Sins of the Forefathers

Act the First: A Beacon of Hope

Author's Note: Welp. Here it is. Wasn't in time for Valentines, my bad. It's a bit of a transitory chapter - well, most of this Act has been transitory stuff. It's mostly just setup for stuff far down the line really. T-Minus Five Chapters to Beacon baby!

Chapter Eleven: Turnover

We had to move fast. As soon as the Bullhead approached, it opened fire on the Beowolf, doing damage - but not enough to kill it outright. Some of the shots bounced off the mutated bone-like armor, while the ones that hit lacked the stopping power to destroy it entirely - perhaps an increase in durability was caused by its mutation.

Enraged, it began thrashing around, shattering the cage and throwing the pieces at the Bullhead, which swerved to avoid it. As planned, it strafed around the building, still firing, in order to hover above us while damaging the Grimm.

For our part, we got moving as soon as the first shots were fired. We burst from the stairwell, Neo in the lead. The Bullhead reached its stopping point and the back bay door opened, Roman greeting us.

"Hurry up, kids!" He called out. "Let's get outta here, we don't want to stick around when the Grimm get riled up!"

Neo obliged first, quickly leaping up the ten foot jump into the back of the Bullhead. Right behind her, Emerald fired a few Ice Dust shots at the Grimm, pinning its feet to the floor as I physically launched Mercury up into Neo's waiting arms, knocking her to the floor of the Bullhead.

Which is right about when things went typically wrong.

The Beowolf reared up and slammed its forepaws into the roof, sending out a row of green spikes racing towards the bullhead, as well as Emerald and I.

In the back of my mind, some part of me wondered how the attack worked - wouldn't the spikes just pierce through the roof and fall into Merlot's living quarters? How did the mutation allow the Grimm to do something similar to a Dust attack?

The forefront of my mind was more focused on important things, like keeping me alive. I shoved Emerald out of the way and dodged along with her, even as the Bullhead rose up to avoid a few large spikes that jutted up towards it.

I slung my Model Blitzschlag around from my back as I rose from the ground, Emerald rolling into a crouch beside me. It was heavy and unbalanced, meant to be used prone, not on the go. The rounds were smaller in diameter than that used by the Bullhead, but with the right timing and a good shot, I'd be able to get a round into a weak spot.

The hard part of that plan was that I didn't know jack shit about fighting Grimm, aside from common sense tactics like shooting the eyes and head.

All those years, learning to kill people and I learn absolutely nothing about how to deal with the superhuman monsters roaming the world. Thanks, dad.

"What's the plan, Jaune?" Emerald's voice wavered in fear behind me. It was understandable, as she was the weakest of us. Not just in ability, but in Aura too - one hit and she'd probably go down, not to mention what would happen to her if the Grimm knocked her off the roof.

Still, I had a basic plan in mind for something as simple as 'how do we deal with a single strong enemy.'

"Stay back and blast it- focus on trapping it with Ice Dust. I'm gonna rush in and get a clean shot to it's face - when I rush, hit it with Lightning Dust to make it seize up."

I didn't wait for a confirmation - there was no time, and it was unnecessary as I immediately heard her start to shoot. A few shots went astray but enough hit to pin the Beowolf's legs to the roof as I ran up. It reared its arm back and once again, time seemed to slow down for me.

My Semblance, as I had figured it out to be. I had thought it to simply be a phenomenon of battle, but after doing some private training and Aura meditation in my room, I'd determined that my Semblance allowed me to enhance my senses.

When someone "sees" something, what they see with each passing second is simply an image of reality reflected by light onto their eyes and - for lack of a better phrase - scanned by the nerves into the brain and thus perceived.

For me, time seemed to be slowing down, but that was not the case - it was simply that my brain's processing of visual information had been enhanced to the point that things appeared to be moving slowly. It was a bit discordant and headache inducing to hear the things around me in real time while watching the claw move in slow motion. I'd done some experimentation and it seemed to work with all my senses, but further practice was necessary before I could say I truly understood my Semblance.

In any case, the extra mental "second" of perception gave me enough time to react and slip under the claw. I was able to see the lightning blast from Emerald's Dust shot spread across the Grimm's hide and stun it, giving me the chance I needed.

I pressed the end of the barrel of my Blitzschlag against the Grimm's eye and braced myself before pulling the trigger.

The boom of the rifle was practically thunderous at this close range, the impact even more so - for I could see with my enhanced sight as the round exited the barrel, only to scrape and bounce off the Beowolf's eye into the distance.

Fucking bullshit.

I used the rifle as an impromptu shield as the Grimm backhanded me, slamming me through the wall of the stairwell and down the stairs. As I recovered, I threw the Blitzschlag away - it was broken and useless now - and pulled out my pistol as I raced back up the stairs, only to open the doors to see the roof awash with fire.

I looked up to see Roman launch flare after flare from his cane, clearly intending to burn away the Grimm and destroy it utterly. After about five shots, Roman paused, and Neo peeked out from behind him in curiosity.

The Grimm had basically been defeated as a result of Roman's barrage. It's 'fur' had been melted off, leaving behind blood red 'flesh' that shifted in ways animal muscle would not be able to. The bone plates and spikes had been charred black, save for those that glowed green from the mutation.

It let out a blood curdling howl and struggled to move, raising its head toward Roman on the ship.

Roman let loose a few more shots, and after that, nothing was left but ash.

The flight back seemed to pass by quicker than the flight there.

To be fair, Emerald had passed out for much of it, so maybe that had something to do with it.

The plains of the Agricultural District passed below the Bullhead as they flew in north, towards the Industrial District, where they would land and take a car to The Just Right.

As they approached the landing zone, Emerald briefly reflected on what had happened in Mountain Glenn.

We almost died. I almost died. First the explosion, and then a fight with a fully grown Beowolf, something that even Guardians are supposed to fight in teams?

Not to mention it was mutated, stronger than a normal one. For Jaune's gun to do no damage at close range, the mutation must be powerful stuff. As much as I hate to owe him, we were lucky that Roman was there to finish it off.

Sure, Jaune had been the only one hit by the creature - and even in that instance he had been lucky to be thrown into a wall and not off the roof - but it had almost taken out the Bullhead with it's mutation.

If that had happened…

She shook her head free of the distracting thoughts and went back to her book.

So the Occipital Lobe is what controls sight. Or more accurately, it 'processes visual information taken in from the eyes'. Fine, easy enough to understand. But I can't get by with just sight alone. I need to be able to manipulate a person's vision and hearing at the same time, at the very least. I need to know how they're connected.

I need to be more powerful.

Neo watched from the corner of the room, relaxing with her usual choice of self-reward after a job well done.

Lemon meringue pie.

In the center of the room, Jaune and Emerald debriefed Roman and Cinder, and handed over all the stuff they'd found in the ruins. Mercury was getting some medical treatment from an underworld doctor in one of the other rooms. Jaune had actually put forth his own money to pay Junior for the cost of it, something that they'd all taken notice of.

Jaune is making a move on Mercury's loyalty. Judging by their conversation in the stairwell, Mercury's loyalty to Cinder was based more on fear than actual loyalty to begin with. Add in the fact that Emerald - and by her own words, Cinder - would have abandoned him, and his ties with them were tenuous at best.

Cue Jaune's sense of morality stepping in to save his life. By Mercury's own words, he would not forget his debt to Jaune, and owed him.

Cinder would have to step up her game to keep a hold of him.

Mentally, Neo considered the way things stood.

If Jaune were to betray Cinder now, he'd probably have Mercury at his back - assuming he goes into it with as good a plan as the one he used to beat her the first time around. Roman would stay out of it unless either Raven or Jack poked their heads in and told him to pick a side. I'd either stay neutral with Roman, or side with Jaune if someone forcibly involved me. Emerald is slavishly obsessed with Cinder.

So when you get down to things, the likelihood of Jaune betraying Cinder now is low since he can't account for Roman's position to any degree of certainty.

But…

Neo narrowed her eyes as Roman gave Jaune a dossier - filled with information on the next job.

The Assassination of Amber Corona, 'The Guardian of Forever Fall.'

He might just try something when there's a Guardian in the mix. Cinder should keep a better eye on him if she wants to keep him in line.

She saw as Jaune gave a curt nod and left, not sparing any of them a second glance. Almost immediately, Cinder turned away and began speaking with Emerald, likely scheming something to do with him.

Or, she could get Emerald to do it for her… Big mistake, Cinder. Emerald doesn't have what it takes to keep Jaune obedient.

Neo smirked and tittered quietly to herself as she continued to eat.

Mercury lay awake in the dark of his room, thinking about his failure.

I messed up. No, I fucked up. Dad warned me never to let my guard down… Well, not like he followed his own advice, the bastard. Guess that should have been more than enough reason to actually keep the advice, though.

He looked down at his left arm, an IV inserted in, and then his eyes traced down to his legs - well, the stumps of his legs.

And my legs are trashed too… Unless I can fix them up, Cinder might just kill me for being useless. I'll have to-

His scroll rang on the table beside him. He struggled to reach it with his left arm without putting too much pressure on his right, which was still in a makeshift cast. As he grabbed it, he checked who was calling.

Watts? What's he want?

He took a moment to dim the scroll's brightness before answering.

"Uh, Doctor Watts? You need something?"

"As a matter of fact young man, I have an inquiry for you. Cinder's informed me that your mission was a success, albeit at the cost of your effectiveness in combat."

"Yeah, my weapons - my legs, are busted."

"Good."

"Good!?"

"Yes, good. You see, I had recently been tinkering with some prosthetics of my own - nothing like Polendina's amateur work, but true extensions of the body, and weapons of grand efficacy as well. They do need some testing, however… which is where you come in."

"How do the weapons fare?"

"Deadlier than the scrap heap you called weapons before. Wind Dust is an interesting choice for weapons, but with some testing, I can outfit you with something more effective on that end as well."

"I'll do it."

"Excellent! I trust you have the old ones lying around?"

"They're trashed, but yes."

"They'll still be useful for making measurements. One moment please."

He ended the call and Mercury sat confused for a moment before gasping as a portal suddenly opened in the room. His mouth gaped as Watts stepped through, carrying his old brown doctor's bag. It remained open, and after a moment Raven stepped through before closing the portal.

Mercury stayed silent as Raven briefly glanced at him, before stepping out the door.

"She's on her way to talk to her brat," Watts explained as he stepped towards Mercury. "But enough of that. Remove the blanket, I need to measure your stumps. And seeing as you no longer need them, I shall be taking your old weapons as well. Their design will provide some insight into making these prosthetics effective weapons for you."

Mercury was silent and allowed Watts to concentrate. It took a few minutes for him to get all the measurements he needed, after which he collected the trashed weapons and nodded before he simply called Raven's name and stepped into a ready-made portal once more.

Mercury blinked a few times before settling back into bed, happy to know that his failure was not the end for him.

He would be stronger for it.

Blake grunted as she stumbled through the darkened streets. Exhaustion from braving the river the night before left her muscles sore and aching, her breath ragged. Her bag felt heavy on her back, made worse by the fact that she'd had to stuff Gambol Shroud inside to avoid suspicion. Compounding the issue, she hadn't slept since then, having been on the move to both avoid any interaction with the police, or worse, other Faunus.

She didn't want any word of her presence getting back to Adam. That would be worse than jail.

Her badly bandaged wounds chafed and twinged as she took another step, almost driving her to collapse, but she pushed herself onwards. Here in the slums on the edges of Vale, she couldn't afford to pass out. There would be no telling what might befall her here.

"Blake? Is that you? Are you okay?"

Or she could be spotted and recognized by someone. Gods, what were the odds?

She turned her head and looked into the concerned, yet unsurprised blue eyes of a blonde man she hadn't seen in weeks.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah, it's me. Blake, what happened? Do you need to go to-"

"No!" she shouted, then winced at her volume. "No hospitals. I can't go to one of those, I - I don't have insurance."

"Blake, you do know that regardless of cost doctors are required by oath to treat-"

"No! I- I don't have anything life threatening. Some basic first-aid is all I need. I don't need your help."

I can't get you involved in my problems! You're a civilian!

Strangely, Jaune's eyes hardened at that point.

"Blake. Don't bullshit me. You 've been wounded pretty badly, and you're sleep deprived, probably on the run. You can't keep going on your own. I mean, what was your plan? Run until you collapse and then just hope some kind stranger takes pity on you? If that's the case, you might as well just come with me. I've got some first aid stuff and I've treated basic wounds before."

...okay, so you're more observant than I thought. Definitely experienced too, but in what manner? He does have a point though, I didn't have much of a plan in mind… must be the sleep deprivation. I am desperate for some help.

Blake sighed a moment, then nodded. "Okay, fine then. If you're willing to help me, then… I could use some."

Jaune nodded and slowly approached her, before taking one of her arms over his shoulder. "Lean on me," he said. "My place is just a few blocks from here."

Tiredly, she did as he said, her exhausted mind simply accepting his presence.

I guess things are looking up.

…

Staring down the barrel of the gun Jaune had pointed at her, Blake decided that things were not looking up.

It had seemed all right at first. When they got to his apartment complex, Blake had met Jaune's landlord, a Faunus named Aurie. Apparently she knew Tukson, but Blake had never seen her at the rallies or any other White Fang event. Apparently she was well off enough to not have to worry about her place in Vale.

Lucky her.

Still, she had accepted the premise of her presence with Jaune easily enough. It was pretty convincing too - that her prior landlord had kicked her out once she had been revealed as a Faunus, and Jaune had offered to have her stay the night.

Aurie had been more than gracious and had no issue with it, even telling Blake to come by tomorrow to maybe discuss a more permanent move.

Once they got into Jaune's however, Blake noticed something was off. She couldn't quite place it - her tired mind was too distracted with her wounds and the efficacy of her lies to adequately analyze her surroundings - but certain things seemed ever so slightly out of place, and her eyes roamed over them with abandon.

This had tipped Jaune off to the fact that Blake was more than just a girl on the run.

Which led to now.

Jaune had dropped Blake's bag off at the front of the apartment and let her down in a chair before going into the other room - for the first aid kit, he'd said. He'd promptly come back and sat down in the chair across from her, pointing the gun at her before she could say anything.

"So," Jaune started, "who are you really, Blake Belladonna?"

Blake blinked. "I'm- that's my name."

Jaune shook his head. "No, not your name, though if that's your real name I guess that explains some things, especially when considering that you're Faunus… or is it racist to assume you have a connection to the founder of the White Fang just because of that?"

"Uh…"

Jaune shook his head. "Whatever, you're exhausted and injured so you probably don't have the energy to consider that stuff. Let's keep things simple. Who trained you? You noticed all the places I'd hid my spare weapons as soon as we walked in here."

So that was it. Shit, who really is Jaune? He's definitely an Assassin or something. I might be able to take a shot or two on my Aura before I reach my bag - assuming I don't just avoid them with my Semblance - and once I have Gambol Shroud -

She paused in her thoughts and took a closer look at the pistol in Jaune's hand. It was Gambol Shroud, but transformed into its pistol configuration.

Crap.

"Anytime, Blake."

Well, nothing left for me but the truth, I guess.

"...the White Fang."

"You still with them?"

"No. It's how I got hurt."

"What's your plan now?"

"Now… I'm not really sure. I left because… I was tired of the senseless violence, the killing. I joined because I believed in my father's goals and Sienna Khan's methods - that we should strive for peace and equality, but not be unwilling to fight for a righteous cause or our self defense. But…"

"Adam Taurus of the Vale Chapter, right? He's pretty infamous, though they've never even caught him on camera. Never seen what he looks like."

"He was my teacher. And… He pushed things too far. Sometimes I didn't think he was fighting for the sake of the Faunus, but for some personal goal."

"So back to the start- what's next for Blake Belladonna?"

"...Beacon."

"The Guardian Academy?"

"I was trained to fight, to kill… there's no taking that back. The least I can do is to atone for that, and use my skills to fight for a better world."

Jaune stared at her for a few moments, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Finally, he placed Gambol Shroud on the table, with the handle facing her.

"All right, Blake. I'm going to trust you - for now. I'll get your wounds fixed up, and you can sleep on the bed tonight - but come tomorrow night, you're sleeping on the couch."

Tiredly, Blake just nodded her assent and, finally allowing her two days of exertion to catch up with her, nodded off in the chair as Jaune went to actually get the first aid equipment.

A while later, after I'd fixed Blake up and laid her to rest in my bed, I took a moment to call my sister before going to sleep.

After a few moments of ringing, Juli answered. She was laying in bed and had a soft smile as she greeted me. Her smile turned down and her eyes widened as she took me in, becoming concerned.

"Whoa Jaune, are you okay? You look tired and beat to hell!"

"Shh!"

"Wha- don't you 'shh' me!"

"No, Juli look - I have a friend sleeping over, and they're worse off than I am."

"Worse off? How can they be- no wait." She took a deep breath and calmed herself, something she'd mastered after having to practically raise the others. "Okay. Start from the top. Why are you hurt?"

"I was doing some training with my new friend, and things got a little excessive. We're fine though, no one's injured."

"Who's your new friend?"

"Blake. She's a Guardian-in-training too, and also looking to go to Beacon. I met her while working at the store, and we decided to pool our resources." Well, nothing I said was a lie.

"Why is she sleeping in your apartment?"

"She got kicked out of her place. Her landlord didn't take kindly to the fact that she was Faunus." Juli inhaled at that - though she was better about it than the average Atlesian, Juli hadn't been around the world like I had, and when the entire country and culture runs on treating a whole people as second-class citizens, then that sort of mentality tends to stick in you. "In the morning we're going to talk to Aurie, see if she can help out."

"Well, at least she's one of the good ones."

"Juli…"

"Sorry, I know it's wrong to say. What's she like?"

"Smart, likes history. She's into that trashy romance series you like."

"Ninjas of Love is not trashy! And if she's into it, then I guess I can approve of her. Just don't go getting any funny ideas in your head, mister."

"Please, romance is the furthest thing from my mind. I'm just focused on my goals."

"That's good. Speaking of those goals, you said you had been training. How's that coming along?"

"Good. I'm learning a lot from my sparring sessions. Guardian fighting isn't anything like what dad taught me." Both true statements, and yet I still wasn't learning a thing about Guardian fighting. Sparring with Mercury and the others was just making me a stronger Assassin.

Well, if nothing else I wouldn't have much to fear from the other first-years. Compared to the people I've been fighting, a common Guardian-in-training wouldn't be much of a match.

"That's good. How's your job been?"
"Actually, it's been going really well! I managed to talk a few people into making bulk purchases, so the boss gave me a bonus this month. I'll be transferring you a few hundred Lien - get the girls something nice, okay?"

"Are you sure? You'll have enough to last until Beacon starts?"

"I'm sure. Trust me Juli, I can manage my finances well enough."

"I know, I just worry you know?"

"Yeah. How's work? And how are the girls doing at school?"

"Work is fine. The SDC renewed their contract with the firm so we all got bonuses ourselves. As for the girls… Do you want a quick rundown or something more comprehensive?"

My eyes flickered over to the clock on the scroll and I said, "Just a rundown. We can get into more detail another day."

Juli nodded. "Alice is excelling at pretty much everything, as usual. Though she doesn't get a lot of work hours because she's devoting more time to the RSTC."

"She really wants to be a Specialist, huh."

"Yeah. When you come back to visit…"

"I'll see if she's up to snuff, don't worry about it."

"Good. Lorena's doing well in school as well, but she's struggling with history and literature. Kiana is having a bit of a drama issue between her friends - apparently she befriended a Faunus herself, and you know how things are here. Rayna is excelling in math, and is even taking a special class above her usual grade level. Haruka and Marigold are good as usual, but they're still having trouble fitting in with their classmates, what with them being so focused on being with each other."

"Right, I'll have to find some time to talk to the others."

"Damn right you will." Her eyes flickered and she said, "Well, it's not a school night but it's getting late and I have chores tomorrow. Talk again tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Love you, sis. Sleep well."

"You too, Jaune."

With the call done, I took a moment to pull out the file on Amber Corona and skimmed through it. I wouldn't make any plans now, but it would be worth it to give it a once over.

After that, I got ready for sleep, only to pause and look out the window at Beacon. It had become something of a habit for me, a way of reminding myself what I was fighting for.

I guess I'm not the only one looking for absolution, I thought.

With that, I shook my head clear and went to bed.

Author's Note: I can't believe that Beowolf is fucking dead.

...

Well, we had to hit the trifecta.

Review Replies:

ZenithTempest: Yep, one thing I wanted to be done here for certain is nailing home how important Guardians are by displaying how absolutely overpowering the Grimm are. It also helps explain how high Ranks are so crazy strong - out of necessity to deal with the Grimm.

Guest: Well, I hope you enjoy it.

Dased22: Yikes bro, that's pretty cringe. Shouldn't bring a real man's name into this, especially not one so recent.