Half a chapter today; half a chapter tomorrow.
I am sick.
Again.
Sheesh, I had all this time off to prevent that – but this time lucky it's not stress and just a really bad flu (my sister is bringing a covid test over tonight after her work just in case). Big swollen glands, painful throat, headaches. The usual "you have an infection of some sort" kind of illness. Blargh. I'm still going to try and force something out here.
Edit: Okay, it's worse than I thought, and I've been hacking up too much to write – I'll do half a chapter today and half tomorrow to make up for it. Sorry for that. I'd normally just say I can't write today due to sickness but it's already been 2 weeks since this updated and I don't want to make it 3 weeks.
Cover Art: GWBrex
Chapter 42
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Certain groups accuse Vale of "false flag operation" in terrorist attack designed to slander Atlas.
Atlas Times
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Shock and despair as trusted source confirms Arc has LEFT Vale.
Vale Daily Tribune
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Snap byelection sees councilman who claimed Mistral "not ready" to host Jaune Arc deselected.
The Mistral Review
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Vacuo mayor accepts honorary medal from Vale council for actions in defending Valean citizens.
Vacuo Today
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Adam Taurus says Atlas has shown its true colours. "At least we never targeted children or hospitals."
Kuo Kuana Express
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"Terrorists from my own kingdom," said Ironwood, nursing a drink. "From my own people. I never thought it would come to this."
"Some things can't be predicted," said Ozpin. He was ever trying to excuse things like that. James disagreed, knowing he couldn't predict the specifics but convinced he could have prepared for them all the same. "Looking at how Vale is handling Arc's case is making me think the world isn't ready for a semblance like this. They're not mature enough."
"Not everyone can be your age, Ozpin."
"Not that. I mean that they lack the ability to look at the larger picture. I don't expect every person in a country to be capable of such, but those in charge should be. The people should be united in the face of the Grimm, and yet…"
"It's the same old story," finished James. "Selfish people wanting everything for themselves – be it politicians dragging the whole kingdom down to get in power, or citizens stalking a young man for his. Makes you wonder if they're worth saving sometimes."
Not too seriously. James would do what he had to do, and he would drag Atlas kicking and screaming into a stable future if he had to. The problem was that powerful people were ever hungry for more, and they would side with wherever the votes were, regardless of what was best for Atlas as a whole. It used to be that Jacques Schnee was his worst enemy there, but the man had been quiet of late. Content with his daughter's engagement and happy to wait things out. He'd even been – to Ironwood's shock – helpful. It made his skin crawl.
"I thought I was doing the best by him," said James. "I thought I was doing a good job. Yes, I prioritised the interests of Atlas over the other kingdoms, but I thought we were being fair."
"You did your best." There was no condemnation in Ozpin's voice. There didn't need to be, for James had enough for them both. "And you did what you thought was right. I doubt he faults you there."
It wasn't just about Jaune if he was being honest. James felt bad for how that had all gone down, but he felt much worse about the state that Atlas was now in. Disjointed and angry, lashing out at anyone and everyone as if they were responsible for their poor moods. When the people suffered in any way, there was a tendency to find someone to blame. It was always easier to hate than it was to admit your own failings, and certain demographics often drew the brunt of that.
James had, perhaps naively, felt that his people were above that. They were Atlas; they were the kingdom that other kingdoms look up to. They were the ideal. But this whole affair had exposed the ugly side of Atlas to the world, and Mistral had gone so far as to advise their holiday goers to avoid the kingdom. James couldn't blame them.
It wasn't bad enough yet to draw Grimm in any real numbers. That was the stupidity of it all really, that this level of anger from the public was nothing new – it was just usually a lot more fragmented. You had people hating faunus, hating the military, hating other kingdoms, hating the SDC, hating certain political groups. That sort of thing. Now all that existing hate had been unified against what was seen as spoilt brat running away from his obligations, and further inflamed by the revelation that his aura was in trouble, which painted Atlas in an even worse light. It was no surprise that various media groups and political figures would speak out against all that – not because they believed Jaune was lying, but because playing the patriotic card was a surefire way to appeal to the angriest of the masses.
Everyone is against us, they would say. Everyone is trying to blame us.
Ironic coming from people trying to blame everyone else.
"Salem has been quiet," said Ozpin, suddenly. Ironwood looked up to see the man leaning forward with his fingers connected and his eyes staring into the distance. "It worries me. There has been neither hide nor hair of her, nor any sign of increased Grimm around Beacon. I cannot believe she is blind to Mr Arc's presence, and the lack of any action is concerning."
"Either she is building up for something big or she already has a plan underway," said Ironwood. "Which is most likely at this point?"
"Either. Salem has ever had a way of recruiting people to her side – though the gods know how given her aims to destroy the world and the fact she's half-Grimm. You'd think even the most megalomaniacal and nihilistic of people would have some degree of self-preservation."
"You suspect someone among the students?"
"I have no suspects," said Ozpin. "But I do suspect that if she wanted to sneak anyone in, then under the cover of the Vytal Festival would be the optimal time. Alas, I'm shooting in the dark. And it's not as though I can accuse anyone. No one has acted out or suspiciously in any way – and every team here was here before Mr Arc arrived – so she could not have planned for it."
"Elm will look after him. She is skilled."
"Amber was skilled, James. Look at what happened to her."
Ironwood leaned forward. "Have you put any thought into that?"
"I have. And I am conflicted still. Amber is alive and dying and I simply do not know what will happen if we killed her and then asked Mr Arc to bring her back. If he even would."
"He would if I asked it as a favour and explained why," said James. "Jaune hates his semblance and his time being taken for granted. He would find a case like this to be interesting. But I agree that intentionally killing her is macabre, even if we intend to bring her back."
"It's not just that. Amber was defeated but Qrow was able to intervene in time to stop the maiden's powers being completely taken from her. If they are to come after her then it will be to finish her off, and us doing that will only benefit them. Even if she comes back, the power will have passed on at the moment of her death. The ones who attacked her would gain her power."
It was a complicated business as always. That was part of why James was content to leave it to Ozpin. He had enough on his plate as it was. He'd been receiving constant updates from Elm on the goings-on around Jaune. He'd allowed her to be vague on details because James didn't want to interfere in any personal business any more than Jaune would want him to, but at the very least he knew the names of the people Jaune spent time with.
Nikos and his fiancée were a given, but it was interesting to know he'd made friends with a member from another team as well. A quick background check had brought him to Leonardo, who assured him that the team were both skilled and reliable. That was enough to hold him off from digging deeper, though he'd asked Elm to keep an eye on matters just in case.
It didn't hurt to be safe.
Ozpin's scroll buzzed. The man looked at and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's the Council. They're asking on his next hospital visit already. He's been gone one day, and they've already lost what little patience they have."
"It's Atlas all over again."
"I hope not," said Ozpin. "Because if the kingdoms fracture over one man's semblance then Salem won't have to do anything but wait as alliances fall apart and kingdoms withdraw and isolate themselves within their borders."
Who could have thought that the worst thing to happen to Remnant would be someone unlocking a powerful semblance? Not Ironwood, that was for sure, but he felt as though he could see it happening in slow motion. Unless something was done soon – unless an accord was reached – Vale would descent to the same anarchy seen in Atlas, and then Jaune would need to be shipped off to Vacuo or Mistral, and the cycle would begin all over again.
/-/
It turned out that there was a bit of drama overnight in the village. A pair of teens had gone outside the walls to have a little "alone time" away from their nosey families, and ended up spotting a Beowolf in the fields. Not close thankfully; they'd seen it and sprinted back through the gates shouting for them to be closed, and they had been shut. Team CFVY had then been woken up and they went out to clear the area. Elm had apparently woken up to check on things, but he'd slept right through it.
No one had died anyway so he wasn't needed, but Team CFVY still decided to go out for the day and find any more that might be lingering around. Where there was one Grimm, there were usually more in waiting. The farmers had all agreed to stay within the walls as well, which Jaune was sure they appreciated. He had a feeling that people in Vale would have been a lot more entitled about their free time and would have argued they should be able to do as they wished, but the village folk here were quick to trust the team, even if they were just students. It helped that there wasn't any immediate need to harvest crops either. The foodstuffs could wait a day or two without coming to any harm.
"Things like this aren't too unusual," Elm told him. "You learn to roll with the punches when you're a huntsman."
"They seem to be handling it well."
"Yeah. Ozpin asked me to report on their performance and it'll be a positive one so far."
Intrigued, Jaune asked "Is there anything they could have done better?"
"There always is. They could have rotated a guard overnight so that someone was already awake and available, and they could have split up into shifts – but it's easy for me to say that when I don't know the full capabilities. There might be a very good reason they're sticking as a group of four." She nodded toward the closest window. "There's a lot of land to cover out there though. It'll take them a while if they're not willing to spread out."
"How would the Arc-Ops handle it?"
"That's unfair and you know it. We're fully qualified huntsmen." Elm chuckled. "But fine. We'd split up into individuals – one to guard the village and rest to cover set quadrants, rotating as needs be to give each other time to rest. Going off alone would be reckless for them, though. It's not a fair comparison."
"Is it a mistake that they've left the village unprotected?"
"Yes. But that's why I'm here – to allow them the freedom to make a few mistakes without having to deal with the catastrophic consequences of them. Mistakes are normal, Jaune. They're how we learn – and you learn far more from messing up then you ever will from a lecture. Those lessons tend to stick with you longer as well."
It was almost inevitable that Elm's words would come less than two hours before a Grimm, spooked out of the nearby forests, attacked the walls of the village.
As I said, there will be the second half of the chapter tomorrow as I'm just too sick to write much today.
Next Chapter: 28th April (Tomorrow), and then 4th May after.
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