Chapter 3: More Of A Mystery
"Who are you?" Winter demanded, pulling her sword from its sheath and pointing it at the newcomer. Her gaze landed on a young faunus girl with blonde hair, rabbit ears, and bright green eyes. She wore simple green flats, a form-fitting black dress, and a green cardigan. Winter also noted the two boomerangs strapped to her back.
"My name is Layla Aster," the girl responded. "I know a thing or two about the Man At Arms."
"Anything will help," Ironwood assured. Layla nodded, skipping down the steps until she was standing between the two Atlesian soldiers. Both furrowed their brows when she grabbed their hands.
"You'll understand soon. They don't call my semblance Burrow for nothing," she said cheerfully. Stamping her foot on the ground, a large hole opened up beneath them and all three fell through, followed by three screams, two of terror, one of excitement. The group continued picking up speed until a light shone beneath them and they were deposited next to a cliff face overlooking Vale. Layla gave a sympathetic smile in response to the looks of shock that were frozen on the other two's faces. "It's not as bad as when I use it normally."
"And what is "normally" like for you?" Winter inquired, slowly fixing her windswept hair.
"I can only travel to places I've been, can see, or can picture clearly in my mind. Made for an interesting Friday night when watching a police thriller filmed in Atlas. The further away, the longer it takes and the more it drains my aura. Given that this was less than a mile, I should be fine in an hour. Well, two. I need to get back to Beacon. Test tomorrow, and Professor Port doesn't hold back." She stamped her foot again, dropping into the ground with a cheer, the hole immediately closing up behind her.
"Less than a mile from Beacon and there's still no signal," Winter groaned.
"I guess we find what we can and then walk back." Ironwood looked up at the cliff face. Sloppily inscribed on it was the word BREACH.
"There's a note here, General. It's addressed to you."
"What does it say?"
"James,
Back off. Tell Ozpin to do the same. None of you are prepared for what you're dealing with. This is far worse than Salem. I will approach you when the time is right.
~Man At Arms"
"We have to tell Ozpin."
"Sir, who's Salem?"
"Jaune, please stop," Blake sighed.
"Sorry, I pace when I get nervous."
"Hey, maybe this will be fun!" Penny cheered.
"I doubt it," Blake responded. "Searching the entire school on our own after dark to find something that can look like anything and may or may not even exist. And Ozpin's unusually late."
"That is odd." The android perked up. "Oh! Maybe he's playing the game: Hide And Seek!" Blake giggled.
"As amusing a thought as that is, I highly doubt it."
"Do you think he forgot?" Jaune asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid you will have no such luck, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said behind Jaune, prompting the blonde to shriek and jump into Blake's arms in a fashion akin to Scooby Doo. "I apologize for keeping you all. General Ironwood approached me with some, erm, unfortunate news that took priority."
"What-"
"You needn't concern yourself with it, Mr. Arc. All I need from you three is to search the school. Do not worry, I'll keep it limited. You three will only have to search the entrance hall and faculty offices tonight."
"That is approximately five thousand three hundred and eighty four square meters," Penny noted. "It should only take four hours to complete a thorough search between the three of us."
"Great," Blake groaned, raising her arms and causing Jaune to drop to the ground. "Who needs sleep anyway."
"Humans are recommended to get about eight hours of sleep each night. Faunus' recommended sleep pattern varies based on the animal they share a genome with, such as a rabbit needing about five hours of sleep while a cat needs closer to ten."
"It was rhetorical, Penny."
"Oh. In that case, I will not respond." Blake rolled her eyes before seeing that Penny had pulled out a magnifying glass.
"Why do you have that?"
"Sun gave it to me. He said it would make me "detective ready" and almost on his level."
"Of course he did. Any idea what we should start looking for?"
"How about weird blue stains?" Jaune called out.
"And why's that?"
"Because I just found one that definitely wasn't there before and definitely doesn't belong either." He shined his flashlight over the mark on the wall.
"It almost looks like a bloodstain."
"Affirmative," Penny said. "The stain contains DNA."
"Well that makes no sense."
"Which part," Jaune asked, "the fact that we found blood, the fact that it's blue, or the fact that we found something almost immediately?"
"Definitely the last one," Blake said with a smirk.
"Yeah, that doesn't bode well for us. This is the kind of thing you always see in horror movies before-"
"It's the blue blood, idiot. Blood in the lobby makes sense. Almost everyone carries some kind of blade with them. But even grimm bleed red, so why is this blue?"
"The DNA matches Yang Xiao Long," Penny informed.
"But I've seen Yang bleed."
"TMI! TMI!" Jaune shouted.
"Oh grow up. Besides, I was talking about things like splinters and papercuts, both of which are going to be the death of her. I'm shocked she hasn't taken one of her arms off just trying to get out of bed."
"But what color is her blood?" Penny asked.
"Red, just like anyone else's. It does turn gold when she activates her semblance. Never blue, though."
"Maybe it's the shapeshifter," Jaune suggested, a little on edge.
"Let's keep looking." Blake stormed off, making a bee-line for the next room.
"Geez, why's she so worked up?"
"According to Ruby, she had planned a "girl's night" with the rest of the team before Ozpin gave her this mandatory assignment, meaning that the other three are off watching Megapiranha II while she's stuck here," Penny said.
"Well, based on the reviews and what the first one was like, I'd say that she's probably having a better time."
"The Remnant Film Group rated Megapiranha II at a two point seven out of ten, a strict upgrade from the previous film's rating of two point four."
"Still doesn't make it good."
"Guys," Blake called, "there's more." When the pair entered the room Blake had gone into, Jaune gagged on the stench that had flooded the small space. And to make matters worse, more blue blood appeared to be smeared about the walls, coating furniture and just about everything else in the room.
"I cannot isolate any specific DNA from this," Penny frowned.
"We have to tell Ozpin."
"Sure," Jaune said quickly. "Anything to get out of this room."
"Go." He nodded, running to the nearest restroom. The sounds of vomiting quickly filled the hall as Blake and Penny made their way to the door. "I'm amazed he's lasted this long as a hunter."
"At least his heart is in the right place," Penny beamed.
Velvet rocked back and forth on her bed, her knees held up to her chest as she stared fearfully at the shadows in the corner of her room. "What do you want from me?!" she cried out.
"I only want to talk," a deep, distorted voice responded. The faunus' ears drooped as a man stepped forward, coated in dark metal armor and a black coat that billowed out into a cloak at the waist, with a hood and metal mask hiding his face and a heavy shotgun strapped to his back. "I need you to know that I am not the enemy."
"That thing you ripped apart. It looked like me!"
"I know. I've hunted their kind for nearly a decade, aiming for their master."
"They have a master?"
"Tell me, Ms. Scarlatina, do you know any fairy tales?"
"Of course. I loved them as a child."
"Then you know about a famous one: The Jackrabbit." Velvet nodded. "Well, much like the tale of the Four Maidens, The Jackrabbit holds some truth behind it."
Yes, every chapter will end with suspense. You'll know something big is coming if one doesn't. Aside from that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for more. Until then, Driver out.