Chapter Thirty-One
Morning came soon enough, and with a few breakfast shakes, we were off to Amakuni's 'class'. Pyrrha still hadn't asked about them, which, really, was good, as I didn't know what to say. I could lie, but. . . I hadn't yet, and I wasn't about to start now.
Walking into the Faunus' workshop, we split up, working on our various assignments. With the month of 'don't kill yourself' lessons taken care of, it was a much more freeform class than I expected, all of us having to do something, but what that something was was up in the air, as long as it fulfilled certain requirements.
Yang and I were currently working on a single person VTOL aircraft, like an unholy combination of Bumblebee, her motorcycle, and a Bullhead. It was still in the early phases, and janky as hell, but apparently it was possible, Atlas having come up with a something similar before scrapping it.
With Grimm being, well, existent, the danger to a single rider was such that it just wasn't worth the cost. Given the fact that most soldiers, even though they had their Aura's Awakened, apparently couldn't make the most of it, having an open cockpit aircraft was just dumb. No, most of the rank and file never actually trained to be fighters, nowhere near a Huntsman's level, and so the tactical opportunities such a vehicle could have offered couldn't be followed up on.
Thus, our project.
Honestly, part of me hoped, once we got them working, my entire team could fly as needed, opening up possibilities that most of them, ground bound, couldn't act on. Resources would normally be an issue, but, with the Workshop back home, once I had the plans down, and knew how to make it myself, I could outfit the entire team.
I still wasn't sure how of the mechanisms of the workshops back home functioned, how they replenished their supplies, but, as time went on, the pocket dimension was feeling more and more. . . real. I couldn't quite put it into words, obviously, but it was slowly becoming more, and I didn't know why. Regardless, once we had these plans completed, everyone was getting one, and they'd either believe my excuse of getting funding from Ozpin, or they wouldn't.
However, that was a while off, as Bullheads were way more complicated than they looked, and I could practically feel Science Talent working to help me understand them, skimming off the higher skill levels of those around me, especially Amakuni.
When it came to that woman, we'd. . . settled. She obviously still hated my guts, probably not helped by going to Goodwitch about her, but she'd backed the hell off. She offered Yang help, when I stepped away to do something, but the two of us hadn't exchanged a single word in weeks. I still didn't know what her problem with me was, and, to be honest, I didn't really care, as long as she stayed out of my way.
All too soon class was over, and we suited up for our first field-trip since the Grimm Tide in Forever Fall. I ran back Home, getting what was now my third copy of my armor and Crocea Mors, the original sword and shield combo still in my locker, the first copy of my armor with Ozpin, and the Second Copy in my room. I'd left the second there and accidentally suited up for combat class with a third set of arms and amor that had appeared back Home, only to get back to the dorms, and find the second set in my bureau, where I'd put it, so I wouldn't forget it.
Once more, Glynda was waiting for us in the auditorium, alongside Professor Port. Nodding when the last of us trickled in, she announced, "Good! This time none of you are late. Today we will be going back to Forever Fall Forest, though this time it has been properly cleared of Grimm. A few may still remain, as they always do, but unless you are supremely foolish, they will not be more than you can handle."
"What will we be doing?" Weiss asked into the silence left by the older woman's statement.
"Collecting sap!" Port cheered, laughing at the incredulous looks his statement provoked.
Goodwitch sighed, "That is, indeed, what we are doing, as noted on the notification that was sent out this weekend. The sap of the Forever Fall Forest has certain unique properties that make it exceedingly valuable. One of which, however, is that it attracts Ursa like nothing else." The woman paused. "Like nothing else commonly known," she corrected, thought at least had the good grace not to look at me when she said so.
"Ursa?" echoed Dusty, the D of team LVND, the boy, from what little I'd seen, was something of a coward, except he'd been right there with us during the Tide.
"Don't worry, young man!" Port waved away. "For any team here, an Ursa won't be more than a moderate challenge, and you have us here to assist, as well as your fellow classmates. Why, one time I took down three Ursa with nothing more than my wits, three gallons of industrial grade lubricant, and a smile! I remember it like it was yesterday, I-"
"Can continue once we're in Forever Fall," Glynda interrupted. "It attracts them, which is why normal sap collection methods are ineffective, and it is dangerous enough that civilians do not risk it. However, if you use the quick-taps you'll be assigned, fill the jars provided, and seal them immediately, we should all be long gone before they come sniffing around."
The Vice-Headmistress regarded us all coolly. "This is as safe as a task as we can manage, provided you follow directions. If you cannot, your punishment will convince you to take my words more seriously in future."
Suitably chastised, we filed out, to the waiting air-busses, once more back out to the same place where we'd all almost died.
However, as they took off, I found I wasn't worried. Was it because I know what happened originally? I wondered, looking out the windows as we all waited. Maybe, but it's more than that.
Honestly, it could've been a number of factors. With things already having gone to hell, everyone was more on edge, more aware of the dangers, which, ironically, calmed me. They knew things could blow up, which meant that, if it started to, they'd react faster. Past that, I found that, given what'd happened, I believed Glynda.
I'd expected her to be like so many others, only doing her job when she felt like it, angry when she was called upon to do it otherwise, but she hadn't been. Oh, she'd been angry, but not with me for calling attention to the problem, as had so often been the case.
The woman was prideful, and I'd pricked that pride the first class I'd had with her. And she was still an absolutely shit combat instructor, having no skill beyond basic CQC and 'hit it with telekinesis', because, to put it bluntly, that's all she needed. But, in terms of doing things like this? A large part of me could trust that she'd done what she said, and that, if things started to go badly, she'd actually listen.
As such, I relaxed, and, in doing so, my team seemed to relax with me, Yang working on the hoverbike designs, Pyrrha beside me ready but unworried, Blake reading a book on her scroll, as was Weiss. Ruby was staring out the window and Ren meditating while Nora more talked at him than to him.
"Hey, what's that!" Ruby chirped, and my head snapped over, as, while I wasn't worried, I was aware of how quickly things could go badly. In the distance, off to the side of where we were headed, was a thick plume of smoke that rose out of the forest, a single, dark trail of fumes that blended in with the red and black of the surrounding trees, but stood out starkly against the blue skies behind it.
"That, Ms. Rose, is the location of your last excursion," Professor Port noted. "I only wish I could've been there for all of it! It sounded like a most impressive battle!"
I remembered Professor Tim's words, that, 'the area you devastated, young knight, is still burning.' The fact that, weeks later it was still going? "I'm gonna need to ask Oz about this," I murmured, noting as, slowly, most of those in the air-bus turned their attention on me.
Shrugging, I told them, "Hopefully I won't have to do that again."
Port's booming laugh broke some of the tension. "I'm sure you won't have to young man. Though I do wonder how you did that in the first place."
I shrugged again, replying, "My semblance, a vial full of Fire Dust, and a smile. Though, given how I hurt myself, I really hope I won't have to do that again." I waved towards my masked face. "This is bad enough already."
"Ho ho ho!" the large man cheered. "There's no need to worry about your scars. They're proof that the forces of evil threw everything they could at you, and you still survived!" I gave his unscarred face a doubtful look. "My own Semblance prevents me from scarring. Trust me, if I didn't have it, I would've given young Timonious a run for his money!"
Timonious? I wondered, obviously not the only one, as Weiss voiced my thoughts.
"Ah, yes, you would know him as Professor Tim," Port revealed.
Yang snorted, "I see why he goes by that. But, doesn't he have a last name?
The old man shook his head. "Not everyone is blessed with three names, Ms. Xiao Long, or even two. But that is Timo- Tim's story to tell, not mine. And look, we're here! And now comes for my favorite part of these outings!"
"What's that?" one of the other students asked.
As the back door opened, Port laughed again, though this one raised hair on the back of my neck, as the professor responded with only two words, before launching himself off the ship.
"The Slaughter."
DR
When we landed, the small pile of dead Grimm was already being moved to the side, less than half of what had been killed the first time we were here. A small flash of red caught my attention, as Glynda stowed a familiar looking flag in a small silver bag, and I felt the faint echo of my own Flame from it, though, as the bag was closed, the feeling disappeared, as if it was never there.
The woman caught my stare, raised her eyebrows, and gestured for us to get going with a slight gesture of her chin.
"Okay," I said, turning to my team. "Let's go grab some sap!"
"Oooooh, do you think it'll go good on pancakes?" Nora asked, the various other teams dispersing.
"You need to process the sap before it's turned into syrup," Ren noted, as we started to walk, needing to get at least half a mile away from the landing zone, so the multiple taps didn't pull the Ursa like an open jar of the sap would.
Nora nodded, thinking, "Could we-" she started to ask, looking at her not-boyfriend slyly, only for him to cut her off, without heat.
"Remember what happened the last time you tried?" Ren reminded her.
She, however, waved it off. "C'mon, that shack was a tinderbox! If we hadn't burned it down, someone else would've. We were doing it a favor, putting it out of its misery like that!" Valkyrie's attention shifted to me. "Hey, Jaune, you're good at cooking. You think you could make this stuff into syrup?"
I started to say no, but my gifted knowledge kicked in, telling me that yes, yes I could. As I nodded, the girl jumped up in the air with a happy cry.
"Crumbling that quickly, you're such a, sap," Yang joked, prompting groans.
Quirking an eyebrow, I asked, "So you don't want any?"
Hands up, she quickly replied, "Hey, no need for that. C'mon, I know you're sweet on me." At my unimpressed look, she tried to look sad, but the smile undercut it. "Whaddya say, Jaune, don't leaf me hanging."
"Ugh, ignore her bark-ing," Weiss huffed, prompting laughter from the others.
Yang looked around, "Oh, come on, that gets a laugh?" she demanded, mildly offended.
"You were trying to hard," Blake replied deadpan, as we headed deeper into the woods.
DR
"I wonder what it tastes like?" Nora asked excitedly, holding the full jar like it contained the secrets of the universe. Or pancakes.
"Honey?" Ruby shrugged, as she filled the last of the jars. At everyone's looks, she shrugged. "Well, it attracts bears."
"That's not how Grimm work, Rubes," Yang chided.
Weiss held a hand up, "Actually, most Grimm retain habits similar to the animals whose form they resemble. It's very rarely enough to matter in a fight, but in managing larger pattern of Grimm behavior, it can make a difference."
"Huh," Yang replied with a shrug, "Learn somethin' new every day."
"At that rate, your grades make much more sense," the heiress snarked, though the smile undercut the insult, Yang growling good-naturedly at her and took a half-hearted swipe that the white-haired girl easily stepped out of the way of.
Leaning over, Nora stuck a finger under the sap-collector, covering it with the purple-red fluid, and immediately stuck it in her mouth. "It does taste like honey! No, better, it tastes like honey flavored Pancakes! But a drink!"
The ginger eyed the jar she was holding consideringly. "Ya know," she commented. "We've got another hour before we have to go back. That's more than enough time to refill a few jars that got accidentally emptied."
"Nora, let's drop off the ones that we needed to gather first, then I'll help you harvest some more," I promised, getting a considering look, and then a happy nod from the girl.
"Sounds like a-" she started to say, before she stilled, head snapping over towards a group of trees. Glancing around, I saw that Ren was similarly still, the others starting to realize something was wrong.
From the bushes, a jar came flying, filled with sap, heading right for Blake.
Not even thinking, I leapt over, as the cat Faunus froze, confused at the non-attack, and I manifested a wing, interposing it between her and the projectile. The jar hit, shattering and covering my wing with sticky syrup, the glass shards only barely skimming off an infinitesimal portion of my Aura as they did so.
It wasn't just the jar, I thought, eyes narrowed, trying to remember what else there was, but failing.
"Is that. . . sap?" Blake asked, bewildered, as an insectile humming started to come from the trees.
"And it was thrown," Pyrrha added, more than just stating the obvious, telling us that there was someone in that direction.
Sure enough, a swarm of wasps, each the size of a sparrow, came from the trees, their stingers thin, as long as their entire bodies, and dripping with venom.
Seeing the attack, meant to hurt one of mine, I felt anger burn deep and hot, not hesitating to pull down my mask and let out a long, focused blast of Fire directly into the swarm, and beyond. A column of prismatic Flame surged forward, which incinerated the swarm, the ones in the center burned to ash, while the ones at the edges dropped, cooked and smoking to the ground.
And then it kept going.
And then the screaming started.
If I hadn't known that it wasn't enough to drop their Auras, I might've been worried, but as the trees burned, four flaming, humanoid figures ran from cover, two of them stoppping, dropping, and rolling while the others just blindly ran. Interestingly, unlike the cow, the flames seemed to stick to them, just a little, not sliding off, though they were being flung away as the four boys flailed, screaming as if they were being burned to death.
Because, without Aura, they would've been.
I didn't have true control over the Flames, not touching them anymore, but, having been burned before, to the point that it'd gone through my Aura, I wondered how unused to pain these four boys were. I'd had the phantom pain of being stabbed, slashed, my bones broken, shot in the face, and god knows what else in the few weeks. It was less than the actual injury would've been, but I'd still gotten used to it, and it'd gotten to the point I could push through it pretty easily.
It was because of those experiences that I wondered if my Flames hurt that much more, or if these four were just that unused to serious injury, even the echoed pain of a strike blunted by Aura.
"Cardin?" Pyrrha asked, shooting a look my way, expression oddly concerned. I nodded, and she turned, back. "What were you doing?"
The boy, on the ground, eyes wide, stared at me in fear. "You, you tried to kill me!"
"I burned a swarm of, whatever those things were," I replied, Weiss absently stating "Rapier-Wasps." Bringing a little bit of fire up between my teeth, and seeing him flinch, I commented with a smile, fangs prominent, "Isn't it odd that you were right behind them."
One of his flunkies took off running into the woods, while the other two froze, Cardin getting to his feet, expression conflicted, before it hardened. "You've done it now, animal. You attacked me, you even admit it, and when I get back you'll be kicked out of Beacon! I'll make sure you get what you deserve you-"
"How dumb are you?" I demanded, taking a stalking step forward, and he took two back, before trying to stand firm. "Did you forget what happened yesterday? That's the problem with bigots like you. You talk about how others aren't human. How they're not to be trusted. How they're dangerous and little more than animals," I told him, voice musing and full of malice, part of me wanting to just kill this threat and be done with it, butI was in control, not my instincts. "But then, people like you don't treat the ones you degrade like what you claim they are. No, as you beat them down you depend on their better nature to keep them pliant, when someone half as bad as what you claimed they were would've long since acted. But tell me, Mr. Winchester, with how you've threatened me, how you're openly admitting you're going to try to ruin my life, why shouldn't I just kill you? After all, if you're going to do this to me, well, you ran, reeking of fear, no one would be surprised if you attracted the Grimm."
Cardin paled, looking around. "You, you wouldn't! They'd stop you!"
Ren met the boy's gaze, then, coldly, turned his back and started to walk away, calling over his shoulder, "Come on Nora, there's nothing here worth seeing."
"Okay!" his partner cheered, following. "But we should be careful! I've heard there's Ursa about!"
Weiss and Ruby both looked conflicted, but, just like when Cardin had gone after Velvet, they said nothing. Yang looked unhappy, and Blake's expression was carefully blank. Pyrrha looked at me, a moment of concern on her features, before it cleared, and she moved to stand next to me. "Unblooded fighters often panic at the worst times," she remarked sadly.
He looked back at his two minions, who were frozen in fear. "What about them? You wouldn't kill them!"
"Cardin," I told him, letting a tongue of Fire play along my lips. "They helped you attack one of my own. Why should I care that they didn't throw the first stone?"
"I. . . you won't!" he stammered, clinging to it. "My father-"
"Isn't here," I told him, only to hear a deep, reverberating roar coming from behind him, the ground starting to vibrate, just a little, as a twenty-foot tall Ursa Major, halfway to being an Alpha Grimm, roared, attention focused directly on me, no, on my sap-covered wing.
One of Cardin's minions screamed in fright, as the head-bully looked between the me and it, as if trying to figure out which was the greater danger.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, ready.
Right on time, I thought stalking forward once more, as Cardin threw himself to the side to get away from me. "You think power is pull?" I asked the boy, eyes focused on the Grimm that stared at me, sniffing. "You think it's who you know?"
The enormous Ursa charged forward, and I focused, concentrating the Aura in my body to try to help enhance my strength. It slammed an enormous paw down, and I lifted a hand, wincing as I misjudged the catch, feeling the phantom pain of the Grimm's claw cut into my fingers, but, with a bone-rattling slam, I met its strength with my own.
It was stronger, but not by much, and I held its hand in place, as it looked down at me, confused.
"No, Cardin, some say power is support. The allies that will fight by your side, not those you can bully and blackmail into compliance," I commented idly. "You think being team lead means you have power, but so am I. The difference is, my team will back me."
The Ursa slammed the other paw down, and I met that one as well, making the grab, fingers between claws as I was almost driven to my knees, but stayed standing, holding it fast.
"But sometimes allies turn, sometimes you have only yourself, and then you find out power is capability. And you, Cardin, are anything but Capable," I stated, as the Ursa, realizing that it couldn't pull itself free, opened its jaws wide, ready to bite.
Pulling my Fire, all of my Fire, I opened my own jaws as well and let the Flames flow, compressed and direct, hitting the Grimm with physical force as it was pushed back, then started to scream, sounding almost human as I burned it in a long stream without stopping.
Seconds passed, death pouring forth, the Grimm's screams petering off, but I still had more Flames left, so I continued to put more and more out, until finally, finally, I ran dry, less than a minute but feeling much, much longer. Turning, I held both bodiless paws, each as large as my torso, and negligently tossed them to the side.
"So, tell me Cardin, what, exactly, are you going to do?" I questioned, smiling, lips pulled tightly back.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" came a familiar voice, and a moment later Professor Port came barreling through the woods, skin flushed red, only to skid to a halt, taking in the scene. "Don't tell me the fight's already over?" he demanded, sounding let down. "Oh fiddlesticks!"
"I, you, he tried to kill me!" Cardin voice was shrill with panic as he shrieked, scrabbling to his feet and running for the professor, in mindless fear, pointing back towards me as I stood, with folded arms, waiting for the older man's response.
The older man's response, oddly enough, was to slam a fist down on the top of the boy's head, sending him to his knees.
. . . what?
"Get ahold of yourself, young man!" Port chided good naturedly, as if he hadn't just struck the boy. "You're panicking, and panicking like that pulls in the Grimm like no-ones business!"
"I, you, but," Cardin stammered, eyes wide and unbelieving. "You hit me!"
Port nodded, "And I'll hit you again if that's what it takes. Pull yourself together, boy, then tell me what happened. The same to you two," he added, nodding to Cardin's other teammates, both still paralyzed with fear.
"I, I, he tried to burn me to death!" Cardin, a little more collected, declared, pointing at me.
Port nodded, "Sounds serious. Was this before or after you threw a jar of Fall Sap at him?"
"I didn't do that! He, he did it to himself! To frame me!" Cardin declared, starting to get his feet under him.
"You're no longer panicking, good!" the fat man replied, skin finally returning to its normal shade. "Now if we could just work on your lying."
"I'm not lying!" the boy declared. "He tried to kill me!"
Professor Port shook his head, "And the Rapier Wasps? The ones that do not live in the forest, as certain herbs native to here are quite poisonous to them? Really, young man. I assumed your lackluster performance in my class was merely your being wrapped up in my superb storytelling, not a lack of cognitive ability. Take the rest of your team and head back to the landing zone, and we'll discuss your punishment."
Cardin glared at the man. "Do you know who my father is?" he tried, when his lies didn't work.
"I know, I just do not care," Port commented mildly, but there was a slight air of danger about the man. "Now leave." The three boys did just that, and the professor waited until they were gone, nodding to the paws beside me, the remains of the Grimm behind me, and the prismatic flames still burning on the grass. "Are you alright, young man?"
I blinked, until I realized that all he knew about my Flame was the Tide. "It's only when I combine it with Dust that it burns me." I spat a little bit of my slowly replenishing Flame into my hand. "In it's natural state, I'm immune to it."
"Ah, good," he nodded. "It might be best if we return as well."
I shrugged tossing the fire to the side, and, concentrating, putting them all out, getting a raised eyebrow from the old man. We all fell into step alongside him as we returned, Weiss breaking the tense silence.
"That was amazing, sir. How you managed to figure everything at a glance. However did you know what happened that fast?" she asked.
Professor Port laughed, "Ah. Young Mr. Lark told me. He was quite insistent that you were going to murder young Mr. Winchester. When I asked him why you would do such a thing, he tried to make excuses about how what Mr. Winchester had attempted wasn't 'that bad'. Ah, youth, so full of passion. And stupidity."
We caught up with Nora and Ren, who were waiting for us, and made it halfway there before Port's head snapped over, a flush starting to creep back up his neck. "Please return, students, one of your classmates needs my marvelous assistance!"
With that he took off through the woods, crashing through the underbrush, leaving us alone. "Well, that happened," Yang commented.
"Yes, it did," Blake agreed, shooting me a look. "For a bit there, you sounded like. . . someone I knew."
Weiss nodded, "Very good bluff. As if a peon like Cardin was worth doing something so distasteful."
"Oh, that was a, yes, of course, you were just bluffing," Ruby said, shoulders dropping in relief.
Ren looked at me flatly, "Yes. A bluff."
"It was," Pyrrha told him, glancing my way. "Though the best lies have a little bit of truth. He upset you, didn't he, Jaune?"
"Yes?" I replied, confused as to why that was even a question, and getting concerned looks from the others. "He went after my teammate," I shrugged. "If he'd gone after me, well, Ruby, I can take a headshot from you and still be fine. But my team's, well, my team. I wouldn't kill him over it, but if he got burned, well, his Aura took it, and for going after one of mine, that's well deserved." From the look I was getting from Ruby, she still didn't understand. "I'm not explaining this well," I sighed.
"No, no, I get it," she disagreed. "If someone went after Ren, or Nora, or even Weiss, I'd be more mad then if they went after me."
The Schnee heiress glared at her team leader. "What do you mean, 'Even Weiss'!"
"I have a feeling Jaune would be just as upset if someone went after you, Ruby," Pyrrha disagreed, looking to me, and I nodded, because duh. "Or Ren, or Nora, or," she shot a smile towards the white haired girl. "Even Weiss."
Weiss huffed, and the others chuckled.
Ruby winced, "I don't think I would've done that though."
"I monologue," I shrugged. "It's a thing. I can't do the cute yet angry pout like you can."
"I don't pout!" the girl pouted.
"Well," Ms. Valkyrie announced, "I'm not sure about this entire 'I wouldn't use my ability to cremate my enemies to remove them without a trace' thing-"
"Um, what?" I asked, not having thought of that at all, even as part of me said it would be a waste of perfectly good meat, and wasn't that a thought.
Nora continued "But I know what we're gonna do next!"
"Go home?" Yang suggested.
"Forget this ever happened?" proposed Weiss.
"Get Jaune to clean off his wing so he doesn't pull any other Ursa?" submitted Blake, and I, having forgot about it, dismissed them, taking the sap with them.
"Nope!" Nora said. "We're gonna go get some more sap, Ruby's gonna convince Jaune to make it into Syrup, and then I'm gonna have all the pancakes!"
Ruby blinked, "What? Why me!"
Ren sighed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "The burdens of leadership are many," he informed her with seriousness. "Best of luck."
"Jaune, help!" the tiny redhead squeaked.
Nora gave her a thumbs up, "Out of order, but that works too. Now let's hurry, momma's hungry!"