Cover art - Mike (That's it! If I can't have him, no one can!)

Chapter 9 - Heretical Indoctrination

Pyrrha re-read the same message for what was probably the tenth time today.

"I'll be back sometime later today. Don't wait up for me."

That was what he had sent them. Easier said than done. If he had told them all about his plans the night before, maybe then she wouldn't be worrying so much. But as it stood now? There was a lot to be concerned about.

"You're getting yourself too worked up, Pyrrha," Ren said.

"And you're too relaxed for my liking," Pyrrha argued. "Don't you think it's strange that he disappeared this morning without so much as a word? Aren't you a little bit concerned about his whereabouts?"

"Jaune can look after himself," Nora said, flicking through the pages of her history textbook. "He doesn't need to tell us every single little thing he plans to do. At least he didn't wake us up at the crack of dawn this time."

Pyrrha frowned. That wasn't a satisfying answer.

"He sent us all that message," Ren said. "I trust that he's fine. From what I hear, Blake also vanished this morning. Maybe he's with her?"

"Oooh, maybe that's why he kept his plans to himself?" Nora teased. "Maybe the two of them are on a date? Uh, no offense, Pyrrha."

"I hope that is the case," she said truthfully. "While that would be unfortunate for me, it'd put my mind at ease. At least I'd know he's with someone I trust and not kidnapped."

Ren let out a chuckle. "Kidnapped? Pyrrha, who would want to kidnap Jaune of all people? And what for?"

Pyrrha sighed. "I don't know. I'm just worrying."

"Yes, you are," Ren agreed. "Take your mind off it for now. If he's not back before dark, then we'll start looking for him. But Nora's right, Jaune can take care of himself. You of all people should know that."

"I know, I know…"

He handed her a textbook. "Until then, Oobleck's test is in a few days. Use whatever energy you have to study for it."

Pyrrha took the book from his hand. It was going to be difficult studying when she had so much on her mind, but he was right. Even she needed to prepare for whatever the eccentric professor threw their way.

"Well, wherever he is right now, I bet he's having more fun than us," Nora grumbled. "Ren, I've been reading this book for hours now. Can we pleeeassse just take a break already?"

"That depends," Ren said. "Who commanded the faunus legions at the Battle of Myrestone?"

Nora paused.

"Well, there's your answer."

"Come oooooon!" Nora moaned. "When did you care so much about learning and books anyway? You were never like this when we were kids!"

"We're part of a team now, and everyone in a team must play their part," Ren explained. "Jaune's the leader, you're the muscle, Pyrrha's the negotiator, and I'm the brains. My job is to make sure we all pass."

"Hey, why am I just the muscle?" Nora protested. "I'm more than just a tank on legs. I'll have you know, I'm great at planning out battles."

"Nora, name one battle plan of yours that's been effective so far,"

"I can name you hundreds! It's not my fault you were too scared to use them. I'm telling you, if we weaponized those Goliaths, we'd be the strongest team in Beacon."

"And what exactly makes me the negotiator?" Pyrrha asked.

"You apologise a lot," Ren said. "That helps calm people down, makes them trust you."

"What are you talking about? I don't apologise a lot… do I?"

Ren and Nora looked at her with flat expressions.

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Well if I do, it's because I'm trying to be friendly. I'm not looking to make any enemies."

"Exactly. That's a personality trait perfectly befitting for a negotiator," Ren said.

Pyrrha noted his tone. "I don't think I've ever heard you sound so smug before, Ren."

A tiny smirk curled on Ren's face. "Not smug - satisfied. It's nice being right. That's why I'm the brains."

Pyrrha giggled. "Alright then, Mr Brains. Help me get top marks on the test, and we'll see if you live up to your title."

But before learning and any other educational progress could be made, the door creaked open. The three of them looked up and saw a familiar face walk in.

Jaune was back.

Pyrrha felt elated. Not only was he unharmed, but he also looked happy. He wore a big smile on his face. Whatever worries she had dissolved instantly.

"There you are!" she cried, rushing over to him.

Jaune's smile grew wider. "Good to see you too, Pyrrha. How have you been?"

"How have I been? I…"

She was quickly reminded of how she felt earlier. As thrilled as she was to see him again, that didn't excuse his sudden absence.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," she said sternly. "You completely disappeared this morning. You didn't even give us a heads up as to what you were doing. Where were you? Why didn't you tell us about your plans face-to-face?"

He chuckled. "My apologies, I woke up in a tree again this morning. By the time I got down, I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, I forgot to give you any details. I hope I didn't make you guys worry too much."

"I wasn't worried. Just next time-"

"Whoa, hold on! Did you just say you weren't worried?" Nora laughed. "So did I just imagine you saying he was kidnapped a few minutes ago? Ren, was I imagining things?"

"I might have heard it too," he said.

Pyrrha felt like her face was on fire. "I… T-That's not..." Her speech devolved into a gibbering mess. "Jaune, don't listen to them! They're leaving out important context!"

"You should've seen her," Nora said with an impish grin on her face. "She was ready to put on a cape and dash off to rescue you. You really shouldn't scare her like that, Jaune. She's a delicate soul."

"I'm not delicate! It was just a hypothetical suggestion! Jaune, you have to believe me!"

"It's alright, Pyrrha," Jaune said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate your concern for me. It's adorable."

It would have been wonderful for Pyrrha if the ground decided to swallow her up right then and there. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this embarrassed.

"So where were you anyway?" Ren asked. "And is there a reason why you're dressed like… that?"

Pyrrha looked down at his attire. She hadn't noticed his clothes when he walked in. It amazed her how she didn't.

Instead of his hoodie, he was wearing a black T-shirt with the words '#freethetail' written in bold white capital letters. A necklace with a cat's face was around his neck. Dangling from his wrists were several bracelets that looked like broken chains. Flyers and pamphlets were spilling out of his pockets.

Jaune stretched his arms. "Do you like it?" he said proudly. "These are the clothes of my brothers and sisters. This is what we clad ourselves in as we march through the streets, fighting against the oppression of all faunus everywhere."

"Oh, you went to a protest?" Nora said. "That's awesome. The getup is kinda weird, but still awesome. I didn't know you were into that sort of thing."

"Neither did I," Jaune said. "But having just walked down the path of enlightenment, I've never felt better. Everything makes sense to me now. My soul is swimming in a river of light. Every paddle fills me with warmth and rapture."

There was a pause as everyone took a moment to absorb what he had just said.

Even Nora looked puzzled by his words, especially when he shuddered in what looked like sexual pleasure, or something close enough to it. "Uh… cool?" she said slowly.

"The clothes are not something I'd expect you to wear," Pyrrha said, trying to be polite. "But I think it's nice to see you in something other than your hoodie for a change."

Jaune let out a disgusted scoff. "Anything is nicer than that wretched thing. I shan't be wearing that hate symbol any longer!"

Had Pyrrha been drinking anything, she would've spat it out all over his new clothes. "Hate symbol?" she spluttered. She couldn't believe those words were coming out of his mouth.

"That's right!" Jaune said. "Pumpkin Pete is just another example of humans mocking the enslavement of faunus by parading one around as a cereal mascot! It's absolutely sickening!"

"... I don't think Pumpkin Pete is a faunus, Jaune."

"Yes he is! He's an anthropomorphic bunny capable of speech, being forced by his greedy human overlords to push their despicable agenda! Why it makes me so angry, I could… I could…!"

Jaune walked over to the desk and picked up a pen. He dropped it on the floor. The pen hit the carpet softly, barely making a noise.

Jaune suddenly staggered back and gripped his chest. His breathing was deep and heavy. "I'm sorry," he gasped. "I'm still trying to balance my animal side. Sometimes I lose control and I… I just go crazy. That was way too violent of me. I hope I didn't scare you."

Pyrrha was at a loss for words. She thought she was used to Jaune's recently strange behaviour. But it seemed every day he kept finding new ways to surprise her.

Jaune quickly recovered and returned to his happy attitude. "But enough about me. What were you guys doing when I was out on my noble crusade."

Pyrrha quickly seized the opportunity to change the conversation to a normal topic. "Studying for Oobleck's history test," she said. "We've been at it pretty much all day.

"All day," Nora echoed grimly.

"You should join us. When it comes to Oobleck, we need all the preparation we can get."

Jaune nodded. "I agree. It's good to remind ourselves of the atrocities committed against faunus by humans."

"Right…" Pyrrha handed him a textbook. "We're on chapter seventeen, though I'm sure we can catch you up to speed with what we've already covered."

Jaune inspected the book. "Yeah, I guess I can spare a few minutes before I- wait a minute! Who wrote this book?"

Pyrrha frowned. "Um, someone called Boris Kleg?"

Jaune flicked through his scroll muttering the name to himself. After a few seconds, he said, "Ah, here we are. Says here he's a human."

"So?"

Jaune moved to fast for Pyrrha to react. He threw the book out of the open window like it was a grenade about to explode.

Pyrrha's head spun. "What?" she yelped. "Jaune, what are you doing?"

"I'm saving us from corruption," he said calmly. "I won't allow your eyes to be tainted by lies and deceit any longer."

"Jaune, that's the official textbook given to us by Oobleck! You have to read it!"

"I have to read it? Are you saying I have no free will? That I must bow to your regime and consume your false truths?"

"... what? No, I'm saying it's compulsory. We all have to read it. I was reading it just now!"

Jaune steeled himself. "I see. Then I apologise for thinking you were trying to push your whip-cracking agenda onto me. Regardless, I won't be reading it. It's written by a human and as we all know, humans are tyrants. They twist the truth in order to suit their diabolical desires for domination."

"I… I don't… what?" Pyrrha cried. How many times had she said 'what' today? "That's completely ridiculous!"

"I am merely stating the facts. Inside every human is a compulsive need for conquest, to smite down those they consider beneath them. Books like this are part of the problem. Humans warp history in their favour, spurring their wicked urges to purge innocent faunus. They make the world a darker place."

"Do you even hear yourself right now? You sound like one of those White Fang radicals! How can you even say that when you're a human yourself-?"

"I hereby forbid books like that from being in this room!" he loudly declared.

"I support this decision one-hundred percent!" Nora immediately said, throwing her copy out the window too.

Pyrrha looked at her in horror. "Nora, you don't honestly agree with what he's saying, do you?" she gasped.

"Of course not, he sounds crazy. But I'll take any excuse I can get to stop reading that thing."

Nora was calling him crazy. Nora. This was worse than she thought.

"Jaune, where is this coming from?" Pyrrha said. "You vanish this morning, you come back dressed like that, and now you're talking like this! What's going on with you?"

Jaune's eyes sparkled. "Well, I wish I could say I figured out the truth all by myself, but I had a little help along the way. Bust as I was saying, books like that are bad for our souls. We don't need that kind of mental enslavement in our lives. If you want to learn some real history, I've got exactly the education you need right here. Don't worry, I've got enough for all of you."

He handed out the flyers in his pocket to them. Pyrrha inspected it. Faunus life - The Untold Truth was the title. The cover art featured a faunus in shackles getting tomatoes thrown at it by humans.

She flicked through the pages. She didn't need to read the whole thing to know it was a load of nonsense- with the way all the humans had devil horns, and how they sacrificed a faunus on an altar underneath a banner with the SDC logo on it, bowing in worship as they did so.

"Jaune, this all reads like propaganda," Ren said, voicing her thoughts exactly. "Not even good propaganda. I'm not convinced in the slightest."

"Although the part where the elephant faunus sprays that human with lava from his trunk is pretty cool," Nora hummed as she read through flyer.

"It's not propaganda, it's the truth," Jaune insisted. "Blake told me herself. This right here is the real deal-"

"Did you say Blake told you?" Pyrrha sharply interrupted. "She was with you today?"

"Oh yes," he said eagerly. "She woke up in a tree next to me this morning. She got me down and took me to the rally. I had my doubts at first, but she showed me the light. She helped me understand what I am. Now look at me- I am the very definition of acceptance."

Pyrrha changed her mind. Blake was absolutely not a trustworthy person. She didn't know what she had said to Jaune during their little outing, but if it made him start acting like this it couldn't have been healthy.

"She's incredible, you know," he sighed, speaking in a dream-like state. "She gets me. The two of us are so alike. I can't believe I didn't notice it before. When I look at her, it's like I'm looking in a mirror."

"A broken mirror," Nora muttered under her breath.

"Anyway, I can't stay for too long," he said. "I'm meeting up with her again in a few minutes. We're gonna throw darts at a picture of some red-haired guy with a mask, and then go shopping for books. You should read some of the stuff she owns. Her collection is amazing."

He was going to see her again? Oh no...

"Jaune, perhaps I'm being too judgemental in saying this, but I don't think it's a good idea to spend time with Blake at the moment," Pyrrha said gently. "I think she might be a bad influence on you."

Jaune looked like she had just slapped him. "Bad influence? How could you say that about her?" he gasped.

"I agree with Pyrrha," Ren said. "We've all noticed you've been acting strange recently, and it's no coincidence that Blake's always by your side when you have your little moments. It's likely she's the cause of all this."

"Has Blake been sharing some strange-looking needles with you?" Nora asked. "Because honestly, I know several brands of energy drinks that can give you the same effect as them, and are probably cheaper too. Oh, and legal. That's important."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he exclaimed. "Blake is my rock! If it weren't for her, I'd be lost and scared!"

"Blake's a good person, don't get us wrong," Pyrrha quickly followed up. "But surely you can understand our concerns. We're only saying this because we're looking out for you. This behaviour… it isn't you. We're just trying to get the old you back, if you know what we mean."

Betrayal flitted across Jaune's face. He looked at the three of them puzzled and bewildered, as if he was the only normal person in the room. His mouth opened and closed, struggling to form words.

Then his eyes lit up. "The old me…" he whispered. "Yes… I know exactly what you mean..."

Pyrrha stared at him worryingly. "Jaune?"

Jaune's body relaxed. A small smile full of pity stretched across his lips. "I understand your fears," he said gently. "I don't blame you for it. I was like you once. It's simply your kind's nature to be suspicious of things you do not understand."

The three of them blinked at the same time. "Uh… what?" Nora said.

"Blake's been the only one who truly understands what I'm going through - what I'm transforming into," he continued. "I knew I couldn't go to you guys for help. Right from the start, I knew you'd turn me away. Don't take it personally- any of your species would. Years of controlling us have made you fearful of what we're capable of. You'd label me a monster and cast me aside so that your self-perceived status quo can be restored."

Suddenly, Jaune pulled them all into a hug. His long arms gave him enough reach to squeeze them all together. Pyrrha and Ren both had their faces buried against his shoulders. Poor Nora was squashed somewhere in the middle, no doubt suffocating.

"But as I said, I don't blame you," he said in a tone that made him sound like he was speaking to a group of children. "You can mistreat and distrust me and Blake for what we are as much as you want. It won't make a difference. I'll still love you despite your kind's inherent flaws. Prejudice won't stop me. I'll unite our two species together no matter how much you resist me. You guys deserve it.

Pyrrha tried to say something, but having your face shoved into someone's shoulder tended to disrupt one's speech. She could only manage muffled grunts. Ren and Nora weren't faring much better.

The door opened. Blake stood in the doorway holding the picture of the man Jaune was talking about, as well as several darts. She grinned devilishly. "I've got them all nice and sharpened," she told Jaune, gesturing to the darts.

Jaune finally released them. Pyrrha and Ren struggled for breath, while Nora looked to be nearly unconscious on the floor. "I have to go now," he said. "I hope that one day you can put your past grievances aside and allow acceptance into your heart. Until then, as Brother Manadook once said: walk with the pack by your side."

Jaune put his hands together and gave a small bow, before heading off with Blake.

The three of them watched him go with stunned expressions. It was like a stranger who looked like Jaune had walked in, preached a bunch of madness, then skipped off leaving them with more questions than answers.

"Did… did he just call us a bunch of racist humans?" Pyrrha eventually said.

"That's what it sounded like to me," Ren mused. "At least he tried putting it in a polite way."

"For the record, if this is how I sound when you guys say I'm talking crazy, I apologise and I'll never do it again," Nora said, still on the floor.

"I still stand by what I said," Pyrrha murmured. "Blake is somehow responsible for his behaviour. I have no idea how though."

"We can't exactly forbid him from seeing her," Nora said. "We're not his parents."

"Then what are we to do?"

"Brace ourselves," Ren said quietly. "Because until we figure out what's going on, I have a feeling that things are only going to get stranger."

Ren didn't need to be the brains of the group to figure that out…