What's this? An early chapter for once? Is Doltish Dust finally about to stop complaining every chapter about how busy he is with relatively minor revision and just get on with what should be an easy task of writing a dozen pages every week?
Not a chance, just had this one ready and felt bad about last chapter being late. Don't get used to it.
"We must be careful not to assign this deliverance the attributes of victory. Wars are not won by evacuations"
Winston Churchill
Chapter Seventeen—Flight
Finn couldn't quite believe they'd actually escaped. That they'd actually been able to outwit a general of Atlas, defeat his guard of robot soldiers, steal his ship and haul ass off into the sunset, or some equally sappy shit like that. He still half expected at any moment some disaster to slam into them and slap their smug grins off their cocky faces: the engines of the airship to fail, an enemy ship to shoot them out of the sky, a bolt of omnipotent lighting to strike them, confirming once and for all that whatever gods existed out there had a sick sense of humour and a particular delight in torturing Beta section specifically.
But nothing did happen, and for that Finn wasn't quite sure how to feel; to be too relieved would only beg the fates to spit on their triumph.
He was sitting with his back against a wall in the main hold of the airship, the ramp to the outside world just a few meters away from him. Warily he eyed up the Atlesian robot Lightning Phil had hijacked, currently standing motionless by the door. Even though Lighting assured them he had complete control over it, Finn couldn't help but shudder at that faceless helmet and too-still body. It gave him the creeps.
He turned away from it and did his best to ignore it, massaging his aching ankle instead. Not broken, fortunately, as Naomi had discerned, but it still throbbed dully from when he'd tripped over it in the mad rush back to the bullhead. He would have died—thought he was dead for a moment, abandoned and left to rot at the hands of the Atlesian soldiers—had it not been for… Bounty.
Finn swivelled his head to watch the bearded, slightly porky figure of Bounty, who was sitting a little way away. For the longest time Finn had been sure Bounty hated him for what he'd done in the first ambush: running away to try to save himself. The man had as good as confirmed it when he'd buried a fist into Finn's stomach when they'd next met. Finn rubbed the phantom pain away, the memory of it all too prevalent.
Then, on top of that, he'd insulted Finn's wife after they'd taken on the Atlas outpost. Finn still felt his blood heating when he thought back to what Bounty had said about Jasmine, and no poorly given apology later could have fixed that. But still…
The man had risked life and limb to save him, going back into the line of fire to pick him up after he'd fallen and carry him back to the airship. That action: going back into the Ursa's lair… it had been brave. Stupid, reckless and foolhardy. But brave.
Finn didn't know what to make of that.
"How is your ankle?"
Finn leapt a full foot into the air. "Holy fucking hell, Aiden, don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Ah, my apologies, Finnegan," said the wolf Faunus, looking ironically sheepish. "I sometimes forget how quiet I can be. I did not mean to frighten you."
"It's fine," muttered Finn. "The ankle's fine as well. It just got twisted, not broken."
"That is a relief."
"Thanks for helping us back there," Finn said after a pause. "With your sniping and all."
"It was no problem. I feel that it is I that should be thanking you. If you hadn't shouted that you had been captured, Jaune and I may never have known that you were in trouble."
"Faunus hearing, huh?" joked Finn, recalling their previous conversation where Aiden had admitted to often eavesdropping on conversations he shouldn't be.
"Indeed," smiled Aiden. "That was quick thinking. Not to mention exceptionally brave."
Finn took the compliment with a nod but didn't say anything. He hadn't intended to be brave, he'd just been doing whatever was necessary to survive. Bravery was for bold fools who wanted to rush face first into their graves. Finn was more than happy to leave that death wish of an emotion to someone else. Besides, his idea had been born out of desperation, not ingenuity; it had had just as much chance of never even reaching Aiden as of success. He supposed he just got lucky.
Aiden coughed into his fist, and it was only then that Finn realised how shamefaced Aiden seemed. "I apologise," he said, not quite meeting Finn's eyes. "For almost leaving you behind like that after you came back for me. I should have ensured you could keep up with me, or at the very least I should have gone after you when you fell. I should have done more to help you. For that, I am sorry."
"It's alright," Finn reassured him, and he meant it. "I don't blame you for me tripping. I blame that bastard of a loose rock." That at least earned a small smile out of Aiden. "Besides, I didn't die in the end, so what does it matter."
"No, you did not," admitted Aiden. "But only because of Bounty."
And now they were back to this. Finn glanced over at the person in question once more, trying to make sense of him. Of why he'd come back, despite all the shit between them.
"You should thank him," encouraged Aiden, noticing his gaze. Finn looked at Aiden sharply, but the Faunus' features were moulded into neutrality. Finn gave a bitter chuckle.
"We're not exactly on good talking terms," explained Finn. "In case you've forgotten, he thinks I'm a treacherous snake who cares for nothing but his own hide."
"Do you?"
"Of course not," snapped Finn. Then he sighed. "I mean… I don't try to be. But I made a promise to my wife that I'd come home alive. At first that was all I could think about. That's why I had such a piss-poor attitude with Sergeant Cole. I was trying to make him kick me out. And that's why when we were first attacked I… I ran," he admitted. Saying it out loud, realising that he would have barely given the others a passing thought had they not found him afterwards, wouldn't have really cared if they'd lived or not… even he could see how selfish that had been. Worse, he could see how Jasmine would have found that selfish. He'd been so blinded by his fear and his need to get home that he'd have willingly thrown away everyone else's lives. But even if he had gotten home, could Jasmine have ever looked at him the same way as before, knowing what he'd done? He hated wondering what that would have done to their relationship. He hated thinking what kind of monster she'd have seen him as. He hated that he had been that monster, even just for a while.
So yeah, he could understand why so many people in the section despised him.
"And now?" enquired Aiden. Finn looked at him, confused.
"If it came down to it now, would you leave us all to save yourself again?"
"No," answered Finn, and he knew that it was the truth. Despite his best efforts not to care, he'd begun to feel for the others. He pitied Nuke and the way she'd lost her brother so suddenly. He trusted Jaune as a leader, even despite his less than glistening track record. And Aiden: the one member of the squad who hadn't been disgusted by his mistake; who had made an effort to get to him, even when Finn refused to make an effort in return; who had been the pillar of support and encouragement Finn hadn't even realised he so desperately needed: that man he'd begun to even see as a friend. If it even came down to it again, he knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself to abandon them a second time.
"Then it does not matter what Bounty thinks. It is wrong, and he will undoubtedly realise that eventually. You did save his life after all." That much at least was true. Back when they'd been attacked by the Grimm, Finn had pulled Bounty away from the jaws of a Boarbatusk. "If nothing else," continued Aiden, "then you ought to thank him for nothing more than the mere fact he saved your life. Even if he scorns your gratitude, then at least you will know that you tried, and that it is on him to make the first move towards peace."
"Why do you care so much anyway?" questioned Finn.
Aiden took a while to respond to that. When he did, his voice seemed more subdued than before. "When you were all captured, there was nothing I could do to save you. For a moment, I thought I had lost the only family I had ever had. I realised then that this section is the most important thing to me in my life. I do not want to see it torn apart because of the animosity between Bounty and you."
Was that really what they were doing? Tearing up the team? Finn had never thought of it that way, but maybe that was because he'd been too busy arguing with Bounty. Aiden had the outsider's perspective on this one, and if what he said was true…
Finn didn't want to see that happen. Despite how much he might dislike some of the members in this section, they worked well together. They'd stubbornly clung to life through trial after trial after trial, somehow managing to stay half a step ahead of death's jaws. They'd defied every odd and expectation (mostly that they'd die within the first five minutes). They'd been spat on by a pantheon of scornful gods and had put a middle finger up at them. The thought of losing that, of losing this section after all they'd been through… it wasn't right.
"Fine," muttered Finn. "I'll talk to him." Aiden nodded his thanks as Finn eased himself to his feet. He began meandering towards Bounty, taking as long as he could to reach his destination. Eventually though, he ran out of floor space, and so, mouth unusually dry and palms inexplicably clammy, Finnegan Fletch confronted the Goliath in the room.
"Bounty," said Finn. Bounty glanced up.
"Finn," said Bounty. Not Flea. Not the nickname he'd used to call him with such contempt.
"I just… I guess I just wanted to say… that I appreciate…" Damnit, this was hard.
He knew. The bearded bastard knew what he was trying to say, goddammit. He had a little smile splayed across his face and was just sitting there, patiently waiting for Finn to spit out his gratitude. Finn almost walked away right there and then. But Aiden had been right about one thing: Bounty had saved his life. When no one else had dared to risk running back into the Beowolf's den, Bounty had in order to rescue Finn after he'd twisted his stupid ankle. Maybe it had just been because he'd been in the right place at the right time, or maybe because he seemed to have zero self-preservation, but for whatever reason Bounty had still come back for him. For that, if nothing else, he deserved some thanks.
"Thanks," he finally finished. "For, um, saving my life back there." Finnegan expected Bounty to make some stupid joke or say something snarky about Finn needing to be saved. But strangely enough, for one of the few times Finn could recall, Bounty didn't have a stupid grin plastered on his face. Instead he looked (if it were even possible for Bounty) sincere.
"I guess we're even then," he said, not a drop of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yeah. I guess so." The two men fell silent. Finn stared at Bounty. Bounty stared at Finn. The silence dragged on.
Well ok then. Job accomplished, he guessed. Finnegan turned to go.
"Hey Finn," called Bounty. Finn turned back to him. "I don't suppose… do you think we could… what I'm trying to say is…" Apparently this was proving as hard for Bounty as it had been for Finn. "Have a beer," he finally offered, holding up a can. Finn's eyes widened.
"Where on Remnant did you find that?"
"Turns out the ice pricks do drink," grinned Bounty. "Found this in a storage cupboard whilst checking out the ship." Finnegan thought about it for a full second, before his thirst overpowered his suspicion. He took the peace offering for what it was, then tentatively sat down opposite Bounty. "To not having buggered it up too bad," Bounty toasted cautiously.
"To getting the fuck out of this nightmare," replied Finn. The two tentative allies chinked cans and drank deeply.
God that tasted good. Finn had almost forgotten how heavenly a cold one could be, especially when it had been deserved. Finn reckoned after all the shit they'd been through they were owed at least a few truckloads of the stuff. And whilst the company could have certainly been improved… it wasn't as bad as Finn had feared. At least Bounty seemed to be behaving: his boisterous, loudmouthed, crude behaviour for once subdued. In fact, it seemed Bounty was even making an effort to be civil.
Well, Finn supposed he could at least try to do the same.
"That's a good beer," he noted.
"Real good."
"Tastes… good."
"Yeah…"
The conversation petered off into silence.
"Can't remember the last time I had one of these," Finn tried again.
"Been bloody ages."
"At least before joining the army."
"At least."
Finn's mind came up blank with a response.
Damnit, why was this so hard? It was just talking. Just conversing with a man whom Finn had considered a nemesis not two days ago. How difficult could that be?
"Can you… tell me about your wife," tried Bounty. Finn's eyes instinctively flashed in warning, and Bounty quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, fine. You don't have to tell me about her if you don't want. I can't blame you. I just thought… forget it."
Too right he should forget it. Tell Bounty about his wife? That was… it was… it just wasn't right. After what he'd said about Jasmine, Bounty had no right to know about her. No right at all. It was… it was weird and creepy and…
Why was it so bad? Finn didn't own Jasmine. She wasn't his to decide who would know about her. And Bounty's question… maybe it'd just been a bad attempt at making conversation, but… maybe he was sorry about what he'd said about her before. He had apologised for it, once, but Finn had been in no mood for forgiveness then. Maybe he wanted to broach the subject again because he felt guilty about it. Was it wrong to spit on Bounty so quickly?
Out of the corner of his eye, Finn noticed movement from Aiden. He looked over to the wolf Faunus, the other man giving him not-so-subtle hints to talk, probably having overheard their entire conversation.
Nosey bloody parker.
"Jasmine is…" began Finn, "she's everything you could ever want in a wife. In a human. Sweet. Caring. Compassionate. She's never loved me for anything but who I am, but even so she makes me want to be a better person. For her."
"She sounds like a great person," Bounty said tightly.
"She is. She's the best person in the whole damn world. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't wonder how in hell a guy like me ended up finding a girl like her. Guess I must be the luckiest man alive."
"How did you meet?"
Finn chuckled at the memory. "I met her when I went to a bar."
"You met her in a bar?"
"In a bar? God no, Jasmine doesn't touch alcohol. I bumped into her on the way to a bar. Literally bumped into her. Knocked her handbag out of her hands. She thought I was mugging her at first." Even Bounty laughed at that. "When she realised it was an accident she was so embarrassed she asked if she could make it up to me with a drink. I thought she meant alcohol. Turned out she meant coffee. Still ended up being the best decision I ever took."
"It sounds like you love her," breathed Bounty. Finn peered at him, but Bounty's eyes were a million miles away. What kind of question was that?
"I do," said Finn cautiously.
The answer seemed to drag Bounty back to the present. He blinked at Finn, as if only just realising he was there, then looked down. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "For what I said about her before. I mean it."
Finn shifted uncomfortably. Now would be the time a good person would have forgiven Bounty. But… "Why did you even say it?" he asked.
"Cause I'm an arsehole, remember?"
"That's not a reason."
"No, it's not, but it's better than the truth, so that's what I'll give you." Bounty gave Finn a brittle smile. "But I didn't mean any of it. I just wanted to hurt you, and I'm genuinely sorry. I understand if you can't forgive me, but… there it is. I was wrong."
Finn mulled over the apology. On the one hand, he still half wanted to tell Bounty to stuff it. After what he'd called Jasmine that night around the campfire—a whore—a part of him could never forget that. But then again, Bounty was at least trying to apologise for that. And he seemed to genuinely mean it as well. To throw that back in his face, right when he was trying to open up just felt… cruel. And it wouldn't do the section any good to hold a grudge against Bounty. Besides, Jasmine would have told him to forgive and move on. Even if it was she that had been insulted, she would have told him to let his resentment go. Still though…
This time, he didn't even bother acknowledging Aiden's attempts to get his attention.
"After what you said about my wife… I don't think I could ever quite forgive you…" Bounty's gaze dropped, acceptance and, worse, understanding gleaming in his eyes, until Finn added, "But maybe… maybe we can move past it. You did bring me beer, I suppose."
Bounty nodded, and Finn returned the gesture, an unspoken agreement passing between the two men. They still weren't quite sure where they stood with each other, but they were willing to make an effort to move past what had gone on between them before. "A man forgets, but never forgives," intoned Bounty. "A woman forgives but never forgets."
"The hell was that?" enquired Finn.
"Just an old saying I heard," explained Bounty. "Dunno, it felt apt."
"I guess…" said Finn. The man part he could understand, but he didn't see how mentioning the woman bit had been relevant. At least, he didn't, until Bounty's eyes flickered up. Finn followed Bounty's line of sight, and when he saw whom they rested on, realisation clicked into place for Finn.
Ah. Bounty was talking about that train wreck.
"I really fucked up, didn't I?" muttered Bounty.
"You really did."
"Not helping."
Finn sighed and glanced over at Cat again, who was sitting a little way away and point-blank refusing to acknowledge them. Finnegan remembered how close Bounty and Cat had been not too long ago; Tweedledum and Tweedle-bleeding-dee, sparring jokes and fencing banter. But ever since that night around the camp fire, when Bounty had had the genius idea to insult not only Finn's wife, but all of womenkind as well…
Turned out Cat wasn't the forgiving or the forgetting type.
Finnegan didn't really know why he cared. Bounty had only just stopped being a dick to him, and Cat probably still hated his guts. He didn't owe either of them anything. And yet… there was something undeniably… sad about what had been lost between the two of them. Cat hadn't joked as much since then and seemed to have become even more bitchy (if that were even possible). Bounty meanwhile… he didn't laugh like he used to. Didn't grin so much. And from the sheer glumness in his voice when he'd referred to Cat, it was clear that what he'd said was eating him up. For some strange, undefined reason, that bothered Finn more than it should have.
Must be the alcohol.
"You should talk to her, you know," Finn told him. "She cares about you more than she wants to admit. Whatever beef is between you is clearly eating her up. And you." He gave a pointed stare at Bounty.
Bounty sighed. "What would I even tell her? 'Hey Cat, sorry for saying all women are unfaithful sluts, I was thinking maybe we could just move on past that. What do you say?' That's probably the surest way of getting a boot up my arse."
"Maybe," replied Finn. "Doesn't matter though. You still have to apologise to her for what you said." Bounty peered at him, his look making it clear that he either thought Finn hadn't heard him properly, or that he was too thick to understand the stupidity of that suggestion. "This isn't about you anymore," explained Finn, rolling his eyes. "This is about trying to make up for being an arse. So you're going to go over there and say that you were wrong and stupid and that you're sorry. Then whether she kisses you or kicks you, you take it, because it's no less than you deserve. But at the very least you have to apologise." Saying sorry. That's what Jasmine would have said to do. Finn wasn't a good person, but he had one hell of a role model to work towards. "Besides, things can't get any worse than they already are between you two," he added.
Bounty scrutinized Finn long and hard, judging the truth behind his words. Finally, he sighed. "We'll I suppose you're right about that. Fine, I'll do it."
"Great. After you," said Finn, indicating to where Cat was sitting.
"Now?!"
"Why not? Unless you're scared?"
"Of course not," Bounty grumbled. When Finn still made no move to go first, Bounty sighed. He tensed his gut, as if that would steel his nerves. Then without warning he leapt to his feet and advanced on Cat, as if desperate to close the distance before his courage could abandon him.
Now that Bounty's back was turned, Finn's plastered grin slid off his face, revealing the grimace underneath. This wasn't going to be pretty. Not by a long shot. This would be a raging sea slamming against a mountain. A feral tiger slashing into a boulder. A Cat against a Bounty. They'd be lucky if the whole airship wasn't torn out of the sky in a blazing wreck by the end.
Finn probably ought to go with Bounty to ensure the collateral damage was kept to a minimum. He was probably morally obliged to try to reduce casualties, seeing as he was the one who'd sent Bounty Cat's way. In that case, he should also probably stop stalling and just get on with it.
Finn sighed. This was going to be a pain in the arse.
Cat saw him coming. Saw him and pretended she didn't, continuing to clean a spotless Atlesian weapon she'd nicked from somewhere on the ship. Bounty got to within a full foot of her and still she refused to acknowledge his presence. She just had to make this harder.
Bounty coughed into his fist. Cat didn't react. "Cat…" he began.
"What?" she demanded. Short. Snappy. Sharp. So that was how this conversation was going to proceed. Fan-fucking-tastic.
Bounty allowed himself a single, steading breath before he began. He felt Finn's presence behind him, hovering awkwardly at a safe distance, but he didn't care. Finn was right about one thing: this was about Cat now. "Cat, I want you to know that I'm sorry. What I said, that night around the campfire, it wa—"
"What did you say that night, Bounty?" asked Cat, her voice as sweet as venom. "Please, refresh my memory."
"You know what I said."
"Oh no, I really don't. Why don't you remind me again what you told us all, hm?"
Bounty gnashed his teeth together. Cat just couldn't make this easier on them all, could she? "I said, that all women… that all women were… unfaithful," he gritted out, the words he used so freely now like nails on his ears.
"Are you sure you said that? I could have sworn you phrased it differently. What exactly did you say, Bounty?"
Damn her for making him say it. Damn Finn for the accusing gaze that bore into his back like a drill. Damn himself for getting him in this situation in the first place. "I said," he ground out, hating himself even as he repeated, "that women wouldn't know the meaning of faithful if it bit them on the tit."
"Oh yes! That was it, wasn't it?" In the blink of an eye, Cat's mockingly sweet façade was gone, torn off and slashed to bloody ribbons as a twisted snarl just on the wrong side of feral took its place. "Is that what you think of me, Bounty? Of Naomi? Are we little more than jumped-up whores with guns?"
"I didn't mean th—"
"But you said it," she accused, and damn her if she wasn't dead right. "So what did you mean? What possessed you to spit in our faces that bad? What on Remnant could you have been thinking of when you said th—"
"I was thinking of my wife!" shouted Bounty. Cat's mouth snapped shut. Before she could interject again, Bounty ploughed on. "I wasn't thinking of you, or Naomi, or even Jasmine. I was thinking of Jade, my wife." Finnegan was wrong. It wasn't enough to just apologise to Cat, not after what he'd done. She deserved to know the reason behind it. Maybe it was just self-justification at this point, but Cat thought that he didn't care about her, and that wasn't true. Bounty wanted to make sure she knew that. "My wife, who I would come home after work every day to find had mysteriously cleaned off half a bottle of champagne with not one, but two glasses. My wife, who would find herself called away on sudden business trips for the weekend, but who never seemed able to give a convincing answer as to where she'd been or what she'd done. My wife, who'd I'd come home early one day, to see fucking another man in my bed!"
The rage, now a familiar and hated accomplice, burned away at his insides, pounding for release with each beat of his tortured heart. The memory was still so hot in his mind, so sharp, even after years and years of him taking it out and forcing himself to play through it again and again and again in a futile attempt to dull the spikes of pain that came laced throughout that one, hated scene. He'd seen it coming. A blind person could have seen it coming. But still he'd held out on some far-fetched vestige of hope that maybe he'd been wrong.
"Your wife?" Finn finally asked, taking over for the silently judging Cat. "Not your ex."
"More out of convenience than anything else," Bounty grumbled. "Her lover bolted and never looked back, leaving her nowhere to go. And the house belonged to her mother, so I wouldn't have gotten jack shit in the divorce. Besides, we had a son. We decided to keep it together for him. Maybe it would have been better if we'd just never laid eyes on each other again. Then at least we wouldn't have been living a lie."
"When I told you Jasmine was my wife, you told me I was a fool." Bounty nodded. "Was that because of your marriage?"
"Yeah," muttered Bounty. "It wasn't pretty. I'd disappear to the pub for hours, then come home blind drunk and start fighting with her. I've always had a temper, but it got even worse after that. We'd just shout at each other for hours. I think our son suffered the worst from it. He couldn't do homework or sleep or anything when we were having one of our rows. He'd go around to his friend's house after school more and more. Now he's graduated, and he won't even talk to me. I can't say I blame him."
"That's why you joined the army," Finn guessed. Bounty nodded.
"I was a terrible husband and an even worse father. I just needed to get away from that life, from everything. And if I died out here, I figured it was no less than I deserved." Bounty stopped and looked at Cat. She still hadn't moved, still hadn't said anything else. He'd gone off track he realised. He was supposed to be apologising to Cat, not sharing his sob story. "I just wanted you to know that," he told Cat, "so that you realise I wasn't talking about you. I was angry and pissed, and I wasn't thinking straight. And if you can never find it in yourself to forgive me, then I don't even blame you. I just want you to know that I never meant what I said about yo—"
"Beg," stated Cat.
"Come again?" questioned Bounty, not entirely sure he'd heard right.
"Beg," repeated Cat, her face rigidly uncompromising. "Get on the floor and beg."
"Cat, I'm not beggin—"
"Then you can forget about my forgiveness," Cat shot back.
Bounty looked to Finn, who was giving him that look, raised eyebrow and everything. Bounty sighed in defeat. Fine.
"I," began Bounty, plonking himself onto his knees, "Sir Bounty of Vale, do solemnly beg the forgiveness of my one true lady, Cat. That good enough for you?"
"Lower." Bounty raised an eyebrow. Cat's face mirrored his. Bounty relented and bent his back a little more. "Lower." Bounty tightened his jaw and leaned over even further. "Lower."
"If I go any lower I'll be eating the floor," growled Bounty.
Cat sighed theatrically. "Then I suppose that'll have to do. I, Lady Cat Wentz, do humbly accept your gracious apology. Rise, noble Bounty." Bounty hefted himself off the floor, grumbling all the way, but it was worth it for the grin Cat shot him once he'd risen to his feet, the first genuine one he'd seen directed his way for an age.
"You're an ass," Cat told him. "You know that?"
"Yeah," answered Bounty. "I do."
"But," continued Cat, "I've known more than enough sexist jackasses who think women exist for the sole purpose of their entertainment; that they can't possibly be equal to men in anything. Hell, I've dated my fair share of them. So… it's good to know you're not one of those guys. And… I guess… what I'm trying to say is… it's good to have you back… as a friend again."
Bounty smirked. "Do I sense a hug coming?"
"In your dreams. You get a pat on the back at most."
"I'll take it," grinned Bounty. So long as it meant he'd regained a friend, his pride could survive a little pruning. For once, someone else's happiness was more important than his own.
Cat suddenly spun on Finn, and from the look on his face Bounty could have sworn he was considering the merits of bolting as she accused, "I'm still not sure how I feel about you, Flea."
"Easy, Tiger," laughed Bounty, coming to his fellow man's aid. "He's the one who convinced me I should apologise to you. I think he's earned himself a break."
"Still doesn't make up for abandoning us."
"True, but he did save my life after that. Doesn't that negate what he did?"
Cat narrowed her eyes, assessing Bounty's statement as Finn was left to squirm under her gaze. Finally, she said, "That depends."
"On?"
"One thing. Just one thing I want to know first. If one of us were in danger again, would you leave us to save yourself?"
"I wouldn't," answered Finn, his voice firm.
"Promise it," demanded Cat. "Promise us that you won't abandon one of us to die. Even if it means you'll die too."
Finn's jaw tightened, and for a moment looked like he might not answer. But then he said, "I promise."
"Alright then," accepted Cat, her stare softening marginally, finally releasing Finn from its intensity. "In that case I'm… willing to start over. Actions speak louder than words, and yours… have been pretty contradictory so far. So I guess I'll wipe the slate clean and let you try again from scratch."
"Geez, such generous terms," remarked Finn drily.
"That's the deal, take it or leave it."
"Fine," conceded Finn.
"Fine," replied Cat.
"Fine," concluded Bounty.
And that was that.
Jaune, for what felt like the first time in millennia, was finally relaxing. He sat reclined on what had to be the comfiest captain's chair ever created in the cockpit of the ship. In front of him was a holographic monitor, and beyond that were enormous, bulbous cockpit windows, giving Jaune a sweeping view of the land as they soared high above it. To either side of Jaune's throne were two stations with their own holographic projectors, behind which sat Phil and Naomi on noticeably less comfy seats. Naomi was scrolling through some vast data bank, her quick eyes soaking up the information in front of her, whilst Phil was simply marvelling at the engineering of his computer.
Just then, Terry entered the cockpit. "I've done a full inventory check of the ship, Sarge."
"Oh, uh, thanks Terry." He didn't remember ever asking for one.
"There were a few spare rifles in one locker, but not a lot of ammo with them. There's a compartment of drinks, and some snacks, but no ration packets. Apart from that, there's not a lot in the way of supplies."
"Uh, right."
"Relax, Terrier," said Naomi, rolling her eyes. "Once we arrive at this military base they'll undoubtedly furnish us with any equipment we require."
"I just want to be prepared for the worst," defended Terry.
"Nah, we've made it through the worst," assured Phil. "It's easy sailing from here on out."
"Except for the war still going on."
"At least we'll be on the correct side of it this time," pointed out Naomi.
"True…" conceded Terry.
"Don't worry, Terry," comforted Jaune. "I really think things will get better from here. They can hardly get any worse than they've already been, right? What's the worst that could happ—"
The holographic projector in front of Jaune beeped insistently. Everyone froze. The beeping persisted.
Oh you had to be kidding.
"Uh, someone wants to open a video chat, Jaune," Phil said uncertainly. "The tag says it's top priority."
"L-let it go to voicemail?" joked Terry.
"Wait, what if it's from a senior member of the Atlas military? We might be able to deceive them into revealing something significant," urged Naomi.
"Uh, nuh-uh. Not a good idea," stated Phil. "It's a video call. They'll see you're not General Watts immediately."
Jaune pulled his hand through his hair and considered his options. On the one hand, he could just ignore the call. That would be the safest course of action. But it wouldn't help anyone. If he accepted the call though, he might be able to gleam some information that would help them against Atlas. This was an Atlesian general's own personal ship, after all. In all likelihood, the call would contain some sensitive information which would be invaluable to have. At worse, the person on the other end of the line would realise he was being duped and hang up on them, in which case, nothing was gained or lost. Even if they traced the call, Jaune was on an airship travelling through the air at goodness knew what speed. They wouldn't be able to find him.
"Open up an audio call, but keep the visuals off," Jaune commanded. "No matter what happens I don't want to hear a peep from any of you," he said, addressing the others. They all nodded in compliance.
"If you say so. Patching the call through now," said Phil. A moment later, Jaune's ears were greeted by the mysterious caller.
"Watts," the voice purred. "I was wondering where you had gotten to."
It wasn't a man as Jaune had expected, but a woman. Her voice was eerily soft, unhurried and with a sort of predator's grace to it. Even through the call, Jaune felt the power behind that voice radiating through the cockpit, setting his teeth on edge. This was not a person to be taken lightly. Jaune inadvertently shivered but stayed quiet.
"It is time to proceed to the next stage of my plan." Jaune's stomach clenched angrily. "My plan", she'd said. She thought she was talking to the head of the Atlas military, but she hadn't said your plan, or even our plan. She'd said her plan.
Something wasn't right.
The woman continued oblivious. "Regrettably, the authorities of Mistral and Vacuo are proving more troublesome to manipulate than those of Atlas were, even despite our little friend in Mistral." Jaune frowned. Manipulate? His stomach was a whirling mass of flesh eating worms. This was all wrong. What on Remnant had he gotten his section involved in?
Slowly, careful not to make a sound, Jaune turned to Phil. He mouthed out a simple order. Trace her. Phil nodded his understanding, then silently began tapping keys on a consol.
"It is time we forced their hands into joining this war. Cinder and her team are in position to initiate the Breach. You are to use the Atlesian military to attack Vale as soon as they are ready." Jaune couldn't help it. He gasped.
That was all it took.
The woman went silent, then returned a second later, her voice like icy daggers piercing through the line.
"Who is this? Where is Watts? What are you doing on his ship?" she demanded. Jaune clamped his mouth shut and glanced furtively to Phil. His fingers were flying over the keys, but his desperate face said everything Jaune needed to know. He hadn't managed to trace the call. Jaune realised the woman would hang up in an instant, and all hope of figuring out who she was and why she seemed intent on attacking Vale would be lost. He needed to buy Phil more time.
"My name is Sergeant Arc!" Jaune blurted out.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Might as well just give the creepy lady his address and scroll number whilst he was at it.
"Sergeant Arc," purred the woman, tasting the word as if it were a particularly exotic wine. "My, my, my, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?" Jaune really didn't, and he sincerely hoped this woman wouldn't tell him. He flashed a look at Phil but alas, he was still working on tracing the signal. Damn. Well, looked like he was going to have to socialise with the scary woman.
"Who are you?" Jaune asked in what he hoped was a commanding tone. The lady just laughed mockingly.
"Who am I?" she mimicked, and Jaune could practically hear her venomous smile through the audio call as she said, "Why don't you open the video call and see." Nope. No way was Jaune doing that. After a pause, the woman continued.
"Well if we're done talking about me, let's talk about you, Sergeant Arc." Jaune doubted she was being sincere about his title. "You are from Vale judging by your accent, likely from the city, or at least a large town. You are young, seventeen or eighteen perhaps. You joined the Valesian army, likely for the grandeur of protecting your Kingdom, or some such nonsense. You are surrounded by the men of your section, or else you couldn't have stolen this ship. At least, you call them your men, but in reality, that is far too generous a term for the pitiful amount of loyalty they feel for you." Jaune's brain felt frozen and sluggish under the onslaught of the woman's words. How could she know so much about him from how little he'd said? And what was that about his friend's loyalty? "I know where Watts's ship was stationed when you no doubt stole it," continued the lady. "Deep behind Atlas lines, and far from any support from your Kingdom. And a sergeant at your age?" She laughed cruelly. "That is a pitiful suggestion. Let me guess: you were abandoned by your own side and left to die in the Grimm-held forests. Your commanding officer has already fallen prey either to the Grimm or enemy soldiers, leaving your little band of misfits with no one better to lead them than you, Arc. And now you're trying to claw your way back to your own lines. But it must have been a hard journey. Not everyone made it this far, did they?"
She was bluffing. She must have been bluffing. There was no way she could have known about Buzz. But Naomi's gasp was all the confirmation she needed.
She laughed again. "My, oh my, Arc, the invasion has lasted barely two weeks and you have already failed your own. Tell me: how did they die? Was it painful? Was it you who failed to save them, Arc, or some other pitiful excuse for a soldier on Watts' ship? Did they die, screaming your name, knowing at the end of their miserable life that all their trust had been placed in a fraud?" Jaune tried not to listen. He tried to move his frozen hand to end the cursed call, location tracked or not. But he couldn't. It wasn't that her words were lies, attempting to belittle him or demeaner his opinion of himself. They were so much worse.
They were truths.
He had failed Buzz. He had let him die. And then when that had happened he'd closed in on himself and left his section leaderless. He'd finally pulled himself together and gotten his team up again, but that didn't excuse what he'd done before. Her words were like ice cold knives piercing his skin, ripping off the façade he'd been wearing and revealing him for what he was. He wasn't a hero, or a good person, or even a sergeant. He was a failure. A loser. A fraud. Who was he to strut around with the sergeant rank slide when there were people so much more competent than him now in graves. Sergeant Cole should have been the one to lead them, or even Ash. What sick joke of the universe had struck those two great men down just so Jaune could still live? This woman wasn't making things up about him.
She was holding a mirror to his face.
"What's the matter, Arc?" the woman singsonged. "Creep got your tongue? Well then, allow me to tell you what is going to happen to you: your men may have banded under you whilst that was the only alternative to dying, but what do you think will happen when you finally reach safety? Do you really think they'll still want to follow you, knowing all your mistakes? Their loyalty is a charade. They will abandon you the first chance they get, leaving you all alone again. The sad thing is, can you even blame them?"
"Jaune!" yelled Phil, waving his hands wildly at the keyboard in front of him. The message was clear. He'd tracked the signal!
Jaune suddenly flew back into action, his paralysis broken. All he wanted to do was cease this cursed call right now. His finger was inches above the button when the woman spoke again.
"That's right, Jaune Arc, your companion has finally managed to trace my signal." Jaune's blood turned to ice in his veins. She knew his name. And how did she know they'd been tracking her? "You have tried to play me for a fool, Jaune Arc," the woman hissed, the first emotion she'd expressed this conversation breaking through her calm, collected attitude. "That will turn out to be your biggest mistake." Gone was the mocking tone from before. Now the woman's voice was filled with pure, unbound malice, so thick it made Jaune flinch. "You can try to tell the authorities of my location if you wish. It matters not. They will not listen, and by the time they do, it will already be too late. But I promise you this one thing, Jaune Arc: I will have everyone you love found and killed. Slowly. I do hope you survive long enough to witness that. It would please me greatly."
Jaune's hands were clenched so hard they'd turned bone white. This woman—no, this monster, was vowing to kill his family, his squad mates, his friends at Beacon. He should just hit the button under his finger and end this damned call. But he didn't. Instead, he slammed his fist on the button next to it, transferring the call to video chat. Someone gasped behind him, but he didn't care. Some unnameable urge required him to see the face of this demon. Maybe he did it to prove to himself that she was only human, that she surely didn't have that much power to find everyone he cared about.
But it wasn't a human face that stared back at him through the holographic monitor. It was an abomination. A twisted, demented hybrid between human and… and…
Grimm.
The white face and burning black veins of his adversary twisted to form an evil smile. The nightmare leaned closer to the camera, her leering face growing to monstrous proportions in the hologram.
"Remember my name when you are lying in a pool of your own blood, Jaune Arc," it said. "My name is Salem." Her eyes glowed the colour of poisoned blood. Everything about her was twisted and wrong. If anything was the embodiment of evil on Remnant, then this was it.
But Jaune Arc didn't back down. She had threatened his friends, his family, all because he'd been arrogant enough to try to deceive her. He'd be damned if he let her.
"Fuck you," snarled Jaune, slamming the 'end call' button. Instantly, the screen went black, the audio died, and the monster that had smiled at Jaune was gone.
For now.
Jaune slumped back into his chair, fear once more flooding his system as his bravado faded.
What had he done?
"This is bad, Jaune."
"Yeah, I know."
"I mean, really bad."
"Trust me, I know."
"Like, really, really, really bad. Next level bad. A-creepy-Grimm-lady-just-commanded-an-attack-on-Vale level bad."
"Phil," interrupted Jaune, "I know. It's bad. Or did you forget what that… thing, told me." Jaune shivered. After the call had ended he'd sent Naomi and Terry out of the cockpit to tell the others what they'd heard, leaving only himself and Phil behind. His mind had been in overdrive ever since, analysing every individual word and sentence for some previously overlooked clue as to what the hell was going on. Who was that lady? Why was she calling the general of the Atlas army? Who was Cinder?
Why was a Grimm calling the shots in this war?
Jaune considered everything he thought he knew about the Grimm. They were supposed to be stupid. They were supposed to be mindless slaves to their sole desire to destroy man. They were supposed to be the darkness, and humans the light.
So where did this lady fit into all that?
"We need to tell command," stated Phil. "I managed to trace her rough location. We can give them an idea of where to head, hopefully to take her out. If what this woman said is true, then all of Vale could be at risk."
"I know," agreed Jaune. "Can we send them a message from here?"
"No can do. This is an Atlesian ship, remember? They wouldn't trust anything we said over comms."
"Then we'll tell them what we've learnt when arrive at their base." At least, they'd try. Jaune still couldn't shake what the monster… Salem, had said. That by the time the authorities listened to them it'd be too late. Jaune could only pray she was wrong. "How long until we land anyway?"
"Not long now. A few more minutes. I'll let you know when we're close." Jaune nodded. "And, uh, Jaune?" Jaune looked up at Phil. "What she said about us—our loyalty. She was lying. You know that, right? We won't abandon you. You're our sergeant." Jaune gave Phil a tight smile and nodded his thanks, not trusting his voice not to wobble if he said anything. That Phil at the very least was still willing to trust him after all this time… it meant a lot to him. More than Phil probably even realised. It meant that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't such a failure after all.
Jaune quickly turned back to his monitor to hide the sudden dampness of his eyes.
Twenty minutes later, a burst of static crackled out of the console. Phil immediately replied, somehow able to decipher the meaning behind the garbled transmission. After a few more exchanges, Phil turned back to Jaune, confirming that, thankfully, he had convinced the Valesian army not to blow them out of the sky.
For some reason, that didn't seem to comfort Jaune as much as Phil had clearly expected it to.
A few moments later the base appeared before them. This was a real military base, not the measly outpost they'd been sent to at the beginning of this war. Wrapped around the outside of the compound sat a tangled mess of tortured metal and twisted wire guarding the perimeter, and beyond that lay a long stretch of conspicuously empty ground, looking suspiciously as though it had been recently dug up and then laid down again.
Minefields, Phil had merrily informed Jaune.
Jutting out of the corners of the barbed wire walls stood threatening watchtowers, scrutinizing the horizon, as if daring the outside world to approach at its peril. Within the protective confines of the steel fortress squatted little mounds of dirt, turning the earth into a roiling sea of green frozen in time. From the depths of this verdant ocean burst glimpses of grey doorframes, hints of the concrete catacombs burrowing through the grass surface and peeking into the weak sunlight.
Jaune gulped as he noticed two anti-aircraft guns swivel to track their airship from the nearest watchtowers as they glided over the barbed wire perimeter, but true to Phil's assurances, they didn't open fire. Phil expertly manoeuvred the aircraft towards a scattering of landing pads (little more than circles of flat ground partly hidden by a cover of trees) and Jaune spotted a group of armed soldiers advancing towards their ship.
"I suppose that's the welcome party," joked Phil.
"Come on," said Jaune. "Let's go say hello."
Jaune and his assembled men soon stood before the entrance ramp, currently closed. Jaune noticed how restless the others seemed, and even he was struggling to keep a composed form. They'd made it. They'd finally made it back. After everything they'd gone through, all the destruction and the despair and the death they'd fought tooth and nail to get through, they had finally returned to their own lines. Even with the revelation of this Salem thing, Jaune couldn't help but feel that things were finally looking up for them. Now maybe someone could explain what the hell was going on with this war. Now maybe someone would have an actual idea as to what to do about it. And when Jaune told them about Salem, they'd surely see the threat she posed and do something about it. They wouldn't leave such a discovery unacted upon.
Could it be that they were safe at last?
"Alright team, listen up," he addressed his section. "Remember, they don't know whether we're Atlas or not, so no sudden movements, alright."
"Right, 'cause we were totally planning to shoot them all up the moment we saw them," deadpanned Cat.
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Come on, Cat, behave."
Jaune turned back to the ramp, but then he paused. "Hey Phil, could you, I don't know, do something about your robot. I doubt Vale would be too happy with us bringing an enemy robot into their base."
As if realising it were being talked about, the robot perked up from where it sat by the airship entrance, swivelling its head towards Jaune. It cocked its head to one side, the movement eerily innocent, as if it were asking, "Who? Me?"
"Cut it out, Lightning," growled Finn. "Bloody thing is the stuff of nightmares."
"Sorry," grinned Phil, very much not sorry. "I'll shut it down and leave it on the ship. It'll still give them a scare when they check out the ship. No question. But at least we won't be here when that happens."
"Works for me," decided Jaune. "Open the ramp, Phil."
"With pleasure."
The doorway screeched open as the first rays of daylight pierced into the gloomy interior of the ship. The gap widened further and further, a friendly portal inviting them to step through into the light. Jaune smiled and was the first to step off the airship, the lost soldier leading his men home once more. He held his arms out in peace as he approached the assembly of soldiers waiting for him, not even caring about the many rifles held menacingly in his direction. His eyes skipped over the soldiers before him, looking for—
Jaune halted. He stared.
The next instant he was sprinting at the line of soldiers, ignoring their cries to halt. Anger blazed through his veins like magma. The rational part of his mind screamed at him to "stop, stop, stop!" but his fury drowned that voice out. He leapt at the largest man in the group, who easily sidestepped him, slapping a hand against his back as he passed which sent him flying. Jaune landed heavily but barely registered the pain. He flew back to his feet and charged again, this time drawing Crocea Mors with an ear-grating shrink! He launched himself at the man once more with an overhead swing, only to have his blade halted by the silver handle of a black mace.
And grinning behind the weapon, armour shining and face taunting, was the last man on Remnant Jaune had ever wanted to see again.
Cardin bloody Winchester.
Wow, ok, we actually covered a lot in this chapter. There's at least four different things to dissect within this one flight, and I almost feel bad for trying to cram them all in together. Sorry if the sheer amount of stuff this time was somewhat overwhelming. Let's break it down here. (Warning, long AN coming up):
Firstly, we have Bounty and Finn's developing relationship. This is something I've wanted to sort out for a long time now. Initially I needed some people in Beta section to oppose Jaune and cause tension within the group. Not only is this more believable than everyone instantly loving Jaune, but it would also make the story more interesting. I started with Ash and his cynical dismissal of Jaune, but I ended up wanting him out of the picture so that the group would be left with no natural leaders or anyone who was particularly experienced, meaning Jaune would be in an even worse position when he took over. Therefore the only other character who could cause problems was Finn. But of course, it takes two to tango, and thus I decided to have Finn and Bounty develop a sort of feud. However, once the story progressed I wanted to bring Finn back into the light if you will: I didn't want anyone in Beta section to be the antagonist when there are literally monsters out there already competing for the evilest spot. So I needed to somehow sort out the beef between Bounty and Finn, developing both as their own character along the way. Their confrontation this chapter is the result of a number of factors which have been building up for several chapters, and I hope you'll tell me in a review whether you liked their resolution and what you think about their backstories.
Secondly, we have Bounty's apology to Cat. This problem started in chapter 10, and I created it again for the dual reason of creating conflict between the cast and also as a chance to develop the characters. Now that the "survival" phase of the story is done, I no longer need tension between the team as a cause for conflict, so now was a good time to heal the rift between these two characters (along with Finn as well). Now that this is complete, I can hopefully bring the section into new challenges which will prove to be more interesting. Speaking of which...
Salem. I had great fun writing this part, and I hope you guys liked it too (please tell me if you did or why you didn't). Having said that, this is the moment I fear most may have been lost under the rubble that is the rest of the chapter. As you can probably imagine, this is a hugely important and pivotal point for the story. For the first time ever (even in the canon show) Jaune has come face to face with his adversary (kind of). New stakes have been set. The status quo is changing. The battlefield of the last part of this fanfiction is slowly coming into view. But before we get there, we have one more problem to sort out:
Cardin Winchester. So many people have asked if I will be bringing in other people from the RWBY cast, and I am proud to announce that in a (hopefully) unexpected, ironic, and perhaps cruel twist of the fates (aka me) Jaune must meet with his old nemesis once more. I'm super excited for this, and I hope you guys are too. How will this confrontation pan out? What is Cardin even doing in a military base? How much has Jaune missed whilst he was MIA? All that will be revealed...
...next time. See you in two weeks (hopefully).