My apologies for last weekend when I was incredibly ill and just couldn't write. I hope most of you figured it out via my profile message. I'm still coughing badly and have sore throat, but last weekend I was struggling to breathe and concentrate for headaches and muscular pain everywhere. Couldn't really manage anything.
Cover Art: Mystery White Flame
Chapter 29
Jaune wasn't sure if it was the passing of time making it easier to forget, or his confidence being boosted by his team accepting his confession, or a result of them working over him to change his mind. Whatever it was, he'd ended up coming around to agreeing with them that they shouldn't back out the mission. Whether that was a good choice or not remained to be seen, but they wanted to continue and for some bizarre reason they wanted him as their team leader. His job was to make all that happen.
Winter hadn't looked surprised when he told her the news. Maybe she'd always known they'd come around, or maybe she was just used to hiding her true feelings. Whatever the case, they weren't busy with Warden business on the weekdays, so Team JCKP fell into lessons, personal training, and the occasional moments between them and other teams, like this afternoon when he and Ciel were assisting Ruby with leadership training. Weiss had tagged along, ostensibly for no reason other than boredom, but Jaune suspected she didn't believe they could offer any advice to Ruby, or she thought they'd try and sabotage Team RWBY somehow.
Or she thought she knew better. It could be any of them.
Ruby, for all her age and immaturity in many ways, was like a sponge when it came to learning from them. It was honestly a little embarrassing because it made him feel like he really wasn't all that special. Ruby was stronger than him in combat and would soon be a better leader than him as well, and what would he have after that?
I'll have my team. I'll have my friends. Nothing else matters.
"Ahhh, this is all so much," cried Ruby when they were done. Her eyes were lidded and dark from all the paperwork side of leadership they'd shown her – how to assess supplies, plan for long trips and make sure your team were well-prepared. "But do I really need to do all this? Why is it my job to make sure everyone else beings what they should be?"
"Because being in charge means taking on extra responsibilities," said Ciel. "It is not a reward or a badge of honour as some people might feel." Her none-too-subtle remark had Weiss crossing her arms. "It is a chore. Ideally, your team will look after themselves but just as a parent looks over a child to make sure they have all they need, you must look over your teammates. Come the worst, there won't be time to apportion blame. If one of you is bleeding out because no one remembered to bring disinfectant and sutures, then it doesn't matter who is at fault."
"I guess…"
"It's about being careful," said Jaune. "And honestly, a lot of it is more about gathering supplies and planning for the journey. You can't rely on being able to stop at villages to eat, but researching which villages will be along your path and where they are will make life not only easier, but comfortable as well. And if there aren't any, then you can plan for a rough time out and bring some creature comforts to lighten the mood. Team morale is your responsibility."
"Yeah. I get it." Ruby closed the book they'd lent her and drew it under her arm. "And I'll read ahead. I promise. Thanks for agreeing to do all this again."
"It's fine. We leaders stick together."
Ruby giggled. "Do we?"
"We do in Atlas," answered Ciel. "We're part of a study club of a lot of other team leaders who all come together to work on assessments and pool knowledge." She shrugged. "We're all in the same boat after all. School isn't a competition, so helping one another only makes sense."
"I wish it was like that here…"
Jaune caught the melancholy. "What is it like here? I've seen that Vale is a lot more individual focused. Do teams work together at all?"
It was Weiss who answered this time, sighing as she did. "They do not." The white-haired girl came to take some of the books so Ruby wouldn't have to carry them all. "That is one area that even I feel Vale is lacking in. While we're encouraged to work well among our own team, there is very rarely any opportunities to work with others. And combat class pits teams against one another, so there is competition here in Beacon. That is good for driving people – competitive spirit and all – but I'll be the first to admit it damages inter-team relations."
"There are a lot of competitive teams here," added Ruby. "They can get really into it and even hide things from other teams. Some of them are bullies too, like Team CRDL. I don't think any other team leader would share ideas with me because I might use those ideas on them."
The idea just didn't make sense in Jaune's head. Combat classes in Atlas obviously did pit people from teams against one another, but it never felt like there was any heat to it. Maybe that was because Atlas gave the teams a common enemy in the form of the assessment tests. Those encouraged teams to band together. Without those, they wouldn't have their study club, and he didn't think he'd be as close to Ciel as he was. Beacon lacked that, and most teams were just insular and focusing on themselves.
It definitely made them stronger individually, as he'd seen in classes here, but even if a Beacon team would probably beat an Atlas one in a fair fight, he couldn't help but think two Atlas teams would beat two Beacon teams. They were not only capable of working together but used to it. Even the first assessment had shown that on the side of the older years, who had been cooperating to trap the first-year teams in the house. Cooperation was just a core part of Atlas doctrine, from the initiation mission to the assessments to the training exercises and even the lessons.
Whenever leadership lessons were in effect, leaders from different teams were put into groups of three or four to do coursework or run through scenarios. He hadn't thought much of it at the time – group work was common in most schools – but looking back now he realised it was a clever way to get them used to working with other people.
It's not really our business to try and change the way Beacon does things, he thought. We can help Ruby since she asked us to, but Beacon has its way and we have ours. And if they win the festival then they'll be happy to say theirs is the right way, too.
He wouldn't think so even then, but he wouldn't argue it either. He was content with the way things were in Atlas, and the opportunities they had given him. And the ones they continued to give. Besides, Ruby was showing the initiative to search for more on her own. He was sure she'd eclipse him by a long way once she was his age.
"Let's call it for there," he said. "You're doing well, Ruby. Really well. I trust this is acceptable to you as well, Weiss? Do we pass judgment with you, or do you want this to stop?"
The heiress harrumphed. "I don't know what you're trying to suggest there."
"I want it to continue," said Ruby, firmly. "And it's my decision."
"There you have it." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Come along then, we should get back before Yang annoys Blake into destroying our room."
The two of them bid farewell and left the common room, leaving Jaune and Ciel to close their own books. Jaune noticed Ciel watching him with a coy smile and shot her an inquisitive look. The dark-skinned woman laughed and said, "You look pleased with yourself. Did you enjoy teaching that much?"
Did he? Jaune wondered at that and had to admit he felt strangely satisfied.
"Maybe I do. It feels good to be able to help someone."
"Don't let it go to your head. Ruby is a good student – I guarantee you'll get one of her in every class of thirty if you go for a career as a teacher, and the rest of them will be menaces."
"I'm not about to quit Atlas to teach."
"I didn't mean quit," she said. "But a lot of huntsmen and military officers in Atlas eventually find jobs in education or training of some sort. Once they're older and less able to fight on the front lines. Sharing the expertise and wisdom of the veterans is a core tenet of our kingdom. Once you're done being a huntsman, you might find yourself offered a job in that."
Huh. He hadn't realised that was a thing, but then he'd only been in Atlas maybe half a year. It was a long way away anyway, but honestly not all that bad an idea. It wasn't like you could be a huntsman forever. The job was one heavily gated by physical health, and old age spared no one.
Me as a teacher? That's kind of crazy to imagine.
He didn't dislike the image, though.
/-/
"There won't be a mission for you this weekend," said Warden. "Your school dance is too public an event to be noticed as missing from, and we'd also rather you lay low after the disaster of last week. We'll do a little digging on the side but for this weekend consider yourselves off-duty."
None of them were really surprised by the news. Sneaking out wouldn't be hard with everyone so distracted by the dance, and yet if they were caught in Vale then they'd have no good excuses. It was just too big an event to miss.
"What about the Paladin?" asked Neon. "Do we have any idea what they plan with it?"
"Actually, yes. We've ruled out it being used as an attack vehicle against our forces."
"Really?" asked Flynt. "How?"
"Simply put, their handling of it against Polendina was lacking to say the least. They were able to pilot it, but barely, and they lacked the necessary skill to make it viable for use in combat against more experienced forces. That's leading us to believe they intend to use it for another purpose – perhaps against Grimm."
"Couldn't they be trying to break it down to schematics so they could build their own?"
"If that were the case then they would have never brought it to Vale."
Good point. The White Fang had risked a lot bringing it here as opposed to just hiding it in one of their many hidden bases. Jaune had assumed they wanted to use it to cause terror in the city, but they'd had plenty of chances to do that.
"Maybe they're saving it for the festival," he said.
"Maybe. In which case we still have time aplenty to locate and deal with it. The point is, they can't get any proper training of a pilot done in a city. Learning to pilot that kind of thing takes more than simulations. You need to use it and test its weapons, and practice against stationary and moving targets. They're not doing that in Vale, or someone would have noticed by now."
"Any news on the huntress that attacked me?"
"Nothing concrete but there was a sighing of a woman who matched the description earlier in Vale rescuing Roman Torchwick from Glynda Goodwitch. Details are scarce, and we're running into numerous false leads and roadblocks. A suspicious number of them. Whomever she is, she has someone – or several someones – behind her who are actively covering for her. Be careful."
It wasn't like he planned on letting his guard down any time soon after what happened there, but he nodded anyway. Whoever this was, she wouldn't try anything in Beacon during the dance. In fact, this was their perfect chance to move the Paladin whilst knowing Team JCKP couldn't do anything about it. There was no helping that for now.
The team saluted and ended the call.
/-/
Jaune stepped out the changing room and gave himself a look over. The suit was a little tight in places, but that was apparently the point of it. Most of the boys would be going to the school dance in black, grey, or blue suits and tuxedos. The usual formal wear. Flynt had dragged him aside and suggested they show off a little more pride and brought him here.
Now Jaune was wearing tight white pants with blue lines up the side, and a remarkably fancy white, grey and cold military dress suit to go with it, replete with gold and silver string that ran from his right breast up to his right shoulder where it was tucked under an epaulette. The one on his left was clear, and his left breast would have shown off medals if he had any. Atlas' insignia was stamped on both sides of his collar, and a thick grey belt cinched the jacket tight against his waist.
"Are you sure I'm allowed to wear something like this, Flynt?"
"Bro. We're military. This is a military dress uniform. Of course we're allowed."
"To Beacon's event, though?"
"I asked Miss Schnee, and she said yes – and she'll be attending in the same."
That was enough to convince him. If Winter said it was fine then it was fine, and he knew Flynt wouldn't dare lie about something like that. Not when she could find out. Jaune inspected himself in the mirror. He'd planned to just blend in with a rental suit, but he had to admit he cut a much more impressive figure like this. A white suit wasn't something he'd have been brave enough to wear normally, but since it was a uniform – and one he was used to – it didn't feel bad. If anything, he liked what he saw. The man in the mirror looked confident. He looked like he was someone. Like he belonged to something. Jaune snapped a salute to himself and couldn't quite hide his smile.
"Just imagine how good we'll look with our medals from this mission once it's over," said Flynt. He looked even better in the uniform, his skin and hair colours proving some contrast Jaune lacked. He'd even gotten himself a white cap with Atlas' emblem on it to complete the deal. He looked, in a word, dashing. Roguish, too. "And chicks dig guys in uniform."
"Do they?"
"A lot do. I mean, don't you dig a woman in a nurse outfit or a tight office suit?"
"Hah. I guess so."
"Uniforms suggest stories. They make it clear we have more going on. Plus, they're designed to look incredible in a parade. A suit is nice and all, but something like this was custom made to blow people's minds." Flynt held his hand out and Jaune slapped his own against it. "Me and you, man. We are going to rock this joint."
"Now all you need is a date," teased Jaune.
"Bah. I'm going alone on purpose, man. Easier to draw the eye like that – and then I'll wow the ladies with stories of our epic adventures."
"What epic adventures?"
"How about the one where we trekked through the snow to rescue a downed Atlas soldier, and then had to drag him back through blizzards and Grimm to safety?" Flynt grinned as he finished what Jaune realised was an actual thing they'd done. "Or the time we had to break out a building while we were surrounded by two whole teams trying to stop us. How I had to sacrifice myself and hold the line to let Neon and Penny escape. Or when we were air-dropped into a ruined city to look for military intelligence to stop a terrorist threat-"
"Okay. Okay. Our assessments do kinda sound incredible to outside observers." Especially if Flynt was going to exaggerate a few key scenes to spice them up. "Is that your plan, then? Enter single and leave with a woman on each arm?"
"Hey, I'm not that kinda guy. I'll be looking to find someone right for me but, you know, it's not like it'll be easy with girls from different schools. It's all right with you and Ciel, but if I get a girlfriend here then it'll be a heartbreaker when we have to split up." He sighed. "And long-distance relationships never seem to work out. I want something special."
"That's surprisingly romantic of you."
"Huh? Bro, I'm saying I'll be rooting for a one-night stand."
"And suddenly you're a disappointment to Atlas."
Flynt laughed. "But I won't be a disappointment to the lucky lady. Better make sure you're not one to Ciel, though. Yeah? That's one woman who won't be afraid to break you herself if you upset her. I never took you for a man after the domineering women." He flashed a thumbs up. "But I approve. Oh, but I very much approve."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Glad to have your approval then. Do you know what Neon and Penny are doing?"
"They're going together. More of a `not interested and don't approach us` kind of thing as far as I can tell. Neither of them is interested in branching out and… well… I guess it isn't easy for Penny in either situation. This is probably safest for her."
"I guess not." He sighed. It was a shame. Maybe he'd ask her to dance.
"Oh, and Neon is pissed at me."
"At you? Why?"
"Because I didn't ask her to the dance," said Flynt.
"I… wasn't aware she had feelings for you."
"That's because she doesn't." Flynt was smiling, not at all bothered by admitting it. "But she had it in her head I'd ask her as a partner solidarity sort of thing. Like, neither of us have dates so we'd go together so we didn't look like losers. And then she realised I'm fine with looking like a loser, and now she has feelings for me of a vastly different sort."
"The sort where she refuses to talk to you?"
"The very same," laughed Flynt. "Way I hear it, no one's caught her eye in our year in Atlas, and she doesn't much like anyone here. Neon's a little more pro-Atlas if you catch my drift. The students from the other schools are beneath her."
He'd known Neon was Atlas born and proud of it, but he hadn't thought it went that far. He doubted it was a race issue since she was fine with him. It might have just been the way he sometimes thought about Beacon and their poor teaching of Ruby; sort of a dismissiveness that tinted your views in a negative light. I guess this is better than some weird scenario where Neon and Flynt are in love but can't admit it or something. I've heard that relationships among teammates can lead to all kinds of drama.
Drama where Flynt and Neon bickered like siblings wasn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.
/-/
Jaune arrived at Ciel's dorm early and rapped on the wood. It was one of her teammates who answered, taking one look at him, and then shouting back into the room, "We could have worn our dress uniforms? Oh for – you assholes dragged me out to the suit store for nothing!"
"It was your loss for not asking," said Ciel, sliding past him. She was wearing a tight-fitting blue and white dress that matched her eyes. She looked lovely, and he said so. Her lips curled upward. "Thank you. You look very dashing yourself." Her arm slid into his. "Shall we?"
They turned eyes on the way to the ballroom. Or maybe it was more accurate to say he turned eyes. Women wore dresses in all manners of colours and styles, but the variety wasn't shared among the men. Three colours at most, and an almost ubiquitous style – the three-piece suit. Some might have tried to get fancy with their waistcoats or wore bright bowties, but there wasn't a lot you could do with such a standard outfit, which was why he stood out so much.
Jaune caught sight of Flynt drawing the same attention, already inside with two girls talking to him. He caught Jaune's gaze and raised his glass in greeting or salute, or just a smug "told you so" gesture. Jaune shook his head, amazed at his teammate's confidence.
Yang and Weiss were holding the entrance line and letting people in. He wasn't sure why that was necessary – were outsiders really going to brave the Emerald Forest just to sneak in? Either way, a line had orderly formed, and he and Ciel chatted lightly until they reached the front of Yang's queue. The blonde looked up at them, blinked, and then looked him up and down. There was no helping himself. "My eyes are up here."
"Hah. Cute." Yang rolled hers and signed their names off. "You Atlas guys are real show-offs, aren't you? Can't do anything normally."
"I'm proud of my what I am."
"Sure. Sure. Go on in. Geez. And I thought your teammate was bad."
"Ignore her," said Ciel, loud enough that he was sure Yang heard as they walked through. "She's just jealous because she doesn't have a date." There was the scrape of a chair, and then Weiss' angry voice telling Yang to sit back down and get to work. Ciel didn't try and hide her smirk. "Oh dear. It looks like I hit a little close to home."
Jaune laughed. "You're vicious." He accepted a champagne flute from a passing waiter hired for the event, handed it to Ciel, then took another for himself. "Cheers to a good night."
"Cheers."
/-/
Emerald touched her fingers to her earpiece. "He's here," she whispered. "The whole team is accounted for, ma'am."
"Good. Keep an eye on them."
"I don't see why we haven't dealt with them already," said Mercury. Emerald sighed at his impatience and would have answered if not for Cinder answering for her.
"Better the enemy you know, dear Mercury. They can be removed from the board at any time but remove them too early and Atlas will simply replace them. Perhaps with more capable tools. They are an annoyance right now, but they could be so much worse."
Not for them, Emerald thought, but certainly for Torchwick and the White Fang. Those morons could barely handle themselves against these four and would be hopeless against proper huntsmen. Emerald leaned over the balustrade of the second-floor balcony and sipped her drink, eyes fixed on the leader of Team Jackpot as he danced with his paramour.
He wasn't anything special. Their whole team wasn't. Emerald had watched them beat Team RWBY, but it was more from cunning and surprise than anything else. She could respect that, but it wouldn't work on a team that was ready for it. As far as enemies went, they weren't too frightening, especially when they had no idea who they were up against.
"Remember your part, Emerald," said Cinder. "When I return, I need you to catch him in your Semblance and make it so he doesn't notice me. There's no guarantee he'll recognise me from our little spat in the city, but let's not take any chances."
"Yes ma'am. I'll make sure you don't exist in his world."
"Alert me if any of them leave the ballroom as well. Once I hit the CCT, I'm curious whether they will get an alarm or not."
"And if they do?" asked Emerald. "Should we interfere?"
"No. Leave them to me. If he gets in my way, then I'll deal with him. I'm beginning my approach now. Radio silence unless it's to warn me." The line went dead, and Emerald took a deep breath. In an ideal world this would go off without a hitch, but she'd long since given up on believing the world anything less than cruel.
Her attention was so heavily focused on Jaune, Ciel and Flynt – and Mercury's on Neon and Penny – that she didn't react when a small figure in red, tired of all the social activity and mingling, excused herself on uneven heels to have a break outside in the cool night air.
I guess this means Weiss will have a terrible night due to Neptune, but to be fair if he was going to be that pathetic then he probably didn't deserve her anyway.
Next Chapter: 13th May
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