Chapter 41: The Lies We Tell
In which Ren tries to fit in, Pyrrha absolutely doesn't harm Penny in any way, and Yang must swallow a bitter pill.
Even if the rest of his team felt comfortable in the buff, Ren kept his clothing on. It might have been weirder had it not been dark enough to generally obscure their forms beneath the surface of the pristine water. As it was, Ren could only see their above-water heads and the reflection of the mountainous forest in the lake's surface.
That didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it.
Just pretend they're wearing swimsuits.
Pretend they're in their swimsuits.
Why on Remnant do people say imagine the audience naked to calm down? This is very stressful.
Ren activated his semblance for the first time since his one-sided duel with his acquaintance Jaune. If this was uncomfortable, then that had been truly haunting. It had been like his body was a faint light in the adjacent room, and the only way for him to see it was to squint through the darkness at the crack under the door in between them. Ren was glad that he'd never have to experience that again.
You know, if I keep thinking things like that, I'm more or less guaranteeing that I will experience the semblance again. Don't tempt fate, Lie Ren.
Fortunately, if he were ever up against Jaune, he would simply abstain from using his semblance. In a gesture of sportsmanship, Jaune had explained to him and Ruby in private the nature of his semblance with the promise that they would not disseminate the information, not even to their teams. Ren was a man of his word, so the secret of Arc was safe with him.
On second thought, maybe he didn't need to use his semblance right now. This was just a fun outing with his team, and he could practice controlling his emotions the conventional way instead. Sky had told him that counting to a set value was a common method of remediating anxiety. Ren closed his eyes and submerged himself underwater. His long hair outspread as he counted.
One. Two. Three. Four. Fi–
Ren's eyes shot open as an unknown object smashed into his stomach. He gasped for breath, but it only led to more air escaping his mouth. Frantically paddling himself upwards, Ren broke out of the water and sucked in a deep breath of warm air.
"Marco!"
Cardin's typically lumbering form was equally ungraceful in the water, and it seemed that his foot had been the object that slammed into Ren while paddling towards one of the others. The pain was so minor that Ren elected to hold off on numbing it for now. Besides, while the exercise in counting hadn't exactly calmed Ren down overall, he did admit that it was soothing up until he'd hit five and five had hit him.
Without his emotions dulled, Ren felt himself grow slightly rambunctious. If his teammates were enjoying themselves, perhaps he should join it.
"May I play as well?"
"Sure. We're playing Marco Polo. It's easy…"
Since it was Ren's first time, he got to be the Marco. The game was no different from tag, just with the added aquatic element, the closed eyes, and the call-and-respond portion.
Ren shut his eyes and called out. "Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Polo!"
Two polos – Sky was underwater. Ren swam in the direction of Nora.
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Polo!"
"Polo!"
All three polos. Nora still sounded closest.
"Marco!"
The voices did not come. That meant that everyone was hiding underwater. It didn't matter – Ren would just continue until they ran out of breath and resurfaced. They'd gain some distance on him, but Ren felt confident he could outswim Cardin when the time came. Cardin seemed like the easiest target, probably why it was him calling out Marco before Ren had joined.
"Marco!"
.
"Marco!"
.
"Marco!"
.
Splash! "Polo!" Splash!
.
"Marco!"
.
"Marco!"
So, that was how they were going to play it? Quick gulps of air followed by long periods of hiding underwater – this might be tough. In spite of himself, Ren felt his childlike amusement growing. Was this glee what it was to never dampen his emotions? Perhaps he could get used to this.
An unfamiliar salty taste came into Ren's mouth. Ren spit out the water and opened his eyes reflexively before he could remember it was against the rules. He could just barely make out the exposed skin of three figures hiding underwater, though not in enough detail to make out any inappropriate features. Ren looked around for the source of whatever had polluted the water and soured his taste buds. Now what could it be…
There. Over by the shore some 200 feet away was the mutant Grimm, eyes dripping fluid into the lake.
Huh. Guess that explains that.
.
Fuck.
Ren's semblance came on, full-force. Now wasn't the time to grow as a person. He'd spent his entire life fighting with the calming embrace of his emotion-sucking blanket around him. In the heat of combat, even a moment of disorientation from its absence could prove fatal.
Ren reached for StormFlower, but it wasn't at his side. Damn, they'd left their weapons at the camp, and Cardin and Sky didn't even have their armor. Not to mention the fact that Professor Branwen was who knew where. If the Grimm saw them, they were as good as dead.
Thank the Brothers it hadn't already. The cover of darkness was Team Castle's greatest ally.
Nora's orange hair popped out of the water, and Ren slid a hand over her mouth before she could scream polo. He motioned towards the Grimm and took away her fear with his semblance. Cardin and Sky resurfaced at the same time, so Ren and Nora each silenced their respective beloveds and informed them of the nearby threat, clamping down on their mouths to prevent them from alerting it to their presence.
"What do we do?" Cardin asked under his breath, treading water softly.
"Sky, take Ren back to camp," Nora whispered. "Get the trap ready. Cardin, you and me are gonna bring the thunder."
Cardin paled. "Without Magnhild and the Executioner? Queen Nora, this Grimm will kill us."
"That's why we're going to kill it first. We can sneak up on it if we're careful. Then…well, you know what we're about, Cardy."
The four of them nodded in agreement and split apart. Ren and Sky swam as softly as they could in the direction of their equipment. Cardin and Nora both inhaled deeply, then dipped underwater and swam towards the Grimm stealthily.
As Ren stepped out of the water and handed Sky his armor, he heard a loud splash behind him and made the mistake of turning around. Nora and Cardin, both weaponless and clothingless, were tackling the Grimm while screaming their war cry.
"We'll break your leeeeeegs!"
No one had it worse than Pyrrha. Others got to go on super fun missions with hunters while she had to scrape around for the tiniest of clues all day long in a lumpy chair in the un-air conditioned library. It sucked. Ruby was living it up with that city life, Team Castle was probably having some super fun excursion in the mountains, and she had to sit still and stare at a computer for hours on end. At least it was over for today. The headmaster had promised a little sparring to alleviate their boredom tomorrow before the search went on, so that was something.
Pyrrha didn't know if she still wanted to trust Ozpin after she and Russ overheard him talking about Jaune dying. Hurting their leader was a big no-no for Team Adventure. Jaune was their fluffy cinnamon roll of innocence with a rich, nougaty center of courage. He also had a slightly spicy drizzle of passion that came out when he got excited. And a salty coating of…valor? Something like that. The point was, Jaune was the heart and soul of the team. Even if he was the weakest fighter, his spirit of self-improvement was what motivated her to keep going. It was even enough to make Pyrrha agree to this boring assignment when she'd much rather have traded places with Ruby or Nora.
"Knock."
It wasn't a knock on their door. Someone had said the word 'knock.'
There could only be one person who'd do something so artlessly simple. Well, two if you counted Ruby.
"I forgot about the transfers," said Jaune. "Guess we don't have Beacon all to ourselves."
"She's not alone," warned Dove.
"Come in, Penny," called Pyrrha.
The bubbly Atlesian huntress swung open the door and waved. "Salutations, Friend Team Adventure. May the General and I come in?"
"I apologize for the intrusion," said Ironwood. "I was hoping to speak to young Mister Arc, if that would be possible."
Jaune nodded.
"Alone," Ironwood added.
"I'll be back in just a minute, guys. This shouldn't take long."
The pair stepped outside, leaving Pyrrha, Dove, and Russel alone with Penny. Russel smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her overall-covered shoulders.
"Heeeeeey there, Penster. We're friends, right?"
"Oh boy! Yes, we certainly are. All friendship is appreciated, Friend Russel… –ster."
"Great, great. Now, Friend Dove can do the funniest impression of our dear Professor Port, and I think it's a crying shame that you haven't seen it yet. Dove, why don't you give our good pal the ol' showareeno?"
Dove's eyebrows rose, but he complied. "…okay? Uh…Polendina, please give me a topic about the Grimm. Go ahead, ask a question."
"What are the Grimm, Friend Port?"
As Dove broke into his hilarious routine (the man was a born comedian; hunting was a waste for someone of his talent), Russel came over to Pyrrha and sat down on her bed.
"That should keep her attention for a minute or two," he whispered. "You sense metal, right, Pyr?"
"I control it with polarity, yes."
"But can you sense it?"
"I…no, not exactly. I can manipulate any object in a purely metallic form, regardless of whether the metal is naturally magnetic. If it's in a compound that's not purely metal, it's useless to me. I can try to push or pull on it, but it would stay where it was. I'd be wasting my aura."
"What do you mean by purely metal?"
"Let me see. Metallic iron in a sword, yes. Gold jewelry, yes. Sodium in table salt, no. Hemoglobin in blood, no. And I can only control it if I know it's there. It's not like I'm magically made aware of all metal around me. The sensation is better described as reaching out an invisible arm to manipulate the metals from afar. If I don't know where to reach, I can't do anything, just like with a real arm."
"Good, good, good. Pyr, could you do me a favor and reach for Penny? Just try to wiggle her leg or something."
"Reach for – does she have a hidden weapon?"
"Let's go with prosthetic limb. Don't hurt her, just see if you can feel any metal components. I'm trying to confirm something I heard, vaguely related to the Cinder case. Kind of. If you don't feel anything you can move with your polarity, I'll know I'm wrong."
Pyrrha closed her eyes and imagined an invisible hand gripping Penny's foot. She gently tugged.
Penny's leg was ripped entirely from her body.
Pyrrha immediately rose from her seat and looked about the room for a first aid kid. "Oh my stars! Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to–"
"Oh dear. This is embarrassing."
Pyrrha must have torn off her…artificial leg? The girl had ripped wires and tubing snaking out of her stump of a knee. It didn't look like any prosthetic she'd ever seen before, and it seemed like the remainder of her leg was equally mechanic. Out of curiosity, Pyrrha extra-super-gently pressed on Penny's other leg with her semblance, and a small indent began to form.
"Huuuuuuhhhuuuu please stop. That is huuhuuhuuuuuh very discomforting heeeeeeeh."
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha ceased the use of her semblance. "But Penny, what…are you?"
The door shook as a loud thud resonated through the walls from the other side.
"OZ FUCKING DID WHAT?"
Penny raised her arms in a shrug. "The general sure is in a tizzy right now, eh, Friend Pyrrha?"
"Polendina. Do not change the subject. Your leg is missing, and oil is leaking out. What is going on?"
Penny's smile faded. After a moment of silence, she reached out a hand. Pyrrha helped her up off the floor.
"We're friends, right?" Penny stared at Pyrrha imploringly. "You promise we're friends?"
"Of course."
"You must solemnly pinky promise to never share this with anyone. It is confidential Atlesian military information."
Pyrrha and Dove nodded.
"Good." Penny inhaled and closed her eyes. "Okay. I'm…I'm a…no. No, I won't tell you. I've changed my mind."
"Penny!"
"Friends, I swear I will tell you the truth in due time, but Friend Weiss is my first and best friend. It feels like a betrayal to tell you all while she remains ignorant. You will get an explanation for my condition, I vow, but I must explain myself to Friend Weiss first, before anyone else learns of it. I owe her that much, if I am to call myself her friend."
Well, shit. That was fair. Pyrrha's curiosity would burn hotter than Yang's hair, but she had just torn Penny's leg off. It was understandable that Penny wouldn't exactly be in a sharing mood, especially with a team that was more like the friends of a friend to her. Besides, Pyrrha already had an inkling as to what Penny's big secret was. Pyrrha used her semblance to reattach the wires and soldered joints of the leg back to Penny's c̶h̶a̶s̶s̶i̶s̶ body.
"I'm sorry for my unwillingness to divulge my secret."
"It's fine. I'm sorry about the leg."
"Worry not, friend Pyrrha. This used to happen all the time with my father in Atlas."
Pyrrha's hand rose to her mouth in shock. "Did he hurt you?"
"No, never. My father is a kind man with no violent tendencies. We simply had the occasional construction accident while I was growing, so to speak."
"…choice, General." The door opened, and Jaune walked in, still conversing with Ironwood.
"It shouldn't have to be. He's asking too much."
"If I say no, it'll just be some other sucker. He can't help it."
"That's not the point, Jaune. He never asked whether you…never mind. I'm tired of talking in circles. Penny, thank you for showing me the way here. You may stay if you wish or accompany me back."
"I shall go with you, sir. Farewell, Friend Team Adventure."
The pair departed as abruptly as they'd shown up with but a friendly wave from Penny and the least possible interaction from the general while remaining polite.
"Sorry that took so long, guys." Jaune scanned the dorm room. "Hey, where's Russel?"
Pyrrha looked around, but the distinctive mohawk was nowhere to be seen.
"He was just here, right before I…" Pyrrha trailed off as she saw the oil stain on the floor from Penny's leaking leg.
Oh, that conniving little rat bastard.
Ore Lane (though absolutely nobody called it that) was neither good nor bad. It wasn't the opulent splendor that made up Platinum Lane, where eager elitists sought to prove that their crumbling city was a magnificent land of milk and honey, nor was it the desolate slum of Greengrocer Lane that looked more like a Grimm wasteland than an urban expansion project. The Mistral Triangle was somewhere in between. It clearly had funding, albeit from a less legally sanctioned source, but there was no need or want for a polished extravagance. Criminals sought to live in luxury, but they had no Council of Vale that needed convincing of their success.
It was a fool's errand, trying to persuade the Council that Mountain Glenn was not beyond repair. Yang could see after one visit that the city was a rotting corpse some people hadn't yet realized was dead. And running within that metaphor, the Mistral Triangle held the maggots.
Criminals, real shady types, watched the five of them walk from every street corner and alleyway. These were not the professional suits of Junior's gang that Yang had taken on way back when; these guys were armed to the teeth with guns, knives, and who knows what else, and they weren't afraid of showing it. Ruby was probably in weapon heaven. Yang had to pry her eyes away from the dirty lowlifes and thugs (Yang wasn't judging here – most of them were literally dirty with layers of soot and grime on their skin) per Hazel's instructions to avoid eye contact. The buildings primarily consisted of large factories, warehouses, and industrial plants with smokestacks feeding out of the city's roof into the open air above. Still, the air was hazy and thick with pollutant particles that floated around like jellyfish in the ocean.
This city was awful. Yang hated it. Not in the way that she hated homework or people touching her hair – that was just silly childishness. Mountain Glenn was despicable in every manner. Penniless Faunus live in squalor while humans just a stone's throw away enjoyed the good life. Criminals had free reign, so open in their wicked ways that the Deputy didn't bother to interrupt at least two muggings before they arrived at the 'Chiseled Gypsum.' Bit of an odd name for a bar, but at least it kept with the city's theming of rocks and stuff. The saloon in question was one of the few non-industrial buildings in Ore Lane that were occasionally found spaced between the factories and whatnot.
"Gretchen's probably inside. I've oft found her in here wasting time when she gets…sidetracked."
Ah, an Uncle Qrow type alcoholic. I can deal with this.
They went inside.
It was not a saloon. Yang could not deal with this.
"Ruby, go back outside!"
"No, don't. It's not safe to go out there alone for one of her size," Hazel countermanded. "We only were able to move about freely because people know my face. A small girl on her lonesome wouldn't last ten seconds before getting jumped."
"Ruby can handle herself," Yang said defiantly. This was no kind of place for a fifteen year old. How could Hazel fail to see that?
"It's not her I'm worried about." Hazel addressed Ruby directly. "Girl. You can head outside and knock some muggers head off if you choose, but no one needs to get hurt today."
"I-I'll stay," squeaked Ruby as she tried to avert her eyes from the ladies of the evening within. It was an impossible task though – the place was swarming with them. Males too, though far fewer.
Yang could barely keep her hair from going aflame. "Sir, this is a brothel! A…" She lowered her voice. "…a whorehouse!"
"And she's chosen to be a huntress. How long do you believe you can shield her from the world?"
"Yang, it's okay. I'm not a little kid. I drink milk. Let's just find – eep!"
Too far. Too fucking far. A…A…A male prostitute had just wrapped his arm around Yang's little sister. Ember Celica clicked.
Hazel reacted faster. "Nephrite. Off."
The man released Ruby with a sly smile as the deputy glared at him.
"Where's my sister?"
"Room 3E, with Onyx and Star Sapphire."
Yang grabbed her sister and dragged her right past Hazel towards the stairs, ignoring the confused looks shot by prostitutes of both genders. The sooner she could get Ruby out of this messed up place, the better. They made it to the door in question and knocked thrice. When no one answered, she turned the knob and forced it open, splintering the wood of the door. Gretchen was asleep with two men, one on each side of her in a purple-sheeted bed.
"You bitch!"
The slumbering sheriff woke up with a start and grabbed some kind of gun from behind her pillow on instinct. The barrel lowered when Gretchen saw there wasn't an immediate threat to her life. By this point, Hazel and the others had caught up.
Gretchen rose from bed and got dressed. She laughed sheepishly. "Er, guess I lost track of–"
"Fuck that! We waited all day for you and here you are, screwing some hookers?"
Gretchen frowned. "Look, I'm sorry, but–"
"Sorry isn't going to cut it. You're supposed to be a sheriff! A huntress! This is our first mission. What kind of example are you setting for Ruby?"
"Now listen here–"
"Prostitution is illegal in Vale. You're supposed to enforce the law, not break it! Some lawkeeper you are–"
A hand clamped over Yang's mouth, and Gretchen's blue eyes bore down into her. "Kid, you're delusional if you're expecting some paragon of virtue in this godforsaken city. Half of the other clients in this building are men from the hunter barracks. Now, I tried. I tried so damn hard. I petitioned Ozpin and the council for some lawkeeping reinforcements over twenty times, and each time they said that no one could be spared. So one day, I up and decided that if nobody else cares about upholding the law, so why should I? I stop crimes, real crimes, like murder and riots and violence, not some harmless whores trying to make a living. The peace is kept, the people are safe, so I figure I'm entitled to a few carnal pleasures, even if the Valean legislators four hours away and five hundred miles away don't approve. The sooner you learn that the world sucks and the people in charge don't care, the better. I'd say I taught you kids a damn good lesson today."
The hand came off Yang's mouth. Ruby's jaw dropped. Gretchen grabbed her gun and waved away the two men in the bed, who awkwardly fled out the door past the ladies.
"I took you four on as a favor. You have no idea what I've been through. I refused to be judged by idealistic children who've never worked a day in their lives."
She made to follow her male hookers, but Hazel stopped her before she made it out the room. "Did you even plan to let them look at the Oobleck case?" he asked his sister.
Her lack of an answer was telling.
"When the kids leave for Vale, I'm leaving with them."
"Hazel–"
"I won't come back."
"What?!"
"Even when things were at their worst, I always knew I had my sister at my side. But now the Gretchen I grew up with is gone. Ozpin sent her to Mountain Glenn, and she died."
Yang winced at his unkind words, even if the recipient more than deserved them. Ouch, that's–
"Ruff!"
A familiar corgi jumped out of Ruby's backpack and raced out the door into the hallway.
"No, Zwei! Get back here!"
Ruby chased out the room and down the hallway after their dog, leaving behind a trail of rose petals. After a moment's pause, Yang and the rest of the team followed after her. Zwei weaved and darted between the w̶h̶o̶r̶e̶m̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶s̶ patrons of the Chiseled Gypsum, barking the whole way down. Team Rainbow finally caught up to him as he turned a corner and zipped into a large room on the right.
Inside, they found Zwei gnawing on a sausage. Yang looked around the room and saw two embarrassed women with an assortment of foods. Cucumbers, zucchinis, bananas, even an eggplant…oh.
"Sorry for interrupting your lunch," apologized Ruby, throwing down a lien chip as she wrestled a wriggly pooch. "This should cover any damages – no Zwei, don't lick the chocolate syrup! It's bad for doggies!"
Thanking the Brothers for her sister's blissful ignorance, Yang walked out of the room only to bump into a blonde Faunus wearing an open white shirt. It looked just like a slightly older Sun Wukong, except that this was a squirrel or gopher Faunus, if Yang had guessed correctly from his buck teeth.
"Hey, ladies. Like what you see?"
At least he didn't say Sun's Out Guns Out.
Hazel appeared behind the man and ushered the four students out of the room.
"They're not interested."
"C'mon, it'll be fun. Interested in four for the price of one? Or maybe a repeat customer discount for Blake?"
Omake
Jaune: Ozpin's preparing me to be his next host.
Ironwood: That's unacceptable.
Jaune: General, I've already agreed to–
Ironwood: *crying* He never asked me if I wanted to be the next host!
Next Chapter: The White Fang – In promises are not kept.
Author's Notes
For Ren, the showdown between his team and Grimm-o begins.
For Pyrrha, don't worry – she'll be prosecuted for her crimes of murdering Penny's legs. Alllllllll in due time.
For Blake, it's not as bad as you think.
Well, let me correct that. Things are about to go downhill real fast for her, but her adventures in the Chiseled Gypsum probably weren't as naughty as you might be worrying.