Chapter 3: Uncovered
Argus Train Station, 16:00 pm…
Argus Train Station was unusually quiet as Ghost, Blake and Team JNPR left the train and made their way to the main hub of the station.
It was as if the news of the Grimm attack on the train had sucked all the life from everyone there, and there was no longer the same enthusiasm to go about their business.
Ghost glanced back at Blake, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked.
Blake responded with a sigh, a familiarly forlorn look crossing her face for the first time in months.
Patting her on the shoulder, Ghost said: "Nathan will be alright, Blake. He's likely missing you just as badly."
"That's not exactly comforting." Blake replied. "But thank you." Offering a small smile.
It was then they heard a feminine voice call out:
"Jaune!"
Both Ghost and Blake looked to see an attractive young woman hugging all members of Team JNPR, at which Jaune looked towards them and motioned for both to join them.
"Blake, Ghost; meet my oldest sister Saphron." Jaune said. "Saph, meet Tristan 'Ghost' Kast, and Blake Belladonna; Nathan's girlfriend."
At the mention of that last part, Saphron's grin widened. "Oh wow… Nathan told us a lot about you. Never mentioned you were so beautiful though."
Blake's ears sank as fresh tears threatened to spill.
A concerned look replaced Saphron's jovial one as she looked at Ghost. "Is Nathan okay?" She asked.
Ghost nodded. "Nathan stayed behind to help hold off the Grimm alongside the rest of Blake's teammates." Ghost explained. "She's just worried about him, is all."
Saphron looked back to Blake and soon swallowed Nathan's girlfriend in a warm, loving hug. "It's okay to be worried, Blake. We're here for you."
Blake returned the hug, clearly taking comfort in it.
Breaking the hug, Saphron asked: "So… wanna head home?"
Saphron's house, 16:30 pm…
"JAUNE!"
Blake immediately felt an amused smile crossing her face as every one of Jaune's sisters swarmed him, with one almost rugby tackling Jaune to the ground as the rest dogpiled him.
A couple held back; one being Saphron's wife Terra, who was holding their infant son Adrian.
The other woman staying back was beautiful, slightly younger than Blake and the rest of Team JNPR, and visibly pregnant.
Blake watched as Jaune then approached this woman and hugged her tightly, addressing her as 'Vi'. It was then that Blake recognised the woman as Violette; the member of Jaune's family that Nathan was closest to.
It was then, as Violette cradled her belly, that she asked: "Where's Nathan?"
Suspicions formed in Blake's head as she ran a quick calculation:
Nathan had been out of action for around seven months when she and Nathan reunited. Violette was roughly four to five months pregnant, maybe even six at a push.
It was then that Violette approached Blake herself, saying: "It's Blake, right? Nathan told us so much about you."
"So I've heard." Blake replied suspiciously, glancing down at Violette's swollen belly.
Violette seemed to pick up on this, saying: "Oh no, the baby isn't Nathan's." Placing a hand on her belly. "He… killed the baby's father though."
"It's true." Saphron said, walking over to Blake and Violette. "Violette was… forced into marrying an Imperial Officer to help strengthen the alliance our father had with the Empire."
Memories of Jaune's mangled, bloody leg after his father had blasted it with a shotgun filled Blake's mind, and she admitted it did make more sense. Feeling a small sense of relief, Blake nodded. "Okay… sorry, though."
"It's nothing." Violette replied. "I… the reason I was asking after Nathan is… is so I can thank him again for saving us… for… for giving my son a chance at a better life." Rubbing her belly. Meeting Blake's gaze, Violette added: "You're a lucky woman to have Nathan as your boyfriend."
Blake smiled. "I know." She replied, placing a hand over her belly.
Violette noticed, and gave Blake a suspicious look. "Is… there something you want to tell us, Blake?" She asked.
Blake nodded. "I'm pregnant, too." She announced.
Violette's smile returned wider than ever, saying: "Oh my gosh, congratulations!" hugging Blake. "How far along are you; if I can ask?"
"Six weeks." Blake replied. "How about you?"
"Five months." Violette replied. "I conceived roughly about the same time at Nathan waking up from his coma. So Nate really couldn't have been the father of my son even if he was really attracted to me; which… he probably wouldn't be, given the fact you're an absolute knockout yourself."
Blake giggled before Saphron clapped her hands.
"Okay everyone; let's get inside before we all freeze to death." She said.
Blake nodded as she, Ghost, and the rest of JNPR followed Jaune's sisters into the house and into the living room, where they all sat down.
"So… what made you and Nathan decide to try for a baby?" Saphron then asked Blake.
Blake sighed. "When Nathan was nearly killed during the Fall of Beacon; it broke my heart. We'd made so many plans together to get married one day and start a family. The minute I saw the Baron's lightsaber pierce Nathan's chest… I felt all those plans go up in smoke." Tearing up, Blake added: "But when I was told Nathan would live… it gave me hope. And one day; I was walking in a park in Atlas, and saw some kids playing in a nearby playground. And… it filled me with this… this longing. Like my child should one day be among them. It was then that I realised that… I didn't want to wait." Smiling, Blake added: "Nathan didn't want to wait either, so… when we had the chance… we didn't waste it. Three weeks later; I found out I was pregnant, though I waited until after the battle to actually tell Nathan." Holding her belly, Blake said: "And we couldn't be happier. Nathan's taken every chance he can get to talk to my belly. He's so excited to be a father."
Violette smiled. "I can tell." Rubbing her belly, Violette added: "This pregnancy… it's really the only good thing that came out of my marriage to Stonewall."
Blake nodded.
"Speaking of marriage…" Jaune said.
"We're engaged!" Pyrrha declared, holding up her hand with the ring.
All attention went to the engaged couple and away from Blake, which she guiltily felt grateful for.
Taking a deep breath, Blake rubbed her belly softly, before feeling an arm wrap round her.
"You okay?"
Blake looked to see Ghost. "Yeah… I just hope Nathan is okay…"
The train wreckage…
Nathan's equilibrium had thankfully returned, and he now looked around the surrounding area; wanting to help but being unable to, courtesy of his wounds.
He could feel they had mostly scabbed over, which Nathan hoped would lead to them healing soon. With more rest, Nathan was hopeful he would be up and about by this time the following day.
For now though, Nathan could only observe as the others salvaged what they could:
"Great! This is just great!" Yang moaned as she and Kanan worked to free Bumblebee from its frosty prison. "We're stranded, we lost a third of our party, and we've gained a defenceless old lady!"
With one final heave, she and Kanan managed to free Bumblebee, though the effort left both of them flat on their butts, covered in snow.
"My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless!" The eldery woman protested. "I'm just a little hard of hearing. And blind without my eyes, that are in desperate need of repair." At this, Maria tapped her prosthetic eyes, which were dark gray with cyan colored lenses, each of which was equipped with a set of adjustable shutters capable of mimicking natural expressions. Four rectangular cyan lights created a partial ring on the outer bottom edge of the eyes, while a single cyan nodule on the top outer edge overlapped slightly with each lens. Two small antennae protruded vertically from the upper left side of the prosthesis.
The eyes flicked wide open as Maria tapped them, only to close again before narrowly opening again. "Okay, I'm starting to see your point."
Qrow grunted from nearby. "Yang, knock it off, will ya? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more Grimm." He chastised.
Nathan scowled. "Does that even fucking matter?!" He asked. "Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven."
"Oh, and how could I forget about that?" Yang demanded, looking over to Oscar. "What happened to no more lies and half truths?"
"Yeah, I think it's time we got an explanation..." Oscar agreed before his eyes glowed to indicate Ozpin taking over.
Ozpin furrowed his brow at Yang's accusations, replying: "I did not lie to you..."
"Yeah?" Nathan asked, standing up despite the pain in his wounded leg. "Then why didn't you tell us everything about the fucking relic?!"
"You certainly were not very forthcoming with that little snippet of information." Weiss added accusingly.
"Please, now is not the time." Ozpin pleaded.
"No, we're past that!" Yang growled. "I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!"
"I second that fucking notion." Nathan said, glaring daggers at Ozpin.
"That makes three of us." Kanan added, folding his arms.
"It is true that the Grimm are attracted to the Relics." Ozpin conceded. "It's faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option."
"You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me." Weiss commented.
"Agreed." Nathan added.
"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?" Yang asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth." Ozpin replied firmly. "And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years."
"Missteps?!" Yang demanded.
"If outright treason counts as a misstep, I'd hate to see what you consider genocide to be." Nathan scoffed.
"What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible." Ozpin admitted. "I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him."
"Look, we're supposed to be in this together." Yang said. "You can trust us!"
"We're not gonna turn our backs on you." Kanan added.
"Do you really think Leo was the first?!" Ozpin suddenly snarled.
Everyone stopped at the sudden outburst from Ozpin, usually so composed and calm.
"That he didn't say those exact same words to me?" Ozpin then added. "I'm sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience. I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me. I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I..." Ozpin fell silent, as if realising something. "Where's the Relic?"
Fuck if I know, Nathan thought to himself. For all I care, it's all the way in Who-Gives-A-Fuck-ville…
"Right here." Ruby called out, holding the Relic up. "It got scattered in the crash."
Everyone breathed a momentary sigh of relief until Ozpin held out his hand.
"Please, hand it over." Ozpin said.
Ruby looked as if she was going to, but hesitated. "So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?"
Sighing, Ozpin replied: "That's not what I meant to suggest. Miss Rose, the Relic is a powerful item and I simply feel as though it is my burden to bear."
"But… you said it couldn't do anything right now." Ruby recalled.
Nodding, Nathan added: "Yeah; why does it matter who's carrying the damn thing?"
"I need you to listen to me-" Ozpin made to say, but suddenly stopped, as if frozen in position.
"Oz?" Qrow worriedly asked.
"Hurry..." Oscar begged suddenly; his voice strained. "He's... trying to stop you!"
"Stop her from what?" Yang asked.
"He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding!" Oscar warned.
"What?!" Nathan demanded as Oscar collapsed to his knees.
Nathan, Kanan, Weiss and Blake all glowered at the boy intensely as Oscar added:
"Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her."
"Her name?" Ruby asked.
Nathan then felt the wind begin picking up, snow blowing much harder. He now wished he'd followed Weiss' example and put on some warmer attire.
The Relic started to glow in Ruby's hands as she then said:
"Jinn?"
The snow suddenly stopped, floating in midair as if suspended within the vacuum of space.
"What the fuck?" Nathan wondered as the Relic floated out of Ruby's hands, moving to a short distance away.
Cyan smoke began billowing from the relic, eventually enveloping the relic completely as a giant figure emerged from within...
Nathan was amazed at what he saw:
The figure appeared human, but much larger at roughly 12 feet tall. Her skin was a glowing light blue that gave off smoke, similarly to the Relic she had just emerged from. She had elongated, pointed ears, and lacked some Human anatomy. She had long, flowing dark blue hair and light blue eyes, though her sclerae were dark blue. Her nails and toenails were also dark blue. Trailing below her waist was a veil of a wisp-like smoke resembling the skirt of a dress.
For the most part, the being appeared almost nude, only wearing various accessories, all of which were gold: a chain headdress, big hooped earrings, an extra earring in the right ear, a choker, cuffs on her wrists with chains dangling from them like broken shackles, a single bracelet on her left forearm, anklets, and a belt of chains around her waist that ended in a large ring with three prongs.
The figure stretched and moaned, as if they had been peacefully slumbering for some time. "Wonderful." She said.
Nathan tried not to, but his eyes fell upon the figure's breasts, admitting to himself they were on the larger side and looked quite nice.
"Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?" The being then asked.
No-one said a word, merely looked on in awe of the being stood before them.
"Looks like you finally got competition." Kanan said playfully to Yang; gently poking his girlfriend in one of her boobs.
Yang gasped, then elbowed Kanan, though her own smile was playful.
"I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid Humanity in its pursuit of knowledge." The semi-nude being then declared. "I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck, as I am still able to answer-"
"That's enough!" Ozpin shouted, having regained control of Oscar's body.
Everyone looked to Ozpin, as Jinn, seemingly in ignorance of Ozpin's demand, replied:
"…two questions this era."
Everyone soon found themselves glaring daggers at Ozpin. Just how many lies had Ozpin been telling them all this time?
Jinn chuckled, and then added: "It's a pleasure to see you again, old man."
"Ruby, please... Don't." Ozpin begged.
"Shut the fuck up." Nathan snapped, looking at Ruby and nodding.
"Hey…"
Nathan looked to see Qrow stepping forward, and within a moment, had Phoenix's Breath drawn and levelled at the older Huntsman.
To his surprise, Kanan, Weiss and Yang all did the same, levelling their weapons at Qrow, who relented.
"Do whatever you think is right, kiddo." Qrow said.
Nathan holstered Phoenix's Breath, looking back to Ruby, who was pondering the question she wanted to ask:
"Jinn?" She asked after a short time, turning to face Jinn, who observed her curiously.
Nathan then noticed Ozpin glaring at Ruby, gritting his teeth in anger. His hand moved towards his lightsaber, as Ruby finally asked:
"What is Ozpin hiding from us?"
"NO!"
Nathan dashed forwards, drawing his lightsaber as Ozpin lunged at Ruby, about to touch her.
At which everything went white.
Nathan stopped dead in his tracks, groaning at the pain in his leg before looking around him.
He was alone in a white, blank space. Almost like some form of void.
"Uh… what the fuck?" Nathan wondered, switching off his lightsaber. Attaching his lightsaber back to his belt, Nathan cupped his hands over his mouth and called out: "Yang? Kanan? Weiss? Ruby?!"
He was interrupted by the sudden manifestation of an environment around him, forming a path that led to a castle in the distance.
Nathan's eyes narrowed, and started making his way towards the castle when suddenly; Jinn's voice filled his ears:
"Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower…"
Smoke enveloped him, and Nathan felt the urge to look behind him, seeing a young woman sat in front of a mirror:
"...that sheltered a lonely girl." Jinn added.
The woman turned as if to face Nathan, and Nathan took the chance to study her:
The young woman was unbelievably beautiful, with fair skin, pale platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes. She wore most of her hair in a half up-done bun style with a small, simple bun on the top, and the remainder of her long, straight hair hanging at the bottom. Most of her bangs were tied back, barring several large locks that framed her face to her left.
She was wearing a white two-piece dress consisting of a sleeveless, diagonally overlapping white backless pleated top with a raised pale blue halter-top square collar adorned with an aquamarine-coloured rhombus-shaped crystal on the clavicle surrounded by two smaller white rhombuses. Her long, high-waisted skirt was white with a faint purple tint - adorned with white diamond emblems and white wavy lines near the bottom hem, ruffled around the waist and completed with a purple sash. For accessories she wore grey circular earrings, a pair of dull brown bracers, and a thin leather strip that held the same crystal over the sash. Her long fingernails were painted pale lilac. Finally, she was wearing faint purple heeled flats.
Nathan had seen many beautiful women in his lifetime, with Blake remaining firmly at the top. But this woman… she was automatically towards the top of his list.
Until he heard Jinn say:
"Named... Salem."
And now Nathan's about to discover the truth.
I apologise sincerely for the delay in updating. I've had a rather rough stroke of luck in recent weeks, and recent events in professional wrestling have me anxious for Wrestlemania 40.
Just so it's out there: #WeWantCody #JusticeForCody #FinishTheStory
Right; let's answer some reviews:
keybladelight: Blake isn't even with Nathan, so she couldn't help Nathan if she wanted to. As for Blake's pregnancy, it's likely the biggest risk I'm taking with the story. It's been on the cards since I really first started brainstorming ideas for this fanfiction series. But yes; she is at risk. But with Nathan around, methinks the baby is safer than one might think.
Sharnorasian Empire: Juicy indeed... especially with regards to Vader possibly coming to Remnant...
That said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter. If you enjoyed it... y'all know what to do.
I shall see you all next week (Hopefully) with the next chapter, which sees Ozpin's secrets revealed... and a cameo from an ancient Sith Lord...
T-Rock14