The muffled cries of Patchy meant nothing to Neo as she slowly jabbed the child with her blade, twisting it as it went further into her skin. She expected a swift death, but Patchy failed to remember what her mother did as a profession in her younger years. While she knew the woman to be sadistic, this form of punishment was a bit too much. But, if she was going to die here, Patchy decided to make it worth a loss. Besides, there were some issues she needed to get off her chest.
"I love him too, you know." She stated, her voice raspy with a trickle of blood dripping from, her mouth. Neo stopped playing around and grabbed the young witch by her hair and tossed her violently aside. Rising slowly from the floor, Patchy coughed up a bit of blood before raising her head to face her mother. "But...not the same way you do." A forceful kick to her stomach knocked the wind out of the little blonde. She didn't fight back, which was surprising considering how well she was known to hold her own. Instead, she took the beating with no resistance. Again, as she tried to regain her breath, Neo towered over her with a venomous glare.
"I suppose, a better phrase to describe how I feel about him is..."
Neo's fists clenched, she punched the young one in a last attempt to shut her up, she drew her sword to finish her off before she could say anything else. She grabbed Patchy by her hair and kept her on her knees while raising her head to look one another in the eye. Neo positioned her blade to the witch's neck and readied herself for a single swing. All the while, Patchy merely grinned. Irritating the pink-haired woman even more, she raised her weapon flashing an eerie grin of her own.
"You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family." As the blade was to sever the bond between her neck and head, it stopped almost as soon as she said that quote. While the expression on Neo's face shifted to confusion, the anger lingered.
"?" Neo's blade tip pressed against the witch's neck while the wielder gave a glare that demanded answers.
Smiling, Patchy answered. "So now, you decide to listen?"
Though, with no intention of listening to this child's rants, Neo once again readied her blade to decapitate the witch, only to have a hand forcefully stop hers. She turned to see Jaune, his head bandaged, but with a frightening aura emitting from his being. Neo hesitated before trying to remove his grip and finish what she intended to do. Jaune merely brought her close to his face. "Enough. She has something we need, don't kill her yet."
"?!" Neo argued with signs of tears escaping her eyes.
"Cinder will be pissed if she finds out that you lost what we could've gained. It's not something I'm letting you get in trouble for."
"!" The pink-haired woman shook her head as she wanted to kill the girl before her. "!"
"I said no, now stand down." Jaune refused to allow his partner to kill someone this young, especially after she claimed to be a member of his family. After struggling for a good two minutes, Neo finally gave up. Not easily, however, as she continued to give off a hostile glare towards the witch. Lowered her head and sighed, not out of relief, but out of fatigue. Jaune, dressed in a white shirt and pants, sat across from Patchy and held out his hand.
"Give me the gem." He demanded bluntly.
Patchy's eyes widened for a moment before a grin spread across her face, giggling shortly after. Her actions both confused and slightly frightened the two before her. The young witch held her hand to Jaune, and slowly opened her palm to reveal the truth of her actions. What Jaune and Neo saw kept them in a shocked state. The onyx gem could be seen, but the bottom half of the crystal was embedded into the young witch's palm, streaks of black could be seen across her hand. The small victorious attempts the gem had in possessing the child.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid we're a packaged deal." Patchy commented with a small attempt to jest. Knowing the questions that would follow, and how little her time was, she gave her father and mother the answers they would need. "I used the gem to amplify my abilities, but in order to do so I needed to allow the crystal to merge with my aura. Now, the gem is attempting to fuse with me. Or, perhaps more correctly, integrate my soul and use my body for a physical form. You're a bit of a fool, if you allowed her to slay me; the gem would've taken my body. But during its corruption process, the gem itself would've been in an immensely fragile state. You could've destroyed it..."
Jaune took in everything the girl was saying, but, understandably, questioned whether her words were true or not.
"The onyx gem isn't what you think it is...it's not just a gem, but rather, a collection of souls being used as energy. In short; yes, it's a weapon, and souls are its recharge. If Cinder has one in her possession, and if she knew the raw power this thing creates, what makes you think she will hesitate?" This sudden revelation caught the blonde knight off guard. He'd been studying up on the crystal, but the texts weren't exactly telling of the properties and abilities the gem had or could do. Only that it was powerful, and its noticeable ability was used to battle the Grimm, or call them to your aid. The blonde knight glanced to the young girl with a sympathetic expression, her father lost everything to assure this gem didn't fall into the wrong hands, but from how she described; it was all for nothing.
"So let her do it, let her kill me." Upon looking up to her father's eyes, she smiled and cried, feeling only joy and satisfaction. "Don't you see? I did it; I've found a way to destroy it. Twenty-three years you've lived with the guilt, and I've done what you found but refused to attempt, father..." Wearily, Patchy's eyes began closing, her blood continued flowing from her wound, not to mention her injuries weren't something to overlook. Before the blonde knight could act, the young girl's hands reached out to caress her father's face. Her eyes shifted from Jaune to Neo. "I did it; I brought you your answer. Are you…finally proud of me...mama, papa?" In mere seconds, Patchy fainted from the blood loss, falling into a small puddle of her own blood, leaving both Jaune and Neo with the words she just uttered. The gem began to act on the dying girl by spreading unto her forearm, leaving the two partners to act on impulse and use their auras to suppress the spreading corruption. Their quick thinking stopped the spread, but streaks of black were now embedded across the young witch's forearm. Whatever they did kept Patchy intact, but now they needed to deal with her wounds and the newfound danger this gem posed.
Having been taught by Ren in healing spells over the past few months, Jaune went straight to work on the young girl's wounds. From the edge of the roof, an unknown jumped up, her crimson red eyes showed little to no emotion as she walked up to Jaune and Neo. She heard everything, from the gem's true purpose to words she uttered to the blonde and pink-haired woman before fainting.
"Emerald?" The blonde was hoping not to run into someone from Cinder's closest associates, especially this loyal diehard. Knowing her, she'd take what was learned here and give Cinder everything. But at the moment, while she could've done so without revealing herself, Emerald decide to find answers on this little revelation.
"Is it true?" She asked the blonde knight. "What she said?"
Jaune glanced to the unconscious child before frowning. "I don't know, a part of me believes her, but somehow I feel like she's still hiding something about the gem."
"No, I meant about her being a part of your family." She knew the subject she was touching on would only put the blonde in an unsettling mood. Especially when he had to come home to a slaughtered household, knowing full well not a single soul was spared. Emerald and Mercury were to act as escorts for the boy as he was to claim what was promised upon the completion of his deal with Cinder. However, when the blonde knight discovered his entire family murdered. His cries as he held his mother's cold body still ran chills up her spine even now. She felt sympathy for him, having to watch as he buried them, one by one. Emerald knew Jaune resented Cinder, no; he cringed at the fact that the woman was still alive when she went back on their deal. Why he decided to continue working for them was confusing. Cinder assumed she broke the boy; giving him no family and keeping record of the crime he committed for her. Emerald kept a close eye on the blonde, especially after these newcomers came into picture. When Jaune was being beaten to a pulp earlier, she recorded it, and rather than show it to Cinder, she showed it to Neo, whom was fuming with rage by then. Putting it simply; Emerald was Neo's escort at the moment. If the small woman wanted to kill Patchy after what she did to Jaune, who was Emerald to stop her? Though, after hearing everything that was exchanged between them, now, more than before, Emerald began to question Cinder's intentions, and what the people working for her meant to her.
"I'm not sure..." Jaune mumbled. Once he sealed the blade wounds and tended to the infected portion of her hand, Jaune gently picked up Patchy bridal style and began walking to the entrance to the school.
"?" Neo caught Jaune's sleeve before he went inside.
"We're going to see Ozpin."
"!?"
"Yes, 'WE' are going to see him, there's something I need verified, and only he has access to a quick answer. Also..." He gazed to sleeping girl, who cuddled closer to Jaune out of instinct, ticking off Neo in the process. "I want to know who she is."
"I'm coming with you." Emerald declared. "I have some questions of my own about the gem."
"What about Cinder?" Jaune asked, knowing the minty-haired girl would have to check in with her boss if she was gone for too long.
"I'll get Mercury to cover for me, he owes me a favor." She insisted. While Jaune was uneasy about taking these 'terrorists' to the school's headmaster, he needed help with Patchy's condition. Ozpin was there only hope on the matter, with any luck, there wouldn't be an altercation.
Within 30 minutes, the small group took the injured girl to the headmaster, and after filling him in with every single detail, Ozpin reluctantly agreed to help. Though, he kept a close eye on them as they were taken to an underground section of the school. The room they were taken to had a single row of recovery pods, mainly used for critically injured patients, or so they hoped. Jaune gently placed Patchy in one and allowed Ozpin to examine the intensity of her condition. As of now, after what Jaune told him earlier, she seemed to be in stable condition. Though, once they knew what the young girl was holding, well, the headmaster wasted no time interrogating Jaune and his company. While reluctant, the blonde knight spoke for Neo, given her situation. It took an entire hour to give a detailed explanation of what occurred, as well as the information Patchy gave before passing out. Emerald and Neo's identity's were still incognito as far as Ozpin was concerned, what had his attention was this talk of the Onyx crystal. To think one of his students would be caught up in something this dark, though, it did explain a bit about the young girl and her powers. All this time she expressed great control and little to no limits on her abilities, all of it was because of the crystal. Ozpin glanced to the pod containing the young child; the pulsating streaks of black from the gem gave him a sense of dread for when she would awake. Especially if this time, Patchy couldn't fight back the corruption. The headmaster quietly walked over to Patchy and used the pod's inner machines to extract blood from her. Once the needle collected a sample, the headmaster then opened two pods nearby and turned back to the teens before him.
"Professor?" The blonde wondered what his headmaster was going to do, considering the fact that he kept knowledge of the Onyx crystal from Ozpin's ears until now.
The headmaster fixed his glasses before explaining. "While we cannot, at the moment, prove most of Ms. Blake's theories without a shred of the proof she has gathered, we can, however, seek one answer on our own." Turning away from the teens, Ozpin went to work preparing the tests needed. "I have a theory, crazy it may sound, but given the circumstances, I may be right. With a simple blood test, we'll find out soon enough if she is a relative of yours or not, Mr. Arc. However, given how she used both parental honorifics, I would ask that your...companion allow me to test her DNA against Blake's."
Instinctively, Neo backed away, unwilling to allow this professor to take even bring a needle near her. Leaving Jaune to convince her, privately.
The two stood arguing in another room, leaving Ozpin and the minty-haired girl in an awkward silence. From their position, they could hear the shouts coming from the other room, or more correctly, Jaune's shouts. For some reason, he was able to read Neo's subtle gestures, leaving her the option to talk or remain silent with her gestures. The latter was the norm for when they spoke; it was mainly Jaune who was the voice of the young woman. From a large window panel, their expressions could be seen, giving those on the other side a vague idea of how their argument was going. For a brief moment, Neo seemed stubborn with her decision to refuse extraction of her DNA, and while Jaune wanted to respect his partner's wishes, Patchy knew more about the Onyx gem, and he couldn't let her answers die with her. In addition, her little revelation left him with the urge to confirm whether they had any blood ties. Neo, herself, was curious about the girl and her striking resemblance to the blonde knight. Though, given the manner in which she mercilessly beat the little one prior to the events that led them here gave her a troubling sense of guilt. If this kid was in some manner related to Jaune, than he would hold this attack against her, and that was a risk she couldn't take. Not that she would try to make amends, but she'd at least make an effort to be less…hostile in the future.
As Emerald sat in an eerie silence with the headmaster of Beacon, her eyes drifted to the pod containing the witch. It was a momentary glance at first, though when her eyes caught glimpse of white and black streaks pulsating on the young girl, she instinctively began shoving the headmaster side to side while pointing at the pod. The two quickly reacted as they noticed the blonde sweating like crazy; all the while her expressions indicated an immense feeling of pain. Jaune and Neo noticed the two jump to action and returned to the room. They were treated initially with a small muffle, followed by a shrieking cry as Blake's body began shaking violently. Ozpin opened the pod and attempted to reinforce the seal Jaune and Neo placed on the witch, but was unsuccessful as the corruption tried to attach itself to him as well. Jaune ran to the young girl and used his aura to reinforce his barrier, hoping he would succeed where Ozpin failed. To his surprise, it worked, or so it seemed. As the black streaks began to recede, a flash of white emitted from the Blake's body, blinding the small group for a few minutes before seceding. What was left in its wake was enough for even the headmaster to question what logic in Remnant was, in any sense of the word: Truth. The young witch had, in what seemed like a physical sense, reverted in age. Her height was half of Neo, her hair was longer, and her entire left forearm was as black as the gem that was now embedded into her palm.
"What...what just happened?" The blonde knight's question was not just his own, all who just witnessed this little event wanted to know exactly how a fourteen year old reverted back to an age of...well, her age was still undefined. For all they knew, her body might've changed, yet, her mentality might still be that of the Patchy they knew. Then again, there was also the possibility of her memories being lost to this transformation. But, what mattered at the moment was that she still alive. As of now, she slept peacefully, Emerald and Neo watched over her for any further surprises while Ozpin continued to speak with Jaune.
"Jaune, are you sure there isn't anything you haven't already told me?" The headmaster asked his student, somewhat ticked at this point. To think a dangerous item was in the possession of a young child, and if not for the intervention on the roof, her condition could've worsened. Or, perhaps, it was that vey fight that escalated the corruption. Then again, there was also the possibility, as Jaune mentioned earlier, she allowed herself to be infected on purpose.
"I swear I didn't know she had something like that in her possession." In a way, his answer was vaguely true, for the true purpose of the gem was still a mystery to him up until this point. While Ozpin wanted to believe the boy, a piece of him began questioning Jaune and his affiliation with these two women, rightfully so. "Professor, what's happening to her?"
A question Ozpin wished he had the answer to, but at the moment Jaune's guess was as good as his. "I don't know, with the blood I've extracted, I'll run some tests. Whether they give us any answer to her condition is still unknown. But, it's a start. In the meantime, watch over her...oh, and Jaune?"
As the blonde turned to his headmaster, he noticed a needle in the man's hand, knowing what he wanted; the blonde knight rolled up his sleeve and allowed the headmaster to take some of his blood. It took another hour, but after enough persuasion, Neo reluctantly allowed Ozpin to take some of hers as well. It was clear she hated needles, but the situation called for any answer they could obtain. Ozpin went to work with his tests. Leaving Emerald to watch over the small witch, Jaune and Neo left to a Coalition meeting taking place a few clicks north of the school.
Morning dawned; the weekend was now beginning for the students of Beacon. Though, a few leagues into the forest, unbeknownst to Valens alike, the Coalition leaders met to discuss their plans for their upcoming rise to power. The White Fang was reluctant to work with humans of any kind, and it showed, but even their leaders understood the value of a unified force fighting oppression. The meeting went as they expected; Cinder made many promises, the leaders discussed compensation for their efforts, and Roman acted as the median for their proposals. Jaune attended, but remained as more of an independent. He was in the Coalition, leading a battalion of 324 soldiers, or perhaps more correctly, what remained of his original sized force. Cinder's assignments were intended to make sure he didn't return, but what she didn't account for was the careful planning and trust his troops had for him. While no mission was without losses, Jaune did make sure to plan out missions thoroughly, and keep each and every one of his soldiers well-kept and protected while they were on standby. As for the groups that joined, it was the blonde knight who brought a majority of them together. In fact, their impression of the boy and his record for actually caring for his troops kept him in high regards with the leaders similar to him. Though, seeing as Cinder was the head of the faction, it was her job to keep them in line. In most cases, the blonde would often disagree with a majority of Cinder's plans, mainly those that used the grunts as collateral. In those disagreements, a majority of the leaders sided with Jaune. Annoying the woman to a great degree, she wanted to rid herself of the blonde knight, but by doing so, she'd remove a great asset to her arsenal. The boy had excellent communication skills, not to mention he even brought Adam Taurus to their side, which, at the time, she believed to have sent the boy on a suicide mission. Not to say he didn't return with unnoticeable scars, but the two seemed to speak a lot during these meetings. Not out of some kind of friendship, but out of mutual respect.
"And so, with our infiltration teams keeping the hunters of Beacon distracted the Coalition moves into the city. Our virus will reprogram the Atlesian machines to our advantage, the confusion will add to their losses, and with the Grimm overrunning their defenses; we will rise as the victors of the uprising." Cinder finished, gaining a few noticeable smirks from the leaders. Others glanced to the blonde knight whom frowned for a second before shaking his head.
"Something you'd like to add?" Cinder asked holding back an eerie grin she wanted to flash at the blonde.
"Your plan depends on two key elements; my team keeping entire school, filled with hunters and students from other kingdoms if I may add, distracted enough keep little resistance in the city. It's a suicide run, and unlike you, I don't just sit on the sidelines and wait for the heavy fire to die down. While our attack will catch them by surprise, and, no doubt, with the aid of the White Fang, we will surely hold our own for however long we can hold a line. However, it will be costly, and I'm not going to lead my team to their deaths. Secondly, I strongly object to using the Grimm, it may not end well for us. It's unwise to play with creatures we know nothing about. Perhaps you can subdue them for a time, but these aren't normal beasts that can be tamed. There is no guarantee they can be subdued forever." Jaune's words gathered more nods and murmurs of agreement than Cinder's plan laid out.
"Need I remind you that you have no right to deny an order from me?" Cinder asked smugly, hoping to reinforce her position as the head of the snake.
The blonde smiled and, like in most meetings, faced down Cinder with little concern of retaliation. "Need I remind you of why I'm here, Falls? This may be your army, but right now you're endangering my soldiers. Their lives matter to me, yours does not."
Once again, the boy gathered more support than she could, and to make it worse, even Taurus seemed to agree, justifiably, against sending his people into a suicide mission. Using the Grimm, though, is where he disagreed with the blonde knight, but fighting alongside his people was what made Adam a respected leader of the White Fang. The meeting went on for thirty minutes before a break was decided, allowing Cinder to rant on in her tent about Jaune's annoying defiance, again.
"Every single time. Every. Single. Time! I can't take this anymore. That boy is driving me insane!" She shouted.
"Yea, but people do like him." Mercury pointed out while flipping through a comic he obtained from a previous mission.
"Not to mention the success in the missions we've given him. He's not the best fighter, but most of the people who've joined our cause would follow him into a Grimm infested city if he asked them to. Not to mention the unquestionable loyalty those under his command have for him. By killing him, you'll have a little over 300 pissed off soldiers coming after you, not to mention the leaders that are only here because of him will split. With those losses, your little alliance would be as good as dead. Whether you like him or not is of little concern, he's valuable." Roman added.
"But he won't listen to me!" Cinder argued directly to Roman's face. "If I say white, he says black. I say left, he goes right! Even now, when we're so close to our objective, he refuses to pledge his loyalty. There's even talk in the Coalition of people having second thoughts. His defiance is undermining everything I've built! And even now he doesn't try to hide the fact that he hates me! Is that what you call an alliance?!"
"Then just swallow your pride and make peace with him." Mercury commented, as if it were an obvious move to make.
Cinder took a minute to breath before responding. "Even if I tried making peace with him, the boy won't listen to me. He's more likely to run me through than speak to me."
"And whose fault is that? Who made promises and then decided to go back on her word?" Mercury came close to shouting out what Cinder had done to make the blonde knight hate her so much.
"I'll have Taurus speak to him." Roman intervened, attempting to ease the situation. It was clear that Jaune's influence was beginning to mask Cinder's, but the fact that he showed no intention of betraying the people within the Coalition allowed the sense of paranoia to ease ever so slightly.
Near a cliff, Jaune sat near the edge, a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread were his breakfast on this little outing. For him, it was a nostalgic sense to rest in a setting like this. A soft breeze, shade from a nearby tree blocking the sun, the sweet scent of honey kept his mind at ease. The Grimm could be seen from his position; their focus was on their migration path. If only for this second, they seemed harmless, even peaceful. The sounds of footsteps made him turn to greet a masked Faunus standing over him.
"Mind if I join?" Adam asked.
Jaune gestured the man to sit next to him. They both glanced at the scenery; a sea of trees, signs of more Grimm in the distance, and no sounds of clashing metal or explosions to fill their ears. This kind of setting was what both men set out for, but in different paths. Regardless, a life without hatred and fear for their people was what these two sought, and it was a mission they could seek one another's assistance for. However, being in this coalition meant making compromises and hardened decisions, even Taurus knew this.
"You know, in order for this coalition to actually work, we need everyone to be willing to work with one another. I'm not fond of working for Cinder either, but she's our best bet at having our voices heard." Adam commented, taking Jaune's loaf and splitting it in half.
The boy smirked and took a sip of wine. "The 'leader' sends you to make her apologies?"
"The last thing we need is a fight amongst ourselves. I know she's unbearable, and cares little to nothing for the ground troops, but you do. If you haven't noticed before, many of the leaders are only here because they know you'll be fighting with them, with Coalition in the fray alongside the soldiers. I hate to say it, but if you decided to leave, they'd follow, and even I would…consider taking my troops with me." The two chuckled lightly as the White Fang leader reluctantly admitted following the lead of a human. The blonde gestured his bottle to Taurus, the man agreed and took a swig before realizing the drink the blonde had. Jaune laughed lightly as Adam attempted to recompose himself after having a small coughing fit.
"Athenian Brandy, you should've warned me." Taurus muttered as he ate the piece of bread in his hand. Jaune was left to give his simple response.
"I'll never be enthralled to that woman, nor will I ever fight for her. Do you know what it is I truly fight for? I fight for the whispered names of loved ones from the dying breaths of my comrades whilst I held them in my arms, I fight a kingdom that has ignored and oppressed its people while claiming to be a fair and just government! I fight for a peace that our people deserve! I fight...because I must. But when the day comes, when freedom and peace is ours, when I find no reason to shed further blood, I will gladly put down my sword." In his rant, the blonde stood and raised his voice, giving his deliverance more of an impact.
"For that reason I accepted your call to arms, and for that I willingly fight alongside you. Isn't it simple enough to just swallow your pride?" Adam asked taking another sip from the bottle of brandy.
"Things are less simple today." Jaune responded sitting back down.
"Yes, well, women have a way of complicating things." Adam hinted to a small brown and pink peeking from a nearby tree. The two shared another simple chuckle before Arc gave his last response to Taurus.
"Of all the leaders in the Coalition, I respect you the most. But in this war, you're a servant."
"Sometimes, a leader has to serve in order to lead. I'm hoping you'll understand that someday, for her at least." Adam nudged him playfully before arising and walking back to the meeting. Their interactions were almost always like this; Adam being sent by Roman to ease the growing tension between Cinder and Jaune, all the while, the two men would eat and speak of things they agreed on, but, in the same manner, they disagreed on similar subjects. Like two old men, they spoke their philosophies and shared honest thoughts. At first, Taurus had suspicions of this Coalition and distrusted many of the leaders, though; having fought alongside Jaune in numerous missions, there was a slimmer of respect they shared. Clearly, Adam and Jaune didn't see one another as friends, but rather, brothers in arms fighting a common enemy and would die for their people to achieve it. Clearly, Jaune wasn't as strong, or even remotely close to the level Adam was, but the bonds he forged with his fellow Coalition paved his position in the alliance.
Once Adam left, Neo walked up and sat on the blonde's lap, both smiling and enjoying the view together. This sort of thing happened from time to time, whether they were watching movies or simply just relaxing, Neo would ignore personal space. Not that Jaune minded, seeing as how this was as close to a woman as he believed to ever getting close to, especially in his line of work. Neo wasn't exactly the first choice he had for a romantic partner, but getting to know her more and more had him doubt his previous Intel on her. Regardless, they were partners in combat, and nothing more.
"..." She mumbled while lying back against the boy's chest.
"It is. You know, someday, I want to live like this; no cities, no loud and heavy machines. A peaceful and quiet homestead was something along the lines of a good life in my opinion. My dad wanted me to be a hunter like him, but, truthfully, that's not a future I envisioned."
"...?..." Neo asked, lightly blushing.
"Does my future involve you?"
The small woman quickly covered the blonde's mouth, now with a full-face blush. Whether he was playing with her or honestly ignorant, it was rather unclear to her. Though, before receiving a response, a small ring from Jaune's scroll caught their attention. As the blonde opened the message, Neo leaned over to him.
"?"
"Yea, it's Emerald, she says he needs to see us. Now."
"?..."
"Cinder doesn't need me to close a deal; she can convince them on her own. Besides, I'm not some tool she can use whenever she wants. And my troops won't so much as wield a gun unless I give the order. Let's go."
Without much hesitation, the two left towards. Neo was placed as Jaune's partner to keep an eye on him, though, as time went on, they grew closer. Roman assumed the blonde was merely attempting to infiltrate their circle and kill Cinder when given the chance. So he assigned the pink-haired girl as his partner. If Neo fell in one of their missions, then he'd have a reason to rid himself of the boy. However, it was during his first mission that, not only did he solidify his commitment to the Coalition, but slowly earned Neo's loyalty from there on. She always accompanied him on assignments, even if they were simple and straightforward. At first, Cinder assumed she had control of the broken boy after he discovered his dead family, however, she soon found him quite the handful without any leverage to use against him. Not to mention the respect and influence he had over her was well enough to keep her paranoid of him.
As the two managed to enter the school grounds undetected and with little obstacles, they found Ozpin waiting outside the recovery room. Muffled sounds of crashes and small helps could be heard from their side. Ozpin seemed rather calm; considering what could be occurring on the other side.
"I assumed you were going back to the infirmary, it was quite the scene when your friends discovered you were missing." The headmaster pointed out while reading through a list of the damages caused during their frantic search. "Luckily, Goodwitch managed to calm them down, though, not before Ms. Valkyrie led an extensive and costly hunt around the school...but, what I wanted to speak to you two about is..." A loud crash from the recovery room had even Ozpin jump a bit.
"Will you calm down already?!" Came Emerald's frantic muffled voice.
Before Jaune could ask, Ozpin explained. "Ms. Blake awoke a little while ago, at the moment; your friend is...playing with her."
"Playing?" Jaune asked with a hint of hesitation.
The headmaster slowly opened the doors greeting their sights was Emerald face first on the floor with a small blonde dressed in simple white shirt and pants sitting atop of her. There were visible burn and tear marks on her clothing. The majority of the room had scorch marks, a few of the pods were damaged extensively, and parts of the metallic room were noticeably bent. As her head arose, Emerald's eyes darted to the three adults by the door. "Oh thank Oum." She uttered with a sigh of relief. Though, taking a single glance at the situation, just as quickly as they entered, the three left and locked the door.
"Hey! You get your ass back here!" Emerald shouted before another shrieking cry could be heard from the other side.
"So, what game are they playing?" The blonde asked with an empty smile.
"Tag, if I remember correctly." Ozpin responded with a similar expression.
At the present moment, RWBY, (J)NPR, (B)ANE, Sun, and Coco were gathered in the school courtyard. After receiving a rather long and harsh lecture from Goodwitch, the teams were left to wonder where the two blondes escaped to. Jaune was injured, but the fact that he was missing meant either his injuries were healed quickly and he decided to go off somewhere, or someone had him. Goodwitch was sent by Ozpin to assure them that Jaune was fine, however, it didn't help that Patchy was also missing and how she showed an intense hatred for Jaune. Both here, and the first time they met, as recalled by Blake.
"My sister doesn't hate him, he just reminds her of someone she..." Noa hesitated, he wanted to protect his sister's image, and her wellbeing if these people actually got their hands on her. He couldn't say anything unless he revealed some portion of their origins. A handful of these teens would be smart enough to put the pieces together' given enough time, but even Noa couldn't comprehend why she went ballistic yesterday. What frightened him more was the fact that he could sense her aura spike multiple times last night, and then, in a brief instance, it vanished, without a single trace. He wanted to find his sibling, quickly, but not while these people were over his shoulder searching for her as well.
"Ok, no point in wasting time just sitting her, let's split up into groups of three and keep looking for them." Yang declared. "Here are the groups; Sun, Weiss, and Adelhay."
"Adelheid." The white-haired Faunus corrected, though it fell on empty ears.
"Ruby, Nora, and Eirin. Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren. And lastly, Noa, Coco, and me. Any questions?"
"Uh..." Noa was trying to object, but soon found himself unable to speak with Yang's arm hung around his neck.
"Good! Okay teams, do your best." Regardless of his hesitation, Noa was pulled by both Yang and Coco towards the forest. The others, with nothing much else to do, went into their assigned groups and searched for the two missing blondes.
Having Ruby, Nora, and Eirin in the same team raised a bit of an alarm, so Blake and her group decided to act as chaperones for this troublemakers. As it was predicted, the trio snuck off on a wild assumption of what they believed happened to the missing friends, leaving the rest to look for them before any more shenanigans caught Goodwitch's attention.
With Yang's group, the brawler and mini gun wielder kept an intense eye on the pink-haired brother of Patchy. The boy might not be as bright as his sibling, but he was damn near impossible to take down alone. Granted, he always trained with Eirin to keep his skills up, but when he lost against Yang, it was fair to say that the brawler didn't find it wise to take him on again without Nora at least. Though, it's also important to note that the only time they've seen Noa as close to upset was when his sister was captured during their first meeting. Other than that, the boy was relatively calm most of the time. The walk, at the moment, was in absolute awkward silence. Feeling the need to ease tension between him and these huntresses, Noa planned to make conversation, but achieve something while doing so.
"You know..." His words caught both their attention as they neared the cliff of Emerald forest. "You remind me of an old friend my father had." He looked at Coco, who grinned at his comparison.
"Really? Was she smart, beautiful, and skilled?" She replied.
"Oh yea, leagues above you though."
Yang laughed a bit, though, Coco was far from amused by his little insult.
"So tell us, what was she like?" The brawler asked, a bit intrigued by his story.
"Well, if I'm honest, I can say that she and my father weren't exactly the best of friends after an...incident in the past. In fact, she was sent to hunt my father down. Why she decided to let him live after what he did in his earlier years still eludes me. Maybe, and this is my best guess; my father was the closest thing to a friend she had left in this world." Noa's tone began drifting towards a darker feeling as he remembered what his sister told him of their father's past. Hell, he even wrote about it in his journal. Coco and Yang were speechless, and all this time they believed Patchy had a twisted personal secret of herself. It might run in the family.
Knowing the tone he just set, Noa tried to lighten the mood. "Also, I kinda had a bit of a crush on her growing up." He admitted while scratching the back of his head nervously. Hearing this, the two giggled a bit while picturing a small pink-haired boy with a cliché crush on an older woman. "She was like an aunt to me...a less sadistic female figure if I'm blunt. I admired and respected her greatly, especially for what she did for Mochi."
"Mochi?" Yang asked, still unaware of the nickname used for Eirin.
"The bunny version of Nora." Coco pointed out. "But beside that, what did this woman do for Eirin?"
Noa stopped again, only this time, he turned to face the two women with him. His eyes foreshadowed a bit of history he preferred to avoid, but had the intention that it would give them a better insight of who Mochi was, and why she is the way she is without giving too much of their origins away.
"Mo...Eirin lost both of her parents as a kid. Our village book keeper took her in as a favor for my father, they were close, and she did have a unique 'persuasive' tactic for selling books. She was, genuinely, happy. But during a raid on our village, she was left alone again. It was that woman who gave Eirin the motherly love she needed, trained her to fight, and disciplined her the way a caring mother would." Noa seemed to enjoy most of his nostalgia, though; he did appear to be on the verge of tears when describing Mochi's loss. This sentiment was one he felt alone, Coco and Yang couldn't help but feel sympathy for the young girl who lost two families; her birth parents and the one who took her in and raised her.
"Is there a chance we can meet this woman, the friend of your father?" Coco asked, curious as to who caught the boy's eyes. Knowing this, it would make teasing Adelheid all the more fun.
"No, not in this life." Noa replied in a monotone manner. His quick response gave a clear notion as to why they can't meet this woman. "Eirin knows loss, more than any of us in our team. So if at times she gets too clingy, acts like a child, and never takes a situation serious, don't be so harsh on her. She's only trying to keep her mind off painful memories." Noa said nothing else and continued walking. Leaving Coco and Yang with the realization that the words he used to describe Eirin were how she acted on an everyday basis.
With Adelheid's group, she was stuck between Weiss and Sun, interrogated by the white-haired teen, while being teased by the blonde Faunus. She couldn't say she didn't enjoy spending time with them, but they were an odd pair to spend time with. When Sun made a simple joke or talked about how he was a master at stowing away on ships, Weiss scolded him and told him not to encourage Adelheid into joining him on his little adventures. In a way, she felt nostalgic, especially after she made the connection that these two were her parents. Which, honestly, didn't take too long considering their names and similarities. This little match-up was perfect for her, she had both her parents, alive, and acting the way they normally would when she was a child. It was so similar that she couldn't help but smile, catching the attention of her company.
"Something funny?" Sun asked with Weiss pulling on both sides of his cheek out of annoyance.
Adelheid giggled before answering. "The way you two act, you remind me of..." It was then that she realized what Patchy ordered her to keep from these people. She said that they would tell them the truth eventually, but it was too early for such revelation. However, it wasn't just her leader's words that kept her from speaking; it was how she remembered her family that had tears forming near her eyes. Her face remained emotionless as she remembered the many trips she went on with them, the trees her father hid in to avoid her mother, the intensive training her mother put her through growing up, being by her father's side as he exhaled his last breath. Tears flowed down her cheek when the image of her mother giving her life to save her flashed before her eyes.
"Adelheid!?" The flashbacks disappeared instantly as she found herself being shook by Sun. Only then did she realize the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. She smiled and wiped her eyes, though, tears continued to flow. "Sorry, it's nothing, just old memories." She assured.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Weiss asked.
Was it fine to just make a comparison, not exactly tell them the truth, but to just make a small comparison wasn't a bad thing, was it? Adelheid didn't want to disrespect her team leader, given how Patchy was always the one to clean up after her messes. But, here she was, in front of her parents, both of them. How would they react to her telling them the truth? Would they even believe her?
Deciding to take a chance, Adelheid finally stopped her tears and smiled again. "Well, the way you two bicker reminds me of my own parents."
Weiss' initial reaction was a light blush, followed by a somewhat small pout. Sun, on the other hand, wrapped his arm around the heiress and took it as a small joke. "Really now, hear that mother dear? Our bickering has brought some nostalgia to this little snow flake."
Weiss wasn't amused in the slightest, but rather, drew her rapier and aimed it towards his neck. "Don't touch me you ruffian."
"No need to be so harsh mother dear." Sun joked while backing away. Though, his nickname for Weiss did annoy her to a great extent. On the sidelines, Adelheid giggled lightly to herself. 'Yep, they're…my family.'
Eventually, after more cries for help, Jaune eventually returned to give the girl a hand. Though, upon glancing at Neo the little witch stared curiously at the woman. Emerald was hiding behind the pink-haired woman, obviously surprising Jaune for a number of reasons. She was told by Ozpin to just keep her occupied, but for a child to scare her this much. Meanwhile, Blake and Neo continued to have a staring contest until the little one finally smiled and held out her hands. "Mama!" She shouted happily. The immediate reaction from the Pink-haired woman was an intense blush. It was a surprising announcement, but the headmaster showed little to no reaction to the little one's words, mainly due to the documents in his hand.
"Mama! Mama!" The little witch persisted, giggling as she was expecting the woman to pick her up. Neo felt her heart being tugged on; this child, in a way, could be a mirrored image of her and Jaune. Instinctively, she hugged the little one tightly.
Emerald shifted and was now behind Jaune, she refused to go near the sadistic child after what she went through just now. For the kid to call Neo her mother could be perfectly valid seeing as how the two have a similar sense of the word 'fun'. Though, while the little child kept the pink-haired woman occupied, Ozpin shared what his tests gave for results. It may not have been much of a shock, considering certain circumstances, but now there was no longer cause for doubt; Blake Beildschmidt is Jaune and Neo's biological daughter. Both teens took in the news almost as well as Ozpin predicted. They were confused, worried, and embarrassed beyond explanation. Even Emerald remained speechless after the secret was revealed. Jaune paced back and forth, trying to make sense of what was occurring in his life. Though, the biggest shocker was the fact that Blake was his, and Neo's. That idea continued to swim in his mind while Neo was taking in the news with her daughter in her arms. She glanced to the small child who stared at her with a gleeful smile, in an instance; she remembered what she did to Blake the night before, all the anger and hatred that was probably the cause of this situation.
"Since I had both yours and your companions to directly compare the blood samples, the tests came back faster than I expected. Her STR profiles make up half of your genetic information; Ms. Blake is your biological child. How it is that she exists; I'm still at a loss. But it might have to do with her team's sudden arrival in the forest. Perhaps there is one answer we can look at in terms of this child's origins that might not be so farfetched after all." Ozpin's theory did hint on fantasy, and borderline impossible. But then, it might be the closest to an answer they had on the current situation.
"So, you're saying, BANE might not be from our timeline, but rather, from a distant time?" Emerald asked skeptically.
"It's a possibility we can't ignore, considering the power she now has embedded into her palm. Which I believe is the cause of her sudden reverse of age." Ozpin walked over to a nearby terminal, still intact, and began reviewing the data he recorded earlier. Jaune walked over to his headmaster and patiently awaited an explanation. "I believe she has sealed off both the gem and herself in a last attempt to keep it from gaining control. How that is possible, again, the logic eludes me. Though, I can confirm that she holds no memory except that of her father, mother, and brother."
It didn't take long for the gears to click for those present to realize that Noa was also part of the family tree. Quite the family these two had, Emerald began wondering; if these kids really were from the future, than what happened to the Coalition? Did they win, lose? Just because Jaune was on the side of the alliance and his kids were here didn't mean they won.
For Jaune, however, Patchy's words to him in the library left him with a mind clouded in guilt and fear. Did he really kill his friends to get the crystal? Was Patchy here to fix the mistakes he made, or was she merely here to guide him towards an alternative solution?
Neo's head hung low after realizing she nearly killed her own child. Granted, she didn't know they were related, but now, after realizing her actions, she could feel warm liquid fall down her cheeks as the child in her arms continued to stare at her with a worried expression.
"Mama?" Blake's small hands gently caressed her mother's cheeks. In all honesty, Neo never thought of being a mother beforehand. Her whole life was traveling to different locations, finding a job and trying not to get killed by a hunter. But here, in her arms, was something a future version of herself had with Jaune. Not just this one, but also a big oaf of a son walking about right now in the school above them. Jaune kneeled beside Neo, wiping off some of her tears while watching the little one imitate her father in an attempt to help her mother.
In a way, they seemed to be taking the news rather well, though; Emerald had conflicting thoughts running through her mind at the moment. 'Should I tell Cinder?'
And here it is another chapter. A little warning, as I feel is appropriate, the next chapter might be a little dark, depending. I will warn at the top of the page beforehand. Also, I'm not good at side stories, or fillers, to be exact; little events that occur in the story that leans from the main plot in an attempt to lighten the story. I don't usually do those, but I will for the next chapter. Thank you all for your support, and for reading the story. Until next time.