RWBY: Light Extinguished

Chapter 9

oxoxoxo

Jaune sheathed Excalibur and placed it back in the crate before turning to face the two girls on the roof with him. "So your father used that sword?" Pyrrha asked.

"According to Fantine, yeah, it was his." Jaune said, looking down at the sheathed blade in the crate at his feet. "It's funny, I remember him having a sword about this size around the house, but he never told us its name or drew it."

Maria frowned and crossed her arms. "Why is that?" She mused.

Jaune shrugged. "I never really thought about it until now. Maybe the sword does something he didn't want us to see."

"If he wanted you to inherit it though, then why would he hide it?" Pyrrha asked.

The knight sighed. "I'd ask him if I could, but that's not exactly an option anymore."

"No," Said Maria "But I know someone you could ask if you want to know a bit more about the blade."

Jaune looked strangely at her. "Who's that?"

Maria smirked and pulled out her scroll.

oxoxoxo

In Team EMAD's room, Francois Delatrois set up his scroll in video call mode, setting it down on his bedside table and making a call. The screen flashed black for a second before an incredibly welcome face occupied it. "Francois!" Velvet said as the call was connected. "It's so good to see you again."

"Moi aussi, mon cherie." Francois replied, giving the faunus girl a smirk and a wink. "How is the mission going?"

Velvet grimaced slightly at his question. "There are a lot of Grimm in this place." She said, noticeably fatigued. "It seems the mission will take longer than expected."

"Je m'excuse, mon cherie, I wish you a luck."

Velvet smiled. "Thank you Francois. To be honest, you're my biggest motivation right now."

"Really?" The nobleman replied, confused. "How so?"

Velvet beamed at him. "I know that once this mission is over I'll get to see you again, it gives me something to come home to."

Francois returned her smile. "And when you do return, I will await you with open arms."

"And you'll tell me what that phrase means when I get back."

"But of course, mon cherie, anything for you."

The faunus girl gave the nobleman a smile from across the screen before she let out a yawn. "I should go for tonight. It's been a long day and I can see Coco giving me her look."

"Mon dieu, You can't fight the look." Francois quipped. "Bon nuit mon cherie."

"Bon nuit Francois." Velvet said, With that, the faunus girl waved goodbye, smiled and closed the call.

Francois let out a contented sigh as he lay back on his bed, barely noticing when the door opened and his partner entered. "I know that look." Thatch said, looking at the nobleman. "That's an 'I just got off the scroll with Velvet' look."

Francois rolled his eyes and sat up to look at the renegade. "Because you, mon ami are such an expert in the face of a man after talking to a woman."

"Tell me I'm wrong and I'll take it back."

"The same to you."

Neither one spoke for a moment as both boys took the time to glare into the eyes of the other. Finally, after what felt like an hour, both let out a snort of laughter. "It seems every time we talk I manage to simultaneously hate and respect you even more Noble Boy." Thatch chuckled.

"That makes two of us." Francois replied. "Speaking of twos, where is Alison? Weren't you two supposed to search the truck we took from the White Fang?"

Thatch nodded and produced the papers he had taken from the APC. "I searched it and found these there. When the girls get back, we'll go over them and report our findings to Team RWBY."

"I see." Francois mused. "I do still wonder why Alison isn't with you still. Did you attempt to flirt with her and embarrass her into leaving you?"

"Very funny." Thatch deadpanned, the nobleman bursting out laughing at the clearly not amused expression on his face. "Really. She got a call from our fearless leader, saying she needed her eye for detail."

"An eye for detail that missed the incredibly obvious feelings you have for her." Francois retorted.

"Shut up Noble Boy."

"And he doesn't even have a comeback?" Francois said, feigning shock. "I think I'm winning here."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Isn't there something else we can do aside from make fun of me?"

"Perhaps." Francois responded, reaching into his bedside table and producing a deck of cards. "Tell me, monsieur, how is your poker face? If the grin on your face is any indication, I have already won this as well."

oxoxoxo

Alison stepped out onto the rooftop to be greeted by her partner, her rival and Jaune. "You didn't say what you needed me for, Maria."

"I didn't, but I think you'll understand why when I show you what I want you to look at for me." Maria responded.

Before Alison could ask any other questions, Jaune reached into the crate he still had and produced Excalibur, the glowing blade illuminating the rooftop and making Alison's eyes go wide. "This was once my father's blade." Jaune said, showing off the sword. "Unfortunately, none of us know anything about it, and when I got it as my inheritance, it didn't exactly come with an instruction manual or any sort of description."

"We were hoping you could have a look at it, give us your opinion." Pyrrha explained to the artist.

Alison stepped up to Jaune and held out her hand to accept the blade. Jaune complied by dropping Excalibur in her hands. The artist immediately took the sword by the handle and began looking over the blade. "I could tell you how it was made, but I'm not sure what other help I can be." She muttered, eyes never leaving the blade. "After all, the act of forging a blade is an art in itself."

"So you can tell me what it does?" Jaune asked, excited.

"I don't... maybe... let me see..." Alison said, eyes glowing slightly blue as her semblance activated. "It's forged in Damascus pattern, folding the metal over itself and then twisting it before forging..." Alison noted.

"How can you tell?" Pyrrha asked.

Alison pointed out the pattern along the blade. "Look at the spiral patterns on the sword. It's odd though, it seems that there's dust forged into the blade."

"Well, we could tell that by the glow and the colour." Jaune said.

Alison shook her head, however. "No, Jaune, you don't understand. A lot of weapons use dust or maybe have a dust crystal in them to power them. This one is different. It looks like when the metal was folded, the smith folded an entire layer of crystal into it."

"So what are you saying?" Asked Maria.

"I'm no expert, I'm just going with a theory here." Alison said, nervous upon realizing all eyes were on her right now.

"You have more than any of us right now." Pyrrha reassured.

"She's right, Alison." Maria said, nodding. "You can see more of this sword than any of us, so you know more than we do."

Alison gulped and continued. "Well, you notice the lined of colour running up and down the blade? If I had to guess, I'd say that each one is a different type of dust."

Maria took a step back from Jaune and the blade. "Wouldn't the blade be volatile if there's that much dust forged into it?" She knew just how much power there was in a single dust crystal, she dreaded to think about how much there was in that sword.

"You would think so..." Alison said, looking over the blade. "But despite how sturdy this blade is, there are signs of use on it, so it's seen action and it obviously didn't explode."

"So what does it do?" Jaune wondered aloud.

Alison shrugged. "I can't really say. Professor Marlow could probably tell you though, right?"

"She's got a point, Jaune." Said Pyrrha "Marlow did say he was on your father's team, surely he'd know what this sword does."

Jaune bit his lip in thought. None of these girls knew what happened to Marlow after last semester, he'd just found out a few hours ago. Would it really be a good idea to tell them what happened to him? What would they say? "Uh... I'm sure I can get in contact with him somehow." The knight said, taking the blade from Alison and placing it back in the crate he took it from. "Maybe Fantine can help. He knew Marlow pretty well, maybe they talked about it."

"What do you mean he "knew" Marlow?" Maria asked.

Jaune chuckled nervously. "Did I say that? I must be really tired. It's been a really long day, maybe it's time to turn in for the night. Good night ladies." Jaune said, falling over his words as he picked up the crate and ran, leaving three thoroughly confused girls in his wake.

oxoxoxo

Meanwhile, Thatch and Francois had gotten pretty far into their poker game, Thatch being the obvious winner so far, his pile of chips being far larger than his partner's. "It seems I misjudged you, mon ami." Francois said as Thatch took another hand.

"That you did, Noble Boy, that you did." The renegade responded, taking the chips. "I should have warned you, I played a lot of poker when I worked on airships."

"Vraiment?"

"Oui, monsieur."

Francois blinked at Thatch's response. "When did you learn to say that?"

Thatch shrugged. "I've been around you for a while. How about another round?"

"Perhaps," Francois said, picking up the deck and shuffling. "But shall we make this match a little more, how you say, interesting?"

Thatch cocked his head and looked somewhat strangely at his partner. "Define interesting." Francois smirked, a smirk that made even Thatch, the boy with the power of fear, somewhat nervous. "Please tell me you're not talking about..."

Francois' smirk dropped almost as fast as it appeared. "No no no, not that." He assured. "We play for, how you might say, pride."

"Alright, I'm listening." Thatch said, eager for any chance to make the nobleman squirm.

"We each place a challenge on the other for each round." Said Francois. "The loser has to perform his challenge for the winner."

"Alright," Said Thatch. "Make your offer."

"My offer is this:" The nobleman began "If I win, you have to find our favourite shy girl and ask her to the upcoming dance."

Thatch applied hand to face. "Really? You're back on this?"

"You can deny it all you like, mon ami, but that won't make it any less true that you want her."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Thatch said, exhausted.

"Not until you admit I'm right." Francois said with a smirk.

"Prove it then." Thatch said, crossing his arms.

"Well, it's hard to ignore how pleasant you are around her, especially considering how you act around most people."

"She's a good person, and I save the snark and sarcasm for people who deserve it. Like you."

"What about what happened when Cardin told you he thought she had a perfect ass?"

"Well no one ever proved it was me who gave him that black eye..."

"There was what happened during the food fight."

Thatch had no response to that one.

"Tell you what, Thatch, if you win, I'll never bring this up again for the rest of our time at Beacon." Francois offered.

"Oh, I'll need a bit more incentive than that to enter this game." Thatch replied.

Francois scratched his head. "You are aware that my family is, how you might say, affluent?"

"What are you offering me? Money? One of those Stallions?"

"Better." Francois said with a smirk. "If you manage to beat me, I will divulge to Velvet, while you watch, the exact number of my family's servant girls and maids I have attempted to seduce."

Thatch looked his partner over for some clue that he was joking. He wouldn't lie, that prospect did seem attractive to him, watching the nobleman attempt to tell his girlfriend how many other girls he'd attempted to woo, many of whom likely still served his family. "Alright Noble Boy, you're on."

Francois smirked wider as he dealt out the cards. Five cards to each of them.

Thatch looked over his cards with a critical eye. His face remained completely still, even as he looked over the three aces he held. With a completely neutral expression on his face, he handed in his other two cards, a nine and a seven. Upon receiving two other cards in exchange, Thatch mentally smirked as he looked over a pair of tens. His expression, however, remained neutral as Francois also turned in a pair of cards for a new pair. When neither one played another card, they both smirked.

"You first, mon ami." Francois said.

Thatch grinned as he played his full house, three aces and two tens. "Read 'em and weep, Noble Boy."

"My my, but that is quite the hand." Francois said, looking at the cards his partner played. He then smirked and played his own hand. "However, I still win. Four of a kind." Thatch looked down in disbelief and rage at the four twos that his partner had played. "Now, I do believe that you have something to ask someone."

Thatch's response was to grumble something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Francois asked.

Thatch mumbled what he said a bit louder this time.

"Thatch, if you have a problem, then you should tell me what it is."

"Bloody hell, just come closer and I'll tell you." Thatch growled. Francois rolled his eyes and sat closer to his partner.

When Thatch whispered his complaint in his partner's ear, the nobleman burst out laughing. "Worry not my friend, I can help you with this little problem."

"Fine... But if anyone finds out about this, I'll make what I did to Cardin look soft."

oxoxoxo

Maria and Alison walked through the halls of Beacon on their way back to the dorm when they were stopped by someone rather unexpected. "Maria, wait!"

The girls turned around to see the massive frame of Ben Aparte approaching them. "What is it Ben?" Maria shot back. "You don't have power over my team anymore, and if you didn't notice, it's late and I need sleep."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ben said, looking at the ground. "The way I treated your team was... harsh, and I wanted to apologize for that. I suppose that it's sort of in my nature, having been raised by... harsh parents, and having served in the military."

Maria folded her arms as Alison moved to stand behind her, whether in support or fear was uncertain. "Ben, you treated my team like expendable grunts to be thrown into battle and tossed aside afterwards. I know you were treated badly by your family, and life in the military during the Faunus War could not have been easy, but that does not give you the right to take that out on my team." The colossal soldier hung his head in shame as the centurion kept talking. "That said, it's clear that you do have skill with a blade, and you're a pretty good shot as well, so I think I know what your problem is."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, confused.

Maria looked up to look Ben in the eye. "You're not a leader, you're a soldier. You've been raised form a young age to follow orders, not to give them, and because of that, you believe leadership is all about control. Well, you have it half right. Leadership needs to be about equal parts control and respect. You need to both respect those under your leadership and earn their respect as well. You, however, tried to strong arm my team, and that failed for you."

Ben met Maria's gaze as she spoke. "Thank you." He muttered. "Maybe on my next team I'll have a chance to try leading again."

Maria looked at him somewhat strangely. "What do you mean?"

Ben scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "When I was put in charge of your team, it was with the understanding that I'd be put on a team of my own at some point. Right now though, I'm still on my own since I missed initiation. Ozpin did mention that you might be able to help me somehow, but I'm not sure what he meant by that."

Maria scratched her chin in thought. "What did Ozpin mean by that?" she mused.

Ben shrugged his massive shoulders. "He didn't say."

Maria didn't respond as she was too deep in thought. What could Ozpin have meant? Was there something she could do for Ben? That was when she remembered something. Something she found out about rather recently, but never thought she'd have a chance to do it. "Ben, how much do you know about the hunters of Mistral?"

Ben thought for a moment. "Not very much, I was born and raised in Vale."

"An ancient Mistralian huntsman once created a protocol to aid those hunters who lost their teams." Maria said. "Those huntsmen and huntresses who lost their comrades could be offered a place among another team, an unofficial membership as they followed the commands of the Team's leader. Though it's rarely been used, especially in recent years, as many hunters have a hard time moving on from their former teammates, and today, the protocol is all but forgotten."

Ben looked at her strangely. "What are you saying?" He asked.

Maria's response was to draw her gladius, Ben taking a step back in worry, though he didn't need to. The centurion merely saluted him with the sword before holding it before her chest, point down. "Ben Aparte, I, Maria Gaia, Leader of Team EMAD, do hereby invoke the Legion Protocol. If you will accept my command, then I do hereby invite you to join Team EMAD."

Ben looked at her in shock. "After what I did, you'd let me join you?"

Maria nodded. "Like I said, you're a great fighter, and under my leadership, I'm sure we could do something great with that skill of yours."

Ben was shocked to say the least, but he wasn't going to let an opportunity like this pass him by. "I accept your offer, Maria."

Maria nodded again. "Take my sword and accept my command." She said, holding out the handle of her sword to Ben.

The soldier accepted the sword and mimicked her salute. "I, Ben Aparte, do hereby accept your command and join Team EMAD under the Legion Protocol." With those words, he handed Maria back her sword.

The centurion nodded and took back the blade, sheathing it as she did. "Welcome to Team EMAD, Ben."

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Professor Ozpin watched the scene with some amusement. Exactly as he thought it would happen.