Here we go!


Cover Art: Mysterywhiteflame

Chapter 18


"I spy with my little eye…"

"Neon. Stop." groaned Flynt. "We can't see anything you can so it doesn't work."

"You want twenty questions instead?"

Jaune would have told them to stop if their banter wasn't the only source of entertainment available to him on a cold Friday night. The moon was high in the sky, the stars were clouded by industrial smog and pollution, and he was sat at the top of a building that was lined with bird poo, gravel, and the occasional broken bottle from someone drinking where they really shouldn't. He'd propped himself on his rear in a corner where the foot-high brick wall cut a ninety degree angle, with one arm resting atop it and the other balancing his chin.

It wasn't the "laying prone" or "subtle" stance he'd imagined it to be, but the odds of anyone seeing him were scant anyway. This wasn't an active warzone with snipers to worry about. He was atop a building in the middle of the city, at night, with people walking around below unable to see him from such angles, if they had reason to look up at all.

Across the ways, down and a street over, was a glass-fronted store named "Dusty Joes." It was not dusty, and the man who ran it was not called Joe, but there once had been a Joe and changing the name after you bought it would mean changing all the signage and that was expensive. Such was Jaune's assumption for why one Larry Greenwall had kept the name when he bought it four years back. Atlas' intelligence divisions were no joke, even if Clover and the other military types constantly made jokes about them.

The building he was on was an apartment block several storeys high. It had a metal fire escape down one side, which had been his way up and would be his way down. He'd initially sat on that until someone opened a window and told him to "fuck off and do your drugs elsewhere". Not his finest moment but at least his cover wasn't bust.

"Any movement on your ends?" asked Jaune, a finger to the intercom in his ear.

"I fucking wish," said Flynt. "You know the worst part? There's this couple having an argument in the apartment below me."

"Domestic?" asked Neon.

"No. Just… oh for the love of… They're arguing about which of them their dog loves more. But they're really into it. Like, calm down. It's a dog. It loves everyone."

"Lucky," said Neon. "I'm opposite the rear end of a club and there's this couple making out in the alley under me. I can't not hear what's going on. If I hear a zipper open, I'm dropping a pebble on their heads."

Jaune chuckled and thanked his lucky stars. His area was relatively quiet, the store itself more for convenience and access of the locals than any prominence. There was no great shopping area, no high street, and that was probably what intelligence thought would make it a promising target. Less witnesses and slower response times. They'd all pretty much avoided the shops in the busiest areas of Vale, and so had the White Fang and the criminals. The heat there was too high.

"How are things on your end, Penny?"

"Hm? What? Oh, I was playing minesweeper. Nothing has changed. The employee inside is stealing money out the till for himself, though. He doesn't seem to realise the camera in the store is active. It usually isn't, but the owner must have noticed the missing lien."

"Oooh. Drama." said Neon. "Nice. I demand reports if the boss comes back to confront him."

"I don't think that will happen, Neon. It's far better evidence to catch him completing the crime than to interrupt him halfway through. Oh!" Penny was suddenly alert, and so was Jaune. "A van has just pulled up and people are piling out. Never mind. They're pulling a couch out the back. They're never going to fit that through the door- okay, now they've damaged the door to the apartment. Now they're swearing at one another."

"Awww man," complained Neon. "Why do you get the fun stakeout?"

Professionally speaking, he really should tell them to stop. It really was that boring, however. He didn't think anyone would begrudge them their chatter. It continued on for a couple of hours, until at one point they all joined in on playing a word-guessing game on their scrolls and comparing scores. The moon rose higher, the timer on his scroll ticking past midnight, and it was at around half-past-one in the morning that Jaune heard the squeal of tyres near his position.

"One sec," he told the rest, then looked over. Two vans had pulled up and several masked individuals were piling out. "Oh, I've actually got a robbery."

"Fuck's sake!" howled Neon.

"Going silent. Wish me luck."

"Suck on a-"

He flicked the device off before Neon could start, chuckling to himself at his own good luck, and then at the fact he considered it such at all. Go back a few months and he'd have been terrified of this. Right now, he was relieved to have something to do. He walked to the edge of the roof and vaulted onto the fire escape, landing with a rattle of metal and then quickly making his way down. He'd chosen his location well, not only for height and the view, but because it was distant enough that the noise of his descent wouldn't be heard. Especially not with the White Fang inside the store and shouting at the cashier with weapons drawn.

Jumping the last bit to the ground, Jaune stuck his hands into the pocket of his over-sized raincoat and fingered the tracker inside. It was a simple thing, small and electronic, but a little obvious if one were to see it. It hadn't been designed with disguise in mind since no matter what it looked like, you'd notice a sudden addition to your vehicle if you saw it. Instead, it was small and rugged. It was his job to hide it.

He kept his eyes on the storefront as he lurched across the street. There was no traffic at this hour, perfect for both the White Fang and himself. Slowing down, he slid around the back of the van and crouched low. The tracker came out, but so too did a little plastic capsule.

He pierced the film and dropped a sticky wad of material into his hand. It was soft like putty, but sticky and already beginning to harden on exposure to cold air. Jaune slid his hand under the back bumper and stuck it to the metal, off to the side of the exhaust, and then reached under and pushed the tracker into it. He held it there for a few seconds and then let go. The thing remained where it was, stuck solid, and unless the White Fang lifted the vehicle up to look beneath, they weren't likely to see it. Standing, he stuck his hands back into his pockets and started to walk away.

"Hey!"

The faunus were coming out the front entrance now and had seen him. They hadn't seen him touch their vehicle, though, so Jaune turned and held his hands up, backing away. "H-Hey now, I don't want no trouble."

"Fucking witness!" hissed a masked faunus. His jaw and mouth were visible under the mask, and Jaune noticed he was shaking. Nervous, or having second thoughts? That didn't make it any safer for anyone since a nervous person with a gun was all the more dangerous.

That's an old fashioned assault rifle, thought Jaune. Atlas had drilled into them the importance of recognising weaponry, especially their strengths and weaknesses. I think they've been obsoleted just about everywhere. I guess that makes them perfect for terrorists.

"I didn't see nothing." said Jaune. "It's not my business."

"Leave him," snarled another faunus.

"But-"

"But what? We're masked and we got what we came for. Get in the van already." The faunus that was presumably in charge slammed his hand on the back door, signalling the others inside. He then pointed at Jaune, thankfully with his hand instead of his weapon. "Get out of here, human."

"I will, sir. Thank you, sir."

Jaune bowed his head and backed away. He heard the doors of the vehicle open and slam shut, and then the squeal of tyres as they fled. He also saw the cashier in the store slumped behind the desk, alive, but obviously shaken. He considered going in to comfort them but that'd surely have him questioned as a witness by the police, which might catch the attention of the council. Or, if nothing else, of Beacon. Involving excuse maker at this time would make things harder for everyone. Once he was sure they were gone, Jaune kept walking, this time away from his apartment building, and touched a finger to his ear, opening comms once more.

"Tracker planted. You guys can take a break now if you like."

"-bitch!"

"Hello Jaune," said Penny, ignoring Neon's outburst. "It turns out that Flynt's store was also raided. Neon is taking it as well as one might expect."

"I'm furious!"

"My point exactly."

Jaune laughed. "That's good. Two trackers planted should give them plenty to work with."

"Actually, the people who raided Flynt's store weren't faunus. He described them as humans in black suits, working with that Torchwick person we were told about. He considered not going down at all but decided it couldn't hurt. The store isn't going to be hit twice in one night."

Huh. Torchwick, eh? He'd been briefed, but intelligence didn't have any reason to think Torchwick and the White Fang might be related. Crime was crime after all, and dust was the perfect thing to steal. Easy to transport, impossible to really stamp or brand once it was poured into a new container, and universally bought anywhere on Remnant. It was thought that Torchwick might be joining in just to use the White Fang as cover for his own crimes. Having more intelligence couldn't hurt, however.

/-/

The benefit of doing their missions on weekends was apparent come the morning – which was not a morning. Jaune woke up at half-past-noon, skipping the morning entirely, and it looked like Penny was the only one to have seen it. She'd left a note saying she was going to explore Beacon and "make friends". He dreaded the results of that but more power to her if she wanted to. Flynt and Neon were fast asleep still, Neon cocooned in cushions and blankets in a desperately futile attempt to achieve any level of comfort similar to their dorms back home, and Flynt having given up on just laying slack across his bed.

There was no response from Warden yet, but they were probably busy going over the information and watching the trackers. They'd received a "good job" on the night before, and some confirmation that tracking Torchwick couldn't be a bad thing, and that they should aspect fresh orders tonight, but likely none on Sunday so they could have a hope of being cognisant enough not to faint in class come Monday. It was ridiculous having to balance national security and schooling, but when one relied on the disguise of the other it was a problem that couldn't really be avoided.

He didn't want to wake the others so he walked out alone into the corridor, and down it and out Beacon into the fresh air. On a Saturday at noon, the grounds and commons around Beacon were full of their fair share of people bathing in the sun, picnicking, or chatting under trees or sat by the central statue. Snapping off a text to Penny to ask how the "friend-making" was going, he wandered around and took in the sights. There were students from Mistral, Vacuo and Atlas mingling with one another and the local Valeans. He recognised a few from back home.

One recognised him too. Ciel waved and stood from her teammates, walking over to him. He caught her team shaking their heads and talking behind her back, and he was sure she knew it happened as well. He bit back on a little anger at that for her sake. "Hey Ciel. Enjoying the local weather?"

"It is better than Atlas'. That is for sure. The lack of snow is a definite bonus after that assessment test of ours. Are you not with your team today?"

"Ah, no. Penny is out trying to make new friends and Neon and Flynt stayed up late and are sleeping it in this morning. I only woke up a bit ago myself. Have you been into the Emerald Forest yet?"

"Not yet. Is it fun?"

"Plenty of wild Grimm that attack on sight. Nothing too strong, or nothing we saw that was, but it was fun all the same. We got to cut loose and practice some team manoeuvres." He eyed her team again and said, "You're welcome to come along with us if your team don't want to."

Ciel's smile grew. "I would like that. My teammates are of the opinion that this should be treated as a holiday. I have been firmly voted down on any efforts to establish a training regime for the tournament." The frustration dripped from her tone, and he could well imagine why.

"I wasn't aware any of them were team leader."

"Yes, well, the title does not carry weight to those lacking in commitment." Ciel tossed her head at them, her perfectly straight hair flicking over her dark skin and bright eyes. "My only hope at this point is that a humiliating performance in the tournament will kick them into shape."

"Doesn't seem fair if you're humiliated with them."

"It's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make." Ciel cleared her throat. "Actually, I had suggested to them that we visit Vale today but they're too lazy for even that. Would you care to explore the city together?"

"Just the two of us?"

"You are welcome to invite your teammates if you wish but I thought it might be pleasant for us to spend some time together," said Ciel, in what was almost a whisper. "As team leaders, obviously. I miss having our chance to complain to one another when we're jogging."

"Heh. I miss that as well. Alright, sure. We can make a day of it."

Catching a Bullhead into Vale was as simple as waiting for the shuttles. They came and went on the hour, every hour, but a lot of students would also trek and fight their way to Vale if they were in a hurry. They weren't. The two of them chatted on the aircraft as it took them and various other students to a docking point in the city, where it also picked up a bunch on their way back. Flashing their scrolls was enough to have them let on and off for free. A perk of being a student of Beacon, or a transfer for the festival as well.

"Is this your first time to Vale?" asked Ciel.

"Yeah. Is it not yours?"

"I've been here once before. It was on a cultural visit from the pre-academy I was in; the idea was to teach us about Atlas' closest ally by having us visit and spend a week here. It was interesting, if a little strict on the itinerary. We didn't get much chance to really explore." Ciel's lips curled up just a little bit. "The teachers were more worried about losing one of us in the city and having to start a manhunt."

"Not you, I assume?"

"No. I was always one of the more reliable students. Or so the teachers would say. The others called me a teacher's pet."

"I don't think you are," said Jaune. "You're clever and definitely one of the most skilled in our year, but it's not like you show off or try to draw attention."

Ciel smiled ahead. "I'm glad you think so. In the end it was just children being children. Insults are hardly inspired at that age and they just saw me doing well and assumed it was to show off. I'd say that shows more of their immaturity than mine. What about you?"

"Ah, well, my schooling wasn't anything special." He hated lying, and hoped she'd abandon the subject if he made it awkward enough. "I was fairly average. Atlas wasn't even my first academy pick. I applied to Beacon and was rejected."

"Do you wish they would have taken you now, or have you grown to like Atlas?"

"Oh, definitely the latter. I can't imagine not being in Atlas now. Even the schooling… Beacon seems great and all, and the people are nice, but they have this weird obsession with everyone and everything having to be unique."

"It's a result of the Colour Revolution from what I remember. Embracing your individuality."

"Yeah, and I get that, but it's not like us using the same equipment and wearing the same uniforms magically takes away the fact we're different people. It just feels overdone."

"Maybe it is," agreed Ciel. "I know what you mean, though. There is wanting to personalise everything and then there is making your life harder because of it. Then again-" Her words were interrupted from a buzzing that came out Jaune's pocket. Ciel smiled. "Your team? You can answer. I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" asked Jaune. Ciel waved him on and he took it out. The buzzing had stopped. "It's a text from Penny. She's hanging out in Vale with Team RWBY and trying to make friends with them. And she says I have to create more opportunities for our teams to interact as a result."

"Team RWBY?"

"It's the team of our tour guide," explained Jaune. Ciel made an understanding sound. "They're nice enough. One of them is Weiss Schnee, though, which is causing some small friction with Flynt. The girl has a chip on her shoulder too, especially if you say anything to imply Beacon is worse than Atlas Academy."

"Cute." Ciel's tone said it wasn't. "We were shown around by Pyrrha Nikos, which would have been fine had not my foolish teammates hounded her every step of the way for autographs and pictures and even a date at one point."

"Oof."

"I know." said Ciel, sighing. "I apologised to her after but I don't think it did much to salvage the situation. I've a feeling we won't be invited to spend time with her anytime soon, not that I was too interested in that in the first place. Fraternising with rival teams only risks revealing our skills early."

"You think I'm making a mistake, then?"

"No. Just perhaps don't go out your way to inform them of any Semblances, fighting styles, or such. You have the edge, anyway. The Schnee Semblance is well-known and likely to be the same in Weiss, albeit to a lesser level of experience than her sister."

"I'll look it up. Thanks for the advice." His scroll buzzed a second time. "Again? Okay, Penny says Team RWBY are looking for one of their members and she wants us to keep an eye out for this girl and call if we see her." He showed Ciel the picture Penny had sent across, likely borrowed from Ruby's scroll. Blake was reading a book in it. "Not sure what's happening to their team but maybe they had an argument."

"It happens," said Ciel. "I'm pleased to hear Penny is actually being successful in making friends, though."

"Me too. You knew her before the academy, right?"

"We had met a few times, yes."

"How was she then?"

"Worse than she is now." Ciel smiled prettily, looking ahead with an amused glint in her eye. It must have been some fond memories for sure. "Penny is a sheltered girl and often says things that seem unusually blunt or mistimed. I'm sure you've experienced it. I helped teach her how to act a little more normal, but she's improved greatly from being on your team. I was worried at first she would struggle, but it seems the experience has been good for her."

"You were planning to partner with her, weren't you?"

"I was. I'm not upset you did, however. You've been good for her where I would have tried to shield her from embarrassing herself." Her eyes closed. "I only wish my team could have half the cohesion yours does."

"If we could do teams of five I'd ask to take you in an instant. I can't really say I'd want to be rid of Flynt or Neon, though. Sorry."

"No. It's fine. I'd love being on your team as well but I'm more than satisfied with being able to spend time with you outside it." Ciel stilled suddenly, turning away from him. "There is a café! Shall we eat?"

That was a little sudden. "Eat?"

"Yes. Us. Café." Ciel was already moving, still hiding her face from him, and it was all he could do to follow. "I'm hungry, and you likely are as well. We should solve that issue before continuing. I will pay."

The café was quiet but for a few couples here and there, and they were free to take a table at their leisure. Ciel chose one in the corner, with a good view over the rest of the café, and sat. Her face was dusted just a little with pink and she slapped her cheeks, eyes closed, and fidgeted with her wristwatch.

"Is everything alright?" asked Jaune.

"Yes. I was just taken by a hot flush. It's the different climate. I'm unused to the warmth here."

He leaned over to press a hand to her forehead. Ciel certainly felt warm, and he could see the heat creeping up her neck as she looked up past his fingers at him. Her lips were drawn into a small pout, and she gently pushed his hand away. "I am fine. Trust me to look after my own health, thank you."

"Can I not be worried about a friend?"

Ciel huffed. "You are entirely too nice at times. It's infuriating."

"What?"

"Nothing. Or nothing bad. Just me thinking out loud. I'm used to dealing with painfully blunt and disruptive teammates."

Jaune picked up one of the menus alongside her. It was a simple place with simple food. Basics like steak, fish, vegetable dinners, and the like. Ciel ordered a hearty steak with potato and he went for the fish platter. It was meaty and heavy, but calorie intake was something Atlas Academy had strictly drilled into them. Miss Schnee would not put up with idiots trying to "keep their figure" and thus starving themselves. Active training necessitated fuel, and that meant proper meals. If anyone wanted to lose weight, they should burn it off. Or so Miss Schnee had made clear.

They chatted a little before and over the meal – simple things like his time home and his sisters, or Ciel talking about her own younger years in Atlas as the daughter of a military mother and an accountant father. Ciel seemed amazed of how wild and silly growing up in a small village was, while he couldn't believe her first proper school had over 1,100 pupils in it. There weren't that many people under the age of twenty-five in Ansel, let alone between ages five through ten.

"It was hard at times to stand out," said Ciel. "The teachers did their best but they had to spread education between so many classrooms. Each class was fifty children in size. We had the same uniforms, standardised tests, and parent-teacher events were very difficult. They had to be held over whole weeks and-" Ciel cut off, blinking owlishly past him. The smile that had been across her face the whole dinner faded, turning into an irritated pout. "Seriously. You have all of Vale to disappear in, and you pick here. Now of all times…"

Jaune turned to look, eyes widening briefly. It was the missing teammate of Team RWBY. The one that Penny was looking for. She'd come in with a blonde faunus with a tail behind him who was, at that exact moment, being asked to button up his open shirt by a waitress. "Huh. That's the person Penny told us to look out for. That's lucky, eh?"

"Yes," said Ciel. "How very lucky this is…"

He looked back. "Hm?"

"Nothing." Ciel was all smiles. "I suppose we should do our duty and go talk to her. If she wants to be talked to. We might be told this is none of our business."

"In which case we'll text Penny to let her know and then leave her be," said Jaune. "To be honest, it is none of our business. I just want to give Penny a shot at making friends and this sounds like the best way to help her."

Ciel sighed. "Hit me in the sympathy, why don't you. Very well…"

Blake saw them coming but she didn't have much of a reason to panic or run, so she raised an eyebrow and indicated to her new friend, who turned to look their way. "Friends of yours?" asked the faunus.

"Associates, more like," said Blake. "We've met once."

"Jaune Arc. Team Jackpot. Atlas Academy." Jaune stuck out his hand to the male faunus, who looked surprised for half a second before grinning and taking it. He had a good grip and a winning smile. Jaune found himself liking the guy almost instantly.

"Sun Wukong. Leader of Team SSSN – Haven in Mistral."

"Ciel Soleil." That was all Ciel gave.

"And Blake, of course," said Jaune. "Sorry to interrupt your date-"

"It's not a date," said Blake.

"Heh. My loss." Sun winked. "Are we interrupting yours?"

Jaune waited for Ciel to say the same thing Blake had, if only for comedic effect, but she remained silent. Then again, she'd never been one to make jokes and probably didn't feel comfortable around a couple of strangers.

"W-Well," said Jaune. "We were only coming over because our teammate said your team was looking for you, Blake. Something about an argument. They're in Vale trying to hunt you down to apologise."

Blake looked down, troubled, but Sun laughed. "Hey, that's not so bad, eh?" He winked Blake's way. "You got what you want, right? I told you they'd be cool with you. Stuff like this happens. Teams fight and make up all the time. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal for me," whispered Blake. "And I can't go back until I prove what I said."

Troublesome. Jaune supposed he was lucky that Team JCKP hadn't run afoul of anything like this. It felt like the assessments helped. They were always so frantically worried about the next that they were working together constantly. The teachers also liked to put themselves forward as the common enemy, which felt like an intentional move to foster teamwork against them. Or maybe he was just lucky. Ciel's team wasn't nearly so cohesive.

"We're not here to drag you back in chains or anything," said Jaune, "but maybe you could at least send them a text to tell them you're okay. Turn your scroll off after if you must but give them some peace of mind."

Blake sighed. "It's not that simple."

"It is," snapped Ciel. "You're just complicating matters because you want to win whatever petty argument you're having."

"What do you know?"

"I know our time is being wasted here."

Blake scowled. "You came to talk to us. Not the other way around."

"Would it really kill you to send a text?" asked Jaune.

"Yes."

Blake turned her head to dismiss the two of them, and Sun shot them a roll of his eyes and a shrug as if to say he'd been trying that all morning already and gotten no further. Annoying. Annoying, but also not their business. Ciel shook her head and they retreated back to their table, though not before Ciel drew her scroll and tapped away on it.

"I've messaged Penny and told her where we are," she whispered. It looked like Blake had predicted they might, however, because she'd already gotten up – before even placing their orders – and Sun was left to follow her out. "Annoying girl."

"You were a little aggressive there yourself," said Jaune. "It's not like you."

"Something about her annoyed me. I'm not sure if it was the attitude or the fact she has a perfectly good and friendly team who worries about her, and she's throwing it away because she refuses to compromise. Does it matter who is right and who is wrong? You'll always be lonely if you need to have the last word in every discussion."

"Is that the only reason?"

Ciel glanced away. "She also may have interrupted our lunch."

"And that's reason to bite her head off?"

"Yes."

Atlesian women were scary.


Well at least Blake won't interfere with the date any further-

Explosion at docks

Ciel: "I have the most incredible loathing for this person for some reason…"


Next Chapter: 11th February

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