Notice:
I mentioned before that come June I might have to take some time off writing due to a big exhibition at work, which will have me working from 6am to 9pm each night and sleeping in a hotel. I now have the specific dates. There will be no updates from Monday 4th June to Friday 8th of June. This will affect three fics – Forged Destiny, Service with a Smile and White Sheep. My weekend fics will be unaffected. The weekday ones will have no updates that week. Rather than miss a rotation, SWS will simply appear the following week.
This is just to let you all know.
Oh, and well noticed by some that Kevin the Grimm Dragon was actually mention in chapter two of this story, and specifically as a "Dragon". Though some aspects of this fic got lost around the middle, the dragon scene was planned all the way back then. ;)
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Kegi Springfield
Chapter 68
Ilia wasn't sure how the attack had gone wrong quite so quickly.
Oh, she was aware that some of the White Fang in Vale weren't exactly well-trained, having neither the experience nor the drive that their brothers and sisters in Menagerie had, but Adam had prepared for that, and whatever she thought about him as a person, he was a good leader. The plan he'd drafted with was surprisingly detailed and well-orchestrated, even if he never explained how he'd come up with some aspects or planned it quite so well. He'd only mumbled something about a woman and autumn for some reason.
Either way, it should have worked. It was a good plan. Sure, no plan survived contact with the enemy and all that, but it shouldn't have deviated quite this much.
"Rargh!" Ilia growled, cutting through a Beowolf with her whip. She twisted to the left to dodge another and was forced back as a hammer rushed in for her face. She flipped away and landed in a crouch. As her opponent settled down, Ilia's eye twitched. "Why are the Grimm ignoring you?" she hissed. "Why are they only going after me?"
"You know, I'm not sure," the girl, Nora, said with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's convenient, though."
"Maybe for you…"
A shadow cast on Ilia from behind but it was the fetid stench of hot breath that alerted her to the Ursa first. She dove to the side as its claws came crashing down, slashed the throat of a Beowolf, ducked a hammer and darted for the cover of what looked like an auditorium.
"You can't run away from me," the girl behind her howled.
Ilia wasn't so sure. In fact, she intended to give it a damn good shot. The invasion was screwed anyway, with any chance of getting Blake back all but sunk. Adam was gods knew where, though she suspected it involved a dragon and a stomach, while the rest of their forces were pretty much scattered. Ilia might have been loyal to the cause, but she drew the line at dying for it pointlessly. That wouldn't help the White Fang any.
It turned out her earlier approximation had been accurate, for it was a large, open assembly hall she'd run into. Her eyes scanned it quickly, noticing the stage and the doors behind it which she ran to. Halfway across, the door behind her slammed open, heralding the arrival of her pursuer. She was fast, not to mention tenacious. Wasn't it enough to have her run away with her tail tucked between her legs? Apparently not.
Ilia had just reached the door ahead – and freedom – when it opened.
"Nora?" the black-haired figure on the other end called. He saw her. "Wait, you're-"
It was all he had time to say before Ilia collided with him, bowling the two of them over. She drove her knees and elbows everywhere in the hopes it would give her an easy out, but Blake's teammate wasn't a huntsman for nothing and managed to catch her ankle when she tried to run. Ilia landed hard and kicked him off, scrabbling to her feet with him in hot pursuit.
"I'm fleeing, damn it. Leave me alone!"
"Wait," he called, oddly alarmed, "Not that way!"
Ilia ignored him and pushed through the back door, out into the open air once more – and right into someone waiting for her. Or something, rather. Ilia bounced off its chin and fell onto her ass. When she looked up to see what it was, her eyes face went white.
Literally white, thanks to her unique physiology. Her chameleon heritage turned her skin the colour of paper.
"Oh," she mused.
"Uh-Oh," Blake's teammate echoed, catching up.
"Renny, you caught her!" Nora cheered, barrelling through. "Nice – oh… um, good dragon. Who's a good boy? Or girl, I can't tell."
"Nora, I don't think that's a good idea."
Ilia didn't think so either, though she wasn't sure how those two even had the breath to talk with, seeing as hers was coming out a little on the hyperventilated side. Was that blood on the dragon's teeth? That certainly looked like blood, and my, what big teeth those were. All the better to rip her in two, she could imagine it responding.
How had their plan gone this badly again?
The dragon snorted once, blowing out a great gust of hot air that pinned Ilia's hair to her scalp and caused the clothing of the two with her to flap angrily. Her entire body began to shake as its attention focused solely on her, its eyes seeming to light up.
"Stop!" a familiar voice cried out, filled with panic. Blake? "The mask," Blake yelled. "It's after the White Fang! It wants the mask!"
Her mask…? It sounded ridiculous, but right now she'd have torn off her clothing if she thought it would save her life. She brought a hand up but froze as its jaws parted, revealing just how many serrated teeth it had. Ilia whimpered, unable to move in the slightest.
Luckily, someone else was. The boy on Blake's team pushed her down and snatched the mask off her face. Against all odds, the dragon's attention did move – switching from her to him as it roared in anger and lunged forward.
"REN!" Blake cried.
Ren dove out of the way, somehow not frozen in panic like her or the ginger-haired one. The dragon gave chase but he was quick on his feet and darted back behind the auditorium, luring it away. "I'll be fine," he called. "I'll lead it away."
"Are you insane?" Blake howled, finally reaching Ilia and the other girl.
"Trust me!"
Ilia wasn't sure how he could say that when he was being chased by the largest Grimm she'd ever seen. The ginger-haired girl didn't seem too bothered though, and placed a hand on Blake's shoulder to stop her giving chase.
"Ren will be fine," she said.
"Against that thing?"
"He isn't going to fight it, silly. He'll use his Semblance once it's away from Beacon."
Blake relaxed, presumably knowing more about this Ren's Semblance than Ilia did. Whatever it was, it must have been something that helped him hide, since she doubted anyone could actually fight that thing. The fact that it was here and no longer chasing Adam probably meant her leader had become her ex-leader. Frankly, she was just glad to be alive.
Blake's attention turned onto her and that quickly changed. Ilia wilted. "Ilia. Do you still intend to fight?"
Surrounded, exhausted, on her knees and after having just stared death in the face, surrender felt like the only real option. Adam had convinced her that attacking Beacon would be easy. How the hell were they supposed to know Beacon had a freaking dragon on its side?
"Well, Ilia?" Blake asked.
"You can resist if you want to," Blake's teammate offered. Her hammer showed itself once more. "Go on. I dare you."
"I surrender, I surrender!"
"Aww…"
/-/
Ren liked to think himself a calm individual, and that was even before his Semblance got involved. While it could dull his emotions and bring calm at the worst of times, his general state of being before that was also calm, so it didn't often feel like too much of an emotional shift. He was calm when the Grimm attacked. He was calm when Nora walked out of the shower naked a week ago. He was even calm after months of Yang snoring like an angle grinder in the bed next to his.
But being chased by a Grimm Dragon through the Emerald Forest? Well, he felt he had an excuse for not feeling quite so calm this time.
He'd slipped the mask onto his face to free up a hand and keep the dragon on his tail, and on his tail it certainly was for he could hear trees being knocked down behind him as he ran through the forest, cutting down any plants in his way with his weapons. Jaune might have summoned the thing and could probably control it to some degree – and Ren definitely wanted an explanation there – but the thing was still a danger to Beacon, if only because of its size and strength.
The White Fang were in full flight with their leader dead and the Grimm were being driven back. With that in mind, having this thing lumbering around trying to kill the routed faunus was going to cause more trouble than good. Not to mention Jaune would be hard pressed to explain it away. Someone had to deal with the dragon, and since killing it would be hard to impossible, the only real option was to lure it away.
As for why he'd opted to play the bait? Well, that was because as long as he kept running, there really wasn't any risk. His Semblance would render him all but invisible to it. As much as he hated to play the hero, it was better him than Nora or anyone else he might feel guilty about later.
"You're persistent," he panted, glancing back. "I'll give you that." His eyes turned ahead as he tried to mentally reproduce a map in his head. Was this far enough away? Could he ditch it here? Probably not. The spires of Beacon were still within sight, and it would just fly back. Perhaps the ruins where they'd first found the relics during initiation would be a good choice. The way back to Beacon would be obscured by the cliff-face they'd been thrown off.
The journey was not an easy one. Huntsmen were bred for fast bursts of action rather than endurance – or he was, at any rate. He could move at speeds to rival Ruby, but marathons weren't his thing. This was about ten times worse since he couldn't run slower than a sprint without being eaten alive. His face and clothes were covered in sweat and his breath came out in sharp blasts.
He'd used his Semblance a few times, too. Just enough to duck out of its sight for a second or two or to make it pause, but he turned it off before it got confused and turned back – resuming the chase once he'd put a little more distance between them. Low on stamina and now low on aura, Ren staggered into the clearing he could recall from so long ago. There were no Grimm to be seen, likely because they'd all been drawn to Beacon.
Weirdly enough, there were several cargo containers present. He ignored them, hearing the dragon coming from behind. Was this far enough? It had to be. A quick glance back revealed that Beacon was out of sight and he'd have to rely on that. He literally couldn't run any further.
Crawling to one of the containers, Ren slumped down and pushed his back against it, sat out in the open. No one could miss him, and yet when the dragon tore into the clearing, it paused. Its great head swept over the area, eyes passing over Ren more than once as it looked back and forth. An almost petulant whine came from its lips, before its head shot up, looking further ahead. It barked a roar and charged on, bypassing Ren entirely and carrying on in a straight line, no doubt assuming he hadn't stopped.
The plan had worked. Thank goodness. Ren's grasp of consciousness faded as exhaustion set in. He only just had the presence of mind to surround himself with his Semblance as he had when Nora and he camped in the wilderness. It would keep him safe from the Grimm, and really, what other threat was out here?
He'd just catch a nap… for an hour or two. Nora would hold the fort. Then, after that, he could get his explanations from Jaune. Ren slipped down the container and hit the grass, passed out from exhaustion.
Had he remained awake, he might have noticed several figures enter the clearing and look around nervously. "Is it gone?" one asked.
"Well it's not here, is it? It'd be killing us if it was."
"Man, don't even joke about that. I heard it coming and thought we were done for."
"Silence," a gruffer figure growled. "The invasion's a bust and Adam is dead. We need to get out of here before we're next. Gather up what you can and get the Bullheads working. We'll slip out while everyone is still confused."
"Hey, what about this one?" one of the men asked, nudging Ren with one foot. "He's not in uniform."
Ren grumbled but didn't awake. "Nora, please, I'm tired." he groaned, turning over.
"He's got a mask and the damn monster was trying to kill him. We're not leaving a brother out here to die alone. Load him on and let's go. He can get some first aid once we get back home."
"Yes, sir."
/-/
As the sun dawned over Beacon, it dawned over a school that had been through hell. Bodies littered the academy, many of them White Fang, but far too many also of students, some from Beacon, and others from Haven, Shade and Atlas. There were civilians, too, those who had come to visit family and been caught in the crossfire. It could have been worse, but it could also have been much better. Already the media was having a field day, whipping up hate for the White Fang, faunus and generally playing the blame game.
Normally, Ozpin would have been there to mediate on that, but, well…
He had died, too.
With school cancelled, at least for the short term, and the city trying desperately to recover itself, Jaune sat in the Emerald Forest and waited for the moment he'd been dreading for so long. There was a Beowolf nuzzling his hand and laid beside him. It had sensed his panic and come to try and alleviate it, but had fallen asleep under his gentle petting. He sat on a rock next to it, stroking its head like one might a large dog.
It was that surreal scene his friends found him in, the lot of them pausing briefly to take in the strangeness before they continued. The Beowolf shifted, but sensing his calm didn't stir. Ruby paused a few metres away and cocked her head to the side.
"You know, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that."
"I guess this is proof if anyone still needed it," Blake agreed. "Though seeing him transform in front of my own eyes doesn't leave much in the way of doubt."
Jaune didn't miss how none of them came as close to him as they normally would. They were nervous, anxious, and perhaps uncertain whether they could trust him anymore. It hurt, but he could understand it. The Grimm had just ravaged Beacon Academy, and here he was, the man they'd caught time and time again fighting alongside the White Fang.
Still, he looked up to meet Ruby's eyes. "Is Yang alright?"
"She's going to live," Ruby said, and he relaxed a little at that. "Dad took her back home to recover. The hospitals in Vale are all filled to the brim and Beacon's is kind of in ruins, so he thought Patch would be the best bet. There's a smaller hospital there."
"Good." He noticed one other missing. "Where's Weiss?"
"Her sister said she had to have a meeting with her dad," Ruby explained. "He came all the way from Atlas to check up on her. She said she'd meet up with me afterwards."
"Does she know…?"
"About you? Not yet. I thought you should be the one to tell her. You're her partner, after all."
Yeah, he probably should. She deserved to know. As too, did the people before him, he supposed. Nora, Blake, Ruby, Sun and Ilia – though he wasn't sure why the last two was here. He looked at them pointedly until Blake noticed.
"Ilia surrendered to us. Most of the White Fang have been taken to prison cells, but I figured we'd need what she knew."
Jaune wasn't sure what she meant by that, but her subtle nod to the blonde beside her prompted him. "And Sun?"
Blake sighed. "He followed me."
"I resent that!"
"It's close enough, but no, there was another reason we brought him, and it's why I decided to keep Ilia out of trouble." Blake explained. She nudged Sun with one arm. "Tell him what you saw."
The monkey faunus nodded and stepped forward. "Right, so during the invasion I was fighting off some White Fang when they suddenly started to run away. I wasn't sure why at first, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out when that dragon was romping around."
"Kevin," Jaune nodded.
"What?"
"His name is Kevin."
"It has a name?"
"He's not an `it`," Jaune said, frowning. "He's my sister's pet."
It looked like Sun had no idea how to respond to that one, though Blake saved him the effort with a meaningful cough and another elbow to the ribs. "Uh, yeah, right. So, I saw your teammate – the Ren guy – being chased by the dragon, and since I knew he wasn't a baddie, I figured I'd try and give him a hand."
"To try and get into Blake's good books," Jaune said nodding.
"Yea- No, what? No! Because I'm a nice guy!" Sun flushed. "A-Anyway, the point is I tried to keep up but they were too fast, and by the time I finally found them, it was to see your teammate being loaded into one of the White Fang bullheads."
"They took him prisoner?"
"It didn't look like it was a prisoner, man. I tried to catch their attention but I was too late. They took off to the east."
"That's why I couldn't find him," Nora growled. She looked furious, though there was no missing the relief in her eyes, too. She'd been searching for Ren for hours now, and the longer she went without finding him, the more everyone had started to worry. As bad as this was, it was proof he wasn't dead.
It was a relief, but one muted with worry. At this point, several hours having passed by, Ren could be anywhere on Remnant. That was bad.
"But why would the White Fang believe Ren was one of them?" Ruby asked.
"He had Ilia's mask," Blake said.
"But still!"
"And then there's that time we infiltrated the White Fang recruitment," Nora said. "We said he was a sloth faunus, remember? And that his eyes were his feature."
Blake pinched the bridge of her nose. "And since that was recruitment for this invasion, it makes sense the same people would be here. They probably recognised him." Blake looked to Ilia. "This is why I thought it best to keep Ilia free. She knows more about the White Fang's operations than i currently do. Where would they have taken him? Please tell me you have a base in Vale."
The chameleon girl, who had been silent to this moment, wilted even further. "Um, no."
"Where?" Nora demanded.
"Menagerie."
Blake covered her face with one hand, while Nora kicked the dirt angrily, muttering something about no wonder her scroll wouldn't reach his.
Jaune stood. "Well, I said I'd explain everything once we were all here, but since Ren isn't, I guess we can hold off until he's bac-" He was cut off by the handle of Ruby's scythe pushing him back down onto the rock.
"Sit," Ruby said sternly. "Talk."
He winced. "Wouldn't you rather we wait for Weiss?"
"We'll fill her in," Nora said, arms crossed.
"What about those two?" he tried as a last ditch effort, pointing to Sun and Ilia.
"Ilia saw you transform and Sun can probably figure it out from you saying that dragon was a pet," Blake said snidely.
"Or the fact he's cuddling a Beowolf," Sun pointed out.
"You're not getting out of this, Jaune," Ruby said. "You promised us an explanation and we're here to receive it."
He had, and he did owe it to them. It was just that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the right way to explain. He'd been running through scenarios all morning to no avail, and every hour without a solution only brought more stress and fear. Would they hate him for this? Would they cast him out?
Honestly, he wouldn't blame them if they did.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"Everything."
"Everything is too much. I'll answer any questions you have."
"Who are you?" Blake asked.
"I'm Jaune Arc."
"I mean who are you, really?"
"I really am Jaune Arc," he said. "Or rather I'm Jaune Salem Arc, but I doubt the middle name means anything to you." He could see that it didn't, but they still exchanged glances to see if anyone recognised it.
"Alright," Blake said, trying a different tack. "What are you?"
A better question. Jaune winced. "I'm a person. I'm half-human and half…"
"Grimm?" Ruby offered.
His silence was telling.
"How the hell does that work?" Sun asked. "Don't tell me someone actually decided to, you know, do it with a Beowolf or something. I've heard about fetishists, but that's a little out there." His eyes widened as he stared at the Beowolf beside Jaune. "Is that your dad!?"
"NO! It's not like that! My Mom is… well, she's a humanoid Grimm, I suppose you'd say. Dad is totally human, though. I'm half and half."
"You said your mother worked in real estate," Ruby pointed out.
"Actually, I only said she owned a lot of land. You were the ones to say real estate." It was semantics at its best and they knew it, glaring at him, unimpressed. "And she does own a lot of land. Just, well, it's ninety-five per cent of Remnant."
"Ninety-five per cent?" Blake worked the number over in her head. "Isn't that the statistic given to how much land is lost to the Grimm?"
"Y-Yeah. My Mom kind of owns it."
Blake's eyes narrowed. "Who is your mother?"
"Juniper Salem Arc." The name meant nothing and he could see the follow-up question coming. He beat them to it, eyes closing with a sigh. "Queen of the Grimm."
They exploded into questions. Jaune caught none of them and could barely keep up with the voices, even as they grew into desperate shouts, each rattling off their own accusations. He sat through it, head dipped toward the ground as he waited for them to calm down and process what he'd just told them.
"You could still run," Remy pointed out.
He could, but he didn't. He didn't want to run away anymore.
"Let me get this straight," Blake said, fighting for sanity. "Your mother is the ruler of all the Grimm? I wasn't even aware the Grimm had leaders. I doubt anyone is."
"Ozpin is, or was," he said. "He told me."
"Why didn't he tell anyone else?"
"I don't know. The point is, I'm the Prince of the Grimm – but I didn't want to be. I wanted to be a huntsman and a normal person. That's why I came to Beacon and hid what and who I am. That's why I'm here."
"Are we expected to believe that?"
"It's true!"
"Blake, Jaune did help us in Beacon," Ruby whispered.
"I know, but… but he hid what he was for so long. He also helped the White Fang and Roman, remember? We already know he's a master of disguise. There's no reason he couldn't be playing us even now."
"Would he need to?" Sun asked. "Last I remember he was strong enough to kick all our asses anyway."
The realisation hit them hard and Blake and Ilia took a step back, suddenly wary of being alone with him in the Emerald Forest, where he would have access to so many Grimm. Jaune held both hands up, empty-handed, showing his intent for peace.
"I only worked with Roman because he knew the truth of who I am. He blackmailed me and threatened to reveal me. I… I wanted to stay in Beacon. I wanted to stay on my team." He went on to explain all the times he'd worked with the White Fang, not to mention how he'd done his best not to hurt them, even going so far as to let them escape each and every time.
"This is… This is insane." Blake rubbed her forehead to fight off a headache. "It sounds like something out of a bad romance story. It's Aladdin but instead of being a pauper, he's a Grimm. I just don't know how we're expected to trust you to be on our side considering what you are."
"Isn't that a little rich coming from you?" Nora asked.
Blake flinched. "N-Nora?"
"Look, I'm not sure either," Nora sighed. "But I trusted you when you told us you used to be in the White Fang. I trusted you and I was proved right, because you'd changed. This is a little different, I know. Being in the White Fang is a choice, while being a Grimm isn't, and everything we know says they're evil. But Jauney has been our friend for a long time. I don't want to imagine that was all a lie."
"It wasn't," he promised.
"And him and Ren are bros."
"We are. I even wanted to hook him up with one of my sisters!"
"I changed my mind. He's a traitor."
Ruby giggled, relaxing a little now that Nora had broken the ominous atmosphere. "I don't know what to think either, but I want to at least give Jaune a chance to prove he's on our side. If we tell anyone, we'll lose that forever. I don't want to regret making the wrong choice. And…" She trailed of. "And I think this is a decision everyone should make. It's not fair for me to make a decision that affects Yang – and Weiss isn't here, nor is Ren."
"And Pyrrha," Jaune said.
Everyone stiffened. It was as though he'd taken the mood and brutally murdered it.
"What?"
"Jaune," Blake hissed, looking toward Ruby with some worry. The younger girl looked devastated. "Didn't you hear the official results? They found Pyrrha's blood on top of the tower. She… Pyrrha is…"
"She's dead," Ruby whimpered.
Jaune blinked.
He then took out his scroll, opened the messages section and looked down at it.
He then looked back up.
"She doesn't look dead."
Ruby froze. "Eh?"
Jaune turned the scroll around and held it out, and despite their earlier fear of being near him, they all crowded in to see. In the image, which was attached to a text he'd received that morning, Pyrrha sat in a large, stone seat at a stone table, a plate of food sat before her. She was smiling nervously – very nervously – which might have had something to do with the eldritch abomination that was his mother stood next to her, one arm around Pyrrha's shoulder and the other holding her scroll out for a selfie.
Beneath it was the caption; "Red-headed grandbabies!"
It had been sent to both him and his father.
"P-Pyrrha!?" Ruby tore the scroll from his hands and stared at it, trying to figure out if it was faked or not. When she couldn't deny it, her head tore up to meet his, eyes filled with tears. "Where is she?"
"The Grimmlands."
"Why?"
"I made Cinder promise not to hurt any of you."
"She looks horrified," Blake noted.
"Big Sis is very literal with her promises. I might have forgotten to include emotional harm in the promise."
"We need to save her." Ruby decided.
Jaune nodded. "I know."
"We need to save Ren, too," Nora said.
"I know."
"What about Beacon?" Sun asked.
"What about it?" Nora laughed. "It's shut down for months while it repairs and Miss Goodwitch becomes the new headmistress. It's not like we'll be skipping class or anything. We can go to Menagerie and save Ren."
"We need to save Pyrrha first," Ruby growled.
"Ren!"
"Pyrrha!"
"REN!"
"Stop, stop, stop." Blake strode between the two and pushed them apart. "Nora, you can't go to Menagerie – and the others certainly can't."
"What? Why not?"
"Because it's a place for faunus only, and the White Fang have a large garrison there. You'd all stand out."
"But Renny…"
"Is absolutely safe so long as they believe him a part of the White Fang," Blake reasoned. "He might even be able to book his way onto a ship and sail out himself. It's not like he's being kept a prisoner there or anything. Ren isn't an idiot, Nora. I'm sure he's fine."
Nora brightened up a little. "That's true, but what if he gets in trouble later?"
"We could go," Sun offered. He pointed to himself, Blake and Ilia. "We're all faunus."
Blake sighed. "No, Sun, that's the worst idea I've ever-"
"That's perfect!" Nora crowed. "Ruby, Jaune – these three will go to Menagerie and we'll go save Pyrrha, okay?"
"What? Nora, no, I didn't-"
"Sounds good," Ruby said. "Jaune?"
"It's not a bad plan, but I think we should go to the Grimmlands as a full group. I'm not sure how we'll get Pyrrha out, but it won't be easy."
"What do you suggest?"
The fact they were asking his opinion caused him to smile a little more. Maybe it wasn't full trust yet, but they were giving him a chance and that mattered. He wouldn't mess it up. "Mom always had my Uncle tell me about all of her contacts and stuff so I'd know how to rule one day. The headmaster of the school in Mistral is on her side."
"The headmaster of Haven?" Ruby asked, alarmed.
"Yeah. If we go to him and show him who I am, he'll help us get transport to the Grimmlands. If we go do that, Blake and her party can rescue Ren and meet us in Mistral before we go to face my Mom. Menagerie is close to Mistral, right?"
"It is," Blake said. She then frowned. "But I still haven't agreed to even go there!"
"Great! Once you get back, you should be able to call us since we'll be in Mistral. We can arrange to meet up and rescue Pyrrha."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Nope." Nora slapped a hand on Blake's shoulder and smiled. She then gave Jaune and Ruby a thumbs up. "I like the plan, except for one thing. Can we trust her?"
Ilia quailed under the sudden attention.
"I… I won't betray Blake," she murmured. "I'll make amends, I promise."
"Blake and I can keep an eye on her," Sun said with a little sigh. "If this Ren guy really is held by the White Fang, having a high ranking one with us will help. Besides, I feel an unexplainable kinship with her."
Ilia scowled at him. "We're nothing alike. You stalked my Blake!"
A bead of sweat ran down the side of Ruby's face. "Yeah, I think I can see the similarity…" She sighed and looked to Jaune, and after a moment's hesitation stepped over to place a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, surprised. "I believe you," she said. "For what it's worth."
"Ruby…"
"I think everyone else will, too, but they need time to see it. You have to remember I was with you and saw you fight to protect Beacon. They only saw the end of it. They need time." And you need to continue to prove yourself, she didn't say. She didn't have to. He knew.
Jaune nodded, fighting back his relieved tears. He understood more than they realised. If it took time, he was prepared to give them time. He just hoped he'd be able to prove to them how committed he was. Saving Ren and Pyrrha would be a good first step. From there? Well, they'd take it how it came.
"I'm just worried about Yang," Ruby said. "If we're heading off like this and she wakes up to see us gone, don't you think she'll be hurt? And her arm…"
"Yang will be okay, Ruby."
"You think so?"
"I know she'll be okay." He smiled confidently at her. "I made sure of it."
/-/
"Hey!"
Yang mumbled. Everything was dark. She felt exhausted, nauseous, and also confused. The last thing she could remember was a flash of red, with little before or after it. Beacon, an attack, red, red, more red, and then – searing agony. Her eyes clenched shut, even if they were already closed.
"Hey, you're awake. Hey!"
Ruby? No, it wasn't quite the same voice. Where was she? She was alive, that much was obvious, but not much else came to mind. She was on a bed of some kind with soft linen under and above her. It felt oddly familiar, and not like her bed at Beacon – even more familiar, somehow. There was a fresh scent of pinewood and snow.
Home? Was she at home? Had everything just been a nightmare.
"Hey, listen. Wake up!"
There was that annoying voice again, high-pitched and insistent, chirping away. It was clearer now, clear enough to make out the words. She probably should wake up, shouldn't she? It was pointless to try and figure out where she was otherwise.
One eye cracked open. It was late evening and thankfully not too bright. The illumination from the window was enough to see by without blinding her, and true to her earlier thoughts she was back home. This was her room back in Patch. She could hear snuffling outside the door, the tell-tale sound of Zwei trying to sniff at the bottom of her door for a way in. Down below, under the floorboards, she could hear her old man humming an off-key tune.
Everything was normal, except for the fact she was in Patch at all. Hadn't she been in Beacon just a moment ago? She scanned her surroundings for an answer and spotted the dresser next to her, covered in bright cards wishing her well and a fast recovery. One was bright red and smelled of roses. She knew it was Ruby's right away. Another was covered in so much glitter it had spilled out onto her dresser and the carpet, making it sparkle.
Nora. No questions there.
"Ugh, what happened to me?" she wondered, raising a hand to cup her face.
It didn't reach.
It wasn't that she'd not moved it, but even when she had, there was no hand on her skin. Yang started to tremble, reality slowly dawning. Almost against her will, her eyes trailed down. Her arm. Her right arm… it was…
Yang trembled some more. She bit her lip to cut off a scream, and whined through the pain as she bit so hard blood ran down her chin. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't ball her eyes out and break down. It… It was going to be okay. Everything would be okay.
She'd just… she'd just lost her arm…
That was…
That was fine…
Right…?
"Hey, don't cry."
The voice again. Yang looked around frantically, but the room was empty. It wasn't even like there were many places someone could hide, what with her bed being pushed up against the window. She always liked to watch the stars as she fell asleep. The only conceivable spot for a person would be beside her bed, but there was no one.
"W-Who's there?" she asked. Yang hated the fact her voice trembled. "H-Hello?"
"Hello."
Behind her! Yang spun in the bed, wincing as she slammed her stump down and sent a jolt of pain up through it. She could have sworn the voice came from behind – right between and behind her ears. But there was no one, just a blank wall.
"No one…" She groaned. "Am I losing my mind?"
"I don't think so," the voice replied. "I'd know."
She hadn't imagined that – not a chance. Yang tore the sheet atop her away and tried to climb out of bed, only for her legs to be too weak. Outside the door, Zwei started to become even more agitated, running back and forth with his nose pressed to the bottom of the door, casting a shadow through the crack of light visible there.
"Who are you?" Yang hissed. "Where are you? Why can't I see you?"
"Do you want to see me?"
Yang gasped for breath. "Yes."
"Okay. Look down at your arm."
Yang did so. Her fingers opened and closed.
"Not that one, silly," the voice giggled – and this time, somehow, it wasn't behind and between her ears but audibly separate. It was down at her side, by her wounded arm. Tentatively, hesitantly, Yang raised the stump up and turned it over, so that she could see the severed end.
There, poking out from it, was a black carapaced insect with sharp mandibles, six legs and bright red eyes. It clicked them at her.
"Hey there, partner," it chirped. "Nice to meet'cha!"
Yang screamed.
Oh my. Well, that's a thing.
So yes, my own take on V4 and V5, though obviously set for a comedy story. Ren has become our damsel in distress, trapped in Menagerie, whereas we have the Blake Appreciation Society set to go and rescue him. Will Sun and Ilia work through their differences and similarities? Will Blake survive it? And can the others manage a rescue of Pyrrha from the Queen of the Grimm herself?
Just so you know, we're not "done" with Jaune's reveal as Hentacle. If it's not obvious, this isn't them all saying "It's fine and we trust you", it's them saying "We have bigger things to worry about, but we're watching you". They are suspicious, and Weiss, Ren and Yang aren't even aware of it yet. I know some people were worried I'd brush it under the rug or have them just be all "It's fine" like they did when Blake finally rejoins them in S5, despite all the trouble, etc. But no, don't worry, I won't.
Right now, Nora isn't sure, Blake doesn't trust him and Ruby is trusting him out of hope and friendship. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't see any of them making an absolute decision now. They've known him too long and the secret is too big to process in a single moment. They're going to be dealing with this as they go.
Also, a lot of people have asked. This is very much not meant as the "halfway" point in this story, so please don't fear there might be another 60 chapters left. Once this story is done - and that won't be anytime soon, but once it is done - the one to be replaced in favour of this one WILL be Professor Arc's continuation.
V4 and 5 didn't really give me the "direction" I was hoping for, but it gives enough for me to make up my own story line from.
Next Chapter: 31st May
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur