There was gratitude in Jaune's eyes as he blocked the spin kick of his adversary with his shield and hit her with the sword. She used the momentum and let her body being throw, only for her brother to catcher a spin her back, once again hitting Jaune's shield and forcing him back a few steps. The Atlesian twins apparently decided to focus in Jaune first, each carrying big pistols for ranged, but using their armored feet for close range. Of course, that would leave Pyrrha free to fight them, if not for their Semblance.
"The Spader twins cleverly use their Semblance to fight both Beacon warriors at the same time!" Oobleck yelled over the microphone.
Bullshit!
Jaune couldn't help to shout at himself. Both twins had the exact same Semblance and it was to create an Aura copy of each other, though they were like low resolution copies of them, blurred images that could act independently. So while Jaune was busy fighting the real ones, Pyrrha was busy keeping the fake ones in check, with the disadvantage of her Semblance not affecting the copies.
The blonde boy observed around to see they were in a half abandoned city, half savanna arena, in the moment both doubles fighting in the savanna part, trying to use the open field to their best. Unfortunately for the Beacon duo they weren't able to take advantage of it, albeit they were being able to hold their own.
"The Aura clones of the twins sure are keeping our champion in check. It'll be exciting to see how Jaune and Pyrrha will get out of this pinch!" Peter chime din.
"They won't!" The twins said as they attacked Jaune, and he was grateful for all the extra training he received as he blocked the double kick and pushed them away, them using the chance to get to his partner.
"Pyrrha, to the city!" Jaune said as both rammed their shields on the clones and used the chance to ran into the abandoned buildings.
Using the small streets, they cornered around and entered one of the buildings, running non-stop until they were able to miss their pursuers. The duo hid themselves in a room to take a breath and plan their next move.
"Any ideas?" Pyrrha asked as they observed the outside from a slightly open door.
"Four against two… It reminds me of old tales my grandfather told me when I was a kid of armies winning battles even when outnumbered." Jaune commented.
"Like the one where three hundred held a million?" Pyrrha asked with a small smile of her one and Jaune nodded… before having an idea.
"I have an idea. I'm so glad both of us use shields." Jaune said to her.
"While the city is proper to hiding and ambushes, we might remind everyone that there's indeed a time limit to battles, and that in this case a panel of judges will decide the victorious." Oobleck said as the Spader twins still tried to find Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Yes, and the judges tend to praise offensive the most!" Port added as they waited for something to happen.
That was when the Beacon duo jumped from a window, calling the attention of the twins that gave chase with their clones and into an alley. There Jaune and Pyrrha turned, their backs against the wall that blocked the path and their weapons pointed at the enemies. The twins and their clones tried to jump on them, only to discover the alley was too narrow for the four to attack at the same time.
"We're waiting!" Jaune taunted them and they growled, sending the clones first.
The two faded figures attacked with kicks, only to find Jaune and Pyrrha easily blocking them with their shields, and hitting them back with their longer swords. A few strikes later the two clones disintegrated like they were made of sand, but Jaune and Pyrrha held their ground. The twins started shooting and Pyrrha hid behind her partner as the blonde boy crouched, using his larger shield to protect himself and her legs, while she used her shield to protect her torso and fired against the twins using Miló in carbine mode.
The twin girl used the walls to get to higher ground, prompting Pyrrha to do the same. Jaune charged against Maroon and jumped on him, using his bigger weight to hit the enemy's face and drop him on the ground, reducing his Aura levels to red. Midair Pyrrha captured Bianca into a headlock with her spear as she has done before with Cardin and tossed her hard on the ground, also reducing her Aura to the red.
"What an amazing turnaround! Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc won this battle in an amazing use of the battlefield to nullify their opponents advantage!" Oobleck declared as the Beacon duo helped their adversaries to stand up.
"For a second I thought we'd won…" Lamented Bianca.
"It was clever of you to use the alley. Our clones consume lots of our Aura when they are defeated." Maroon explained to them.
"You two fought well. Maybe if the battlefield was different you would have us in a pickle." Jaune said and they nodded before walking away from the battle and waving at the crowd.
As they walked the corridors beneath the Arena, they met with their teammates, Nora give them a bone crushing hug while Ren just nodded in approval. It was very surprising that they found Glynda there too, waiting for them.
"Congratulations on your victory, Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos. You both showed the skills we expect from our students. Ms. Nikos, the headmaster wants to talk with you later. I'll send the details to your scroll, so I suggest you keep that time slot free for today." She said, receiving a worried glance from team JNPR.
"Is something the matter?" Pyrrha asked politely, but her voice showing she was also in deep concern.
"The headmaster just wants to talk with you. It's not related to the tournament." Glynda said in reassurance, and the teens didn't perceive the slight concern hidden on her voice.
"Very well, I'll make sure to be there." Pyrrha assented.
"I'll inform Ozpin. Meanwhile I suggest you all enjoy the Tournament. If I'm correct, Ms. Schnee and Ms. Xiao Long are the next to fight." With this the professor left, leaving the four teenagers to stare at each other. Thankfully Nora came to the rescue.
"Come on! I want to see Yang kick ass!" She said as she dragged Ren with her, and the other two followed with small chuckles.
"*Cough*" Weiss sat on the bench and groaned a little. "You owe me one."
"Here, drink more water." Yang said as she gave the bottle to her friend. "That was really something. You know, I just got more respect for you."
"You better repay me by winning, understood! *Cough*" Weiss sipped the water and rested a little more. That was when Ruby and Blake joined them.
"You did well, my young apprentices." Ruby said with a mock old man voice, and then started giggling when Weiss stared daggers at her.
"So, I guess Yang will be our representative on the next round?" Blake suggested and the blonde smile grew bigger.
"Yep, I'll chew bubblegum and whoop ass!" Yang declared as she cracked her knuckles.
"But you don't even like bubblegum." Ruby asked in doubt.
"Then I'll have to whoop ass even more." Yang retorted with a laugh while everyone else rolled her eyes.
"You should be careful. Coco and Yatsu lost their battle against Emerald and Mercury." Blake said as she checked her scroll. "The opponents are just getting stronger, and remember that Jaune and Pyrrha also won their battles. You might have to fight one of them."
"It'll be Pyrrha. Jaune isn't the kind of guy that likes the spotlight. But I'd be careful with Emerald and Mercury too, they did win against second years." Ruby said in a moment of true wisdom that always surprised the other girls.
"Yeah, but that's for another day. I want just to relax and use today to visit the festival grounds. Who's up to it?" Yang asked.
"I'll pass and stay with Weiss." Blake said as she helped her friend up. "I think you might want to take it easy today too."
"True… Thanks, Blake." Weiss said with a smile.
"I'll watch the remaining battles. See if I can get some tips for you." Ruby said proudly and Yang hugged her tight. "GAAAH!"
"I knew I could count on my little sister!"
"Let me go!" And with that they started fighting to Blake and Weiss merriment.
"So, I'm going to see what the headmaster wants." Pyrrha said, her voice hinting she'd rather stay with Jaune at the Festival.
"Yeah, I hope it's nothing. Maybe he just wants to congratulate you on the victories and give you some tips. I'm sure he wants a Beacon student to win." Jaune suggested and Pyrrha smiled at him. Maybe he was right and she was just worrying for nothing. She walked back to the main building as Jaune walked between the many stalls of the Festival.
He felt himself lucky that the people wasn't just jumping on him. Most was being polite enough to ask him for an autograph or a 'selfie' (both a word and an action he deemed stupid but did it in name of politeness). The worse was when a couple of twins asked him to autograph their cleavage, something he denied, but they did kiss his cheeks in the selfie, making him stumble and fall.
After making a fool of himself he decided to buy some food and find a place to eat. Fish and chips in a paper cone seemed the appropriate choice, and soon he found himself a shade to eat at the woods behind the Festival. After putting the firs chip on his mouth, he discovered all the cone disappeared like magic.
"Blake, is that you? You could have asked for some!" He said but them saw a masked figure with red armor and a Grimm mask holding his food. He stared at the figured and moved his arm, his sword moving from his back to his side. "Who are you?"
"Not an enemy, young prince. Not an ally either. Someone who was curious to meet you though. You're… naïve, brave, gentle. Those aren't good qualities to have right now, considering what's going on in the shadows of Remnant." She stated, a voice that sounded wise and cold, like Glynda or Chifuyu when they were being serious. Jaune assumed she was older than him, and didn't felt evil intent from her, but didn't relaxed his stance.
"I'm Jaune Arc. Can I know your name?" He asked and the masked woman tilted her head slightly.
"Nice of you to not fall in that old routine of names. My name is Raven, that's all you need to know about me. Tell me, do you know Remnant?" Jaune looked confused at the question, not understanding what she meant.
"I think you're about to tell me I don't."
"Clever boy. Indeed, I discovered ages ago that Remnant hold many secrets, secrets most people are unaware and those aware of such secrets prefer to keep then hidden." She said and Jaune sighed slightly.
"Let me guess, to protect the people." He said and if he could guess the woman was probably smiling behind her mask.
"Some of them, the ones who prefer this status quo instead of uncontrolled change. People that decided the fate of humans and Faunus alike must be decided by them. Mind you that most are doing it from the good of their hearts, a few over the desire to rule. But now there's someone that desire to destroy everything, to dip the world in despair."
"Sounds like a plot of a videogame…" Jaune said and that elicited a laugh from the figure.
"You don't believe me."
"I don't know you and why I should believe you. But my instincts say you're onto something, because I can feel in the air. Mom also told me Ozpin is hiding something, so that is adding up." He explained and the woman removed her mask, revealing a beautiful face that Jaune couldn't help but feel familiar with.
"Consider this a small gesture of trust. Probably the only kindness I'll spare you. There's players in the world playing a dangerous game with the lives of everyone else. They're here in this very moment, waiting the moment to strike. But they're subtle. They aren't doing it with the strength of weapons, but with manipulation and deceit. They're using fear, anger, distrust, to make others do their bid."
"They sound awfully like the Grimm." Jaune mused and Raven nodded.
"Indeed. In fact, you can say they are working with the foul creatures, in a way more terrible than you can think. You'd do well to avoid being trusting and be always prepared." She finished, making Jaune stare at her eyes, red eyes with a confidence he rarely saw.
"Why telling me this?" The question prompted the woman to put her mask back on.
"You'll know sooner than later. And thanks for the food." She said as she ran towards the trees and jumped. Jaune tried to give chase but Raven was nowhere to be seen. He growled a little and decided to go talk with his aunt about it.
"Jauney?" He stopped and turned to see Yang approaching him with a smile. "Are you alone?"
"I hope so? Something weird just happened…" He said as he walked with Yang now, back to the Festival.
"Weird?" She asked, showing worry to the by as her hand gently rested on his arm.
"A woman named Raven told me some weird stuff…" At that moment Yang stopped on her tracks.
…
"She didn't take it that well…" Qrow commented as he gulped down the liquor on his flask. He stared at the others as they sat around Ozpin table after telling Pyrrha of what they expected her to do.
"What you expected? She's just seventeen. Sometimes you all forget they are children, inexperienced. And we basically just asked her to risk her life for something we don't fully understand, for a cause she never knew we were fighting for. Or are we so confident in ourselves now we believe we can't make mistakes?" Glynda said in an aggravated tone before turning to Ozpin.
"I know you're worried. I wish we had more time or other options. But time is a luxury I fear we're running out of. And I'd rather make a mistake by acting than by inaction." Ozpin justified himself.
"Now that is something we can agree on. Protecting the Kingdoms must be our priority and doing everything on our power is our duty." Ironwood said and Glynda left out a long angry sigh.
"When I was a student here on of my teachers once said sometimes the best choice is not choosing at all. I'll go see what the students are doing. Luckily they aren't destroying the Festival grounds." She said and left, leaving the men to talk between themselves.
"I think she don't approve." Qrow said as she gulped on his flask.
"I can't blame her. While what we are doing is the best in the long run, she's right about the morality of it all. I wish we had another options." Ironwood spoke again. "Hopefully the Festival will end without problems. What we don't need right now is another event like the Breach."
"I wouldn't be counting on that." Qrow said and stared at a window, where he saw a raven flying by. "Well, I better get more booze. See ya'll."
"Wow…" Jaune said after Yang told him what she knew about Raven, basically the same she told her before, except adding the tale about the 'Queen', but not the one acting right now, the 'true Queen' acting from behind the scenes, one that her mother was hunting. "Well… now I know where your beauty came from…"
"Hum…" She hummed and nodded, both sitting under a tree, away from the crowd. "That's what you have to say? That you think my mother is pretty?"
"Not as much as you, sunshine." He added, and that made Yang smile and calm down a little. "It's just a lot to swallow at once. I mean, all this… sounds like a conspiracy theory. And she told you Ozpin is hiding an ugly truth from us?"
"Yeah… I tried to ignore it for a while, just keeping close to my team, my friends… Just trying to be ready. She said I shouldn't medley. That I'd would end up hurt or dead. And that I shouldn't tell anyone else." She them rested herself on Jaune, making him blush slightly. "What will you do?"
"Me? I'll talk with Chifuyu-nee. This sounds a problem for everyone, not just Vale, and I have my people to think of too. I might not tell the others. Not when all we know is just your mother's word." He combed her hair with his fingers as he talked, and that relaxed her. "At least neither of us is alone with this secret."
"True. Jaune I hate to admit it but… I'm scared…" As she said that she suddenly felt Jaune hugging her closer to him, and she hugged him back, relaxing a little. "You know you're the only one aside Ruby that I let touch my hair like this?"
"Well, I feel honored of such trust." He said soothing, making her relax even more. "You're not alone. You have your team, your friends and me to help you."
"That I do. You know, I never expected my meeting with my mom to go sunshine and rainbows and forgiveness, but I expected more of it… Not discovering she acts like that."
"Sometimes people do stupid things thinking it's the right thing to do. Sometimes it does sound the right thing at the moment, but you know they say hindsight is a bitch." Yang chuckled at the use of the dirty word from Jaune, though everyone knew he could swear like a sailor when really pissed. She them decided she had a prime chance to say how she felt towards him.
"Jaune…" She started. Then they heard an explosion coming from the Festival.
"NORA!" They heard Ren yelling.
"Oh for…" Jaune groaned. "Sorry, I better go check that. We'll talk later." The he suddenly hugged her again, and kissed her cheek, making her blush hard. "We'll work this out together."
She couldn't help but blush and smile as she saw Jaune walking away, but for the first time in her life she felt she didn't had all the time in the world.
"And that's what Jaune said to you?" Charlotte asked over the private comm. link with Chifuyu.
"Yeah. We always knew Ozpin was hiding something, and the fact Raven is around, tell me it's something grave. Of course, I could just go around busting doors until I find it, but you know what that would do with your diplomatic efforts." Chifuyu explained as she drank her beer in her room later that night.
"Any chance of entering in contact with Raven?"
"Not much of a chance. Even if I find her, she wouldn't talk everything she knows. And you know she's probably the only one who can stand a fight with me. So beating the information out of her would be hard." After that exchange Charlotte took some time to think things over.
"I'll keep the army in alert, and I'll have the rescue and extraction teams ready. It won't help much, but we can get you, Jaune and his friends of Vale if the need arises." Charlotte decided and Chifuyu finished her beer and opened another one.
"Thanks, Charl. But let's pray we won't need it."
Blake was walking in the city with Weiss. Both decided to take some time off Beacon to relax, and where drinking some tea in a shop that Blake knew, the same she spent time with Jaune during the docks incident. Everyone was talking about the Festival, though, and making their bets on who would win. Pyrrha was a clear favorite, but Yang and Sun also were between the favorites.
"You know; I haven't heard of the Fang for a while." A costumer commented in a table nearby, and Blake's ears picked up the conversation as she sipped her tea.
"They lost a lot of people during the Breach. Heard Atlas captured one of the guys responsible for that. They might be scared of the fleet." Another costumer added.
"I'd not mind if them get lost forever."
I wouldn't mind either.
Blake mused over the random thought. Any other day she would rather be able to reform the White Fang back to its pacific roots. But here she was drinking tea with Weiss Schnee of all people, and feeling happy. She made great friends that didn't care about her Faunus heritage and even about her past as a member of the White fang, so maybe Yang was right that she could relax a little and let others take care of the problem.
"And that's why I think when we resume normal classes we should make Ruby study a little more." Weiss finished her small rant about their leader.
"Poor Ruby." Blake simple added, making Weiss scoff.
"She's our leader. While she proved being competent, I want every one of us to be the best possible. Not only because I want to be the first team in our year, but because I don't want something like the Breach to happen again." The statement made Blake surprise by the heiress attitude. Most would assume her as a selfish girl, but she proved to be surprisingly nice. She was about to say that to Weiss when she saw someone at the other side of the street, someone from her past, someone she hoped to never have to see again.
Adam Taurus.
"Blake?" Weiss asked as she noticed the change in her attitude, then was surprised as Blake just got up and ran after the man. "Blake!"
The Faunus gave chase, using her agility to dodge any pedestrian on the way, surprising many along the way. She had a chance to confront her former mentor, maybe even talk to him about his actions and discover why he was doing it, and if luck was on her side, convince him to stop whatever he was planned. It was a faint hope but one she was in disposition to hold onto.
One turn and she found herself in an alley and all hope she had over the Fang shattered. She ignored when Weiss reached her and started talking to stare at the graffiti in the wall, the symbol of the Fang and a text in red letters. When Weiss finally saw it both girls stood there in a moment of silence.
The White Fang Don't Forget, Don't Forgive. The Time for us to Rise is Nigh. Are you against us?
A.N.: Slightly shorter chapter this time. Setting everything for the next ones. :3
OMAKE
Many years previously at the Vytal Festival Tournament, which Atlas had been hosting that year… While the festival itself had opened the tournament had only just begun and as such the first round was yet to commence.
One Orimura Chifuyu was sitting inside a Simple Wok as she was preparing to eat a bowl of noodles and drink a nice cold can of beer (thanks to a fake ID) before she was called up for her first round. The bowl she'd ordered was relatively modest. However, before she could dig in she heard a derisive snort from a girl a couple of stools away from her with a bowl of noodles larger than Chifuyu's own.
Turning to look Chifuyu saw the girl was wearing a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. An object that looked to be made from feathers hanged from the right side of her skirt. She was also wearing black, thigh-length boots with a red splatter pattern on them. Chifuyu could easily tell that she must be one of the foreign huntresses here the festival.
"Is there something you want?" Chifuyu asked raising an annoyed eyebrow at the woman.
"Is that teeny bowl all you Atlesians can manage?" The huntress asked with a smirk.
"This bowl is adequately sized for me." Chifuyu replied "Besides unlike some people I don't have need to stuff myself like a pig."
"Do you want to run that by me again?" the woman said slamming her hand on the counter and turning to glare at Chifuyu.
"Is the piggy going deaf?" Chifuyu taunted causing a tick mark to appear on the woman's brow "Or maybe I should stop implying and outright say it; you are stuffing yourself like a pig."
"Who the hell are you calling a pig you Atlesian bitch?!"
"I don't know. Why don't you give me your name and I'll know?"
"The name's Raven Branwen and I'm from Beacon." Raven introduced herself, standing up and glaring at Chifuyu who did the same.
"Woah there, Raven, no need to go starting fights yet." a voice interrupted.
The person in question was Qrow Branwen, he needed no introduction everyone and their dog had heard about the hunter in trainings drunken antics while in Atlas.
"Shut up and stay out of this Qrow!" Raven snapped at her brother.
"Alright, alright fine." Qrow held up his hands in surrender took a seat on the stool between the ones the two girls had been sitting in.
"If we're getting to know each other why don't you tell me about that color scheme of yours. Red and Black? Really? That stopped looking cool fifty years ago. Did you get those colors from your grandma?" Chifuyu mocked the woman.
"For your information this color is crimson like blood, how about I show you some of your own!" Raven growled.
"Bring it on, I'm not going to lose to someone who lets her grandma pick her color scheme." Chifuyu stated with a smirk reaching for her sword as Raven did the same.
"You've had this coming bi-" Raven paused as a loud slurping interrupted her. "What the fu-QROW?!"
"What?" He asked through a mouthful of noodles.
"Can you not eat like a-" Raven stopped as her eyes went wide "THOSE WERE MY NOODLES QROW!" she screamed seeing that her bowl was empty.
The young drunk quickly washed the noodles down with a can of beer standing up nervously.
"Raven before you get mad I-" Qrow was stopped as Chifuyu pressed her sword against his neck.
"Those were my noodles and my beer, dead man." Chifuyu vowed seeing that her bowl and beer were empty.
"See ya later girls." Qrow gulped as he ducked under the sword and ran off.
"Truce till we cut off his legs?" Raven offered.
"Agreed." Chifuyu nodded.
With that the two huntresses gave chase both shouting threats of pain and death at Qrow, who ran like his life depended on it. Because it did.