Jaune did his homework while Pyrrha watched the videos. He had already seen them twice, once by himself and the other when he showed them to Blake. He didn't need to see them a third time.
He knew them inside out.
There was also another reason why he focused on the mundane homework. He was afraid of Pyrrha's reactions to the videos. The very same videos that, info the end, showed her death.
Her reactions would not be pleasant.
He winced at every gasp or sound she made. But he didn't look up from his work.
In the corner of his eye, Blake read one of her more normal novels, but she spared glances over to the videos and Pyrrha.
The videos were so strange it was hard to look away from them, even if you've seen them before. The videos rumbled along like a train on fire. It was horrific but you couldn't look away. Blake's cat ears shot straight up or drooped onto her head at certain scenes.
It was unnerving to think that their entire lives were being recorded.
His paranoia spiked. He whipped his head around, looking up at the ceiling and where he imagined cameras might be if they were being recorded right now.
Pulling his attention back to his homework, he shook his head out of the weariness.
The more that he thought about the implications of the videos, he became more unsettled. He shuddered at the idea of someone seeing his life and even his tragedies as entertainment.
Before he could spiral further into the existentialism of the videos, his brain tingled. Someone was watching him. He turned around to Blake's worried amber eyes.
He flashed a bright smile and her eyes went back to neutral observance. She put her nose back into her book. He went back to his homework.
After finishing it, he started on Pyrrha's work. The videos would take time to watch and she would be too exhausted at the end to do any meaningful work. He would alleviate some of her burdens.
He completed her work and moved on to helping Ren and Nora, through their team group chat. They questioned why he and Pyrrha suddenly went off by themselves.
He deflected them by using the age-old excuse of it being a partner thing.
Ren and Nora agreed with his excuse and didn't prod any further. They, after all, used that excuse more times than he could count. But he didn't mind when they did it and they reciprocated in the same.
He helped them with their work until they finished. That was all of his academic work for the day already done.
Scenes reflected in Pyrrha's eyes; she was on the last volume. He groaned internally, she would take time to finish. He had nothing left to do.
He stretched his back and got up. His joints moved like stiff rock from sitting for so long. The sensation of an army of ants skittering on his sleeping legs grew potent.
Walking over to the giant ornate windows of the library, he woke his legs up and gazed out the windows. It was evening and the sun was almost set. The sky was devoid of any clouds.
The shattered moon was already out in the corner of the sky, waiting for the sun to set. Its ghastly and unreal visage fought against the bright sky.
Down below, the lowering sun cast deep oranges and purples onto the sprawling courtyards of Beacon and on the bright green trees of the emerald forest.
Many students lounged on courtyard benches or on open fields of grass. They laughed and cheered with one another. Others sat quietly in the company of their friends.
They were all completely oblivious to the tragic future they might have to go through. Oblivious to his, Blakes, and now Pyrrha's burden.
A tinge of envy and disdain bubbled to the surface of his heart. What right did they have to continue living their lives without knowing the destruction of the future? How could they call themselves protectors of life if they only fought the Grimm and didn't fight against people like Cinder? Why did the videos have to be dropped onto his lap?
He wasn't even a worthy enough huntsman.
The myriad of questions stewed in him. His envy and anger multiplied like a disease, but he released all of it with a deep breath. He already knew the answers to all those questions.
He could share the videos with everyone on Remnant, but what would that accomplish? There would be disastrous implications about life and fate if the videos were revealed to the masses. Revealing them might launch the world into a darker future than the one the videos foretold.
The students weren't at fault either. He had a gut feeling that if he showed them the videos, almost every single one of them would fight tooth and nail against the horrid future. They also fought against criminals and people like Cinder all the time, so much so that they regularly got in trouble for vigilantism.
But, he couldn't reveal the videos to the student population. He needed to choose his allies with transgression and scrutiny. Quality over quantity.
He wasn't a strong huntsman but he was getting there and he was improving every single day. Even though the videos dropped on his lap he wouldn't give up. If some other Beacon student got these videos, he knew, they would do everything in their power from making them come true.
They wouldn't give up over some feelings of doubt, neither would he.
Steeling his conviction, he took another deep breath. He would continue to fight against fate until he was certain it would never pass.
Movement at the corner of his vision brought him out of his thoughts.
Blake slid up next to him and peered through the windows. She wore her school uniform, like he and Pyrrha. Her black bow wrapped around her wrist, flowing from an unseen air.
She turned and her amber eyes met his blue orbs.
Whispering, she asked, "You okay? You looked pretty deep in thought."
He shrugged, turning back to the windows, "I was just contemplating some things. About the videos, about us. But I'm fine. Is Pyrrha done?"
She twisted around and he followed her gaze back to the desk. Pyrrha watched the videos with an open mouth and wide eyes. She clutched the scroll with a tight white knuckle grip. His hands twitched slightly. She might shatter it if she wasn't careful.
Blake responded, "She has a little bit left. I already finished my book and now I'm just doing some work."
She sighed in boredom.
"Do you want some help with it?" he asked with a raised brow.
Her head popped up and she nodded vigorously. She took his hand and guided him through the short distance to her seat. He sat down next to her and helped her with her homework.
They went into deep conversation, distracting themselves from the work. It reprieved him from all of his troubling thoughts. He enjoyed the snarky and witty conversation.
Time quickly passed, but they managed to complete her work even though they weren't paying attention to it.
Laughing from a comment she made, he looked up and met Pyrrha's red-rimmed emerald eyes.
Her mouth closed in a hard line. She stared at him, peering right into his soul. The torrent of emotions he experienced or Blake experienced was not evident on her face.
She only expressed a singular emotion. It was one of sadness, directed at him.
He wavered, looking away from her gaze.
After a moment, he reached over and took the scroll from her hands. She held it loosely. It almost slid out of her hands when he touched it.
He pocketed the scroll and he regained his composure, looking back up at her. Her eyes sunk in deep sadness. She opened her mouth and, in a hoarse voice, dryly whispered. She sounded like a Vacuan desert.
Her eyes widened in shock. She moved her hands to her throat and clutched it. He offered her a bottle of water. Barely audible, she whispered thanks and greedily gulped it down.
She drank a large amount of water and handed it back to him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
He stood up and spoke into her ear, "We can't speak here, let's go to the roof."
He signaled to Blake, who watched behind Pyrrha's head. Blake understood and erased all traces of their activities. Once she was done, she huddled next to Pyrrha and the trio left the library.
Making sure their gait was slow and hiding Pyrrha between them, they appeared like friends going back to their dorms after a day of studying.
They stopped at some restrooms for a break.
He came out of the men's room. Blake waited across the women's. He walked to her and leaned next to her. They stood in silence, for a few minutes, before Pyrrha came out.
Her face was washed and her emerald eyes already shone with natural vigor. It was strange that she recovered so quickly. He pushed that thought to the back of his head.
He led the two girls out of the main building and into the dorms. He climbed the stairs to the top. Pyrrha trailed behind him and Blake a few feet behind her.
Pushing the broken roof door open, he led the girls to the edge of the roof. He sat on a group of sturdy metal vents.
Blake sat close to him on the same vent while Pyrrha walked past him and stood at the edge of the roof. She stared out at the horizon and the final embers of the sun.
The shattered moon lifted high into the night sky. Dozens of stars sparked to life.
He cautiously watched her. She turned around with a strange expression before sitting down. Her legs dangled off the roof lazily.
He rummaged around in a small pack, which he had brought along, and fished out some snacks. They shook unhealthily but Pyrrha needed some quick energy after the drain of the videos.
Handing one bag to Blake, he handed the rest to Pyrrha. She looked at it oddly before accepting it with a quick nod. He and Blake shared the chip bag, holding it between their legs.
The crunch of breaking snacks and mouths filled the roof. This is where he told Pyrrha about his transcripts, it would also be the place he told her about the future videos.
Pyrrha ate like a woman who got off a deserted island. She tore through all of them in a blink of an eye.
He passed her some wipes. She gladly accepted them and wiped her hands clean.
He and Blake slowly ate and finished their food. Putting all of the trash into his bag, he went back to Blake.
They all sat in silence, cleaning themselves up. He stood still, ready to speak to Pyrrha.
He turned to his redhead partner and spoke, "That's what I wanted to show you Pyr. You probably have a lot of questions. Blake and I will try to answer them as best as we can."
Pyrrha stared into the sky for a long pause. His heartbeat heavily. Had she entered some sort of shock?
Right as he was about to console her, she whipped her head around. Her eyes narrowed but they blossomed with energy.
She sighed, "Is it all true? The videos?"
He nodded, "They are. They were right for the dock incident and they'll be right for more things unless we change the course of the future."
"The Docks incident…Torchwick and a bunch of Fang got arrested there, I saw it in the news.."
He reluctantly nodded.
"Were you two involved in that?" she asked.
This time, Blake spoke up, "Yes, we used our future knowledge to tip off the authorities. They arrested Roman, stopping any dust from being stolen and the destruction of the docks."
Pyrrha's face scrunched in concentration. She simmered with something to say and he wasn't going to rush her. He would let her speak her mind.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, getting rid of her frown lines. She opened her emerald orbs and pierced straight into him.
She spoke with a bit of fear mixed in with a bubble of curiosity, "So the future of those videos can be changed?"
He nodded his head, "Blake and I have shown that we can change it. We've already changed the outcome of the dock fight. Hopefully, we'll change the Paladin fight as well and the breach. I know for a fact that the world isn't set in stone, we can change the tide of our story."
Blake chirped in, "I plan on changing the White Fang in the future and Jaune's going to become a huntsman that could beat Cinder. We'll fight against the videos."
Jaune recounted. to Pyrrha his entire story from when he first got the videos, revealing them to Blake, the dock fight, and the assault on the Fang factory. He mentioned his secret identity of Tungsten and didn't brush over his encounter with Neo.
She popped up from her spot at the mention of his killing of Neo. Her face instantly softened and she slid next to him. She squished him between her and Blake.
Grabbing his hand, she squeezed hard, "Jaune… I didn't know that was the reason for that episode. I'm sorry I reacted so poorly while you went through that. Nora was right, I should have tried to understand your position, I shouldn't have let you wallow in that grief all by yourself."
He unhooked his hand from hers and put an arm around her shoulder.
He gently consoled her, "Hey, don't worry about it. Nothing was your fault. I didn't even tell you about the videos so how could you have helped me? And anyways, Blake was here to put some sense into me and I got better."
Blake piped up, "You should have seen the state he was in. You would have done better than me and gotten him out of his slump quicker."
He chuckled and so did Pyrrha, laughing out of her shocked state. Although her eyes met Blakes and she quieted like a blown-out candle.
She croaked, looking into him, "Why didn't you show me the videos when you first got them? No offense to you Blake, but I was your partner Jaune, you told me about your transcripts but you didn't tell me about the videos? Did you not trust me?"
Blake's eyes narrowed towards Pyrrha. He raised his hands in front of both of their faces in a defensive manner.
"Tensions are running high but both of you need to take a deep breath," he said,
Both girls nodded behind his hands. He put them down and looked between both of them. They took deep breaths as instructed. Their bodies de-coiled, cooling down.
He asked, "Are both of you calm?"
Both girls nodded.
He continued, "We're all working together and we have to have good bonds to get anything done. Pyrrha, I went to Blake not because I didn't trust you, but because I needed her particular espionage ability and White Fang past to both help me make sure the videos were secure and to help me stay covert in the docks fights. If you had the same set of skills I would have gone to you immediately. But I am sorry for not telling you about the videos sooner, I was planning on it, but I got so focused on trying to fight against the future I completely forgot. Can you forgive me?"
Her eyes widened and reimagined some of their bright green. She, at first, cupped her cheeks before slowly nodding.
She clenched his hand, "I forgive you Jaune. But why did you show me the videos now?"
He turned to Blake and both of them passed a grimace. He told Pyrrha the specifics of their attack on the White Fang factory and how they underestimated their foes, getting highly injured.
He added how they needed more help if they were going to fight this new and improved Fang.
She listened aptly humming or making sympathetic noises while he retold the story.
Finishing with their questioning by Ozpin and Qrow, She spoke, "That must have been an experience. I'll gladly help you on this endeavor to stop the Fang and those videos from coming true. However, why not tell the rest of JNPR and even RWBY for help?"
He winced, "I would, but this type of information is better in as few hands as possible. With all three of us working together and our array of skills we should be able to face anything we meet. I'll bring the rest of our friends if we need to, but if not I would prefer to keep this between us."
"That sounds reasonable enough."
"So, Pyr, are you in?"
"Jaune didn't you hear me? Of course, I'm in," Pyrrha responded confidently.
Warmth spread over his chest and he smiled big and goofy. He turned to Blake. She smiled to a similar degree. Her amber eyes glowed with newfound light.
He vibrated in delight at their new ally.
His excitement spread to Pyrrha who beamed a white smile.
With Pyrrha's powerful semblance and overall skill combined with Blake's espionage ability, they would be unstoppable. The White Fang had it coming and so did Cinder.
A newfound flame of hope ignited deep within him. He would get even stronger and would make sure that those futures would never come to pass.
He proceeded to tell Pyrrha about all the changes he had done thus far, from the CCT articles by Terra to his new weapon upgrades.
After he finished, they all sat in comfortable silence. He tugged in his school uniform to fight against the chilly winter wind. He wanted to go back inside and get some well-deserved sleep.
He stood up and stretched his legs. Moving over to the roof's edge, he turned the school, the dark horizon. Eventually, he twisted back around to observe the roof.
This was where he and Pyrrha trained before he implemented the all-team, all-out training method. A small part of him missed the quiet one on one training.
His amazonian partner stood up next to him. Her emerald eyes gazed over the dusty tiles of the roof and the disturbed paths made in them and them by Beacon students seeking out a quiet place of refuge.
Right as he was about to suggest they leave, Pyrrha spoke up, "At the end of the videos…"
His throat tightened, this was going to be an awkward conversation but it was going to happen anyway. After all, Pyrrha was an integral part of the show.
He sighed, "Yea… the destruction of Beacon, all of those students and civilians dying, our kiss and your death. It's a lot to take in. If you need more time to think about all of this you don't have to help us just yet."
She sadly whispered, "It's not about a question of joining you. What about us? I went off to fight against Cinder, leaving you all by yourself after I shared my feelings for you. I'm wondering what are we now?-she shook her head dazed- All of this is so complicated."
"It doesn't have to be complicated. Do you like me now Pyr?" he asked, raising his brow.
She blushed slightly but also shrugged, "I honestly don't know. There's this little bundle of emotion when I interact with you but I can't say what it is."
Looking directly into her eyes, he said, "Then we'll be friends, for now fighting for a common goal. Let things happen naturally and if things go somewhere they go somewhere. We shouldn't force ourselves to comply with the videos. The future shown in them isn't fated to happen"
The red-haired woman bit her lip and looked away from him. Her eyebrows creased in deep thought. She thought for a minute or so and met his gaze.
She firmly said, "I'm happy with that."
He slowly nodded his head before speaking, "Again, Pyr, you don't have to help us just yet.
"Jaune, I'll help you no matter what. I'm just concerned about how Ozpin manipulated me. How he just shoved me into the all-powerful maiden role without telling me everything. I was used as some sort of last-minute weapon," she responded firmly
He shrugged, "It was a bad idea for Ozpin to throw you into the deep end without any training in the maiden magic. He should have at least waited until the second year or maybe asked you before Beacon. Or best of all, he should have placed Amber somewhere much safer, he has the resources to but for some reason he did not. I honestly don't know what the man's true intentions are but we know that he's going against Cinder. We'll use him as an ally but nothing more, we have to be wary of him."
"Speaking of Amber, we can't just let her suffer down in that basement. We have to free her and move her somewhere else. If we can heal her we might also get a powerful ally."
"I was planning on doing that later down the line."
They stopped talking. Blake's amber eyes roved between them.
Moonlight shone on their backs creating tall lithe shadows in front of them.
"It's getting pretty late, we should all head back to the dorms," he said, looking between both girls.
Pyrrha stepped in front of him towards the roof exit. Blake got up and walked beside him.
She squeezed his hand and whispered into his ear, "Good Job on getting Pyrrha on deck. I think you've built back that trust you lost with her. Let's start planning tomorrow."
He squeezed her dainty but strong hands back. Tomorrow would be their first official day on the job as a trio.
He hoped that it would go smoothly.
Right as Pyrrha reached the door, a sudden thought came to his head.
He stopped in his tracks, letting go of Blake's hand.
He spoke to Pyrrha's back, "Wait, Pyr how'd you recover so fast? Blake and I took some time to recover after watching the videos, our world views did get shattered and all."
Pyrrha, whose hand was right on the door, turned around slowly.
She hummed, putting her finger to her chin, "Maybe it's because I already believed in destiny? Ever since I could remember, there's been a small part of me that believes that we're all part of some grand narrative. The videos proved that we are part of a grand narrative. But, it wasn't the narrative I believed in. As long as we can change the destiny laid out in the videos, my goals haven't changed yet. I'm still fighting for my destiny."
"What's your version of destiny?" Blake asked, her cat ears perking up.
Pyrrha smiled a toothy grin, "That's only for me to know."
She giggled before turning back around and going through the roof door. Blake raised her eyebrow at him but he shrugged. He was similarly perplexed.
He followed his red-headed partner to their dorms. Blake walked next to him.
The halls were mostly empty except for a few students out in regular wear milling about in common areas. It wasn't that late at night so the building was still lively. The sounds of movies, music, and excited voices echoed from dorms.
They reached their respective dorms. He walked over to his dorm door and opened it. Blake opened her door. He waved to her with a smile and she did the same. Pyrrha gave her goodbyes and they each entered their dorms.
Right as he went inside, Nora, sitting down on her bright pink beanbag, looked up from her scroll.
She smirked mischievously, "Wow Jaune, dragging off Pyrrha and coming back with Blake, looking very satisfied? It makes a girl think."
He and Pyrrha both blushed volcano red. Behind them, Blake barked out a chuckle before heading into her dorm room.
He gasped, sputtering, but Ren came to his rescue.
Without looking up from his desk, the green ninja scolded Nora, "Stop it, Nora. Jaune hanging out with Blake and Pyrrha doesn't imply anything."
"Awww you're no fun Renny," Nora admonished.
Jaune looked over to Ren and gave him a thumbs up. The pink-streaked man nodded before going back to a book.
Nora stood up and bounded over to him and Pyr.
She put her hand on her hips and asked, "So why'd you drag P-Money away Jaune?"
He shook out of his blush and spoke coolly, "I wanted to tell her about some new partner combat moves I came up with."
Nora pulled her head back comically and groaned, "Ughh, you guys are so boring."
She went back to her beanbag, plopping on it. She took out her scroll and forgot about them.
He and Pyrrha shared a knowing look. A ghost of a smile graced her lips.
He spent the rest of his evening hanging out with Pyrrha and his team.
Ren and Nora came up to him once Pyrrha was in the bathroom changing into her sleepwear.
Nora suddenly tightly hugged him ]and Ren, putting an arm on his shoulder, nodded stoically,
He asked, "What's going on guys?"
Both of them let go of him. Nora and Ren shared a look, passing some silent message between them.
Ren broke the silence, "We noticed that you patched things up with Pyrrha. Good Job Jaune."
Nora added cheerfully, "It was so sad to see you and Pyrrha act cold to one another and I was sure that our team was eventually going to break, but the rift between you guys healed. We can be good ol' JNPR again. Except now we're all super powerful from that training you've given us."
He thanked both of them for the praises. Pyrrha came out and they resumed their chilling. They stayed up much later than usual.
Eventually, sleep took him and he crashed onto his bed. His face morphed into a lopsided grin at the events of the day,
But underneath all of his outlying happiness, a new calculating side of him couldn't wait until tomorrow to plan out their second attack on the Fang.
Jaune woke up with a bright smile. Energy coursed through his body. He reached over to his nightstand and turned off his alarm.
Nora jumped up from her bed and rushed to the bathroom. Ren, already awake, made tea at his desk.
Jaune got off his bed and stretched. His bones cracked satisfyingly, making him groan in pleasure. He bounced on his feet. He could leap over a building.
Today would be the first day where their new secret trio would work together.
Stopping his erratic movement, he took some deep breaths to calm himself. He would look suspicious if he came off as high energy all of a sudden.
His mind cleared and he noticed that his partner wasn't up and around like the rest of them.
He went over to the dresser next to Pyrrha's bed and turned off her alarm. They all put alarms on their scrolls to ensure that they all woke up. You never knew what could go wrong.
Pyrrha lay entrapped in her usual cocoon of blankets. They were varying shades of red making her seem like she was sleeping inside of a desert ant hill. The fabrics were so thick that he couldn't see her sleeping body underneath.
The only clue of her existence came from the slow rise and fall of her chest.
One thing that he learned about his partner since the beginning of Beacon was that she loved the heat. She bristled at the coming winter and mentioned how her favorite season was the summer.
But the cocoon of blankets was a tad overboard. He would buy her a heated blanket for her birthday. That would definitely make her day.
He pulled out the pile of blankets one by one until Pyrrha's red hair broke through. He pulled out the last blanket, waking her up. Her emerald orbs shot open and she frantically looked around.
He put a hand on her shoulder. Her body instantly calmed and she looked at him with energetic eyes.
"Good morning Pyr!" he greeted.
She responded, "Good morning to you Jaune. Did I oversleep?"
He shook his head, "Nope, we're getting ready right now. Do you feel tired?"
"Not at all actually. I'm bursting with energy."
"Same here. I can't wait to train after school ends today," he winked at the last part.
She smiled in understanding.
Shrugging the last of her covers, she got off the bed. Her pink flowy nightwear rippled, puffing out and creased. Her hair fell loose over her shoulders and stood on its ends, frazzled from sleep.
He picked up her golden tiara, from on top of her dresser, and handed it to her. She accepted it with a bright smile and put it on.
Right at the moment she got out of bed, Nora rushed out of the bathroom wearing her school uniform. She slammed the door to the bathroom against the wall making all of them wince.
She didn't notice, rushing over and sitting next to Ren. He scolded Nora without looking up from his tea making.
Jaune and Pyrrha chuckled at the display. They both went inside the bathroom. He left the door ajar so Nora couldn't get any more teasing material on them.
They took out their toothbrushes from the cabinet mirror, both color-coded. They brushed happily side by side. His mouth foamed up but he didn't mind.
He was having too much fun with her. They spoke about inane things that didn't mean anything, but it made the monotony of their morning routine go by faster. This was the partner relationship he had missed. He was thankful for having it back.
He finished brushing and left her to use the bathroom.
Outside, Ren and Nora chatted animatedly while they cleaned their uniforms. He sat with them and reviewed some notes. He wanted to become a strong huntsman both physically and academically.
He finished, helping Nora and surprisingly Ren with their reviewing as well.
Going over to his desk, he thought about what they were going to do after classes. He, Pyrrha, and Blake we're going to switch up their locale and meet in a rented training room.
His mind wandered into all of the new possible plans he could come up with now that they had Pyrrha and her strength. His leg shook at all of these new possibilities.
The door to the bathroom popped open and Pyrrha strode out. Her hair flowed in its ponytail state and she wore her crisp Beacon uniform. He strolled by her, going into the bathroom.
He took a shower and changed into his uniform. Exiting the bathroom, all of his teammates were ready to leave for Breakfast.
They headed down to the cafeteria. He stuck by Pyrrha, talking to her animatedly.
Inside the cafeteria, they got their food and sat with team RWBY. The two teams talked casually and happily. Pyrrha acted as normal as ever, Blake read a book but did speak here and there, and he chatted away with Ruby and Nora.
No one suspected a thing.
They finished their food and headed to classes. He paid attention to each one learning as much as he could.
The day passed by in a flash and, before he knew it, he walked out of combat class. He stretched his muscles from the sparring. Today, he won all of his matches. His losses were getting fewer and fewer and he climbed the combat rankings bit by bit.
He only lost a few matches this week.
He stood in the halls, waiting for Blake and Pyrrha. They exited the class with the rest of his friends. He went up to them and finished the large 8 team group.
They chatted for a bit listing out plans and inviting others to join. After a few minutes, the teams split up into groups going off to do their own thing.
He, Pyrrha, and Blake waved goodbyes to their teams and headed off in the direction of the rented training room.
He walked behind the two girls. They walked quick but not overly so, they weren't in a rush to plan out the white fang attack.
All three of them elected not to change after combat class, so they wore their combat gear. It would look pretty suspicious if they wore regular clothes in the combat training room.
He didn't mind the armor at all; it helped him feel more at ease than his school uniform.
The girls walked with a trace of excitement that, because he knew them so intimately, he could discern. Blake's feet energetically swept the floor like she was sneaking and Pyrrha flexed her fingers.
The two girls walked close to one another and spoke in whispers he could not make out. Looking back at him, they would either smile or wave. It looked like their earlier iciness towards one another had melted.
He shrugged at their antics and simply smiled back. As long as they could all work together as a team, he wouldn't mind what the two girls shared.
They reached their private combat room. Pyrrha went up to the scanner next to it and flicked her scroll out. The scanner flashed from blue to green and the door hissed open. She smiled back at them before entering. He followed right behind Blake.
Being the top-ranked combatant in the year had many, many perks. One such perk was the ability to rent any combat room in the school for however long she wanted to.
The combat room was the same as any other combat room, with the raised light dust arena in the center and the various bleachers hugging the tops of the walls. A few benches lined around the arena.
Pyrrha walked to the arena and jumped onto it. He and Blake followed after her. They met in the middle and set up the arena. He turned off the aura-level projector at the top of the arena.
He went over to a corner of the arena and did some stretches. They planned on sparring against one another to fool the cameras in the room. The steel glowing eyes honed in on them from the corners of the ceiling.
In a school full of superpowered teenagers it was common sense to have cameras in the combat rooms. Both to make sure that if a battle got out of hand students could be quickly treated and to make sure that students didn't do anything dubious in the privately rented rooms.
He smiled a bit. They were surely going to be doing something dubious after their mock fight.
Doing some practice swings, he prepared himself for the fight. His eyes met the amber and green ones of his teammates. A message to keep the blows light passed between them.
Suddenly, the buzzer of the arena went off. He rushed towards the center, shield held high. Blake and Pyrrha ran to meet him head-on.
Pyrrha stopped mid-run. She held out her hands, closing her eyes in fierce concentration. A dark black blob of energy surrounded him and Blake.
He immediately stopped his run and went slack. He let Pyrrha fling him towards her. Out of the corner of his eye, Pyrrha manipulated gambol shroud's ribbon to wrap around Blake and used it to drag fling her forward.
She flashed him a blurry grin.
Right as they were a few feet from her, Pyrrha released her control. He perfectly rolled with the sudden fall and straight into Pyrrha's guard. She couldn't have released them at a better time.
A few inches from her, he could barely swing his sword. Blake took her other side at a similar, normally ill-advised, distance.
He lightly swung at both girls. Overly emphasizing his swing, he played it up for the cameras. He ghosted their bodies with his blade and lightly hit their weapons. They did the same.
The mock fighting reminded him of how he first fought at the beginning of Beacon.
They brightly flashed their aura over areas where their weapons brushed one another. A grin broke through his face at how ridiculous all of it was; it spread to his teammates making them chuckle as well.
The cameras couldn't see any of their actual fighting because their bodies squished together forming one indiscernible blob of muscle.
But their moving bodies and flashing aura indicated fierce combat. Their fighting didn't produce sound but the light dust barrier prevented any "sound" from getting out. Although, he was sure that the cameras didn't have auditory functions so high up.
A few minutes passed and he landed the final "blow." Taking out his scroll, he turned off the light dust walls.
They pretended to heave breaths and sulked over to the benches. He pretended to wipe his brow. He draped a shoulder over Blake, mocking a limp. They grinned at one other.
He hopped over the edge of the arena and walked over to the nearest bench. He sat on it. The other two followed, Pyrrha sat next to him while Blake sat on the bench in front of him. They crowded around each other to block off the views of the cameras.
To someone watching from said cameras, the trio looked like they had fought a ferocious but quick fight and were now going over the battle recording.
Jaune spoke, "So, let's get this meeting started."
Pyrrha piped up, "How do these usually go?"
"Well for the first Fang base, we went over the floor plan, other information, and made some general strategies. Let's do the same here."
Pyrrha hummed in understanding and he looked over at Blake.
He asked, "Where's the base located again? I haven't had time to look over the photos we took."
Blake nodded and took out her second scroll, "It's located in some sort of office building that's in one of the less than safe parts of the city. It was marked to be demolished years ago but it's still standing there. "
He hummed, "So this is in a place that has more foot traffic than the first one."
"Yes, but it's not the greatest neighborhood so most people don't even walk around in it. Although there still is some foot traffic."
"Do you think that the next place we find, if this isn't the one, will be smack dab in the middle of the city?"
Both girls shrugged.
Pyrrha questioned, "But how have Fang been able to operate near civilization? I understand how they could be discrete in that abandoned industrial zone but I don't get how they could ferry dust and weapons to a place near other people and not get noticed."
Blake responded, "As I said, the place isn't heavily foot trafficked and the people there keep their heads down. They don't call the Vale Police for anything and I have a feeling that extends to terrorists."
Blake continued, "They also might have secret entrances and people that could help them remain inconspicuous. Connections with sympathizers can get you into a lot of places."
Jaune spoke up, "Do you have the plans or do we have to go down to Vale to get it?"
Blake shook her head, "This building got built recently so all the plans are online. Anyway, I think it would be suspicious if we went into the city just to get the plans over and over again."
She took out her scroll and rapidly tapped a few buttons on it. A second later, his and Pyrrha's scroll emitted beeps. He fished it out and opened it.
Opening up his messages, he scrolled over to the group chat they had made and downloaded all of the photos Blake sent.
He opened them, and he took note of the various floor plans.
This time, the writing of the floorplans was legible and they were made on modern paper. Writing listed the building medium-sized, mostly taller than wide. One entrance took up the first floor and a fire exit took up the rear end.
The first floor was an open space with a small reception area in the middle. It was bare of anything else expert for a few windows and staircases situated to the right of the room that led to and from the second floor.
On the second floor, the layout was of regular office space. Walls divided up the floor into sections for desks and cubicles. In the north most middle part of the floor was a large sectioned off supervisor office. On the right-hand side of the room was another walled office, but this one was much bigger. It was designated as a meeting room.
The inner walls that divided up the floor into sections were extremely thick. It was a waste of space but there weren't any comments about the strange walls on the floor plans.
Floors above the second floor to the roof were all of the same layout as the second floor. The roof was bare of anything except for a doorway the stars.
He finished reviewing the floor plans and put his scroll down. His teammates stared intently at their blue lights until they too put down their scrolls.
"Alright, does anyone have any ideas on how we should enter?" He asked, initiating the planning.
Blake, glancing at the schematics, answered, "How about we enter through the roof same as last time? It would work with that roof entryway."
"But won't it be locked? And how would we be able to get onto the roof without any other buildings next to it or an exterior fire escape?" Pyrrha questioned.
"If it's blocked we'll break it open but that would most likely alert them. But if that happens, with you on our team, we'll sweep through the buildings quickly and dispose of the Fang before they could leave," he answered for Blake, confidently.
Pyrrha nodded in affirmation but turned to Blake once more, "About my second question, how will we even get onto the roof in the first place?"
Blake bit her lip and her brow creased. Suddenly her cat ears popped straight up. She fished out her scroll, and she opened up a maps app. She inputted the location of the bundling, making the map zoom in on the building in a top-down view.
She zoomed out making the alleyways next to the building visible and the subsequent buildings next to those alleyways. She pressed her finger to the screen, moving the image to one of the neighboring buildings.
Pointing at the building, she said, "Look, this building is a residential apartment. Which means that it has an exterior fire escape on it."
She moved the view to the back of the apartment and, sure enough, it did have a fire escape. The fire escape visibly rusted and stuck to the wall skeleton thin. It looked like no one had used it in 100 years. Hopefully, it would hold when they used it.
Blake continued on, "We can use this to climb to the roof of this building then leap across the alleyway to the Fang post."
Jaune perked up, "Now we know how to get in. But we need a plan for once we're inside. Let's sweep each floor and look for any signs of the Fang. Our main goals are the two different sectioned-off offices on each floor. They would put things in there. But do you two find the thickness of the walls strange?"
"It does seem way too thick, it even looks the perfect size to fit someone. Do you think they might be using them to shuffle around material without getting caught?" Pyrrha responded.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It seems bizarre but I think the Fang might use the hollow walls as tunnels to ferry dust and weapons into the building."
Blake responded, "But that suggests that the Fang have some sort of secret entry into the building that leads directly into those walls. The Fang is a guerrilla force and doesn't have the time or the manpower to create such an elaborate system."
"But Blake, we saw that the Fang are more militant now and have aura. Remember the fight? They moved like a well-oiled machine rather than a bunch of fanatics. Something's changed in them and we have to be careful. We can't underestimate them like last time," he retorted.
Blake squirmed at his rebuttal. She looked away from him and absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder, the one that broke during the factory fight.
After an awkward pause, he coughed, "It looks like we have a plan. We go in through the roof and sweep the floors for info. If we don't find any we find an entrance into the walls, or make one ourselves, and see if there are tunnels. We take out any White Fang along the way. Our main objective is the Paladin or any info about its whereabouts."
Pyrrha quipped, raising a finger, "But remember, the best laid out plans can fail."
He barked out a laugh before responding confidently, "I know that Pyr. But don't worry, I have contingencies in place and we'll come up with plans on the fly if we need to. We'll get through anything."
Both girls bobbed their heads in agreement. They looked at him like he was some sort of almighty leader. Their eyes glowed with both determination and confidence.
They would pull this off, hopefully without getting injured this time.
Blake got up and did a large stretch. Pyrrha got up as well following Blake. His bones stiffened from sitting for so long. He pulled out his scroll and opened its clock function, a considerable amount of time had passed.
His feline faunus teammate turned to the door with Pyrrha one step behind her. He got up from the bench and did a quick twist of his back. Right as he put a foot towards the girls, an idea jolted into his head.
"Wait! Guys, get back here," he shouted across the room.
Blake and Pyrrha stopped and ran back to him. He sat back on the bench. The girls took the spots they vacated.
A small amount of sweat formed under his battle wear. He took off his armor and set it aside with their weapons, which all leaned against the bench.
He pulled up the sleeves of his Pumpkin Pete hoodie before he looked up at both of the girls. They passed glances between each other, snickering. Pyrrha couldn't contain herself and she openly laughed with her hand failing to cover her mouth.
"What's so funny?" He mused looking between the two girls.
Pyrrha wiped an imaginary tear from her eyes and giggled, "It's that you're over here talking about infiltrating a White Fang base while you're still wearing that Pumpkin Pete hoodie."
Blake added with a chuckle, "I thought you would have changed it out by now and gotten some actual battle clothes."
His brow rose in defense. He pressed his arms over his chest, covering the Pumpkin Pete logo.
He spoke with slight bafflement in his voice, "Look, I just haven't had the time to shop in Vale and get some new armor. And this thing is sentimental, I don't wanna throw it away. I'm thinking about giving it to my sister. She's going to have a kid soon who might want this."
Blake shrugged, "You know you don't even have to head into Vale to buy new armor. We'll hit up a white fang depot that's near the office building and we'll get you some better permanent gear."
"I can't try out all of the spy stuff you guys use," Pyrrha excitedly added.
She spoke again quickly, "But why'd you call us back in here Jaune?"
He spoke directly to Blake, "I need to know everything about that Banesaw guy. In the videos, he was sort of a pushover but right now he has some skill. Anything you know about him would help against fighting him."
Blake nodded, "I don't know a lot about him but he's Adam's right-hand man concerning Fang organizational matters and the strongest person in the Fang second to Adam. He was tasked to recruit and train the members of the Fang although he never got to train them hard enough. He argued with Adam almost every time recruits were brought in to give them aura and to put them through a punishing regime. Adam retorted back that he needed fanatics who would die for the cause, not soldiers who could think."
"So it looks like Banesaw's in charge now." he mused.
"Maybe, or now he has more power in the Fang. With Roman being in prison, who knows what Cinder is making the Fang do," Pyrrha added.
"Do you have any more info on him?" he asked Blake
"He has the largest aura pools in the Vale branch and is ruthless in combat. He focused on chainsaw and hand-to-hand fighting. He didn't have a semblance. I think he's either some sort of leopard or lion faunus but I'm not so sure. He covers his entire body with Fang armor. There were also some rumors that he was going to usurp Adam, but those were just rumors."
"He seems like the main person running this entire Paladin location. We should be prepared to meet him at the office building. Remember to take him on slowly and carefully, you can't beat him in one hit," Jaune said.
Pyrrha asked, "How much force should we use when we fight?"
"Not a lot. We aren't killers, we're huntsmen. Knock them out, we use lethal force only when necessary."
They stopped talking and fell into silence. A great wave of calm washed over him.
They had a solid plan.
Suddenly a scroll went off. All three of the teens jumped at the sudden intrusion of noise. Blake fished out Ruby's red scroll from her pocket. It vibrated furiously.
He responded to Pyrrha's raised brow at the phone's reveal, "We use that to get to Qrow, don't worry we give it back to Ruby after we're done borrowing it."
She reluctantly nodded and Blake handed over the phone to him. The caller i.d flashed Qrow's name.
Jaune set up the privacy walls on the phone and answered.
A gruff voice immediately spoke, "Hey there Rubes."
"Not Ruby, Tungsten," Jaune replied in an equally gruff and distorted voice.
"That's good, just the person I was calling for. That info you gave us turned out to be right, there was a White Fang operation at that factory. The police and I busted it up and managed to catch some of them. Although a few did escape and steer into the city, we have people trying to locate them."
"Is that all you have?"
"No, they had a significant amount of stolen dust in the storage compartment of the facility. We're putting it back into the economy and returning as much as we can to its rightful owners. Vale's economy will be going right back up and the dust economy will settle. We also found several advanced weapons and gear that the White Fang shouldn't have access to. Oh and one room in the building got torched to a crisp, it contained documents but they're all irrecoverable."
"Thank you for the info. I will call you back if I have any more White Fang movements to report."
"Goodbye Tungsten. Maybe one day we'll be able to sit down and have a nice drink. Really get to know who's behind that voice."
Qrow barked out a laugh and ended the call. Jaune gave back Ruby's scroll to Blake. The two girls heard what Qrow said, so he didn't have to repeat it to them.
He stood up, "I think we're done here. Let's head back to the dorms and get some rest. Tomorrow night we have a big job ahead of us."
The two girls nodded, getting up with him. He walked out of the training room with them close behind.
Jogging to the dorm building, they entered their respective dorms. He set up a hangout between both of their teams with Ruby.
The two teams hung out playing video games and watching movies. If one of their teammates noticed, he, Blake, and Pyrrha sat oddly close to one another.
A clam and ready smirk plastered his face.
AN:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Please leave a review or comment, it's greatly appreciated and motivates me to write!