Chapter 28: The White Fang

One week later, Haven Academy, 28th April 16 BBY, 10:30 am…

The White Fang were punctual, that much was certain.

At least that was what Jason thought as he stood with Nathan, Kanan and Blake at the main courtyard of Haven Academy watching as the leadership of the White Fang arrived:

Sienna Khan, Blake's parents, and Carrick would all be there, alongside some other ranking members of the White Fang.

Jason glanced to his right to where Kanan was stood, keeping his gaze on the approaching entourage of Sienna.

A quick glance to his left told Jason that Nathan kept stealing glances at Kanan; as if making sure he stayed where he was.

Jason bowed his head as a familiar headache began eating at his mind.

When it had emerged that Kanan would need to be present when the White Fang arrived into Haven, Nathan had balked, vehemently refusing to even consider allowing Kanan to be free from his restraints.

It had taken a concentrated effort from Jason, Ozpin and Ahsoka to eventually convince Nathan to relax his stance, with promises that Kanan would be re-restrained if he tried something.

The next argument had commenced when Nathan made it clear he wanted to stand next to Kanan in order to keep an eye on him, which Jason had refused, citing Sienna's reaction should she spot Phoenix's Breath being pointed into Kanan's back.

Nathan had reluctantly relented, but Jason knew that Nathan likely would not relax until Kanan was once again handcuffed to his bed with no chance of escaping and trying to drag Blake off to an abortion clinic.

It saddened Jason to see how Nathan and Kanan's friendship had deteriorated, but Jason knew from experience that upsetting Nathan had severe consequences.

Consequences Kanan would have to live with.

Consequences Jason had been forced to live with.

Consequences anyone who betrayed Nathan's trust in them would have to live with.

But Jason's mind was cast away from those thoughts as Blake started forward the moment her parents became visible, calling out:

"Mom! Dad!"

With Nathan…

Nathan started forward himself, stealing one more warning glance towards Kanan before jogging over to greet Ghira and Kali, the latter of whom was already angling to greet him. "And there's my favourite Belladonna not named Blake." Nathan said cheerfully as he hugged Kali.

"Oh, shush!" Kali responded, hugging Nathan back. "How are you?"

"Ready." Nathan replied. "Battle's coming soon. Can feel it in my bones."

"Like the air is holding it's breath, waiting for something to happen?" Carrick asked as he joined them.

"Exactly." Nathan said, shaking Carrick's hand. "Good to see you anyway. How're Belinda and the kids?"

"Oof. Making me feel older than I am." Carrick replied. "People always say parenthood is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your life, but they never mention just how much stress can come with parenting. I'm dreading the teen years already, and there's still several years to go."

Nathan snorted before eyeing Sienna. "High Leader." He said, respectfully inclining his head.

"Nathan." Sienna replied frostily, before she walked over to where Kanan was still standing with Jason.

"She has been like that regarding you ever since the Second Battle of Menagerie." Ghira commented. "It seems she feels affronted that you so easily made her look weak in front of her own personal bodyguard."

Nathan scoffed. "Being honest; as long as she doesn't order the White Fang to ditch us mid-battle, I couldn't care less." Nathan responded as they approached Jason and Kanan.

Only when his father approached did Kanan step forward to hug him, much like he'd done with Sienna. "Good to see you, Dad. You alright?"

"Yes, thank you son. And yourself?" Ghira replied.

Kanan shrugged. "I've been better." He responded, as he once more returned to his stiff position next to Jason.

Nathan eyed Kanan with folded arms, before Sienna seemed to notice.

"Is… something going on here that we're unaware of?" She asked.

"Not at all." Jason said. "Anyway; Carrick and I are heading off to discuss troop placements and camping areas. If Kanan wants to go catch up with High Leader Khan, that's okay. The same can be said for Nathan and Blake with Mr and Mrs Belladonna. Once we're all done, we can meet up and discuss battle planned."

"Sounds like a plan." Kanan replied. "Come on, Mom." He said as they left.

Nathan glared daggers at Kanan and Sienna the whole way until he himself walked off. At least Kanan was nowhere near Blake now.

With Jason and Carrick…

"Despite most Haven students still having their own dorms, there are just as many for some of your ranking White Fang warriors and their squads." Jason said as he and Carrick walked. "If they'd all prefer to camp together; then Haven thankfully has plenty of open ground from where they would place the fairgrounds whenever they host the Vytal Festival."

"The latter will probably suffice the best, if I'm being entirely honest." Carrick replied. "I try to enforce equality on all my men. That includes me joining them in an allocated tent in an event such as this. What use is asking men to die for you if you're not immediately accessible to them?"

Jason nodded. "Besides… probably helps that there are no Atlas military personnel who need their own quarters." He said, trying to mask the sad tone of his voice.

Unfortunately for Jason, Carrick was rather astute, and perceptive.

"Even if Winter was among them?" He asked, folding his arms.

Jason sighed. "How did you know?"

"Jason; I was dating Winter for nearly two years." Carrick replied. "I of all people would know when someone is thinking of her."

Jason took a breath. "You're not wrong." He admitted. "I… I just miss her. It's been a month and a half since I last spoke to her and… it's not easy when all you want to do is see her and tell her how much she means to you. And I'm not sure if that's even possible since me and Nathan are now wanted men."

"Never stopped people from visiting their loved ones." Carrick pointed out. "Provided you could enter Atlas quietly; there's no reason that you can't go see Winter."

"Besides putting her in danger if we're discovered." Jason countered.

"Jason; you're talking to a guy that snuck into the Schnee Manor constantly to see Winter. And sometimes get laid if Jacques wasn't home." Carrick said. "Stop making excuses and just do it. I guarantee you Winter will be happy."

Jason nodded. "You're right. I'll go as soon as the battle is over and we've won."

That's the spirit, Jason." Carrick said with a smile, patting Jason on the back.

Jason smiled back. "Anyway… what do you say we go find someplace to catch up? Feel like we've not been afforded that chance in a while, even after the battle in Menagerie."

"You're not wrong there." Carrick replied. "Let's go find someplace. Preferably where they don't sell alcohol."

With Kanan and Sienna…

"If it's apropos to ask, where was Yang? I would have thought she would be with you when I arrived."

Kanan forced himself not to grimace as an all too familiar pain ran him through, replying: "Yang is helping her mother with something." It wasn't a total lie, which was good, and it had slivers of the truth. Kanan had asked if Yang wanted to be there for Sienna's arrival, but his ex-girlfriend had bluntly refused.

Kanan's fists clenched. The thought of calling Yang his ex-girlfriend still hurt, and Nathan's words from that horrid day replayed in Kanan's mind:

"I could tell just by how she was acting that she still loves you. And the fact you left her with no other choice but to break her own heart makes me sick to my fucking stomach."

Guilt ate at Kanan like a degenerative disease once more as those words replayed in his mind.

He wished he could take it all back. But-

"Kanan? Are you listening?"

Kanan snapped back into reality at his mother talking to him. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

A frown crossed Sienna's face as she said: "This is the strangest I've seen you act since Ilia broke up with you. Are… are you and Yang… okay?"

Kanan looked away from his mother, remembering the warning given to him from Nathan via Jason:

""He told me to tell you that if you even breathe a word of this to your parents or Kali once they arrive here with the White Fang; he will kill you. And probably stage your suicide while he's at it."

Kanan sighed. "As a matter of fact… no. We broke up a week ago. And it was all my fault."

"What happened? Is that why Nathan was looking at you like he'd rather you were dead?" Sienna asked. "And don't act like he wasn't, because the way you were all arranged suggested something is going on between you all. And I'm not sure I like what I saw." Stepping forward, Sienna placed her hands on her son's shoulders. "What happened, Kanan? What's caused all this tension?"

Kanan grimaced as he forced out: "I… I can't say."

"Why not? You've always been able to talk to me about these things, haven't you?" Sienna asked.

"Mom, I'm serious. If I breathe a word of it to anyone; even you, Nathan has promised to kill me and stage it as me having committed suicide." Kanan said.

"Surely it's not that seri-wait. Did you just say Nathan vowed to kill you?" Sienna asked.

Kanan nodded. "And stage it like I offed myself. Yeah. I screwed up big time, Mom."

Sienna seemed to ignore that as her face contorted with rage.

"Where is he? More importantly, how do you want me to kill him?" She demanded.

"Mom, don't." Kanan begged. "If he finds out I even suggested something was wrong, he'll end me."

"All the more reason for me to end him!" Sienna spat as she surged off in search of Nathan.

Kanan sighed and followed her, praying this wasn't his final walk.

With Nathan, Blake, Ghira and Kali…

Nathan finally allowed himself to relax as Blake talked with her parents:

"And that's basically the rundown of all that's transpired." Blake was saying.

Sipping her tea, Kali said: "Well; I'm certainly not surprised you've been so busy."

"Though this business with Kanan is concerning." Ghira noted. "I had wondered why you were stealing such hostile glances, Nathan."

Nathan nodded. "All because of a bug Blake was dealing with at the time. I get why he suspected Blake was pregnant, but that's no excuse to try and drag Blake off to have an abortion when she didn't need one." Pausing, Nathan added: "You're… taking this surprisingly well."

Ghira nodded. "You will find when it comes to disciplining Kanan, his mother is the harshest of the two of us. Unsurprisingly so; she primarily raised him after all."

"Though we're unsure the threat to kill him if he breathed a word of this to anyone was necessary." Kali added.

Nathan sighed. "It was a heat of the moment thing. Blake had just spent the past hour crying herself to sleep, and Yang had just cried into my shoulder after ending things with Kanan. I… I was angry, and it felt like something that'd hurt Kanan in a way that didn't lead to me beating the brakes off of him."

"Considering the circumstances, I commend you for showing such restraint, Nathan." Ghira commented. "I cannot imagine your anger towards him has waned."

"Oh trust me. I still wanna beat the fucking shit out of him." Nathan replied. "But-"

"NATHAN PHOENIX!"

Nathan looked behind him, and grimaced.

Sienna Khan was marching towards him, a look of rage across her face.

Behind her was Kanan, clearly trying to pacify her.

At least Kanan was doing something right.

Standing up, Nathan calmly let Sienna approach, opening his mouth to say something.

THWACK!

The slap knocked Nathan sideways, and for a moment, Nathan pondered whether he now had a damaged eardrum. Shaking his head to clear it, Nathan looked to Sienna. "I admittedly deserved that."

"That and more." Sienna snarled. "How dare you threaten my son?! A man who has been nothing short of a friend and ally to you! I know you and him are at one another's throats right now; but that is no excuse to be making threats to end his life and stage it as a suicide!"

"With all due respect Sienna; has Kanan told you why I made that threat?" Nathan asked, glancing towards Kanan, who flinched and looked away.

Sienna's rage refused to soften. "No. So you had better tell me before I have you locked up worse than Ironwood ever did!"

Nathan felt a pang of anger at the mention of the general, but fought it down. "A week ago; Kanan got the idea in his head that a stomach bug Blake was dealing with meant she was pregnant. Despite Blake telling him no; Kanan thought the best course of action would be to drag Blake away to the nearest abortion clinic and force her to have an abortion. Is that what you've been teaching Kanan?"

Sienna's face faltered, as she looked between Nathan and Kanan.

Nathan's face was calm and composed, as if he knew what he was talking about.

On the other hand, Kanan refused to meet anyone's gaze, guilt and shame radiating off of him.

"Kanan… is that true?" Sienna asked.

Kanan sighed and nodded.

Sienna once more turned to Nathan. "Apologies for slapping you across the face. I should have been saving it for my son." An angry expression crossed her face as she said: "Speaking of…" With speed that startled Nathan, Sienna spun on her heel and marched towards Kanan, grabbing him by his ear. "You and I need to have a very long conversation!"

Nathan could only watch as Sienna dragged Kanan off by his ear. Whether or not she was dragging him to his death was not something Nathan wanted to know.

"Ghira sir?" Nathan said, looking back at his future father-in-law.

"Yes, Nathan?" Blake's father inquired.

"You had better follow them." Nathan replied. "I suspect Sienna plans on publicly disemboweling your son and hanging him from the highest point in Mistral using his entrails for a noose."

"You are not mistaken." Ghira replied as he finished his tea. "Very well; I will go save my son's life. Though I much suspect the damage will already be in the process of being done. You'll find Sienna has an acid tongue to rival yours when she is angry."

"And yet I'm the one who people talk about." Nathan retorted.

Ghira chuckled, before heading off in the direction Sienna had dragged Kanan off in.

Nathan took a breath, and then turned to face Blake and Kali, rejoining them and taking another sip of his tea. "Well… that was eventful." He commented.

Kali nodded. "But enough about that. Is there anything else I should know?"

Nathan and Blake shared a look. If they were going to tell anyone… it would be Kali.

"Me and Nathan might have been lying about something." Blake said.

"It's to do with you potentially being pregnant, isn't it?" Kali asked.

Nathan nodded.

"Me and Nathan have been actively trying for a baby." Blake answered. "And… I've begun to suspect our attempts have been successful."

Kali's face lit up. "Have you taken any tests?" She asked.

Blake smirked and tapped the side of her nose.

Kali visibly pouted, but chuckled before getting up and hugging Blake.

And Nathan.

"I could be a grandmother-to-be soon…" She said gently.

"You may be one already." Nathan replied.

Breaking the hug, Kali wiped tears from her eyes before sitting down with her tea, as did Nathan and Blake. "So; when did you start trying?"

"Literally the same night we reunited." Blake said.

"Thought so." Kali replied. "So if you are expecting; then that would make you a month along already."

"If you're willing; we would love any advice you can give us, Kali." Nathan added. "Because I'm not going to ask Yang's mom. She kinda terrifies me sometimes."

Kali giggled. "Nathan; you'll find that most mothers are terrifying when they want to be." She said.

With Kanan and Sienna…

Kanan was used to pain.

But that didn't mean any of his mother's slaps didn't hurt.

THWACK!

The latest one struck him across the face with all the force of a point-blank shotgun blast, knocking him back a few paces.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Sienna demanded, walking up to Kanan with a furious look on her face. "Trying to force Blake to do something she adamantly didn't want to do? I thought I taught you to respect it when a woman says no."

Kanan sheepishly nodded. He could see his father stood a few feet behind Sienna, and the glare coming from his father made Kanan partially glad he was not the one dealing with Kanan.

"Then why were you so determined to go drag Blake off to get an abortion you weren't sure she even needed?!" Sienna demanded.

"I… you always said battle was no place for a pregnant woman, Mom." Kanan said.

Sienna paused. "While that is true; does Blake even look pregnant?!" She demanded. "No? And even then; Blake can still fight! It's only during the latter stages of pregnancy that I meant."

"Well; if you'd told me that before I went and screwed my whole fucking life up trying to do as you would have done; then we wouldn't be having this GODSDAMN CONVERSATION!" Kanan roared.

Sienna's face faltered, as Kanan continued:

"I know what I did was wrong. I know… that I made a mistake. A mistake I have spent the last week reaping the consequences for! My sister hates and is quite possibly scared of me; her boyfriend wants me dead, all of my friends no longer talk to me, and to cap it all off… I…" Kanan's fists clenched as he fought back the urge to cry. "I lost the best thing to ever happen to me. She forced herself to break her own heart… and I have no idea how I'm going to fix it. All because my own mother failed to be more FUCKING SPECIFIC!" At which he drove his fist violently through a window, shattering the glass.

Kanan shut his eyes tightly against tears, but they came too quickly for him to stop as he finally allowed himself to break down, the weight of guilt and shame for his mistake finally crashing down upon him in waves, flooding his mind as he sank into a squatting position.

Arms wrapped around him softly as Sienna said:

"Oh, Kanan… you're right. Maybe I should have been more specific. But at the same time… common sense is a concept."

"Way to kick me when I'm down, Mom." Kanan spat bitterly.

"Kanan… sometimes you need a little kicking to remind yourself why you're down in the first place." Sienna said softly. "And you are right about everything. Battle is no place for a pregnant woman. And I should have been more specific about what I meant when I said that to you. But you still have to respect people's wishes, even when it seems to be the most absurd thing to you. Blake made her choice. If needs be, we can send her away so that she's safely out of the battle. But you and I both know she'll never agree to that."

"Even if it threatens the safety of her baby?" Kanan asked.

Sienna sighed. "Like I said; we need to respect her choice. Both to carry that baby if it's even there, and to stay and fight despite that risk. Do you understand?"

Kanan quietly nodded.

Sienna sighed and stood up. "Get up."

Kanan slowly obliged, facing his mother.

"I know you were doing what you thought was right, Kanan. But I can't let you walk away from this without some form of consequence. So… I have little choice but to demote you."

Kanan's heart sank as he reached for the necklace that named him Sienna's successor. He'd long known it was coming, but not like this. His hands felt heavy as he removed the necklace, handing it to his mother.

"You'll retain everything else. But I'm placing you under Carrick's command for the battle to come." Sienna declared. "If anyone can knock some sense into you; it's him."

Kanan nodded.

Sighing, Sienna added: "As for how to fix things with Yang… a sincere apology to Blake and Nathan would be a good place to start."

"And if they don't listen?" Kanan asked.

"Then wait until they are ready to listen." Sienna said. "And be prepared to have your apology rejected. Again and again and again. Because your words likely hurt Blake. And if I know Nathan… he is one to hold grudges against people. Jason is a prime example."

Kanan's heart sank even more. Nathan's grudge against Jason had lasted for years, and only the gods knew how much long he would have held onto it had Jason never come back into his life the way he had.

If that was what Kanan was facing; then the possibility of reconciling with Yang was now ten times as slim.

"You should try and find them." Sienna said gently. "Gods know how much time we have before the Empire drops by to say hello and try to kill us."

Kanan nodded and left, praying that Nathan and Blake would listen.

With Nathan and Blake…

"Ilia!"

Nathan couldn't help but smile as Blake dashed over to where one of her oldest friends was, damn-near tackling the chameleon faunus in a hug. Walking over, he himself hugged Ilia, saying: "Been way too long, Ilia. How've you been?"

"Been great. How about you?" Ilia replied.

She was dressed for combat; sporting her black, grey and dark grey sleeveless stealth suit with short legs, a black glove on her right hand, and simple black boots with a cuff.

"Oh, you know. Preparing for battle as best we can." Blake replied.

"Makes sense." Ilia remarked. "Any idea where Kanan is?"

Nathan's expression tightened, and Blake answered in his stead:

"Kanan's somewhere probably getting his balls ripped off by Sienna."

"Why? What happened?" Ilia asked, a furrow appearing between her eyebrows.

"Let's just say your ex-boyfriend done fucked up and now he's paying for it." Nathan spat. "Better if Sienna does it then me, anyway."

Ilia frowned. "What happened?" She asked, her cheerful tone vanishing.

"Let's just say I had a bit of a stomach issue last week; led to a bunch of early mornings puking into the toilet." Blake replied. "Kanan seemed to take this as a sign I was pregnant. So…"

"So he basically tried to drag her off to get tested, and then to have an abortion." Nathan finished. "Some bullshit about pregnant women have no place on a battlefield."

"Nathan stopped him, and it led to a violent brawl between them that led to Kanan being choked out by Nathan." Blake elaborated. "Since then; Kanan's mainly spent his days handcuffed to his bed so that Kanan can't try and drag me off. Oh, and Yang's broken up with Kanan."

Ilia's face fell. "Fuck…" She groaned.

"Yang's only just gotten back to her former self." Blake added. "It was hard to see her the first few days. You can tell she still loves Kanan."

"Which makes what he did all the more disgusting." Nathan declared. "Was all I could do not to blow his fucking brains out and make it look like he'd committed suicide."

Ilia gave Nathan a shocked look. "Remind me never to piss you off." She remarked.

Nathan snorted, before looking in front: "Speaking of the dragon…"

All of them looked over and grinned at the sight of Yang walking over, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey guys!" She said jovially, jogging over and hugging Ilia.

"I knew the area felt hotter." Nathan joked, making Yang giggle.

"Careful, Nate… Get too hot, and you might get burned." Yang replied.

Nathan snorted. "Says the so called 'Spice Queen' who could barely handle Ren's Curry Chicken last night." He fired back.

Blake laughed as Yang stuck her tongue out at Nathan

"Didn't Summer tell you that if the wind changes, your face will stay like that?" Nathan asked.

Yang rolled her eyes as Blake and Ilia laughed, flipping off Nathan, who stared at her with a smug smirk on his face.

Laughter faded as Ilia's scroll went off, and Ilia answered:

"High Leader, what is it?" She asked, revealing she was talking to Sienna. "Wait; what? Already?" Nodding, Ilia said: "We'll be right there, ma'am."

Hanging up, Ilia said: "We'd better get to the war room. Scouts have just reported in and said the Empire's on the move."

Well, shit...

Looks like the final battle's about to start.

And how about Kanan's little outburst? I wanted to show how guilty he felt and how angry at himself he is. Thank god Sienna is the understanding type.

Anyway; let's answer some reviews, shall we?

Sharnorasian Empire: Aggravated assault, Assault with a deadly weapon, Disturbing the peace, Causing panic (Which would likely be a criminal charge on Remnant due to the Grimm being attracted to such emotions), there's a fair few charges Sun could be charged with. Either way; Sun will hopefully see the error of his ways.

With that said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story. if ya'll liked it; you know what to do.

I shall see you next week with the next chapter, which sees the allied forces develop their plan to face the Empire.

T-Rock14