of his aura, especially if he overuses it in one sitting. This leads me to assume that his role was suited for dealing with multiple opponents at once. All of these were in case things go wrong; our objective was to investigate dust robberies and see if the White Fang was truly responsible or not. Nobody said that we had to engage with angry faunus terrorists.

We've been at the roof of one of the warehouses, staking out the docks for hours starting at dusk and it was painfully uneventful. We could have fallen asleep once the White Fang arrives. At least Sun brought some cards for us to play while one keeps watch. Though, playing Go-Fish for a couple of hours got old pretty fast.

Sun eventually got bored and decided to head out, saying he would come back. By this time, the freighter carrying the SDC containers arrived and was offloaded. After that, the dock's closed and everyone working there went home, leaving the place empty. At first glance, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary until you realize that there suspiciously were no guards to be found. Not even a single one. Very odd considering the SDC containers looked very valuable.

"That would be their target, isn't it?" I questioned.

"It's definitely something they would take," Blake replied assuredly.

"Strange. You'd expect a huge corporation to have their stuff guarded especially if they're constantly attacked by a specific group."

"Now that you've mentioned it, something feels off. Anyway, your tracker is still off right?"

"Yes, it's still off," I answered. That didn't mean I can't turn it back on when things get out of hand. The only reason why I even bothered to keep it off was because Blake has proven herself to be stubborn enough that selling her out isn't going to help. If I let her get what she wants for once, then I'll be able to take her back to her team without any more trouble (aside from trying to explain the faunus stuff) and I don't have to risk Blake's trust of me.

We stared at the containers for an amount of time. Needless to say, it was dull watching a bunch of metal boxes stand still and waiting for something to happen. Out of boredom, I ended up putting my gaze into admiring Blake's pretty backside as she was lying prone. While this admittedly threw me off focus, it did motivate me to stay for another while.

I quickly stopped and turned back to overlooking the docks after hearing Sun returned with some green apples. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there," Blake replied.

"I stole us some food!" Sun showed some of the apples he brought.

"Uhh, thanks?" I took one of them and took a bite. It was strange that I accepted generosity on a stolen good. But then again, considering my tendency to scavenge, I wasn't any better myself, but at least I stole from those who I thought deserved it and was inconspicuous enough to keep a clean record.

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake remarked, and this was coming from someone who used to work with the same terrorist group we were currently investigating. [2]

"Hey, weren't you in a racist revolutionary cult or something?" Sun responded, earning her glare. "Okay, too soon!"

He went back into watching the docks while both quietly munched our apples. Few minutes in and there were still no White Fang drones to be found.

I suddenly heard Sun call me. "Hey, Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"Can I whisper you something?" He gestured me closer. I leaned near him for what he had to say. "Are you two dating?"

I was baffled by the question. While Blake was definitely attractive in her own right and I wouldn't have my eyes fixed on finer assets otherwise, I didn't see her anything like that especially since she recently made some very unwise decisions that only proves that she would make a very bothersome person to date with, and I'm just not into that. "What? No! What gave you the idea?"

He gave an innocent shrug. "I just thought I'd ask." Though judging by his expression and the faint blush I have managed to spot with my keen eye, there was definitely something more to that.

"Quiet, you two! I think they're coming." Blake pointed us toward a Bullhead arriving at the docks with its searchlights on. It descended near the containers as we kept our heads low.

The Bullhead's ramp opened, instead of workers or soldiers, a group of people in unfortunately familiar apparel emerged from the aircraft. They were wearing the same black and white uniform, and the same visors, and carried the very same emblem on their back of their vests as the bandits I ran into a few months back at Forever Fall. I wished my mind was playing tricks on me—but it wasn't.

I just realized that the White Fang was indeed the group of criminals I encountered that day. Ren was right when he thought that what we fought were more than just bandits, and I never believed him, because I was too afraid to think so. This was not good, it meant that I ended up gaining the notoriety of a godsdamn terrorist organization hellbent on making humanity pay, with one of their ex-members being a part of my sister team. They are definitely going to murder me when they find out that I was the one that subdued, looted and reported one of their bases to the authorities, maybe even casually killing a few of their members along the way.

"Oh no," Blake murmured, and my reaction was almost too similar.

"Gods, it's really them," I muttered to myself, still in disbelief that I crossed paths with them before. Although I was quiet, it didn't stop Sun from hearing it.

"You've seen them before?" he asked, with Blake turning her head at me with suspicion.

I didn't feel like explaining how I first met them, and even if I did, there was no time. So I just needed to throw them off of it for a little bit. "Saw them in the news." I quickly lied without losing my cool or stammering, which seems to have convinced them.

"Deep down, I knew. I just didn't want to be right," Blake whimpered.

I was about to suggest to leave and maybe call the police since we got what we came here for and there wasn't need for anything to complicate things further when a voiced gained all of our attention. "Hey! What's the hold-up?!"

An orange-haired man with a white coat, bowler hat and cane walked out from the Bullhead. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be off about him, maybe aside from looking like he came straight out from The Tangerine Cogsworth, until you realize that he doesn't seem to have visible faunus features. Granted, the faunus features of the other members aren't visible too, given that they wore uniforms that almost cover their whole body. I assumed that this one has his hidden beneath his hat, that is until he makes a statement that immediately debunked that, making it quite clear that he was human. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

From what I've heard so far, The White Fang was a bunch of human-hating extremists, which explains why that I was once called a humie during that Forever Falls Fiasco so it was strange that the White Fang was letting a human give orders to them, especially that he had the audacity to call them animals. Blake was understandably just as puzzled as I was. "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."

"This is stupid! Why the hell did they put you in charge?! I didn't sign up to get pushed around by another lowly humie like you!" One defiant member stood his ground. It seems to me that they would but they don't seem to be happy about it.

"Disobedience, huh? That's a mistake," he replied before butting his cane on the member's stomach, making him fall to the ground. The others just stood back even if they were noticeably tempted to aim their guns at him. "You can go cry to Adam all you want, but as long we agree to keep collaborating, I don't think any of you tools can do jack shit about it! Now, are we really doing this or what?"

"Adam? Collaborate? What's going on here?" Those words seem to have caught Blake's attention so much that she stood up, drew her weapon and leaped from the warehouse.

Sun was shocked by Blake's sudden decision to storm out. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Blake, wait!" I cried out. We were not supposed to confront anyone. So much for being discreet. I pulled my scroll and turned on my tracker just in case. I thought it was now the time to let everyone know where we were especially knowing that this isn't going to go very well. "Don't move. Let her take care of this for now," I told Sun.

"Well, do you have some sort of plan or what?!"

"I wish I had, but I'll work something out!" I said, he could only agree at the moment. We needed to quickly think about this first since further hastiness would undoubtedly make this worse.

Blake snuck behind one of the containers and peaked to get a view on the bowler hat guy yelling at a stooge who was holding some kind of rope. "No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" He yelled before Blake came out and put her blade on his throat. From the looks of it, the guy looks more annoyed than threatened. "What the—?! Oh, for fuc—"

"Nobody move!" Blake warned as White Fang thugs surround her with their weapons drawn.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady," The bowler hat guy said while being held by her, remaining rather calm for someone who is being used as a hostage.

"Blake Belladonna? Is that you?" One of the terrorists recognized her, causing her to feel a bit uneasy but remained firm nonetheless. I really should have taken to account if Blake was famous in the White Fang or something, because I would have anticipated this exact thing happening [3]

"Blake Belladonna?" Mr. Bowler Hat laughed. "So you're the kitten chick that Adam won't shut up about. Guess he wasn't screwing around when he said that you are wearing such a ridiculous bow."

"Shut up!" Blake then removed her bow and exposed her cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!"

"Why should we answer you, traitor?!" One of them retorted. This was exactly what I was worried about. I had to wonder what made her think this was a good idea. Then again, this is the same woman that ran away because she tried defending this organization even though she left them for being too extreme, and then went on the trouble to investigate dust robberies because she didn't want to believe that they were stealing dust. Because of that, I feel stupid for let myself agree to this. I'm starting to see why black cats signs of disaster.

"Oh, you really have no idea what's happening, do you?" The bowler hat guy remarked.

"Would you care to explain then?" Blake tightened the blade on his neck.

"Well, your old friends and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Sun and I felt the wind blow against us and saw two more Bullheads fly past us and hovered above them. "Good luck with that, kitty cat." The bowler hat guy said shortly before firing a missile at Blake's feet, causing an explosion large enough to be seen outside the docks visible around nearby parts.

It was now apparent that my assessments has backfired on me once again, Blake's personal issues turned out be a bigger liability than it should be. I should have known that snitching her location to her teammates sooner would actually have been less troublesome. This was going to be my worst Sunday night thus far.

=o=

1. A common mistake that even Ruby, a weapons enthusiast, is guilty of. Blake's weapon is actually closer to a ninjatō, which resembles katanas, only lighter, shorter, and straighter making them much more suitable for stealth.

2. And partaking in many sabotages against the Schnee Dust Company™ no less. Though, it should be noted that I had Blake pardoned for her crimes against the company, shortly after I took over the position as CEO.

3. Not only that but she was also the daughter of Ghira Belladonna, the former chieftain of Menagerie and the leader of the White Paws movement before its militant faction took over and reformed it to the White Fang we all know. According to Blake's memoirs, which I am still going to spare readers from, she tried using her clout to in an attempt to coerce the White Fang troops. As the following paragraphs show, this did not go as well as she would have hoped.

---

Editorial Note:

For the readers' convenience, I decided to add an excerpt here, which follows Ruby and Penny's search for Blake, before and after the incident of the docks occurred, just so readers won't have the same confusion as Jaune on their eventual involvement.

The Red Rose Diaries: The Search for Blake

It's been a whole day since Blake disappeared and she hasn't come back yet. We decided to go to Vale and look for her because she might never come back and I don't want team RWBY to be broken before this semester ends. It's going to be hard because Vale is rather a big city, and we couldn't track her down because her tracker was off.

We tried visiting the bookstore because it was one of the places she likes to go when visiting Vale. Sadly, the owner, Tukson, said that she hasn't visited lately, and the sushi restaurant, which was also one of her favorite places, said the same. Since we didn't want to give up, we kept looking for her. She can't just abandon us while we're about to finish the first semester. I'm positive that she'll come back to us, I just don't know how or when.

Weiss suggested we go tell the police, which sounded good, but then you realize that Weiss still doesn't trust Blake yet and could have her arrested because she could really be from the White Fang.

We met Penny again. When we told her we were looking for Blake, Penny said that she recognized her and that she was a faunus girl, which really proved that she was hiding something for us. There was always something fishy with Blake, but it turns out she's just a faunus, which isn't actually much of a big deal if you ask me. Everyone was welcome to Beacon and become our friend. Weiss just needs to stop being mean to her because of that.

Anyway, Weiss and Yang suddenly ditched me and I was left with Penny. I told her everything that happened. Penny said she didn't have a lot of friends, but if she did, she wants them to talk to her about things.

Same thing I also want…

I continued to look for Blake as we continued to talk more about things. For once, we managed to get some good news. When Penny and I went to Café Noir, the owner said that she had seen her and that if that's really her, then she arrived hours ago and was chatting with two blond boys. I don't know who are the blond boys she was referring to, Jaune maybe? I tried to call him but he wouldn't return the call, so I called his teammates. Nora said that Jaune went to do something they don't know because he never told them and that his tracker was off, which probably proved that he's with Blake. But why does he need to turn off his tracker? Maybe Blake told him to, I dunno. But this tells me that he is with her; the only thing we needed to do was find them.

Since they were last seen in the café, they can't be that far. It was getting dark, but we haven't given up on searching just yet.

Suddenly, there we saw an explosion coming from the docks. Whether it's her or not we couldn't just stay there and do nothing. Someone might need help. So Penny and I decided to head there.

---

Mr. Bowler Hat continues to fire miniature missiles at Blake, who continued to dodge every single one. The recently arrived Bullheads opened revealing more White Fang terrorists. Meanwhile, Sun and I were still on the roof as I tried to come up with a plan on how to deal with this.

"Okay, you go handle the White Fang goons while Blake keeps the human in the bowler hat busy. I'll stay back and provide supporting fire on enemies you can't reach. Try to find a way to get rid of those choppers. I'll try to shoot the pilots if I can. I suggest taking some dust from the containers and use them to create explosions for the Bullhead. It shouldn't hurt spending some of the dust we are trying to protect. Did you get all of that?" I then glanced to my side, only to see that Sun wasn't there. "Sun?"

I glanced around until I saw him at the ground facing Mr. Bowler Hat. "Leave her alone!" After seeing that, I palmed my face. There goes my chance of making this less complicated than it should. I was starting to wonder if Huntsmen even comprehend the concept of being subtle.

"'Oi, I think that's 'im! Let's get 'em, fellas!" One of the Fang members on the Bullhead shouted. I put my head back up, puzzled at that statement, as they all jumped off and surrounded Sun. They attacked all at once, barely giving him a chance to fight back. I watched in horror as Sun lied on the ground, getting ganged up by a bunch of terrorists who apparently had some vendetta against him for some reason.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Mocked the bowler hat guy.

This was the best opportunity for me to bail out, but as much as I wanted to take it, I won't be able to peacefully sleep at night knowing I just left Blake and Sun to suffer in the hands of terrorists and Blake's team wasn't going to appreciate me leaving their missing teammate in danger after I found her, so I had to do something.

I took the stairs down and hid behind one of the crates as I pulled my sword and laser-pistol. I blasted off one of the White Fang goons with my laser-pistol, alerting them and diverting their attention to me.

"Wait a minute, this ain't a human!" One of them said after they stopped beating down Sun and saw his monkey tail.

Sun quickly recovered and swept the legs of all the hostiles around him before standing up and pulling out his bow-staff. "You think?"

"I couldn't see anythin' in this mask!" A White Fang member retorted.

"Another feckin' pet! [1] Get rid of 'im—and the humie too!" Another one of them yelled, rallying the others.

"Hey, don't call us that!" Sun said, attacking the White Fang lackeys around him.

I went back to shooting down the ones trying to get to me. Not one was able to stand close save for one who tried to flank me. I deflected his sword with mine just right in time and our blades pushed against each other. He took a closer look at me and seemed to realize who I was. "Oi, aren't ye the yoke that—?" He tried to inquire when I kneed his nuts, stunning him before taking the opportunity to slash him out.

"We found 'im!" Another set of White Fang was storming toward me. I got the feeling they recognized me and remembered what happened at Forever Fall. I probably made it to their hitlist which could explain why they tried to beat up Sun after they thought he was me since we wore almost the same colors, it doesn't help that he was a blond like me.

There was no turning back from this. I holstered my laser-pistol and raised my shield, blocking the gunshots from the incoming terrorists. I thrusted myself toward them and slammed my shield at the first terrorist. I spun my sword around, hitting all the terrorists nearby. I proceeded to slash them away and then collapsing my shield back into a scabbard and pointed my laser-pistol to the last two terrorists standing.

"He's mine!" Blake interjected. I glanced at her to see her clashing with Mr. Bowler Hat. Despite her agility, he was able to block her every attack and even managed to hit her several times that she knocked her back. Sun came in and changed his bow-staff into two nunchucks. The two traded off some blows as Sun swung his weapons while firing them, causing bullets to fly around. Blake suddenly returned and slashed him back. Bowler Hat Guy lied on the ground when he looked up and shot a rope carrying a container above Sun and Blake. Blake flips back behind it while leaped forward to the ground before meeting the barrel of their opponent's cane.

I quickly fired at his hand, causing it to deflect and shoot at the side. He angrily glanced at me and shot a missile, which I managed to block off with my shield at the last second, dragging me back for a few inches. I put my shield down to see him lunge at me. I found myself now clashing with Mr. Bowler Hat. I proceeded to deflect all of his attacks as he does the same with mine. This went on for half a minute.

"Hey guys, could we just all attack at the same time?!" I yelled at my two faunus companions, being rather irritated that we were not utilizing some of the advantages we have and that we are only prolonging a fight that didn't even need to happen.

"We're kinda busy here!" Sun responded while he and Blake were dealing with another wave of White Fang soldiers. One must wonder how many terrorists did they bring to carry some containers.

A flurry of missiles came toward me as I blocked every single one, albeit getting knocked back a little. I pulled down my shield and began returning fire with my laser-pistol while shooting some of the goons attacking Sun and Blake. Mister Bowler was hit with one of the blasts and staggered back. I ran back to him and swung my sword, only to be blocked by his cane. "You kids are really getting on my nerves!" He tried pushing me back. "I appreciate the challenge and all, but would you learn not to stick your noses on where it doesn't belong?!"

While we were at it, a familiar voice called, "Hey!" Glancing at my side, I saw Ruby standing at the top of the warehouse with her scythe on her hand.

"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your be—oof!" He tried to taunt her when I seized the opportunity and whipped his face with my laser-pistol while he was in the middle of it and kicked him to the ground. I aimed my gun at him with my finger near the trigger. "You know, that wasn't very nice of you."

Ruby leaped off the building, landing next to us and joining me as pointed her weapon's sniper mode at him. "Give it up, Torchwick! We got you now!"

"Seriously, you again? What the hell do you want from me this time?" Mr. Bowler Hat or Torchwick—according to Ruby—snarled.

I raised my brow at the apparent fact that the two had some familiarity with one another. "You two know each other?"

Ruby grinned while making a faint shrug. "It's kind of a funny story." [2]

"Look, as much as I would love to stay and beat both of you up for being stubborn brats, I'm afraid that I have more pressing matters to attend to," he remarked, as he turned to see three Bullheads coming towards us and started firing its mounted guns.

"Get down!" I pushed myself and Ruby down to the ground and shielded us from a barrage of bullets coming from the Bullheads. Torchwick got up and ran from us while we were down.

"Hey! You almost hit me, you morons!" he yelled at the Bullheads. Considering how he treated his underlings, I wouldn't be surprised if they did try to kill him and make it look like an accident.

As we both got up. I started thinking of a way on how to deal with three bullheads, several terrorists, and one crime boss all in once. Little did I know, the answer was right behind me. "Salutations!" An inappropriately enthusiastic voice suddenly greeted. I turned back and saw a short freckled green-eyed, orange-haired girl with a pink bow behind the back of her head. She was wearing a grey blouse and a greyer slim backpack and her voice had this strange mix of professionalism and cheerfulness. There was something peculiar about her that I can't put my finger on. "You must be Jaune. Nice to meet you!"

I was too dumbfounded by seeing a happy girl in the middle of a tense situation to make a verbal response. Ruby ran to her and it appears that they also knew each other. "Penny! What are you doing here? I told you to stay back."

"I came to help," Penny answered, seemingly without any concern for perils on what was happening at the docks.

"No, Penny, it's too dangerous!" Ruby cried out.

"Don't worry, Ruby!" A blade came out of Penny's backpack before multiplying into several blades while they fly behind her back. "I'm combat ready!"

She dashed towards Sun and Blake, who was still fighting off yet another lot of White Fang troops. Penny came in and knocked out multiple terrorists with her blades. Sun and Blake could only stand by and be shocked as they watched her dispose of the remaining terrorists. The last wave of White Fang soldiers were entering the scene. Penny made a wheel out of her floating swords and it threw to them, making them all fall like bowling pins.

The three Bullheads started firing at her. Penny uses her blades to deflect the bullets from her while sending out two of them to stick at the warehouse before they both get attached by strings coming from her backpack and pulling her to the warehouse. She then used her blades to create a rotating ring and used it to charge and fire a large beam powerful enough to cut two of them in half, with White Fang members visibly falling as the sliced Bullheads crashed into the water, while the third Bullhead just cowered away.

I stood by in amazement while these questions hover in my head: Who the hell was this friend of Ruby? Where did she come from? How was she doing that? What the hell was going on?! This was all unexpected but at the same time I was rather glad that she was her to turn the tide of the battle.

Penny pierced her blades at the last Bullhead, which was carrying a container. She uses her string-attached blades to tug the Bullhead with inhuman strength as she walks back with bare difficulty.

"Woah. How is she doing that?" Ruby remarked, I was asking the same thing myself.

The Bullhead tries to fly away in vain but remains being pulled by a petite girl who looked no older than Ruby. Penny eventually threw the Bullhead down, making it crash to a stack of containers. While saving the containers wasn't exactly an objective, as we were only here to investigate the White Fang, not exactly protect what they're trying to steal, I was rather anxious about the damages we might have to pay after all of this was done.

We got too distracted watching her that we didn't notice Torchwick get in a Bullhead. "Hey!" I shouted. The Bullhead flew away as I tried to shoot him down before he closed the door and the Bullhead boosted away. And the only thing left for me that I could do was watch him fly away scot-free. "Crap." He was definitely going to remember this and I wasn't able to get rid of him to make sure the new enemies I made won't be much of a problem for long. Now, I had to prepare myself in case I ever meet this guy ever again.

Penny's blades all swirl back to her pack in an orderly fashion. "The area is secure!" She stood up straight, her smile still hasn't left her face nor did she show any sign of tiredness; I couldn't even see her sweat! She acted like all of this was nothing.

"Penny… that was AMAZING! How did you learn to fight like that?!" Ruby squealed.

"I'd be happy to tell you! But sadly it's a big secret so I can't."

Yeah, I can see why, I thought while looking at the crashed Bullhead, with one of its members barely crawling out. Which reminded me...

I went to the crash site and stomped at the downed White Fang terrorist unconscious before searching the body for any valuables then taking them. I went back to the duo who was still holding a conversation. Sun and Blake soon stepped in.

"Blake!" Ruby dashed to her teammate, giving her a hug. "I'm so glad you are okay!" After letting go of her, she noticed something odd on her head. "Blake... you have…"

"I know. Ruby… I'm sorry for making you worry about me, and for hiding this from you for this long." Blake apologized. "Just so you'd know, I'm no longer with the White Fang. Would you please forgive me?"

"Of course. We're friends, Blake. Friends look out for each other." Ruby said before turning to Sun. "Hey, aren't you that monkey faunus from Friday?"

"Yep, that was me!" Sun boasted, looking a little tired from the previous fighting. "Sun Wukong. So, you're Blake's team leader?"

"Yes, I am. You're from Vacuo, right?"

"Mistral. Studying at Haven. I used to live in Vacuo though. I'm also a team leader myself!"

"Oh, nice! Jaune is a team leader too."

"Really?" He turned and grinned at me. "It's no wonder why you're smarter than you look. Erm. No offense."

"It's fine," I reassured. To be fair, I really didn't look like much. Appearances can be deceiving and I wanted to use that to my advantage, seeing that it was able to benefit me a few times before.

"And you!" He gestured to Penny. "Man, you were so awesome! I've never seen anyone do that. You kind of saved all of us."

"It was my pleasure. It's nice to meet you all. My name is Penny Polendina and I'm from Atlas Academy!"

"Well, Penny. It's good to have you on our side." I said, looking at her handiwork. Had she not intervened, this would have been a lot more complicated. I doubt that even one of us would survive.

Penny then stared at me for a moment before identifying who I was. "Wait... are you Jaune Felix Arc? The son of former-Commissar[3] Caiaphas Kaine Arc?!"

Unsurprisingly at this point, here is another person that recognized me thanks to me being born to a somewhat nepotistic family of famed warriors and largely because of an achievement that I got from choosing to run some errands at the wrong place at the wrong time. It did impress me that she was able to refer to both me and Dad with our full names. Rarely anyone called us that way, even to those who were aware of it. It's probably because she's from Atlas, and most of my father's fame usually comes from there since it used to be his home before settling down with Mom. [4]

"Yes, I am." I nodded modestly at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! Your father has done a great service not just to Atlas, but to the rest of the world as well! And I hope you'll be able to continue doing the same and follow in his footsteps."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that," I beamed at her. She was just so cheerful that it was rather infectious. It almost made me forget that she slaughtered the rest of the White Fang forces in the premises and pulled down a freaking Bullhead all by herself.

Well anyway, we managed to foil the White Fang's robbery, seeing how they left without a single container. Well, with the cost of some of them. I hope the SDC doesn't mind losing a few dusts if it meant not giving their would-have-been robbers any. Above all, Ruby has finally found her missing teammate, the only thing left was how were they going to explain this to Weiss and Yang.

Regardless, I was relieved that I was able to survive the White Fang a second time now, though the bad news was that I just gave them another reason to be angry at me, and with that, this unfortunately won't be the last time I encounter them and the same probably goes to Torchwick as well. Dammit, I never thought Blake would end up putting me in just as much trouble as Cardin did. Now I had to watch my back even when outside Beacon.

Thank Gods break start tomorrow because I need a vacation after all of this.

=o=

1. A derogatory term mostly used by faunus towards human-sympathizing faunus. The White Fang also tend to use this towards faunus who refuse to join or support their cause. While originally used by humans as a term for faunus slaves/servants, it's now used by faunus supremacists to label 'race traitors' of their own kind.

2. Torchwick was the one in charge of the Dust shop robbery that Ruby foiled on the night Headmaster Ozpin found her and recruited her into Beacon.

3. Commissars are elite Huntsmen of a kingdom's council. They are given special privileges and authorities to act above the law under the strict condition that they are to be used to enforce their interests and uphold national stability.

4. Interestingly enough, the Arcs are somewhat known for their certain pattern of Atlesian-North Sanusian interbreeding starting with the original Arc wielder of the Crocea Mors, Sir Harry 'The Flash' Arc, who was Valish and married an Atlesian woman where they would conceive a son who would be raised as an Atlesian and then marry to a wife of North Sanusian descent, who would then be raised more as a Sanusian who married an Atlesian and so on and so forth.

---

Half an hour has passed after the first responders arrived and set up a perimeter, the cops and the paramedics took in every White Fang member they found and my only hope for them was that they didn't mind wondering why all of them have almost empty pockets.

We were told to stay still and sit down because they still need us for questioning, so we sat by silently, waiting for the authorities' next instructions. Blake was wearing her bow again and told Ruby everything. She also told all of us not to tell anyone about her previous association with the White Fang, as it might cause more unwanted complication, and I was willing to agree, but only because I had enough trouble since she ran away.

After a few minutes of waiting. A dark-skinned man in a suit and a beige trench coat approached us, followed by two men in white dress shirts and black pants. "I'm Detective Shawn Huntley of the VPD." He flashed his badge, probably having the most tame Albionic accent out of all the Valish locals I've met these past months. "You can relax, none of you are in trouble. I just wanted to ask some questions regarding this incident. Are you willing to cooperate?"

We all silently nodded, the detective seemed pleased at our agreement. "Very well. First off, what made you go investigate the recent dust robberies and how did you manage to correctly find out that it was the White Fang and their next robbery would take place here?"

Blake's cat ears turned forward. "I… uh…"

I decided to intercede since fast-talking my way out of things was my expertise. "Let me handle this, Blake," I interjected before clearing my throat and using almost everything I learned these past day to make up a believable alibi.

"Earlier this day, she heard about the dust robbing spree and rumors that the White Fang could be involved. Sun here also overheard that there was a freighter full of SDC dust containers arriving, we knew that if it was really the White Fang who was behind the robberies, then it would be their next target, especially since they have a deep hatred for the SDC. It turned out we were right." It was mostly true, all I did was left out Blake's membership with the White Fang and her personal matters with her team so technically I wouldn't say I was lying to the authorities.

"I see," Detective Huntley cupped his chin. "I've been hearing reports that the wanted criminal—Roman Torchwick—was present at the scene. While it would make sense for him to be involved in the robbery, given his record of raiding dust shops. Why would he work alongside the White Fang, an organization known for hating humans to the extreme? And why would the White Fang allow him to work with them? It doesn't make any sense."

Blake spoke up, only this time, she had the confidence to answer. "We don't know exactly why, but I overheard him talking about an agreement with Adam Taurus."

"Adam Taurus?" The detective raised his brow. "The Adam Taurus? The leader of the White Fang's Valish cell, according to evidence? Wasn't he known for his extreme anti-human sentiments? He must be really desperate enough to even agree to collaborate with someone who known to be disgusting even to other humans. This just keeps getting interesting…"

"You tell me." Blake murmured.

"Last question: Why exactly are you Huntsmen-in-training conducting an investigation involving the most serious and dangerous criminals known in the kingdom? You could have told the police. And while it's not uncommon for Huntsmen to fight non-Grimm threats, why take the risk? None of you even have the license to hunt bounties yet. [1] Not that I don't admire your courage and determination, I'm just curious."

We all glanced at each other. I gave Blake a reassuring nod and spoke up. "Because… why shouldn't we? Who else might stop them if the police can't or won't? Our duty was to uphold peace to the kingdoms, whether it meant fighting Grimm or criminals. Why should it matter if we were students? We trained hard enough to get ourselves into these academies; we knew it wasn't something we couldn't handle and we proved it."

In reality though, I knew the risks and we weren't supposed to try and stop the heist from taking place. If only Blake didn't act too reckless that things got out of hand, so we had to fight our way out of there to see another day. It was thanks to Penny's surprising skill that we managed to get out alive and even prevent the White Fang from getting any dust.

Detective Huntley hummed, though he was rather impressed at what I had to say. "Is that so? Well, I can see how you were able to get into Beacon. Though, if I were you, I would have left it to the professionals. That being said, we could use more people like you on the force. Not many people are willing to show this type of courage and dedication nowadays. Keep this up and you'll be one of the finest Huntsmen to date." He then exhaled and wrote down a few notes on his pad. "It was nice speaking to you. Anyway, good job into preventing Torchwick and the White Fang for taking any dust, even if that meant destroying a few of the containers…"

Penny slightly giggled at that remark.

"It was better than to let them take at least one. Those containers of dust weren't something the SDC couldn't easily replace, at least the rest of the others were still intact and that's what matters. Now we know who was behind these robberies thanks to you. I admit we aren't exactly the most effective police force in the world, so I'm rather grateful for your contribution. Still, I advise you, kids, to stay in school. Seeing how you were able to fight off the perpetrators, I'd hate to see your potential go to waste."

"Yes, sir…" Ruby said while we all nodded.

"Good. I must be going. You're now free to leave if you please." He then left while the two other detectives still stood by.

"Oi, monkey boy." One of them called.

Sun gulped. "Yes…?"

"We still have our eye on you."

He nervously chuckled. "No problem, officers."

The detectives gave a death glare before they both made their exit. I knew that stealing those apples was going to end up biting us back but that thankfully wasn't a major issue that was worth it to them. We all sighed in relief as we were now alone with ourselves. "This is going to be one heck of a story to tell when I get back," Sun said.

And it surely won't be the last, unfortunately.

Ruby and Blake's two other teammates soon arrived. Ruby stood up and tried to reason with them as she stepped in. "Look, Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss just walked past her and confronted Blake. The two silently stared at each other for a few seconds before Blake spoke up. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the—"

"Stop!" Weiss interrupted. "Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" Everyone just nervously looked at the two as Weiss berates Blake. "Two days. That means I've had two days to think about this. And in those couple of days, I've decided..."

Blake just stood in shame as she waited for her to finish her sentence.

"…I don't care."

"You don't care?" she was surprised by her unexpected remark.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss inquired.

"No, I-I haven't been sincer—"

"Ah-ba-ba-ba-bap! I don't want to hear it." Weiss hushed. "All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up…" she paused as Blake just stared at her. "…You'll come to your teammates. And not some..." she paused and looked at Sun and carefully reconsidered her words. "…Someone else."

Blake looked at her teammates and beamed and wiped a tear off her face. "Of course."

Weiss smiled that they finally made up. Yang walked in and patted Blake on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, partner."

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheerfully raised her arms. Good to know that all of this team drama is finally over, for now. I'm still somewhat bitter at Blake for all the trouble she caused but for what its worth, we got a happy ending and I don't have to worry about my sister team being divided again, but now I had to worry about Torchwick and the White Fang and I honestly wouldn't get myself involve if I knew it would all lead to that.

Weiss looked back on Sun. "You're the faunus from the ship a couple of days ago, am I correct?"

"Yeah… that would be me." Sun scratched the back of his head.

"I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" Weiss stated. Sun gave a nervous chuckle as a response.

"And Jaune..." she called, turning to me. "Thank you for looking after Blake, I guess."

"No problem. Just doing what a good friend would do." I said. I don't think I deserved that, though. I let myself get dragged here and only agreed to help because I felt guilty about letting Blake run away.

"And thanks for saving the shipment," Weiss added. "Now I don't have to hear my father flipping over this when I get home tomorrow."

"You're welcome. But I think that goes to Penny. If it weren't for her, the White Fang would have left with one or more of the containers." I said, deliberately leaving out the part where she destroys a pile of them for that to happen.

"Wait, Penny was here?" Weiss confusedly asked, apparently having met Penny the same time as Ruby did.

"Yeah, Penny…" I looked back and saw that she was suddenly nowhere to be found. "Where is she?"

"She was just here a minute ago," Ruby said, just as perplexed by her abrupt disappearance. For a cheerful-if-bizarre girl, it was strange for her to simply leave without telling us.

"So, you're telling me that the weird girl from earlier was responsible for saving the shipment belonging to my family's company?" Weiss skeptically said. "I find that hard to believe."

I don't blame her. That girl was pretty good at hiding what she had to offer. If anyone told me that she was some sort of powerhouse who could control multiple floating swords before witnessing it, I probably would think they have gone insane. What was she anyway? And how did Team RWBY even manage to find a girl like her? These questions will sadly be left unanswered for the moment and might have wait a little longer if I wanted to know more about her, if we were even to meet her again that is.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here." Yang said. No objections to that. My team just started to get worried when I turned on my tracker.

With that, we all left the docks, Sun bid us farewell before we took the Bullhead back to Beacon. The hard part was finally over and I was left to wonder if I just made things more difficult for me or not.

=o=

1. Huntsmen are mostly known for slaying Grimm by default, however, this does not mean they cannot partake in other combat activities against non-Grimm opponents. Huntsmen who received their license can sign up for special military duties, partake in freelance mercenary work, or choose to be independent and do anything they please, so long as they respect the laws of the kingdoms.

---

I never thought I'd be relieved to see Beacon again. I know I have been through some crazy shit since the first time I stepped into this place, but discovering that one your allies was a former member of a terrorist group of pissed-off faunus, and getting you into fighting said group who for some reason teamed up with a crime lord that doesn't seem to like them, then seeing a young girl effortlessly kick all of their asses out of nowhere, takes the godsdamn cake. And I have a feeling that it won't end there. The second semester could offer even worse scenarios that it might even make this whole day look like a walk in the park in comparison.

After clearing this up to my team and taking a little rest, I was still bothered by the recent events. So I went to the dorm's rooftop to clear my mind. It was one of the only places in the academy outside my dorm where I truly felt peace; I never get tired of looking at the scenery it offers, especially at night. I want to give one last look at its view before this semester ends.

I was just standing there, all alone, until I heard the voice of a certain faunus girl. "Hey."

I turned back to the rooftop's door and saw that there was no one there. I looked at the roof tiles above and saw Blake leaning near the roof window.

"Blake, what are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing." She then leaped off the roof. "I just like to sit on top of buildings sometimes."

Just like cats, huh?

"Anyway, I'm sorry for dragging you into all that. I know it was more trouble than you expected."

"You don't have to apologize to me for anything, Blake. I went with you at my own will because I wanted to help." I went close to her,laying a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't just let you go, knowing how worried your team was for you."

Though if you asked me, I probably wouldn't have gone if I knew that a simple stakeout would turn out into an all-out brawl especially if it involved an organization that probably wants to kill me after what I did to them a few months ago, and I'm sure that they hate me more now.

"But still, you wouldn't be there if it wasn't for me." She gently put my hand off her shoulder. "It was all my fault. My fear of everyone discovering who I am is what led us to that." she whimpered. "I should have just accepted that the White Fang wasn't that good from the start."

When I heard her, all that I was able to think of was my troubled self. With that, I did something that I thought I would never do: Be honest with my feelings. "You know, I was scared too."

She wept a tear and looked at me perplexed, none verbally asking me why.

"I was afraid that something might happen to you. That you may never come back. And that it would be my fault because I let this happen. I thought if I went and helped you, I didn't have to feel guilty about myself. You don't have to blame yourself for everything, you couldn't have known that it would get that bad. I was there by choice, I brought all of that for myself." I told her.

I saw myself too much in her. We both were hiding something from our friends. We both wanted to escape something, and we both have our own doubts about ourselves. Sometimes we just don't know what people would think, so we had to go with what they're comfortable with.

She came closer and abruptly gave me a hug. "I never properly thanked you for being there with me." she kept hugging me for a while before letting go. "I just couldn't blame you, Jaune. You were too nice. I just don't know how to repay you for your help."

"You don't have to repay me for me anything, I just did what friends are supposed to do, be there for you."

She smiled and looked at the night sky with me. It was quiet for a bit until she broke the silence.

"The White Fang is still out there..."

"They can't keep doing what they do forever." Organizations like that tend to die out soon enough.

"But as long as there's discrimination, there will always be groups like the White Fang. They're not going to stop until they get what they want."

"That's just how things are, Blake. But that's why we're also here. To keep Remnant safe from people like them. After you've left the White Fang, you made the right choice to become a Huntress. You can finally fight for peace for real this time."

She was flattered by that statement. "I guess I could see why they called you a hero."

I looked down as I thought about that. "Sometimes, I don't know if I'm still worthy of being called that," I admitted. Everything I did that seemed selfless was actually for my own benefit. If I were to keep my team and allies together so they could keep saving my hind, I have no other choice than to uphold my reputation even if I'm ashamed of it.

"You definitely do." She smiled at me. "I should go. They're probably wondering where I am again. Thanks again, for everything."

"No problem, Blake. If there's anything you need, just let me know."

"I'll keep that in mind. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

She leaned in and gave a peck on my cheek. [1] "Please don't be a stranger."

Blake was trying her best to restrain her blush while I could only space out. I was so astounded by her sudden action that I didn't notice her leave the rooftop. Did I deserve any of that? I thought as I held my cheek. Whatever it was, I guess I earned her affinity. Blake is a curious individual, I'm actually glad I have learned more about her other than being the shy, bookwormish type.

I spent another minute looking at the shattered moon once again before going back to my dorm as well.

So this is how I end my first semester…

=o=

1. Thankfully, that was also their last kiss as far as I know.

---

Editorial Note:

As we conclude the accounts written for the first semester, I would like to add an excerpt by Headmaster Ozpin which was recorded during the same night. It details his conversation with Jaune's father, Caiaphas Arc. The following excerpt will provide some insights to Jaune's nature and character which he refuses to talk about, even in his private memoirs.

The Ozpin Logs: The Night Before The End of The First Semester.

While students at Huntsmen academies are considered to be much more special than an average civilian student, they're nonetheless still just normal children barely going through adulthood. This is why some of them express dislike in studying, preferring recreational activities that children their age enjoy. As a result, even the most skilled of Huntsman tend to have unimpressive grades. Although knowledge is powerful and important, it's nothing more than a tool to meet ends.

Jaune Arc for example, when he was at elementary, he graduated with a mix of B's and C's, rarely getting an A at all. After his first five months here, his grades are not exactly better, with an interesting exception. He managed to receive an A+ in combat training, something that even his eldest and brightest sister struggles to achieve in her first couple of years. Glynda was rather surprised by this, even if she was aware of what he was capable of, she was still surprised someone managed to earn a perfect grade on her subject when he struggles on all the other classes. This was not a case of 'might over mind', Mr. Arc has shown to have a way with words as much as he has a way of fighting. His charismatic leadership and tactical ability have played a role in his excellence in combat training. Lack of honour aside as typical with the Arcs, if anyone saw how he performs during her class, it's clear to see why he received such a high grade. And by watching his recent exploit, he has certainly proved that he was the Huntsman we need.

Speaking of which, I was contacting his father to discuss his first semester here in Beacon.

"Caiaphas…"

"Ozpin…"

"Your son has been doing quite well. You were right when you said that he would remind me of you frequently. Just like you, he couldn't excel in a single class even if his life depended on it, except combat training of course."

"Heh, it's funny how history repeats. That's what I'm also worried about."

"There must be a reason behind his comportment. They cannot be explained by simple inheritance. Your daughters don't display the same type of fearfulness and self-doubt that he and your forefathers possess."

"I'm afraid I'm not in liberty to discuss that. There is a reason why he refuses to talk about it."

"Is it a family curse that affects only males by any chance?"

"Perhaps, but that would be too ridiculous. I would say that we were all unfortunate enough to have such similar demeanours. It's probably just coincidence, it's completely natural to be wary in a world full of demonic creatures that exist solely to destroy humanity."

"Some people would say that there are no coincidences."

"They just like to think that."

"You should be proud of your son, Caiaphas. He was able to accomplish more things than I anticipated. And as somebody who has been running this school for countless years, that is quite an achievement."

"I'm proud of him alright. What troubles me is that you would use him as an instrument for that glorified chess game of yours. Do I have to remind you that I left your inner-circle because I had a family to look after, especially with a son who just had experienced the worst day of his life?"

"I can reassure you that I won't send him in tasks that I know he cannot accomplish. If he doesn't want to attend Beacon any longer, then I will not force him. Once the second semester begins, it will be one of the first questions I would ask of him."

"You better be sure. There is no doubt that he would be a great Huntsman, Ozpin. But I want to see him be more than that. I want him to live long enough to pass the family name to the next generation. He deserves to be something more than a pawn for a never-ending war."

"You can relax. If there is anyone who should be worried, it's Salem. Your son is more than just a mere pawn."

"I hope this isn't one of your chess metaphors again, oh so, Great & Powerful Ozpin. I still remember what happened to Summer."

"I have grown to be more considerate after that. Which is why I'm giving your son a choice. He won't be alone, Caiaphas. If he is not going to turn the tides of this war, then the people he inspired will. For now, we just need to see where this goes. Remember why you recommended him to me."

"I suppose there is a chance into setting things right once and for all. I do believe in him, after all. Just please, Ozpin. Make sure that he will be alright."

"With a boy like that? There is no reason for me not to. He already has your stubbornness, that's enough to guarantee his survival."

The call ended. Shortly after, I received another message from Qrow, simply saying 'The Queen has Pawns.'

It appears that Salem has set up some competition. But as long as children like Rose, Nikos and Arc continue to remain at my side, Chaos will never prevail, she would have to do more than threaten me into submitting.

Enjoy the power you still have while it lasts, Salem. For soon, the tables will turn. And this world will soon be free of the Eldritch Horrors you choose to worship. Mark my words as I have never given up for thousands of years no matter how much the odds turn against me and I still have no intention of giving up just yet.

---

Finally, the events following the first volume of the show are done. And yes I plan on writing 5 chapters per the show's volume. Which means that if I were to cover the first three volumes, then this story would have 15 chapters in total.

Like it? Dislike it? Indifferent? Leave a review. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Don't worry I'm not going to cry like a baby and call you a prep. But if you're going to tell me why you don't like it, be sure to be constructive when doing so.

Also, don't be afraid to point out some errors in the story. Things tend to get past my radar. Well, that's what I get for writing some parts of it on a phone late at night. A word of advice for those who plan to write their own story: Don't skim your own work when proofreading it. I learned this the hard way.