Chapter 17 – The Worth of a Life
The next morning, Jaune woke up at exactly 4:00 am, two hours earlier than he did the previous day. Events that had happened last night caused him to have a rough time getting a comfortable restful sleep. Jaune opened his scroll and looked at Torchwick's location. Currently, he was further away from where he was last night and further away from the facility. Jaune looked at the address where Torchwick was at and looked through some street pictures taken from months ago. He then looked up what kind of facility Roy had broken into and found out that the facility was a medical research facility owned by the government of Mistral.
"There's no way the government of Mistral would partner themselves with Adam and the others. There has to be someone working there that is also working for Adam, but who? I can't cross out the possibility of Torchwick involved in this, but Jay would have told me if Torchwick was up to something like this in these parts. There has to be something that I missed.
Jaune went to the facility's website and luckily found a section where every person working the facility is listed along with a photo of them that was free for the public to see. Jaune looked over each name and picture carefully and only managed to find a few Faunus working there. He download the Faunus's names and picture and decided it would be best to confront Torchwick before heading to the facility since Torchwick could easily leave at any given time. Jaune took the time to think carefully whether or not he should take the team with him. He was confident that his team can easily handle Torchwick with no problem at all since Jaune had a Fall Maiden on their side and Weiss's sister who seems capable of handling things with no problem. Jaune looked at the time and decided to lie back down on his bed and turn on the television to watch the news to kill some time until his team woke up.
"That's right Crystal. Law enforcement officers are currently negotiating with the gunmen that are currently inside the Dust store here at Monica street. You can clearly see law enforcement in every corner and are currently waiting for the SRT (Special Remnant Tacticians) to come and help with the situation." Jaune looked towards the T.V and was now interested of what was going on. There have been stories about the Special Remnant Tacticians over the years. They aren't tied to a single government or kingdom. They are more of a private organization comprised of top quality Huntsmen and Huntresses that are world renowned by their abilities in the battlefield. Any kingdom can hire them for any purpose as long as it's legal and doesn't violate any laws within the kingdom or city.
"We have received word from Law Enforcement that the gunmen are comprised of five of the most wanted criminals of Mistral. Almond Cross also known as Big Al and Maurice Bleu are two of the five gunmen inside. The others are yet to be identified, but law enforcement is working hard to bring you the information." Jaune decided to help the Law enforcement out with their problem since he had plenty of time on his hands. The location wasn't far and he could easily get there within minutes. He wore his black outfit that he had brought to the trip and used his aura to create his black Grimm mask. He placed his black hoodie over his head and went towards the destination. Within minutes, Jaune arrived onto the scene and looked at all the cops that surrounded the store. Jaune was on top of an apartment building and scanned the store for a possible way to enter without alerting the officers. Before he could come up with a way to enter, a red hooded stranger was seen across from him on top of another complex. The hooded stranger jumped roof to roof and entered inside the store's rooftop. Jaune immediately joined him by distracting the cops by sending a black orb towards a window nearby to catch their attention. Jaune then used his aura to boost jump across the street and onto the rooftop. Upon making it onto the roof, Jaune turned around and noticed a black armored van coming towards his way. He knew that he is going to need to act quickly before the SRT arrived. He then entered the building and quietly made his way to the first floor. Upon arriving, he heard gunshots ringing inside and had to immediately run. Upon reaching the bottom floor, he saw the hooded man already engaging in battle with the criminals. Jaune jumped towards them and used Crocea Mors to stop an attack from one of the criminals that were about to hit the hooded individual. The stranger took notice of Jaune's help and decided it would be better if he were to work together. Jaune and the hooded man were both now helping one another to avoid getting killed in the store. Jaune sliced away the shots that were flying towards and ran towards Big Al. Jaune used his leg to sweep Ale off the floor and onto his back, allowing Jaune to knock him out unconscious. The hooded stranger drew his bow and arrow and sent multiple arrows towards two of the criminals that had guns drawn towards him and Jaune. The arrows impacted the men's arms and legs causing them to drop their guns and collapse onto the floor. Jaune turned around and used his black portal semblance to prevent the dust rounds from hitting him. Jaune looked towards the hooded man and saw how accurately he was able to hit the criminal's gun away in less than a second. Jaune also noticed that the man's hood had holes on them that revealed two animal ears. The closest thing that Jaune could think of were canine ears since that is what it looked like to him. It was at this moment Jaune remembered a Faunus with canine ears and that Faunus was Roy. Jaune called out his name and Roy turned around with a surprised look on his face. Before he could respond, an explosion was heard above them and the ceiling came falling down on them. They were both fine, but 4 other individuals were seen around them and the criminals. Jaune knew he had to get out of there quick or else he could potentially become an international wanted man. He looked towards Roy's position and saw him pull out two smoke grenades and tossed them in front and behind him. The whole place was covered in smoke and the two used the opportunity to retreat towards the 3rd floor and make their escape. Roy signaled Jaune to follow him and both ran up the stairs and onto the 3rd floor only to see cops waiting for them there. Jaune signaled Roy to stand back and swung his sword to release a crescent black aura that shattered a wall next to them. The officers began to shoot at Jaune and Roy, but Jaune was able to slash through the few rounds that were going to hit them as they jumped off the building. Both were able to get out of there unscathed and jump roof to roof to freedom. Once they were far enough and knew they were not being followed, Roy drew his bow towards Jaune, but Jaune was able to draw his sword and aim it next to Roy's neck and both were now in a standstill.
"How do you know my name?" Roy asked.
"Relax… I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to ask a few questions, that's all." Jaune said.
"Then why do you have your sword aimed near my neck?"
"The same reason why you have your bow and arrow aimed at my head." The two slowly lowered their weapons and now felt at ease for the moment.
"What is it that you want to know?" Roy asked.
"I'm here on a mission to ask you where Adam Taurus is located. However, certain circumstances have led me to believe that you might need my help."
"I don't need help alright? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Roy said.
"Did you do that yourself?" Jaune asked. He looked at the scar Roy had in his right cheek and the face Roy made after he asked that question concerned him a bit.
"N-no…" Roy said.
"Listen… I have done a bit of research on you and did a little investigating to find out that you were once a member of the White Fang. I was told you left about a month ago and have been in hiding all this time, but it seems that's not the case."
"I decided to help out this city since it's already run down as it is. Law enforcement here seems to not care what happens here, but when a big well know criminal arrives here and makes commotion, they are swarming here to collect that big reward for finding and capturing him. This world is already screwed as it is thanks to Humans and Faunus. I'm just trying to make it a bit better."
"What do you mean by Humans and Faunus? The world is nowhere close to being screwed."
"Look around you. The news mostly consists of Humans and Faunus killing one another or even their own kind. How many times do you hear about Grimm attacks on the news? How many times do hear about Grimm killing people? The problem isn't the creatures of Grimm. It's the humans and Faunus that are living in this world. The accident in Vale where White Fang soldiers and Grimm attacked… the attack wasn't accidental and everyone in Remnant already knew it was planned. It was done by my own kind because of the individuals who are leading them the wrong way. That's one of the many reasons why I left the White Fang. I understand that the way they are running things now seem to work, but they seek something worse than equality, something that the previous leader did not want. They are planning on making Humans pay for mistreating Faunus the wrong way. Not just the ones who did mistreat them, but every Human on Remnant. I sometimes feel like I'm the only one who is actually trying to make this world a better place and it's becoming tiring and it seems whatever I do… it's worthless." This made Jaune think about the way he looked at Remnant from a different perspective. He noticed that all he had learned in Beacon was how to stop or kill Grimm. That's all they ever taught, yet the real problem are human and Faunus. He also felt the same way Roy did whenever he completed missions from the school over the months. However, Jaune could only hear the same words run through his mind.
"Life is meant to be hard time to time, but you can't let that stop you from achieving your dreams." Ruby's words kept repeating in his head.
"Life is meant to be hard time to time, but you can't let that stop you from achieving your dreams." Jaune said.
"I was caught in the crossfire back at Beacon. I am a student from there and on that day I lost someone precious to me by the hands of the White Fang. From that point all I ever thought about was revenge and I managed to get my revenge months ago. However, when I killed her… I still felt empty inside and I desperately wanted something to fill that void yet… it's still there. I use it as a constant reminder to remind myself why I'm still walking on this world and that reminder… is to stop this world from turning into ashes." Jaune walked over to Roy and place his hand onto his shoulder.
"You and I aren't the only ones who are trying their best to make this a better place. There are Humans and Faunus who are going through the same thing and at least one of them is attempting their best to turn this around. We can't give up on humans and Faunus just yet. We need to continue moving forward, no matter how bad things get because even though the future is Dark, we can ascend from it… together."
"You're right." Roy looked towards Jaune and placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"We aren't the only ones fighting for a better world. We need to keep walking, no matter what pain we must endure. To prevent any other Human or Faunus to meet the same fate as we did
"That's right Roy. Someone close told me not to give up. That's what I intend to do." Jaune said as he shook Roy's hands as a sign of friendship.
"I can tell you where Adam is going to be. He is going to be visiting the Medical Facility a week from now to see the progress of his secret project. They're saying that their first move will ignite the Great War."
"WHAT!? Hold on… another Great War?"
"If that's true… we need to act fast to stop this from happening no matter what."
"That's the problem. I don't know what exactly they are going to do that will cause the Great War."
"I found information about the possibility of people being experimented on in that facility. I was in a mission long ago where I overheard Adam, Torchwick, and a scientist named Rhett who were planning to use a very rare Dark aura against a woman who was really powerful."
"R-Rhett? You need to stay away from him. H-he is a crazy psychotic lunatic who gets off from torturing people."
"I realized that when I had a little mission back at Vale."
"He is the reason why I have this scar on my face. I don't know if you know this from doing your small investigation, but I was used as a Guinea pig for one of these disgusting experiments. Unlike the others, I was kept longer because I had the potential for becoming a potential host for this aura that you were talking about. It wasn't until a month after being tortured I managed to escape. I can't say the same for the other people who went their own separate way when I left."
"The only thing we can do now is try to stop this Great War from happening. When they were talking about this Dark power, I heard that they managed to successfully transfer it to another person, but that was months ago. Who knows what they're capable of doing now."
"The perfect place to that kind of thing would be in the medical facility, but there are many surveillance cameras surrounded in the inside and outside of the structure. I know someone who specializes in these types of things, but it takes a while for me to get into contact with him and we still need to form a plan."
"It's fine. I don't have a schedule to stick to so we can meet up again in 2 days so that we can properly formulate a plan. I have my team here with me so it should be much easier of going in there with just the two of us." The two exchanged each other's phone number and went their separate ways. Jaune headed back to the academy and went straight to his room. Upon arriving, he dissolved his mask and immediately fell asleep on his bed after stressful morning.
The Enemy of my Enemy is My Friend
The sounds of the door knocking awoke Jaune. He looked at the clock and noticed it was 2 pm already. He quickly got up and looked at his scroll to see whether or not Torchwick had left. Luckily for Jaune he didn't. Jaune quickly got up from his bed and went to open the door without realizing that he wasn't wearing his jeans. The visitors were Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Amber, and Winter. Their eyes were now glued below Jaune's waist and it wasn't until he saw what they were looking that he slammed the door shut and went to put on his Jeans. He then walked back to the door and opened it, allowing the five ladies into his room.
"So Jaune… do you always open doors for people without wearing any pants on?" Amber asked.
"NO! I forgot to put something on okay! It's something that happens to everyone once in a while."
"Well you can open your door like that anytime I knock." Ruby said.
"That's something I would expect from Yang Ruby." Weiss said. Ruby, still looking at Jaune with a seductive look on her face.
"Anyways… Torchwick is still here in Mistral and he is a bit far from here. We should leave now so that we can catch him before sunset."
"What about Roy? We still need to look for him. I suggest we split the teams up so that it can be much easier and quicker to do." Weiss stated.
"That won't be necessary. I already found Roy and he told me everything I needed to know." Jaune said as he walked towards his bed to grab his sword.
"You found Roy already? When do you find him?" Blake asked.
"Pure luck." Jaune said.
"In any case, something big is coming our way and if we can get Torchwick, we could probably stop it."
"And what exactly is coming our way?" Amber asked.
"Possibly… another Great War." Jaune said. After explaining what the White Fang were planning, they were now worried whether or not they would be able to stop it. They knew they had to act fast if they were to foil their plans so they hurried towards Torchwick's location along with Sun and Neptune. Upon reaching the destination they formulated a plan to prevent Torchwick from escaping. They entered the building and saw Torchwick looking over a map along with Neo sitting at a chair patiently.
"I was wondering whether or not you kids were going to show up." Torchwick said as he turned around and smiled at them with open arms.
"Wait… how do you know that…" Jaune was cut off before he could finish his sentence.
"Do you really think a hoody and smooching Ms. Snowflake over there was going to prevent me from noticing either of you?"
"Smooching!?" Everyone yelled.
"Oh… they weren't supposed to hear that?" Torchwick asked. Jaune and Weiss's face instantly turned red and couldn't look towards their team due to the fear of them doing something rash. Luckily for Jaune and Weiss, Ruby was stopped by Amber who had her by the shoulders.
"It's a long story and I can explain after we stop Torchwick." Jaune said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… calm down there kid. We're both in the same team here."
"What the hell are you talking about? It's obvious that you're working with Adam and Rhett. You're here to see the project that you guys were working on that would allow you to successfully transfer Dark aura onto different people. I already know everything there is to know." Jaune said.
"That's where you are wrong kid. I broke apart from them thanks to you killing Cinder."
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"Cinder threatened us to work for her. I personally hated working with that annoying bitch, that psychotic blood thirsty man, and Mr. Anger issues Adam. Thanks to you I can finally go back to what I was doing. However, something came up that will harm my business if it's not taken care of."
"What exactly came up?" Jaune asked.
"I'm sure you overheard our chatter back at Roland Village right? Well, Adam and Rhett are still working together on that project. Adam tends to use that in order to bring about a war in which he will have an edge in."
"But that's not possible. The kingdoms wouldn't allow it and would easily defeat him in this small little war he has planned and even though he has one person with the Dark power, that will not be enough to fight all the kingdoms." Winter stated.
"However, it will work if each Kingdom becomes too busy fighting among each other." Torchwick said.
"They're planning to turn each kingdom against each other?" Winter asked.
"Another Great War which the White Fang will use to the Dark power to their advantage… after a kingdom claims victory after a tiresome battle. The kingdom would already be vulnerable to any other attack and this would allow the White Fang to move in quickly and defeat them in a short amount of time with no problem at all." Jaune said.
"Exactly and if that happens, then they would obviously do something terrible to us Humans even though some were kind to Faunus." Torchwick said.
"Dammit. This is something we need to warn the other kingdoms about." Ruby said.
"That's not going to work." Blake said.
"What do you mean? Of course it will work."
"Mistral and Vacuole no longer trust Atlas and probably the government of Vale doesn't either. The only reason why they are still talking to one another is because they know the last thing they want is to provoke another Great War. If we were to tell them what was going on, I doubt they would believe us." Blake said
"What's to say that you won't betray us and lead us to a trap?" Winter asked
"If I wanted to betray you I would have done it right now." The team needed to decide whether or not Torchwick should be trusted. They talked it over and after minutes of thinking, they decided that they had to allow Torchwick to join in order for them to stop a war that would kill millions of lives in Remnant.
"Fine… we'll work together for now, but when this is all over… we'll go back to tracking you down and make sure you end up behind bars." Jaune said.
"It's fine kiddo. Do what you need to do." Torchwick said as he lit his cigar. Jaune pulled out his phone and dialed Jay to ask him whether or not Torchwick has been doing anything shady as of late, but he did not answer.
"Torchwick, have you talked to Jay as of late?" Jaune asked.
"No I haven't. The last time I talked to that kid was about a week ago when I told him where he could find Rhett. With Rhett out of the way, I'm sure Adam will have a harder time handling this whole plan alone. That is why I told Jay Rhett's location so that he and his team could go capture him and interrogate him so that we could get info about any other plans Adam has in mind." Neo walked towards Torchwick and made an arm gesture, as if to say what was he thinking? Torchwick could easily understand what she was trying to say.
"Well he seemed like he could handle it himself against Rhett, Neo." All of a sudden, Jaune's phone rang and he immediately answered thinking it was Jay, but it turned out to be Yang. Jaune put the phone on speaker so that everyone in the room can listen in.
"Jaune! You have to come back to Beacon! Something has happened to Jay!" Yang said yelling and panicking over the phone. Yang's voice frightened Jaune and he could barely manage to calm himself down.
"Calm down Yang and tell me what exactly is going on." Jaune said
"It's Jay! He just called me and told me where exactly he was at and that he found out what Rhett was planning, but… he sounded like he was in trouble. H-h-he was out of breath and I could hear shootings! I told him that Ren, Nora and I could go over there and help him, but he told me to don't come here ourselves!" Yang yelled, in a worried tone.
"DAMMIT! Did he say what Rhett was planning?"
"No he couldn't finish because I heard a loud bang and the call ended! You need to come back to Beacon fast so that we can go get him!"
"Where did Jay say he was at?"
"He said he was East of Vacuo! Around the Ridgewell area!" Jaune had to think long and hard of what he was going to do.
"Jaune what's going on?" Amber asked
"Jay is in trouble. He went after Rhett and was overwhelmed. Yang told me where he is at and if we go right now to help him… we might be able to save him."
"We should go! I'm sure Amber, Winter, Sun, Neptune and Blake could handle things here." Ruby said.
"We need to think about the possibility of Jay already being dead." Weiss stated
"No that can't happen. Jay is strong enough to take care of himself. His phone probably got dropped when he tried to evade the enemies." Jaune said
"Can Neo teleport to Jay's location?" Weiss asked
"No she can't. She can only teleport away a few miles." Torchwick said.
"I'm sure that Amber and Winter can handle it by themselves. Roy is also going to help them out as well as Neo and Torchwick, but should I trust those two? I don't know what to choose. Jay could probably be… dead" Jaune thought as many other possibilities went through his head.
Alright here is another decision you need to make to determine the outcome of the story.
CHOICE A: Go save Jay in Vacuole and count on Winter, Amber, Neptune, Sun, and Blake to prevent Adam's plan here at Mistral from completing.
CHOICE B: Stay here with everyone else and hope that Jay can handle the situation himself and focus more on the job at hand.
You better think of all the negative and positive possibilities that could arise from choosing each option.