A knock was heard on Blake's door. She answered, "Come in."
The door opened, revealing Xanthe on the other side. "Ahoy, Miss Belladonna. The captain and her crew are about to have supper and since you're a guest, she invited you to join us at her table."
"Oh, why thank you. Let's not keep her waiting then."
He went to his left and walked down the hallway with Blake in tow, the latter composing her thoughts as she secretly smirked to herself. Little does he know what I've been up to. Now I just have to keep up this act until we get closer to the shores of Vale.
As she went down the hallway, her smirk was replaced with her poker face. The two went to the mess hall- a big room below the decks that consisted of four long rectangular tables lined up vertically about ten feet apart, all of them currently unoccupied. There was one table in the very back, slightly smaller and titled horizontally instead of vertically. Blake walked forward, slowing herself down to take in the details. There were 14 chairs at the table, two of them unoccupied. All the plates were bare and there were two different glasses. The long glasses had water and the short glasses were filled with some sort of brown liquid, probably rum.
On the right side of the table, Corvina sat at the head, as she was the captain. The assassin and the lantern holder that Blake saw earlier were present there as well. To Corvina's left sat a woman with grass green eyes, sea green hair and a green and black pirate outfit, while to her right was an unoccupied seat. Further down on the captain's left, Xanthe took his seat as the captain addressed the raven haired lass.
"Ah, Miss Belladonna. So glad you could join us."
Blake tried to smile as she took her seat next to the captain. "Well thank you for inviting me. I'm honored."
"As you should be. This table is reserved for those who are part of my inner circle."
"I am not even a member of this faction. I feel like an outsider." she honestly admitted, trying to be modest.
"Well, if ye succeed in blowing Adam down, you could join us."
She hesitated for a moment. "Uh... I... I'll... I'll think about it."
Alright, she seems to buy it. Blake thought to herself. That was close.
The black bowed lass noticed the behavior of the people around her- the assassin keeping his hands on the table, the lantern holder taking a sip of water, no one touching the rum glasses- and tried to imitate their behavior. Blake took a sip of water and looked at the woman across from her. Her hair was styled into a fishtail braid, held together by a forest green hair bow. "Nice braid."
The woman smiled. "Thank you. I do it all by myself."
"And who do I have the honor of meeting?" Blake asked, trying to make conversation and not be awkward.
Corvina introduced the woman. "This is Ivy, my right hand."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Belladonna."
"Same to you."
Corvina lifted up her glass of rum. "Lads and lasses, I propose a toast." Everyone raised their glass and Blake followed suit. "A toast to Blake Belladonna, for bravely going after Adam Taurus and leading a one-woman crusade against the White Fang!"
"To Blake Belladonna!" the other inner circle members chanted in unison.
They all clinked glasses and began to drink, save for Blake, who gently set her glass down without anyone noticing. The black-bowed beauty smiled and her face turned a little red in embarrassment. "You are too kind, preaching in my name."
"How can I not be? Ye have done no wrong to me." Corvina took another drink before she set her glass down. "Also, Adam is the worst."
Blake chuckled and answered back, "I agree with you wholeheartedly."
"Achoo!" The sound of his sneeze went unheard since the room was empty, save for him, standing there alone. "A...choo!" Adam Taurus put his handkerchief to his nose and blew into it. "Gosh damn it. How did I get sick?"
No matter. I must carry on, and figure out how to capture that traitor while I prepare for my journey to Mistral. Oh, it's turning into a jungle there...
He searched through his scroll and looked at the private database. Many of his best soldiers had been taken to be reassigned in Mistral. He sneezed again before groaning as he was reminded of Sienna's punishment.
Focus on your objective. Potential revenge later. Hmm. Knowing Blake's tendency to run, she probably fled back home to Menagerie. Who do I know in Menagerie that I can ask to bring her to me?
He went through his memory of who used to be, or still was, in Menagerie. Dave Wycliffe moved on from being a technician to being a fighter, and had become lieutenant in Vale's branch. Last he heard, he was on his way to a meeting in Olympia sometime before the CCT tower went down. The Albain brothers, Fennec and Corsac, were members who were present there, and so was Ilia Amitola.
Ilia was devastated when Blake left, almost as much as I was. We both cried, but she doesn't know that... That I was sobbing on in the inside, and away from the eyes of others.
"Achoo!"
His mind turned back to Blake again.
It is very much possible that she could be there. I will have to speak with the Albain brothers to see if this holds true.
The bull horned faunus got out a pen, a piece of paper, took the materials to his desk and began to write.
Dear Fennec and Corsac,
"Achoo!"
The attack on Beacon was a success. The school has fallen to the ground, and from what I can tell, Ozpin died during the attack. I am writing out to you to seek out your aid. It seems that traitor known as Blake Belladonna may have been a student at Beacon Academy during the time she had left the White Fang and before the huntsman academy fell to the ground. I do not know what has become of her since the fall of Vale's huntsman school, but it seems that she has abandoned her teammates and I suspect that she may have fled back home to Menagerie. Can you search Kuo Kuana to make sure my suspicions are correct?
"Achoo!"
If so, inform me of her status and of her known intentions. If necessary, you may have to speak with the Belladonnas to uncover Blake's whereabouts. Hopefully, this won't be necessary to find the answers I desire. Do be sure that they don't become suspicious of what the White Fang has been up to in Vale. And do be sure that Diane does not find out about this, otherwise she will report this to Sienna. She's already angry with me, and...
"Achoo!"
I do not need more reason for her to detest and scold me.
"Achoo!"
Now, you might be wondering why High Leader Khan is so angry with me.
He blew his nose into his handkerchief before resuming his writing.
To put it simply, she does not share my point of view on the success of the attack on Beacon Academy. She has also taken one-third of my troops and resigned them to Mistral. The Mistralian White Fang branch is a huge mess at the present moment. You may not be aware of this, it seems that a civil war is brewing between two White Fang groups in Mistral as a result of the False Signal Incident. While it is not good in the overall scheme of things, I may be able to use this to my advantage, but I will have to move swiftly if I decide to take action.
"Achoo!"
If this happens, I may not get your response as quickly as I would like, but with the CCT down, I will have to be patient. It is a good thing that all White Fang messengers have combat training, unlike most of the 2nd class messengers who don't know what they're doing. Nonetheless, report your findings to me and I wish you the best of luck with affairs in Menagerie.
Sincerely, Adam Taurus
After the messenger left, he remembered his last encounter with Blake- which involved him swinging his sword at her and attempting to behead her, only to realize it was her shadow. He looked at her ruefully while he did this, and as she got away, carrying her ailing friend, he made no attempt to go after her. He could have chased after her, pursued her and attempted to kill her while she was vulnerable after easily defeating the Grimm. Why didn't he? Something was there, something stopped him.
But what was it?
Meanwhile, Sun was following the directions the device gave him. He walked through a city, past buildings, through cobblestone paved roads and buildings. As a biker passed him by, he looked at the device.
Go 3.4 miles (2.9 nautical miles) east.
"Nautical miles? Why would..." He felt his foot partially off the ground, held the device away from him in his left hand, stopping himself from falling into the ocean. "Oh..."
She's at sea? What would she be doing at sea? Is she heading back to the mainland? The monkey king tried to think of a way to find her from here. I can't try rowing a raft again. I've been there and know how well that ends...
He looked around and saw a helicopter and an old man he presumed was the pilot kneeling on the ground looking at the underside of the rotorcraft. He gently approached him. "Hey, I hate to disturb you, but I need your help. I need you to take me somewhere."
The man looked at him, slightly annoyed and very frustrated. "I'd love to help, but I can't. My helicopter is completely broken. The propeller blade is busted and the engine won't start."
"Oh... Sorry for disturbing you. I guess I'll leave you be."
Sun was about to walk away when the mechanic said, "Hmm... Tell ya what. You help me fix this helicopter, and I'll take you where you want to go, free of charge."
"Deal. Where do I start?"
Back at the Arc family home, Pyrrha Nikos and all of the Arc family members, save for Tangerine and Emerald, were in the kitchen, preparing a surprise birthday party for Emerald. Many of them were working on decorations while others were wrapping their presents for the birthday girl.
"Are you sure this plan is going to work?" Azure asked, looking up from her scroll.
"Completely." Amethyst answered enthusiastically. "Tangerine went through Jaune's training session first, and now she's taking Emerald out for to apply her hand to hand combat experience with low level thugs. The bookworm has no idea what we're even doing."
Azura put a white string a green balloon and added it to the bunch of balloons. "I don't know. Emerald is hard to surprise."
Rouge tied the red ribbon around a square box with crimson wrapping paper. "She probably already knows what this is about."
"Still, you can't really blame us for trying." Jaune sheepishly smiled.
A timer went off and Roux got the cake out of the oven- a two tiered chocolate fudge cake- and set on a heatproof cloth to let it cool.
As Roux began to frost the cake with chocolate frosting, Rouge looked at her younger brother with a look of curiosity and sadness before calming herself to not appear too upset. "Jaune?"
He looked the femme fatale, annoyed. "What is it?"
"After the duel, you mentioned several reasons for fighting. What are those reasons?"
"There's several reasons I fight- for myself, for Pyrrha, for my friends, and for those that can't defend themselves. I know that I'm no hero, and I'm not the brightest bulb in the socket, but I do believe that my presence at Beacon changed things for the better. Assuming nothing else changed, if I didn't make that call to Weiss, no one would have known where Pyrrha was, and Cinder would have annihilated her. The Grimm dragon would have caused even more destruction since it wasn't immobilized, somehow..., there would be a lot more injures and deaths, and Cinder would have brought the entire city to its knees. I know it wasn't the most heroic action, but... I would like to believe that it was a good thing I forged transcripts to Beacon instead of it just being an immoral act."
"Aw, Jaune, you don't give yourself enough credit." Pyrrha smiled at him. "You fought against the hijacked Atlas drones, White Fang members and the Grimm alongside your fellow students. After we were separated, you fought off an entire horde of Grimm. And even with Beacon's downfall, you continue working towards your goals, endlessly striving to become better. You've come further than anyone would ever have expected. Your time will come. Someday, you will know you're a hero beyond a shadow of a doubt. "
As Roux put sixteen green candles on the top of the cake, Jaune asked, "But when will that day come?"
Before anyone could give an answer, a vibration sound was heard coming from Azure's scroll. She looked at message on her scroll. "They're coming. They're very close and will be here in about two minutes!"
"Quickly, cut the lights!" Roux ordered.
Pyrrha turned off the lights, shrouding the room in darkness.
Meanwhile, Emerald and Tangerine were walking up the mountain. Once they had finished climbing the steep slope, they stood about fifty feet from their home.
"Thanks again for the experience." Emerald said.
"You're welcome. How did it feel to successfully defeat the thieves?" Tangerine asked.
"It felt good. At least I know that I can apply my skills in case I encounter them."
The two entered the house. "Let me get you some water. You must be thirsty after a long day."
"Sure, thank you." Emerald entered the kitchen with Tangerine but then she stopped. "Wait a minute, why is it dark in here?"
"Happy birthday, Emerald!" everyone else exclaimed.
"Ah... ah..." She choked on air before she smiled, almost laughing and crying. "I can't believe this. You guys never host surprise birthday parties for anyone."
"We know, but... this may the last birthday you'll get to celebrate..." Acacia said. Rouge gave her a glare before quickly adding, "for a long time... We wanted to make it extra special."
"So we pitched in to make this best birthday ever." Jaune added. "With gifts, a bigger cake, and everything."
"This one's from all of us." Azure said, handing her a small scroll of parchment.
The bookworm unrolled the parchment scroll and examined it. "A map of the entire world with every known city, village and settlement. Thanks guys, this will be most useful!"
She set the map down. "I got you something." Azura said, getting out from behind her back a thin blue square shaped gift with a dark blue ribbon.
"You're too kind. You know you don't have to do that as long you pitch in towards the family gift."
"I know, but, considering that tomorrow you'll be leaving on a long and dangerous journey, we figured we should get something that will help you on your journey. Several of us had that same idea." Emerald took the gift from the truth teller. "This one's from me and Indigo."
She tore through the wrapping paper and examined the gift given to her. "Hmm.." She held the book and read the title in her head. Aura101- The basics of aura and advanced techniques of aura and its uses "A book about aura? I think I can see why you're giving me this."
"Yeah. You already have your semblance unlocked, but hopefully you can read it and use the knowledge you acquire to defend yourself."
"I'll find a way to read it. Thank you."
"I hope this helps you on your mission." Amethyst said, handing her a small box wrapped in purple wrapping paper with dark purple polka dots.
She took the box and opened it, smiling at the contents inside. "A compass. Perfect! That's actually one of the few items I don't have that I would need for my journey. Thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
Acacia had one hand behind her back. "I got you something, although you might already have one."
She put her right hand forward, showing that she didn't bother to wrap up the first aid kit she got her. "A first aid kit? I do have one, but it can't hurt to save a spare. Thanks."
The singer smiled. "No problem. I didn't have time to gift wrap it however."
She beamed a bright smile before widening her eyes and giving Acacia a questioning look. "It's alright. I'm happy you got me this, although... I thought you were broke since you were basically giving all of your paycheck to mom and dad to help pay off the debt."
"Well... There's something I've kinda been keeping under the rug for a few weeks from most of the family." Jaune smiled knowingly as Acacia spoke. "Jaune already knows this, but... secretly... I've been taking up side gigs as a singer, doing weddings, small private concerts, wedding receptions and other events for a bit. I've been trying very hard to not let this conflict with my responsibilities as a chef, although I won't lie, there was one instance where I was contacted last minute during my lunch break for a performance that same evening, and I faked being sick to get off early so I could learn the music. "
"Aw, sweetie. We're not mad at you. We just wish you had told us so that we could support you." Azure nodded reassuringly.
"I just wanted to follow my dreams, and stop daydreaming."
"It's alright." Emerald said. "And I don't hear anyone complaining or criticizing you."
The singer grinned ear to ear. "Thanks. You're the best."
"I would say that I got you a gift, but you can consider the few self-defense training sessions we've had as my gift to you. Use the knowledge you've learned when you're in trouble." Tangerine instructed.
Emerald respectfully bowed to her older sister. "Thank you."
The tough tomboy sighed, lamenting. "I just wish I had more time to train you. You only have one more training session before you take off tomorrow."
"That is true."
"I know you have no clue how to fight, and I'm not trying to get you to quickly master something so hard in a short amount of time, but hopefully, this will help."
"And I am grateful that you agreed to teach me, even with you fighting criminals and taking Jaune under your wing." She smiled. "Have you ever thought of being a combat teacher for a living?"
Tangerine shrugged. "I never have, but who knows? Maybe that's something else I'll do when I become a huntress."
"I know you're about to do a dangerous quest, so I got you this." Rouge held a box in her hands before Emerald took it into her hands. "I think you'll like it."
The sixteen year old brainiac looked inside the box and then looked at Rouge like she had grown two heads. "A watch? How is this going to help me?"
"Weren't you the one who said never judge a book by it's cover?" The bookworm nodded. "There's more that meets the eye. Press the green button on the side."
She did so, and she was encased in a green protective sphere. "Wow! Cool!" She pressed the button again, turning it off.
"It runs on a very rare form of dust. I had to call in some favors from my teammate Urdina Morris in order to have this created, and the dust was quite expensive to get, but you are worth it. Use this in dire times to defend yourself. However, bear in mind that eventually the dust will run out, so use it wisely."
"Thanks Rouge. Thanks to all of you. I'm taking these gifts up to my room, and then we'll commence with cake cutting."
Emerald took the gifts to her room, placing them all on her desk in a neat organized pile. She looked around at the forest green walls of her room, her perfectly made bed to her left, to her right, the heavily overstuffed bookshelves, the violin, oboe, and French horn, all in their respective cases lined against the wall along with a raised music stand and a small piano in the upper left corner nearby the closet door. Next to the first bookshelf was a picture of Emerald and her family, taken shortly before Jaune's departure. Many of the Arc family members were smiling or had a neutral expression, except for Rouge, who was frowning with her arms folded.
This is what she was soon to leave behind. Was she really ready for this? She had her doubts, but even then, they would disappear with her emotions. She knew this and she was not going to let this temporary fear get to her. She turned away, exited her room and went back downstairs. As she entered the kitchen, she rhetorically asked, "Now then, where were we?"
"Cake cutting, perhaps?" Indigo inquired.
"Chocolate upon chocolate. Your favorite." Azura stated.
"I know sweets are generally bad for you, but too much of anything is really bad. Also, chocolate is probably my one weakness there." the birthday girl admitted.
Roux struck a match and lit the sixteen candles. He then blew out the match and motioned for everyone to sing. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Emerald! Happy birthday to you!"
"And many more!" Acacia sang thereafter.
After a brief moment, she blew out the candles and everyone cheered and clapped for her. One by one, everyone got their piece of cake, with Emerald being first, and sat around the table, enjoying the joyous day.
"Om... This is really good!" Emerald exclaimed.
"Thank you." Azure said. "I made it entirely from scratch, which is something I haven't even done in years. Even the frosting was homemade."
"You're welcome."
"It takes teamwork to make something like this work." Acacia said.
"I agree. Without teamwork, this wouldn't have been possible." Roux added.
What if I've been thinking about this wrong? Pyrrha thought to herself. What if the key to stopping Cinder isn't pushing everyone away, but letting them fight alongside me?
"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.
"Did you say something? I got lost in thought." she answered.
"What was it that you were thinking of?"
"Oh nothing important."
What a huge lie. the gladiator girl thought.
Azura glared at her briefly but then shrugged it off and continued eating cake with everyone else.
The next day, it was time for Emerald to leave. She looked through her convertible wheeled backpack one last time to be sure she had everything she needed. First, she looked at her clothes. All her clothes were in compression sacs, labeled as follows; pants, shorts, shirts, socks, underwear and bras, winter gear, and other. They were all there and all clothes were properly sorted.
Next, she looked at her survival gear- a one month food supply, some MREs, two bottles of fresh drinking water, a tent that folded up neatly into a little square cube, a collapsible sleeping bag and pillow set, the first aid kits, reusable utensils, some cookware, a can opener and water filter.
Then she looked at her toiletries and other essentials- a comb, a hairbrush, toothbrush, three travel size containers of toothpaste, a few containers of shampoo/conditioner, bodywash, sunscreen, and a rain poncho. She then remembered her book on aura. Then she put it along with the map into a side compartment of the backpack.
Finally she checked her pockets- her scroll (just in case she needed it or the CCT came back online), ID, compass, a pack of matches, a notepad, a few pens, spare hairbows and rubber bands. Heading to her desk, she put the dust powered protective watch on her right wrist after making sure it was tightened properly. As she threw her backpack on, she looked at the family photo one last time.
Time to kiss the past goodbye and face the future. the bookworm thought to herself.
Once she had her gear packed up, she went down the stairs and exited the house, finding her family members and Pyrrha Nikos there to send her off.
"Well, it seems that it is time for me to go." She hugged her parents in a group hug. "Goodbye mom. Goodbye dad. I'd like to say that I'll miss you, but once my emotions are locked away, I won't feel them."
"Love ya sweetie. Please, return to us safely." Roux stated.
"We love you! Please be careful!" Azure added.
Emerald turned to her siblings. "Goodbye my sisters and brother."
"Good luck, big sis!" Amethyst cheered before tightly hugging her.
As she released her, Emerald turned to Indigo. "I would give you the same advice I gave to Jaune, but I'm not sure it would help." Indigo hugged her. "Love ya sis. Just be careful."
She stepped back and Azura hugged her. "Honestly, this idea is slightly crazy yet seemingly brilliant at the same time. Good luck, big sister!"
"If all goes well, you'll be very rich. Love you, Em. Be careful! Don't fight a fight you can't win!" Jaune advised.
"Noted." The bookworm turned to Acacia. "Goodbye Acacia. Good luck in your rise to singing."
"Thank you, and good luck to you as well!"
Tangerine spoke to her, "Farewell, Em. Remember all that I have taught you and you should survive."
"Au revoir et bonne chance, Emerald." She put her hands up as if in prayer for a moment. "Please return to us safely."
The soon to be messenger turned to the one person she had yet to address. "Farewell to thee, Pyrrha Nikos."
Pyrrha smiled. "Good luck, Emerald. I hope that you are successful in all your endeavors."
She smiled brightly before stepping back from everyone as she activated her semblance, letting the green energy of her aura wash over her, locking up her emotions. With a calm emotionless expression, Emerald Arc turned on her heel and walked away without saying another word.
"I almost can't believe it." Roux sniffed. "One day, she's playing an instrument or reading a book for knowledge or pleasure, and now, she's grown up and taking on a risky job."
"I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we already miss her." Azure stated.
"Sometimes... you have to leave for change." Jaune said.
I haven't even asked him yet. Pyrrha thought to herself. But would he even want to do it?