One of the magazines I work for is a food and drink manufacturing trade journal, so we get a lot of free samples of new products on the market (sometimes very obscure). I've today received some cans of a promised hangover cure called "Bounce Back", that you're meant to take when drunk before bed. I never know if they're safe or not lol, as one look at the label on the back shows it has 1500% the RDA of some values, and it's like "is that safe? Is 1500% of your recommended daily allowance of anything a good idea...?"

And it comes in cans and there are four on my desk, and I just know I'd end up drinking them all over a day for 6,000% my RDA of certain vitamins and minerals. That's two months' worth in four cans. Surely that much of even a good thing can be dangerous.

Cover Art: Kirire

Chapter 77

"So, tell me what you know about the book."

Blake was stood before Jaune's still-broken desk, which he had temporarily propped up via a stack of books under one corner and a still-functioning leg on the other. It was technically only half the desk since it had been cut down the middle by Adam. It would be a day or two before the office was back to normal. Her Slaved Anomaly, which didn't feel particularly enslaved, sat in the centre of the desk.

"I got it from Coral and first used it against Winter," she explained. "It gave me the power to kill things that I touched, which is how I was able to help beat her. But it always demands a price in exchange. A trade. I had to give away my pleasure for a week, which I thought was a simple trade but turned out to be a whole lot more complicated."

It had been the worst week of her life, and that was saying something given all the things she'd been through. But even when she'd been wracked by guilt over the White Fang or terrified for her life with Jaune, she'd still been herself. Existing without pleasure or sensation had left her feeling like an alien had been inhabiting her body.

"The second time I used it was with Tomorrow's News. It sort of hyper-accelerated my intelligence. Let me discover things faster and connect the dots enough to track down Lisa and get you there to help capture her."

"What was the payment for that?"

Blake's skin turned pink. "It was... you know... what came after..."

Amber, listening from nearby, narrowed her eyes. "She's being evasive."

"I'll allow it in this case," said Jaune, coughing into his fist. There was a faint dusting of pink to his cheeks as well. "And that explains a lot. The cost this time was to surrender Adam and the other White Fang to the anomaly, wasn't it?" Blake nodded in answer. "Okay. Describe what the anomaly is like when you enter the book."

"It's a black and white forest like one artfully drawn by ink on white paper, but you soon start to... not see colour, but adapt. You begin to feel like it's normal to not have colour and you get immersed. The forest leads to a huge lake of black ink, within which rises a lady – or a woman-like figure. I know she's probably far from human. Her manner of speech is archaic. All thee and thou and whomst. Like something out of a re-enactment faire."

"Did she invite you into the water?"

"No." Blake wouldn't have entered if she had. "She talks from it and asks what you – or I – want. She doesn't propose deals or make offers; it's more that the person has to state what they want, and then they're invited to offer something in bargain."

"You get to pick the price?"

"I have so far, though she's rejected my offerings more than once for not being sufficient. I know she can suggest things because she gave a list of what might be acceptable once, but she's also been very clear that the price depends on the weight of the boon. I assume that means a tiny gift comes with a tiny price and vice versa."

"I don't like it," said Jaune. "Anomalies capable of thought are dangerous enough, but one that actively wants to make deals with humans is even worse."

Blake almost brought up Coda, then realised Jaune's words might be more show for Amber than anything he really felt. The rest of ARC Corp didn't know about the large number of intelligent anomalies living peacefully in Vale, and Jaune had to play ignorant if he wanted to keep it that way. Blake nodded quickly. "I agree."

"They agree," mocked Amber. "Will wonders never cease. I almost thought you'd call it benign for helping out!"

It would have been easy to see it that way. The book had helped her kill Winter, locate Lisa and save Jaune – all good results. But therein lay the problem of results-oriented thinking. That was the kind of dangerous road Adam had gone down, and Blake's time at ARC Corp had made her nothing if not suspicious.

The anomaly in the book wasn't exchanging favours for boons for their benefit.

"Another thing the anomaly was able to do was prevent me talking about it," she said. "I tried to bring it up immediately after the raid on the SDC but was unable to."

Amber snorted. "Convenient excuse."

"I trust her," Jaune said, cutting her off. "And there have been occasions where she's seemed out of character, both in action and speech and one occasion now that in hindsight I realise was her trying to tell me something and constantly being choked off." He leaned back, only to panic as his damaged chair almost collapsed under him. Jaune stumbled to his feet as it splintered and toppled to the ground. Amber snickered. "A—Anyway, I think the main point is that we're aware of this thing now. We can begin countermeasures and perhaps even see if it can be destroyed. Or if it should be."

"Excuse me!?" cried Amber. "It absolutely should be destroyed."

"Not to shock anyone but I happen to agree with Amber here," said Blake.

"I'm shocked."

Blake shot the girl a glare.

"Calm down now." Jaune smiled tiredly, and it occurred to her that he'd had very little sleep since being abducted, beaten, then forced to meet with and threaten Cinder until her ally came to remove her. "I agree as well, but what I meant was whether it would be safe to try and destroy it given one might argue the book is a prison containing a far more dangerous creature."

That calmed Amber and Blake down a bit, knowing that his reluctance was more of the "might make things worse" variety than any true desire to preserve or use the anomaly. She wasn't sure if the book was prison or abode, but it served somewhat the same purpose given that someone had to open and read it to meet the anomaly so it could, in theory, be easy to contain. The teleportation was an issue, but if it was locked to her then she could just refuse to ever open it.

"The big question is whether the prices are power or sustenance," he continued. "If it has to make deals to survive then that's not such a problem, but if it's making deals because they make it stronger, then that's a bigger issue."

"Either way, the choice is clear, isn't it?" she asked. "I have to never open it."

"Pretty much. Slaved Anomalies aren't always entirely safe. Terra's is a good example. Sure, it doesn't think for itself but it's entirely possible she could pull something through that shouldn't be. I'm not talking aliens, though who knows, they might exist somewhere. I'm more talking black holes or other space phenomena."

"Or a space-borne anomaly," said Amber. "Those could exist."

"They could. Terra knows the risks and that she has to be careful, and you'll have to keep that in mind as well." He nudged the book back her way. "But sometimes it's useful to have a nuclear option even if you hope you'll never have to use it."

"That's it, then? I let it eat people and your answer is to tell me to be careful and give it back?"

"Those people hurt Timothy. They dug their graves."

"Or is it set their plates?" asked Amber, then crossed her arms when they turned to stare at her. "What? It's just a little dark humour. You both suck."

"In my defence I've had no sleep," said Jaune. "And, on that note, I need sleep. The office is trashed, too. We'll go buy some new supplies tomorrow, but let's all call it a night for now and meet back up midday tomorrow."

That was something she could get behind.

/-/

Blake couldn't help but smile as Ruby darted from shopfront to shopfront with her Semblance and pointed out the many things she could get with Blake's reward money, always backing out at the last second "in case" there was something better. It wasn't lost on her that a lot of the things she wanted were weapon-based in nature, despite Ruby saying she'd never become a huntress. She was almost certainly planning to try and join ARC Corp again.

"Take your time, Ruby. We're not in any rush."

"Isn't Jaune expecting you back?"

"The office is just about a ruin and all I need to do today is arrange for a few pieces of office equipment to be delivered back. He's out shopping to replace a load of the electronical stuff that was destroyed. His laptop mainly."

"He didn't lose important data, did he?"

"No. It's all stored off-site in a server facility somewhere. You don't really think ARC Corp is going to let centuries of secret information be lost because someone knocked their coffee over a computer, do you? Everything is backed up and protected."

"That's good. I still can't believe you didn't let me tagalong last night—"

"Ruby, that was a hostage situation meeting a dangerous person in an abandoned trainyard. Why would we ever take you along to that?"

"Because I could have covered you with sniper fire!" It was comments like that which reminded her Ruby wasn't your average fifteen-year old girl. "And I could have been all: it's not about the cost; it's about sending a message." She made shooting motions with her fingers. "Pow! Bam! Wapow!"

"Guns don't say `wapow`."

"That was me pistol-whipping someone. Keep up."

"Sorry. My bad." Blake rolled her eyes and ushered the girl on, and Ruby was soon distracted by the latest games console and a bunch of games for it. "You know, you can buy that. It's not even 500 lien. You don't have to spend all this on stuff that's useful."

Ruby hesitated. "You won't tell Jaune?"

"First of all, Jaune really wouldn't care. Secondly, what you buy here isn't being judged as part of some weird criteria for whether or not we let you into ARC Corp again. I've told you that's Jaune's decision. This is a reward for coming out and looking after Timothy. It's a gift from me to you." Blake placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders and steered her into the games store. "Spend it on stuff you'll enjoy. That'll make me happy."

That was all it took to really convince Ruby, who suddenly reverted to the excited young girl she was meant to be and went on an absolute splurge in the store. The basket was so full of games and toys that security started following them, though they were quickly cowed by Blake's harsh glare, and them mollified when she approached the counter and slapped down several thousand lien in cash and told them the girl in red could afford whatever the hell she wanted.

They weren't bothered after that, not with the salesclerk on duty looking like Christmas had come early. He was probably on commission, so Ruby's shopping spree alone would make him a nice bonus.

In the end Ruby spent over two grand alone on videogames and a new console, and it took a while to pack it all into bags that both of them had to carry out, to many jealous looks from other kids and irritated looks from parents who'd now be facing questions like "why can't we afford that much" or "can I have what she's having, mom?" Blake smirked back. What was the point of risking her life for so much money if she couldn't spend it freely? If they wanted a higher salary, they could go fight eldritch abominations too.

"This is the best day ever!" Ruby cheered.

"Whoah." A voice from nearby interrupted. "Rubes? What's with all the bags?"

Yang stood there with her full team.

"This is no longer the best day ever..."

"H—Hey!" spluttered the blonde. "What's that supposed to mean? C'mere, you!" Yang lunged and caught Ruby's head under her arm, then proceeded to rub her knuckles into her sister's hair until she shrieked an apology. Blake rolled her own eyes and collected Ruby's bags so they wouldn't be stolen.

"M'sorry! M'sorry!"

"Damn right you're sorry." Yang released her, sending Ruby stumbling dizzily away. "And what's all this, anyway? There's like, eight bags of games here." Yang peeked. "And the latest PlayCastBox!" she wheezed. "H—Hey Ruby, pal, sister. Can... Can I borrow this?"

"What!? No! I haven't even played on it yet!"

"Awww. Come on—"

"Xiao-Long. Enough." Weiss Schnee snapped her words out, but her eyes were locked on Blake the whole time. There was anger there, but possibly also a little bit of nervous fear. Blake did her best to ignore it. "Let your sister keep her toys. You'd only be up all night playing them with Nora, and then Ren and I would need to drag both of you to class."

"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!" said Nora. "Though we could cut corners and just have Yang's sister stay with us. That way we all get the games!"

"Ew no." Ruby stuck her tongue out. "I'm not going to be a stinky huntress— Ahhh, Yang, no! M'sorry! M'sorry!" Ruby wailed as she was yet again caught and subjected to her sister's merciless teasing. "Noooo!"

Five minutes later they were situated at a café in an open-air coffee shop inside the mall, and Blake had somehow been roped into buying everyone lunch. Go figure. The many bags from Ruby were stuffed under the table for safekeeping, and there were so many of them that everyone's legs were just forced to rest on top.

"So," said Yang. "Care to tell me how and why you're spending a huge chunk of money on my little sister?" Her eyes narrowed. "Is this a sugar momma situation? Because if so then I'm a little hurt you decided to go after my sister and not me."

Though Yang probably meant it as a joke, Blake had to wonder if there was something more genuine to that seeing as how Yang had gotten her on the matchmaker app. It might not have meant anything to her, just some silly thing to laugh off, but it might have meant more. Yang wasn't giving anything away, but then she wasn't as easy to read as Ruby.

"Yaaaang," whined the girl in question.

"Our place was ransacked by some thieves a couple of nights ago and my pet was badly hurt in the action. I had to chase down the people who did it but didn't want to leave him in agony. Ruby came down when she didn't have to all to babysit and look after him. This is her reward for that."

"That's sweet," said Nora. "Was he okay? Your pet?"

"Timothy recovered just fine. He was a little spooked."

"Is Timothy a dog?"

"He's a spider," said Ruby, without thinking. "A really big, cute spider."

The other girls at the table stared at her, though Ren simply ate his meal without feeling the need to get involved.

"I suppose that makes sense," said Yang. "I'd be horrified if people broke into home and hurt Zwei. I think I'd hunt them down and kill them." She winked and said, "You find the ones who did in the end? Make them pay?"

"They paid," said Blake. "It's dealt with."

"Cool. Still, five grand? That's kinda insane money, even for a beloved pet."

"My job pays well, so it's not as vast an amount to me." Yang grimaced at the reminder of her job, and Blake wondered if she'd forgotten. More likely she'd suppressed those memories. "I tend to think a reward should reflect on the giver as well as the recipient. A filthy rich person paying a kid ten lien to mow their lawn is kind of pathetic. Timothy means a lot to me, so I'd see anything less than this as a reward to be an insult to him, or saying like he isn't worth the money."

"Yeah, pets are important I guess. Good to hear he came out okay. How's..." Yang's hesitation was minor. "How's Jaune?"

"Annoyed, tired, and out buying new office supplies to replace the ones that were broken. They didn't manage to steal anything valuable because we keep those things locked up in safes."

"Thank goodness you're not that naive," sniped Weiss.

Ren looked up, eyebrow raised. He and Nora weren't privy to the reasons why Weiss might not like them. Neither was Yang, technically, but she could probably guess as to the anomaly angle given what she'd seen and experienced. Qrow might have even filled her in, the better to try and keep Ruby from joining ARC Corp.

"We're very professional when it comes to security. The only things they managed to damage was the furniture and Timothy, the latter of which they paid dearly for. Nothing of value was taken and we quickly found the ones responsible."

"Was it Torchwick?" asked Yang. "He's been making waves lately."

"No." Blake couldn't hide her smile. "Roman knows better than to steal from us."

"Roman? You two on first-name basis or something?"

"Or something. He crossed us once and knows not to cross us again."

"You realise he's a criminal..."

"We're not law enforcement. We're a private company." Blake sipped from her coffee. "Besides, you shouldn't be criticising someone buying you all lunch."

"I mean, sure, but you also just told us you're filthy rich so it's not like this lunch cost you anything."

Touche, Yang Xiao-Long. Touche.

"Anyway," Yang continued. "Since you two are out anyway, and since we're enjoying our weekend off, how about we all hang out together and go shopping?"

"Ugh. Yaaang." Ruby groaned. "I can't tell if you're trying to force Blake to buy you things, steal my new games console or flirt—" Ruby's mouth was covered in an instant. Yang, red in the face, laughed awkwardly.

"Ahah. You say the craziest things, Rubes."

Uh-oh.

Blake feigned ignorance not only because she wanted to avoid that particular conversation but also because it was the kinder thing to do. Yang didn't deserve the embarrassment. That stupid app is still haunting me. It's bad enough I agreed to go out with Sun, but I can't go out with Yang as well. I won't have any free time.

Also, it'd only hurt them both when they realised she was so messed up from her time at ARC Corp. How could she even be honest with them if she had to keep her job and what she did a secret? It was already bothersome that Sun kept asking – not even in a nosey way, but just a guy trying to make conversation and learn a little about the girl he was on a date with. Having to be cagey with him made every conversation awkward.

Yang knew what she did, at least to a degree, but that wouldn't make it any better when Yang quite obviously hated it. Ruby got a soft entry into the world of the anomalous, while Yang got smacked in the face with a murderous child who slit her own throat open in front of her. It was little wonder she came out jaded against the company and not wanting to know anything about the kind of stuff they dealt with.

Ignorance was bliss. There were times even Blake longed for it, because at least back then she could walk around late at night without wondering how many monsters might be watching her from the shadows waiting to eat her soul.

"You're welcome to accompany us but we'll really just be going to whatever shops Ruby likes and then dropping by a furniture depot to order a new desk and some chairs to replace the ones in our office. It'll be boring for everyone involved."

"Eh, it's cool—"

"Take the hint for what it is, Xiao-Long," said Weiss. "She isn't interested."

"Hey, I—" Yang spluttered. "I wasn't... I mean, I was just offering. It's my sister. I miss her." The excuse sounded lame, even to Blake, but she pretended she believed it.

I feel awful but it's really not about her or that there's anything wrong with her. It's me. I'm a paranoid mess who could be devoured by a monster or fall prey to a book I can't get rid of. I'm not dating material for anyone right now.

And she didn't think she wanted to be, either.

There was just too much on her mind for romance to have a place. She wasn't sure if that meant she was becoming aromantic, or if it was just an issue of timing. Probably more of the latter. At least Sun wasn't here to make things even worse for Yang.

Luckily, Blake's scroll went off and provided an easy solution. "One second," she said, standing. "I need to take this." It was an unknown number but she'd take a telemarketer over the awkward conversation she was leaving behind. Moving out the café, she answered it. "Hello. Blake Belladonna here."

"Blake. It's Coda."

"Oh. Hey." Blake faked the enthusiasm for everyone who might overhear, but she couldn't say she was thrilled by the call. An anomaly calling her had to mean something bad, even if Coda herself wasn't an immediate threat. "Coda, hey. How are things? All well?"

"Well on my end but not ideal otherwise. There has been discontent in the anomalous community ever since your and Jaune's actions at the theatre."

Blake winced. "That was a messy situation I know, but there were extenuating circumstances. Plus, we didn't start that."

"I know that. Many anomalies know that. Still, it was a breach of the peace we had established and kept for so long. There are some among the community that are young, and who seek change. They seek to throw off the shackles of what they consider an oppressive regime." Coda paused. "I'm sure you, Blake Belladonna, know all too well where that kind of thinking leads."

The White Fang. "Yeah. I know."

"This is a warning. I hope you will consider it in good faith. Alistair is doing his best to calm people down, but it's hard for him to argue with the fact the two of you slaughtered a host of anomalies that were considered a part of the community. This fragile peace has become strained."

"This fragile peace wouldn't even exist if not for Jaune," she shot back. "Don't they realise that?"

"As I said, they're young. Idealistic. Naïve. Many of them only know ARC Corp through Jaune and have little understanding of how worse things can become. That is precisely why I am informing you of this. I'd rather this be nipped in the bud before Nicholas Arc becomes aware of the situation and comes to commit a purge of us all. You should want to avoid that too, as I don't think familial love would keep him from declaring Jaune a traitor for allowing this community to exist and killing him. You would be considered complicit, I imagine."

Yeah, she imagined that as well. Easier to kill her along with Jaune than to worry about whether she was corrupted or not. "I'll speak with Jaune tonight. Will it be safe for us to visit Alistair's?"

"It should be, but I'd think it would be safer for you to go alone than with him."

"Almost sounds like you're leading me into a trap here, Coda."

"If you die, Jaune will fly into a rage and lose control of himself, and ARC Corp will come to kill him and then us. You dying to some ill-advised ambush is literally the last thing I need. There are many of us who still understand that and see Jaune as a necessary evil we must put up with in order to live peaceful lives here in Vale. Our situation is not ideal, but it is better than it could be anywhere else. Alistair can explain more in person. He's doing his best to curtail the extremism as I said before, and his bar remains a safe haven respected by both sides."

"I'll go there tonight, then."

"Thank you. I have inserted my contacts onto your scroll. Call me if you need me. I'll waive my usual fees in this case, as I won't be able to enjoy them if Nicholas Arc comes to shut me down for good. Good luck, Blake. Not to apply pressure, but there are thousands of lives resting on your shoulders."

Blake's eye twitched. "The whole no offence thing only works if you actually mean it, Coda."

"Ah. Well, I'm a machine intelligence so I'm not sure what you expect. Good luck." She hung up, and Blake sighed, pushing her scroll back into her pocket and heading back to the table. They'd been watching her and had seen her change in mood.

"Work?" asked Ruby.

"Something has come up. I hate to ditch, Ruby..."

"It's okay. I've kinda got too many bags anyway."

"I can give you the rest in cash—?"

Ruby shook her head. "Let's hang out again sometime. I don't really have anyone to go out shopping with since Yang left for Beacon."

"Beacon is in Vale!" growled Yang. "I'm literally more convenient to go out with than I ever was before. Ugh." She leaned back and slapped a hand to her face. "When did my cute little sister become this cruel?"

Ruby simply smiled. "When you got me fired from my part-time dream job."

Ouch. Blake winced and moved away at speed, leaving a spluttering Yang behind. She'd already paid the bill, so they could enjoy their food and then fight and beg over whether Yang got to borrow the games console Ruby had just bought. Blake doubted there'd be any hope of her achieving that, but she did feel a little bad about not helping Ruby carry all the bags back to the ferry.

This little insurrection among the hidden colony of anomalous lifeforms in Vale had to take precedence however, even if it put her in the very ironic position of having to stamp down a movement not unlike the one she'd joined.

Next Chapter: 13th November

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