More than one way to protect you

by Z-ro

It were the huntsmen who told him, his spirit was willing, just not able. What else is a thirteen year old kid supposed to do? Jaune did not know what a patrolman was, but it was his only chance to be someone that could protect people. Picture by Perfilles-Studio.

7. Chapter 7 The Days After

Jaune woke up from his doze shortly after the light touched his face. Red sleepless eyes looked around to the scroll. He sighed in relief as he got out of bed. No call.

It was both a good and a bad sign. If the White Fang did not follow through with their plan immediately after it was discovered, then they would pull back and plan again. It was too risky for them to attack now that the trains were slowed. And there was no way the White Fang would not have noticed the changes happening in Vale.

Jaune was still unsure how he would combat the information the White Fang would pick up in the city. But this one sleepless night would be the worst one. He had time now. A shower an hour later, Jaune opened his scroll and glanced at the clock before he dialed out. It was seven in the morning, but with everyone on high alert, he wouldn't be surprised if the office remained opened all through the night.

"This is Jaune Arc. I just have a request. Back in Anvil we had an emergency CCT beacon. How many do we have in Vale and how long would it take to prepare them for launch?"

Jaune nodded his head at the reply. It was more than he was expecting. "Let me know when they are prepared. Thank you."

Jaune smiled as he already had an idea to help him with his search. Half an hour later, a more awake and alert Patrolman was out the door for CFVY's morning training. Jaune did not look forward to breaking the news it would be his final one with CFVY for the foreseeable future.

-o-

Blake laid on the grass doing her best to fill her lungs with air. Next to her, Velvet whimpered as her aura actually did shatter with a potent combo she was not able to stop. Blake sympathized with her. The handcuffs were not the same as actually having your aura broken. Blake still felt the latent strength in her body even if she didn't actually use her aura. Velvet was likely feeling like a puddle of liquified muscles.

Blake looked up and squinted in the morning sun. "How are you feeling Velvet?"

The girl moaned and rolled to her side to get up. "Pretty sure I bruised something that I will not show you Jaune."

The Patrolman smiled as he looked over at Blake herself, "Miss Belladonna are you alright?"

"I'll be fine in a few more minutes. Nothing hurts too bad."

The patrolman nodded. "Good, nothing like experience will help you both now. If you can keep up with a patrolman's speed, there will not be too many grim that will really be a threat to you in an all out fight. It will be the smart ones you will have to look after." The solemn end of the patrolman's voice surprised Blake. She looked over to Velvet and realized there was probably a story there.

Blake watched as Mr. Arc turned around and called out to the other members of Team CFVY to come together. The officer looked at his scroll. "Looks like we are done here. Miss Belladonna? Would you please escort Velvet to the medical wing? She should get checked out just in case." He turned to Velvet with an apologetic look. "I am sorry Velvet. You kept the tempo for so long."

"My fault Jaune. I should have said I was going too fast to keep up the pace for long." She hobbled onto her feet and rubbed her hip where Jaune had caught her kick and wrapped her thigh in his arms. He had used her thigh as leverage to slam her on her back into the wall. The loud crack of glass that resounded in the air was enough for Jaune to cradle her head by the neck and lay her down while calling for everyone to stop.

"Just the same, have the back of your head checked too. Let me know if anything serious is found."

Velvet sighed. "I guess I'm sitting out for tomorrow's practice then."

Blake understood the feeling. Her own aura took some time to recover when she was on a heavily fought mission. Going from zero aura to full could take a day and a half or even longer.

The patrolman scratched the back of his head. "I actually needed to talk to you all about that. I will no longer be able to attend these training sessions. With class starting, I will need to start to focus on my job on campus. I'll probably be out in the city or out of Vale City for the next month or so."

There was a round of disappointed noises. Blake noticed this was news to Coco to since she smacked his elbow and a look from over her shades that promised something unpleasant would be said later.

-o-

Jaune resisted the urge to gasp when Coco hugged him from behind. Her slender arms wrapped around his torso and tugged on his blue t-shirt. Coco's chin rested on his shoulder. Her curious brown eyes looked at him with concerned. Wordlessly, she kept her arms there until he relaxed. She pecked his cheek and said nothing as she took his hand.

Jaune felt guilty. It wasn't easy to force himself to relax in the city. Coco knew something was bothering him and she did her best to distract him. She's good at that. Jaune thought as he was led by the hand around the park. The live music blared in the waning days of summer. Jaune danced with Coco until she burned through the little energy she had left from the morning training session.

Eventually Jaune twirled her one more time before he leaned in and whispered, "Let's take a break. I'll need to head back soon."

Coco agreed and did her best to cover a yawn. She gently pushed him when she caught him laughing. "This doesn't count as a date when I'm this tired. We'll have to go out again another week."

Jaune gave her a regretful look. "Sorry, I'm not sure if I can make that promise any time soon."

Coco sat down on a park table and sighed. "Didn't hurt to try. I figured it was serious when you asked me out." She simply laced her fingers with his from across the table.

The conversation quickly changed to her classes that would resume next Monday. That rolled into what Jaune knew he would do as an aid to the teachers at Beacon. Jaune allowed her questions to lambaste him as she found out he was given a new roll at the school literally days ago. Even in jest by the other professors, Coco knew that if Jaune was running to detentions, she had all sorts of ammunition to tease him.

Jaune laughed and coughed at the same time, "No Coco. I am not giving you detentions to spend time with you."

The afternoon came sooner than either of them liked. Jaune could not repress the smile after Coco finally let her self yawn one more time and pressed the button to her dorms' floor. The elevator hummed while he let his mind wander. He knew he ran CFVY harder than they were used to. The image of Miss Belladonna laying on the floor with a groan made Jaune laugh. Coco tilted her head.

"Just thinking of Miss Belladonna laying on the ground in a heap after training this morning."

Coco giggled. "Pretty sure Velvet snuck a picture in there somewhere. I'll ask."

Coco had been very quiet as soon as they got to the dorm. Jaune took her hand before she opened the door and pulled her close. "Thank you for coming out with me today. It was short notice. I am sure you had plans."

Coco pressed her cheek to his as she hugged him. "Thank you for thinking of me." She hugged him tighter.

Jaune sighed. "I try." Jaune tried his best all day to focus on her. It would be the last date in some time. It may be the last time he could see her in his free time for that matter. He was only able to steal this afternoon because he was waiting for a call back from the CCT. If they had called him right away during training… Coco would have had to have to be sidelined.

Coco must have understood how guilty Jaune felt. She looked up and cupped his cheeks in her hands. Her eyes were on his as she whispered, "I know."

Coco opened the door and pulled him in. Jaune was surprised at the gesture. He had expected the date to end there. He glanced at clock on the dorm wall. The date should have ended here. Miss Belladonna should be at the office in an hou-

The team dorm was empty.

Jaune cautiously looked over to his girlfriend. She seemed to not notice the sudden tension he felt by being in what was effectively his girlfriends bedroom.

Jaune walked into the dorm as Coco hopped over to sit on her bed.

Jaune sat next to her and gave a silent 'mmm' as he was pulled to lay next to her. Jaune let his arm rest around her shoulder. Coco reached for his hand when his chest rumbled against her ear. "I haven't been out to Central Park in the last few weeks. I didn't know there would have been a free concert this late into summer."

Coco leaned into him. She yawned one more time before she tapped his shoulder in a mocking hit. "It was good, but did you have to tire us out the day we were going to go out?"

Jaune laughed and pulled her closer until his lips were against her hair. He hummed appreciatively at the scent of cinnamon and peach. "Sorry about that. I'll miss working the morning training sessions."

Coco mm'ed in agreement. She rolled on her side and hugged his side again. "Something's going on then." Coco said it more as a fact than as a question. Jaune simply pulled her shoulder tighter and kissed her head. Coco relaxed into the sign of affection. "I'll miss seeing you in the mornings too you know."

"We can still message each other in the morning. But I know it won't be the same."

Coco sat up and grunted. "Your going somewhere again?"

Jaune sighed as he sat up. I guess the date's over if she wants to talk about this. He thought to himself. He licked his lips while he thought what he wanted to say. "The third years will be going out to the outskirts of the city to thin the Grim. I will be going along to observe incase they find something other than grim. Nothing too serious. It got me thinking about the long shifts. And I don't think you have ever told me of a time where your team had to fight for hours on end. I thought it would be a good thing to see how you all did."

Coco frowned at him through one eye and sighed. "That's such a half truth." Before Jaune knew it, she tackled him back onto the bed. "That's fine. I won't ask. I just want to enjoy this." She laced her fingers in his.

Jaune held her hand and looked at the ceiling. "You are awfully considerate about this. I had thought you would have been asking questions to Mistral and back after our first date."

Coco laughed. She had been a hellion to grill him on everything about his trip around Vale. She coughed and cleared her throat. Jaune smiled at her embarrassed blush. Eventually she admitted, "You have Yatsuhashi to thank for that."

Jaune wrapped his arms around hers and laid on Coco's pillow while she used his shoulder as her's. Both seemed content to stare at the ceiling. "How so?"

"Something he said stuck with me. Yatsu actually warned me about you, you know." Jaune raised an eyebrow. Coco just smiled and kissed him sweetly in an affectionate peck on the lips. "It was when I had declared to the team I would start to date you before they came back to Beacon." Jaune smiled at the confidence. He had a feeling she actually said that before she had seen him in Vale months ago.

"Yatsuhashi knew the patrolman in his hometown. Yatsu said the guy was an old man who let the job wear him down. Yatsu warned me you could end up like that. Patrolman see too much. How did he say it? 'Huntsmen may see the worst of nature. But Patrolmen see the worst of what we do to ourselves.' It just stuck with me." Coco felt him tense. The observation hit him more than he was willing to admit. Coco leaned in to kiss him. She only pulled back after he relaxed into the kiss.

"I guess Yatsu was right." Coco murmured more to herself.

Jaune looked down his chest and caught her caring and patient eyes looking back. Words failed him. Coco positioned herself so her head was on his chest. She mmm'ed before she looked up to him. "Your heart is beating fast again."

Jaune smiled. "You do that a lot."

"Make amazing observations?" She asked coyly.

Jaune buried his face in her hair, "Make my heart beat. Love you."

Coco grinned and placed her ear against his chest again. "I knew that the moment you started to sing only for me."

-o-

Jaune walked back to his office. The warm feeling in his chest lingered with him all the way. The patrolman waved to Miss Belladonna who stood in front of his office. "Good afternoon Miss Belladonna."

"Hello Sir. You wanted to see me?"

Jaune unlocked his office door and walked in with her following in. "I had a few questions on how you remember the White Fang used to work."

Blake sat down and rested her hands on her lap. Jaune noticed the way the bow twitched at the mention of the terrorist group.

"What would those be Sir?"

Jaune set down a notepad instead of his scroll. It was something he used to do to take notes before Vale gave Anvil the scrolls years ago. Jaune liked having all of his notes on the table at the same time when he reviewed them later.

"Does Adam like to work on things personally? He was on the train, but you seemed surprised it was him when you tried to stop the train."

Blake seemed to wilt under the question. She flushed slightly as she looked away. "I shouldn't have been surprised he was there. But I was surprised he was by himself. He likes to keep everyone in pairs. During the fight I was half expecting someone to come out and finish me when I didn't see them." Blake shuddered at the memory.

Jaune wrote it down along with a note to himself. Does not have a new partner?

"How does Adam normally react when a plan succeeds?"

Blake leaned back in her chair as she thought about all the successes in those final months. "He is always really happy. He never cheered or laugh with anyone. He just had this quiet smile and would take the time to congratulate everyone before he moved on to the next thing. He never allowed us to celebrate for too long. He always said 'a victory makes the next one easier'." Blake closed her eyes as she thought about the good times. She sighed and shook her head.

"How does he react when a plan fails?"

"He brushes it off. So long as no one got hurt, Adam was happy. There are so few of us." Blake almost felt sorry for that fact. She looked down and Jaune allowed her the moment. Jaune had got a reply from Atlas that morning. Many of the militant White Fang came from the survivors of a walk out in one of the dust mines. An Atlas soldier panicked during the incident and fired a shot. An accidental, perfect shot that flew into the empty mine. The dust chain reacted and killed many of the walkouts at the mouth of the mine. Close kinship to survivors of the Dust Walkout of thirty-three.

"How did others take the news of the White Fangs change in leadership?"

"A lot of us were confused. At least our group had been so far away from Sienna for so long that we did not know what was going on. Adam had gone on his own to speak with her while the rest of us got ready to get some information on an attack in Atlas that ultimately failed."

"Did Adam seem different when he came back? I would have thought if he resumed leadership of the White fang, he would have stayed in Atlas."

Blake stared at him confused before she gasped. "You didn't know…" Blake shook her head free of those assumptions. "The White Fang left Atlas."

Jaune looked up. "What?"

"Adam pulled them out of the country. There aren't many members but he announced that until they could make Atlas react to their cause, there was no point in fighting Atlas. It was better to move to a place where we could make a difference."

Jaune wrote the notes and made a star next to calling Winter Schnee to corroborate the information on the lack of attacks. Blake squirmed as Jaune wrote another page of notes of what he would want to do next.

"I had been curious of one thing." Jaune finally interrupted the silence. "Why Vale?"

Blake sighed. "He decided to target Atlas' export industry. We would be less public to the people of Atlas. With enough time we could recover our image. We were upset at first that he decided to stop targeting the Atlas government. Why did we lose so many lives if we were giving up? But he convinced us that if we want to hurt Atlas where it counted, it would be in their pocket book. They would listen if their bottom line was threatened. That still did not sit well with a few people. Vale is not known for having as much discrimination. And several famous people in Vale had stood for Faunus rights."

Jaune stopped his pen and realized he needed speak to quite a few people to determine how much of an impact that could have had.

"Thank you Miss Belladonna. You have been very helpful. One final question. How fast would Adam try another attack after a failed one?"

Blake frowned as she thought about it. "It depended on how the first one failed. If anyone got injured or if there were a lot of preparations. Adam had a few he thought would fail and had set up a backup plans to happen within a week."

Jaune looked at his pad and wrote: White fang may take a week to undetermined amount of time for contingency plan. White fang took months to prepare Vale attack. Infrastructure for their current plan is still in effect until Atlas military come in to address the robots.

Jaune set the pen down and sighed. "Again, thank you for your help. How are you settling in?"

Blake relaxed at the question. It seemed the hard questions were over. "It's alright. Velvet has me sparring with her every day." Blake looked at her trimmed nails. They had been too long and Blake was surprised how much she prized them when Velvet made the suggestion. "I am getting used to it. But I am not sure how I would do against a grim with just my hands."

Jaune looked at the bow on her head. "You do technically have something you are allowed to use."

Blake looked at him and frowned. "What's that? I'm not allowed weapon or dust."

Jaune smiled and looked at the top of Blake's head. "Those aren't the only weapons students use. You huntsmen in training are creative. You are a weapon against the grim, but so is everything you wear."

Blake looked at her clothes before she realized what the patrolman was getting at. She touched her bow as if to protect it. "My bow?"

"It's a cord of cloth that you had been using aura to keep static. You think I didn't notice that it did not budge no matter how I tossed you around this morning? With your aura it could handle the stress to bind or give yourself leverage."

Blake swallowed and deliberately let the ribbon go. She didn't like when he brought up the bow. It was as if she felt threatened at being exposed. But she also knew he was doing it on purpose. She didn't miss the fact it was Velvet that was helping her despite the fact that Fox was the better hand to hand fighter.

"I-I'm not sure I am ready to take off the bow."

Jaune gave a slight smile in support. "That's fine. But you could also keep another ribbon on yourself to use as well. It's just an idea I had. If it makes you feel uncomfortable you don't have to listen to me."

Jaune stood and Blake rose to meet him. "Thank you again for your time Miss Belladonna."

Blake nodded as she started to walk out. She paused at the door. "Velvet was bullied for being a faunus."

Jaune stopped and took a moment to answer, "She was. You said it yourself, Vale is not as bad as Atlas, but we still have our pockets of racism and bias. But you also know that there are many people fighting against it. If you decide to come out as a faunus, you may get some of that during your stay, but you will find many more people accepting you for who you are. Team Coffee has seem to take a liking to you right away. An extra pair of ears isn't going to change that."

Blake continued walking out of the door without a word. Jaune watched her go and was curious what she would do.

-o-

Patrolman get to the club

Now

Jaune closed his scroll as he ran across the city. He was not expecting a call from Junior this late at night and the demand made him sweat. His hood covered his hair in a tight knot to make sure it did not fly off while he ran. Jaune felt conscious of the patrolman jersey. It would be the first time he ever wore it to the club. Jaune took two large leaps against the side of a building and cleared the cross street in moments. He ignored the honks of car horns beneath him and resumed his run. This time of night had few people on the side walks. It was just the cars he had to worry about on those blind jumps to clear traffic.

His scroll rang and he answered it as he kept the steady rhythm of his legs. "Patrolman Arc."

"This is VPD dispatch. We have a request for your presence at 1322 Birch." Jaune recognized the address as Junior's.

"Already on my way, I received a personal contact for my presence. What happened?"

"Girl started a bar fight. Police are unable to enter the private lodge. Huntsmen are on site."

"Have a squad car on stand-by while I investigate. I may need to transport someone to county."

"Affirmative." The line went dead.

Jaune could almost hear the annoyance in the other man's voice over the phone. VPD never did like to be reminded there are places they can not enforce the law.

It took Jaune almost thirty minutes to get to Junior's and most of that was just waiting for the bullhead readied for flight from Beacon.

Melanie was waiting outside. She opened the door and grabbed his shoulder to walk him in. She whispered in his ear, "Hurry. There is about to be a bloodbath if the older families have their way. Hei is stalling. But the huntsmen are not helping."

Jaune casually glanced at the several men being attended to for some kind of fight. A few panes of glass were shattered on the floor that was being cornered off. Above him on the second floor he could hear several groups angrily whispering and stop quickly when they spotted his hooded face walking across the dance floor.

Melanie escorted him to the elevator and pressed the fourth floor. She fidgeted slightly until the doors opened. Jaune wondered what he just walked into as he was escorted to a room similar to the one he had last visited. Just larger with the addition of several leather couches. Jaune walked past several huntsmen who stood near the inside of the door. They nodded to his vest and stepped back to give him room. Kneeling on the floor were two girls just shy of his age. Jaune glared at the guns pointed at the back of their heads. Behind the two were several families lounging on furniture. Jaune glanced and very nearly did a double take when he recognized one of girls.

Qrows' little protege.

Her scared silver eyes looked to have been crying. But they were easy to recognize. The Blonde… Jaune frowned.

-o-

Yang shifted nervously on her knees. The tears had long since dried at the news. She could worry about that later. Ruby knelt next to her and did her best to glare a defiant look as if daring them to start a fight. Yang was not sure if anyone was buying it. The blonde nearly hitched a breath at the thought of the gun against her sisters' head. Yang showed a brave face for Ruby. Yang knew her little sister would panic if she did anything else. They could not afford panic.

Yang was not sure what she had expected when she came here to ask her questions. But as soon as that Junior guy gave her an answer she knew was a lie, Yang could not help that she got angry. Yang knew she made a mistake when the two women that stood next to him interfered and pushed her back. Ruby, bless her heart intervened the best she could without a weapon. It was enough for the two sisters to fight back briefly.

Yang would be the first to admit she honestly thought she could take the two. But not the fifteen others that dropped from the second floor. She only realized how it spiraled out of control as yells from huntsmen joined and aided them in a standoff. Yang recognized a few on both sides had started to pull on their aura. She was glad she did not follow their lead. Junior, under his red shades, screamed a reminder to the men that fought her.

'There is no aura allowed in my house!' His shades shined a bright red and it was as if the whole club was a single red room. It faded quickly.

Every fighter listened and obeyed. Yang heard her sister yelp as she collapsed. Yang did not feel the hit that knocked her out from behind either. She just saw the pair of white boots with blades attached when she fell to the ground.

Ruby wiggled next to her. It brought Yang back to reality.

"Junior. They should be made an example."

"Look at them. Underaged and with aura." Snarled a huntsmen. Yang looked at his pale red hair. Almost pink if it was any lighter. He looked to her and Ruby. "They are likely Academy kids. You can't touch them." He gave the two girls a reassuring smile.

Yang almost felt hope before Junior added, "I called someone who can." The huntsmen paused to look at the club owner in alarm and relaxed as he understood something Yang missed.

There was a round of grumbling from around her. Yang picked up that there were several groups who were interested in making an example out of her and Ruby. Yang eyed what she could see directly in front of her but couldn't find ember celica among the huntsmen who were there to protect them. Yang wanted to kick her self. These strangers were there to save her from herself. Yang winced as her head didn't quite turn the way she wanted it to as someone else spoke.

"You are not letting them get away with this Hei." Came an exasperated voice as if the person was talking to a younger sibling.

There seemed to be no broker for agreement on that. Instead, Junior pointed out, "I have a standing agreement with Beacon and the huntsmen. Just as I have a standing agreement with the families. You know this. Their representative is coming now. Just wait. At least see what he can offer in reparations if you are that confident in fighting Beacon."

The man faltered there but scowled as he turned away to pace in front of his group who sat patiently on the couch. Yang did her best to pick out as much information as she could. The group on her left and behind her seemed confident. The one that just barked and the group next to them on her right seemed shy and eager to prove themselves. The other three groups that sat directly behind her seemed to be here only to observe what was to happen. They were dead silent.

Those groups did not fill Yang with any confidence. They had no care what really happened to her sister and her. Yang felt the weapon that pressed against her back with a warning as she adjusted her knees. "Sorry, my knees hurt kneeling for so long."

There was a snort as the weapon eased back slightly out of her hair. She breathed through her nose to calm herself. No sense in getting into even more trouble at the smell of gun oil in her hair. Ruby did that enough times whenever they hugged.

The women in red walked up to Junior and whispered into the man's ear. He looked at Yang. She could almost see something akin to relief before he looked away and announced, "He's here."

Yang grimaced. That would mean that it would be a professor. Come to save them. That's one way to give a first impression. She looked over to Ruby who looked relieved, embarrassed and guilty. The poor girl wouldn't even see this teacher for another two years. Maybe they would forget about this by then?

The door opened and Yang's heart sank. A man walked in with a grey hoodie that had the hood drawn tight to cover his hair. His face was nearly shadowed by the hood and a tuft of blonde hair covered his eyes. His mouth was formed in a frown as he looked at the two of them. She took all this in, but it was what else he wore that made her heart sink. It was a patrolman. Yang looked to her sister and hoped she would be the only one to be arrested. She did assault the owner after all. Ruby only came to defend her.

"Good evening Junior." The greeting snapped her back to attention.

"Good evening Patrolman. We had a few party crashers and just wanted to confirm they are students before-" Yang watched as he looked over her head to see the people behind her, "We decide what to do with them. A few of the families took slight to this one's aggressive behavior."

Yang flushed when Junior gestured to her. She was not sure who the families were, but the patrolman did as he turned to them. "And what slight is that?"

Yang heard the pleasant laugh from directly behind her. It was a woman from one of the calm groups. "They had interrupted negotiations for a deal for several guards. The troupe were not familiar with Vale and took caution over any assurances I could make and left. I am now exposed to danger on my next trip thanks to them. Surely, the lives of two girls is a small price to pay for inconvenience they caused for my vacation?"

Ruby eeped next to Yang but other wised stayed silent as weapon pressed against the younger girls neck. Yang turned back to the patrolman. Her eyes were pleading to help.

"Don't push it." Warned one of the huntsmen. The patrolman waved a hand.

"Thank you for keeping the peace. But I will resume negotiations from here. I think it would be in all of our bests interests if the huntsmen step out of the room." The patrolman leaned into the man's ear and whispered something before the huntsman nodded. Five huntsmen walked out but not before glancing at the flamilies and then at Ruby and Yang.

The patrolman thanked the men one more time as they left and then addressed the woman. "Must you provoke the huntsmen?"

The woman laughed in a smug murmur. "I do like teasing little Moha. He's so serious. Well, on to negotiations then? I want compensation."

The patrolman looked at the others in the room before he said, "Pardon me for my ignorance for not knowing your name Miss. Your family does you a service for keeping such sensitive information from me. I can confirm that the youngest is a student of Signal Academy."

Yang shared a look with Ruby who just shrugged. She had no idea who he was. The patrolman continued, "I can make a guess who the older one is. She would be going to Beacon this next week. As such they are the responsibility of Beacon Academy." Yang felt herself sink into her clothes to try and hide from those hidden eyes inside the hood.

The patrolman looked up and over Yang's head. "Miss, I am aware that a new mercenary group will be arriving in Vale this coming week. Would your vacation still be uninterrupted if you wait a week to arrange for a security detail that intends to work with the families for the long term?" The patrolman raised his head and looked around the room. "Someone who is interested in working in Vale may have more of an investment in your safety than a foreign group that scatters at the first sign of trouble."

Yang could hear the pleased hum work its way into the woman's mouth. "A sound option if a little more expensive, but it still stands that the two had interrupted my evening and the evening of the others here. If it was just my time interrupted, I may have been willing to pardon this with just a favor from the girls. Bright students should always start looking for connections early."

Yang shuddered at the sweet tone.

The patrolman sounded amused. "Is that the concern with the other families this evening? Would a punishment be enough to satisfy your sense of justice?"

"What could you provide to lay down justice." Sneered one of the men from the loud group. Yang refused to turn her head to them. That voice had been a little too eager to deal pain as well as lay hands on her.

The patrolman raised his gloved hands. "Not me, Hei." The patrolman looked over to Junior who straightened the bottom of his suit vest before everyone could lay eyes on him. "They are two young undergraduate huntsmen. Think how much of a disadvantage they would have if they were banned from Junior's?"

Yang did not know what that meant and judging from Ruby she didn't either. But the woman and several other men from the quiet group laughed. "That would be interesting and something Hei could uphold. But what of Beacon?" Her voice was instantly cold. "They have to give up something as well. As compensation. It was their charge that disrupted business today."

Yang looked over to Junior who's shades reflected light and his mouth was in the form of a line. He did not add anything. But she had the distinct impression that he did not want to harm either her sister or herself.

Yang swallowed the moment the patrolman had walked forward and stopped a few feet in front of her sister. The patrolman turned his focus to Yang herself. He seemed satisfied with something when he stepped back. "You did not harm either of them more than necessary. I thank you for that." He said in means to ignore her demand for compensation. "I would hate to report that the families had harmed one of Beacon's children."

There was a hiss of a snarl from several men. The room was bathed in a deep red light that made the walls bleed. Yang felt it was easier to breathe now. When did I have problems breathing? She noticed Ruby seemed to take several long breathes too.

The patrolman did not even flinch as his mouth snarled from under his hood. "Did you think I would fold if you threaten them with aura?"

Yang looked up and noticed Junior's glasses were glowing red. His eyes furrowed at the group on Yangs right. He looked furious. "I said no aura in my house."

A new and calm voice from the back of the room behind Yang added, "Let us not devolve into threats." Yang had the distinct impression the man's voice wasn't talking to the patrolman. There was a click as she heard another weapon was put away. She swallowed when she realize it had hovered over her head. The walls faded back to normal as quickly as they appeared.

The patrolman calmly pointed out. "Please remember my lack of aura is the reason why I am sensitive to it. No more threats. Just a bargain. I do not think many of you in this room would survive the coming weeks if you test Beacon here."

Yang swallowed and willed herself to keep looking forward. Her knees ached and her throat was dry at the dead silence that followed. It lasted for nearly a minute before someone else grunted.

"We do not seek war with Beacon, but when they and their children violate the pact, there has to be consequences."

The patrolman agreed. "We have violated the peace agreement. Then as a member of Beacon, how about a concession of myself? Like yourself Miss," The patrolman looked to the woman that sat directly behind Yang. "I take it you do not know my identity?"

Yang searched her memory and realized no one made a mention of anyone's name save for the owner, Junior.

"You would give that up for two little girls? I think I would rather have them in my service to be honest."

"Or your life instead." Muttered the man that held the gun against Ruby.

Yang and Ruby both inhaled a sharp gasp.

The patrolman laughed. "Our bargain is a concession to reaffirm Beacon honors the pact. Nothing more. Change is coming to Vale." Yang shuddered at the matter-of-fact-tone of the threat. "I am sure every advantage would help you survive the coming months. If you are dissatisfied with my name, Junior will happily charge you for my full file. He has it all."

The patrolman looked over to the man who just nodded. "I have it, like with all my information. It is ready at your request and payment so long as you have a name for me to search."

There was a moment of silence. Yang could not tell what was going on behind her. A bead of sweat tickled her skin at the base of her neck. She refused to rub it incase the guy with the weapon gets trigger happy. Aura or no, a shot from somewhere she could not see could still kill her.

There was an exasperated sigh from someone that was not the woman. The woman impatiently said, "Fine, fine. I have an evening to carry on. While amusing, I tire of this. What is your name Patrolman?"

Yang watched as the man loosened his hood and pulled it back. A mass of blonde hair pooled in the hood and the face of a blonde teenager stared back unflinchingly at the group of gangsters that surrounded him. His face was scuffed in places from patches of skin that never fully healed smooth. A cut on his earlobe laid open in a healed open split as if an earring was pulled from his ear and healed that way.

"Jaune Arc at your service Miss." Jaune moved his head forward slightly in a bow but his eyes were firmly ahead of him surveying the group. He seemed to smile at someone from the silent group. "You have heard of me?"

"Aye, I've heard what you did to the White Wolf. I lost good money thanks to you."

"All collateral damage, I assure you." Yang watched as a wicked smile formed on the teens mouth. That amused the group.

"I will be taking the girls now." There was a tenseness at the patrolman's' words. Yang felt the weight of the weapon press against her back slightly before it pulled back. In the corner of her eye she saw the one against her sister did the same. "Get up girls. We have places to be." Once standing, Yang felt a rough hand push her forward to the patrolman who caught both her and her sister. In a quiet whisper he said, "Whatever you do, do not look back at them."

The patrolman raised his hood again and pulled the draw string to tighten his hood. "I'll leave it up to you fine families how far my identity travels." Yang was pushed forward by Junior's ladies out of the room. The patrolman faced the group and slowly backed out as he grabbed the doors' handles. "Have a good evening."

The woman's voice carried out of the room. "It was nice meeting you Jaune."

Jaune Arc pulled the doors shut with a near silent click.

Yang had the distinct impression that last farewell destroyed the agitated atmosphere. Junior and his two women companions relaxed slightly.

Yang flinched under the steady gaze of the patrolman. The man sighed and looked over to one of the women. "Thank you Miltia. Junior, I'll be back in a moment."

Junior waved the patrolman into the elevator. Just as the door began to close, Junior stopped the door to glare at Yang and her sister. "Girls. I know who you are now. Never come back."

Yand felt Ruby nodd innocently as the door closed. Yang sighed and exhaled all the tension built up in her shoulders. She opened her eyes and realized that the white assistant bitch glare at her. She turned back to the console and hit the first floor. Without looking at her, the girl told Yang, "It will be nice to never see your stupid face again."

Yang bit her tongue as the Patrolman rested his hand on her shoulder. Yang saw the metal cap knuckles out of the corner of her eye. She nodded at the warning and resumed to look forward. Out the door and outside the club, it was her sister that hitched her voice, "Headmaster Ozpin."

Yang looked up to see the headmaster along with what seemed to be another teacher next to him. Yang started to look around and noticed the same huntsmen that had been in the room with her stood next to the headmaster. A moment later Yang realized there were another forty huntsmen standing outside of Juniors. The huntsmen had grim faces and looked ready to go to war. They had been ready to go to war, Yang amended. This very night because I wanted answers. She repressed the sniff as the reality began to sink in. Yang knew she almost killed her sister tonight. In front of her headmaster, she could very well lose everything.

The professor looked to Patrolman Arc. "I have these two now Patrolman. You have enough on your plate."

"Thank you Ozpin. Did you want a copy of a video record? I will need to take one for my report."

"Please send me one." The headmaster turned to both girls. "Come girls, I believe we have much to discuss. But it is late, let's get you to a place to rest until tomorrow morning." The headmaster turned and led the way, over his shoulder he said comfortingly, "Things always look brighter in the mornings."

Yang felt an odd knot at those words. They comforted her more than it should have.

-o-

Jaune walked back inside. Miltia and Melanie noticed and hurried to him side by side. "Thank you." They said in unison.

"I appreciated the call. Is Junior still available?"

Melanie offered, "He is waiting in the back room. Follow me."

Jaune had never heard of a back room before. He found it was not some fancy room for high class guests, but an actual break room for the lower level floors. Junior sat at an old diner table. Aged metal and plastic seats surrounded it. Junior's shades were off and his vest was unbuttoned.

"The huntsmen are withdrawing. It will just be the families tonight." Jaune gave the man an apologetic shrug.

"Try just the drinkers tonight. I kicked the families out myself. I'm taking the night off." Junior gave the patrolman an exhausted look.

Jaune frowned at Junior's haggard look. "Are you alright Junior?"

"I think I stepped on a landmine with that kid."

Jaune shook his head. "I was not impressed with her either. With how many students you get in here, I would have thought you would have some kind of back up plan in place for that."

"I do. Why do you think those party nights are there for? Students know not to come on any other days. And I need to find out who let them in in the first place."

"I assume she came to ask a question. What did she want to know?"

"Where was Qrow Branwen."

Jaune sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You told her he was dead, didn't you?"

"Am I wrong? He's been missing since your little teacher died. I know he was part of that escort."

Jaune seemed to have a hard time swallowing that retort. "Did you know who the two girls were?"

Junior shook his head. "Just a few brats I had assumed. I guess they knew Qrow?"

"They are his nieces."

"Oh." Junior groaned and waved at the twins to get him another drink. "I guess I deserve that."

Jaune took a seat and leaned back. Militia promptly served him his usual soft drink. "The girls seem friendly tonight."

Junior laughed as he took a sip of a strong whiskey. "That little stunt of yours reimbursed the cost of the damages and then some."

"As long as they were smiling when we left, I didn't care." Jaune would have given up a lot more had the families had asked. So long as he could get those two girls to walk out safely. In the end it wasn't the girls the three major families focused on. They were more interested in testing the waters with him.

"I want to say I gave too much away, but I am surprised about the apathy all of the families showed when a patrolman was announced to be in the city."

Junior took another drink. He cleared his throat before he said, "I shouldn't have been to be honest. The ones that would be worried would be the failing families, they would not have the clout to see anything beyond public records. And the families that could, would see there are no public records. They would be smart enough to avoid accessing Beacon Academy servers. Add to that you haven't been galavanting around Vale stopping purse snatchers." Junior raised a glass.

Jaune raised his in salute. "I can see that. What are the odds they keep it to themselves?"

"Guaranteed when you gave them the option. But those families will tear through your history to see how you work and start making adjustments to their own operations. Those families will be hard for you in the future."

Jaune nodded but looked satisfied. He was not too concerned about being seen at Junior's. Likely at least one person recognized him loitering around every night. "Then like a good patrolman, I'll adapt."

Junior finished his drink. "I am sure you will." Junior snapped his fingers. "Here is the video evidence of the incident to keep the VPD happy if they ask. So long as they don't think about stepping in here."

Jaune opened his scroll as the file was transferred. The video was brief before Junior took control. Jaune raised an eyebrow at the girl as she extended her weapon. "She had no weapon on her."

Junior waved a hand and whispered something to one of his men who wore the same red shades and black suit. The man nodded before stepping away. "It's being brought over now. Do you mind some advice?"

Jaune paused the video and smiled. "How much?"

Junior shook his head. "Think of it as a return favor about the tip regarding the trains. The central family in that group will find out who the girls are. She was interested in them both. Make sure those two are in a place where they will never be alone while in Vale."

Jaune nodded as he watched the video. The silver eyed girl's body blurred in red rose petals before she appeared behind Miltia to blindly hit the woman in the back of the neck. "I'll relay the information to the concerned parties. The little one has a good pair of legs on her." Half a beat later he added, "to move that fast."

Junior laughed. "I won't tell your girl. You mentioned your job upstairs. How is it going?"

"Not much I can actually say, it's only been two days." Jaune looked from under his hood. "Do the families know about my status...?" Jaune was curious how many people knew he had emergency powers. Junior knew because one of the heads was Junior's man. It was too bad Juane could not figure out who.

Junior shook his head. "If they knew, they would never have challenged you. I'll keep it that way for as long as possible. I will have to give if they inquire but just a little. If the families know how bad it is, they will either take it as open shopping spree before they leave, or just cut their losses and jump ship."

Jaune grunted at the observation before he offered, "My coffers are running dry Junior. I may stick around, but I will probably not contribute much for the next month or so."

"I appreciate the honesty. The information I get are just little things. But people wonder why I pay so much for it. That's a little narrow minded if you don't mind me saying so. With it all, I like to think I see the whole picture like you do. If you need any information, ask. I've staked my life on this place. If anything dire shows, I want you to know about it. Just expect a hefty bill when it's all over."

Jaune laughed as he stood up and gathered the blonde's cuffs. "I plan on sticking around for a while too. I'll do my best to keep up the trust."

-o-

Jaune walked out of Junior relatively early that night. He looked back to the club from under his hood. I see the whole picture? Jaune wished he had Junior's confidence. There were too many things he did not see or even know.

Jaune burst into sprint to run to Beacon. He would take the long way around the lake. He needed the air. But more importantly he needed to see if he could bypass the wait it took for a bullhead pilot to come from their quarters to the landing pad, warm up the bull head, then take off. All the time he spent waiting for the poor pilot, Jaune almost convinced himself it would have been faster to run.

Jaune ran through the city in what was really the first time. All of the other times in the city he walked as a civilian. He was not quite used to the feel of concrete against his feet and the lack of 'give' the ground had as he made jumps and landings. He was approaching the wall and opened his scroll. It emitted a pulsing green and blue light.

That prevented the border guard from opening fire. Jaune slowed down in four steps. His legs still felt like they should slide against the pavement when he came to a stop. The guards allowed him to pass with no questions.

Jaune still felt impressed when he was allowed to go outside. The wall that surrounded Vale was easily thirty feet tall and twenty feet thick. The outside of the wall had massive protrusions like spokes of a gear. Troops and droids could stand on the spokes and create kill zones if a grim invasion happened against the wall.

The patrolman grunted as he hit the sand bank. The ever present moon lit Jaune's path towards Beacon like a glowing road. His feet sunk slightly as his shoes made contact with the damp sand. He immediately felt himself slow for a moment before he forced a little more power into his legs to keep the pace.

As late as it was, Jaune knew his night was not over yet. He glanced at his scroll and noticed that Ozpin's scroll was still running.

Still in the office? Jaune clicked into his scroll. He received an immediate response.

Come on up when you are able. The girls are settled in as guests for the night.

Jaune closed his scroll and picked up the pace. The patrolman grimaced at the strain of his pace set in the sand. The beach was the clearest running path to the hills leading to Beacon Academy. But did the beach ever pull the deepest part of his leg muscles when he ran.

Jaune pulled into Beacon and looked at the time. His breathing was a little harder than he expected for the run. He frowned at the forty minutes it took to get to Beacon from Junior's. His ultimate goal was to make it into town faster than waiting for a bullhead and pilot to take him to the city.

Jaune resisted the urge to sigh at the ten minutes he would need to shave when he walked into Ozpin's office. The patrolman smelled the fresh pot of coffee on Ozpin's desk. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Six hours a night. Any more and I'm lethargic all day. Good evening Jaune."

Jaune rolled his shoulder as he neck popped. "Good morning Headmaster. Here is the recording and the girl's weapons." A pair of yellow bracelets sat on the desk. Ozpin opened the scroll and reviewed the video.

"In case you were curious, I postponed what to do with them until the morning. I will speak to the two of them after I review what you have. Tai has been informed and he will be coming up."

Jaune rubbed his eyes. "They were asking about Qrow. The blonde girl lost it when Junior said he was probably dead." Jaune looked at his boss and shook his head. "I barely recognized the little one as Qrow's student. It was the only tip off that I knew who they were. Not too many people with silver eyes."

"You know the tale?" Ozpin smiled.

"I sang the ballad a few times. It's a long one too. I think I'm not the only one that noticed though. There was a woman from the families. She was pale and in her late twenties. Flat black hair with brown eyes and looked to control a group of men. She had some kind of advisor, likely a upper family member who kept her in check. She acted spoiled but at least knew when to reign in her fun. Junior warned me she had too much of an interest in the girls. They shouldn't be alone while in Vale."

Ozpin set the recording down. "I'll keep that in mind. Tell me of the outcome of the discussion."

Jaune described the conversation for as short as it was. "Hei has stated the girls are not welcome there."

"And three of the seven families will know everything about you." Ozpin's face was neutral. It didn't fill Jaune with any confidence that he made the right decision.

"I was expecting it anyway. It didn't feel like a sacrifice. I was actually expecting more of a demand but then they started to threaten the girls."

"Hei is particular about his rules. I doubt they got off lightly for threatening the girls right in front of him."

"What will become of the two girls?"

"That is entirely on Tai. He is well within his rights to pull Yang out and take her home. He could teach her if he was so inclined. But in terms of her stay in Beacon, nothing will happen other than she knows what Junior's is. It was before the start of the school year. Had you not picked her up, she would have had detention for a month. Do go easy on her tomorrow."

Jaune gave his boss an annoyed look. "I can't promise anything. I'll review it all and decide what to do when I see her."

Ozpin nodded. "Very well. I am not sure what this would mean for either of their careers as huntsmen. The best would be if they did not stay in Vale after graduating."

Jaune scratched his head and felt a little guilty about bringing Hei into it. While banning the girls from Junior's sounded like a minor inconvenience. Most huntsmen jobs are found through his information network. When either of the two girls graduate, they would have to either rely on teammates to speak to Junior for jobs or leave Vale in hopes of a long term position. It is rare for huntsmen to have problems finding a job. But with Junior closed off to the two girls, they would need to find a permanent job right away.

Ozpin closed his consoles. He seemed ready to end his night as well. As he stood he mentioned, "Most students don't realize what Junior's role is until they are half way into their first year. I am more surprised she even knew what it was in the first place, but then Qrow is her uncle."

Jaune gave a huff. "I figured as much. I am concerned for the sister. She will not be apart of a team and while Patch is relatively isolated…"

"With a family interested in her, I will speak to Tai. Considering how well she fought with no weapon she is at least skilled enough to attempt Beacon. Get her on a team that can look after her."

"Do you think she will be prepared to do that? Isn't she still a signal student?"

"We'll see. Tai volunteered to bring her transcript as well."

"Privilege of a teacher I suppose." Jaune murmured to himself. Schools are closed for the summer. "Let me know either way. If the blonde is going to be a problem at school I will probably be running into her anyway."

-o-

Jaune slugged his bag over his back and down the road facing northwest, away from Vale. The morning fog had only began to clear with the sun breaking past the mountain line. It wasn't Fall yet so thankfully the mornings have not gotten shorter. Jaune would need all the daylight he could muster.

Jaune relaxed as the road straightened. He was quick to pick up speed. The woods pass him by with only a lonely caravan on the road as it hurried to get to Vale before it got too late into the day. Eventually he slowed down to breath in the mountain air. Jaune checked his phone until he was able to find the weakest connection.

Jaune got off the road and looked for a tall tree with the thickest base. He patted the tree before he climbed up it. The trees this far away from civilization had not been touched for hundreds of years. Only the rare grim that had enough interest to scratch the trunk would ever bother it. Seventy feet in the branches, Jaune looked around and was happy to see most trees did not extend this far up. He pulled off his bag and pulled out a small white box. It was plastic with a small hatch and antenne. Jaune pulled out a small mallet and started to nail the plastic box to the tree before he opened it up and activated the transceiver. He grabbed his scroll and was happy to see the strong signal.

Jaune made his way down the tree and started the work to make an extended network. He had requested for the CCT to give him five extenders. It was odd for them to bend over backwards to meet his request so fast. It was barely four in the morning when he got the call. His heart nearly leapt in his chest thinking that the trains had broken through. He had not expected the transceivers so soon but did remember he asked them to call him as soon as the batteries were charged and they were all assembled. Jaune gratefully thanked the team when he picked them up.

Jaune read the recent thefts in the last year. Most were innocuous, but there was a pattern of behavior of targeting specific things, most items had little value compared to what was in the same location. Blake confirmed a few of the robberies as targets the White Fang had collected. It was enough materials to run a small base. Extended food, water filtering equipment and self defense drones and weaponry as well as emergency building kits used by Atlas in avalanche relief efforts in the mountain ranges. The organization would not need those thing unless it wanted to camp out somewhere near a target. Some of those stolen goods like the building kits were a little more permanent than the name implies.

Whoever had directed the thefts wanted exact items. Similar pieces of equipment were passed by on some of those heists. Which was why Jaune was out here on the north west range. If the compromised robots were targeting the east side, it would stand to reason that the White Fang, had they made a base, would have done it on the side of the target completely out of the way. No one would want a stampede of grim running through their own base.

Jaune knew it was too dangerous to go alone. Without a partner he would have to make compromises. Coco was right to say it was a half truth he would be with the third years. He would be looking for signs of movement and activity, but the Beacon students would mostly be thinning out the eastern front. He had to take the other three sides. That meant with no back up, he needed to make sure he could relay information in case something happened to him in the field. Jaune looked at the third box solemnly. He did not like to think what could happen to him if he had to use his scroll to call for help out here. He closed the box as soon as he confirmed it worked and moved on. He had cast a large net across fifty miles of forest.

The red Forever Fall forest was easier to travel than he had hoped. The trees were so large, it did not allow for very much underbrush to grow. The grim were sparse as well. He had passes several failed settlements. Those seemed to be the most grim concentrations in the region. Jaune looked around the forest and was reluctant to turn back with how far he had come. He looked over to the mountain range that started twenty miles ahead. It was the natural border of the north, but it actually curved wide east then south. Vale had stopped expanding thanks to the limited materials. But the goal was eventually to expand Vale to the ends of the ranges. But that would still be hundreds of years away.

Jaune was satisfied with the connection and sent Coco a quick message he was heading back and would drop by to say a quick hello in person before he went back to his office. The return blip was quick. Jaune smiled. It was a good indicator all of the access points were functioning properly. Jaune closed his scroll and started to make his run back. There was another reason why he needed a network. The region was largely unexplored territory. The topography was well and good for a good few miles out of the city and along the railways, but it had always been too dangerous or expensive to try and actually map out the region. Most maps just show the forest without really seeing what laid inside. Jaune had already started to lay the coordinates of failed settlements and ravines he had crossed in his run. The ravine was a point he wanted to return to.

Half way back and past two nodes he had set up, Jaune opened his scroll and waited for the CCT to answer.

"Vale CCT. How may I direct your call?"

"Jaune Arc to speak to Director Palem."

The receptionist asked for a moment. Eventually Mr. Palem, a sallow skinned man answered. "Good even Mr. Arc. How can I help you?"

"I sent a test communication using Beacon Three. Can you verify we got the ping?" The network extenders really had two purposes for Jaune. They allowed him to relay information instantly, but the more important one were the pings. The nodes are in the middle of nowhere. So no equipment should be using the nodes.

Even if a scroll was in local access mode the CCT would still get a ping.

"Ping confirmed forty minutes ago from Beacon three. Strong signal connected and sent a message shortly after. Was that what you tested?"

"Fantastic. Yes. Still no way to determine where near the beacon it was sent?"

"Sorry Jaune. We have no way to triangulate that without more beacons making a cross section."

"This is enough. If we can narrow down the places where they are not, it makes my work go faster."

"Just a reminder those batteries last for a week and a half before they need to be replaced. They can send out a find signal in case we lose them for a month. But anything longer, we lose a few hundred thousand for them all."

"I'll keep that in mind Director."

"Please do. I have several more requested to be transferred from three settlements to help beef up the net but that will take a few more days. Good day Patrolman." Jaune closed his scroll and started to increase his pace once he hit the main road to Vale. With a net cast over the non-critical side of Vale's borders Jaune could finally focus on what was going on in the city.

-o-

Jaune kept his face neutral as he walked up to Ozpin's office for what would technically be the second time that day. Jaune the run that morning made him nearly yawn. He knew he would need to go to sleep soon. A nap at least. All he had left was to deal with the two girls that were in Ozpin's office with their father before he could take a nap. It was better to get things like this resolved quickly. Jaune was almost tempted to ask if they had been waiting on him to get back into Vale. Ozpin said Tai had been due to arrive at Beacon in the morning.

The elevator door dinged open and Jaune spotted Tai. With a wave he greeted the other man. "How have you been Tai?"

"It's been a busy few weeks. I do want to apologize for my girls."

Jaune shook his head as he glanced at the girls. They were seated in leather chairs in front of Ozpin's desk. Both sisters seemed surprised their father knew him. Jaune repressed a smile as they took turns to look over their shoulders at him with a curious and nervous look. "It was their decision that led them there. Not yours. But I think that was why I'm here, right?" Jaune watched as the two girls snapped their heads forward to face the headmaster.

Jaune had been mulling over what to do with these two. He rounded on the seated girls until he stood in front of them. While the two girls were not arrested persay, they had been detained by a patrolman. And that constitutes a review and possibly a sentence. In a small settlement like The Houses, that could be resolved with a night in a cell. But the two girls did something far more serious and jeopardized the truce within the town without knowing it. Even if it was to a civilian and the way the blonde reacted to the bad news… the escalation had to be addressed less she actually hurts someone who could not protect themselves. Jaune stared at them for nearly two minutes. They both looked calmer than they did last night. Hopefully that meant they would take the sentence easier. "Your names for the record please."

"Yang Xiao Long."

"Ruby Rose."

Jaune huffed through his nose. "Do you know why you are here?"

Ruby squeaked, "We wrecked a club."

Jaune sighed and looked at the older teen. Yang blushed and looked down. "And started a fight with the crime syndicate."

Jaune looked to Tai and then to Ozpin. Tai actually looked nervous. Jaune gave him a slight shake of the head then looked back to the girls. "I assume the Headmaster and your father explained what situation you found your selves in last night?"

"Yes sir." Yang answered obediently.

"Yeah." Ruby answered as she shuffled nervously in her chair.

"You had a question for Junior last night Miss Xiao Long. Did you receive a satisfactory answer this morning?"

Yang glanced at her father before she looked down. "Yes sir." Jaune watched her fists curl in her lap.

Jaune looked over to Tai. "What did you say to them that got them going to Junior's of all places?"

Tai rubbed his neck and scowled. "Qrow was on an extended mission. I guess when they saw all of the things I had to returned to deceased loved ones, they were concerned. Qrow had plans with Ruby for the summer. He never misses them. I'm pretty sure they eavesdropped on a few calls I made to some of the huntsmen's families. They wouldn't believe me when I said Qrow was on another mission."

"What's different now?"

Tai laughed at himself. "Not a damn thing. They still don't believe me."

"Really?" Jaune asked, not surprised at the answer. Yang and Ruby looked betrayed when Jaune looked back to the pair. "Since I've been taking responsibility for a lot of things lately, one more won't matter." Jaune squatted in front of the sister's seats. "I am the one who ordered Qrow's mission. He will be gone for an undisclosed length of time. He's safe and the mission isn't that high of a risk so long as no one looks for him. He is just needed somewhere. Can you girls leave it at that?"

Jaune looked the girls in the eyes. Ruby immediately lowered her head but nodded. Jaune looked over to Yang. She seemed to have a harder time accepting the explanation but she nodded and leaned back in her chair in defeat.

"Good. What have you decided Tai?" Jaune asked as he stood up and backed away.

Tai groaned in annoyance at his daughters. "As much as it pains me to admit. They will be safer in Beacon. I accepted Ruby's nomination to be admitted."

Jaune nodded. "I thought as much. Since that is out of the way, I detained both of you girls for a disturbance on private property. Such an infraction usually comes with a steep fine and nothing else."

Both girls looked up curiously hopeful.

"But since I don't want either of you to think going to Beacon is some kind of reward. You will both have a misdemeanor charged to your file and are on thirty day probation starting today. You are not allowed to leave Beacon Academy. Doing so will violate your probation and you will be arrested and incarcerated for at least two weeks on top of the remainder of your thirty days. Is that understood?"

Both girls nodded. They both looked relieved. Jaune looked to the blonde. "That takes care of the shared charges." Jaune focused on the blonde girl. She looked up at him. A determined frown graced her face as she prepared herself for the consequences of last nights fight. "Yang Xiao Long, you have a single charge of assault on a private citizen of Vale. How do you plead?"

The blonde shook as she looked to her father. Tai walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her voice barely carried, "Guilty."

"Very well. Due to the extenuating circumstances of your situation and based on the punishment already issued by Hei Xiong, I have decided on your sentence. It is my concern that your first reaction to negative news was violence. You did not know if Junior had aura or not and that blow could have seriously maimed an auraless person. He has body guards for a reason, but that does not absolve you of your actions. You are about to be trained to be an even more effective fighter. A huntsman protects Vale and it's people. It's not to be used for your own personal satisfaction. As it stand right now, I have no guarantee that you will not keep this violent trend while you are trained at Beacon."

Yang nodded and nearly sniffed. Her sister took her hand. Jaune's voice continued, "You will live two days with no aura. Perhaps thinking and feeling the difference between you and those who are not aura users will give you some much needed wisdom when you decide to raise a fist again."

Yang kept her head low. "Yes sir."

Jaune stared at the bowed mass of hair. "Arrive tomorrow morning at six a.m. in the medical wing. Doctor Tangie will oversee the proceedings when I break your aura. Tai, did you want to stay for that?"

Tai nodded. "I'll stay for the first one." Tai knelt and hugged his eldest as she cried.

Jaune stared blankly at the family as they huddled together. When Tai looked up, Jaune did his best to give him a sympathetic look. The man seemed to understand. The girl continued to cry and Jaune felt he needed to get out of the room. He bade the headmaster a good day and left. In the elevator Jaune leaned against the wall and banged his head slightly against the elevator wall. The punishment was light. Jaune knew that. But her reaction to the sentence jarred him. He was not prepared to see her break down and sob.

Jaune shook his head and rolled his shoulder. Hopefully that meant she would mature from this. Jaune glanced at the time on his scroll. It was still daylight in Atlas. Jaune made a pained faced to the ceiling. No time for a nap. He kind of wanted to cry now too. The patrolman made his way to the CCT. He had a long distance call to make.

-o-

Jaune followed the man in uniform down the corridor to his private thanked the CCT staff as he sat down. The private room was furnished with a single console and comfortable chair and desk. At the corner Jaune noticed there was a more utilitarian desk for a secretary. Ah, it's a board meeting room. Jaune thought. The mayor had one back in Anvil too.

Jaune awkwardly ran his fingers across the keyboard and typed in his identification number. Jaune decided he needed to get that on the list of things he needed to learn quickly. He never really needed to type quickly, but in the actual city there were more than enough places that expected reports to be written on a console rather than paper form.

"Atlas Department of Military Education. How may I direct your call?"

Jaune placed his scroll on the identification pad. "Patrolman Jaune Arc of Vale to request a call to First Lieutenant Schnee of Atlas Academy."

"Please stand by as I direct your call."

Jaune picked up his scroll and looked at the notes he had to type in. Maybe he should just write everything on a console rather than his notepads… It was a whole extra step he had not realized he made for himself until he decided he needed to take the notes out of the office.

"First Lieutenant Schnee, how may I help you Patrolman?"

Jaune nearly grimaced at the cool reception. "Thank you for seeing me First Lieutenant. I wanted to give my report to you in person regarding the White Fang activity I have found in my investigation. And I maybe provide you some answers for some missing information you may have in Atlas."

The woman's gaze softened and stood a little straighter. "I thank you for that Patrolman. What did you find?"

Jaune explained what he learned related to Adam Taurus and the pattern of thefts in Vale. Winter seemed to have typed as fast as she spoke. She did not falter at all when Jaune felt he was motor mouthing all of the information.

The First Lieutenant stopped her typing abruptly and looked up. "I will forward the last known thefts in Atlas to you. Some of us," Winter's dry tone made the disdain thick in her voice, "Believed that the White Fang had just simply stopped claiming theft attacks. I have thought otherwise. General Ironwood chose me specifically because of my skepticism. Thank you again for the information Patrolman Arc."

"Before we end the communication, may I ask some questions First Lieutenant Schnee?"

She turned to fully face the screen. "Of course, what would you like to know?"

Jaune opened his scroll and looked at the list of questions. Immediately he knew several would be answered in the forward report. Instead he asked, "How quickly did you personally realize that the White Fang were no longer in Atlas?"

The woman blinked for a moment and looked down to something, likely her scroll. "They had a pattern of a theft within three weeks. They would choose up to three thefts and then an actual attack with the support or reaction from those thefts. They stopped all activity after breaking this cycle. Their final claimed assault was a theft of Schnee dust. But the report said the theft was an odd one."

Jaune rubbed his temple. "What was odd about it?"

Winter looked at something else. "Just a moment please. It was before my time in this position." Winter scrolled through pages. Jaune started to feel uncomfortable just staring at the woman while she looked at her scroll and decided to just look at his blank scroll just so he was not just staring at her.

"Found it. The investigation had no follow up. But they had stolen one battery core. We did not even detect the theft until a motion sensor was tripped as they left. We only knew it was the White Fang based on the video recording. They never claimed responsibility and did not take anything else. Had they made a clean getaway the report would have chalked up the theft to corporate espionage."

"What was the battery core for?"

"Common model of a servant droid we use here in Atlas. None military grade. The cores themselves are close to the end of their life cycle but the patents are considered proprietary."

"I am not familiar with Atlas companies at all, is the manufacture the same one used for Atlas Military droids?"

Winter understood what he was really asking. "I will find what I can and get back to you. I will personally update the engineers before they take off this friday."

"Thank you First Lieutenant." Jaune sighed rubbed his eyes with thumb and index. He really needed to sleep. "One final question as both a representative of the Atlas military and as someone who has a vestated company interests in Vale."

The woman looked put off by the second association but nodded.

"If Vale falls. What would be Atlas' next steps?"

The woman seemed to have difficulty findings words. "Surely you are not expecting to fail?"

Jaune shook his head. "I will find the White Fang, Miss Schnee. I don't doubt that. But I am not omnipresent. Just because I found them does not mean I would stop them in time. I need to know how the White Fang would react. How they expect Atlas to react. Now, what would Atlas do if Vale falls?"

The woman did her best not to babble as she came to terms with the fatalist statement. She paused to exhale and refocused. "Atlas would have an obligation to apply relief efforts. There are still companies that have representation in Vale. They may offer aid or support in Vale before they officially pull out their people. As the level of damage and casualty worsens in Vale the Council of Generals would decide if they would bring the army in force to aid Vale or a token front to help the displaced people. Relief would come slow. If the damage in Vale is catastrophic we would forgo aid and simply recall all of Atlas."

Jaune thought about it. "What would happen in Atlas?"

Miss Schnee sighed. "I am ashamed to admit there are a few vocal minorities that would use this as proof and try and force the Faunus out of Atlas. The General's may declare a State of Emergency if the White Fang return to Atlas after destroying Vale. Patrolman you have to understand one thing about Atlas Military. As the supreme authority, the military can and will decided to make swift steps to rein control. If Atlas declares a war on the White Fang they will sweep the country and expel every faunus. The best case scenario would be concentration camps to sort who is a White Fang sympathizer."

Jaune gave her an annoyed look.

The woman shrugged. "I did not say it was smart. However it has been part of our military doctrine for years."

"And the White Fang would already know this."

The Scnee nodded. "The war that may follow would certainly bring Menagerie into the fight. I will bring these concerns to General Ironwood if I may patrolman?"

"Please do. Thank you for your time First Lieutenant."

"My pleasure Patrolman. Good luck. If you fail, know that we will wipe the White Fang from the world to prevent another war." The woman saluted with patriotic fervor and closed the connection.

Jaune watched as the screen went blank as it lost power. He lifted and glanced at his scroll before he tossed it back on the desk. "That's what worries me." Jaune rubbed his eyes and stood up. He pocketed his scroll and left the CCT.

On paper, the White Fang look to be on a suicide mission that guarantees that the organization itself would collapse. The worst case scenario sounds bleak but so many things have to be aligned to it to go in that direction. The White Fang would need to make sure Vale was completely destroyed or they would be fighting a two front war with no place to fall back to. They could not fall back to Menagerie.

It was such a high risk for not even a guaranteed reward. The faunus could easily see the White Fang attacks and reject them instead of support them. He was not sure what would happen in Atlas, but he doubted that the people who performed peaceful protests in Atlas to this day would see any actions by the White Fang as positive outcomes.

"I need to think about this later." Jaune muttered to himself as the Bullhead dipped to a landing on the Beacon landing pad.

-o-

Jaune was not sure what woke him up from his nap on the couch. He knew he needed the sleep and his body had trouble reacting to the weight that leaned on him with its own sigh of contentment.

With enough effort Jaune moved his arm and realized why it was so numb. Coco had apparently let herself in and fell asleep with him. Jaune let his cheek rest on the top of her head and kissed her hair. He just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. Jaune allowed himself to doze again. Some time later Coco finally stirred and woke him. He looked down to watch her blink around drowsily. He smiled and kissed her temple. "Good evening beautiful."

Coco smiled and leaned into him again. "Didn't think I would see you again if I didn't stick around."

Jaune kissed her head and pulled his numb arm to pull her closer. "I am sorry."

Coco mmm'ed against him. "It's fine. Don't think I'll be able to pull away from classes or study session for the first week. Tomorrow's my last day of work before the weekend."

"Sorry I can't take advantage of that. If it makes you feel better, you will still be in bed when I have to get up to carry out a sentence tomorrow morning."

Coco winced. "Sorry to hear that."

Jaune smiled as he got up. Jaune turned back to the couch and took Coco's hands to pull her up. He grinned. "We never did finish that dance did we?"

Coco grinned as the two danced to the silence of the room.

-o-

Yang walked down the corridor and looked around the halls under sleepless eyes. The night in the room with her sister and dad had been rough.

Back in Signal, Yang had tried her best help a friend get over a guy who dumped her. At the time, Bella had been inconsolable. Yang liked to think she was mature enough to try and ride over those kinds of anxieties and just accept things as they were. That did not stop Yang as she did her best to help Bella. But Yang internally rolled her eyes when Bella would have a moment where she recalled him out of nowhere. During those times there was really nothing that anyone could do but wait for her to cry it out. It was just a simple fact that Bella had a hard time moving on. Maybe ignorance was bliss. It wasn't over a guy but Yang cried last night. Just like Bella, Yang had been inconsolable.

Yang nearly sniffed again. In her mind, she knew it was stupid to cry about this. Dad had told her she was getting off light. But the image of the patrolman hovering over her. There was a level of caution and distrust when he explained why she was getting her aura broken. The sound of how uncertain Yang would react to the same situation made the feeling of bile rise in her throat.

Yang felt Ruby tug her hand in reassurance. She put on a brave smile for her sister. Ruby seemed to have come of out this a little shaken too. Yang was not sure if it was because she was pushed quickly into Beacon at a young age, or the fact Ruby told her she did not feel like she deserved or even belonged in the school. Ruby was placed into Beacon to protect her. If anything happened to her sister… Yang shook at the thought.

The hospital wing was a simple office with a hall that looked to have led to examination rooms. She was escorted to one where the Patrolman waited. A doctor stood next to him with tray. Yang noticed that what she thought would be an examination room, included a bed and private bath.

Yang resisted the urge to gasp when Ruby curled her fingers into hers. Yang placed her free hand over her heart to calm it. Focus girl. Yang reprimanded herself. The door closed behind them. She was not sure what she expected when the patrolman greeted her dad.

"Morning Tai. This will be quick. Doctor Tangie, you're better at explaining this than I am." The patrolman gestured for Yang to stand in the center of the room.

"Good morning Miss XiaoLong. Mr. Arc will attempt to overload your aura to the point that it breaks. This will leave you exhausted for a few minutes but otherwise unharmed."

The older woman looked at Ruby for a second before her chipper voice continued, "Your aura will try to recover and regenerate over the next few days. Tomorrows break should be a lot easier for you as well. There would not be enough time for your aura to have fully regenerated. If you feel ill, please come directly to me. There should be no side effects but what the patrolman is about to do may potentially cause internal bruising. Also be mindful of the amount of force you use to interact with everyday objects. It's not uncommon for someone to bruise their hands as they reach for a door handle as their aura is not there to absorb the impact of your natural strength. Again if you experience any problems please come see me."

The doctor instructed Yang to place her hand on a console next to the unused bed. "Flood your aura. This will measure it. We will need accurate measurements if we want it broken on the first try."

The patrolman waited for Yang Xiao Long to nod when Doctor Tangie announced that the meter was calibrated. When she looked to be ready Patrolman Arc confessed, "As a full disclosure, this is the first time I am breaking aura in this way."

Yang watched as a green bar moved to full. "Why is it the first time?" She asked nervously.

The patrolman nearly smiled as replied, "I've never broken someone's aura while they stood still to take it."

Yang mulled over that while she took off her jacket and tied back her hair. Afraid of the answer Yang eventually asked, "What happens if it doesn't break on the first try?"

The patrolman gave her an apologetic look. "I will try again until it does. But every time I do, your body will feel every blow I will use to break your aura. After three times and if I fail, I will let you rest and try again the next day."

Yang nodded and exhaled before she looked over to her sister who had started to hug their father in support. "I'm ready."

The patrolman walked in front of her. Yang found her eyes locked to the metal caped knuckles sewn into his gloves. His warm voice commanded her, "On my signal I want you to flush your aura and inhale."

Yang anxiously nodded.

The patrolman passed a look to the doctor. When he got his signal, "Three, Two, One…"

The first thing Yang felt was the sudden need to inhale and exhale at the same time. Her heart felt like it was about to burst at the first five taps against her stomach abdomen and sides in the span of a second. Her aura rippled across her body as it tried to meet the damage it took. A stray thought from a class in her first year in Signal came to her mind as another hit bit into her belly then her sternum.

A human's aura liked to keep an equilibrium across the whole body. It was why huntsmen need to train so hard. A huntsman needs to exert influence on their own aura to strengthen specific parts of the body to gain greater than super human strength for their line of work. When a part of the body runs low on aura, the body flushes that section of the body with aura to make it match the rest.

On the eighth blow, Yang began to feel a cold numbness to her fingers. It took her brain a half a moment to realize she should breathe before that was interrupted by another seven hits. Her body shook and Yang was forced to nearly bend over before a blow to the center of her forehead knocked her head back. Yang could not find the word to describe what her body did. But 'pop', felt close enough followed by an immense coldness to her skin. The patrolman had caught her under the armpit with the doctor taking the other arm.

Yang had trouble focusing for what seemed like an eternity. The voices of her dad and the doctor passed over her. Phantom lights seemed to dance in front of her eyes as the world seemed smaller. She could no longer feel the presence of her sister and dad. She looked over and saw them begin to walk to her as her eyes closed shut. Her body felt like it weighed a ton and hard to move.

Yang felt dazed as she felt the absence of her aura for the first time since she was six.

Ah. This is what it means to have no aura.

-o-

Hours later Jaune spent the afternoon in his office with his notes strewn across the table. He stared at his notes that laid on the table and shuffled them around when he had a new idea. He always liked this method since Koben showed it to him.

Jaune took a few steps back and imagined what Adam Taurus could do with this information. What could the White Fang do to make their goal succeed? One reason Neo was able to get away was because the Anvil Patrolmen were never afforded the luxury to try and understand the ins and outs of what goals they wanted.

"I want Atlas to see me as a threat…" Jaune looked at the notes that had the goals Miss Belladonna had informed him. "Attack Atlas' profit margin. Lower enmity of faunus within Atlas by being absent. Make Atlas treat the White Fang seriously." Jaune paused there and glanced at his notes. Adam had plans for Atlas if the country could see the White Fang as a credible threat. "I guess executions were not serious enough."

"Attack the trains sure, but why am I attacking Vale? What do I gain?"

Jaune pulled up a note from Winter Schnee. She had passed along the targets of the last five heists known to have been made by White Fang. They were nearly a year old. "The White Fang had been out of the public eye for nearly a year now." Jaune stared at the list and realized why the first lieutenant was able to get the information so quickly. They were attacks targeted against her family and company. Jaune nodded to himself as he thought about that. He took out his pen and wrote a note of last known targets and set them down next to old plans.

"So what I had before didn't work. I still want to complete the old goals but I need to set a more achievable goal. The emerald forest. If we bring down the borders between Vale and Beacon..." Beacon itself acted as the natural border to the north east along with the cliffs and waterfalls that lined them. But the rest of the eastern border was flat lands the further south you looked. That was where the eastern front started. From the edge of the lake to twenty miles south were the mountain range veers east.

Jaune spotted the note sheet for the mystery man who visited Adam and gave him the round of sudden successes. "Mystery man helped me get into power. It was only then that the White Fang pulled out of Atlas. Was that my idea or the mystery guy's?"

Jaune sighed as he moved some of the notes around on the table. They sat haphazardly cobbled together in a messy venn diagram. "But none of this still explains why attack and destroy Vale? Adam could easily have had so many other plans that would not have killed so many people. Just the number of faunus that live in Vale would guarantee that the faunus would turn on the White Fang too. Why attack the country that had actively listened to the faunus issues in the past. What would the White Fang gain from it?"

Jaune went through another pot of coffee and only stopped when he felt the caffeine give him a headache. It was nearly three in the afternoon when he washed his cup and stared at the note. "Why destroy Vale. I gain nothing. I hurt the White Fang. So why do I do it?"

Jaune frowned as every answer to that question sounded like things he the patrolman would say. It destabilized Vale, blame could be passed onto Beacon if it comes from the east, it would shrink the population, Vale would have to be dependant on another country. Jaune blinked. "Or organization." Jaune wrote that on a note. "The survival equipment that was stolen would be usable for recovery efforts. Especially the field hospitals that are made to fill abandoned buildings. If you are painting yourself in a positive light…"

While Jaune liked the idea, he shook his head. "How does this make Atlas see me as a threat? It comes down to what Adam wants. Let's say I want to go through with this plan to destabilize Vale. Would I even tell anyone?"

Jaune crossed his arms for a moment before he walked over to his desk and tapped his scroll. He connected it to the Beacon PA system. "BLAKE BELLADONNA PLEASE REPORT TO PATROLMAN ARC'S OFFICE."

Jaune sighed and scratched his head. He made himself a very late lunch while he waited for Miss Belladonna to arrive. He was mid way through preparing a sandwich when the door to his office opened. Jaune spotted the black bow before he saw the girl's head poke inside the door. Jaune almost laughed at the way it moved when he called. "Come in Miss Belladonna. I am just making myself some food. Would you like something to drink?"

The girl shook her head as she quickly moved to sit down on the chair in front of his desk and waited. Jaune moved his plate to the desk and opened a bottle of water. "Sorry about the call Miss Belladonna, but I had a quick question."

Jaune smiled as she stared at his sandwich. It was a simple tuna and mayo. "Would you like a sandwich?"

She blushed and nodded her head emphatically. She ducted her head to hide her face. "Sorry sir."

Jaune could not hold back the laugh. He set the plate down and turned back to the kitchenette. "I have extra Miss Belladonna. Just a moment. While I make it, I wanted to ask, 'Did Adam let everyone know what the plan was?' I am not sure how to proceed in my investigation without what the organization thought of the plan."

Blake frowned. "I was in a unique position with Adam as his partner." Jaune watched as the girl shivered slightly. She rubbed her arms before she said aloud, "I was his best friend. But after this last year he had pulled away from everyone. I had thought he did it because a lot of people were upset that we were leaving Atlas. A few considered challenging his spot for leadership after it happened, but there are still a few dust miners in our group that fought tooth and nail to keep in him power. But after his last challenge that ended with Adam killing him, Adam said he would not accept any more challenges until after the job in Vale was over."

Jaune let the girl think back to that time. She seemed lost in unpleasant memories. Eventually she looked at him and he could hear how her voice quivered. "I only learned he had planned to break the protection border in Vale by accident. Illia's team didn't feel comfortable speaking to Adam ever since his last challenge and reported that they had gained the travel plans for the next train shipments. I had just finished looking at Atlas's military troop transfers away from Vale the week before and found that one train had the dates coincide."

Jaune passed her the sandwich. She ate and it calmed her slightly. The sandwich was done in moments much to Jaune's amusement. Blake looked reluctant to continue and sighed forlornly at the empty plate. Eventually she looked to the ceiling.

"I was so excited when I saw the chance and pointed it out to Adam. I had hoped that we could use this as a chance to attack Atlas's production. Like he said. Attack their bottom line."

Jaune pulled out a notepad. "He reacted differently?"

Blake teared slightly. "I've seen Adam fly into a rage before. Usually it was when one of us had died. But never like the way he told me that those droids must go through. He never hit me before, but he nearly hit me when I asked why. It was the first time I was scared of him. Really afraid of what he was doing."

"Did you piece it together yourself?"

"Only after I spoke to a few others. It was normal enough for me to help Adam with his missions for years. No one batted an eye as I started to ask how their missions went. Actually, now that I think about it, quite a few of them seemed relieved. They seemed to think that Adam was coming around with me now checking on them. It was a lot like the old days…"

"Do you think the deserters weren't so much anyone that was unhappy with the White Fang, but those who realized what they were doing?"

Blake energy sapped from her at the question. "Probably. Everyone was happy that we had a goal to work to. If there were questions, they were squashed until after the missions in Vale ended."

Jaune wrote down a note as he said it aloud. "He seems to want to really put off everything until after his plans for Vale. When the White Fang find out what they had done, what do you think will happen?"

Blake looked at her hands uncomfortably in her lap. "I am not sure. A few would definitely agree with the attack. A small group was able to topple a country. But the rest? While Menagerie is a little backwater and isolated from the rest of the world, I can't imagine any of them would want to endanger their home for this. They would try to leave."

Jaune remained silent at that thought. The White Fang could implode on itself. "I've been tossing an idea around in my head Blake."

Blake looked up surprised. It seemed it was the first time he called her by first name. "Sir?"

"Is Adam really doing this for the White Fang?"

The question struck a chord with her and she shook her head at the same time she put her hands to her mouth. "What? No-" Blake stopped and looked horrified at herself for a moment. Suddenly Jaune passed her a tissue from his desk. She placed it across her eyes and used the moments to regain control. Jaune let her take as much time as she wanted. Blake muttered to herself, "How… I can't believe I still feel this way after he tried to kill me."

"You really felt like you needed to defend him." Jaune offered in sympathy along with another tissue. Blake took a moment to dab her eyes.

"It's stupid."

"It's normal. The feelings of what he did to you are still raw Blake. And I am sorry to bring those up now. But I needed answers and a perspective. Do you think Adam is doing this for the White Fang." Jaune watched as her brows and bow twitched.

Blakes eyes watered and shook her head. "I don't think so." She gasped as she admitted that. Her voice cracked when she admitted, "I don't think he has been working for the White Fang for a long time. He never would have accepted pulling out of Mantle. He was somehow convinced that what we are doing now is more important than trying to prove that we exist in Atlas."

Jaune set his notes down. "Do you think that if the White Fang saw something happening in the city to support faunus rights it would make them voice their concerns on targeting Vale?"

"The timing may be too convenient. A lot of us were cynical when we joined."

Jaune looked at his notes and saw Winter's questions. "How about if I can get a public event with an interview with a Schnee that supports Faunus rights?" Jaune wondered if that was even possible. The First-Lieutenant did seem to dislike her association with her family business, but that did not mean she would support the faunus.

Jaune watched as Blake did an interesting combination of perking up and wilting at the news. "That would be amazing but in Vale?"

"It is just an idea at this point. But if I could make it happen, do you think that would be enough to raise descent in the White Fang about targeting Vale. Keep in mind they do not know what we know."

"It might be enough. But I am not sure. You would need to have someone from the Faunus to be there to help validate it."

"I'll look into finding a representative from one of the Atlas protest groups."

Blake frowned, "I don't think anyone will volunteer Mr. Arc."

Jaune was about to ask why when he remembered what is actually happening in Atlas. "It would have to be a third party then. Someone from Menagerie or some one who is willing to risk their safety of retaliation from the White Fang and Atlas pressure."

Jaune started to write a note and penned it with a list of things to ask Miss Schnee again the next morning.

Jaune noticed her hand move nervously in the air. "Miss Belladonna?"

Blake waved her hand slightly before she let it sink back into her lap. "I could do it. If it is just an interview with a Schnee… I just need to ask questions and she gives answers to help ease the tensions right? Most people will not know I was White Fang, but they will. Just introduce me as the daughter of the last peaceful White Fang leader. I think I can do that."

Jaune watched as her shoulders shivered. "Are you sure. You will announce to them where you are. I can not fully guarantee your safety if they know where you are and what you are doing. Not to mention all it would take is one of them to announce to the media you were current White Fang to destroy the good will."

"I can say that on my own before we start with the interview. If this is going to help. I want to do it."

"Even with the bow on?"

Blake blinked and touched her bow. She had forgotten about it with the excitement of talking to an SDC representative. "I would have to take this off."

Jaune watched her struggle with the idea to expose herself again. He quickly decided she was not ready. "I won't make you do this Blake. This is your choice. Take your time to consider it. I will ask on my end to see if this is even possible and what we can even agree to ask."

Blake breathed suddenly happy they moved on. She stood up at the dismissal. "What would you do if I don't do this?"

Jaune looked up from his notes and smiled. "Same thing I always do. Solve my problems as quickly as possible. I will find a way Miss Belladonna. Please don't consider your decision the lynchpin to my success."

Blake looked disappointed when he went back to her last name. But she nodded and sighed.

Jaune kept his relaxed smile until she closed the door. He let the smile fall and glanced at the stacks of papers on his desk. Even if Miss Belladonna decided to not go through with it, Jaune could try and still ask for representatives to submit questions anonymously. Unfortunately this would leave the interview event as a big public target.

Jaune looked at his notes that were strewn about his desk and pulled out his pen to write on a new sheet of paper. Jaune held the new note in his hand before he placed it in the center below Adam Taurus' notes.

He stared at the new sheet until he realized the day had turned to dusk. Jaune pulled the notes together with the new sheet on top before he grabbed the folder to seal them all together. Jaune hated to admit it but he needed help. He could not solve this case alone. But in the same breathe he had to admit he was not confident he could trust anyone with this information. Blake's safety relied on it. And even Winter and Ozpin only knew the basics of the situation. The council has been blissfully unaware of his new findings. And it would stay that way less Junior's man finds out what he has collected and that's released into the information market.

Jaune needed someone who could keep up with him if a fight breaks out for whatever event he planned. He needs the back up when he explores the forest incase he is caught alone either by grim or by the White Fang. Jaune needed a safety net for himself. Someone who could take over if he gets injured...

Jaune huffed in annoyance as he admitted to himself; or dies.

This was too important to not have someone in the know to take over.

Jaune eyes narrowed at the thought. He glanced at the newest sheet before he closed the folder.

Find another patrolman.

A/N: A week later than I planned to post but I kept picking at it. The ending is actually a little different from what it was two hours before I posted it. Same result just a little different way of going about it. The biggest challenge was having everything the White Fang were doing make sense. Jaune and I were kinda both taking that adventure together when I wrote this one.

Two things real fast:

One is the name of this story was chosen when I had really only intended to write a story for Jaune and Coco. I am not sure if I will change the name of the story to keep it inline with where it is going now, or just leave it as is. Just a heads up for people who follow the title instead of title and author as it could change your bookmarks/profile favs.

Two is really things I am leaving as side stories on the cutting room floor. The don't really fit into the main plot of any of the arcs. Would people be interested in slice of life stuff as a side spin off? They would be really short scenes/self contained stories. I could always do them as intermissions for the main story, but these chapters are long enough as is... cough.

Next chapter is being pushed off to late May since I will be vacationing in Hawaii for a few weeks in late April.