White Knight Errant
A RWBY fanfic by Andrew Joshua Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.
Ozpin had considered setting aside a standard meeting room for high-level discussions and meetings, several times. Yet he had learned over the centuries of human psychology when it came to their surroundings. To invite others into his domain engendered a sense of trust in those he called. It made it clear he was bringing them into his space, his home turf, and thus who was in charge. It allowed him an instant boost to his authority that could be very helpful in maintaining unity between fractious, sometimes hostile allies.
It also gave him the perfect excuse to skip more paperwork, and Ozpin was still human enough to appreciate breaks from the tedious exercise of bureaucracy.
Ironwood, Rufus Winchester, Silverhand, and now General Robert Loxley were gathered in his office around his desk, as a holographic display slowly turned around above them. Glynda was at his side, as ever, while Winter stood with Ironwood. Winchester's own aide, Platina, was with him, while Robert had brought his bat Faunus aide Blinken, and Silverhand had brought his yeoman, Smiegel. The four aides all stood, while their superiors sat.
Loxley had added General's stars to his uniform, a green set of fatigues that were based off Atlasian fashion. Along with a nametag he also wore patches and pins bearing the old symbols of the original Valean Defense Force: An eagle with its wings spread, holding twin axes crossed in front of it in a wreathed circle. Otherwise, he had changed nothing else about his uniform, including his infamous hat with a feather.
Silverhand had taken Admiral's bars from the old Valean Defense Navy, and similar patches on his clothing. The same eagle with crossed axes, but in blue and silver rather than red and gold. He wore a similar style of fatigues, just in dull blue, with a similar nametag.
Otherwise, he still wore his hat, long coat, and musketeer-style boots. And a red sash under his belt. He supposed he could hardly blame both men, though their fashion mixes were annoying Ironwood and Glynda a bit. A fact they probably were well aware of, given their occasional smirks.
Their aides at least wore the proper uniforms. Winter Schnee, professional as ever, led the briefing as she brought up holographic images of a burned out building on the edge of the Old Vale City Park.
"The Emerald Manse, once the in city residence of the Warrior King of Vale," Winter began, "Was robbed last night by what appear to have been White Fang terrorists. They were led by this woman."
Several holographic stills from the security footage appeared, showing a white haired woman with dark skin while wearing a purple suit blowing a kiss at the camera.
"Identity of the woman is confirmed," Winter said, "A Valean criminal known as 'Iridescent'. Wanted for human trafficking, aggravated assault, murder, and a litany of other crimes. Her prints match that of Iris Viola, a former resident of the North West Sanus province."
More photos appeared, including a few mug shots. Ozpin leaned forward, studying the images.
"She has-Forgive me," Winter corrected herself, "Had been working for the Stanistar Mob. But, since their leadership was all wiped out last year, she's reportedly been running the show."
"Another prominent human criminal working with the White Fang?" Ironwood asked with a scowl. Loxley hummed.
"It would take a lot of money and brute force to make White Fang work together with humans," he said, "Yet we've seen that at least twice now."
Ozpin looked over at Silverhand.
"Jim, you worked with Roman Torchwick on a few jobs, is that correct?" Ozpin asked. Glynda and Ironwood both scowled heavily at the pirate turned privateer. Silverhand waited until Smiegel handed him a bottle of rum, which he sipped briefly before answering.
"We did a few airship jobs together, yes," Silverhand said. He shrugged. "He was a greedy son of a bitch and very melodramatic."
Glynda was too dignified to snort at that. Robert wasn't. Rufus just remained surprisingly stoic.
"However, he agreed to my rule of not harming civilians, so we got on pretty well," Silverhand continued. He shook his head. "His downward spiral over this past year has been… Frankly astonishing. He's stealing all the Dust he can lay hands on and using the White Fang and a few other gangs as muscle."
"You think he finally went full criminal?" Ironwood asked, eyes narrowed. Winchester, Silverhand, and Loxley's eyes met in a mutual show of Valean exasperation at Atlasian obliviousness. Their aides had a very similar expression, but hid it better.
Ozpin did his best not to share in it, but damn, was it hard.
"He already was, but he kept to the old code," Silverhand said. "This? This implies some force entered the Underworld, seized control, and is brute forcing them into compliance. After all, Roman's reputation is shot. He can't make alliances with other criminals anymore. I wouldn't touch him… I mean, I wouldn't have touched him since I am now a legitimate member of the military!" He smiled charmingly at all assembled.
Ironwood glared death. Smiegel looked benignly resigned.
"Smooth," Robert deadpanned.
Rufus turned to Ozpin with a grave frown.
"Why does this attack in particular have you so concerned, Ozpin? So Roman and whoever's pulling his strings have hired more help and escalated their terrorism. We're increasing the police force, and the Council is going along with the military plans."
"For now," Glynda observed, "Councilwoman Glocken believes you're trying to mount a coup."
Ironwood looked over at Rufus with a steely glance. Rufus snorted.
"She says that every time I so much as get up for coffee," he stated, "So far the public seems in favor of re-establishing the VDF. We're authorizing press tours to Fort Celliwigg, on top of the PR visits with the Atlasian Fleet." He looked over at Silverhand with a scowl.
"This would go a lot easier if you'd let them visit Jolly Roger, too."
"My Lady is currently in drydock undergoing extensive repairs and upgrades," Silverhand stated, pointing out the window at the form of the battleship in the distance. A Gravity Dust enabled drydock had been floated up to the massive battleship, and workers were all over its structure like ants on a pile of sugar.
He shook his head.
"I can't let her be seen until she's at her best," Silverhand said, "It's her vanity, you see."
Ironwood and Glynda again looked over at Ozpin, with very similar looks that Ozpin was familiar with thanks to their many years of friendship.
Both simply said "Really?"
Robert met Ozpin's eyes with a knowing smirk, as Blinken poured him some tea. Rufus held back from rolling his eyes. Winter was clearly using all of her Schnee upbringing and military discipline to keep her mouth shut. Platina, as ever, was unreadable. A very useful tool to develop in one so young.
"Though I can certainly allow visitors to the destroyers and other small airships we're getting out of mothballs," Silverhand said cheerfully.
Rufus shook his head. He leaned forward in his chair, just a bit.
"Point is, Ozpin, if you've gathered us here over this incident, it must be something important."
"It is," Ozpin said with a nod. "The Emerald Manse is just a government records building now. However, it also hosts one of the major server hubs for the CCT Network in Vale. In particular, one that services the city's defense, utility, and closed caption television monitoring networks."
He nodded to Glynda, who tapped a button and brought up several computer files and pictures of the crime scene. Ozpin steepled his hands together and leaned forward himself.
"The servers were completely destroyed," he said, "Completely. Every bit of data was destroyed, and the remote monitoring links were disabled while the main connections were still online. Whatever they did, they did it and covered it up completely."
Ozpin sucked in a breath through his nostrils, as he now had everyone's attention squarely on him.
"Which means, the worst case scenario is that whoever is behind this may soon have complete access to the city's defenses and infrastructure."
Even Silverhand lost his laid back posture at this revelation. Though he had Smiegel get them more rum.
Under the circumstances, Ozpin couldn't blame him.
A change had come over Jaune over the past few days. One that Pyrrha wasn't sure she entirely liked.
There was a very small, very petty part of her that was glad his date with Yang had not ended well. Oh, they were a bit closer-It was hard not to see that, with how easily Yang would touch him. However, Jaune was a little too focused on other things right now.
On one hand, him being far more serious and focused was… Was kind of hot, she was going to be honest. Okay, very hot.
On the other…
"Mister Arc, you will be fighting Mister Thrush," Glynda Goodwitch stated, her green eyes locked right onto Jaune. He stood up and headed to the locker room, not saying a word or looking at anyone. Russel Thrush followed, rolling his wrists as part of a warm up.
"This is gonna be good," Yang said with a grin.
A few minutes later, both young men emerged into their fighting gear and headed into the ring. They turned to face each other.
Russel Thrush smirked, spinning his twin revolver daggers as his green mohawk shook a bit from him rolling his head to stretch.
Pyrrha focused intently on Jaune's face: He was blank. Far too blank.
"Get him, Jaune!" Yang shouted encouragingly.
"Break his legs!" Nora shouted.
"Kick his ass, Russel!" Cardin shouted from the other side of the Combat Class. Glynda's expression remained hard as she looked between the combatants.
"The match goes until one fighter's Aura is in the red or forfeit," Goodwitch stated in a bland tone, like she did for every match, "Begin!"
Russel spun his twin dagger revolvers, and then knocked them together with a loud, metallic clang to intimidate Jaune. Jaune didn't seem to register it, not even moving.
"Come on Arc!" Russel sneered, "Not even gonna draw your sword?"
"No," Jaune stated. Russel actually gaped in disbelief. Pyrrha could not blame him-Her jaw dropped too. Plenty of other students gasped.
"Wha-Are you having me on, Arc?! Why not?!" Russel growled.
Jaune stared at Russel, his normally warm gaze now cold and hard like steel.
It made Pyrrha shiver, and not in a good way.
Well… Not entirely good.
"Because I don't want to accidentally kill you," Jaune stated, without any inflection whatsoever. He may as well have been talking about the weather.
Russel growled, and flipped to his Fire Dust chamber.
"Don't you fuck with me!" He roared, pulling the trigger and unleashing a blast of flames right into Jaune's face. Ruby cried out as Jaune was engulfed. Even Russel's cocky smile twitched as he saw Jaune hadn't even tried to dodge.
His smile got twitchier when Jaune calmly walked out of the smoke towards him, a little dirty and soot covered, but none the worse for wear.
"Do you have a death wish or somethin', Arc?!" Russel demanded. He fired another Fire Dust blast, higher intensity. Jaune's Aura dipped a few points, but he kept marching through the smoke without so much as a flinch.
Russel trembled, his smirk now looking a bit desperate. Sweat beaded on his forehead as Jaune continued to advance like a slasher in a horror film.
"DAMNIT WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING DEAL?!" Russel bellowed, lifting up both his dagger revolvers and firing multiple rounds of Fire Dust at Jaune. Through every blast, Jaune just walked through. His Aura kept going down, getting into the yellows, and still he closed in without any hesitation. Pyrrha's mouth had gone dry. She could hear Blake's disbelieving hiss, Ruby's whimper, Yang's heavy breathing, and Weiss's horrified mumbling.
She could see Jaune's cousin Mint staring, enraptured, at the spectacle. While her teammate Cinder's face was almost unreadable.
Looking very desperate, Russel emptied the chambers in one last massive blast, completely enveloping Jaune in the smoke. He pulled his triggers again… And got only clicks. He glanced down at his weapons in shock, and looked up at the smoke…
Just in time for Jaune's armored fist to burst out of the smoke and grasp his throat.
"HURK!"
Jaune emerged entirely from the smoke, his expression completely unchanged. He pulled his other fist back, burning with Aura, and then slammed it into Russel's face hard enough to knock a tooth out. Pyrrha watched it fly through the air.
Again, and again, and again, Jaune punched Russel over and over and over. He then lifted him right up over his head, and threw him out of the ring.
"AAAHHH-URK!"
He hit the wall and slumped to the ground. A few students immediately checked on him, though his Aura graph on the main screen revealed he was alive-Albeit unconscious.
"... Winner, Jaune Arc," Glynda Goodwitch managed, gamely hiding her shock. Jaune nodded, breathing a bit harder but his Aura was healing him quickly.
"Any comments on my performance, Professor?" He asked.
"...That was very reckless. You're lucky that Mister Thrush was too intimidated to change tactics! That won't save you if you try this in the field!" Goodwitch decided. Jaune nodded slowly.
"Okay." He turned and hopped over the railing into the silent classroom. He walked into the locker room to change. Whispered conversations and murmurs erupted once he was gone, all about the same subject: Jaune's behavior.
"What the-What was that?" Ruby muttered in horror.
"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Pyrrha vowed.
Jaune entered the lunch room. As was typical lately, he caught a lot of looks and snippets of conversation about him. He shook his head and ignored it.
He had a lot more important things to worry about right now.
Still, he supposed he would have to explain himself, judging from the looks he got as he sat down with his team at their usual table. Pyrrha was on one side of him, and Yang the other. Ruby was across from him, all three looking very concerned.
Even Ren was uncomfortable. Nora frowned deeply. Weiss was looking around him, not at him, while Blake gave him a guilty look.
"... I might have gone a little overboard," he decided.
"Ya think?" Yang insisted.
"I mean… That was actually kind of cool," Nora said, "How you just walked through every blast like the Exterminator! But it was also a little scary!"
Jaune sighed and shook his head.
"Sorry," he said quietly, "I was… I'm not in a good mood."
"We noticed," Ren deadpanned. Pyrrha took his hand.
"You kind of… You've been worrying us, Jaune," she said frankly. "This whole week you've been… Different."
"Cray cray," Nora pronounced. "I mean, you broke three training robots!"
"You're supposed to break them," Jaune said, a bit defensively.
"Not like that," Nora shuddered. "I mean, not unless they did something to really piss you off, like burn your pancakes!"
"It's a little scary," Ruby said.
Jaune shook his head.
"I'm fine. Really," he said.
"You haven't been the same since you saw the picture of that blonde chick," Yang stated bluntly.
Jaune winced a little, but nodded.
"Yeah… Just… A lot on my mind over her and… The other issue," he said, looking significantly over at Blake. "Speaking of, any news?"
Blake hesitated, but nodded.
"Some," she said in a low tone, "There are rumors of a big White Fang recruitment rally this Friday."
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do any more vigilante stuff?" Weiss asked flatly. "You said this yourself, Arc."
Jaune slowly nodded.
"Yeah. I did."
"Didn't you get the same lecture, Blake?" Weiss added, glaring at the secret cat faunus.
"Yes," Blake nodded, "But it… I mean-"
"We're just going to do recon," Jaune stated. "They know Blake is here. They know who she is. And they know we've been interfering. That makes us targets."
"Exactly," Blake said with a nod.
"That doesn't mean we go and get involved!" Weiss said, exasperated, "We're not vigilantes!"
"They killed a friend of ours, Weiss," Jaune stated, cold and hard, "We can't exactly ignore it, can we?"
That gave Weiss pause. The platinum blonde worried her lip before nodding.
"I-I know… I understand that," Weiss said, "But it's still not our job."
"You don't have to participate if you don't want to," Jaune said authoritatively. "None of you do." He looked at Ruby. "I'm not going to order anyone around-"
"N-No, I understand, and-and same goes for me," Ruby managed, a bit nervously, "And I do want to help Blake. I've fought Roman Torchwick before, after all. I-I can be a big help."
Yang shrugged.
"Heck, I'm fine with hurting these assholes," she stated. She smirked. "I've got a juvenile record anyway, what's a few more charges?"
"I'm not opposed to aiding in justice," Ren said, "But it would be good to approach this with clear objectives in mind. I would say that assisting the police should be our main priority, not vengeance."
"Yeah!" Nora declared, throwing a fist into the air.
Jaune stared intensely into the air at that. Pyrrha frowned.
"Jaune?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah," he managed with a nod, "Sure."
Yang caught this too. She and Pyrrha exchanged some concerned looks. Ruby frowned deeply.
"Well," Weiss decided, "I-I don't think I can participate. I have a date this Friday."
"That's fine," Jaune said with a nod. He looked at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha? You don't have to-"
"Let me think about it," she said softly. Jaune stared at her, and then slowly nodded.
"Okay."
He turned back to his food. He didn't like making his friends feel like this, but… In all honesty? There was a part of him that insisted it didn't matter.
Not as long as Iridescent was still out there.
The rest of the meal was fairly subdued. Jaune got up, put his tray away for the dishwasher, and headed off to do some training during his free period.
He was just about done with changing back into his armor, and had emerged in the training area, when he paused and looked over.
Pyrrha was waiting for him, in her armor and looking very determined.
"Pyrrha?" He asked.
"Jaune," she greeted. She walked up to him. "I… I've been thinking about it."
"Okay," he replied. She sucked in a deep breath, and crossed her arms under her chest.
"I'm willing to go and help you," she said quietly, "I'm your partner. I will always back you up if you're going into danger."
Jaune smiled a bit. That did put his mind more at ease.
"Thank you Pyrrha, I really-"
"But," Pyrrha stated, "O-Only if you… If you tell me what you intend to do with this Iridescent girl."
Jaune froze. He turned his head away.
"I don't know the full story," she said, "Only what you told all of us. You just told us she was a criminal you were familiar with…"
She sucked in a breath.
"But I know there's more to it. Yang knows the story. I can tell. But I want to know it too. I think… I think we all deserve to know."
"Know what?" Jaune spat, anger and bitterness welling up inside of him like lava in a volcano.
Pyrrha met his gaze evenly.
"Know if…" She hesitated for a moment, "If you're planning to kill her."
Dead silence fell. Jaune felt numb all over. He couldn't look at Pyrrha all of a sudden, his eyes locking onto the floor.
"Are you planning to kill her?" Pyrrha asked quietly.
"... If I was," Jaune asked carefully, still not meeting her eyes, "What would you do about it?"
Pyrrha stared intently at him, silent. She spoke again, still quiet.
"I would ask… I would ask if that's really what you want," she said, "If that's what you want to do."
His hand formed a fist as he slammed it against his thigh in a sudden burst of anger.
"Yes, it is," he growled.
He told her everything. With Yang, his shame was the strongest emotion and that had guided what he had focused on. With Pyrrha, all that came out was anger. Every memory of Iridescent and the pain she put him and Gato through.
Her mocking laughter and smirks at Gato and him every time they fought desperately for their lives. Her leers as she mocked him from behind bars, asking how long he would last with just an old man to help him. How she had become lustful over him becoming a killer…
Jaune's fists clenched as he shook.
"She needs to die," he snarled, "She needs to die at my hand. For everything she did. Everything she's doing. For Gato."
Pyrrha stepped forward carefully, as smooth and graceful as ever. She took his hands in hers. He looked up at her, his anger stilled as worry flooded him.
Her gaze was full of compassion.
"Jaune," she said softly, "I understand your feelings. If someone… If someone took someone precious from me? I would kill them."
Jaune blinked. Her tone was… Sad, but firm.
"You-?"
"I have never killed," Pyrrha said, still calm and serious, "But in Argus, our culture… I was brought up to be a warrior. To stay calm and focused, and accept that in a serious fight, it would be to the death. I… I've made peace with that. I don't look forward to it. Sometimes I wish I had just stayed as a tournament fighter, where there are safeguards, but…"
She shook her head slowly.
"Then I wouldn't get to protect people. Help people. Meet… Meet wonderful people, like you, Nora, Ren, Ruby…" She flushed a bit.
Jaune nodded slowly.
"I-I see…"
"But if you want her dead, Jaune," Pyrrha stated, firm and sad, "I will do that with you. For you. Just... Say the word."
He stared at her intensely. His rage, already burning in his mind, pushed for acceptance.
You've seen how incredible a fighter she is! You know how much she cares about you! He thought, his blood singing in his fury, She would do it with me, she would do it for me!
She would do anything for me, she'd be mine.
He stared into her eyes. His hands rested on hers. He opened his mouth.
Just say the word, Jaune. Just say it and… And she would… She would be my possession, my weapon, my-!
A wave of horror and revulsion washed over Jaune. He fell back, putting a hand over his mouth.
"Jaune?"
Jaune couldn't look at her.
"Pyrrha, I…" He looked at her and swallowed. "Thanks... I-I mean that."
"I'm just worried," Pyrrha said quietly, "That if you choose to go down this path, to deliberately kill her… That you might… Might lose something important. And so will I."
She hesitated, then reached out and rested a hand against his chest, over his pounding heart. His heartbeat slowed, and he calmed down.
"Something that I love about you, dearly," she added, and despite himself he blushed.
"Thanks," he murmured.
She looked him in the eyes.
"If you're sure about this," she said, "If you're sure about going after her, and ending her life? I will support you. I will fight alongside you. I will do everything I can to help you, Jaune."
She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. He glanced up into her eyes.
"And I will do everything I can to help you stay you, Jaune. I just… I don't want to lose you, Jaune. Not your life, and not who you are."
Pyrrha smiled softly.
"You've worked so hard to help me be… Be someone I like. To not be crazy, to not be alone. I-I want to do the same for you."
Jaune licked his lips, even as his emotions roiled inside of him. He looked away to the side.
"I…"
"Do you want to go through with this?" She asked quietly.
Jaune stared intently at the wall.
"... I'm not sure," he admitted.
Pyrrha slowly nodded.
"Then maybe you should talk to everyone else about this, first," she said. "You know my answer. Maybe… Maybe you should know everyone else's. When they know the full story."
Jaune sucked in a breath through his nostrils, and let it out as a long, slow sigh.
"Yeah… Maybe I should."
He held up his sword and shield.
"After training."
Pyrrha smiled beautifully, and held up her own weapons.
"That sounds wonderful!"
It was an hour later that Jaune staggered out of the locker room. He was showered, cleaned… And groaning softly. He felt a familiar arm wrap around his shoulders. He looked over to see Yang there, grinning.
"Hey there Stud. How are you?"
"Urgh," Jaune moaned, "Alive, I think."
Yang snickered a bit.
"Training with Pyrrha, huh?"
"Told her not to hold back," Jaune said honestly.
"Mistake?"
"Maybe a little," Jaune groaned. Yang grinned, and put her lips dangerously close to his ear.
"Want me to rub you down with that lotion of yours~?"
Jaune managed not to sputter or blush. He just took a deep breath through his nostrils, and let it out as a long sigh.
"Pyrrha already offered, and to go into the shower with me," he said. Yang scowled. He shook his head as rapidly as he could. "I didn't let her!"
"Good, but we're gonna need to have another chat about what's fair," she grumbled. Jaune tried to shrug as his shoulders got the message a bit late.
"I wouldn't be talking, all the flirting you do," he pointed out. Yang giggled.
"Well, I need to keep you on your toes! Without carrying you. That's Pyrrha's job on your team, right?"
"Funny," Jaune muttered. She led him to the library, passing under the large, elaborate glass dome, the tall rich oak wood bookshelves and the ever vigilant Head Librarian Miss Mombi. Yang set him down in a chair at a study desk, and took the seat right next to him.
"Help a gal study?" She asked. Jaune nodded, and pulled out his own textbooks. "When's your next class?"
"Not for another hour," Jaune admitted, "Assistant Professor Ragora sent us a Scroll text that she was canceling out the Weapon Maintenance class."
"How convenient," Yang chuckled. Jaune stared at her.
"Is it?"
"Well, lets us study and… Talk," she said quietly. She stared intently at him. "About Iridescent."
Jaune grit his teeth, and managed a slow nod.
"Yeah," he mumbled. Yang stared at him with a carefully neutral expression.
"You want to kill her, don't you?"
"I…" Jaune managed a nod. "Should I not? Are you going to tell me I shouldn't?"
Yang slowly shook her head, leaning her cheek against her fist as she rested her elbow on the desk.
"If someone had done all that to me or someone I loved? Yeah. I'd want them dead."
Jaune stared at her. She slowly shook her head.
"Dad and Uncle Qrow told me a lot of horror stories about what the Huntress life is really like," she admitted. She glanced down at the table. "There are a lot of unhappy endings. A lot of things going wrong. A lot of…"
Her fists clench.
"Frankly fucking evil people out there, who will use Grimm attacks to get what they want from helpless people where there's no one to protect them," she ground out, her eyes flashing red for a moment. She looked up at Jaune and shook her head. She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"So, you wanna ice this bitch? I'm down for it. I will be right there alongside you, Jaune."
"Have… Have you-?" Jaune tried, but he faltered. Yang slowly shook her head.
"No. I've gotten in a lot of brawls. Never killed anyone." She sighed. "It's not like I'm eager to do it. I'm not a psycho."
"Never said you were," Jaune said dryly, "And I can't exactly talk what with my issues."
Yang gave a small, tight smile at that. She squeezed his shoulder again.
"The thing is… Between someone who was just minding their own business? Taking care of their family? Just living their life without causing any trouble? And some evil bitch robbing, enslaving, and killing people just for money? I think the world is a lot better off with the latter dead than alive. You though… You're struggling with that."
"Yeah," Jaune admitted, looking down at the textbook and seeing nothing. "I don't think I should, but… I still am."
"That's because you're not happy you killed those men," Yang said quietly, "Which is good, because you're not crazy."
"What do you think I should do?" Jaune asked. Yang shook her head.
"That's your decision to make, not mine," she said softly, "If I have to put her down? … I'll do it. If I can just knock her out and turn her over to the cops? I'll do that too. Whatever you want to do? I'll be there with you. But you have to decide that, not me."
Jaune slowly nodded
"Thanks Yang," he murmured. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Whatever you decide, I'll be here for you," she said, "Promise."
He smiled. They studied for a bit longer, Yang telling him some incredibly terrible jokes that all made him laugh and groan. Her touches lingered a lot longer than usual, but Jaune was so sore any warm touch was welcome.
He just prayed it wouldn't lead to Ruby, Pyrrha, Neo or Weiss eviscerating him. Neo was the sure bet, but Ruby had been a lot quieter lately so he didn't know what she was up to.
He really should give her more attention. She was his first friend here, after all. And he had promised to give her a wonderful date.
"Hey Jaune!"
Speak of the devil, and she would appear in a burst of rose blossoms right on his lap.
"URK! H-Hey Ruby," Jaune managed with a wince.
"How are you-?!"
"Shhhh!" Mombi hissed at them, a finger to her lips. Her hair had turned bright red.. She glared at them from her imposing desk. All three settled down, Ruby shifting out of Jaune's lap into a side chair with an innocent smile.
Mombi's glare continued for a bit longer, before she slowly went back to her computer. Her hair shifted back into black.
Yang winced.
"Eesh. She's got a real flare, huh? What kind of Semblance lets you change your hair?" She muttered.
"That's probably why she's a librarian," Jaune muttered back.
"I think her real Semblance is just her glare," Ruby added. She beamed at Jaune. "How are you doing?"
"Sore as hell," Jaune sighed. Ruby winced.
"Ooh… Training with Pyrrha, huh?"
"Yup," Jaune sighed, "It's always rough after."
Ruby nodded happily. "Yeah! I was sore in places I didn't know I had!" She looked over at Yang. "Uh, so… Could I get some time with Jaune?"
Yang chuckled, and reached over Jaune to ruffle her hair. She scowled up at her, as Jaune blushed.
"See you at the next class," she said. She kissed his lips gently, before she gathered her books and headed off with a sway to her hips. Jaune was too sore and tired to not look away… Which led to Ruby grabbing his forearm, pinching it, and twisting it hard.
"OW!" Jaune yelped. Ruby scowled deeply at him.
"You should ogle me too!" She protested.
"Not until you're legal," Jaune sighed. He shook his head. "You okay?"
"I uh…" She worked her jaw a bit. "I'm just… I'm a little worried. About the White Fang stuff, and well…" Ruby shyly looked up at him.
"You."
Jaune let out a long sigh.
"How much do you know about Iridescent?" He asked.
"I asked Blake and Yang," Ruby admitted. She winced at him. "I'm sorry. I just really wanted to… I mean, you were being so… Scary and angry and I didn't know how to ask you-"
Jaune held up a hand. He glanced back over his shoulder: Head Librarian Mombi was scowling their way again. Ruby covered her mouth and nodded. He sighed and leaned in close to her, his voice low.
"I… Yeah, I was acting weird," he said, "You know why I don't want it getting around, right? Especially not to you?"
"Why?" Ruby asked.
Jaune worked his jaw.
"... I've killed people, Ruby," Jaune murmured. "That's why."
Ruby nodded.
"I know."
"Doesn't that… Bother you?" He asked.
Ruby sighed, and shook her head.
"A little, yeah," she said. "I'm not… I don't think you're evil or anything. It's a lot, but…" She shook her head slowly. She reached out to squeeze his hand.
"Why did you decide to be a Huntsman?" She asked.
Jaune thought about it for a moment.
"Because I wanted to be a hero, like my parents, my grandparents, and my ancestors," Jaune said. He looked into her silver eyes. "You?"
"My mom," Ruby said, with a small, proud smile, "My dad gave me her journals. I've… I've been reading a lot. Getting to know her." She shrugged.
"Growing up, all the stories my dad and uncle told me about her? I put together a picture of a superhero in my head. Like out of Xray and Vav, you know?"
Jaune nodded slowly, though he hadn't read a lot of that comic in a while.
"And now?" Jaune asked. He squeezed her hand, noting how much smaller and paler it was than his. The way she handled her scythe was incredible. It was hard to remember how strong she was at the moment though, with how small she seemed right now.
Ruby sucked in a deep breath.
"There's… A lot I didn't know about her. Hearing Uncle Qrow's horror stories? I just didn't really get it. How could anyone like my mom feel… Feel scared, or helpless, or enraged? After Forever Fall, I…" She bit her lower lip.
"I feel a lot better, in some ways," she said, "Because I know she also felt scared, and angry, and helpless. And… Other things."
She looked at Jaune intently.
"She still tried to be a hero. To-To be the best she could be as a person, despite everything she went through," she said, "Just like my Dad and my uncle. Despite everything. That's what I want to do. What I want to be."
Jaune slowly nodded. Ruby sucked in a breath.
"Do you still want to be a hero?" She asked.
Jaune was still. He shut his eyes.
"Of course I do," he admitted. "But this woman…"
"I… I'm not saying you have to make friends or anything," Ruby said quickly. "I-I'm not stupid. Roman Torchwick could have killed me. I know. I just…" She closed her eyes tightly.
"I just want you to find another way," she murmured. Ruby shrugged, a small, awkward little smile on her face.
"If… If we can find another way… I would like that," she said, "If there's no other way to stop her… But if there is… Can we find it? Please?"
Jaune stared at her for a long silent moment. He sucked in another breath, as his ribs seemed to creak. He closed his eyes and managed a slow nod.
"I can't promise anything," he said.
"I know," Ruby managed softly.
Jaune sighed quietly. He nodded briefly.
"I'll try."
"Thank you," Ruby said, a wide smile appearing on her face.
Jaune rubbed her hair affectionately with his hand. She scowled.
"Stop that."
"I will when you're legal," Jaune stated. He smiled. "Maybe."
"Hmph," Ruby grumbled. She did look a lot less stressed though. Jaune managed a small smile at her. Ruby managed it back.
She then bit her lower lip.
"There's…" She shook her head again. Jaune frowned.
"Ruby?"
"Something… I can't tell you," she said quietly, "I-I just want to-I can't-!"
Jaune smiled softly, and pulled her into a hug. He patted her on her back, and let her relax against him.
"I won't pry, all right? You can tell me when you want to. I mean it."
Ruby sagged in relief, and beamed up at him.
"Thank you," she said.
Jaune then smirked.
"I don't pry into people's backgrounds, unlike you."
Ruby scowled back at him.
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do as a leader though?" She asked.
"No! Yes… Maybe?" Jaune shook his head. He sighed, and patted her on the back. "I was trying to make you laugh."
"Didn't work."
Jaune rolled his eyes and sighed, looking incredibly put upon.
"Yeah, I'm aware."
She giggled. Jaune smirked a bit. Ruby huffed.
"That wasn't a full laugh. Still didn't work."
"I wasn't trying…" Jaune sighed heavily. He shook his head. "Fine. I'm not the comedian, I'm the leader."
"A leader," Ruby pointed out. Jaune smiled and nodded, ruffling her hair again.
"A leader, yeah."
All good things had to come to an end, and the late afternoon classes were soon to start. Ruby and Jaune ran into Blake outside the library, who was waiting for them. They walked together towards Professor Oobleck's history class. Blake let Ruby get ahead a bit, before the looked over at Jaune.
"I've got some intel," she murmured, and Jaune tensed, "We know where they're holding the rally tonight. They're planning to show off something big."
Jaune nodded slowly.
"Got it," he said. Blake sucked in a breath.
"We need to break it up, and get the cops there," she said softly. Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"That's a little different, for you."
"After last time? I can see the benefits of back up," she murmured. Jaune nodded. "Sun is also going to help. We'll work out the plans after class."
She paused for a moment.
"I'm sorry I told Ruby-"
"It's fine," Jaune sighed. He looked at Blake. "You have concerns too?"
Blake was silent for a moment.
"Just that… I've seen what a desire for revenge can do to people-"
"Justice," Jaune insisted, gritting his teeth a bit. Blake stared at him for a moment as they walked the hallways, more students appearing as they got closer to their destination. They walked up to the door to the classroom before Blake stopped and turned around to look at him.
"I know people who have forgotten the difference," she said softly, "Please Jaune… Don't be one of those people."
He stared at her in silence. She turned and walked into the classroom, leaving Jaune standing outside alone. It didn't last long. He felt a familiar hand rest on his shoulder. He looked back, and saw Nora smiling at him. Ren stood alongside her.
"I-"
"Wherever you go or decide, we'll follow," Ren said. Nora grinned.
"Yeah! We get it! You don't have to talk a whole lot about it!"
Jaune couldn't help but smile a little. Nora grinned, patted his shoulder, and skipped into the classroom. Ren nodded to him, and headed in.
Weiss and Pyrrha approached. Pyrrha gave him a tight smile. Jaune returned it. He looked over at Weiss, who sniffed.
"Hey Schnee. You got anything to say?"
Weiss shook her head.
"Whatever you and the rest of these lunatics who are our friends want to do, Arc, do it. I'll be on a date with Neptune," she stated. Jaune nodded, smirking a bit.
"I guess that's about all I expected."
Weiss huffed. Pyrha went on ahead, smiling comfortingly at Jaune as she headed in. Jaune turned to head in at last, but Weiss took a hold of his wrist. He glanced back at her. Weiss shook her head, looking… Pensive.
"Just… My uncle said that revenge is a sucker's game. I didn't really understand it until…" She sniffed. "Just… Don't get caught up in it. It's not worth it. Not in the long run."
Jaune blinked several times. Weiss let him go, and headed into the classroom. The bell rang, and he sighed.
"Well… That was unexpected," he muttered, as he walked in and headed for his usual seat.
Meanwhile in Atlas…
Isabel shivered a bit and pulled her large blue parka closer around herself. The walk from the airship port across the Schnee Manor grounds was, in her opinion, far too long. Like the owner wanted to ensure that visitors would feel humbled if they dared to come to his home by the air.
The gray and blue arches of the huge manor were as familiar as ever, with the four pure white towers to break up the structure of the mansion. They cut up and provided stark contrast against the clear blue sky: A rare sight in Solitas.
Yet it was still too damn cold for her.
Qrow walked alongside her, dressed in his own white and black winter coat. He smirked a bit at her as they walked up the driveway to the main entrance of the manor, the slight wind waving his hair. She scowled back.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"Can't you adjust your body form to make yourself warmer?" He asked.
"I did," Isabel sighed, and she adjusted her coat again, "It never seems to work as well as I'd like."
"I did wonder why you looked shorter and thicker," he mused, his eyes raking up and down her body. She kept herself from blushing with her Semblance and sniffed.
"Didn't know you were into the matronly form," she stated, slightly annoyed.
"I can appreciate a woman who has brought a lot of life into the world," he chuckled. She scowled at him.
"Stop flirting!"
"Do you not like it?"
"It's not appropriate right now!" She hissed.
"That's the best time!" Qrow countered.
Isabel lost control of her flush.
Damnit… Why does he have to remind me so much of Nick…?
She shook her head and managed her hormones.
Focus damnit. You have a job to do.
They made it to the stately double doors of the manor. Isabel lifted her hand to hit the doorbell, but the doors smoothly opened before she could put a glove on the button. A kindly looking middle-aged man, short, heavy set, with receding brown hair and a bushy mustache greeted them in a well-tailored blue and white suit.
"Doctor Arc, what a pleasure it is to see you again," the butler greeted, his Albion accent quite thick but pleasant. Isabel beamed at him and reached out to shake his hand.
"Klein, it's wonderful to see you again," she said.
"Please, come in, let me take your coats," he said. They both stepped into the huge main entrance hall, with a blue and white patterned marble floor, and a white marble staircase that led to the arch-dominated upper floors. Two Geist Knight statues stood guard on either flank of the grand staircase, silent and pristine. Qrow still gave them a wary look as Klein took their coats and handed them off to a robot, who floated away.
Isabel had opted for a simple green business jacket, white blouse, and long green skirt with heels and matching purse. It was professional, but something she could still fight in. Qrow had made no effort at all, and still wore his usual clothing. Something Klein raised a very meaningful eyebrow at.
Isabel nodded to Qrow, "This is Qrow Branwen, my partner on this visit."
Klein gave Qrow the once over, his mustache rustling a bit. Qrow gave him a jaunty grin and salute.
"How's it hangin', Jeeves?"
Isabel twitched. Klein shook his head.
"A gentleman does not share such information in front of a lady, sir," he stated.
Isabel's lip twitched. Qrow just grinned.
"I think I might like you, Jeeves."
"My heart simply leaps for joy at the possibility, Mister Branwen," Klein deadpanned.
Without skipping a beat, the butler looked back over to Isabel with a polite smile.
"Mistress Willow will meet with you in the parlor, Doctor Isabel."
"Thank you, Klein," Isabel nodded. Klein turned and led them smartly to the right, towards the east wing of the massive house. Isabel and Qrow followed, through the expansive hallway.
The butler brought them to a stately room, covered in bookshelves filled with rare tomes and data disks. Comfortable-looking furniture that Isabel was sure was more expensive than all of Arcadia's grounds rested in front of a roaring fireplace. Klein gestured for them to sit in the high-backed chairs, and they settled in.
"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? I believe Doctor Isabel prefers a South Vacoan mocha with sugar and milk?"
"That would be lovely, thank you, Klein," Isabel said with a nod and a smile. The butler departed, shutting the door behind him. Qrow sighed, leaning back and putting his feet up on the coffee table.
"Off," Isabel hissed. Qrow scowled.
"I'll take 'em off when she gets here."
"She'll see the scuff marks!"
"Fine," Qrow muttered, pulling his feet back and sulking like a child. He flared his Aura… Then sat up straight.
"There. The surveillance devices all had a very unlucky failure in their power systems," Qrow stated with a smirk, "Should last for five minutes. Such a shame."
"Indeed," Isabel deadpanned.
"You're sure you want to go through with this?" Qrow asked. "I mean… Your pretense for coming here is a little thin."
Isabel sighed softly. She opened up her purse and produced her computer tablet and notebooks.
"It is," she admitted, "But it is something I as a responsible family doctor should bring to the attention of my patients." She licked her lips. "Connecting it to Merlot is a bit trickier, but it should work."
"Still," Qrow said quietly, "You might be sacrificing your trust with the Schnees. That could be a huge blow to you."
Isabel nodded slowly.
"I know," she said, "But to stop Nick's killer? It will be worth it."
"Just be careful with that attitude," Qrow warned her quietly, "My boss may be on the side of the angels, but that doesn't make him one."
Isabel nodded again.
"I know," she murmured. She sighed and shut her eyes. "But we're in a little too deep to back out now."
The door opened. Isabel stood up, and Qrow followed only a little more slowly. Klein stepped in, looking apologetic.
"Mistress Willow is not feeling well at the moment," he said, "But Master Whitley has agreed to appear in her stead."
Isabel's eyes narrowed. She looked over and behind Klein to Whitley. The fifteen-year-old boy resembled his mother with his pointed chin and blue eyes, but his father's influence was shown in his hair, his nose, and his scowl.
"Whitley, it's very nice to see you again," she greeted him. Whitley nodded in a perfunctory way.
"Same, Doctor Arc," he returned. Isabel glanced at Klein.
"It is very important we see Willow. May I see to her?" She glanced at Whitley. "No offense, but I feel she should be told firsthand."
Whitley snorted. He stalked into the parlor and pulled out a holobook.
"Doesn't matter to me," he stated, his tone so cold that Isabel half expected mist to form in front of his mouth.
"I'll see to her then," Isabel said. "Klein? If you would?"
"Certainly, Doctor," Klein nodded, leading her out. She glanced back over her shoulder and smiled warmly at Whitley.
"We'll be right back. I hope to have some time to hear about how you're doing in your studies, Whitley. Last I heard, you were accepted into an advanced engineering training course?"
Whitley gave the smallest of smiles and nodded.
"Yes, Doctor."
"Good work," Isabel said with genuine pride. She couldn't help her instincts to mother the Schnee children whenever she had visited. Gods knew that Willow wasn't giving them much in that department.
She looked over at Qrow.
"Behave," she stated. Qrow smirked and shrugged, leaning against one of the chairs.
"Hey, it's me!"
Isabel held back a smirk. Damnit, this would be so much easier if he wasn't so damn charming…!
"Lead on, Klein."
"Of course, Doctor."
Klein shut the door behind himself and Isabel. Qrow looked back over at Whitley.
He gave the teenager a once-over. He was thin but fairly fit, even though he probably didn't do anything more strenuous for exercise than jogging, golfing, or horse riding. His scowl was fairly familiar though. He'd worn something similar as a teenager.
Then again, he'd had plenty to complain about. A hell of a lot more than this kid.
And yet…
"So," Whitley began, "What are you two really here for?"
Qrow raised an eyebrow and adopted the most innocent 'who me?' expression he had.
"Don't know what you're talking about," he said, "I'm just her partner, her bodyguard-"
"Isabel Arc gets back into Hunting after an absence of almost ten years," Whitley began, holding up a holopad to show off a news article from Rotomagus of Isabel and Qrow by Nick's old motorcycle, Guivre, "And a new Grimm species is discovered. Slain by the two of you. One that displayed nearly human intellect and reasoning skills. She's also working with you, Qrow Branwen. Infamous as Headmaster Ozpin's 'fixer', who is registered as a professor at Beacon, but has never taught any classes."
He lowered the holopad with a scowl. Qrow nodded slowly.
Okay. The kid was bright, he'd give him that.
"Got a lot of interest in her," Qrow said, "Nursing a crush on her? I don't blame you, kid, she's basically the MILF and sexy doctor fetishes incarnate."
Whitley's face burned bright red, and he shook his head rapidly.
"N-No! No! I'm just-It's just really suspicious for her to take up with you and then call a meeting with my mother! You-You ruffian!"
Qrow chuckled.
"Gonna have to do a lot better than that to ruffle my feathers, kid," Qrow stated with a smirk, "Jealous your fantasy crush has been hanging out with me?"
Whitley practically growled, and clutched at the holopad tightly.
"No! I just-What do you really want?!"
"To give you important news on your health," Qrow said dryly, "I figure you'd be interested in that."
"What kind of important news?" Whitley asked suspiciously.
"Well, I'm guessing your blood pressure, based on how you're reacting," Qrow said with a cheeky grin.
The gardens of the Schnee Manor were elaborate and decadent, even by the standards of many of Isabel's other rich patients. Dust generators maintained a warm, temperate climate at all times. Exotic animals like tigers, lions, and bears were kept in caged enclosures. A flock of beautiful cranes hunted for fish in an artificial pond. And flowers of every description from across Remnant flourished, tended by human and robot hands.
Reclining on a sofa like a queen of old was Willow Schnee. She was in a fur coat, several wine bottles lying around her, as she giggled and sang nonsense tunes under her breath as Isabel and Klein approached.
"Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann
Und mir steckt's… auch im Blut…"
Willow giggled, and looked up at Isabel. Klein stood a respectful distance away, but still at the side of his employer.
"Hello Ishabel!" She greeted happily. "You… We… We had a meeting today, ja?"
"Yes," Isabel said calmly. Willow nodded, and held up a bottle happily.
"That song… My father taught me… Taught me it! We would sing it while mining!" She giggled again. "So did Warden… He was terrible… So terrible…" She sniffled, before lifting the bottle back up to her lips.
Isabel reached out and grasped the bottle. Willow looked over into her eyes, and scowled.
"Willow," Isabel began calmly, "We had a meeting."
"And I'm sick," Willow retorted childishly, "Soos… No meetings! No work! No work at-at all! Haven't… Haven't worked in a while, anywayyyy… More used to that than… Than anything…!"
Isabel sighed. She reached into her purse, and pulled out one of her fighting gloves. She slipped it on, then slammed a canister of Healing Dust into the receptacle on the back of her palm.
"Oh no," Willow muttered, scooting back, "N-Not again-!"
"Yes, again," Isabel stated firmly. She pressed her hand against Willow's lower belly, and activated the Healing Dust. It glowed bright white/yellow, and Willow sat up straight. She tried to grab Isabel's wrist, to make her move, but it did nothing against her monstrous strength.
"And… There," Isabel said with a nod. Willow's hands went up to her mouth. She covered it as she gagged. Klein helpfully held out a bucket, and the elegant older woman grabbed for it and shoved her face into it with desperation filled speed.
"HWROOGH! HWRAARRK!"
"Fascinating," Klein observed, as calm and collected as ever, "You sped up the processing of the alcohol in her system-"
"But reversed the flow," Isabel said with a nod, as Willow continued to retch, "The alternative was her making a worse mess. It's much trickier, but she'll appreciate the lack of damage to her clothing."
Willow, panting hard, turned from the bucket with an almost murderous scowl. Klein took the bucket from his mistress, and replaced it with a bottled water. Willow drank the water, gulping it all down desperately. She lowered the empty bottle and glared daggers at the nonplussed Isabel.
"Did you… Really… Have to do that?" Willow asked.
"You gave me a wide latitude in our contract for how I was to do my duties," Isabel said wryly. Willow groaned, scooting to the edge of her couch to put her head down nearly between her knees.
"Why did I do that?" She moaned.
"You were drunk," Isabel said flatly.
Willow sighed.
"I suppose that would explain it," she mumbled. "If only you could solve the reasons for that…"
Isabel sighed softly. She maintained strict doctor-patient confidentiality with all her clients. She did what she could for Willow's children. It pained her greatly to see how Jacques treated his own flesh and blood, and how Willow retreated into alcoholism to deal with it.
The simple truth was…
"I'm sorry. I can't fix those for you," she said.
Willow was silent, staring at the ground.
Isabel opened her mouth to say more, but Willow slowly shook her head.
"I know," she murmured softly. She very slowly got up to her feet, not looking in Isabel's direction. "I suppose… I suppose we should have that meeting now?"
Ah, yes. She'd left Qrow alone with a teenaged boy. No way that could go wrong.
"It would be nice," Isabel nodded.
Klein led them both back to the parlor. The butler opened the door for both of them, and Isabel tensed.
Rather than Whitley suffering a bloody nose or being trapped in a headlock… He and Qrow were looking over a Scroll with great interest.
"Yeah, see," Qrow pointed out, "My niece built this upgrade for me."
"Wow," Whitley said with an honest to the Gods smile, "Really? That's incredible! The bearing system is inspired-Ah, uh, hello Mother," Whitley immediately went back to his usual cool expression, and stepped away from Qrow. Qrow gave Isabel a smug smile, before he turned and nodded to Willow.
"Mrs. Schnee, it's a pleasure," Qrow said, "Just sharing my niece's engineering work with your son."
A faint, tired smile emerged on Willow's face.
"That's wonderful to hear," she said softly. Whitley's expression tightened, and he kept his eyes on his Scroll. Willow frowned. Isabel shook her head.
"Anyway," Isabel said, "Just so we don't take any more of your time…"
They sat down in the parlor chairs. Whitley stayed by the bookshelves, away from his mother. Klein served them hot drinks, which were perfect, of course. Isabel then pulled out her papers and handed them to Willow. The Schnee matriarch examined them carefully as Isabel delivered their spiel.
"I've identified a faint possibility for Solitas Heritage Disease from Jacques' side of the family," Isabel explained, "The odds are very low, but these can lead to autoimmune polyglandular syndrome. The ailments this cause can include, but are not limited to: Autoimmune hepatitis, hypogonadism, vitiligo, alopecia, malabsorption, pernicious anemia, cataracts, and cerebellar ataxia."
Willow nodded slowly.
"What would be the best approach to deal with this issue?" Willow asked.
Isabel smiled genuinely. She was, after all, giving some good news. She loved when she could do that for a patient.
"Standard genome editing should handle it. However, there are cases where full genetic transfer therapy has been required. I can do some labs to figure out the risk factors. And a genetic screening with their future partners or spouses would help determine how to handle it for your children."
Willow nodded slowly.
"That's very good," Willow said, "And I greatly appreciate it, Isabel. Believe me, I do. I just fail to see why we had to meet face to face like this."
"Told you," Whitley muttered. Qrow and Isabel glanced at the teenager, and then back at one another. Qrow flared his Aura, and nodded to Isabel. The doctor let out a soft sigh.
"We were hoping," Isabel said, "You could provide us with information on the grants you gave to one Doctor Merlot ten years ago."
Willow froze as she brought her tea cup to her mouth. She slowly lowered it, and shook her head with a tight expression around her eyes.
"That's… That was a fiasco, Isabel," Willow said softly. "I'm not sure I can talk about that-"
"Your recording devices are disabled in this room, Willow, and will be for the next five minutes," Isabel stated. Whitley gaped in shock.
"Wha-How did you-?!"
"Trust us on that," Qrow stated, "You can be as open with us as you want."
"Why?" Willow asked, eyes wide, "Does this have to do with that Grimm in Vale?"
"It might," Isabel said with a slow nod, "We're investigating all options. It…" She hesitated, and looked over at Qrow. Qrow slowly nodded. She looked back at Willow.
"It had human DNA grafted into it," Isabel said softly.
Willow gaped in horror. Whitley was not much better. Isabel looked between them, and clamped down on her emotions with her Semblance.
"We won't use any of the information you give us against you," Isabel stated, "This isn't for blackmail or personal advantage. This Grimm… It killed my husband. It was created using methods similar to those Doctor Merlot proposed. If we can find a link, maybe find where this thing was created… We could prevent anyone else from getting killed."
She looked intently into Willow's eyes.
"You know me, Willow. You've trusted me with your children for the last ten years," she said softly, "Please. Trust me now."
Willow was silent for a time. She stared into her tea cup, stirring it occasionally. Qrow held back an awkward cough. Whitley was staring, captivated. It might have been best to ask him to leave first, but… Ugh, damnit. She really was out of practice…
"If you want Whitley to leave-"
"No," Willow said quietly, "He should stay. He's being groomed to take over for Jacques. This is… He should know about this."
Isabel let out the breath she had been holding. Whitley walked over, and sat down in a chair adjacent to the coffee table, looking intrigued.
"I'll tell you what I can," Willow said quietly, "And hand over what financial records we still have. Most of them were boxed, due to the closure of the project and… Other things."
Qrow leaned forward a little.
"What happened?" Qrow asked.
Willow bit her lower lip, and accepted a biscuit from Klein. She ate it and swallowed before she continued.
"At first, everything was promising," she said, "The ability to control Grimm? To domesticate it? Can you imagine the possibilities? Jacques agreed it could change everything. So we gave our highest levels of funding to Merlot. We were assured by the Council and military they would match our funding."
She sucked in a deep breath.
"At first, everything went well," she said, "Progress was slow, but the processes Merlot pioneered actually got us into biotech. We own a number of the patents still. I saw Grimm obey simple commands in heavily reinforced labs. It all looked promising."
Willow looked off into the distance for a moment, before looking back at her guests.
"Then… Merlot became erratic. Cagey. Almost paranoid. He asked for human volunteers who kept vanishing. Funding went missing without any explanation. Finally, one of his assistants got out and reported that Merlot was engaging in human and faunus experimentation. Without written consent. Jacques had his security squad go in to investigate…"
She trembled.
"They… I didn't see it myself, but the results were…" She shut her eyes tightly.
"We traced some of the funding to places in Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and even Menagerie," she said, "And Doctor Merlot was long gone. The Council terminated the projects, as did the military. It was classified, top secret. That… That was that."
She looked to Klein.
"Will you retrieve the records, Klein? They should be in the storage closet of the library," she said.
"Of course, Mistress Willow," Klein said with a bow. He turned and headed out, shutting the door behind him. Willow sighed.
"It was… Well. It's probably a mark of how horrible the entire situation was that even Jacques was disgusted by it," she said softly. "I thought it was a sign he still had a heart…"
She snorted.
"In truth, it was just that he saw how bad this would be for us. Even worse than the labor scandals, the Schnee Plan… All of it."
Whitley's eyes were still wide in horror. Willow looked over at Whitley with a grim expression.
"You're going to have a lot of work ahead of you as heir," she said, "I'm so, so sorry, Whitley."
"I…" Whitley shook his head. "I guess so, Mother."
The tension in the air was so thick, Isabel nearly jumped when Klein returned with a small, hand-sized box of record disks. He handed them to her, and she took them with a grateful nod.
"Sure you can get away with giving us these?" Qrow asked.
Willow shrugged.
"I trust Isabel," she said, "And you… I suppose. I can only imagine what it would be like if Weiss or Winter ran into one of those… Things." She shuddered.
"We'll keep it to ourselves, I promise," Isabel said firmly. Willow nodded.
"Thank you…"
"Listening devices are coming back online," Qrow warned. Isabel opened the records box and shoved the disks into her purse. Qrow took the box and handed it to Klein, who discreetly hid it behind a potted plant. Willow nodded and smiled.
"Thank you for stopping by, Isabel," she said, "It's always nice to be visited by someone who cares for my family so much."
"It's always a pleasure for me, as well," Isabel said, smiling back. She beamed over at Whitley. "I'm very glad to hear about your progress in Engineering, Whitley. You should be very proud."
"Thank you," Whitley said, nodding quickly. He looked over at Qrow. "Can I get more samples of your niece's engineering?"
"Maybe when she's legal. You like 'em older, right kid?" Qrow said with a smirk and wink. Whitley didn't have to feign his blush.
"I-No-I'm not-!"
Willow hid a small laugh behind her hand.
"I may have to meet her some day," Willow chuckled. She sighed. "Well… It has been a wonderful time, but I have much to do. And I'm sure you do, as well."
"Of course," Isabel said, "Please get the labs to me as soon as you can. We'll sort this all out, Willow. I promise."
Willow stared at her and nodded slowly.
"I know," she said, "I believe you. Klein?"
"Yes ma'am," Klein nodded, opening the door for them. Isabel and Qrow headed out, and Qrow waved goodbye after. Willow managed one back, as Whitley frowned deeply.
"Good luck," Willow said.
Isabel nodded back.
"To us all," she said softly, as the door slid shut.
Professor Oobleck's class was always distracting. Jaune was usually glad for that: The man talked so fast and seemed nearly omniscient about anything his students were doing.
Yet even he wasn't enough to banish Jaune's dark thoughts. So while he did take notes and responded as best he could, he still brooded.
Gato…
When the bell rang, he got up and headed for the door, ahead of everyone else. He saw Pyrrha stare at him, and shook his head. She slowly nodded, but still looked concerned. Well, fine.
They'd all said their piece. He didn't want to hear any more, to be honest.
He headed out, and wandered around the campus grounds with no real destination in mind. He found a bench near the Bullhead port, and sat down to stare out at Vale proper. The sun was beginning to set, orange and purple light beginning to paint the sky overhead.
"Um… H-Hello, Jaune!"
Jaune looked over. He blinked in recognition as May Zedong stood nearby, looking awkward.
"Oh, hey May," he said. He frowned. "Ah, sorry I haven't tried to catch up to you. It's been… A crazy busy week-"
"O-Oh, no, th-that's fine!" May said quickly, waving her hands around in a rather adorable fashion, "I-I've been busy too! I-I just didn't want to bother you, but uh…" She frowned deeply.
"Are… Are you all right?" She asked.
Jaune sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils, and let it out through the same way. He shrugged.
"... Don't know," he admitted. He stared at her. "You can sit down if you'd like."
"O-Oh, thank you," May agreed. She nervously perched on the other side of the bench, far from him. He stared at her, then looked away. He was probably just making her nervous.
May wrang her hands. She giggled nervously.
"Y-Yeah… I'm uh… I'm swamped, too," she admitted. "I-I have to manage my team."
Jaune looked over at her in curiosity.
"Isn't your team 'BRNZ'? Wouldn't that make-?"
"Brawnz the leader?" May let out an exasperated sigh. "In theory, yes. In practice? They're all…" She winced. Jaune hummed.
"Idiots?" He ventured. May flushed, and nodded.
"Yeah," she said. She sighed. "They keep anything from getting close to me while I shoot. That's… About as good a strategy I can get across to them. I have to clean up after them, look after them…" She rolled her eyes. "I have to cook for them when we're out in the field, too."
Jaune winced.
"Sorry," he said. "Feels like you're a babysitter instead of a leader, huh?"
May nodded eagerly.
"Yes! Exactly!" She sighed, though she had a small, fond smile on her face. "But… They are there for me when it counts. It's those… Those times that really justify everything."
Jaune smiled back.
"Yeah," he said.
"It's been a long time," May said, "I uh… I heard about your dad." She winced. "I'm sorry."
"It's… It's fine," Jaune said quietly. "Thanks."
She beamed shyly.
"You uh… We've both gone through a lot of changes, huh?" She asked.
Jaune nodded.
"Plenty," he said.
"Things seemed… A lot simpler, back then," May murmured, almost wistfully. Jaune smiled.
"Yeah…"
"I-I know it's been a while and-and we're-we were friends as kids but um…" She looked away shyly, and then back at Jaune, "It-It would be nice… To be friends again, r-right?"
Jaune smiled softly. He reached out and patted her hand.
"It sure would," he said.
May turned bright red. He almost laughed out loud at that. She was still the same old May, still so shy she tried to hide in plain sight. He supposed that made her a good sniper, but…
"G-Good," May said with a nod. "Um… This weird girl called 'Mint' asked me to give you this?" She held out a folded piece of paper. "Well, I mean, she can't talk, so she just asked…" She winced. "Very uh, aggressively…"
Jaune smiled in understanding. He took the folded up note, and patted May's hand again.
"Yeah, she uh… She can be," Jaune said. "Don't take it personally. She's a little…"
"Overprotective?" May asked. Jaune paused, then nodded.
"Sure, let's go with that," he said. He opened the note. His eyes widened a bit.
Iri will be at the White Fang Rally tonight. Backstage. Have fun. ~3
Well. It didn't take a genius to know how Neo felt about Iridescent, and what Jaune should do about her.
His fists clenched. So hard May reached out to rest a hand on his.
"Jaune? Are-Are you all right?" She asked.
Jaune turned to May, a deadly glare on his face. She recoiled. He winced, then schooled his features into a tense smile.
"Just fine," he said. He reached out and patted her shoulder. "I've… I've got to go. I'll see you later."
"S-Sure!" May managed, smiling nervously. Jaune got up and headed off, back to the dorms.
When he entered, he moved through the hallways with purpose, up the stairs towards the familiar doors. He opened up the door to the common room. Everyone else in RWBY and JNPR (along with Neptune and Sun) were waiting. Everyone looked up at him.
"We have a location?" He asked. Blake nodded.
"We do," she said, "Schwartz just sent it. We were just about to start planning things out."
Jaune looked around. Ruby was staring at him intently, a worried smile on her face as she stood on Blake's left side at the table. Yang and Pyrrha sat together. Pyrrha stared intently at him, her face blank, while Yang frowned in concern. Neptune was sitting with Weiss. The blue haired young man spared a glare at him, before he went back to cooing over Weiss. The platinum blonde beauty gave him a brief look, then looked back at her boyfriend.
Nora was bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement, grinning broadly, while Ren sat stoically as ever. Sun just gave him a grin, though he did step a bit closer to Blake. Blake for her part just looked very serious.
Jaune nodded slowly.
"Just so you all know," he said, "If anyone doesn't want to join us, say so now."
"We said so before!" Neptune protested. Weiss nodded.
"But we will be nearby, in case you need back up," she said firmly.
Jaune looked around. Nobody else said anything. Yang smiled grimly and slammed her fists together. Pyrrha smiled gently, but with steel in her eyes. Ren and Nora held hands.
He let out a small sigh.
"Right. Let's get to work," he ordered.
Gato… One way or another… I'll get justice for you.
Omake: Training with Pyrrha
Training was nothing new for Pyrrha. She'd trained as far back as she could remember. She thrilled in the sensation of honing her skills, in pushing past her limits to find new limits. Despite her cloistered, isolated life, there was still joy in just growing stronger, in surpassing her previous accomplishments.
Jaune too had a great enthusiasm for training. Without being prompted, he brought the team down to the gym or training rooms or even a field outside, where they worked hard.
Today they were in a training room, working individually before they went on to work on some new team maneuvers.
Pyrrha herself went through her forms after her warm ups-Shield up, thrust with spear, strafe right, strafe left, feint, repeat...
It had been drilled into her, over and over, how to fight with spear, with sword, with rifle, and with shield. It was almost second nature to her. Which allowed her to check out the other members of her team as they trained.
Nora's style was blunt, aggressive, and low defense-Just how she liked it. She slugged it out with a training robot that was trying to keep her at range, forcing her to move fast and evade the shots to get into firing range. Ren, while also a close-range fighter, was more focused on speed and precision. He almost danced with his robot opponent, his footwork and agility letting him slide around his opponent's lunges and strikes.
Then there was Jaune.
After his warmup, he had chosen a training circle. He held up his blade, his shield at the ready. He stepped forward and back, side to side, practicing his footwork. Then, he added his sworld and shield movements to each set. He muttered under his breath as he did so, and Pyrrha listened in.
"Three, five, six... Two, four, one... One, five, three..."
At each number, his sword and shield assumed different positions. Defensive, offensive postures.
"Lunge!" He called out, his shield up as he thrust his blade forward with his body providing more power.
CRACK!
"GAH!" Jaune yelped, as his training robot lashed out with a practice sword and struck Jaune on the forearm.
"Overlunge," the robot intoned, "Try again."
"Right," Jaune muttered. He returned to the first position and resumed.
"Three, five, six... Two, four, one... One, five, three... Lunge!"
Pyrrha headed over, watching him intently. She analyzed his style, her lips thinning.
"You took dancing classes, Jaune?" She asked.
"Y-yeah," Jaune grunted, continuing through his katas, "Seven older sisters, someone had to practice with them... Go with them to prom if they didn't get a date..."
"It shows," Pyrrha observed, "Your footwork is very nice... Maybe a bit too much flair. That's burning energy."
"R-Right, less flair," Jaune agreed, trying to smooth out his footwork as he continued his training. "Okay..."
He ran through the routine... The robot again smacked his arm.
"YEOW!"
"Per training parameters: Too much flair," the robot stated.
"Why do you make the robot do that to you?" Pyrrha asked, curious. Jaune shrugged.
"My mentor trained me that way. We uh... We had to rush things, and the fastest way for me to learn was with negative reinforcement."
Pyrrha nodded slowly.
"My own masters were much the same," she said softly, "They sent me to the ground and hit me to bring me down if they found an opening. They weren't allowed to hit my face, for... Various reasons, but it was a good means of teaching."
She shrugged.
"Though I will admit, it's been a long time since I've ever taken an actual hit."
"Oh, I see," Jaune said, again repeating his forms. "Okay..."
He sighed and set down his shield outside the training ring. He held the sword up in both hands.
"Okay... Fencing practice," he said firmly. "I don't do this a lot, but my mentor told me to keep up with it whenever I could."
"Would you like an opponent?" Pyrrha asked, hopping down into the ring with him. She shifted Milo into sword form and smiled. Jaune shrugged and smiled wanly.
"Well... Given I'm used to people kicking my ass with a sword, this will just make the training go even better," he said. Pyrrha set her shield aside and held her sword up in both hands.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Pyrrha said with a gentle smile. "All right... Here I go."
She opened with a few quick, probing thrusts without any real strength behind them. Jaune deflected them, his eyes focused on her eyes. Mentally she approved.
"Good..." She lashed out with harder thrusts, driving him back. He deflected a blow aimed for his right leg and was able to turn it into an aggressive counter! Surprised, Pyrrha pulled back but recovered swiftly, knocking his next series of quick strikes away as he went on the offensive.
Hmm... It's a bit unrefined, but has a lot of power to it and it's very solid, Pyrrha considered, analyzing Jaune's form with a cool detachment, He's also staying aware of his surroundings... When I do this...!
She broke the clash and feinted for his forehead, before turning it into a downward slash for his arms. He caught it and rolled his wrists, knocking her blade away and trying to lunge. She again recovered instantly, parrying his strike and sliding her blade along his to get him in the chest.
"URK!" Jaune cried, falling back and bending over. He choked and coughed up blood onto the training mat. Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror, her sword dropping from her suddenly numb hands. She dashed forward, arms out.
"JAUNE! Jaune, I didn't mean to-Are you-?!"
Crocea Mors was thrust right into her chest, and she was slammed back onto the floor, her Aura flaring as it took the hit. Jaune's cough turned into a slightly embarrassed laugh. He looked down at her, licking up the blood from the inside of his cheek.
"Yeah, he also taught me that fighting fair was not trying hard enough," Jaune said, "You okay Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha lay still on the floor. Jaune blinked, now concerned.
"Pyrrha? You okay? I-I mean, I know it's dirty pool... But with how nice you are, you gotta learn how to-GAH!"
Jaune... Was now on his back. Through his daze, he saw that Pyrrha was atop him, with a wide, eager smile. She was panting hard, her cheeks red, her eyes wild. Milo pinned Crocea Mors to the arena floor with an almost casual lightness. He opened his hand and conceeded, and Pyrrha nudged his weapon away before setting Milo aside.
"J-Jaune... You have... Any idea how long it's been since someone's hit me?" She asked, her now free hand coming up to her cheek, as if to hide the incandescent blush. Joy and pride and something else mingling in her expression that Jaune could only call want. He could feel her knees brush up against his sides, and the unmistakable weight of her sitting on his hips.
"Uhhhh..." He stared up at her, eyes wide. Even now her posture was perfect-
"And you... You got right through my defenses," she panted, flushed down past her collarbones, skin all but glowing. "Right past them... Plunging your blade right into me...!"
"Uhhhh..." Oh. Oh shit is she a closet masochist too?
Pyrrha's eyes locked onto his, but a second later she seemed to realize what she just said, blinking. "...that came out differently than I meant."
Jaune let out a short laugh and shook his head. "I'd hope so. You're not looking to get hurt for cheap thrills,"
"Nothing absurd like that, no!" She denied with a quick laugh. She cocked her head, hair spilling over one shoulder while a knowing smile crossed her face. She looked down at him with glittering, hooded eyes. "But if I said yes, would you spank me if I'm being naughty~?"
"Ye-No! I mean-" Jaune groaned and let his head fall back against the arena floor with a soft thump. Now Pyrrha let out a happy, melodic giggle, even as that want surged back in her eyes.
"But you did hit me-" she repeated, her free hand trailing down her body until she brushed against her middle, and drawing his eye along the way. "You know... You have... Any idea," Pyrrha all but purred, shifting just enough to remind him where her legs were- how close they were. She leaned forward, hair now falling in a curtain over her shoulder next to his head. Close enough to smell. "What that does to me-?!"
The robot hit them both.
"OW!"
"EEP!"
"Per training parameters," the robot intoned, "Critical debauchery detected-"
The spell broken, Pyrrha shot the robot a dark glare and a more playful one at Jaune before finally, standing up. She nibbled her lip, cheeks still red, but offered Jaune a hand up without hesitation. He collected their swords and handed Milo back to Pyrrha, who gave it an experimental twirl while sneaking him sidelong looks.
"I'd like to practice more, but." Pyrrha grinned and sheathed her weapon, before moving to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "I think I at least should call it a day. Take a shower."
Jaune coughed into his hand, pointedly not looking at her and how... everything she looked. A cold shower, he hoped. Even if a treacherous part of him was waiting for the inevitable invitation.
Instead, Pyrrha's grin widened to a more earnest, admiring smile, waving farewell as she turned away. And Jaune was dead certain she knew his eyes were on those swaying hips of hers.
He shook himself. Cold showers. Definitely.