Here we go.
Cover Art: Kirire
Chapter 97
Sienna Khan looked like she was on her last legs. Blake stood awkwardly behind Jaune, silent as she'd been since regaining control of her body and mind from the anomaly clinging to her hip. Though she hadn't mentioned it to Jaune, she'd been dimly aware of everything happening around her, as if she'd watched the scenes through a television. She'd heard the conversations, seen the fight, and watched the people die once they finally found their freedom.
She also knew the things the stupid bitch had revealed while controlling her body. Things that she'd been quite content to keep from Jaune forever. Things she wasn't even sure about herself.
Love was a subject she'd have happily given up forever if her imagination would let her. As much as she styled herself as cool and collected, she was a romance nut – hence the books. She also had a type, which Jaune didn't traditionally fit. She'd always liked driven men with dark mystery, which probably accounted for the likes of half the teenage girls on Remnant but sue her – she'd never claimed to be original.
Those likes had made it all too easy for Adam to win her over, though even saying it like that made it sound like he pursued her. It had been very much the other way around, with Blake driven by hormones and admiration and outright awe for this incredible figure roughly her own age given command over a portion of the White Fang. He'd been everything she thought she wanted to be, and that naturally had her heart racing.
To a degree, she'd felt the same with Jaune – but also with Sun and even Yang. It was something she didn't like to think about herself. Not that she might be bi – that didn't bother her at all – but the suggestion she might be… easy.
Or that she too easily fell for people, or too easily got wrapped up in her emotions despite the frosty exterior she put on. Even now, when she really had a career that should have made romance next to impossible, she'd maybe started falling for her boss.
A boss that, this time, wouldn't return her feelings because he knew it'd be a disaster.
If I want love, I should go with Sun or Yang. Not that Yang has even asked me out, but she saw me in that dating app… Blake grimaced. Though the fact she doesn't like what we do because of Ruby's involvement might make that relationship a little awkward.
Did she love Jaune?
Yes and no.
She loved him and would risk her life to save him, as he had her, and she loved the way he had been served such a shit sandwich of a life but kept trying to make it better for other people. She loved the way he tried his best to be kind to the other anomalies, and she loved that even when he put on his murderous face to them, he'd tell her in private that he hated it.
Did she love the idea of being in bed with him?
Maybe. It wasn't like she felt her heart skip a beat and wanted to swoon, but it didn't repel her either. If anything, it felt more like she had a crush on his personality and who he was – and it was a crush. That much she was sure of.
It was also utterly ridiculous.
Right. First thing I do on getting back to Vale is call Sun and ask him on a date. I'm obviously desperate for some romance and he's been a proper gentleman. Jaune doesn't want me and wouldn't anyway since we're co-workers. The fact I don't feel torn up about that should be proof enough this isn't true love or something stupid like that. His face didn't even show up on the matchmaker app.
Besides, Ruby had it bad for Jaune and Blake didn't want to make her cry.
Slowly, she dragged her attention back to the absolute tragedy in front of her, chastising herself for even allowing herself to mull on such selfish thoughts when so many good people had died.
"-not sure what I'm supposed to do with them all," said Sienna. "While most in Kuo Kuana don't have issue with humans, it's still a lot of people. Worse still, they have an alien culture and a religion centred around what is a facet of life for us. Are they going to start worshipping those of us with aura? I don't need to find out some of my men are taking advantage of them like that."
"I can have ARC Corp take them off your hands, but it'd require a meeting with them – and that'd put a lot of risk on the anomalous village being discovered. Has there been any progress there?"
"Yes and no. The ones shadowing Ghira have actually begun to act somewhat realistic in terms of expectations, but they're having trouble convincing the rest. Ironically enough, those ones are now seeing things from our perspective and calling their fellows indecisive idiots." Sienna smirked tiredly. "Justice at last." The smile fell. "I don't want ARC Corp here with that kind of risk. Can we cheat the system? Ship them to Mistral and say you found the bunker there?"
"It'd fall apart the moment one of them is tricked into mentioning a city of faunus, and there are young children among them who wouldn't know better. Can Kuo Kuana really not house them?"
"It's not an issue of logistics but of integration. As I said, they're religious and that could cause issues. The best I could suggest is an adoption drive for the children and some kind of school for the rest. They're going to have to be re-educated."
That sounded bad coming from a terrorist, but it was a fact; these people didn't even know what Grimm were, let alone the four kingdoms, Menagerie or the White Fang. They might not even know how basic things like the solar system worked. They'd have to go through schooling again (if they'd had it before) and hopefully some of their old beliefs could be untangled and pushed away.
Destroying their old culture felt like it was the wrong thing to do, but their culture was a war-torn one based on survival. It wasn't something that would fit with the world of Remnant, and they'd probably be happy to let it go. The religion, less so.
"Angela will be the problem," said Blake. "You might want to involve her with yourself or the Albain brothers. Give her a position she thinks will put her in charge of people and then monitor her."
"She's the eldest, right? The one in charge." Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll see it done. If she's kept busy looking after her younger charges, that ought to keep her focused. On their families…"
They all winced.
"The older children are being told now by people more sensitive than us. Older women, mostly. Those who are used to looking after distraught children. This is going to be a mess, and somehow it's my mess. Just like the anomalous village. I'd have never sent the Albain brothers to Vale if I knew this would happen."
"It's what you get for involving yourself in the anomalous," said Jaune. "Speaking of, I want the bunker sealed."
"Consider it done. Ilia has already agreed to lead a detail dedicated to keeping people away from it. We'll also be building concrete walls around it and sealing it away. It's cleared its own entrance whenever we tried, but we're going to build several metres away from it." That sounded wise. "What do you plan to tell your people?"
"Only as much as they need to know. We discovered a bunker, it had limitless floors and there was another dangerous anomaly within it. We fought it back, informed a singular local leader and convinced them to seal it up forever and keep people away."
"You're going to mention me?"
"I'll have to. Failure to do so will only look more suspicious."
"Tch. Fine. Tell them I agreed to keep the secrets of the anomalous and that I'll answer to any calls or messages they send me. I don't want anyone here, however. Make it clear I'm leading the White Fang and want to prevent extremist elements of my organisation finding out about anomalies and thinking they can use them."
"That ought to keep them away," said Blake, less than amused at the fact it was the truth with what the Albain siblings had done.
"On a more serious note," said Jaune. "Now that you've experienced anomalies yourself, might I ask whether the White Fang will be hunting them down to use?"
Sienna scowled. "Not a fucking chance."
"Good." Jaune smiled. "I'm pleased to hear that. Feel free to call on us if anything further is discovered and you need our services. But if all else is done, I think Blake and I should return to Vale."
Sienna nodded. Blake got the feeling she was thinking "good riddance" in her head.
/-/
"We need to talk."
"Can I explain my reasoning first?" asked Blake.
He nodded. "Go on."
"I leapt down into the anomaly and knew I'd made a mistake. They were all over me in an instant and no number of clones or rolling about was stopping them. For every few hundred I crushed rolling around, thousands more came out and my aura was draining fast. The anomaly called out to me almost in a panic itself, and we both knew I had seconds to live. There wasn't time to ponder the deal. I swear I'd have never made one so open-ended otherwise."
Jaune closed his eyes, hummed softly and considered her words. At least he was doing that. Anyone else in ARC Corp would have dismissed everything she said and either disciplined or outright killed her.
"What's done is done," Jaune said, instead. "Chastising you for making the deal isn't necessary because I think you will come to regret it in time anyway."
Of that, she was sure.
"What matters now is reducing the damage the anomaly can cause in your body – both to yourself but also to others. Did it say when it would take you over? Could it happen at any time, without warning?"
"Actually, no." Blake smiled, and Jaune looked surprised. "I don't think she – or it – had much time to plan out the deal either. The words agreed-upon were included in the deal. That she would have two days and two nights at an agreed-upon time."
"That's better news." Jaune was smiling at last, but only out of relief. "I feel tempted to say you can just never agree, but I've a feeling that will count as a betrayed oath here." Blake got the same feeling. "But I suppose this will mean we'll at least have warning. Do you remember the exact terms of the agreement?"
She did not and shook her head. It had been a life or death moment, mere seconds to make a decision, and she'd been busy choking on killer insects at the time, feeling them crawl over her face and even trying to bite their way inside her faunus ears. Blake shuddered at the memory.
"That's less than ideal. Knowing the exact terms would have helped us navigate them."
"I'll obviously tell you whenever she makes the request but… well… what else do we do? I don't think she'll ever agree if it means I – or she – ends up trapped in a room unable to move. There are things she'll want to do."
"Depending on the wording, keeping her locked up might also breach the terms of the deal here. I'm not sure if there will be consequences like there would be with Anomalous & Sons but…" Jaune trailed off. "Could we…?"
"What?"
"They suggested our office would call on them in the future to make use of their services against ARC Corp as a whole. I've been dreading that but… what if we made that this? If we hired them to check the contract on our behalf, do you think they would be able to use their powers to see the terms of the deal you agreed? Or even to negotiate it?"
It was a crazy idea.
Using one anomaly to check the fine print of another.
"I… I mean… maybe…? I don't know. They can obviously communicate with anomalies if they have to make deals, so maybe they could communicate with mine. What if they could make up a contract for her to sign? Something that's binding and tells her what she can and can't do."
"What reason would she have to sign it? We already owe her two days and nights. She'd want something more to make a binding agreement."
Responding with "three" crossed her mind but she knew Jaune wouldn't go for it, and she wasn't very enamoured of the idea of giving up her body to this thing more than she'd already agreed to anyway.
"Maybe we can offer her things to use when she has my body. Money? I don't know. But if we make it so that we're not cheating her out of anything then the worst she can say is no, right? Maybe she'll even negotiate back and we can come up with an agreement."
"Maybe. Failing that, I don't see why it wouldn't be willing to reveal the exact wording of the deal you made." Jaune made sure to stress the non-personification. "If only to make it so that we don't step on its toes. If it wants these two days and nights, then it'll be in its best interests if we don't interfere."
"You don't think this is a trap to catch me on a lie and devour my soul or something?"
He frowned. "I didn't get that feeling. It was intelligent enough to know it needed to help you survive, and its clearly sentient. Most diseases die when their carrier does, but they're not smart enough to know to keep them alive. If we equate this to a disease that is smart, then it'd make sense to not harm your body. You've already proven willing to make deals with it before, and if you die then it has to know the first thing I'll do is lock it in a vault to never see the light of day again."
Whereas, right now, they couldn't do that because it was tied to her and would teleport back to her side if they tried. With her gone, Jaune would have a window to seal it away. Blake nodded. It made sense for it to not want her dead just yet, and therefore to amuse their idea of getting the agreement in full form Anomalous & Sons. Even if they couldn't magic up the contract via their legal anomalous powers, they could obviously talk with it and serve as basic translators.
It was worth a shot.
/-/
It was a new representative from Anomalous & Sons LLP who appeared in a spare room in the Belladonna home. He wore a blue suit and looked as meticulous as his colleague, with a clean-shaven face, square jaw, and blank blue eyes that shone from inside with luminous colour.
He appeared as if stepping out of the molecules in the air, and without breaking stride set a briefcase down upon the table they had prepared. Like his colleague, he removed a timer and notepad and a few other trinkets before pressing the button atop it and speaking.
"I am Mr Blue, specialist in contract law for Anomalous & Sons LLP. Please explain to me the nature of your legal enquiry in detail and I shall offer my services."
Blake was content to let Jaune give him the details, explaining the book anomaly in what detail he could and then the nature of the deal. It might have been reckless to inform them of so much, but it wasn't like they could steal her book. It would come back to her, and Anomalous & Son's nature as a law-based anomaly might even make such criminal acts impossible for them.
"I see." Mr Blue answered softly. "As your legal representative, I must ask what you hope to gain from this. What expectations am I to work towards?"
"Blake made a binding agreement in the heat of the moment when her life was in danger." Mr Blue's eyes narrowed. "We don't dispute the binding nature of that and don't intend to break it." The solicitor nodded, and relaxed. "But we would like to have the terms factually stated so that we are fully aware of them and any clauses that were lost due to the frantic nature of their delivery."
"Understandable. And very reasonable. It is our belief any contract should be delivered in print with copies made available for both sides to refer to. It might surprise you to know that deal-making anomalies are not as rare as you might think. While anomalies do not obey laws of physics or reality as your kind know it, we do often come with our own rules and limitations. Laws, if you will."
"Who makes them?" asked Blake.
"I do not know. No one does. If even such a being exists." Mr Blue shrugged his shoulders. "I personally believe we are not made at all, and that these laws are simply a law of the universe Remnant has not discovered yet. But I could be wrong. Regardless, I am prepared to take on the case for you and act to establish the exact terms of the contract agreed upon between Miss Belladonna and the book held at her waist. Please place it upon the table."
Blake did so. "Should I open it…?"
"That may not be necessary and, based upon the trigger of its effect, might also be quite dangerous to the non-anomalous in this room. Namely, yourself. Allow me to reach out and communicate with it first."
He placed his hand upon the book's cover and closed his eyes. There was no immediate show of power or even words spoken out loud, but she supposed there wouldn't be. Anomalies weren't meant to be able to affect one another.
Except that Anomalous & Sons had shown it could affect other anomalies by making Matchmaker disintegrate for breaching his contract, and by being able to lock Jaune into one on their first meeting.
Were they an exception to the rule? Or, as this one had said, was it a case that they – ARC Corp – simply weren't aware of all the rules behind anomalies and how they worked. They might be working on assumptions as much as knowledge. Blake hoped they were the exception, because the alternative was too confusing.
After several minutes, Mr Blue removed his hand and opened his eyes. "I have convened with the entity. A rather delightful woman, if old-fashioned in her manner of speech. I dare say she would be able to read some of the oldest laws of our land better than we. The language is quite archaic in places."
"Did you get the contract?" asked Jaune.
"Yes. She proved willing to share it, stating that it has never been her intent to mislead her host or trick her into such a deal. Also, she stated that given the nature of their agreement having benefited both parties, she is willing – as a gesture of good faith – to make some small and binding agreement on what she can and cannot do whilst in control of her body. However, let me transcribe the deal itself before you start adding those."
He leaned back and took a fountain pen to his notepad and wrote in the most beautiful calligraphy Blake had ever seen. Except that he didn't take his time with it like most did, and just wrote it as if it were his regular handwriting. Every letter was identical in size, and perfectly spaced to make for a document that was both artfully written but also perfectly legible.
No one was going to get away with claiming they'd misread his words.
"I offer to preserve thy life and deliver thee and your partner to the surface safe and sound. In return, I demand two days and two nights possession of thy body to be agreed upon at a later date. Does thou accept?"
It was short. Simple.
Messy.
"This isn't a very thorough contract," said Mr Blue, "But I expect the time sensitive nature of its delivery proved the cause for that. That said, it is tight enough to be binding, if a little presumptive. There is no specific explanation of what an agreed-upon date means or how the possession shall take place." He let out a frustrated huff. "You really ought to consider consulting with us before making any such deals in the future, Miss Belladonna."
Not an anomaly casually sassing ARC Corp for not making use of their services.
Blake couldn't even find the words. "O—Okay…?"
"We'll keep that in mind in future," Jaune said, with no small degree of sarcasm. "But in the meantime how about detailing what it is prepared to agree to terms on."
"Simply put, it will agree to keep the secrets of anomalies and ARC Corp to itself and it will also agree not to kill any human life except in the event of necessary self-defence, where even then it will attempt to resolve any issues non-lethally. She is willing to have that signed into one of our contracts for you, ensuring it is binding on both sides." He cleared his throat. "However, she does have some demands of her own."
"Of course…"
"ARC Corp shall not seek to restrain her when she is in control. Similarly, neither of you shall take any actions to sabotage or otherwise make full freedom of movement available to her – such as for instance locking Miss Belladonna in a cell before granting control or securing her body to a heavy object with chains."
The obvious things, then. She – it – wanted the freedom to do something without either of them interfering. "Will she tell us what she intends?" asked Blake.
"I'm afraid she has not decided yet either, stating – and I quote – that the deal was made in a rush and little to no thought was given to what she would do with the opportunity. T'was a rushed deal and ill thought out."
Meaning the book was fallible as any other person was. It could make mistakes, be caught off guard and adapt poorly to a tense situation. That was something to know, even if she couldn't be sure if it was useful information or not.
"Can we confer?" she asked.
"Of course."
Blake drew Jaune aside. "It's better than what we had."
"It's your body, Blake. Are you really content with this?"
"Hardly. There's no telling what it'll get up to, but I'm resilient and there isn't much she can take that I haven't already given away." Thinly veiled or no, it had kissed Jaune before and she wouldn't be surprised if it's first act in a human body was to experience human pleasure. "I won't say it won't be awkward, embarrassing and all that, but about the only thing she can do that I haven't already is lay with a woman, and that's not too bad."
Although… Blake leaned back.
"Would there be a limit on illegal activity in the contract?"
"Within reason," Mr Blue replied. "Any illegal activity that could lead to physical, mental, or litigious harm to Blake Belladonna or Jaune Arc will be forbidden, as that would breach the terms of causing you harm. Immoral or… questionable actions would be within her ability to undertake."
Ugh. The less she knew, the better this was sounding. "There's no rule in there that says you can't keep an eye on me," she whispered. "You can't interfere, but you can keep me – it – close and try to keep it out of trouble. As long as you weren't stopping its fun, it'd probably be fine."
He had his teeth gritted. "And if it comes onto me and seeks to force me to abuse your uncontrolled body?"
Blake's mouth ran dry. "Uh…"
"That would be very much against the stated contract," said Mr Blue, revealing he could hear them. "Such would cause physical harm to Mr Arc and quite a bit of mental harm to Miss Belladonna. Should such an event occur, Anomalous & Sons would intervene immediately both to prevent the situation and to excise the anomaly from Miss Belladonna to be punished for its crimes. No harm would come to either of you during the process."
That was a relief. "There," she said, smiling weakly. "It's protected. I'm protected. We're not going to get a better deal than this."
"Perhaps not." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Though I'll reiterate my point that you should really take more care next time. It was poor leadership of me to let you run off, but you should know better than to jump feet first into the unknown."
"I know. I… I needed to see it. Too much horror, too much fear of the unknown. I thought that if I saw it, some monster or creature, I'd realise it's just another thing that bleeds and dies. I won't do it again."
"Good. You're getting more used to this work, Blake, but that can make you sloppy. It's the most experienced agents who become complacent, and that's when they die." His eyes softened. "I don't want to lose my first and possibly only employee."
"Jaune…"
"Ahem. I am being paid by the minute, by the way."
Jaune blanched. "Okay. Let's get that contract written up and signed!"
"I thought you might say that."
Next Chapter: 22nd April
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