Operation: Churn Out 4 More Chapters is go!
Anyway, this covers the events of Jaundice. Expect more very soon!
Chapter 20: A Shoulder to Cry On
With our mission a resounding success, we had been welcomed home thankfully. Now we had a massive stockpile of medical gel, and somehow, the story of how we had beaten the Wahtani spread around the academy like wildfire. People kept asking what it was like lurking in the Wahtani's stomach, what gave me the idea, how brave I was, and the like. But as the days and rumors floated by, soon the excitement had died down, and things settled into a state of routine normalcy. A few weeks after the mission passed, the nine of us had settled to listen to one of Nora's tall tales during lunchtime.
"There we were. In the middle of the night…"
"It was day." Ren corrected tiredly.
"We were surrounded by Ursi…"
"They were Beowolves."
"DOZENS OF 'EM!"
"Two of them."
"But they were no match. And in the end, Ren and I made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"
Ren sighed in annoyance, balancing his cup of coffee on his free hand.
"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." He said. My eyes widened.
"I don't know what's worse: the Ursa skin rugs, or the fact that you have first-hand knowledge about her dreams." I stated. Ren shot me a dirty look, and his hand clenched around his mug. If he weren't so tired, I'd probably have a lot of first, possibly second, degree burns on my face.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked her leader, who was listlessly poking at his food with his fork. A few seconds late, Jaune finally responded.
"Huh? What, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"It's just you seem a little… not okay." Ruby stated. Now everyone's eyes were on the nervous leader.
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!" Jaune tried to reassure us with a forced grin, a nervous laugh, and a thumbs-up. Saying that we were convinced would be like saying that Professor Port was young, handsome, and attractive: he wasn't, and we weren't.
Hearing laughter from the table down from us, our attention was diverted to team CRDL, tormenting a brown-haired girl. I couldn't imagine why, but looking at Sky, I remembered: they were taunting Velvet Scarlatina, the shy, soft-spoken rabbit Faunus. I felt a twinge of pity, soon replaced by anger at CRDL. Jaune clenched his fist, the leather glove squeaking as it rubbed together.
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha's voice once again drew me out of my daydreaming.
"Who, Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around. Practical jokes!" Jaune kept trying to act cool about his plight, but fooling anyone he wasn't.
"He's a bully." Ruby glared. Jaune nearly burst into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, please. Name one time he's "bullied" me." He challenged. We all looked at each other. This wouldn't be hard.
"Well, there was the time he knocked your books out of your hands in the hallway." Blake offered.
"Oh, come on! That was just a friendly shove." Jaune's defense was weak: everyone saw that Cardin had gone out of his way to hit Jaune.
"How about the time he caused your shielth to get stuck in the doorway to Professor Peach's class?" Yang asked.
"Oh, come on, Yang, it's an old piece of equipment. It does that all the time." Jaune's defense continued to slip: Cardin had blatantly and obviously made his shield unfurl into the doorway.
"Or how about that time he shoved you into your rocket propelled locker and sent you flying to who knows where?" I continued.
"Oh, COME ON, Darrel. I didn't land far from the school." Jaune wasn't even trying to defend anymore. Pyrrha held up her hand to silence us, which was a good thing. Knowing Yang, she had even more stories. To this day, I still don't know how Cardin had stolen Jaune's jeans, and hoisted them onto a flagpole on the roof of Beacon.
"Jaune, you know if you need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha stated. Listening to her, it seemed as though she was pleading for Jaune to do so. He wouldn't comply, though: he was just too stubborn.
"Ooh!" Nora looked up from her bowl of sugar, and leapt to her feet, a mad look in her eye. I sighed. I knew what was coming.
"WE'LL BREAK HIS LEGS!"
Jaune grabbed his tray and stood up, ready to leave.
"Guys, I'm fine. Besides, it's not like he's a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone." He stated.
"Ow! That hurts!"
As if to validate Jaune's reassurance, looking over at Cardin showed us that he was pulling the shy girl's rabbit ears, testing to see if they were real. The cry of pain confirmed the suspicions, and Cardin's teammates laughing proved another thing: Cardin wasn't the only bully on the scene.
'Poor Velvet… what did she do to deserve that?' I looked over with a sad glance, as Cardin's torments continued.
"Please stop…" Velvet begged, but Cardin continued to tug.
"I told you they were real." Cardin laughed to his teammates, who continued to cruelly jeer at the insecure girl.
"What a freak!" Russel was the one to speak amidst the laughter. And with that, Cardin finally released his death grip on the poor girl's lagomorph ears. She turned and started to quickly walk out of the hall, shielding her face from view. Although I could see her cheeks were glistening with a shiny trail of tears.
"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha turned back to face her food with an angry look in her green eyes.
"She's not the only one." Blake's eyes swiveled towards the departing Velvet, fury apparent on her face at Cardin's cruel treatment, and I knew why. Blake's bow was a lot more than just a fashion accessory, though I wasn't about to say anything. She was a friend, and I wasn't about to risk my friendship, or my life, revealing it to everyone. Yang glanced at the departing girl, and gave a heavy sigh.
"It must be tough to be a Faunus."
As I watched Velvet and Jaune leave, I decided I had to do three things: comfort Velvet, build up Jaune's self-confidence, and reduce Cardin's legs to two piles of powdered calcium. I pushed my plate away, stood up, and started to follow Velvet out of the room.
'Hey, Darrel, where are you going?' Ruby noticed my departure. I turned my head, so she could hear me.
'I've lost my appetite.' I droned. And without another word, I left the cafeteria to find Velvet. Cardin's actions had made me sick. Back on Earth, I had shown some nonchalance against the degradation of the Faunus. They were cartoon characters, after all: why would I care? But actually being in the world of RWBY for a few months had changed that. Getting back to Earth was… now a lesser priority.
After a few minutes of searching, I found Velvet gnawing on her lunch on the combat stage in the auditorium. She still had that sad look on her face, her eyes were red and puffy, but her tears had dried. I inhaled softly, and decided to try and cheer her up. Walking forward, I whistled to get her attention. She looked up and saw me approaching. She visibly flinched as I stood in front of her.
'What do you want? Why are you talking to me?' She sniffled.
With that sad look on her face, I couldn't just abandon her. Not after all she's suffered, and especially not since the one thing I think she needed was a friend to confide in. I took a breath, and began to talk.
'Velvet, right? I saw Cardin picking on you in the cafeteria. I figured you'd need a friend at a time like this.' I tried to sound sympathetic, and as she looked into my eyes, I thought I saw a tear threaten to escape her big brown eyes.
'I don't want a friend. I just want to be alone. Please go away.' She whimpered, looking back down at her tray of food.
I sighed, and sat on the stage next to her, legs kicking aimlessly. I gently rubbed her cheeks, where I had seen the tears flow. She looked at me, uncertain of my intentions. I couldn't blame her: humans had repressed the Fauna for centuries, denying them civil rights, seeing them as little more than animals, beggars and thieves. I didn't see them that way: what was wrong with an extra pair of ears, or a tail, or night vision? In my opinion, the Faunus were somewhat superior. I wouldn't mind a tail, personally.
'Velvet, why don't you fight back? You're at Beacon Academy, not preschool. You've more than earned your place here.' I started, but Velvet held up her hand, silently telling me to stop.
'Mother always told me that fighting makes the problem worse. I should just tell someone about the problem, not respond with violence.' She sniffled, picking up a raw carrot, and nibbling on it halfheartedly.
'No, Velvet, that's not what I meant. I don't mean lash out. You just need to stand up for yourself, show Cardin that you're more than what he thinks. You're stronger than he thinks.' She looked up, listening to me.
'A wise man once told me "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?" What do you think it means?' I made sure not to sound too cryptic, as those were the words of William Shakespeare, who would mean nothing to anyone in this world. Velvet contemplated my words for what seemed like an eternity, and then finally looked me in the eyes.
'Does it mean that humans and Fauna are closer than we realize? That under the skin, we're all the same?' Velvet asked, with a twinge of emotion in her voice. I didn't know what it was. Hope? Pain? I couldn't tell. But she was bang on with her answer.
'Yeah. That's what it means. You shouldn't feel like a freak because of your ears, Velvet. You should be proud. Proud to be at Beacon. Proud of who you are.' I wrapped an arm around Velvet's shoulders, hugging her gently. She looked at me uncertainly, but I think I saw her lips curve up into a small smile. I reached up, and gently touched her ear, the one Cardin had yanked. She flinched, and closed her eyes, afraid that I would betray her, and cruelly tug on them like Cardin had.
As I gently rubbed my fingers over it, caressing the soft touch of the ear, she slowly opened her eyes. I looked into them, silently telling myself "I'm not like Cardin. I don't hate the Faunus." Velvet seemed to get the message, and softly grasped my wrist, pulling it down from her animal ears. As I looked into her eyes, she blinked, and a tear started to run down her cheek. I caught it with my finger, and held it up. It was no different from my tear. From any human's tears. As I wiped her eyes, I figured that now was the time to tell her that she's not alone.
'Velvet, you may not believe this, but I'm no different from you.'
She laughed softly, disbelievingly.
'How could you be no different from me? You have friends, you don't get bullied. You punched a Boarbatusk, for goodness sake.' Her voice was so innocent, but it sounded as if she begged to know more.
I released my hand from around her shoulder, and exhaled softly. I couldn't tell her everything. Not yet, at least. I'd have to keep up my cover story.
'When I first came to Beacon, I didn't have anything to prove. I was scared, terrified even. Mainly because I was home-schooled, and never really engaged in combat with a Grimm before. I was nervous about meeting new people and trying to fit in, making a good impression. A few weeks later, and I feel confident in my combat skills, and I've made more friends than I've ever thought possible.'
Velvet continued to stare at me, intrigued by my tale. Sure, most of it was a lie, but it's probably what I would have experienced if I was born into this world.
'So there you have it. It's probably not the same as you, Velvet, but it's my story. And don't worry. Things will get better. Even if it doesn't happen today, there's always tomorrow.' I smiled. Velvet looked down, and I saw a small smile encroach her face. She looked up, her cheeks a little red. Then she did something I was not expecting.
She leaned forward, and gave me a small kiss, right on my mouth. It wasn't much, but the way her lips felt was like her namesake. Then immediately, I heard a cough. Panicking, I pulled away, and looked to the door, to find my worst nightmare.
Yang.
She was leaning against the doorway, arms folded, and a sly smirk on her face. I didn't know how much she had heard, and I didn't want to find out.
'Oh. H-hello, Yang. Darrel was just...' Velvet began to stutter, obviously terrified of what Yang would do. But Yang held up a gloved hand, silencing Velvet from the other side of the room.
'Don't try and explain it, Vel, because I don't care.' Yang said coolly. Velvet grabbed her forgotten tray of food, and left faster than I could blink. With Velvet gone, Yang turned to me, kicking herself off of the wall and strutting to the stage, her face in a noticeable grimace. I started to wish that the stage would swallow me up.
"So, Darrel, mind telling me what you two lovebirds were talking about?" She asked, with a hint of angry innocence. I tapped my fingers nervously, wishing I was anywhere, but right there.
"Uh, you know, I was just, uh... trying to make her... feel better?" I stuttered nervously. Yang's expression didn't change, she just kept scowling at me, her violet eyes threatening to change to the deadly red that would signify her breaking point.
"By kissing her?" She spat accusingly. I stood up, and decided to try and explain myself.
"Yang, it wasn't what you th-" I started, before a gloved hand wheeled round, and caught my right cheek, causing me to spin around once, and fall to the ground on my ass. My hand flew up to the stinging skin, trying to massage the pain away. Yang's hair began to flicker with golden embers, as she looked down on me angrily.
"That's what they all say: it's not what it looks like! But here's what it looked like: You were kissing her, and you were enjoying it! I thought you were better than that! But looks like I was wrong!" She shouted, as a tear slid down her cheek. I got to my feet, raising a hand to wipe her tear away. But she just grabbed my wrist, and yanked me over her shoulder, causing me to flip over her and land heavily on my back, smacking my head on the concrete in the process. I cried out in pain, as my head swam in dizziness. Yang looked down at me, her angry look compounded with hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Don't touch me. Not anymore. If you're happy with Velvet, then why should I be in the way?" She whispered, her voice laced with venom. And before I could say another word, she stormed off. I sat up, rubbing the back of my aching head. A small cough drew my attention to the doorway. Looking, I saw Professor Ozpin, with a mug of coffee in one hand, and his trademark cane in the other.
"Oh, to be young, and feel love's keen sting." He chuckled. I just sighed irritably. Right now, I didn't need a lecture on how to treat women. Getting to my feet, I walked over to Ozpin.
"Let me guess: you saw everything?" I deadpanned. Ozpin just nodded.
"Darrel, I don't pretend to not understand what my students are going through. Even though my school trains the future generations of Hunters, we have to allow for... hormones." He said, saying the last word cautiously, as if he was trying not to offend me. I just rolled my eyes.
"Doesn't make it any easier, sir. I'm just lucky she didn't crush my... you know..." I trailed off, giving a small nod to Darrel Conway Jr. Ozpin shrugged.
"Yes, I still remember your 'landing strategy' during initiation. I must confess, I have recorded that particular incident in case I am in need of a laugh." He gave a small guffaw, to which I responded with a dirty look.
"Sir, are you here to make fun of me, or give me advice?" I asked, annoyed. Ozpin just took a sip of coffee from his mug. Then he turned around.
"Come with me, Darrel. I think this is a private matter. We should discuss this elsewhere." He said, before traipsing off. I looked back at the stage, remembering the whole mess. I rubbed my still-stinging cheek, and began to follow Ozpin.
"Please, take a seat, Darrel."
The door to Professor Ozpin's office was hidden in an alcove on the seventh floor. Upon entering, you would be met with an enormous room. Three of the walls were lined with a vast number of bookshelves, which covered topics from Dust applications and where special kinds of Dust could be located, to Aura and it's mysteries, while the fourth had a clock, situated behind Ozpin's desk, which was a chestnut piece of handcrafted beauty. The roof was designed with an intricate array of gears and orbs, interconnected with beams of energy. It must have been an orrery, or a similar device. As I looked up, I could have sworn I saw a metallic orb that resembled... Earth?
"Darrel? Is everything alright?"
Averting my eyes from the orb, looking back to Professor Ozpin, he gestured to an ornate couch. It looked luxurious, almost as if it had been lifted from a house of royalty. I walked over, and sank into the couch, which creaked as I placed my weight on the leftmost cushion. Immediately, a wave of relaxation swamped me, as I sunk into the couch. Professor Ozpin went to his desk, and pulled out a tin, opening it. Bringing it over, he offered it to me.
"Biscuit?" He offered. I looked in the tin, and grabbed a round, chocolate-coated biscuit. I fiddled with it nervously, as Ozpin took the tin away, and stowed it back in his desk. Taking a seat, he stared into my blue eyes.
"Darrel, I must admire your initiative to comfort Ms. Scarlatina, but you must have foreseen this conflict between yourself and Ms. Xiao Long. Even if she had not observed Velvet showing her gratitude to you, do you honestly believe you could keep this secret forever?" He asked. I just took a small nibble of the chocolate coating on the biscuit resting between my hands.
"To be honest, sir, I never expected Velvet to thank me in that way. I was just helping out because she looked like she needed it." I responded, taking a bite of the biscuit in my hands, and feeling wheat, chocolate, and a strawberry jam filling flood my mouth. Swallowing, I felt my eyes threaten to roll up to the orrery above me. That orb... It was familiar...
"Even so, as a Huntsman, you must be prepared for every outcome. You will need to find the time to explain to Yang about what really happened. Am I clear?" He advised. I didn't answer for a while, pondering.
"Darrel, is everything alright? You seem distracted." Ozpin asked. I looked back, now realizing that my attention had been solely focused on the orrery. I shook my head, and tried to forget about it.
"Sorry, just... thinking about something." I brushed off the question, gulping down the rest of the biscuit. Ozpin, now curious, looked up to the orrery.
"It's this device, isn't it? It's been on this cliff even before Beacon Academy was a seed in my predecessor's mind. Rumor has it that it was built by a species that surpasses even our own abilities. Superstitious nonsense, of course, but one can only wonder what it could be used for." Ozpin explained, getting to his feet, and walking to the center of the room, craning his neck to look at the mystical device. I stood up, and looked at the orb that caught my attention earlier. It couldn't have been Earth: it was in a different dimension. And even if both Earth and Remnant somehow managed to exist on the same dimensional plane, it brought up another question: Why was humanity existing on two different planets?
*beep* *beep* * beep*
Both Ozpin and I turned to the ringing Scroll. Ozpin strode to his desk, and picked it up, pulling it open. Looking at the sender, their face was framed in shadow, though I could make out a somewhat unkempt beard. Ozpin looked up to me.
"I apologize, Darrel, but I'm afraid that we must cut this discussion short. You may go now." He said, looking back to his scroll. I glanced one final time at the orrery, confused about it's purpose. Then I turned on my heel, and closed the door behind me, deciding to head back to my dorm room. Unfortunately, I had missed Professor Oobleck's history lecture, but it wasn't like I had missed much: even though Oobleck was permanently high on caffeine, his lectures bored me to sleep. But on the way back to the dorms, a strange sight entered my gaze.
Pyrrha Nikos, storming down the hall, a frustrated look on her face. Maybe she could help me. I stepped in front of her, and she stopped, her green eyes gazing into mine.
"Hey, Pyrrha, what's the rush? You don't look so good." I said. Pyrrha just sighed irritably.
"If you must know, Darrel, Jaune is being stubborn about accepting my help, and has recently begun fraternizing with Cardin." She scoffed. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I know the feeling. Yang thinks that Velvet and I are... you know... together." I said, looking at my feet. Pyrrha's face softened.
"That must be painful. Knowing Yang, she won't want to see you in your dorm. Although, I don't particularly want to see Jaune, so you're welcome to his bed for the time being." She offered. I nodded, grateful that I wouldn't need to sleep on a bench for the night. Even if I had lost the support of Team RWBY, at least JNPR were willing to help out. So there was still some hope.
For those who thought Yang was being too angry at seeing Velvet and Darrel kissing, there's a reason for that. In-universe, a number of Yang's previous boyfriends had taken advantage of her. To her, Darrel has just been added to that list.
Out-of-universe, Yang never went into conflict in the canon, aside from a short argument with Weiss in Episode 3. This is an interpretation of what could happen.
Anyway, time for Phase II!