章 469: 25

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Neo was watching Jaune pace with a raised eyebrow for a long time, his armor clinking and tinkling quietly on the stone floor with the barest movements in the silent room. They'd already discussed things, and both were convinced that he had no choice here. Even Jaune hadn't thought of the idea that Cinder might present a test for him, and the fact that Blake was apparently involved in it now thanks to Ozpin meant he had to take part in it. Jaune looked up when he sensed a person he hadn't felt before - in the time he'd been here, he'd grown quite familiar with each and every person's 'feel,' if not them as a person - and sat in the chair quickly. More to look at ease and relaxed than to actually be either of those things.

Neo crossed her legs and leaned against the wall at the head of the bed, her parasol leaning against the bed right next to her, within easy reach in case Jaune tried anything or the visitor that was coming did. He gave her a slight nod of his head when he sensed her intent, and the door opened.

Jaune felt Neo's panic when a black suited man stepped into the room, turning only slightly to close the door before moving to take a seat. The man sat quietly for several long seconds, Jaune staring at his mask and 'listening' to his irritation and anger echo at him 'loudly', before he spoke, "So you're the new human Cinder was so determined to obtain?" "He doesn't appear too impressive. Odd. For all her faults, Cinder doesn't seem to be a fool who would waste her time…." "Why did she want you so badly? And why is she so insistent that you and this…" he took a moment to look at Neo and sneer slightly, "girl should come with me to rescue Blake?"

"She didn't tell you?" Jaune asked before he thought about it, the man drumming his fingers on the table's impatience echoing out as he hummed in response. "Well, uh, no offence, but… if she didn't tell you why, then I won't. She could kill Neo if I upset her."

The man sighed, nodding as more anger echoed outwards from him, and Jaune looked at Neo for a split second. "A valid concern. Unfortunately, I don't care for your pathetic concerns." He laid his hand on the hilt of his sword and leaned forward, grinning threateningly, "You will answer me, or I will cut her throat myself."

Jaune almost flinched at the threat, but… he could sense the man's fear of Cinder. He knew for that reason that he was lying through his teeth. So he decided to at least pretend to be as formidable as Cinder seemed to have implied, "No, you won't." He opened his mouth to speak, but Jaune continued before he could get a word in, "You're terrified of Cinder, and you know that she has to have offered me something to get my cooperation. I don't know how she bought you, but for me the price was the safety of people I care about. Neo is one of them, and is under Cinder's protection if she wants me on her side. You hurt her, Cinder will have to come down on your head or mine."

"Don't antagonise him, Jaune, he's dangerous." He heard Neo think at him, turning his head to give her a look and shaking his head, "Jaune, I'm warning you. Don't say I didn't warn you. Roman told me to warn you if you started anything with anyone."

He almost chuckled at her before he caught himself. He could, practically in some ways, literally in others, feel the guy was almost as dangerous as Cinder herself was. A sort of sense of the skill and experience rattling around in the other man's head. But it was too late to back out now, and he very much wanted this man not to know about his abilities.

"Cinder wouldn't harm me, I'm the only one keeping the White Fang working under her. She even dares to look at me wrong, and I could ruin her entire operation. All without lifting a finger." "No matter how much more successful we have been in our ventures since she took over as leader." He smiled and leaned back in his chair, clearly sure of himself to anyone that would look at him.

Except Jaune.

He could feel the doubt, anxiety, and even fear that the man felt. The man was lying again, this time about his own position in his organization, and its success. He also had an image in his head, a memory or something like it from the man, of Cinder standing over White Fang bodies and shaking her head at him in disappointment.

So Jaune decided to keep pushing, against his better judgement and Neo's practically screaming at him. "That's a lie, and you know it. Cinder could wipe you all out to a man if she wanted, and it would only slow down whatever plans she has." The man's scowl was visible even with the mask on, and Jaune was almost half as amused as he was terrified right now. "Everyone is just help to her, and you know that. Without you, she'd still accomplish her goals. And you'd get nothing while she did it."

He watched the man's jaw work for a long time, before Jaune was actually surprised by something.

He smiled at him, crossing his arms and nodding appreciatively. "I can see some of why Cinder values you so much. You're perceptive, and you have the brass needed to stand up to someone literally threatening you." He stood, hand resting on his blade as his smile fell, "However, insult me or the White Fang again, and I will take your head regardless of what you think would happen, Arc."

He slammed the door as he left, and Jaune left out an exasperated, terrified breath, before looking at Neo, "See, everything is fine."

She threw a pillow at him, and he laughed, the endorphin and adrenaline of dealing with someone like that giving him a high.

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Pyrrha flicked out a hand, and James watched the fire arc out from it and sear into the wooden dummy. It was reduced to ash in mere minutes, and the young woman continued on to the next target while James turned his head slightly to speak to Glynda. "I understand the concerns over her mental state, but ev ery test we know of shows that she is sane. It seems to simply be a merger of the two minds' memories, nothing beyond that."

"You don't know that." She snapped back, tapping her foot anxiously and watching Pyrrha train her new powers, "She doesn't even remember her own family, James. Her mother could be here right now, and Miss Nikos probably wouldn't even recognize her."

"And you don't know that, Glynda." James countered easily, gesturing at her with a hand and crossing his arms, "Neither of us knows, and the discussion can only really go that far." He watched her incinerate an armored target easily, the same armor as a Paladin was meant to carry melting almost uselessly into the floor, "I have one of my most trusted scientists on his way here. An Aura specialist, particularly in synthetically moving Aura from one subject to another."

"A specialist?" She mutters in in confusion and discomfort, shaking her head slightly, "How could anyone be a specialist in that?"

"He's the one who designed the machine we used for the transplant."

"I see. And the technology was untested?" She asked quietly, the man turning and looking away uncomfortably. An act that made the smaller woman all the more concerned, "James, tell me you didn't test this on some innocent soldier or something."

He was quiet for several seconds before succumbing to her glare, sighing quietly, "A young soldier who was injured on her first mission. She was declared brain dead, and her will dictated her body was to be donated to the Atlesian Special Sciences Division." She sighed angrily, turning and taking a step away with a huff, "She has no memories of the girl's life, not even the barest hint, and the personalities are different. The ASSD gave her the name Penny, and she took the lead scientists surname."

"Dust, James…." She turned to give him a stunned, almost horrified look, "Polendina, yes? That sweet girl… you people created that in some lab?"

"We created her, yes, Glynda." He corrected quietly, turning to look out on Pyrrha once more, "I have spent some time around her. She's not a thing, she's a person. While I don't like that her creation had to occur, we needed it in case something like what we had to do here occurred. And I will not hold it against her."

"You care about her?" She asked amusedly, raising a thin eyebrow at him.

"She's… she's a good soldier, and a sweet kid." James admitted, nodding and looking at Glynda, "I won't hold what she is against who she is. Hell, people doing that caused this whole problem to exist in the first place."

"It is good not to be judgemental, James." She agreed, nodding her head lightly, "Even if she is an abomination, she can't help that." He almost argued the point, but elected against it instead, "The lead scientist, her 'father' as she calls him, is being vetted for a higher clearance level. Soon, he will come here, to help us… deal with this problem."

"Do you think he can even begin to accomplish anything?" Glynda asked quietly, stepping closer to him and leaning her shoulder against his chest comfortably. "What if…. what if Nikos's condition is degenerative?"

"We'll handle whatever may come." He said simply, watching Nikos plop onto a bench across the room and chug from a bottle of water, "And this man is brilliant, he'll find out something. I am sure of it."

"You'd best be, much of Remnant's fate rests on his success, I fear." She said quietly, closing her eyes and letting her head rest on his chest for a few seconds before pushing off him and straightening, "I must go to Ozpin, help him coordinate the operation with Miss Schnee and Qrow."

"Have a nice evening." He said awkwardly, the woman smiling and nodding before turning and heading towards the elevator. "Have a nice evening? She's planning a damned raid, you moron…."

"But Blake didn't do anything!" Ruby squeaked again, eyes almost watering while she hugged a pillow to her chest, "She wouldn't hurt anyone that didn't deserve to be hurt, and even then she wouldn't try to…."

"To murder them?" Weiss finished easily, prime eyebrow arched while she sat on her bed across from Ruby, "She's White Fang. They kill people, Ruby, it's kind of part of being a terrorist." She sighed and shook her head, "I should have known better than to trust a Faunus so easily…."

"Really?" Yang asked quietly, leaning forward from her spot on Ruby's bunk. Weiss gave her a look and she sighed, dropping down, "Blake wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was a Grimm, or some creep in a mask. Something else is going on here, and it smells fishy."

"Really, Yang? Cat puns? Now?" Ruby asked, sounding as frustrated as she sounded upset.

"What?" Yang blinked a couple times, arms dropping to her side before she shook her head, "No! I… that was an accident. I meant that something feels off about this." She looked at Weiss, laring slightly, "Put aside the racism for a second-"

"It's not racism!"

"Yeah, it is." She said simply, ignoring the heiress's huff of aggravation, "Anyways, think about it for a moment. Blake is smart, even if she was a terrorist, she'd have been smarter than that. Hell, even I could come up with a better plan than charging someone who is probably the second strongest person in Beacon."

Weiss's jaw worked for several seconds before she sighed, crossing her arms under her almost nonexistent bust and glaring at the blonde, "Then what, pray tell, is the truth? What happened up there?"

"I don't know." Yang admitted after a moment, sitting on the floor and crossing her legs. She stared at the ground for several seconds, a fist working into her palm absently, "I know what they reported. I know no one has seen Miss Goodwitch since, and a room is guarded in the infirmary." She looked up at Weiss, eyes flashing between red and lilac warningly, "And I know that despite a certain Schnee's ingrained prejudice against her, Blake is a good person. She didn't do what they say."

"So, in your head, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy warrants no trust? Not even as much as a confessed terrorist?" Weiss shook her head and stood, heading for the door, "I shall be in the library while you two moan about the injustices of facts."

She slammed the door, and Ruby turned silver eyes onto her sister, "We have to help Blake, right?"

"Yeah." Yang agreed, nodding slowly and standing, "But… I don't know how to do it, I don't even know where to start." She taps her foot on the ground a few times before snapping her fingers, "Let's ransack the Headmaster's office."

"That's a terrible idea."

"Only one I've got."

"That doesn't help, Yang."

"Nope."

Yang smiles at Ruby, and the small girl sighs and stands, "Fine, but I swear, if we get caught-"

"It'll be fine!" Yang crowed, grabbing her and pushing her towards the door, "Now come on, we have to get our weapons."

Glynda made it two steps out of the elevator when Ozpin spoke, "Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long are intending to break into my office to see what happened to you." She stopped and looked at Ozpin's smirking face, his fingers drumming on the desk in front of him idly. "What would you recommend we do about this?"

"Security forces should intervene and prevent them from discovering our plans." She said simply, walking towards the desk and taking a seat across from him, "We can't risk their intervention in the execution. It would be disastrous."

"It could be, yes." He hummed for several seconds, watching his Scroll and drumming his fingers on his desk, "However, if we deployed security drones and they fought, they would face expulsion. I would be compelled to do so."

"True. But the fate of Belladonna's mission surely outweighs their standing in Beacon, Headmaster." She shrugged simply when he raised an eyebrow, "I don't think they would blame us either, if they knew that their actions could result in her death."

"True. But they don't, and so we could lose a very valuable resource if this goes through normal channels." He sighed, leaning back and folding his hands together while he thought, "I suppose we could send some teachers to stop them, keep the reports off the record. Or blame their reactions on Miss Belladonna's apparent betrayal."

"This is where you tell me that Bart and Peter are waiting for them in the armory, isn't it?" She asked tiredly, shaking her head.

"No, it's when I tell you they were taken to their room under the two's guard." He said with a shrug, "I merely wanted your opinion on the situation. And to see how Miss Nikos is faring in her training."

"Her control of her new power is exemplary, likely due to whatever happened to her mind during the transfer." Glynda said quietly, crossing her arms and turning her head to look at the blue sky through a the glass along the side of the office, "Her ability is without question. Her mental state, however…."

"I understand James is obtaining an expert in this particularly small field to help us." Ozpin said simply, shrugging and looking down at his Scroll, "It would be best to let things go until the person arrives to tell us what exactly occurred. It would be unfair to all involved not to do so, James included."

"James brought the equipment that caused the problem."

"James brought what I requested, nothing more. And did so under great risk to himself and with great secrecy within the Atlesian military. He never fails us wherever he can help it, and I trust him to do his best here as well." Ozpin leaned forward intently, looking at Glynda with great concern etched into his face, "Why don't you trust him?"

"I do."

"Then this is no issue." He said simply, leaning back again, "Have patience and faith with our organization. We will find out what is happening to her, and help her through it. I swear this to you."

"I understand." She said quietly, folding her hands in her lap politely, "Is that all, headmaster?"

Ozpin watched her for a long moment, he knew she was irritated with him. "I need you to discuss funding for the Dust needed to run Amity for the Vytal festival. I also need you to discuss security forces for use by the Atlesian military with James, I have a meeting with the Council of Vale scheduled to get the funding needed. Forward me price estimates for everything, and I will see what can be done."

"Yes, Headmaster." She stood and walked to the elevator, and Ozpin watched her go.

After a few moments, he sighed and stood, "I hate this job sometimes. Always, people take everything I do so… personally."

Yang huffed, stomping into her room and plopping onto her bunk with a small scowl. Ruby followed her, sitting next to her larger sister and kicking her feet in boredom and concern. Eventually, she spoke up, "I told you we'd get caught."

"Okay, you can shut up."

Jaune finally laid down when he felt others doing so, placing a bet internally that when most of the White Fang were laying down to rest was a reasonable gauge for the end of the day. Neo joined him a moment later, her back pressing against his slightly in the too-small bed. He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to rest amid the noise before everyone's dreams started flaring up around him. The White Fang grunts had an awful number of nightmares, every night, and that made it hard to get to sleep once they started.

"Worried about the raid?" He heard Neo think at him, sighing quietly.

"Little bit, yeah." He admitted after a second, shrugging even though he knew she was looking away. "Never done anything like it, you know? Plus, when it's over, I'll officially be a criminal. At least for a while."

"Being a criminal isn't so bad, you know. Besides, criminals are hotter."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Because you have such an unbiased view of being a criminal, right? And is your every thought about how hot people are? Nothing more important is rattling around up there?"

"You're really going to ask that? You? Of all people?"

"Good point." He admitted, laughing out loud for a second before letting out a sigh, "I know what you're doing, talking to me like this. Trying to make me feel better. I appreciate it, Neo."

"Does it even work when you know I'm doing it?"

"It's the thought that counts." He joked, smiling to himself and turning his head slightly, "Get it? The thought."

She reached behind herself to thump him lightly, but he could sense the amusement she felt. And feel her shaking slightly against his back besides, "That was a terrible pun, Jaune."

"The best puns are the worst ones." He shrugged, and the duo fell quiet after a moment. Jaune could sense that Neo was uneasy, just like he was, and sighed, "Are you nervous too? You know Blake is probably part of the plan to get me back to Beacon."

"If I'm not here, who will protect Roman?" He felt her sag slightly behind him, and sighed sadly, "I won't even get to see him again. That bitch's plan will get him killed, I just know it. Hell, it's probably part of her plan."

"It probably is. If I could steer a conversation in the right direction and get her to focus on it for a second, I could probably find out." He rolled onto his back, staring at the blackness above him, his arms crossed behind his head under the pillow. "She's pretty good at thinking of just… nonsense."

"It's fine. Even if we could get him out, he'd just go to prison." She shrugged, tucked against his side, "He hates the idea of that more than anything else. Even dying."

"Not for the reasons you think." Jaune said quietly, before he thought about it. She turned to look at him, braced up on her arms with bright pink eyes boring down on him. He gulped nervously, "He, uh, he's more worried about leaving you all alone. But that won't happen. I'll protect you, as long as you cool it with the, uh… blood and torture."

"I will. If you tell me to, I have to." She laid back down, this time with her head on his chest. "You'll abandon me if I don't, and then I'll have no one. A mute girl isn't very attractive for a friend."

He gave her a pat on the head, cautiously putting an arm around her, "Things will work out, I hope. And if we can, we'll save Roman too. I'll figure out something with Ozpin to make him protect you both."

"You just want to screw me."

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