"Yang, the blood's contaminated, it might not Ruby's." Blake said in an attempt to reassure the girl, but Yang was having none of it.
"Ruby would never let anything happen to that cloak, it belonged to her mother. It's all she had left of her!" Yang yelled, Blake was happy that Glynda had given them a separate tent from everyone else but she knew that at least some of the soldiers had heard that outburst, "Jaune…Jaune…what happened to him?"
"Hm?" Blake asked, slightly confused by the question, Yang pulled her head up.
"Jaune…what happened to him? How did he lose that eye? Why did he do this? What happened to the lovable idiot that hit on Weiss all the time?" Yang asked, only to stop as she saw the tears in Blake's own eyes.
"I…I know how he lost that eye, I could have stopped it, if I had…" Blake said as tears started flowing from her own eyes.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, concern like no other coming into her face.
"It was a while ago…" Blake began.
Insert Flashback…
Blake looked over the warehouse, her hand tight on her blade. She had been scouting this place out for a while now and was ready make her move, Adam was here and he was her target. She grit her teeth at the thought of him, she could see the blade passing through Yang's arm, she could hear her cry of pain, she could smell the blood that should have flowed.
Blake wanted revenge and she intended to claim it, she readied herself to jump…but stopped suddenly, she heard someone calling orders and then? Silence, Blake leaned over to see that someone was being dragged roughly into the warehouse, she saw a bright flash of blonde. Blake shook her head, it couldn't be Jaune or Yang, it just couldn't. She heard a door open, she looked to the side and watched her prey leave the building, Adam Taurus.
She looked at him with such deep hatred that he almost felt it, but she couldn't bring herself to attack. That flash of blonde hair kept her standing still, it wasn't possible…but she had to be sure. The cat faunas leapt across the rooftop, landing silently on her feet. The warehouse didn't have any guards on the rooftop, but she still had to be careful. She ran over to a skylight, she could see all the cargo containers but her target was nowhere to be seen.
She almost left until she saw someone that she didn't expect to see, Cinder Fall and her lackeys entering a room. Blake ran over to the side of the building, thankfully, there was a fire escape for her to stand on. She looked inside a window and barely had time to suppress her gasp. Jaune Arc, the goofball idiot, was tied to a chair, he looked horrible, his hair was long and greasy, his chin was covered with stubble, and his two eyes stared at the trio in the room with more hatred than Blake had ever seen in all her days.
"Jaune Arc," Cinder said, approaching the teen, Jaune didn't say anything, "Do you mind telling me why you are here?"
Jaune didn't say anything, Cinder smiled as she took in his form. She knew that she could find endless enjoyment in breaking this one, but…even Cinder was taken a bit aback by his eyes. She hadn't interacted with him much…but even she could see the deepest darkest pit of hell in those eyes. They didn't belong on that body, but Cinder had to ignore those eyes as Mercury interrupted her.
"Why don't we just kill him and be done with it?" The assassin asked, cruelty shining in his eyes.
"Mercury, we don't exactly need too," Emerald said as she looked at the silver haired boy, "Besides, he might have good Intel that could help us."
"What, this clown?" Mercury said as he pointed at Jaune, "This guy could barely hold his own in a pissing contest, there's no possible way he could know anything. He's just Pyrrha Niko's sloppy seconds, I don't know why…"
Mercury's rant was cut off by Jaune Arc's snarling, the silver haired teen took a few steps back as Jaune struggled against the ropes holding him down. The trio watched as they stretched, they watched as Jaune's hands arms bled, and all that time? His eyes didn't leave Mercury, he wanted so desperately to tear out the fool's throat with his teeth.
An arrow flew out and pinned the teen's shirt to the chair, Cinder took a deep breath. She turned to Mercury with a frown.
"Emerald and I are going to check on our allies Dust supplies, it won't take us long. You'll be in charge of him, don't antagonize him." Cinder said as she looked at Mercury with a snarl, right before she and Emerald walked out. Blake had a sneaking suspicion that Cinder hoped that the silver haired boy would antagonize Jaune and pay for it.
The silver haired boy looked around the room, but again, his eyes fell to the teen in the chair. Mercury smirked as he walked over, leaning in close.
"You know…there wasn't anything you could have done," The silver haired teen said in a low voice, Jaune raised his head, "You couldn't have saved her, she didn't stand a chance. She was just a dumb bitch who…"
Mercury was cut off when Jaune slammed his head forward, smashing Mercury's face with his forehead. Blake could hear the crack of his nose breaking, the teen fell back, blood draining from his wound.
"Bastard," Mercury muttered, wiping his nose clean. The silver haired teen got to his feet, his eyes ablaze with rage. He looked around, his eyes stopping at a screw driver on the floor nearby, "OK, let's try this."
Mercury grabbed a random rag and shoved it into Jaune's mouth as a gag, then he grabbed Jaune's head.
"Let's give you some perspective." The assassin said…right before jamming the screwdriver into Jaune's eye, the silver haired teen twisted and turned, lacerating even more of the poor teens face, blood spurted from the wound, covering Mercury and Jaune.
"Mercury!" Emeralds voice brought the assassin out of his stupor, he whirled around to see Emerald running forward, shoving him out of the way. The thief leaned over, ripping the rage out and putting it into the eye to stop the bleeding, "Get out…"
"But…" Mercury started before Emerald cut him off.
"NOW!" The girl screamed, shocking Mercury and prompting him to exit. Emerald ripped off part of her shirt to wipe more of the blood off, doing her best to not hurt the injured teen.
"Why did you stop him?" Jaune asked, his voice low and deep.
"I…I jus…" Emerald started before bursting into tears, "She wasn't supposed to die…she wasn't supposed to be there…she wasn't supposed to fight…she…she wasn't supposed to die…"
"Tell me something Emerald," Jaune said as he looked up at her, "When she died, when…all that chaos happened, did you feel sorrow? Did you feel regret? Why did you do it?"
"I…I…I just wanted people to stop looking down at me, stop calling me street rat, Cinder made me feel like I was doing something, like I was…" Emerald stammered, her emotions on full display…that' also when she realized something, "Jaune…why didn't you scream?"
"The pain? It's nothing compared to what I felt when Pyrrha was killed," Jaune said in a dead tone of voice, "I'm going to make Cinder, Mercury, Adam, all of them suffer…I'll spare you."
"What? Why?" Emerald asked, confused at the statement. Jaune smiled, his face growing grotesque because of the empty eye socket.
"Because…you're already suffering because of your choices, don't worry…you'll get over them." Jaune said, right before the rope on his left arm snapped and a hand closed around Emeralds throat. The thief gasped as Jaune closed off her air, before gingerly letting her down. She wasn't dead, Blake could see the rise and fall of her chest.
"Let's go…" Jaune said aloud, Blake looked around for someone, but all she saw was Jaune vanish into what appeared to be shattered glass…
Back to the present…
"If I had jumped in, talked to him, maybe I could have helped him." Blake said, her voice wavering. Yang quickly wrapped her hands around the cat girl's shoulder, giving her comfort.
"Blake, we need to track down Jaune, we need answers." The blonde said in a deadly tone, Blake looked up and nodded. That's when Goodwitch stormed inside, her face was alight with anger.
"Which one of you sent a transmission to Atlas?" The witch demanded, shocking both of the girls.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked, confusion evident on her face.
"Someone sent a transmission to Atlas, barring the fact that the tower is down and that should be impossible," Goodwitch said harshly, her eyes alight with anger and curiosity, "It also managed to get into the Schnee persona records and send the message right to Weiss Schnee, which one of you did it?"
"Ma'me, I'm sorry but," Blake said, her voice hushed and quiet, "But neither of us would know how to do that."
"It would have to be you, you two are the only ones who know…of…Ruby's current…oh my Dust." Goodwitch said as slow realization took hold of her and the two teens.
"How could Jaune have sent a message? He has no background in that kind of field." Blake said, her voice soft and quiet.
"Let's chalk it up to other unexplained things that's happened the past few days, what did the message say?" Yang asked the still shocked professor.
"It said…" Goodwitch began…
In Atlas, in the Schnee mansion…
"Ruby Rose may be in trouble," Weiss read aloud to no one, "She has been kidnapped for some time now and we have recently received evidence that she might be dead at the hands of a new player, codenamed 'The Black Swordsman.' We understand that this might be difficult to process, but we recommend you not to do anything rash."
Weiss looked around her room, it was a grand affair, a vanity, dressers, a huge bed, but all of it seemed pointless right now. Ruby was…dead? That…that wasn't possible, that bubbly young girl who had shown her kindness, who had accepted her for who she was, who had…cared for her despite her cold attitude….dead? Weiss grit her teeth as she threw her scroll across the room in frustration, it smacked the wall with barely a sound.
She walked over to her vanity and stared into the mirror, her eyes filling with tears. Why? Why was she feeling this bad? She wanted to track down this "Black Swordsman," and skin him alive, she wanted him dead, and she wanted him to suffer. Why couldn't she get that smile, those eyes, that smell out of her head? Weiss could feel the desire to touch Ruby's head again, to hear that voice, to be…with her again.
Weiss started laughing, so that's what it was…she, heiress, ice queen, hunter, had fallen for Ruby Rose, her leader and partner. No wonder these feelings came up…and she would never be able to tell Ruby her feelings. She looked at the mirror, at that scar on her eye. This "Black Swordsman," whoever he was…was a dead man, she was going to make sure of that. The heiress whirled around and opened her closet, there was Myrtenaster, she grabbed it and started off for the dock.
The maids and butlers gave her a wide birth, they only needed to make one look into those eyes to know that she was not to be trifled with. She stormed her way to the dock captain, who looked like a deer caught in the head lights.
"Prep a ship, I'm going to Vale." The heiress ordered, the dock orderlies scrambling to avoid her gaze.
"Ms. Schnee, I'm sorry but I can't allow that, Vale is dangerous and your father would…" His rambling was cut short as Weiss whipped out her blade and pressed it to his throat.
"I'll repeat myself, prep…a…ship." Weiss said in a warning tone, but the captain suddenly gained a little bit of bravery.
"No, I will not, I cannot have…" The captain started, right before a blow to the back of the head knocked him out.
"So…is this how you conduct yourself amongst the help?" Winter's voice had no effect on Weiss, who merely uttered a un-heiress like snarl.
"Don't get in my way, Winter." Weiss said through gritted teeth, she had no intention of letting her older sister stop her.
"You're luck your my little sister, otherwise I'd correct your tone," Winter said with a grin, before moving closer to Weiss. The sword point mere centimeters from her chest, "I'm not here to stop you."
"What?" Weiss asked, clearly confused.
"I was stopping here to refuel when a message was sent to me by Ironwood," Winter said as she looked to a nearby ship, "He said that Atlas servers had gotten a message from Vale, addressed to you about Ruby Rose and the Black Swordsman."
"So what?" Weiss asked, clearly confused.
"He was sending me to investigate the Black Swordsman to begin with, and he wanted me to ask you if you'd like to help me in my investigation." Winter said with a grin.
"Why would he want my help?" Weiss asked, clearly more confused.
"Let's talk on the ship, that information is a tad…classified," Winter said as she started leading Weiss onto the airship, the crew members not batting an eye as she came on. She lead Weiss to the captains quarters and shut the door, "What I'm about to tell you is a secret, you may only share this with those you deem necessary."
"OK." Weiss answered, ready to do anything to head out.
"First things first, what do you know of the Freelancer project?" Winter asked, making Weiss give her a strange look.
"It was Atlas attempting to create power armor soldiers, but the system was too much for the average soldier to handle, so they implemented AI's to help pilot them," Weiss began, "However, the project was shut down after the Meta incident, which was only stopped by a group of red and blue rank soldiers. After that, Power Armor experiments were shut down to reallocate assets to Mech development, why?"
"That's the way it went down, project Freelancer was shut down, but…two years ago, a new project was begun," Winter said as she pulled up a screen, it showed a suit of black armor, "It was named project Berserk, the result was the Berserker Armor."
"That's…" Weiss stammered, the armor was intimidating just on the screen, "Terrifying."
"It is, the suit allowed the user to achieve feats of superhuman strength, speed, and durability, though nothing compared to the Freelancer armor," Winter said before taking a breath, "But it's real benefit was its unique Dust system."
Winter pressed a few keys and Weiss could see the entire system, she gasped. It was more akin to iron maiden than anything else, needles seemed to stretch all across it. That was before she looked at the Dust that it would use, she took one look…and almost fell down in shock.
"Beast Dust?" She whispered as she grabbed a nearby chair to steady herself, "Winter…they weren't…they couldn't…that's…Dust."
"As you clearly know, Beast Dust is an extremely rare Dust that's known for its…effects," Winter said with a firm voice, "It boost Aura levels, seals off the users nervous system, and reduces them to a blood hungry state."
"That stuff is dangerous Winter!" Weiss yelled, grabbing Winter and shaking her, "Please tell me you didn't use this suit!"
"I didn't," Winter said as she gently pushed Weiss's hand away, "The suit was designed to regulate it and, if need be, introduce a counter Dust to calm the effects. The suit was deemed too dangerous to use, however and was sealed away at a top secret location."
"Until now…" Weiss said, figuring out the punch line.
"Yes, we have reason to believe that the armor was taken and is being used by this 'Black Swordsman,' Ironwood has ordered by to investigate." The older Schnee sister said as she sat down on her bed.
"And why does he want me?" Weiss asked, still confused on that note.
"Because…we have reason to believe that the Black Swordsman may be no other than Jaune Arc." Winter replied, only to get a laugh from Weiss.
"Nice one," Weiss said, obviously not believing, even when Winter gave her a death stare, "Jaune Arc loved Ruby like a little sister, he would never hurt her."
"That may be so," Winter said, "I hope he isn't responsible, but with the death of his partner Pyrrha, he might have snapped."
"Trust me, that dumb idiot would never hurt Ruby." Weiss said with finality.
"I'll take your word for it, but I do have another matter to show you," Winter said as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a small briefcase, Weiss's eyebrows went up, "Ironwood called it an apology to one of your teammates."
Weiss opened the case to reveal…a golden prosthetic hand, chambered for shotgun shells.
And that's the end of that, now before I go I do have some words for all of you. Thank you so much for following/faving this story, it's quickly become the most popular story on my account and that is really encouraging. Seriously, over 50 faves at this point, it's so encouraging to me that I get to have so many people wanting to keep reading this story.
And, as always, Read and Review, it's the only way to make this story's quality better!