Kapitel 489: 45
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"I've taken her off the medications that kept her under, I did that last night actually. She's sleeping under her own power now, and should wake up soon enough." The doctor explained tiredly, frustration and grief echoing out of her and into Jaune powerfully. As well as a palpable fear, flavored a way he was unused to. "She's still weak, and her back is going to be sensitive, but she should be fully healed by the end of the weak." "Unless she rips her wounds open again." "You'll need to be gentle with her, for a time, and I'll… Need to be around, to check up on her, too." "So you can't kill me, or turn me in… Shit, he could just get a different doctor."
"Thank you, Doctor." Jaune said simply, sitting beside Neo and holding her hand, his thumb making circles on the back of her hand absent-mindedly. He smiled when she twitched, her fingers coiling slightly in a dream. "I… am sorry you had to be forced to stay. I couldn't risk Neo though." He felt Cinder stiffen behind him and continued, "While I stand by that decision, I want you to understand I won't let you face harm for it. Or Atlesian prison."
"I…" The doctor hesitated, surprise in her voice and mind, holding her clipboard tighter in her hand for a moment before relaxing slightly. "Thank you, Jaune. I… Thank you."
"Master, if I may?" Cinder asked cautiously, the younger man nodding at her curtly, "If the good doctor wishes to leave, we could always deposit her somewhere near Vale. Close enough for her to be safe, of course." "Assuming you wish to release her, of course." "I, uh, I would recommend against it, master. She is quite useful to have aboard."
"She is not my slave, Cinder." He said, turning more fully to look at her over his right shoulder, and adding emphasis to the 'she'. "She may leave if she wants to, I won't force her to stay."
"I-I understand, master, I merely…" Cinder cut herself off, sighing and bowing her head, "I am sorry for my impudence." "I merely wanted to keep her around to care for Lady Neo…"
Jaune sighed, that disturbed feeling coming back, and rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand, "I'm sorry, Doctor, she just wants to keep Neo and I taken care of. You know? Cinder is actually very protective and nurturing, when she wants to be."
"M-Master!" Cinder flushed behind him, making the young man smirk, "You're embarrassing me!"
"I'm going to go and fetch myself some food, I shouldn't be long." The doctor said, chuckling in spite of herself as Jaune felt her tension ebb away. "I-If that's-"
"Go and get some food, Doctor." Jaune interrupted, smiling warmly at her. "We'll keep an eye on Neo, so feel free to stretch your legs and rest a bit while you're out. Don't worry about it either, I'll send a drone for you if we need anything."
"Very well." She said, checking the clipboard once again and chewing her lip for a moment before attaching it to the foot of the bed and looking over Neo. Turning to the door after several quiet minutes of checking the girl and equipment, she spoke again, "She should wake up soon. If she does, you need to send for me immediately. And make sure she stays in bed and doesn't move around too much. And-"
"Relax, Doctor, we won't do anything or let her leave." Jaune assured her, smirking. She nodded and left, and Jaune turned to look at Cinder. "You go stand by the door, Neo will probably try to bolt. You'll need to get her legs."
"Alright, master." Cinder said hesitantly, moving to the door and leaning on the wall by it with her arms crossed. "But, if I may ask… Why would she run?" "Especially waking up with you nearby…" "She should be calm. Relaxed."
"She was knocked out in a warzone, Cinder." He explained simply, reaching out with his left hand to touch her forehead and smiling bitterly when she turned her face towards him on instinct. A reaction to the touch. "She's… having a bad dream about it, actually."
"She is?"
"Yeah." Jaune said quietly, resting his palm against her cheek and squeezing her hand reassuringly when he felt and saw what she did. Himself, falling as that Atlesian's axe bit into him and slammed him into the dirt. "About me dying, just now, because she was too slow to react."
"I see." Cinder said simply, the two of them falling into an odd silence after that. Neither a cold,and awkward one nor a happy, comfortable one. "You know… I knew he was there, that man. Not him specifically of course, but-"
"I know, Cinder, but that wasn't you." Jaune cut her off, smiling warmly at her and surprising the woman. He could have told as much just by looking at her, even without feeling it himself from her. "I knew, or at least I suspected, right away. I knew later on. But that wasn't the new you, that was the old you. You're a different person, I made damn sure of that, so just drop it."
It was a sore spot for him, enough so that he almost let his control slip and fell into an emotional state that would put them all at danger. And he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't taking it out on her at least a bit. He felt he had the right, given what she had been and even what she was now, but when she flinched he still felt bad. And the silence they slipped into this time was definitely an uncomfortable and awkward one for several minutes before he could bring himself to speak again.
"I'm sorry, Cinder, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." He sighed weakly, "I'm just… Overwhelmed, and I don't have any time to get it out, not the way I need to. It's just... a lot to deal with, on top of everyone else's problems."
"And through it all, you still try to save everyone." Cinder mused, almost sounding like her older self, a pantomime of the sarcasm and cold lack of care she'd had, her head tilted to the side so her hair fell across her face partially covering her eyes while she stared at him. She smiled a small smile, an eyebrow raised, "Both the new and old me respected you for that, Jaune. I feel you should know that." "No other can say or claim to have ever stared down Salem and not blinked as you did, much less made demands of her outright."
"Really?" Jaune asked, surprised. When she nodded, straightening back up and leaning against the wall again, he continued, "I mean, I always sensed some… I guess begrudging respect from her. You." He groaned, "Ugh, it's confusing."
"A bit, yes, to me especially." Cinder admitted with a low, weak chuckle. "It's… Hard to wrap my head around, I guess. I remember everything, and I know what you did to me, but… I'm fine with it."
"Because I made you be that way." Jaune argued.
"True, you made me be okay with what you did." She admitted, "But that doesn't change that I am okay with it. No one holds it against you but yourself, master. And… And I am happier, I think, being this way."
"You are?" He asked idly, partially honestly curious about how her mind was working - what he'd done to her he didn't fully understand, like many things to do with his Semblance's effects - and partially just to pass the time. "Why do you say that, Cinder?"
"Because… Because before you did what you did, I was so angry all the time. And I didn't let anyone near me, not in any real way that matters. I just…" She flailed her hands in front of her, looking for the right words to express herself for a moment, "Used people up and threw them away. They were tools for me to move myself forward, and I treated them like trash." "And I was a tool of Salem's as well…"
"Aren't you my tool now, though?" He asked quietly, glancing up and down the woman for any sign of discomfort at that fact. When he found none, he sighed, "Shouldn't that… bother you? Like, at all?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Cinder said with a shrug, "I don't care though, so it doesn't matter, master. I am happy as I am now." "And if you respect my opinions as much as you seem, that ought to be enough."
She had a point there, he had to admit that much. If he was willing to live with her like this, and wanted to even pretend to respect her individuality - or at least what was left of it - then he had to let her make up her own mind. And then he had to accept that as being true, whatever she decided, at least for herself. What he'd done may have been wrong, but he did it for the right reasons… and the victim seemed willing to forgive him.
He had no right to ask for anything beyond that.
He almost missed it when she started to wake up, she woke so quickly and suddenly that it took him by surprise even when he sensed it starting to happen, and he shot to his feet when she tried to rise, pressing a hand against her chest and holding her down gently, "Neo, relax, you're fine!"
She struggled for a second before calming down, "J-Jaune? What happened?"
He held up a had to wave Cinder away when she approached, "You got hurt badly... really badly, it was horrible the way you... We got you to the doctor though, she treated you as best she could but… Your Aura was too depleted, so you've been healing the natural way."
"I thought I was going to die…" Neo sighed, Jaune sitting on the edge of her bed and holding her hand. She squeezed it, smiling and looking at him with pale pink eyes, "What happened to the Atlesian though?"
"Emerald helped me and, uh," he shrugged, smiling at her, "I killed him."
"Oh…" She grimaced, looking away from him, "That must have been hell for you… I'm sorry, Jaune."
"It was to save you." He said simply, dismissing the concern with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't, and won't ever, mind what needs to be done to protect you, Neo." She smirked, and thought a lewd thought, and he smirked back, "No, not because you have the nicest ass this side of Vacuo. That's just a bonus."
She laughed her silent laugh, shoulders trembling gently, and smiled up at him, "How long was I asleep?"
"A couple weeks, almost." He admitted after a second, squeezing her hand when she started to freak out. "It's fine, nothing bad happened. Just relax. Roman and I are both perfectly alright, and he's with us."
"On the ship?"
"Yeah." Jaune answered, "He's piloting it right now, I think. I'll send him down to see you later. We have to get some distance from Mountain Glenn." She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed, "There was a… bit of a battle there. I used it to get all of us out."
"A battle?!" She mentally screamed, trying to rise again. Jaune leaned over her, holding her shoulders down, and she glared at him, "Let go."
"No." He answered sternly, staring down at her, "If you move too much, your back could rip open again and you'll be out for another week at least. We got away, no one is chasing us, and we're perfectly safe right now. So relax."
She relaxed after a second and he got off her, returning to his seat, and she smiled at him, "Who told you to get off?"
He blushed in spite of himself and she chuckled, the blonde shaking his head at her and reclining with his arms crossed, "I would… But you're too brittle right now, Neo. The doctor said that you could rip open just walking around."
"Fine…" She sighed, smiling at him after a second, "Is a kiss too rough then? As long as you're gentle, of course. Have to be careful with brittle little me."
"Like a little porcelain doll?" He asked, chuckling and leaning over her again with his elbow resting by her face. She exhaled and he felt the breath on his chin, leaning down a few inches from her. "I don't know, you know how I can be."
He sighed when the door opened behind them, eyes screwing shut as he leaned back, the doctor glaring at him when he did, "Do you really have to try and jump my patient in her bed, Jaune?' "Dust, the impatience…"
"N-No, Doctor, she just…" He trailed off weakly, smiling as disarmingly as he could while Neo giggled mutely on her bed. "She wanted a kiss?"
"Out, so I can give her a checkup." The doctor huffed, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door while he protested weakly. She let him go to stagger into Cinder, who grabbed his shoulders for support with a murmured 'Master?' "And stay out for a while so I can work, you horny teenager."
Jaune wanted to argue, but she slammed the door shut before he could, and he sighed, sitting on the ground next to the door with his head resting against the cool metal, "I just wanted to spend some time with Neo…"
"Soon, Master." Cinder said demurely, smirking and joining him on the floor, her legs folded under her so her feet were tucked just under her legs. "She did catch you in quite a… position, though." "On top of her, when she's not even wearing a shirt under there…"
"S-She just wanted a kiss!" He argued weakly, "I wasn't gonna… do anything."
Cinder just chuckled at him as a droid approached them, "Sir, ma'am, you are needed in the mess hall. "The two exchanged a glance, looking up at the droid, and it added, "They wished for me to inform you they have made their decision."
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The cafeteria was quiet for a long time after Jaune left, the food sitting out almost untouched while drones milled about, offering food and drink and keeping things tidy. After a while, Ruby finally spoke, "S-So, we need to decide what we're going to do."
"What's there to decide?" Yang asked darkly, running a hand through her air and boring a hole into the table with her gaze alone. "We're not going up against the queen bitch of the Grimm, even if we believe him."
"He's not lying." Pyrrha argued politely, as much as she could manage it at least, her hands folded on the table in front of her and back straight. "Ozpin told me as much as well, at Beacon. About Salem and more, about himself even."
"Yeah there's a question," Yang admitted, shrugging and turning her hard gaze on the Mistralian woman. "Why did Ozpin spend so much time alone, with you, in his office? And where is he now, anyways?"
"I don't know where he is." Pyrrha admitted honestly, shrugging and letting her face sit neutrally as she could asie from a thin eyebrow raised at her, "And as for why we met… Are you quite certain you want that revelation as well, Yang? You seem barely able to accept the Queen of the Grimm."
"With all due respect, Pyrrha." Weiss said quietly, leaning forward onto the table slightly. "We all deserve to know, even were Yang to decide she didn't wish to."
Pyrrha regarded her for a long moment before sighing and nodding, "Very well. He approached me to ask me for a… favor, of sorts, I suppose. He needed something to fight Salem with, and I was a perfect candidate." Holding a hand up and concentrating, her jaw working slightly in the effort, a small flame burst to life, running along her fingers and hand like a warm, red and orange glove. "I am what is known as a Maiden, and with that comes powers like this," summoning fire with a flick of her wrist and a snap of her fingers. "I can do a great, great many things more than this, of course, but this is the… cleanest to show inside an airship."
"You… mean like the myth?" Ren asked quietly, exchanging a look with Nora. "Is… That what you couldn't tell us? What Ozpin was keeping under wraps, and refused to tell us?"
"Yes" She answered carefully, chewing her lip for a moment and turning to the surprised remnants of RWBY. "Headmaster Ozpin was… afraid, that the kind of knowledge about Salem and the Maidens, magic truly... That it would break this world."
"Oh come on," Yang argued weakly, "It's… Even if that's all true, it's not that big a deal."
"Yes it is." Weiss countered before Pyrrha could, the small Atlesian staring into her lap, eyes searching for something, somewhere. "The Kingdoms, no… The people only have what hope they do, what peace they do, because the Grimm are mindless monsters. If they knew that the Grimm were guided by a thinking hand, planning their demise?"
"There'd be chaos, mass panic, and Grimm Incursions would be the result." Pyrrha finished with a grave nod, "Exactly why Ozpin urged such secrecy, suchpains being taken to keep every inch of it a secret from anyone who didn't need to know it."
"People have a right to know the truth about the world!" Yang snapped, slamming a fist down into the table in front of her hard enough to dent the steel. "If the Kingdoms knew about this shit, then they'd-"
"Do what?" Pyrrha interrupted, dismissing the flame from her palm and folding her hands on the table again. "Send fleets against her? Only Jaune knows where she is, aside from her henchmen and servants. The world would panic, with no direction to strike out at.'
"Then comes the paranoia." Ren added, shaking his head, "I've seen what that can do. When people are stricken by fear and have no way to fight back, they seek out something to strike down. Even in each other. And when the Kingdoms are filled to the brim with panic, people demanding somewhere to strike, some kind of action…"
"War would follow." Pyrrha finished for him, Nora stiffening on Ren's other side. "One Kingdom would start building up its forces, then another, and a third, until all the great Kingdoms are gearing up for war on an unprecedented scale. And once built, these armies would need a place to march on."
"Atlas would get there first." Weiss asserted coldly, trembling ever-so-slightly. "And when they're done… They'd send their fleet, either to Vacuo or Menagerie. One is see as a haven for thieves and liars, and the other is filled with Faunus who are seen as little better… They'd attack them."
"And if they attacked Menagerie, Mistral would feel threatened. Atlas, so close, with such a military movement?" Pyrrha offered, gesturing at herself with a wave of her hand. "I know Mistral. They'd attack, for fear of themselves."
"Any way you look at it, war would come." Ren said sadly, the table falling silent for a few long moments as the group digested that information, a stubborn kind. Like a tough meat, sitting heavily in their stomachs and churning it up painfully. "We… We know though."
"We can do something." Nora finished, smiling grimly and taking Ren's hand in her own, "We can end this, and no one will lose their home again."
"We could die." Pyrrha said quietly, hands tightening around each other at the thought of Jaune's death. "We could all die, to the last man and woman, against a foe like her."
"It's…" Ruby began, looking around at each of them, imagining losing them as tears welled up, fogging around her eyes like a dam threatening to burst. Pressing her lips into a firm line, she stood, leaning onto the table with both hands, "Huntsmen and Huntresses die, every day, out there already. Fighting to protect the people of Remnant, right?" All eyes turned on her, and she flinched only slightly, her shoulders scrunching up when Yang looked at her, "But… But that's what we signed up for. Risking our lives, to make the world better. Right?"
"But… Ruby," Yang started to argue, shaking her head, "You can't risk this, not so young."
"How many kids die out there?" Weiss argued, Standing and resting a hand on her partner's shoulder reassuringly. The brunette looked at her, and they exchanged a sad smile and a nod before she continued, "How many people? The Schnee name means something right now. Suffering, pain, and selfishness. That's why I want to become a Huntress."
"What kind of people would we be, if we let what happened to us happen to countless families, all because we were afraid?" Ren asked, standing and smiling when Nora joined him, taking her hand in his and giving it a familiar, affectionate squeeze. "Dying is merely a step of our journey, if the final one."
"At least it'll be memorable?" Nora asked, chuckling unsurely at the thought and looking at Pyrrha. "Right? At least we have a chance, right?"
Standing, Pyrrha smiled, clasping her hands behind her back to hide the nervous, excited tremors running through them, "Yes. Truly, good deaths, if that is the end one of us or all should face. At the least, we would do so together, standing firm and trying to save the world."
"You're all… You're all crazy!" Yang yelled, laughing quietly and shaking her head. "Blake just… She just died, and you're all ready to rush off and die too!"
"Blake died to save lives." Ruby said quietly, blinking back a few tears before continuing, "And… And if she were here, she'd join us. So-"
"Yeah, she fucking would too." Yang snapped, standing so abruptly her chair flew a foot back and toppled, slamming her fists into the table once, then twice before letting her knuckles rest against the cool surface. "That stupid cat... That stupid knight..." looking around, she added, "All of you idiots! If we fucking die, I will haunt you in the afterlife, or whatever the hell happens, forever!"
"You realize we'd be dead too, right?" Ren asked, smirking lightly.
"Yep!" She responded, "And I will still haunt your sorry asses for dragging me into this if I die."
"Drone." Pyrrha snapped, a droid turning towards her from the food table, "Go and fetch Jaune, tell him… Tell him we've made our decisions, and wish to speak to him about them. Immediately, preferably."
"Yes, ma'am."
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"Roman." Jaune said simply when the man joined them, following them through the halls with a lazy smirk on his face that didn't fool Jaune at all, the worry rolling out of him too strong to not notice. "Neo's awake, and she's… Better than she was, the doctor is looking her over, making sure she's okay."
"Good, good… Can't get anything by you, I guess." He chuckled, letting out a nervous breath, "I just wanted to check up with you, on her. And, uh… Kinda need a direction to send this boat. Ship like ours, can't just float around like a big damn target forever and not have someone take a shot." "Or a bird, or a dragon, or whatever the fuck else shows up for a snack…"
"I'm on my way to meet the others, and see what they say." Jaune said, Roman raising an eyebrow at him from his flank. He took the chance to eye Cinder carefully on Jaune's right side, the woman trailing just behind the blonde and Jaune sighed, "And yes, Cinder is under my control, so just… Just relax, you're making me nervous."
"Gotta ask how you pulled that off, boss." Roman said simply, shrugging and turning to face ahead of them, fishing a cigar out of his pocket, "Shit, runnin low… Where the hell am I gonna get more smokes out here?"
"We might be stopping off near Vale, if that helps." Jaune offered with a shrug, the man turning with a shocked expression directed at him, and equally surprised emotions roiling out before anxiety joined them. "To drop off anyone not wanting to head north with us, Roman, we'll be far enough out not to get noticed."
"Hopefully, at least…" "Well, you still haven't told me how you managed to make Cinder follow you around like a lost puppy." He cocked his head back and to the side, chewing his cigar in his lips idly, "Tell me, how sore were your kees after?"
"Roman…" She growled, the thief smirking.
"Oh, was it your behind that was sore?" He chuckled when she growled again, smoke billowing out of her hand, "Uh uh, can't hurt me, the kid won't let ya." "Neo would be pissed."
"Cinder, you can't kill Roman." Jaune chided gently, the woman grimacing and letting the smoke peter out. Turning to Roman, he added, "And you, stop antagonizing her. It's pointless and you two have to work together now, and I won't have you fighting."
"Yes, Master." "Even if he's infuriating…" Cinder said meekly, clasping her hands in front of herself and looking at the floor. "I will do as you wish."
"M-Master?" Roman choked out in surprise, stumbling as they walked, the smug superiority and cockiness washed away in a sudden spike of nervousness and a kind of fear that made Jaune nauseous to feel, and to be the cause of as well. "What… What did you do to her?" "He's not going to…"
"I only did what I had to to survive, Roman." Jaune argued simply as they approached the mess hall door, stopping to look at the man seriously. "I won't do it to anyone ever again, if I can help it. Including you, so relax. I'd… I'd like to think you and I are friends, after everything. Especially with me and Neo, and how we're… Well..."
"Well what?" Roman asked quietly with a raised eyebrow, Jaune heading for the door as quickly as he could without running. Roman looked at Cinder, the woman smiling affectionately until she turned to him, scowling at him, "What did he mean?"
"Well…. Let's just say that you had the wrong woman wearing out her knees with a sore behind." Cinder mused, smiling when Roman's cigar fell out of his mouth and he stared at her wide eyed before moving to follow her master.
They rounded the corner, and Jaune felt every eye slam onto him, but… Where before he'd sensed fear, anger, confusion, anxiety, now he felt… A strange acceptance as the group nibbled at food in front of them, watching him approach his seat and take it, Roman and Cinder standing behind him on either side. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table and steeple his fingers and ignoring the smarting on his side as his wound stretched slightly, he smiled politely.
"Well?"
"We've made our decision, Jaune." Pyrrha said simply, smiling confidently at him, "We will follow you north, and face Salem. For the sake of the world and everyone on it." "It took some doing, too, so you have to seal it."
"Just don't blow it and get us all killed." Yang grunted, tearing a bite out of her chicken leg while Weiss rolled her eyes. "If you take Ruby away too, I'll rip off your dick and feed it to you."
"Noted." Jauned grunted, turning slightly and raising a finger, "Cinder, get me a drink. With ice, if you don't mind." A way to show power, even if he didn't like it, they needed to see strength right now.
"Yes, Master." She answered, bowing her head and moving to get him something.
"I ain't fetchin' you a drink or a snack, kid." Roman grunted when Jaune turned to him, the blonde chuckling at it. What Cinder had said had aggravated him, true, but Jaune made a note to thank Cinder for telling him. Saved Jaune the headache. "So, boss man, what's the plan? Now that we're all settled in for a fight, after all."
"The plan?" Jaune chuckled, rolling his shoulders lightly, "We're going to Salem's castle. We'll evacuate the prisoners, destroy it and kill Salem. Then we run, before her Grimm can arrive."
"That means we'll need teams sorted out." Weiss advised, humming in thought. "Someone who knows the place well to guide us, and people who can defend… Prisoners?" "There are prisoners there too?"
"Yes, slaves more like. Servants, cooks, maintenance people." Jaune sighed, shaking his head, "I don't know how many there are, but with a ship like this, we can carry them. I'm sure."
"Master." Cinder said politely, setting the iced soda in front of him. He nodded and took a drink, and sh continued, "If I may, I know the castle's grounds quite well. But we have to be fast. Fast enough to evade the Grimm once we make for the escape. But strong enough to handle the Grimm themselves, and anyone else who comes. If one of her servants come, I will fight them." She hesitated, looking to Jaune, "I-If master permits, of course."
"I do." He supplied, sighing, "Who are out fastest, then? Weiss and Ruby, right?"
"Blake was fast too…" "Yeah, but they need muscle too." Yang offered stiffly, hand gripping her metal cup a touch too tightly, the metal groaning in protest. "I'd suggest Ren, but he doesn't have enough hitting power. No offence."
"None taken." Ren added, sighing, "Nora isn't as fast as you two, but she hits hard." "Even when she shouldn't…" "She'd be a good addition, along with miss…?"
"Cinder Fall." She answered, inclining her head politely. "I was one of Salem's servants, but I serve master now." She raised a hand, flames crackling into life on each tip as she moved them, "I am quite a potent combatant."
He sensed everyone's suspicions rise, minus Ruby and Roman, and opened his mouth to speak. Ruby beat him there, "He, uh, he changed her mind… With his Semblance. She won't, you know, betray us or anything." "Unless Jaune wants her to... but that'd be crazy."
"You can do that?" Nora coughed, choking on her drink, the water splashing onto her shirt. Ren sighed, handing her a napkin. "Sorry…"
"Yes, I can. It takes a lot to do it, and… and I normally refuse to." He swallowed nervously, "But against Cinder? I had to get her out of the way so she couldn't warn Salem. I couldn't beat her in a fight… So…"
"Soe he used his Semblance to change me, rather than try to kill me or even just defeat me in open combat. My master is a competent warrior, but he is no fool. Even now, I would dominate him in battle." Cinder said simply, shrugging. "It is past now, and I have forgiven it. Further, I would ask you not torture my master over this, he does so enough already by himself. Regardless of what I say to him, of course." "You need to forgive yourself, Master. You did only as you had to."
"So it's... More of an emergency trump card than anything else?" Weiss offered, Jaune nodding simply. The explanation was close enough to use, as far as he was concerned, even if Jaune wanted to add that he probably wouldn't use it enough even for that. "I… suppose that is acceptable enough." "Even if it's disgusting… Gods the things he could do if he wanted. He could seize the SDC through me, and worse."
"I won't do that, Weiss." Jaune assured sadly, eyes softening when she flinched. "I heard your thoughts. I wouldn't do that to you, not ever. And not to anyone else at this table either, for that matter."
"What are you…. Talking about?" Ruby asked quietly, looking between the two.
"I…" Jaune nodded at Weiss to continue, "I just realized that, if he wished it, he could control me. Seize the SDC entirely through me and… and…"
"And use her, physically." Jaune said sadly, eyes closing tiredly at the implication. Everyone assumed so much about him, was that normal? Did people assume this much about everyone around themselves? No wonder the world was in the state it was in… "That's what she's frightened of, and I understand… I understand why, you know? But I won't do anything like that. I… don't know how I can prove it, but-"
"My old mistress Salem actually wished for him to do just as you say, and took several women as prisoners to be his servants." Cinder interrupted helpfully, "We also wished for him to dominate each of you and add you to his retinue. He refused all of this, even taking his servants under his protection from us. He refused it when we pushed him, so I doubt anyone here has anything to worry about on that front." "He even refused me…"
Jaune ignored the sad note to her inner voice, instead looking at his friends and sensing them more thoroughly. Each relaxed, the suggestion of him puppeting them feeling less likely to ever happen. After a second to let that settle in their minds, he spoke, "Once we arrive, we will have to act immediately. The fast team will follow Cinder to get the prisoners, and the rest of us… We'll raise hell, and go after Salem herself."
"Charging headlong into battle in hell itself?" Pyrrha mused, smiling gently at him. "Are you sure you aren't Mistralian, Jaune? My people would be glad to have you as one of ours."
"Living with legends, charging in against the queen of the deep, dark monsters?" Roman grumbled, shaking his head with a thin, hard smirk, "Fuck it, I guess. Never done anything like this before, might as well try. Let's save the damn world, be big old heroes." "Even if we end up dead ones."
"I didn't think someone like you would be so…" Weiss trailed off, grimacing and looking him up and down, "willing to help." "Especially for a thief… I'd think you'd be more selfish and cruel."
"Have to be alive to steal, and people need to be rich to steal from them." Roman explained easily, shrugging as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. After a moment, he sighed and turned to look away from the group, "And… Well, I never had a chance to do anything worth a damn. Not going to back out when I get the chance. What kind of thief isn't greedy enough to want to play hero too?" "A living one, probably."
"None of us will judge you for being greedy, Roman." Jaune said brightly, smiling and letting out a breath. "Well, let's eat then. We have a long trip ahead of us, it should take a few days to reach Salem's castle at least."
It would be nice, to spend some time with them.
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Jaune left the mess hall quickly, leaving Cinder and Roman wit the others so they could… Get to know each other in a way other than fighting. It was important to the extreme that they get along well enough to trust each other in a fight. And having him around still made several of the group… nervous and aggravated, Yang in particular. Some of them still had some thinking ad digesting to do regarding everything they'd been told, which is why when Yang demanded the droids bring out some 'hooch' and they requested his permission to do so, he allowed it.
And instructed Cinder and Roman to watch them, of course, to keep them there.
"Hey Neo." He said, pushing open the door and feeling the young woman's disappointment where she'd been lurking beside it, waiting to surprise him. Stepping into the room, he smiled at her and tapped his forehead, "I can sense you, of all people, from a mile away."
"You could have pretended, at least." Neo complained, walking around the cabin he'd… appropriated after they left, an officer's cabin near the cockpit of the ship. Twice the size of his old one, with a personal computer on a desk to the far left of the door with shelves surrounding it and a large, fine bed with the head resting under a window. The window continued to stretch across the entirety of the wall, about head height and curved with the exterior of the ship with a comfortable chair next to the end table on the bed's right. Aside from that, it was very spartan. "The new digs are nice, by the way, Jaune. Definitely an upgrade."
Jaune gave her an appraising look, the girl only wearing her leotard and pants right now, bandages wrapping around her shoulders and back when she turned, and asked, "How did you slip away from the doctor?"
"I didn't slip away." She said with a shrug, taking a seat on the foot of the bed and smiling at him warmly. "She checked me over, changed out my bandages, poke my back a bit, and said I could leave as long as I was cautious. She said to avoid anything..." She trailed a hand up her leg, skirting towards her inner thigh, "Rough."
He took a seat in the comfortable black armchair, resting a foot on his left knee comfortably, "How, um… How rough is 'rough' though?"
"Well…" She said, hopping up and striding to stand in front of him with a sway in her hip and a cocky smile on her face, using a finger to lift his foot off his knee and dropping it onto the floor before leaning on the arms of the chair so she hovered over him, the blonde looking up and into her eyes, brown and pink. "It means you have to be gentle with me. What was it you said earlier, about me being like a porcelain doll?"
"But I don't like to be gentle." He said simply, reaching out to rest his hands on the curve where her hips met her rear, railing his bottom fingers down slightly to feel the soft flesh and grinning when she smiled at him, "You broke me out of that habit, if I recall."
"Yes, but I'm impatient." She said, sighing dramatically and mutely and climbing into his lap, straddling him so her knees rested against his hips against the soft cushion. He let his hands slide down and back to grip her more fully and she growled in her throat, "I'm not going to wait until my back is better for this."
"You always were impatient, yeah. Never willing to wait."
"Says the man currently groping my ass?" She chided, resting her elbows on the chair behind his head and leaning in so their noses touched. He gave her a playful slap and her eyes closed as she pressed against his hips needily, "That's not gentle."
"It's also not your back." He returned, pecking her lips tenderly and trailing kisses along her neck while she gripped his hair and sighed contentedly. "And I'm also impatient, you know. It's been longer for me than you."
He ran one of his hands up her stomach to her chest, and she sighed louder, "We'll have to be careful… The bed looks soft enough, right?"
He grunted and carried her to it, turning to the door, "Lock on, don't let anyone disturb us." It chimed and he went to work on her leotard, the woman giggling mutely and wrapping her legs around his hips eagerly.
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Neo curled against his chest, her lips kissing along his neck affectionately, nipping at the skin while he held her against his side exhaustedly. She stretched her leg over his waist comfortably, trailing the lazy kisses until she was satisfied and leaned down to rest her head more fully on his chest, he sighed contentedly as his eyes slid closed.
"Dust, I missed you…" He groaned when her hand started rubbing his sore muscles and she pressed her bare chest against his side the way he liked so much, practically clinging to him.
"I know." She responded, smiling with her eyes closed while her hands explored familiar flesh and muscle. "I missed you too, even if we had to be gentler than you like. It was still nice, to have this."
"I meant you, Neo." He said quietly, her hands pausing and her eyes blinking open with a startled pink glow. He chuckled in amusement, hand sliding down to enjoy the feel of her behind again, almost absentmindedly. He looked down at her when she looked up at him, the orange rays being cast by the dying sun doing magical things to her skin, "I just… I love you, Neo. I hope you know that. And I… I want to get married, if we both survive this."
"You do?" He sensed her surprise, the girl blinking a few time as her jaw fell open at the idea behind it. He caught a picture in her mind, of her in a silvery dress under a great oak, and smiled down at her.
"Yes." He slid his hand up her back from her rear to her hair, playing with it gently. "I, uh, guess I should be more formal? Maybe ask Roman first?"
"But… What about your family?" She asked, surprise echoing through her and into him. "I mean, being with me permanently isn't… conducive to living in a small town like that. Not with my bounties."
"My family," he explained, "will love you as much as I do. And my dad is kind of the mayor, so I doubt you'll get turned in. You or Roman. It's a fresh start."
Gently, almost like a frightened cat, she pulled herself up his chest and pressed a tender kiss against his lips, laying against him. Normally, her hands explored or moved his to places she wanted touched, normally she nipped at his lips and tried to get the kiss to move to something. This time… she was content, to lie in his arms, enjoying his warmth and that of the sun through the window, and just kiss him.
Pulling away, she swallowed nervously and, her jaw working and her throat twitching in pain, she said, "Y- Yie…" Coughing into the air, she forced it out, "Yiieesss." He blinked and she blushed, coughing from that little exertion alone, "Yes… That's the best I can do, Jaune."
Smiling, he pulled her towards him again and kissed her back.
It was nice to have some light at the end of the long, dark tunnel he'd been in.
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Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein