Chapter 48. Beacon Days 29
The sun was shining. The birds were singing. Spring was in the air. What a day to be alive.
"Stop! In the name of the law!"
Whyyyyy!?
Jaune wriggled in the implacable grip of the Atlas Knight-200 robot. Its cold metal hands had taken a hold of his biceps as he strolled along the campus, and were now refusing to let go.
"Do not resist, citizen." The droid ordered. Jaune, of course, ignored the demand. Placing a foot on its hip to use as leverage, he tried to pry himself out of its grasp.
"Grr. Quit it, you piece of junk. I haven't done anything to you!"
"Parsing statement. Rebuttal generated: You are defacing this unit's chassis." Jaune glanced down at its hip, where his boot ground against the dark skeletal frame to leave smudges on the metal. Oops. "Additional causes for detainment are as follows: Suspected member of an organized criminal enterprise. Suspected racketeering. Suspected extortion. Suspected infiltration of legitimate businesses. Suspected loan sharking. Suspected…"
The litany of alleged crimes continued on and on, making Jaune gulp. That tin can was accurate to a startling degree. The police department should have been infiltrated to hell and back by his Uncle, so where was it pulling this data from?
His struggling redoubled. In a show of strength beyond what he believed possible for the slender things, the robot lifted him higher until his legs were kicking the air. All throughout, it kept rattling off more accusations.
"Suspected loitering with intent—"
"Oh, come on! That's a bullshit charge and you know it!"
"Suspected jaywalking—"
"Excuse me, what!?"
"Confirmed excessive sneering—"
"That's not even a crime! Are you just tacking on anything and everything?" Jaune, seeking aid, turned to his friend. "Ruby, back me up. They're railroading me!"
Except, there was no one in view. He looked lower.
His stalwart ally was rolling on the ground, clutching her belly and laughing to the point of tears. By chance, their eyes met. Hers were filled with merriment, while his gaze shone with sincerity and panic, conveying to her the seriousness of the situation. He needed her now, and was on his knees (figuratively speaking; he's literally a few inches off the ground at the moment) begging her to step in and deny these baseless (as far as she knew) charges.
Ruby burst out in fresh peals of laughter. Between the breathless fits, she had a difficult time responding.
"It's —heeheehee!—it's probably just a glitch, so don't get so worked up. There's no way you did all that." More giggles. "They'll let you go once they realize it's a mistake."
But Ruby, the problem is that I'm guilty.
She didn't know that, though, and believed it a joke. Of Team RWBY, only Yang had an inkling of his background and the other blonde was nowhere in sight. What was in sight were more of the Knight-200's. Possibly prompted by his continued efforts to break free, they began to approach his position.
The tightening encirclement brought a frown to Jaune's face. Were he to wait for them to surround him, he'd find out what the inside of an interrogation room looked like soon enough. If he was facing the police, he would stand a chance there. Lying his way out of trouble with a military force would be a different matter.
Damn. Damn. Damn! What did that leave him?
Using persuasion on droids would be so much wasted breath, because their programmed orders overrode the possibility. Also, he's pretty sure they lacked the mental acumen to even comprehend it; Atlas engineering doesn't seem to have gotten that far yet. That made escaping his next best play. Don't want to get interrogated? Don't be present to get interrogated. That said, this was certain to add a provable crime to his name and pit him against these things, leading to an escalation he wasn't sure he was ready for. Bottom line, it's a tough choice all around.
Oblivious to his plight, Ruby hopped back up to her feet, wiping away tears of mirth. When finished, she gave him a cheeky wave.
"Welp, I'll go on ahead. Tell me how it goes later." She made to depart, but then paused and spun back to him. "Oh! I almost forgot. The VPD brought me in to answer questions once, and I got a plate of cookies out of it. If Atlas offers you the same for whatever reason, save some for me, 'kay?" She turned on her heels, this time leaving for real. From start to finish, she did not understand the seriousness of the situation, causing Jaune to despair.
A hand clasped her shoulder to keep Ruby in place. It belonged to a second robot that had arrived behind the girl.
"Stop! In the name of the law! You, citizen, are suspected of unauthorized vigilantism. Stand by for detainment and further inquiry. Please comply."
Jaune and Ruby shared a look, the former smug and the latter no longer laughing.
"Not so funny from this side, huh?"
"Nope. Sorry, Jaune," was Ruby's soft reply.
He tried to shrug, his captor's hold rendering the movement a tad difficult. "No bigs. I think it's hilarious now that you're in trouble too. In any case, how are we going to handle this?"
"Please comply. Do not resist arrest. Please com—"
Bang!
A bullet to the face interrupted the robot in a very permanent fashion, Crescent Rose's sniper round punching a fist-sized hole in its head.
"...I guess we're doing it that way, then."
The other robot released Jaune and reached for the rifle slung on its back. A bolt of electricity wreaked havoc throughout its frame. It dropped, smoking and twitching, to lay at Jaune's feet. With a flourish, he replaced the long knife in its scabbard.
"Alright Ruby, here's the plan. It's harder for them to catch us if we split up. You head for—"
Jaune stopped speaking, for as the Atlas Knight-200's in the vicinity broke out in a run straight at him, a trail of fluttering rose petals leading away from here was all that remained of Ruby Rose.
"Tch. I was going to make her my distraction."
-o-
One, two. One, two. The squad of robots marched down the avenue in perfect lockstep. Their heads swiveled back and forth on high alert. Students and faculty alike cleared out of their path, with each passing face scanned multiple times to match against two pictures; one of an adorable brunette, another of a much less adorable blond. Thus far, the search has yet to yield results, for the fugitives were cunning indeed. Still…
They'd never falter. They'd never tire. To the unceasing avatars of Atlesian justice, the chase has barely begun!
The Knight-200's swept past a bush, one as unremarkable as any other on the side of the road. They failed to notice the pair of eyes hidden among the foliage. Jaune peered out between the leaves, not daring to move a muscle until the clanging footfalls faded in the distance. Once the coast was clear, he hopped out of the bush, brushing himself down as he walked the opposite direction from them. As he flicked a leaf off his shoulder, Jaune shook his head in disappointment.
He'd watched the videos of the Knight-200's unveiling. Seeing those droids move in fluid, human motions had wowed him at the time. Here stood the Huntsmen's new ally in the fight on Grimmkind, the brochures proclaimed. The cutting edge of technology, each the equivalent of a person.
Pffft. One would think that at some point in the development process they might have entertained the idea to integrate fancy infrared vision or such in the soldiers of tomorrow. Y'know, since people weren't limited to their base abilities and can equip tools to enhance themselves.
Heck, why stop there? Make them superior to regular soldiers by installing a full suite of sensors and maybe strap a cannon on their arms. Then, since the Grimm can only detect the unliving robots by conventional senses in the absence of negativity and Aura, give these guys an invisibility function and soft boots so they can sneak up on targets. The Atlas Knights could travel the land en masse, putting down Grimm day and night with impunity.
Instead, the world received pale imitations of people, but dumber. Truly a lost opportunity. If they intended to turn the tide against their eternal enemy, it made more sense to build something of greater quality, not less. Go big, like a skyscraper-sized mech, or go smart, like a—
A redheaded girl rudely interrupted his thoughts by dropping out of the sky. After crashing down in front of him, she leveled a finger at his face.
"Stop right there, criminal chum!" She shouted, tone conveying an altogether too chipper attitude for the situation. Jaune, who recognized her affiliation with Atlas Academy and was ready to book it, actually did pause. Curiosity had gotten the best of him.
"Criminal what now? Wait, better question, how did you do that?"
The girl tilted her head, a disconcerting motion since her grin changed not one iota. It brought to his mind that crazy slasher look seen in the movies.
"Do what?" She asked.
"There's no vantage point for you to ambush me, but you somehow managed it." Jaune circled a finger to denote their surroundings, then pointed up. There were no nearby buildings or trees from which this girl could descend. An Atlesian airship was hovering in the air, though it floated so high that a fall would shatter even his Aura. Yet, she landed unharmed. Something's fishy here.
"I just jumped, of course! From over there. A hop, a skip, and here I am!"
He turned to observe the indicated building far in the distance, then back again at her, one eyebrow raised in skepticism.
Well, that's an obvious lie. The angles would work out only if she launched herself from the very top of the dorms with the force of a firing cannonball. She should have been talking to him while sporting two broken legs, or worse.
But fine. People were allowed to keep their secrets. He put a pin on the mystery to investigate at a more opportune time, and focused on the task at hand. Namely, giving her the slip.
To keep her talking, he affected a polite demeanor, reciprocating her smile. "And 'chum'? The actual line is a bit different, if you didn't know."
As he spoke, his eyes scanned the area for the best escape route. The open space did not offer much in terms of breaking sightlines, so whichever direction he chose, the first stretch will involve a race. If he can trip her up from the get-go, it'd be his win.
"As a matter of fact, I did know! But 'scum' is a very negative term, so I modified the saying to 'chum' instead. It means 'friend'!"
What a nice girl. He almost cooed at how sweet she was. Maybe they can come to an understanding, after all.
"Anyway, please kindly surrender yourself for interrogation."
Nevermind.
"I believe you are confused, miss. There are no warrants out for my arrest. I am a law-abiding citizen."
"Your appearance and mannerisms bear a 95% match to the local criminal organization known as the Red Axes, thus presenting probable cause to detain you for confirmation."
That last 5% must come from the blue colors in his outfit. Thank you, Mel and Mil!
And by the sound of it, Atlas did not have anything on him for certain. Which meant he had wiggle room to get out of this mess.
Jaune responded, "People call that profiling. It doesn't fly in Vale."
"But it sure does in Atlas!" Seriously, that smile was starting to scare him. "And as the Atlas military will be providing security for the Vytal Festival, this is simply part of the standard procedure going forward, so please cooperate!"
Jaune did not cooperate. Instead, he shifted his posture, angling his body to dart away at a moment's notice. One hand slipped into his jacket to grasp the handle of his knife.
The redhead watched him do so. She did not bat an eye at this show of hostility. If anything, his actions amused her.
"And in the event that you are thinking of running for it, know that nowhere is safe for I have notified every Atlesian Knight-200 unit in the area of your location!" She spread her arms wide in a grand fashion to punctuate the statement.
"Uhhh, no, you haven't." Jaune replied.
"I assure you that I did!"
He shook his head. "At least make it believable. I've been looking at you this whole time. You didn't even take out a scroll, let alone place a call."
Having noticed her mistake, the girl gasped. Her eyes grew round and the grin at last faded.
"I, ah, I—"
Gotcha.
"Admit it. No reinforcements are coming. Or will you claim that you are able to somehow connect to them with just your mind?" He sneered at her. She must think him stupid to fall for her ploy. "Ha. As if."
"I have, in fact, not contacted any Atlesian Knights-200 units—hiccup!" The girl shrank into herself as she stammered. "They have now all returned- I mean, they have never left their designated routes—hiccup!—because it is a laughable idea that a normal girl can send signals to military droids through an encrypted wireless network. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."
It was Jaune's turn to lose his confidence. Right when he thought he had gotten a handle on her, the redhead succeeded in rattling him again. The lies she told in the beginning sounded truthful, delivered all cool and confident. She spoke the truth now as if it were a bad lie. Was the nervous act a bluff? Did she or did she not alert the robots? Was it a twofold bluff, a spot of reverse psychology to fake him out?
The more he talked to this girl, the more his brain hurt.
Rubbing at his forehead to soothe the budding migraine, Jaune said, "You know what? I'm not going to fall for your game—"
"What game are we playing?"
"Anywho, I'll trust what I can see, and assume you're the only one here." Surer, he glared at her and scoffed. "A student backed up by suppositions and hearsay. You don't have authority over me. Take it up with Ozpin if you have a problem."
And Ozpin owed his Uncle a favor. The man knew his background, too, and let him enroll despite it. He should have Jaune's back on this. It's just a matter of staying free long enough for that to happen.
"Nope! Orders are orders. I'm taking you in!"
"Is that so?"
"That is so!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Well then, I guess all I can say is- Look! A distraction!"
The redhead, as hoped, followed his pointing finger. The blade of a knife then touched the spot between her shoulder blades.
*ZAP*
Electricity sparked…and sparked, and sparked, and sparked. Jaune's victorious grin, half-formed, withered as he beheld the outcome of his ambush. Hastily, he took his finger off the switch.
That was not how it usually went. Unlike the previous times he had electrocuted someone in the past, the effects of his attack went on long past the point when it would have dissipated. Limbs should twitch, yes, but he has yet to see them bend in such unnatural ways. There's never been the smell of burnt rubber accompanying the shock, either. And that's not a face a girl should show in public.
Finally, the Lightning Dust subsided, and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The redhead laid still.
Kneeling by her side, he extended a tentative finger and poked the girl on her forehead. That transitioned to a couple of light slaps on her cheek. Beyond Aura glowing green to show she was alive, there's no response.
"What the hey?" He peered closer.
One moment her eyes were closed, the next they snapped wide open, bright green pupils boring into him. A smile crept on her face once more, causing Jaune to let out a shaky breath full of relief. It was short-lived.
"I forgot to introduce myself," the girl began in a soft whisper. "My name is Penny Polendina. It is a pleasure to beat you."
Jaune chuckled, nervous. "Don't you mean 'meet'?"
"No."
-o-
On an outdoor bench sat two lovebirds, enjoying their lunches as only such couples can. Little games of feeding morsels to one another. Whispering sweet nothings back and forth. They leaned close for a kiss.
From the back of the bench, Jaune vaulted between the pair, his shoe nearly meeting the guy's lips. Shouting a quick 'sorry' over his shoulder, he continued running across the quad. An exit laid ahead. It's one that would give him a straight shot to Beacon's famous statue and the main avenue beyond leading to the Bullhead Dock.
A glance behind, and the coast seemed clear. Carefree laughter sprang forth from a few yards up to disabuse Jaune of that notion. His pursuer, Penny Polendina, soared high above, a simple hop boosted to a grasshopper-like leap courtesy of her bullshit flying swords spewing lasers that can double as rocket thrusters.
It's so unfair. Atlas Academy got to play with all the best toys.
The whistling sound of wind growing louder, along with Penny's giggles, alerted him of imminent contact. Timing it fine as a razor wire, he twisted out of the way at the last second, letting her crash onto his previous spot. Where she struck, the earth beneath her feet cracked in a spiderweb pattern and a minor tremor rolled across the ground.
Jaune turned pale as a sheet. Had he not moved, she would have happily used him as a landing pad. Now motivated more than ever, he sped up out of her arms' reach.
Penny braced, and leapt. The swords at her back reconfigured in the shape of two barrels, their lasers glowing green. The thrusters engaged and she propelled forward, fast outpacing Jaune to put her at the other end of the courtyard. She flashed a peace sign as she spun to face him.
"Neehehehe! Behold, the power of Atlas engineering! Your little legs cannot—hey!" She shouted at Jaune, who at the start of Penny's jump had already changed course for one of the dorm buildings that encircled the quad. Short of time, he didn't bother to test for unlocked windows, diving at the nearest.
The glass pane exploded in a hundred fragments, pinging off his Aura as he bounced on a bed. He maneuvered his legs under him before hitting the floor, almost landing on his feet… but slipped on a discarded piece of clothing to hurtle headlong at a desk. Papers and belongings went flying in every direction.
Cradling his throbbing head, Jaune offered a silent apology to the absent occupants of the room as he scrambled for the exit. He rushed past the threshold and shut the door after him. Five or so seconds later, Penny blasted right on through, reducing it to splinters. Her thrusters imparted such great momentum that she careened into the opposite side with a loud boom, caving in the wall. Wrenching herself free of the wreckage, Penny left a girl-shaped indent as she chased after Jaune.
Back in the dorm, the bathroom door opened. Gwen Darcy walked out, swaying and dancing to the music blaring out of her headphones, then froze mid-step as she finally noticed the devastation. She stared, utterly confused.
Meanwhile, the two culprits carried on their cat-and-mouse game. Penny zipped down the corridor, swiftly wiping out the lead Jaune had gained.
"Breaking and entering, plus vandalism," she called out. "You are incorrigible!"
"Why do you sound so happy about that!? And you did the same thing!" Jaune shot back.
Penny stumbled, hitting the wall again before she could regain control of her balance.
"I, um—" She perked up. "I am merely executing my duties! It's not collateral damage, but a business expense!"
*snrk*
A snicker slipped out from Jaune on hearing her excuse. Not because he thought what she said was silly, but because of how true it rang. He and the twins racked up a pretty high repair bill around Vale themselves, and his uncle expressed a sentiment much like it whenever he paid out for the cost. It tickled his sense of humor that the military and Yakuza followed the same policy. He then recalled her ready attitude to the prospect of crushing him underfoot, and sobered up. Best to pay attention, or he might become a business expense himself.
He spied a room left open further down the hall, and his next immediate goal crystallized into focus. Get there, get out, and it'd place him on the correct side of the building. Problem was, Penny would be within range in three, two, one—
A grasping hand snaked out for his collar. He slapped it aside, twirling on his heels to swipe at Penny with his long knife. In response, she cut off power to her lasers and recalibrated her weapons to individual sword-forms, one of which zoomed in front of her to parry him.
Skipping back, Jaune brandished his blade. She did the same, just with nine.
…This was going to suuuuck.
Penny made her move, launching all the swords at once. He dodged the first and batted the second off-course. The third he took on his arm, grabbing at its hilt with his free hand, intending to steal it for his own use. Here, he discovered a little snag to his plan. The blade came attached to a near-invisible cable at the bottom. With a sharp movement of her hand, Penny pulled it—and Jaune—into the path of the other swords. He twisted to take it on his back.
PAIN! Ow! Fuck! No metaphors needed, it felt exactly like getting stabbed by a bunch of swords.
As Jaune scurried away from her, Penny reeled in the blades. They floated above her head in the shape of a wheel, which began to spin, faster and faster until it became a whirring saw, almost hypnotic in its motion. She mimed a punch, and from one moment to the next, the contraption filled his vision.
"HOLY—" Jaune dropped flat on the ground to evade by a hair as it sped overhead.
Girl has no chill, the thing sliced through where his face would have been. Jaune turned to follow the wheel's course, and saw it curve around to hover above him. The blades separated, then reassembled into tight groups of three. They rotated to point downward and locked right on him.
Cursing loudly, Jaune pushed up off the floor, slamming down an Aura-boosted foot to propel himself out of harm's way. A laser blast hit the area where he had laid. It seared the tiles black, and even gouged out the top layer.
He alternated his gaze between that spot and Penny, cocking his head in a silent question.
Are you serious?
In answer, her lips widened in an oh so sweet smile.
Jaune abandoned all dignity, and ran. His still-numb foot protested. He forced it to comply, wincing every time he put his weight on that side.
*Pew! Pew! Pew!* Penny's lasers dogged his path, grazing him as he zig-zagged to throw off her aim. Twice they struck true, leaving reddened patches of skin that burned. His Aura got to work healing the injuries, but just two hits were sufficient motivation for him to do whatever he can to never experience that again.
Abruptly, the lasers ceased. Chancing a look behind him, Jaune tensed up on reflex as a pair of swords flew in his direction. Yet, for reasons unbeknownst, they traveled on wrong trajectories, missing by a large margin. The blades embedded ahead of him on either side of the corridor, wires stretched taut.
Penny let out an excited whoop and activated the mechanism to reel the cables in, slingshotting herself forward to close the space between her and him. Tucking in her legs, she kicked out with both feet. They connected with his back.
Since he was facing away from her, Penny didn't notice his satisfied smirk. Jaune relaxed his frame, rolling with the force of the attack to soften the blow while allowing it to fling him down the hall. Putting him closer to his goal.
He had kept what mattered at the forefront of his priorities all this time, doubly so after his brief bout with the redhead.
Penny Polendina didn't fight like a person. That was his big discovery. No, she fought as an army, bringing forth overwhelming force akin to an entire side of a battlefield, coordinating an onslaught of guns and blades with the skill of a maestro.
A genius of combat; she must be, he concluded. She needed that many swords in her arsenal, because any fewer would be a waste of her abilities. She'd find it boring.
What a terrifying girl. He could not beat her, not as he was now.
Good thing he didn't have to.
Touching down, he skidded along the floor for a bit, then caught his balance. Half-turning his body, he faced off against the incoming Penny but concealed his wakizashi behind his hip. His thumb flicked open the storage compartment of the knife, and proceeded to upend the contents into his other hand. It stayed there, hidden out of sight, his fistful of Lightning Dust.
His opponent drew close, her swords fanned out around her in a semicircle. She made a hand signal. The implements snapped to position, ready to cut him down.
She entered striking range, and Jaune flung the Dust at the floor, right where her foot was stepping. The substance—volatile, and now disturbed— went up in an electric explosion.
"Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga—!"
And as the girl found herself momentarily incapacitated, Jaune spun around and sprinted for his destination. Grasping the doorframe, he swung into the room, ran past a lazing Brawnz Ni—who didn't bat an eye at the intrusion—and dove out the window amidst a spray of glass shards.
Fresh air and sunshine greeted him upon his landing. A wide-open space stretched to the distance, the last quarter mile to freedom. And there, at its terminus, the Bullhead Dock. Jaune rushed to it, triumphant. Elation took flight within his heart.
Let's goooo! He's made it! Nothing can possibly go wrong oh damn he's going to die now, won't he?
Keen ears picked up the crunching sound of glass being grinded underfoot, informing him of Penny's reentry into the race. Checking on her, a question sprang to the fore.
Where had her haste gone?
Hair frizzy, clothes frayed, she moved at a leisurely pace, no more zipping around on laser rockets. On her face, an expression of utmost smugness. She replied to his scrutiny with a wave. How odd.
The answer lay ahead at the Bullhead Dock. As he approached, at about the halfway point with thirty seconds to go, metallic figures rose up from cover to reveal that an army of Atlas Knights-200 awaited his arrival. They've blocked off the entire terminal.
Jaune slowed down, overcome by dismay. How? How did they know to gather here!?
Were that not enough, more squads of mechanical soldiers emerged on either side of the field to hem him in. Their steady advance tightened the encirclement with each passing moment. Penny had somehow coordinated this trap beneath his notice, shutting him inside a killbox.
Hope dwindled as the force in front of him raised their rifles. And hoo boy were there a lot of rifles. Those things have stun settings, right? They're not going to fire a salvo of actual bullets at him, right!?
Maybe it's time to throw in the towel, before he has to find out.
…NO! He cannot think like that, so afraid and hesitant!
Gritting his teeth, Jaune willed himself to charge forward. He had gotten this far; he wasn't about to surrender at the finish line.
Thus determined to break on through to the other side, Jaune called forth his Aura, readying to engage his special move. Can he dodge bullets? This was his chance to find out!
The chance never actually came to fruition. With a violent jerk of every robotic hand, the rifles wielded by the droids were now pressed against their respective owners' chins. In perfect synchronicity, they fired. A roaring din drowned out all other sounds. Bullets tore apart visored heads, many Knights exploding afterward in colorful blasts, raining down their broken remains across the cliffside on which the Dock sat and the lake below.
Jaune blankly stared from the center of the maelstrom. Searching for the cause of this new development, he spotted a face he knew all too well, there at the top of a Bullhead's exit ramp.
Pyrrha had returned from her trip to Vale.
She held one arm outstretched. Upon a thunderous countenance, her lips were set in a snarl. Two eyes glowed black, the sign of her Semblance in play.
The rest of the Atlas Knight-200's came running. She retracted her hand, then flicked it to the side in a sharp motion. Arms twisted to cradle guns in the crook of elbows, barrels set against metal temples. She clenched her hand into a fist. Nearly a hundred robotic fingers minutely twitched, just enough to pull the rifle triggers.
Two simple gestures, inducing two involuntary movements. That was all it took to again light up the world in bullets and explosions, summarily ending the robot presence in Beacon.
How efficient. How brutal. How amazing his partner was. She wavered from side to side, breathing hard; Aura flickering, a shade from full exhaustion. Yet, she stood victorious. Ever victorious.
She met his gaze, and broke out in a grin, tired but gleeful. Her hand went up in a salute. He answered her with a thumbs-up, and mouthed his thanks.
His attention subsequently fell on the last opponent. Across from him, Penny shook like a leaf, her jaw flapping in soundlessness. Placing his hands on his hips, Jaune threw his head back and laughed to the sky.
"Ahahaha! All according to plan!"
Don't call it a lie; rather, that he counted on the invisible hand of Lady Luck this whole time, and it came clutch. As totally foreseen. Completely by design.
All jokes aside, Jaune called out to Penny, mocking smirk on display.
"What's your next move, hm?"
"Um… well…" The Atlesian girl stuttered. She glanced over his shoulder at Pyrrha. A pause, and she threw her hands in the air, screaming, "Ahhhhhhh!"
Her swords reformed as thrusters and blasted off full speed, carrying Penny away. In a matter of seconds, she retreated into the depths of Beacon.
Jaune pumped his fists in victory.
Days later, rumors abound that the Atlesian Knights-200 units were all being recalled for an overhaul.
They coincided with another bit of news that made the rounds, though this one was known to fewer people. In light of her single-handedly crippling the Atlas military's quarterly budget, Pyrrha Nikos's threat rating was increased to a national-level concern by organizations in every kingdom. The students of Atlas Academy—debriefed by General Ironwood—now tread on very light steps around the Mistralian champion; for some strange reason, none more so than Penny Polendina.
Amidst this debacle, Jaune was reduced to an afterthought in the eyes of Atlas security. Which suited him just fine.
Author's Notes: Jaune fought the law and, the law lost~ Jaune fought the law and, the law lost~
Pyrrha pulling Sith moves.
