Chapter 4
Into the Fire
Mere hours after he departed, Jaune found himself locked in mortal combat with his lifelong nemesis: a foe with whom he had grappled since infancy and who now reared its gaping maw to consume him in throes of agony.
Air sickness.
Only a few more hours, he thought, a touch of desperation darkening his words.
Another roiling wave of nausea tore through him, and Jaune fought with himself, drawing on years of iron discipline to bend his suffering body to his will. He was an Arc, and an Arc was expected to master himself in all circumstances, even in his greatest weakness. After a few minutes, the worst of it left him, and although he still felt sick he was now at least capable of semi coherent thought.
The interior of the Atlesian Bullhead in which he was traveling left him little to take his mind off of his discomfort. It was clearly a military vessel; the hull was dull grey, and the only breaks in the unending pattern of metal plates were narrow window slits, barely enough to see out of. Not that he really wanted to. It'd just make the air sickness worse.
Instead, he turned his mind towards the documents that Professor Goodwitch had sent him a week ago, documents that he had spent the time since studying in great detail. They covered an enormous amount of information, from architectural plans to Beacon's history to the upcoming academic year, but while they were important Jaune knew that the biggest threat to Headmaster Ozpin would come from the people he allowed close. The architectural and security plans he had pored over were admirably thorough, and he doubted anything more than a concentrated assault could breach the school's defenses. No, if the Headmaster suffered an attack, it would be an inside job.
In that regard, Beacon was an absolute disaster.
Students came from all corners of Remnant; many of them had shady pasts or worrying psychological profiles, and by nature of their roles as huntsmen all of them were easily capable of killing very, very quickly. Worse, only rudimentary background checks had been conducted, leaving Jaune to wonder how a major tragedy, whether accidental or deliberate, hadn't already occurred. There also were several events a year that would involve exchange students or visitors, most notably the Vytal Festival, and much to his dismay Jaune realized that they would be housed within the Beacon main campus. It was a horrific security risk, although hopefully the Headmaster had the good sense to requisition additional security detail during those times.
As if a whole school of hormonal superpowered killers in training wasn't bad enough, Jaune wasn't convinced their professors were any better. Professor Goodwitch claimed the faculty could be trusted, but all of them had black marks on their records: Professor Port for multiple cases of excessive collateral damage on missions, and Professor Oobleck for possession of Grimm related contraband. The other faculty bore similar records of disgrace, almost as if it had been a criteria. For that matter, Jaune wasn't even certain that Professor Goodwitch was trustworthy, but she was the client, and as such she deserved his loyalty. Nothing less was expected of an Arc.
He'd already memorized the key information for every student attending Beacon for the semester, and would be putting a great portion of his initial time towards scouting them out. His most pressing problem at the moment, however, was to establish the character he would live out during his school days. For all the effort he'd put into studying other people he had spent very little developing his identity. Professor Goodwitch wanted him unsuspected, both to increase his ability to discover unknown threats and to keep the Headmaster at ease, but she had left the intricacies of accomplishing that up to him. His only regret was that in a moment of thoughtlessness, she had registered him under his true name. The Arc name was near synonymous with bodyguards, and it wasn't impossible that someone would recognize and suspect him as a result. Perhaps it had been unavoidable, what with all the legal documents that enrolling him would entail.
Regardless, he had to decide on character attributes that would leave him apparently harmless and sociable, so that he could better keep an eye on his classmates. During his week of preparation, he'd filled entire notebooks on potential characters, complete with background, theoretical reactions to different situations, dreams and aspirations, and quirks, among other things, but none of them had felt exactly right. More like bits and pieces of them were good, but he was having a lot of trouble making any kind of whole out of all the parts.
It was all a foggy swirl, and he was sure everything was there, somewhere, but he hadn't really been trained for this and he needed time-
The Bullhead shook slightly before the noise of the engines suddenly dissipated, and with a start Jaune realized that they had landed. His concept of time had fled from him, caught up as he was in his thoughts.
Alright then. Figure it out later.
It was sloppy thinking, not becoming of an Arc, but now that he was actually at Beacon there were higher priorities than creating a perfectly waterproof character. People wouldn't know him that well yet anyways. Right now, he needed to get more familiar with the area and people; preparation was critical, and plans could only tell him so much.
The exit ramp lowered. With a deep breath, Jaune stepped off the aircraft and onto the landing platform.
Beacon was a very attractive campus. Wide, well lit spaces, plenty of vibrant plants, paved walkways, sparkling fountains, and pristine buildings all contributed to an impression of a top tier, well funded school. If he had been a prospective student, he would have been stunned, overwhelmed, awe struck. If he had been a new student, he would have been ecstatic, thrilled, excited. But instead he was a professional, and that meant he needed to scout the campus, get his bearings, and become familiar with potential threats, both structural and people. Plans were excellent, but nothing beat first hand knowledge.
He set off at a lazy stroll, taking extra care to ensure that he constantly wore an expression of wonder as he scanned. When he made eye contact with other students, he waved awkwardly. Awkwardness had been a recurring trend in all his potential characters.
It was only when a girl's voice called out to him that he realized that maybe he had done too good a job feigning cluelessness.
"Excuse me!"
He turned. She was tall, almost tall as him, with striking red hair pulled into a long pony tail. She was dressed in what appeared to be bronze armor, and the effortless silence with which she walked spoke of long comfort in bearing it. He recognized her instantly. She was one of the students he had made special note of, one of the few he wasn't certain he could overcome in combat.
Pyrrha Nikos.
"Um, hi," he responded lamely. "Can I help you?" Halting at first, then transition into suave gentleman. It came naturally, so he went with it, making mental note that it was now part of his established character.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "You looked confused, so I was wondering if you were lost." She smiled hesitantly. "I'm afraid I'm lost myself. Perhaps we could search together?"
She was eyeing him cautiously, almost fearfully, but he couldn't imagine why. With his dorky armor and deliberately gangly movement, he couldn't possibly cut a less intimidating figure. Still, for some reason she had sought him out, and if he could forge a friendship she would be a very valuable asset.
"Yeah, I'm lost," he responded with a sigh. "It would be great to have some company."
She smiled widely, an enthusiastic, genuine reaction. "Then it would be honor." When Jaune resumed his earlier pace, she fell into step beside him.
"So, what's your name?" he asked. Almost immediately, she fell back into intimidated caution.
"Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos," she finally responded. Jaune wondered why she sounded so hesitant. Was she ashamed of her name and what she'd accomplished?
But that was a thought that Jaune Arc would have, not Jaune the hapless Beacon student, and so he crafted words that would better fit his new identity. Student-Jaune did not know Pyrrha Nikos, even if Jaune Arc did.
"That's a nice name," he said. "Very pretty."
She stared at him in wide eyed amazement. "Pretty?"
"Isn't it? Uh, do you not think so?"
The smile returned, an exhibit of beaming joy. "No, I quite agree with you," she said, voice tinged with chuckling relief. "I've just never been told that before."
Perfect. During his brainstorming sessions leading up to Beacon, he had been worried that an awkward persona might be perceived as undesirable, but she seemed to really like Student-Jaune. "That's too bad. It really is. Pretty, I mean."
She laughed, a surprisingly bubbly sound considering her reputation. "And what's your name?"
"Jaune Ar- uh, Jaune."
"Jaune Aruhjaune?" she asked in confusion.
"Sorry. Just Jaune. Short, smooth, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." The last words slid out of his mouth like oil, and he wondered where they had come from. He certainly hadn't planned for them.
"I see," Pyrrha said, eyes twinkling with mirth. "Well, this lady certainly loves it."
"Really?" he asked, an echo of her earlier wide eyed amazement. "Wait, seriously? That's great! We should totally be friends."
Pyrrha laughed again, charmed by his bumbling enthusiasm. A warm burst of triumph flooded through Jaune. "I would be delighted."
They set off together to finish scouting their new home, chatting amiably.
::-::-::
Weiss Schnee felt bad.
Which was a terribly unsophisticated way to describe, well, anything, but she couldn't think of anything more specific to describe her inner turmoil, so bad would have to do.
She'd spent the week planning and planning, only contacting Ruby two days before they were scheduled for their flight. She'd gone over the details of their new Beacon identities at least three times, but her partner had been distracted, absent. Normally she'd be annoyed, but in this case she couldn't manage it. Especially because she was at least indirectly responsible for the younger girl's melancholy.
Only for this case, though. Ruby was still a pain to work with.
With a thump, the Bullhead touched down on Beacon's landing platform. Weiss strode out, the very picture of confident grace. She was the Schnee heiress, and everyone should know it.
It was a reminder to herself as well as to others. That she should be proud of her name, or at least what it used to mean, and that very soon the rest of the world would remember. She would make them remember.
Beacon was a pleasant enough place, even by her exacting standards. It was clean, structured, organized, an efficiently managed machine. It wasn't particularly noteworthy, but she also had no complaint against it, which was in itself a remarkable achievement.
She motioned to the Schnee family servants behind her, and at her beckoning they rolled a cart containing all of the supplies she would require for the year. Most notably, it held several massive cases of the dust she would expend during combat.
"Thank you," she said. "That will be all. Send my regards to my father."
It was a bit of a backhanded insult, given that she was here without his approval. The servants did not comment, however, instead choosing to bow and make their way back towards the Bullhead. When they were gone, Weiss let out a quiet sigh. Although she would never admit it, it was a little intimidating being so deep in enemy territory.
A flash of vibrant red caught her eye, and when she turned to find the source she saw Ruby, staring with undisguised passion at the weapons that other students were carrying. The casual observer could be forgiven for assuming she was awestruck in admiration, but Weiss knew her partner well enough to catch the hint of a smirk as Ruby analyzed the weapons around her.
Heh. Amateurs. Mental-Ruby said. I coulda built something better when I was twelve.
You are insufferably arrogant, Mental-Weiss responded. Which was something of an ironic accusation, but she refused to acknowledge that.
Not arrogance if it's true, Mental-Ruby countered.
That just makes it truly arrogant, Mental-Weiss sighed.
It was only when Ruby began meandering towards her that Weiss was broken out of her inner dialogue. The younger girl's attention was still focused on other students, not her immediate surroundings, so when a much taller boy jousled her roughly she was sent sprawling. She got back to her feet with a huff of indignation before resuming her slow trek towards Weiss.
Weiss shot Ruby a sidelong glance, brow furrowed in confusion. They had both agreed that the two of them should pretend not to know each other in order to mitigate potential suspicion, so what could she possibly be thinking…?
No. No, there was no way. But the kind of contrived convenience of an "accidental" meeting was exactly the kind of foolishness Ruby would attempt. It wouldn't even surprise her if her partner had allowed herself to be knocked over, just to give an impression of clumsiness.
She should really move. Surely the headmaster was going to address the incoming students soon, and she had things to do before then: dust to store, lockers to find and buildings to navigate, but morbid curiosity about the impending disaster Ruby was about to inflict on her kept her feet firmly rooted in place.
She didn't wait long. Almost as if it was slow motion, Ruby pivoted innocently, marveling at her surroundings. Weiss's cart was right behind her. The heiress realized her partner's intent far too late.
"Watch ou-" she began, voice warped with genuine panic, before the world exploded in a deafening cacophony of searing heat and brilliant orange-red flame.
The only reason both of them survived was that Ruby somehow managed to detonate one case without causing a catastrophic chain reaction. She'd also picked the case with the least potent dust, a low grade fire powder that was meant primarily for training.
It still hurt really, really badly.
The explosion threw Weiss back a good ten feet, ears ringing uselessly in the aftermath of the shockwave. Miraculously, Ruby appeared mostly unharmed. Needless to say, this irritated the Heiress to no end. Weiss gasped for breath and tried to clear the dizziness from her head.
"What-" she began, after the short amount of time she needed to recover to the point of rant-readiness. "What-" what is wrong with you? What are you thinking? Why am I stuck with a thoughtless, daredevil imbecile of a partner? "Do you have any idea what you just did to my dress?!"
Ok. On a list of priorities, that probably didn't make the top ten. Or the top hundred. She must be really rattled if that was what slipped out of her.
Ruby blinked. "Uh… It's uh… Grey now? Well, more black really. But it still looks nice! Or at least about the same as before," She hastened to add.
Weiss stalked over to where her partner still sat splayed across a pile of toppled dust cases. "You. Are one. Of the most utterly irresponsible individuals I have ever had the misfortune of meeting!" She jabbed an accusatory finger into the younger girl. "Do you have any idea how close you came to killing us both?"
"Not close enough, apparently," Ruby sulked.
"Dust is volatile. Extremely volatile," Weiss snapped. "You're lucky you didn't set off a chain reaction that would have left a crater fifty feet deep!"
Ruby threw her hands in the air. From her position on the ground, it looked ridiculous. "Well, sorry! It was an accident!"
Liar. You horrible, dirty liar.
"Just never bother me again!" Weiss snapped, and stalked off. She'd return for the dust later. While she was genuinely angry, there was a warning hidden underneath her harsh words. They're watching. Stay away from me for a while. Behind her, Ruby let out a growl of frustration.
Come on, Ruby. What are you doing?
::-::-::
Ruby glared daggers at the retreating back of her partner. Alright, so maybe it had been a little bit reckless, and maybe it was logical for Weiss to be upset, and maybe it would have been smarter to wait until initiation, but come on, she coulda worked with it, right? She didn't have to be so cold.
Heh. Cold.
A pale hand entered her field of vision, and Ruby looked up in surprise. A girl stood over her, hand outstretched. Long, jet black hair, primarily black clothing, and a lithe figure gave off the impression of an aloof and dangerous individual, but what drew Ruby's attention were a pair of piercing golden eyes. Combined with the supernatural balance that the girl exuded, Ruby came to a rapid conclusion.
Faunus. Cat Faunus.
A dark ribbon hid where the young assassin assumed the ears were, but long years of harsh training and life and death situations had left Ruby very confident in her perception.
But why hide it? Most Faunus are proud of their heritage. They kinda have to be.
"Rough first day?" the girl asked, and her voice was calm, a soft, pleasant harmony.
Ruby grasped her hand, and the girl helped her up. She was surprisingly strong."Maybe a little."
"Hang in there." Having helped her up, the girl abruptly turned and walked away.
"Wait!" Ruby called. The girl didn't even slow, instead pulling a book out of her pouch as she walked. "What's your name?"
"Blake," she replied bluntly.
"Uh, thanks for the help," Ruby said.
Blake waved her hand dismissively, noise buried in her book.
Ruby sighed. "Zero for two, Ruby. Great start."
If she hadn't been so lost in her self-pity, she may have noticed a pair of purple eyes locked onto her, wide with horror.
::
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A/N: Sorry for the delay. School started back up, I got inspired for a one shot, and Xcom 2 came out. I'll leave it to you to decide which was the most disruptive.
The whole student facade is well and truly under way. What people say may not be what they think, even from their own point of view. Of course, that goes doubly if it's NOT their point of view.
My writing style is all over the place, compared to earlier chapters. Maybe it's from writing a lot more than I used to, or maybe it's because I'm perpetually tired. It feels a lot lazier to me, but let me know what you think. I guess it's easier to read now?
Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed, with double thanks to those who reviewed. I didn't really realize just how encouraging they are until I started writing myself. Hopefully this chapter answered some of the questions that were floating around after last chapter.