Here we go.
Cover Art: GWBrex
Chapter 33
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Vale to receive hospital resurrections for FREE while Atlas made to pay MILLIONS.
Atlas Times
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Authorities arrest three trying to enter Emerald Forest and reach Beacon. Council reiterates extreme danger of death for any trying to make their way to Jaune Arc. We speak to one brave parent who says the risk is worth the reward.
Vale Daily Tribune
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Recorded first as man in Vale charged for trespassing despite being "dead" at the time.
The Mistral Review
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Prisoner exchange with Atlas sees return of falsely accused patriot Carmine Esclados.
Vacuo Today
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Atlas riots continue as corrupt kingdoms eats itself from inside out.
Kuo Kuana Express
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"I've not seen anything like this before," said Doctor Oobleck. "Your area is already recovering at a much faster rate than it should."
"Doesn't that differ from person to person?" asked Elm.
"Yes, but there's still an average rate that can be measured. It normally takes at least eight hours for aura to recover – and that slows down drastically if the wielder is active. That's why most people's recovers overnight."
"He was working the hospitals twice a day in Atlas. Though he was always given at least ten hours between visits. His aura always seemed to recover quickly."
"This is more than that. I'd estimate his aura going from near empty to full in a little over five hours." There was a gasp from Elm that had Jaune cringing from his seat between Doctor Oobleck and Doctor Tsune, both of whom were looking over machines connected to his arms. "That wouldn't be such a problem if his aura was staying at full, but going over…? That's new."
"What do you think is causing it?"
"My professional opinion? His body and aura has been trained, for lack of a better term, to be drained twice daily, and it's been fighting to keep up with that rate. Atlas hasn't noticed because they've been draining it. Imagine a boat leaking with water. What you've done is the equivalent of bringing in a bigger bucket to bail water instead of fixing the problem. Now, the hole has grown larger and more water is coming in."
Jaune cleared his throat. "And the consequences for me?"
"Unknown. I doubt you'll explode or die from it – it's your aura after all. On the other hand, I can't promise there won't be unforeseen consequences. If aura really is the soul then you burning it out faster than most may not be good for your long-term health." He clicked his lips unhappily. "It's already back up to 102%. I half-expect it to be at 120% after tonight, and to continue growing."
"What happens if it's never drained?" asked Elm. "What if it gets to 200 or 300%?"
"Something will happen before then. I guarantee it. If we're lucky it'll bleed off as light and steam and Mr Arc will feel uncomfortable but unharmed. If we're unlucky, you'll have a repeat of that explosion from before. Potentially to an even more destructive degree."
Jaune wasn't feeling particularly lucky. Recent events hadn't gone in his favour much. This is why I've been feeling so jittery lately. My body must have been telling me I needed to bleed off my aura. Is skin was already prickling and he wanted to go for a run. Anything to tire himself out.
"Ozpin had me down for hospital work tomorrow," said Jaune. "Saturday tomorrow, and then Sunday. I can drain my aura there."
Elm shook her head. "No. Not until we know what this means."
"That might not be wise," said Tsune. "I'll agree that we need to know more but his aura is expanding too fast. The hospitals will drain it for him."
"Didn't you both say that was a bad idea? We should be patching the hole, not bailing water."
"You need to do both," said Oobleck. "My criticism was that Atlas only bothered with the one. Tsune is correct. Mr Arc can't afford to let his aura grow too high without using it. That said, he also can't go back to what he had before. Twice daily led to this problem. If his body has been programmed to produce this much aura by repetition then we need to break that cycle. There are other ways to drain aura. Combat and training, for example."
"Won't that be the same issue?" asked Jaune. "I'll still be using up my aura."
Doctor Oobleck chuckled. "It'll be different because your body will also be sore from it. Our students train most days and don't face the problem you are now, and part of the reason for that is that even though they could drain their aura twice a day, the training is so harsh that their physical bodies couldn't handle it. Muscles must be given time to rest, and those take longer to recover than aura – though aura does speed it up. You have only trained your aura. Think of it like bodybuilding if you will. You're the equivalent of someone who only ever exercised one muscle, and now has that single muscle group overbuilt while the rest of you has atrophied. We need to bring balance back to your body."
"Then…?"
"Healing at the hospitals on the weekends – but only once per day. Beyond that, I want Miss Ederne to put you through rigorous physical training on the other days. Drain his aura, but make sure you drain his stamina as well. Give his body more to focus on and it might spread things out. If nothing else, he'll need to use some of his recovering aura to help his muscles, so the rate of growth shouldn't be so dangerously high."
"And this will cure him?" asked Elm. "This will solve the problem?"
"We don't know," admitted Tsune. "This is all new and we're working with nothing. The only thing we can say is that letting his aura grow and grow and grow is not a good idea."
/-/
Vale's hospitals weren't as hi-tech as Atlas' but they had a certain charm to them. They were less white, less glass and metal, and had potted plants here and there along with brightly coloured walls in vibrant shades of red, orange, green and blue. Jaune arrived with Weiss' hand in his, flanked by Elm, Peter, Glynda, and with Ozpin accompanying. There were two members of Vale's Council as well that Jaune hadn't cared to get to know.
And, of course, there was the media. This was Vale's first recorded instance of him using his Semblance there so he could understand the mad scramble to witness it. Atlas had been the same. Jaune hid his disdain and forced a smile and a wave for some people chanting his name and waving flags. They were no better than the public in Atlas, but they were on his side for now and he'd seen how bad things could get when they were against him. It was easier to smile and wave look like he was happy to be home.
I guess no one cared to remember my interview with Lisa. They were all praising it at the time but it's been over a year since then and it's been forgotten. He didn't see Lisa Lavender in the crowd, but then she was probably in a more important role than frontline reporter now. He wouldn't be surprised if she was a news anchor by now.
"It's such a better reception here," said Weiss, waving to the crowd with her free hand. He could never understand how she enjoyed this – and he was sure she did. There was an excitement to her words. "Things will go back to this in Atlas soon. I'm sure of it. And if they don't? Well, we can live here instead. I happen to think Vale is lovely."
Microphones were pushed toward Weiss to capture that, and Jaune was certain she let the words drop on purpose. A threat to Atlas, or a worm dropped to Vale to act as bait. He just smiled through it and kept waving, doing his best not to turn off under all the scrutiny as they were escorted into the hospital foyer. There, they met an array of doctors and nurses, all of whom looked positively thrilled to have him there. Jaune found himself missing Dr White and the simple, hard-working team in Ansel who had never seen him as someone more important than themselves. He was just a boy to them – a boy with a gift, but one they'd treat through his younger years. Here, he might as well be an alien species.
"We're honoured to have you. Truly honoured. We've prepared a whole ward for you. We have been instructed to let some journalists in to record but they have all been told to remain silent and let you work. I hope this is okay?"
I'm seventeen, thought Jaune. I'm a seventeen year old boy and you're a forty-something professional who runs this hospital. Why are you asking my permission? Why are you acting like you're not fully capable of making that decision?
Weiss squeezed his hand and Jaune answered quickly. "It's fine. Thank you. Have the bodies been collected?"
"The… uh… The patients are on the beds. Their families are outside but we've told them they will be escorted in one-by-one to be there for their family. We've been told there can be some confusion to those… um… waking up, I suppose we can call it."
They were new to this, Jaune had to remind himself. They were doing their best. He took a deep breath and explained the usual procedures, trying to sound as friendly and patient as he could. It would have been easier if the man would just nod and ask questions back instead of cringing and looking like he'd made some great faux pas. "It's fine," said Jaune. "You couldn't have known. Just make sure the bodies are outside the ward and then bring them in one by one. It's best if I can focus on one at a time."
"We'll get that sorted, sir. One moment please!"
The doctors and nurses rushed off to enact the changes while Jaune sighed and Weiss squeezed his hand again. She was smiling still, for the cameras as they took photos. He knew his own dismayed expression would be turned against him if he didn't get rid of it so he forced it down and pulled her in for a hug that she happily returned. They had to fake things more and more lately, which didn't feel right. It wasn't even that they were faking affection, but they had to overdo it or even the smallest frown on his face would be taken as a sign their relationship was about to implode.
"I'm looking forward to our date afterwards."
Weiss smiled, knowing he was being loud on purpose. The reporters with them were definitely listening. "Me too. I've booked us in somewhere special. Just the two of us. You really should spend more time with my teammates, though."
"Another day. I want to spend time with the most beautiful woman in Vale today."
"You're shameless!"
"You didn't say I was wrong, though."
Weiss smiled behind her fingers. "Why would I say that?"
They were both putting it on. Why they couldn't just be natural with one another, he didn't know. They were engaged; they were in love; there was nothing wrong with two people in love being distracted, or standing around, or not perpetually smiling. Having to put on a show all the time was exhausting.
Eventually, the doctors came back and Jaune and the large crew were whisked into the empty ward. From there, it was back to how things always were. A body on a bed would be wheeled in, a family escorted in, and he would slowly use his Semblance while cameras flashed and people whispered in awe. Elm had made sure to train him this morning to get his aura down to around 100% and prevent any explosive accidents in the ward, and he was grateful for that. Everything felt normal for once and his Semblance was under his control.
As children were resurrected and reunited with their parents, he did his best to smile and listen and pretend to remember their names. They were just eighteen more people added to a list thousands long by now. No one could have possibly remembered all that.
It was a new city, though. A new chance. A new start.
None of it beyond that was new, and the people fawning over him weren't new, but they could at least be kept happy if he smiled and shook hands and ruffled hair, and so that was what he did. It felt manipulative, but the parents were thrilled and the children thanked him profusely, so really, who was it hurting? They got a second chance. He got the kudos. Vale didn't even have to pay for it. There was no way they could turn this against him as Atlas had.
Jaune smiled and talked to every single patient and their parents, and he stopped to wave to the crowds outside, answer some questions from the reporters, and even sign a few autographs. It took an hour longer than it should have.
/-/
"You were incredible today," said Weiss. The two of them were at a private table in a private room. There were windows, and people could see them – a few had even snapped photos – but it was as close as they could get to privacy. "I've had a look at the reports and every newspaper and channel in Vale is in love with you right now."
"No different from how Atlas was, is it?"
"The fallout at Altas was as much my fault as anyone's," said Weiss. "We weren't cautious in our calls to one another. Not to mention we didn't expect for our calls to be hacked." She tutted. "I had to face questions on that front as well and you wouldn't believe how asinine they were. More people cared to ask what I thought of my fiancé talking so much with another woman as they did about me allegedly trying to destroy my team. Can you imagine it? All that scandal and all they cared for was to try and stir the pot between Pyrrha and I."
"I wish I could say it surprises me. What did you say?"
"You didn't read my interviews?" He hadn't had the time with everything going so fast. "I told them that Pyrrha was a good friend and I was fully aware of it all, and that she and I talked often as well. What else was I going to say?" Weiss took a slow drink of champagne and added, "But I think we can avoid a lot of that now we're close enough to talk in person again. Let them have my scroll if they want it so badly. They'll just see a bunch of homework schedules and messages from Ruby."
"Can we not talk work?" asked Jaune. "I was really hoping this would be a chance for the two of us to spend together."
"I know – and I want that too – but we're still in the public eye." Weiss nodded to the windows. "And we should probably decide on what appearance we're going to give in advance."
"On our date?"
"Jaune." Weiss said his name firmly. "Don't you think part of the disaster in Atlas might have been from us refusing to plan in advance? I know you've always hated the fame and attention, but you avoided doing anything about it back home. And I admit I'm at fault there. I encouraged and enabled it. We need to decide on these things before they get bad, or we'll end up burning our bridges again, and I don't want to be moved out of Beacon. I like it here. I like my team. Even Yang, for all that she won't stop being insufferable."
"Even Blake?"
"Even Blake. Really, Jaune, she isn't as bad as events made her seem. But I'm not asking you to go running to or deal with her like Yang did. Take your time. Blake is an issue that can be dealt with at your own pace – she's completely fine with that. And fine if you decide you never want to interact with her. Honestly, she's very mature."
"Are you saying I'm not?"
Weiss reached over and took his hand. "I'm not saying that at all. You're upset. Stressed. I am too. Don't you think I'd rather ignore everything going on and enjoy myself here as well? I'm not saying I want to talk shop, Jaune. I am saying we should. For both our sakes."
Damn it but she was right. It wasn't fair for him to ignore the matter if Weiss could suffer, either. He'd been driven out of Atlas and to Vale, and she'd have to up and leave her team if he caused the same here. "Fine. You're right. And I'm sorry. Things have been… tense."
"I'm well aware. Let's un-tense them, shall we? First of all. Us." Weiss squeezed his hand again. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with our relationship but I'm talking about how we act in public. I think you know what I mean given that rather shameless flirting in front of the reporters." Her lips quirked into a smile. "Unless you really meant all that?"
Jaune grinned back. "No comment."
"Mmmm. I'll let that slide for now. But yes, we need to show off more like that. Have you ever heard of show, don't tell? We need to do both. We need to show, tell, and shout. Otherwise, those idiots will start reading into stupid things like body language, eyebrows, or the way you walk, and saying it means something ridiculous like our relationship falling apart or you lusting after Pyrrha."
"Okay. So… more dates?"
"That's a given – but I was hoping we could do that anyway. I'm talking about… well…" Weiss glanced away and her cheeks heated up. It wasn't hard to imagine what she was thinking about, and he blushed as well.
"Oh. You mean more… uh… physical displays?"
"I-It's not like we haven't kissed before." They had been together almost a year and a half now. "But we've kept it private before. For good reason. I am… ugh." Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I hate that I have to say this but we could perhaps afford to be more expressive in public. No matter how awkward that sounds."
Was it awkward? Jaune had seen plenty of couples make out before, but he supposed those couples knew most people weren't watching. It would probably feel different if everyone in the area had their eyes glued on them. He wasn't against kissing Weiss. Quite the opposite. Doing it in public, though. It would feel weird. It would feel like they were faking it and putting on a show, which was exactly what they would be doing. It felt like it was cheapening the whole experience.
"Should I wait for you to initiate?"
"No. You have to initiate as well or they'll see that and decide you want out but I'm some lovesick girl clinging onto you. Just… I don't know… Make a move every now and then." Weiss glanced away again, her face bright red. "As long as you don't go too far I'm not going to complain. W-We're engaged. It's not like we haven't done things together."
They hadn't gone all the way. It was hard to get in the mood for that when he always had a bodyguard following him. They could now, though. They were in Beacon, relatively safe, and they were seventeen. Jaune wondered if she was thinking that as well and if that was why she was so embarrassed. He felt his own face burning.
"B-Beyond that we'll stick to what we know works!" continued Weiss. "Always support one another, keep any disagreements private from everyone else, and communicate."
"Right."
"Oh, and you'll need to stick to the hospital rota obviously."
"That… That might be a problem."
Weiss' eyes snapped to his. "What? Why?"
He explained as best he could the situation with his aura and the decision made by Oobleck and Tsune and then verified by Ozpin. Part of him wanted to say that he also didn't want to be tied to the hospitals all the time, but it took a single look at Weiss' face to realise that was a bad idea. She wanted him at the hospitals. Weiss wanted him healing, being the hero, and using his Semblance for good. It left his mouth fuzzy and his stomach dropping.
"It's a temporary problem, then?" asked Weiss.
"It might not be temporary. The double-shifts in Atlas were a continuous problem. No one noticed or cared to do anything about it because they saw my aura recovering as a good thing. Doctor Oobleck thinks it would be a bad idea to enable that again."
Weiss winced. "So, you'll be healing once a day?"
"Once a day on the weekends."
"Twice a week!? Jaune, your aura isn't that bad. You've managed fourteen times a week for over a year now. This is a seventh of what you did in Atlas."
"Weiss, we don't know what the impact of all this is. This could kill me if it turns out I'm burning through my soul faster than most people. I could be burning away my lifespan for all we know. Do you want me to die?"
"What? No. Of course not!" Weiss sat back. "Then we have to go public with this."
"With what? It's all theoretical."
"I know, but if you don't go public then everyone will make up their own minds as to why you're cutting your visits so short. I'll be the first to admit you shouldn't have to go public with private medical information but that's just how it is. You know people will dig into it if you don't."
He knew they would, but then him putting it out there would just be the same – they'd dig into it in a way as to call him out on a lie, or to decry the research Oobleck and Tsune were putting into it. Or they'd try and push it through some other people who would be politically motivated to decide he was "fine" to go back to healing.
"I'll talk with Ozpin about it."
"Jaune, you can't just-"
"I said I'll talk with Ozpin!" Jaune's voice rose. His hands gripped the table. "It's his school and he's the one who has to deal with the fallout of whatever I decide, so making a decision without even talking it through with him isn't fair."
"But-" Weiss saw his expression and gave up. "There's no point getting angry at me for this. I only want what's best for you."
"You only-" Jaune bit the acidic words in half. "Can we not talk about all this? Weiss, this is our first date in Vale. I've missed you. I wanted to spend time with you. I was looking forward to this! Instead, it's more work. I've already done my rota at the hospital today – for free, mind you. What more do you want?"
"I want things to be perfect again," said Weiss. "Like they were in Atlas."
Jaune shook his head. "Things were never perfect in Atlas, Weiss. They were just convenient – and more for you than me."
"We're not doing this here." Weiss closed her eyes and set her napkin on her lap. Just like that, the conversation was over. Just like that, his efforts to finally address the Grimm in the room were brushed aside. "We can talk more later. Or tomorrow. We're in public. Act the part."
They ate in silence. Outside, after their date, with undercover paparazzi brazenly watching, Weiss took his arm and drew him in. Their lips met, hands finding their ways around one another's backs, as they leaned in close and kissed.
It all felt so plastic.
/-/
Pyrrha wasted no time in coming over. The two of them were sat on his bed, side by side, with Pyrrha having her knees up to her chest and Jaune's legs sticking out down the bed. He was still in the same black suit he'd worn to the restaurant with Weiss, while Pyrrha was dressed in a more casual pair of jeans and a cream-coloured blouse. It was an odd contrast, but she didn't make mention of it and he was glad to have someone to just talk to.
"And they don't know what effect it will have on you?" asked Pyrrha. At the shake of his head she touched his wrist with her fingers. "Do you feel okay? Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt. I just feel like I'm on a constant sugar high. Part of me is wondering if that wasn't a big reason for why I snapped at Weiss."
"I don't think it's just that, Jaune. Weiss has… you two…" Pyrrha paused to find the right words, and then said, "What she said and how she acted was unfair on you. Being so business-like when you're supposed to be together. It's no wonder you felt upset."
It felt good to have someone say that. As always, his frustrations had felt so reasonable at the time but now, back at Beacon and two hours later, he found himself questioning every word. Had he been too forceful? Had he made a big deal out of nothing? Had he been in the wrong? Should he apologise? He didn't feel like he should, and yet Weiss had been quietly furious with him when they parted, and he knew it.
"I don't understand what she wants from me. No. I do. I know completely what she wants from me but I don't want that. Weiss would have me working the hospitals for the rest of my life because it's the right thing to do. I can't even fault her-"
"You can," said Pyrrha, pushing her shoulder against his. "And I do fault her. What's best for everyone else isn't what's best for you, Jaune. And she's your fiancée! Weiss should care more for your feelings and I'm sorry but it's painfully obvious you don't like being made to work every day in the hospitals. Anyone who can't see that is blind!"
Jaune laughed and relaxed beside her. "Yeah. Yeah, I hate it. I know that doesn't make me a bad person but it feels like it sometimes. Those people who died didn't want to die either, and I can fix that. Why should my happiness matter more than theirs?"
"Because they have their lives and you have yours. Their happiness shouldn't take priority over yours any more than yours should over theirs. Everyone has to live their own life. And you do enough. You do more than enough."
"I do. I know I do. It's just… The media doesn't even upset me half as much as Weiss does. Weird, isn't it?"
"Not really. People have said bad things about me in the newspapers and online and I can ignore it. But if you said something nasty about me it would hurt a lot more. I think it's always the case that those closest to us have the power to hurt us most."
"I guess so. Everything after was awkward too. Weiss said we should be more visibly open with our relationship. You know, to stop people making rumours that it's not working out."
Pyrrha leaned forward so her face appeared in his peripheral vision. "Is it working out?"
"What? Yeah, I mean-"
"Is it, Jaune? You're here complaining to me about how things aren't working out."
"That's not…" It was exactly what he was doing. Jaune felt his stomach drop even further. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm angry… more disappointed in Weiss at the moment. We've had a fight. These things happen. We just don't want people to take it out of context. All those weirdoes reading our body language and making assumptions off it."
"Hmmm. But have you ever wondered if they might have a point? Not all of it is nonsense and you and Weiss do argue a lot. Are things really that good between you? You've been on one date since getting back together at Beacon and it sounds like it was a total failure."
Jaune couldn't look at her. "That's not what the headlines say."
"It's not." Pyrrha brought out her scroll. Predictably, the pictures of him and Weiss kissing were already up on several news sites. "Love reaffirmed in Vale as couple separated by distance reunite once more." Pyrrha angled her scroll so he could see the picture.
He and Weiss were clinging to one another and yet it all looked so fake. To him, anyway. The times when they had been happy and kissed like that had been softer, gentler, almost shy. The picture had them embracing so hard that it almost looked rough and violent. He couldn't even remember it well, and not for any heady sense of enjoyment. The kiss had been utterly forgettable. Little more than a meeting of, and moving of, lips. There had been no passion to it.
"It was just a fake kiss," said Jaune. "If it fools then then it did its job."
"A real and passionate kiss would have done the job just as well."
"We'd just had a fight. It wasn't like either of us were in the mood." It was honestly impressive Weiss had put up with him enough to do that at all. Maybe he should apologise, if only to get this sorted and behind them. "Rough patches like this happen. They're normal."
"Fundamentally disagreeing on how you should spend the rest of your life is not a patch. That's a highway. I care about you. I really do. I want you to be happy and this?" Pyrrha shook the phone. "This isn't you being happy. Happy isn't you finishing a date with one girl and then begging another to come to your room so you can vent."
"I'm sorry-"
"The problem isn't the part where you're venting to me!" said Pyrrha, slapping her scroll down on his sheets. "The problem is the part where Weiss is trying to dictate your life for you – and where you're letting her! Put your foot down. Make it stop."
"What if she won't?"
"Then that's a bad sign for the future. Especially if you're going to spend the rest of your life with her. Maybe she can change. Maybe she isn't changing because you're not making your feelings clear. It can't hurt to talk."
Jaune snorted. "It hurt tonight. The date could have ended well if I'd kept my mouth shut. All I got for speaking out was a cold shoulder and a passionless kiss."
A warm hand touched his chin and drew it to the side. Jaune had the briefest moment to see Pyrrha's face coming close, eyes closed, before her lips touched his. It was like an electric spark, shocking him still and then shocking his heart into movement. Too much. Too fast. Pyrrha angled her head and leaned into him, and his eyes closed without thought.
It lasted too long and not long enough. When she drew back, face flushed and eyes open but lidded, he found himself chasing her lips. Until the reality of what he'd just done slammed into him. He stared at her, lost for words, heart racing.
Pyrrha was breathing heavily as well. "Does… Does that help any…?"
No.
It really didn't help.
Help, I am deeply and emotionally confused about my feelings.
Gets kissed by girl he's talking to.
"Does that help?"
Why would that make anything clearer!? Screaming Jaune.
Next Chapter: 23rd Feb
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