CONTRAST
Jaune
It was the eve before the next full moon. Qrow has been busting his back recruiting huntsmen that we're all convinced don't exist anymore, while Ozpin has been busy busting OUR backs in training. To say that I'm over the moon when we're given the opportunity to relax even for a moment is an understatement.
Everyone was in the living room, minding their own business. Yang and Weiss enjoying their cup of tea with Ren trying to join them, but Nora, being the uncontrollable lightning bolt that she is, wouldn't let him. I was content on simply slouching down on the couch, sinking deeper and deeper into the soft and fluffy cushions till my consciousness faded away.
That was the plan at least, till Ruby interrupted Qrow and Ozpin talking on the sideline.
"So, I was thinking. If Cinder's the fall maiden, does that mean that Salem already has the Beacon relic?"
Her question absolutely killed the mood. Rightly so, her question was obvious and something that we should have realized the moment Qrow mentioned the existence of the maidens and relic, but somehow, we've overlooked that one crucial fact. Until now.
The tension in the room slowly began to tighten, so much so that it was almost suffocating, but Ozpin loosened the grip of the imaginary hand, choking our necks with a simple laugh.
"Very astute Miss Rose, I was wondering who would be the first to ask. No, thankfully she does not. It's true that the Relic at Haven is very much at risk, and for now, that should remain our primary focus."
Ozpin grinned at Ruby before continuing.
"Let's just say I made finding the Relic at Beacon a... bit more challenging than at the other schools."
Which was an absolute relief to hear. Ruby scratched the back of her head and smiled.
"Okay, cool. Oh, uh... one more question."
Ozpin began to raise his hand, urging Ruby to ask her question, but before she could speak, Qrow's scroll began to ring.
"It's Leo."
He looked at Ozpin and nodded, before answering his scroll begrudgingly.
"Yeah? Okay. Yeah, we'll be there."
That was a quick phone call.
"What did he say?"
Yang asks from the other side of the couch. Qrow stopped for a moment then abruptly took his flask out of his breast pocket, taking a big gulp out of his alcohol.
"It was Leo, says he had a breakthrough with the council. Thinks he might be able to get together a small raiding party for the bandits. He wants us to meet up at the school tomorrow night to walk us through it."
Everyone including myself, jumped for joy, excited at the idea of us finally making a move... a big tangible move to saving Haven. Well, everyone except for Qrow, Ozpin, and Ruby.
"What's wrong uncle Qrow?"
Ruby egged on. Qrow looked at Ozpin for a moment, as the two analyze in silence the news they just heard.
"It just seems a bit suspicious."
"Indeed." Ozpin jumped in. "What Leo is saying sounds drastically different from your original conversation, does it not?"
Qrow placed his hand on his chin and leaned a little further back on his chair.
"It does. A little while back, Leo sent me to meet this supposedly 'world class' huntsman living on the edge of town, only to be greeted by a murderer. And judging by the state of all these missing huntsmen and huntresses, it may even be a serial killer."
Yang crossed her arms in front of her and shifted her gaze towards Ruby.
"Like the faunus you met along the way? Tyrian Callows, I believe?"
Qrow squinted his eyes, deep in thought, then all of a sudden, he began to shake his head.
"Tyrian was more feral and wild, no, this one was calm... calculating, I'm talking about the other one-"
Before Qrow could finish, Ruby cut him off.
"Swan."
The lady that was clad in black, wearing a masquerade mask in the motif of a swan. I remember her clearly. She never attacked us, never threatened to harm us, but she was terrifying all the same. And that mist...
"That was the other thing I've been meaning to ask. Who is she? Why did she attack you?"
Qrow pushed himself up and sat squarely on his chair like he was about to tell a long story, but Ozpin went ahead and spoke before him.
"The Black Swan."
Ozpin whispered.
"Do you know her then professor?"
Weiss leaned forward and placed her chin on top her hands, as she questionned Ozpin.
"Only rumors. From Professor Goodwitch, and from Raven... when she was still on our side."
Ozpin glanced at Yang who was unfazed by the name of her mother being mentioned. Seeing this, the professor continued.
"Killing, as horrible of an act as it is, is actually an easily solvable crime most of the time. For a human to commit such a heinous act, there has to be a force on the other end of the spectrum that pushes them over that cliff."
"A motive."
Ren butted in.
"Correct, motive. A motive can be as complicated or as simple as it can be. There have been multiple cases where people kill just because they take pleasure in the act itself, horrible as that may sound."
Ozpin paused for a second and waited for us to digest what he just said, which admittedly is not that hard to swallow after what we've been through.
"But in doing so, the act becomes habitual and the person begins to follow a certain pattern. Take the case of Tyrian Callows, his calling card is how his victims are often mutilated a certain way. For the sake of keeping this conversation somewhat civil, I won't tell you the matter of mutilation, but that's what eventually led to his capture... before Salem found him, I'm assuming."
Ozpin clenched his cane and raised it close it his face.
"But Swan... falls in neither of the categories I just mentioned. Her killings have no pattern at all, some died from falling from great heights, a clean stab through the heart, some poison, a gunshot wound, sometimes she'd do the same thing Tyrian does to his victims and mutilate them. There is neither motive nor pleasure in the death of her victims."
Qrow stepped in, eager to add on to the mystery.
"Victims, that's the other thing. They're all random too. Race, ethnicity, social status, age, profession... she's killed them all, indiscriminately. Which can only mean she's an assassin- killing only because there's a profit to be made. So there is motive, just not hers."
That's horrible.
"That's why..." Ozpin continued. "We've never even believe she existed. Everytime somebody would die a certain way, the only report we would get would be that of black feathers. No concrete evidence at all. All the motive and benefits that would arise from the death of her victims can always be attributed to someone else's. The Black Swan was nothing more than a myth."
"Till Salem."
I couldn't help but say what's on my mind. It kinda just came out, but no one minded since the answer was obvious to begin with. A criminal working in the shadows, suddenly exposing herself could only mean Salem is on the move, and for her to reveal Swan must mean it's a big move.
"So do you know she is, or are we just fighting a living urban legend?"
Yang asked, but neither Ozpin nor Qrow answered. Not because they have no idea as to why, but we all got this feeling like they didn't want to. Which irritated me, and everybody else, but not as much as Ruby, who pressed both her uncle and the professor into telling us.
"Please, if you know who she is, let us know."
Finally, the two relent. Qrow sighed then leaned forward, while he fidgeted with his hands.
"No, we don't know who she is, but we have an idea who might."
Yang scratched the back of her head, her temper about to boil over.
"Who? Mom?"
But Qrow quickly calmed her down.
"No. Maybe... we were thinking about someone else, someone who used to be on your team."
Ruby's eyes widened, as she gasped and covered her mouth.
"Blake!?"
It was a horrible thought that thankfully didn't linger for very long, thanks to Ozpin's interference.
"No, not her. Qrow meant... Ezra. Mr. Snow."
Ezra. What business would Ezra have with a serial killer? Actually, there's a logical answer to that, but that doesn't mean he's related to her in the kind of way Qrow and Ozpin are implying. And I'm not the only one that thinks that, as Nora stood up to protest.
"Wait, hold on. That can't be right, Ezra wouldn't associate himself with such people! He's on our side now helping us against the White Fang. That's why he's in Menagerie!"
Nora's yelling did nothing to shake Qrow's resolve.
"There's no proof that he's actually doing that, and in case you've forgotten, he associated himself with Cinder remember? So why don't you sit down and think for a bit huh?"
"Right." Ozpin pitched in to calm everyone down before the situation got out of hand. "Please, take it easy."
With everyone firmly seated back to their spots, Qrow continued his explanation.
"The Snow Tribe have been the Branwen's rivals for as long as I can remember. We fought them when I was young, almost daily, till one day, we got intel on where their head honcho was going to be and we successfully terminated him AND most of their fighting squads. Our tribe chased them away from Mistral, leaving them scattered and disbanded. They're nothing but vagabonds and mercenaries now."
"A far cry from what the Snow Tribe used to be." Ozpin continued.
He looked at Weiss and smiled cockily like he was about to say some information relating to her that she doesn't know about.
"The Snows used to be one of the families that fought during the Great War. Well, Wars actually. They stood side by side with the Schnees for centuries."
Weiss' posture perked up, and her eyes widened.
"Rightly so, The Schnee and the Snows are cousins after all. In fact, the word Schnee in the ancient tongue means snow. The Schnees got their name from their white hair, and the Snows' from their silver eyes... a trait that according to team JNPR, Ezra had been hiding during his time in Beacon. At the end of the Great Wars, the Snows severed their ties with the world in an effort to forge a nation of their own. A dream filled with ambition that unfortunately amounted to nothing."
Sensing that the conversation was shifting off topic, Qrow stepped in once more.
"Ambitions and silver eyes aside, the Snows are clearly relevant to this day thanks to your friend, the OWL."
He said owl sarcastically, like he was still unconvinced that Ezra is fighting for us now.
"But even more so to us. When I fought Swan, she revealed that she was from Tribe Snow. Just think about it, the OWL of Vale ushers in the fall of Beacon, then shortly after, the Black Swan reveals herself in Mistral- Salem's next target. It isn't too farfetched to think that Ezra and Swan are working on a plan together. It's perfect actually. He's duped all of you before, who's to say he's not doing it again?"
What he's saying is admittedly compelling, and frankly, a little hard too swallow only because there's still a possibility of it being true, no matter how small.
"Even so."
Once more, Ozpin spoke to shake us out of our despair. He looked around the room with a soft smile on his face.
"I would like to put my faith in him once more. After all, it was Ezra that defeated the leader of the White Fang during the fall, it was him and Miss Rose that stopped the Atlesian Knight's advances, and it was Ezra, along with Miss Nikos, that fought to stop the fall maiden from retrieving the relic."
That's reassuring to hear, but something was a bit off in what he just said.
"Wait, what do you mean 'once more'?"
I ask, only to be answered back by a giggle from Ozpin.
"Apologies, Mr. Arc. It's just that I find it ironic that you're the one that caught on to what I just said."
To which I could do nothing but give him a stupid look in response, since I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Thankfully, he notices this and continues explaining.
"Do you all remember when Mr. Snow, Mr. Flyheight back then, first arrived at Beacon?"
Weiss rolled her eyes and promptly looked away out of embarrassment.
"OH! How could I not?"
She's probably thinking about the time she challenged Ezra to a duel.
"No, think back a little further Ms. Schnee, before you lost your temper and challenged Ezra."
He teases, much to Weiss' dismay.
"You mean that speech about your goodwill program?"
Ozpin nodded, raising his cane up, and proudly complimented Weiss.
"Precisely! Well done, Miss Schnee."
Unamused, Qrow crossed his legs and took sip of alcohol from his flask.
"Yeah, that. What's with the goodwill program thing anyways? I've never even heard of it being a thing, only rumors during my time as a student, and as a teacher."
Ozpin twirled his cane around his fingers and gave Qrow a cheeky smirk.
"Because you were never supposed to."
He boldly claimed.
"The Goodwill Program is a program meant to invite specific individuals with the potential to become huntsman and huntresses, but are unable to attend the Academies due to their circumstances. Recruitment, scouting, and assessment happens the year prior in order to create a list of people that will be invited the following school year. Only problem is, there were never any scouting, nor recruitment. Meaning there certainly were no list created. Ever."
"WHAT!?"
Everyone yelled the same thing as soon as Ozpin revealed the truth.
"The program is written in doctrine and everything. But it's just that- a piece of paper. It was empty, with no names in it, no one was scouted, and no one was initially invited. Still, the rule was secretly handed down to the headmasters of each Academy, but all them knew that it was nothing more than a diplomatic excuse to recruit 'special' individuals. As you all recall from the Vytal Festival, most of the Academies, outside of Shade, took advantage of it. It wasn't a secret I held in as high of a regard as that of the secrets of the maiden and the relics, so it's no surprise that rumors about the program began to emerge every now and then."
He continued on, as we slowly process his peculiar way of doing things.
"The world is filled with incredible people that has the potential to do MORE- to be MORE, but most of them never discover their potential simply because they are never placed in a position to discover them in the first place. I implemented the Goodwill Program in secret to attract certain individuals."
Yang was the first one to speak out of all of us.
"Certain individuals, as in someone with Ezra's background?"
Without missing a beat, Ozpin answered.
"Yes."
But that doesn't make any sense. If the doctrine was handed down in secrecy, then only people who would know of its were the headmasters and people who had illegal access through the system... Like Ezra.
Armed with this realization, I couldn't help but ask.
"So you knew this whole time that Ezra was...?"
Ozpin knew where I was going with my question, but he didn't seem bothered at all.
"Was from Tribe Snow? Of course not, but I did suspect, no in fact, I was certain that his background was less than stellar. I was fully aware that Ezra was a criminal, you would have to be in order to get any sort of information about the Goodwill Program."
If it didn't make sense before, now it's just completely bonkers. Ezra is a big part of why Beacon fell. I feel for the guy- trying his best to correct his mistakes, but I would be lying if I said I never thought about the what ifs. Like, what if Ezra never showed up... would Beacon still have fallen? Would Pyrrha still be alive? And I don't think it's unfair for me to think that, so why did he...
"You knew that Ezra was a criminal, yet you still... why?"
Once more, the room fell silent with all eyes on Ozpin. He squinted his eyes and slowly pointed them at us, one at time, before finally stopping when his and Ruby's eyes met.
"The same reason why I made an exception and allowed Miss Rose to enroll two years early, the same reason why I let the Branwen twins through my Academy despite knowing their intentions to harm huntsmen, AND the same reason why I accepted your falsified documents, Mr. Arc."
His last statement left me reeling, but I could say nothing back because it's true.
"People aren't always good or bad, black or white, sometimes, they're a mixture- gray. Sometimes there's other colors mixed in there, but you'll never know what they'll become, or what good they could do if you judge them right away. Sometimes, with the right push, they can become something more... a force for good."
"Light cannot exist without casting a shadow, but by the same token, a shadow can never exist if light never shines. Both are aspects of the same concept, they are not separate. I accepted Mr. Snow to Beacon in hopes that he can become something more, and judging by what you're telling me, Mr. Arc, he has hasn't he?"
Me, Ren and Nora all looked at each other and smiled, before we all flashed that same look to Ozpin with confidence.
"Yes, yes he has. I believe in him-"
After staying silent for so long, Ruby placed her hand on my shoulder and spoke, cutting me off.
"WE believe in him."
Ozpin nodded, with a face filled with determination that mirrored ours.
"Then, I too, will believe in him. Don't worry, all of this- Ezra, Swan, the relics, and Haven. All of them we will find the answers to, I promise. In time, all of it will come to us. For now, we just need to focus on the one that's closest to a resolution: Professor Lionheart."
With Ozpin reassuring us, all of us gather ourselves to prepare for the meeting the next day, unaware of dangers that awaits at Haven Academy.
The following day, in the forest behind Haven...
Ghira laid out the plan, it was simple and effective at first glance, a typical pincer attack from both sides. Seeing him come up with a plan this quickly makes me wonder if he really was a peaceful diplomat back in his day. As soon as we hit Mistral, Ghira led us to the back woods of Haven Academy, far enough that no one would notice a force our size, but also close enough for us to strike at any time.
He set up a war table in the middle of camp, and gathered all the relevant personnel there. Me, Blake, Ilia, and the a few of his lieutenants, while Kali went ahead with a small squadron and met up with the Mistral Police to report the White Fang's activity at the school.
"Alright, let's go over this one more time."
Ghira promptly raised his voice and commanded everyone's attention.
"We wait for Kali's signal and we attack the White Fang from the southern side-"
"While Mom's side attack from the north."
Blake interrupted.
"Captain." Ghira shifted his gaze to one of his commander. "Are all the weapons inspected and issued out?"
"YES SIR!"
His voice was stern with no hint of hesitation- a sign of his confidence and loyalty. Satisfied, Ghira turned his head towards Ilia.
"Ilia, are you sure these are the only people backing up the White Fang?"
Ghira flashed the photos of Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury from his scroll and asked Ilia.
"Yes, I'm positive."
So she says. Blake forgiving Ilia turns out to be a blessing in disguise. The information on Ilia's scroll was outdated and new developments have risen since then. Sienna Khan for one, is dead. The other is that Cinder, as Ghira mentioned, has been enlisted in this operation. I'm honestly not surprised that she's not dead, but a part of me was hoping that whatever it was that Ruby and me did at the top of Beacon Tower knocked her out for good.
But I guess I'm not that lucky.
I stood in silence deep in thought, quietly mulling over the idea of meeting Cinder again. At this point, Ghira have said many other things relevant to our plans, but I've since zoned him out. It wasn't until Blake held on and squeezed my hand that I eventually brought my self back to reality.
"Everything alright?"
She quietly whispered, not wanting to interrupt her father's briefing.
"Y-yeah."
Was what I said first, but the thought of Cinder and what she did in Beacon would not let me rest. Especially about the story of the Maidens- a fact I've yet to tell Blake. So I look her straight in the eyes, as seriously as I could and dragged her further away from our meeting till it was just the two of us. Even then, I was hesitant.
"Okay, I might have lied. Everything's not alright."
She leaned in and placed her hand on my cheek, trying to calm me down.
"I know how you feel, I'm honestly still livid to find out that traitorous bit- ahem, woman is still alive, but we'll be okay-"
I cut her off, deciding to fully explain to her why I'm... afraid of Cinder.
"Blake. That's not it. That's part of it, but not all of it."
"What do you mean?"
She tilts her head, curious at what I was implying. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, bracing myself for what I'm about to say.
"What's your favorite fairy tale?"
A rollercoaster of emotion began running through Blake's face, and more and more she became lost as I explain to her what Ozpin explained to Pyrrha when I snuck inside the tower to spy on them. Tears began to flood her eyes and run through her cheeks as she finally realized the reason why Pyrrha had to die.
"M-magic is real? Maidens, all of that?"
I could do nothing but nod in silence.
"That night when I fought Cinder, she already had the power of one. Me and Pyrrha were outmatched. Ever since then I've been training relentlessly, and you've seen me do it too, just so I can match up to Cinder... but honestly, I don't think I can. AND IF SHE'S HERE, THEN SHE'S AFTER THE MAIDEN OF MISTRAL."
My temper began to flare, as I begin to lose control of my breathing. My vision began to blur and my knees softened till they began to buckle. My mind was filled with nothing but the images of Pyrrha, slowly disappearing from my hand.
"Ezra..."
I was about to lose it. I was on the verge of screaming all of my frustrations away but...
"It's okay..."
Her voice was soft and soothing, as if my the agony that I'm experiencing in my brain was slowly being drained as her voice passed through my ears.
"You're not alone anymore, remember."
Even through my armor, I can feel her tight embrace. Blake rested her face against my chest, like she was listening to my heart beat slower as she calmed me down.
"It's okay if you're not strong enough. You don't have to suffer anymore, you don't have to fight alone anymore. You have me, don't forget that."
She's right. These past months have been treacherous, a lot of unknowns. Some days I didn't even know if I was gonna live, or if my past mistakes would eventually catch up to me. Even so, I welcomed the idea of it. That pain and death was something I deserved for doing all this messed up things to everyone. Retribution for the people I've hurt. I thought I was ready for it.
But when Jaune offered me a place in their journey and welcomed me with open arms, I flinched and I haven't recovered since.
My days since then have been filled with fear and doubt more so than anything else, but this... this pressure against my chest, this warmth. Is the surprise that makes it all worth it.
"Blake, I'm glad I took that leap of faith."
Blake lifted her head against my chest slightly and smiled at me.
"I am too. I'm glad we both did."
We stared at each other for a bit, before giving each other a quick peck on the lips. We made our way back to her father's war table, where everyone gathered eagerly anticipated us.
"Welcome back you two, we were just discussing the idea of sending Ilia ahead to scout the bombs' location around Haven, and possibly disarm them."
Ghira raised his hand and pointed them towards a confident looking Ilia.
"Sounds good, though I have one request from the table."
Looks of curiosity and confusion began to engulf the entire table. Me requesting something out of the faunus is nothing new, I've done for months after all, but I kind of have the sense that even they knew that what I was about to ask was a bit diffrent than usual.
"I wanna go with Ilia in the initial scouting mission."
That request raised an eyebrow. It wasn't an unusual ask, but the fact that I would ask this late into the operation raised a couple of questions. I wanted to tell them the truth, I really did, but if I reveal Cinder to them now- the Maidens, it might change the dynamic of this operation. The fact of the matter is, we have an opportunity to end the White Fang once and for all. Now.
However, one cannot deny the threat Cinder poses, which is why I'm volunteering to go with Ilia... just in case. Ilia had the fortune of having a faunus trait of a chameleon, so risking sending a scout like Ilia wasn't an issue at all, but me, a human will be easy to spot for a faunus looking hard enough. So I don't really blame Ghira for thinking long and hard about sending me.
"Of course, make sure you report to us as soon as you can."
Must be the way me and Blake looked at him that convinced him to let me go. With their blessing, I nod at the table as I don my helmet around my head. I pull out my grappling hook and fired it at the tallest tree, before swiftly catapulting myself high up into the night sky.
"Ilia can cover the ground, I can see everything from the skies."
Gently, I glided through the forest, squinting my eyes and used the binoculars built into my helmet to zoom in at Haven from a far.
"Wait, isn't that the school's main hall? Why are the lights on? I thought there weren't supposed to be students or faculty during this time."
I zoomed in closer to the closest window to take a peak at what or who's inside, but what I saw sent shivers down my spine. Panic ensues as the sight of Weiss being impaled by javelin through her side began to appear through my lenses. What's even worse was in the other end of the room was Cinder, getting ready to launch another one aimed at Weiss' head.
"NO! NOT AGAIN! NO!"
I tuck my wings in and dove as fast as I could towards the building with my golden shield in hand, but the amount of fear and panic I had in me seemed to have slowed time down. I watch in horror as began to history repeat itself.
Am I about to lose another friend at the hands of Cinder?
Fear started to engulf my body, but my heart refused to give up. Just then, with the thoughts of saving Weiss flooding my head, my eyes began to faintly glow...
--
Author's Note:
Hurray for Volume 9! Hope everyone have a wonderful weekend!