"Need to move," Greene repeated. "Need to move. Need to move!"
It didn't take long for Greene to realize that something was wrong. Night is her element. Though she herself could wake up in the morning, there was always that period in the day when she would nap as she prepared for night. Truth be told, most of the time, she would nap after breakfast; there's no way she'd miss her partner's cooking for anything. Despite their disagreements on the morning drink, Greene will always have respect for the early bird that is Harold just as she was certain that Harold respected the night owl that is her.
In recent days, there had been strange rumors and sightings that have gone around Beacon Academy. Greene may not be as paranoid as general James Ironwood but she wasn't as trusting of anyone as Ozpin could be sometimes. One would think it would be the inverse given the lifetimes of experiences the latter had. But it wasn't the case. Greene herself, as professor of Stealth and Security, meant that she was naturally suspicious on possible threats.
Things like these usually had tells. Common sightings were hardly worth noticing, but a recurring pattern with noticeable behavior and talks were enough to get her to start looking. Dismissed as either an infestation of rats or some other stray animal, Greene was certain of it the moment the security cams caught something. It was when groups of students kept repeating the same tales to the one in her sight did she begin to investigate.
It had been subtle, looking back at it. Small shadows and shapes that Greene had mistaken for stray pests. But as of earlier? Whoever that was, they have become emboldened. They were staking out their target. They stalked their prey in those weeks and now the time has come to strike. That was the one mistake they made: they've grown too excited as the night set aside for action grew closer, they had become impatient and struck the moment they had their chance.
Greene wasn't sure who it was they targeted. All she was certain of was that if was someone from team JNPR. What was their reason? Was it one of Salem's? Had they known that Pyrrha Nikos would have been the Fall Maiden? Did they have reason to suspect that Pyrrha would still be the next in line or perhaps that Amber was training a successor?
What if it had been to get to team RWBY? Ozpin's involvement with that team was of no surprise to anyone in the faculty. Could they have figured out that there was another of those silver-eyes in that team and sought an indirect approach? Teams RWBY and JNPR were the most close-knit group among their peers that they might as well be one super team.
Then, there was doctor Henry Jekyll, Greene's own teammate. There are times she still couldn't believe that she and Harold would even be put in the same team. A training mission gone wrong had cost them their last two members. When Peach had first come along, it had been Harold who basically adopted her into the team. Greene shook her head at the time and offered sympathy to the then inexperienced Thumbelina Peach. While the three of them could work together as a team, there was that lingering pity in Greene knowing that Peach never had her own partner. Peach never went to the academies and never had a chance to experience an equal. Peach's interest just wasn't towards the huntress life; huntress was her profession but Plant Science was Peach's passion. It was why when Jekyll was first hired and the fact that his interests just so happen to line up with Peach that made Harold soar, not that Greene would ever reveal it to them.
Jekyll's circumstances had been something that Greene considered. Be it through Winter or through miss Rose, Jekyll could be targeted by Salem. Perhaps they needed Jekyll out of the fight so that their forces could step in. Perhaps some of Salem's goons were simply petty enough to go after Jekyll. Greene couldn't dismiss the possibility; there was no other reason to attack any of these students otherwise unless one was White Fang targeting the Schnee.
Greene turned around in the corner. She had left early and made accurate guesses as to where the trespasser was. Even if she didn't, these strange candles guided her path. Whoever they were, they had some flair for the theatrics.
She may not be of this Assassin-class that the Servants have but Greene wasn't going to let something like Presence Concealment deter her from being undetected. Her footsteps were light and quick, a mastery of skill built upon years of habits. It was one of the few things that Greene had specialized. The other was keeping all her weapons on her person and keeping them hidden. Knives and daggers did not cling nor clang and there weren't any explosive Dust that she carried with her for this one. Her trusty shovel-gun was the only loud thing that she had.
Sounds of struggle became clearer to her ears. Most of the other students were still asleep. Greene would have to remedy that in future lessons. Huntsmen and huntresses needed to keep their senses sharp even when in the comforts of a soft bed. Habits like these carried into the wilderness and the dangers of what lies beyond the kingdom's walls.
The trespasser had a tightening grip on mister Arc's neck. Greene didn't know how long it had gone on but young mister Arc was still breathing; that meant that he was still alive. That meant that she still hadn't failed.
One last push on her legs and Greene slammed hard against the enemy. The loud thuds of their crash had alerted the students currently in their dorms. Lights could be seen in the gaps of the doorway. Mister Arc was coughing as he hungrily gasped for air.
"Everyone stay in your dorms!" Greene commanded. She was still on the ground. "Lock your rooms!"
Students weren't given the opportunity to object and obeyed. The mechanisms of their locks all sounded but the lights remained.
Greene was the first to get up. The trespasser was getting up too. Rather than fight, Greene went and lifted mister Arc up.
"Get to your dorm, mister Arc," Greene said. "Lock it and do NOT under any circumstances let open it for anyone."
"But—"
"Go!" Greene felt the danger coming for them. She pulled out her weapon.
The momentum went against her. Her attempts at deflecting those finger-blades was met with her opponent's superior strength. Her shovel-gun was forced on the ground and Greene's grip on it meant that she followed with the momentum.
Mister Arc was still frozen in place. The trespasser lifted his hand and reached out to grab mister Arc's onesie. Greene's reaction was just fast enough to put herself between the trespasser their target; they were still concealed behind some torn cloak.
"Go!" This time, mister Arc listened and ran.
There was no mistaking the anger in the trespasser as he pushed Greene down. Every step that mister Arc took away from this attacker was a step that they weren't taking to close that gap. Greene intended to keep it that way for as long as it can.
But the strength of the invader was something that she hadn't expected. Their hands grabbed her by the throat and Greene was slammed hard against the wall at the end of the hallway, leaving behind a significant crack on it.
"Enemy Servant," Greene concluded. "You're one of Salem's."
"First, you keep Cristine away from her rightful place." A male voice was heard. Greene managed to make out a mask now that the cloak no longer covered the head. "Now, you keep me from enacting the justice of denying Cristine's dreams, however false?"
Greene used the wall as her platform. She planted her feet on his body and pushed him away. It only amounted to the man losing his grip a little. But it was enough for Greene to regain control of the combat. She wasn't winning this fight; she's sure of that. But that didn't mean that she was about to just surrender here; she made her own plans just in case.
Daggers were hastily thrown to push that distance away. Whatever millimeters that she could afford was taken. Greene had to keep moving. She had to keep thinking ahead. It was enough that she broke free from his grip. But that had only given her a few seconds reprieve.
That hand gripped her neck again. She was raised against another wall. She felt the finger-blades on her body. All of her aura was redirected there.
"So." The Enemy Servant came to some kind of conclusion. "It would seem that Raoul had been blessed here. Cursed be to God! Why am I denied that which should be mine? Am I not to be part of the choir when all of creation sings? Why must I be condemned like the devil?"
Greene's aura quickly depleted. The horrid sound it made, like having one's sensitive ear right next to nails on a chalkboard, climaxed as the sound of aura breaking was more of a quick snap. The finger-blades went through Greene's aura. Then, it quickly got through her.
/-/
His partner better be alive so he could kill her himself. Harrold Mulberry only received a vague message from his old partner before she left. Greene was hurrying too much and simply slammed the doors to his room and said to him, "intruder, need to go. Need backup."
Before he had any chance to gather his bearings, Greene already left. The commotion of it had awoken the rest of the people in the faculty dorms: Jekyll and Peach. Everyone, except Greene herself, had been in their sleepwear. The sheer sound of Greene's hurried run was enough for them to follow through without questioning it at all. They all went straight for their weapons and proceeded towards the hallways of Beacon Academy.
"Split up!" Mulberry commanded. His old scissor-blade split into two. "Wherever the intruder is headed for, cut them off!" He then remembered Henry Jekyll. "If it's an enemy Servant, stall and keep your distance."
"Understood." Peach knew that it was meant for her.
"I'll wake the stinkin bride." Hyde already took over. He went on all fours and ran faster than Peach could fly.
As for Mulberry himself, his goal was to find his partner, wherever she was. Greene was always the faster of the two, agile too. Mulberry couldn't function well at night, he had his body clock. Half the reason he and Greene worked well was because of it. On missions when it was just them, Greene would have taken the night watch and Mulberry taking the early morning. Those two would get along come afternoon. The same was said here as professors of Beacon.
However, if there was one thing that never changed about Greene, it was that she was never the type to sit back and be idle. Mulberry needed time to think his plans and their contingencies. But Greene? She'd act first and think later if there was even a hint of danger. She'd find a choice and stick to it even if it was going to be a bad one. Most of her experience and varied skillset was because of those choices.
Mulberry cursed. Now wasn't the time to think about it. His partner believed there was danger and he needed to be there to support her, if only to scold her after for being so reckless.
Sounds were heard from one end of the hallway. A figure too broad to be Greene emerged. Rapidly getting closer, it was the student, Jaune Arc that ran towards Mulberry. The boy's eyes lit up as soon as he caught sight of Mulberry.
"Professor!" Jaune Arc called out. "It's Greene! She's in danger!"
Mister Arc didn't need to say anymore. Mulberry was already on his way. He caught the exact moment when Greene's aura had been visibly broken. All that aura was concentrated in that one spot that it might as well generate its own light. It quickly shattered as the weapons, some kind of finger-blade, went through Greene.
Mulberry acted first and thought later. He slammed his body hard against the trespasser, those finger-blades pulled out of Greene and her body fell on the floor. She was still moving, if slightly. She still had life in her. Good. She'll wish otherwise once Mulberry was done with her. What was she thinking? Mulberry missed their old team as much as she does but that is no excuse to throw her life away like this.
He shook his head. No. It wasn't that. Greene saw that a student's life was in danger and acted first. She wasn't going to let another huntsman-in-training die with her unable to do anything. Not again. Mulberry sighed; he was of the same mind.
Enemy Servant! Mulberry didn't get much time before he had to buckle under the weight of his opponent. His only advantage was that he was a much better direct combatant than Greene. But that advantage was over Greene, not his opponent.
Both blades were on the defense. He couldn't hold against the enemy Servant. He parried and deflected every blow while forcibly moving his body to avoid any of that weight on him.
As Mulberry moved, his eyes widened. Mister Arc came back! His panicked expression was on Greene. Mister Arc incomprehensible talk only served to remind Mulberry that he was there. His hands were on Greene, hoping to stop the bleeding.
The enemy ignored Mulberry and turned around. Mister Arc was too focused on Greene that he didn't see the enemy approach. Mulberry couldn't let it happen; he rushed after his opponent and locked his blades past the enemy's neck and pulled back hard.
He didn't have time to shout his command before he threw his enemy over his shoulder. Mulberry's goal was clear: he had to stay between the enemy and mister Arc.
Mulberry lunged first. But he picked up a surprise from the enemy's face and Mulberry managed to get one hit in, on the mask the opponent wore. The mask broke, revealing the face underneath. The enemy reeled back, covering his face, pulled up his own cloak. But anger and enmity emitted from the man that Mulberry never once let his guard down.
A scream was heard from one of the hallways. Hyde's familiar, canine-like, barks were heard from another. Fran was arriving. Electricity lit up one of the hallways as Fran emerged, hammer raised high and uncaring of the costs she would do on Beacon's halls.
The enemy Servant leapt back as Fran's hammer left a hole in the ground. Thank the Brothers the Vault wasn't there. Having to explain that to the public would be bad enough. Ozpin still kept it with the shadow war going on.
Hyde didn't let the enemy get away. Fingernails, like claws, tore through the cloak in their attempts to grip it. Hyde's animalistic movements were enough to give chase and the enemy was forced to retreat.
"Fran, give chase!" Mulberry commanded. He may not be Fran's leader nor this Master thing, but he was a senior among Beacon's employees. Close enough. "Hyde, cut him off!"
Neither of them asked any questions nor did they raise any objections. Hyde's wild movements did allow him to move faster. Depending on the routes taken, Hyde may as well encounter the enemy on their way out. Fran gave the most direct chase and would hint out any other help. There was Peach too who had to be cutting the enemy off.
Scissor-blades returned to their original forms. Mulberry turned and was quickly on Greene. Mister Arc was still there, rambling to himself.
"Please! Please! Please!" Mister Arc begged. He looked up and saw Mulberry approach. "I'm sorry, professor! I'm sorry! I was caught off-guard! I-I didn't know w-what was going on…"
Mister Arc kept going but never once did his hands leave the wounds that would be inflicted on Greene's body. Mulberry quickly pulled out his scroll. Enemy Servants were something else! Greene shouldn't have gone empty so quickly! There was so little there, hardly even worth a pixel on that scroll.
Huntsmen were trained on the medical arts as well. It wasn't as good as the professionals. But when one is out there on the field, it was imperative that they knew how to treat a wound. The students didn't have that experience yet. One's training doesn't always come through when out in the field the first time. Mister Arc was of no exception to that.
But before Mulberry could do anything at all, there was a light that lit that part of the hallway. Aura had their visual tells and this was of no exception. Aura was being used. Aura had healing properties on top of their physical enhancements. Greene was healing in that moment. She gasped as her body desperately took in the air. It then turned to a slower and calmer rhythm as more air circulated inside Greene.
The source of aura was unmistakable. It had come from mister Arc. Mulberry couldn't stop himself. It came out at first as a chuckle. Then, he began to laugh as he shook his head.
"Professor?" Mister Arc asked. Worry still painting his face.
"Just don't stop, mister Arc," Mulberry replied. "Whatever it is your doing, don't stop. Congratulations, also. You've found your semblance."
"Sir?" Mister Arc was too engrossed in keeping Greene alive, too engrossed in the fear that a life may be lost because of him that he wasn't even aware what he was doing.
"Your semblance, it amplifies aura." Healing semblances could exist. But Mulberry was inclined to think otherwise here. He had reason to believe it, seeing that the student's aura was being used.
Mister Arc was still rather ignorant of it. "What?"
"Just keep going," Mulberry said. "You're doing good, mister Arc, and I owe you my life."
Greene groaned. "Those… are… my… words…"
Mulberry took a breath. His tone shifted. "Couldn't bother to at least give us an hour's notice?" He noticed that Greene had her eyes shut tight. "Hey! I know you're alright, and I will not be hearing silence until you explain yourself, Ann!"
Greene's head looked away. She stuck her tongue out in the most clichéd image of a dead woman known to mankind.
"Oh, real mature! Typical of a coffee-drinking inferior!"
"Hey!" Greene jolted back to life and back on her feet. A confused Jaune Arc stopped using his semblance. "I refuse to hear blasphemy from a tea-drinking heretic!"
"Blasphemy?" Mulberry began to laugh. "Heretic? Went on a pilgrimage recently? Feeling holy?"
Greene pulled back her sleeves. "I'll give you something holy—"
A hard smack on the back of Greene's head knocked her back out. Mulberry failed to notice that another smack came for him. He fell on the ground, vision blacking out.
/-/
Jaune was the only one there who was confused at the sight before him. Professors Mulberry and Greene, the latter having just recovered enough aura to heal her grievous wounds, are knocked down on the ground. The source of their blacking out was none other than a Glynda Goodwitch pinching her nose.
Professor Goodwitch sighed. A tired disappointment painted her voice. "You two are supposed to be shapers of the next generation of civilization's defenders, the role models that our students are supposed to look up to. The least you could do is keep some modicum of professionalism when in front of a student. How do Jekyll and Peach survive you two?"
The knocked out professors were whisked away by professor's Goodwitch's semblance. She turned around and addressed him one more time.
"Get some sleep, mister Arc. We will question you—" she sighed as she checked the time. "In about five hours from now. Though, if you wish to have it scheduled later in the afternoon, we can have it done."
"Uh."
"Understood, mister Arc. We will have that conversation, with the headmaster, later in the afternoon. You are dismissed."
As professor Goodwitch levitated the other professors away, Jaune was left there to process everything that had happened at that point. It happened so fast. One minute he was getting some water. The next, he was attacked and nearly lost his life, only to be saved by professor Greene. There was professor Mulberry and—
"Wait," Jaune realized something. "Semblance? My semblance?"
He quickly pulled out his scroll. He had less aura than he had started with. Ren had taught him a few tricks on aura control. Putting his focus on himself. Jaune noticed how his aura was slowly regenerating itself, faster than it would have normally.
"I actually found my semblance," Jaune thought out loud. He nodded. His voice went weak. "Woo."
Jaune fell there on the floor. His eyes closed and sleep came to him instantly. He could vaguely hear the sounds of doors opening; the other students were wide awake by now.
He was in the same place the next morning. The first thing to greet him were professor Fran's bangs. Her hammer raised and sparking electricity.
"Oh," she said. The electricity stopped. She looked behind her shoulders. Doctor Jekyll was there. She gave a thumbs up.
"Thank heavens," doctor Jekyll's tense shoulders relaxed. "Mister Arc, are you alright?"
Sleeping on the cold floors with only the dirtied carpets as the blanket was not a comfortable experience. Jaune didn't get up with any comfort in the slightest. Doctor Jekyll moved to help him up and did something to Jaune that sounded his bones. Jaune lost the feelings of stiffness that he didn't know he had. Doctor Jekyll did something else and Jaune felt better.
"Get some breakfast at the cafeteria," doctor Jekyll advised. "Your team worries for you and will likely want some answers. Feel free to tell them all that you know."
Jaune Arc nodded and went to the cafeteria. It wasn't how expected his weekend to go first and he can confidently say that it was the case for everyone else. Talk and rumor was had in the cafeteria with a few chuckles and shared scrolls; some of them took photos of him last night, didn't they?
Pyrrha had shown more worry than Jaune expected of her. Then again, given what they were, it was actually expected. She embraced him tight and didn't care at all when her lips went on his in that run of emotions.
"What happened?" Pyrrha's face looked hideous right now. She had been crying. There were eye-bags there. How long had she been awake? "Are you hurt? What did they want with you?"
"I wish I could tell you." Jaune returned Pyrrha's embrace. He told the whole truth.
Team RWBY and the rest of JNPR all listened in. Nearby tables weren't subtle as they too fished for information. There was genuine concern in those faces of theirs. At least, they knew when to drop the jokes and took things seriously.
But Jaune couldn't give them all the answers. The surprise, shock, intervention, all of it hadn't occurred in a way that made sense to him. Jaune didn't think he made any enemies. Not deliberate. Pyrrha and he may have gone public but that had, technically, only been today with that public display of affection.
"…something about denying her," Jaune said. "And something about a la-ghoul or something?"
"Whose her?" Weiss asked.
"I wish I knew!" Jaune had his arms up. "He just says I denied her something. What did I do? And what's a la-ghoul."
A different voice entered the conversation. "I believe the word you are looking for his Raoul, mister Arc."
"Professor Peach!" RWBY and JNPR said in unison.
It was Pyrrha that kept going. "Raoul, professor?"
"Your professor Greene mentioned that word, and your professor Jekyll managed to identify that name. It's connection to you, however, has yet to be found." Before anyone could answer, most of them were about to, Peach raised a hand. "Eat your breakfast. Rest until the lunch hour. We'll talk later. Right now, us faculty will need that time to gather our information first lest we ask you blindly."
Professor Peach turned around and walked away. She then turned to face. She remembered something.
"Oh, and mister Arc," she said. There was a smile there. "Congratulations on finding your semblance. You saved a life today with it, all of us at team MGHT owe you one. Just don't use it to cheat in our classes."
AN: Posting this one slightly early due to New Year's Eve coming tomorrow.
Anyways, Jauney-boy got his canon semblance, lmao.
