FEW DAYS LATER
THE KINGDOMS OF VACUO
POV
"Okay, I'll bite," Sun said between bites of food. "You stumbled across a child death game slash trafficking ring on your off day in vacuo when we are looking for the relics now ?" As he asked him to confirm his very answer now "Er… yeah" As jaune was willing to admit that and when said like that as it sounded somewhat ridiculous if he said it like that now "As Somehow, that sounds like you" As Neptune said with a tiny smile on his face "As they said you managed to rescue a more then a dozen children,...correct ?" As Neptune asked him "Yeah.." As jaune said and then started to rubbed at the back of his neck "Well, I mean.. it had already a been wrecked when I got there... I just… well, I got the kids out in time but…" He sighed. He was not built for espionage and it turned out that as thing's are "There were some extenuating circumstances." He's said to him "I can imagine." Sun shook his head..."Gods, but to think there are people out there doing such horrible things as what is there to gain when things are as bad as they are ?" As he said and as then jaune started to see the world from a different view as "Some people's are crazy or just truly broken.." jaune spoke sipping at his tea now has remembering his incident with cinder.
"They do not function in the same ways that we do as people anymore." As he said and As much has jaune and everyone else agreed upon it and he was glad his friend's were focused more in on the situations...itself than his involvement which ran a bit deeper than he's had told the very police and huntsman subsequently, than what information had just made it back to haven suggested now has well the very informations around the very relic was given to them as well and everyone is working together now and they started to clean up the streets and people around here as even gathering enough supplies and weapony for everyone else for a fight as He was also a bit glad that's the police report hadn't tied the obsidian used to bind the men's limbs together to Cinder, because of that would've been an interesting conversation to have with them, too as He didn't need them asking questions about why he and Cinder were in similar areas…now but Although when he thought about it as that was a stupid thing to worry about They weren't going to automatically assume he and Cinder were in partner or something just because they both frequented an area now and "yeah right has apparently" As sun and Neptune sat back on there sit and thought about it and just then groaned as leaning back in her seat. "As guess we know a few people like that Tyrian, Salem, Cinder, Mercury..now" As he said.
For a brief instance of time as jaune almost wanted to step in and say something to disagree with sun point but of course then he's thought about what he'd been about to say, and…then he stopped at moment and it is right to defend cinder after what's she was trying to do to the kingdoms and Academy's as it is awhole lot of debate at this point …Why ? Why would he defend cinder again ? she is because of her being his partner or there something else no ' it is because she can be redeemed by her actions ?' As that's a thought on his mind as He's thought back to when rebecca that very young girl had wrapped her arms around Cinder very shakily has then just sobbing with fear and relief both cinder had seemed flabbergastedas if she had never been in such a scenario before hugging her as it was a moment that started to question as what's type of a people cinder truly is and As there was as something there as he's did just noticed about her.....As kernel a buried deep within Cinder fall as something's she just wanted to try and bring to the surface as he's ignored her for being for enemy in the past as that's she's had gone out of her very way to rescue that girl just now is something he never expected from her but after that's the ways she's acted was different from her usual self towards him this morning as well and she was free of something in particular a bad memory as it's was just something he didn't know...she was capable of doing.
As then again practically sprang into actions the very moment the scenario had been presented to her now and he had chosen to go along, but even if he hadn't, Cinder likely would've solved the problem just fine on her own if he thinks about it but she was a bad person and there's was no doubting that But… maybe, just is maybe there was something more than that as well it might be something that lead her to this path she's is on And maybe it's damned him but he's wanted to try and find it and maybe trying helping her or fixing her...
SOMETIMES LATER
POV
His plan for the day – after finishing his patrols outside the walls, carving up a few Grimm and making sure their line was still solid – was simple. Somehow locate Cinder, talk with her, and convince her to betray Salem and join them.
Not necessarily in that order. He wasn't being picky.
The main problem with that was finding Cinder.
He had a feeling she was probably still in and around the bazaar that he and Emerald had combed that time. It was, for one, the area she had seemingly occupied for the majority of her time in Vacuo, but it was also close to where Lilah and the other street urchins were. They functioned as a network of information for her.
She used them as her eyes and ears, she'd said.
…Although, perhaps Jaune could use that against her.
It was a simple idea. Nothing concrete. He walked to where Lilah had been stationed the few times he'd seen her, and found that she was not present. This… didn't really shock him, given that she would likely be terrified of the spot after what had happened. He hoped the poor girl could recover. He'd asked the matron of the orphanage that she belonged to to, if it was within her power, get Lilah some sort of therapy for what had happened.
That was his next stop, then. The orphanage.
The visit served two functions. He could ask about Cinder, of course, but perhaps more importantly, he could check in on the young girl, and make sure that she was doing okay. It wouldn't have shocked him to learn that she wasn't.
And if he could do anything to help, he would.
The orphanage itself wasn't far; a fifteen or so minute walk from where he'd been. When he arrived, it was to find a few children playing out in front, although none of them were Lilah.
A few of the kids looked up at him, spotted the sword on his hip, and reacted. One flinched back, and Jaune felt horrible, but a couple of the others came right over to him.
"Are you a huntsman, mister!?"
"Yeah, yeah! Are you!?"
"Uhm…" He smiled. "I am, yeah. Could I–"
"Wait, are you the guy who saved Lilah!?" One of the other children gaped at him. "You're so cool!"
Jaune would admit that he stood a little taller at hearing that. "Well, I… I did help to save Lilah, actually–"
"You're amazing!"
"That's so cool!"
"Woah!"
Okay, Jaune appreciated the compliments, but he did also have things he needed to do. "I'm sorry, I can't stay and talk; is your matron around? Or Lilah herself?"
"Uh, Lilah's still sleeping!" One of the young boys said. "The matron was with her all last night cause she was crying so much."
Jaune's heart ached at hearing that. It… wasn't at all shocking. Not remotely. A young girl going through such a thing, even one as hardened as Lilah, would be affected. "Is there any chance I could go and see her?"
"Uhm… I think so, yeah!" One of the boys smiled. "She'd probably want to see you, so go ahead!"
Jaune couldn't help but feel like he'd have preferred confirmation from the orphanage owner herself, but oh well. He walked inside.
It was a rundown place, although Jaune could tell that was not from lack of trying to keep it together. Everything was clean, just beat up. The desk at the entrance was old and made of wood, with about a thousand different chips or cuts in it. The chair there was one of those old swirly ones, but it seemed to be stuck at its lowest height, the cylinder keeping it up having likely broken ages ago.
The ceiling fan above them was missing a rotor, and the bookshelf was filled with multiple books that were missing their covers or backs. Even so, the place had a character to it that Jaune could not help but smile at seeing.
"Just a moment!" Called a voice from the back.
"It's okay. Take your time." He called back.
"That's…" The voice quieted, and suddenly the door opened to reveal the same woman he'd spoken with yesterday. "It is you!"
"Ah, uhm…"
She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a tight hug. Jaune felt a bit awkward, but the woman corrected herself a moment later, clearing her throat and saying, "My apologies. I just… you saved Lilah. I didn't know if I'd see you again."
He chuckled. "It's no big deal. I was actually coming here today to check in on her. How's she doing?"
The woman's expression fell. "I… she's okay. She had nightmares last night, which isn't shocking. I tried to stay with her all I could, but she was up all night, and now I just…"
That the woman was exhausted herself was obvious. "I'm sorry."
"No, no!" She shook her head. "You've nothing to apologize for. She just… I wish I could help her. We were lucky, there's a place here in Vacuo that's a child psychology clinic. They were able to get Lilah in at the end of the month, and signed up for bi-monthly treatment, all for free."
That was good, only… "Bi-monthly means every two months, no? That doesn't sound like quite enough."
The matron flinched. "It… it isn't. Not really. But it's the best our insurance will give us. Even getting that much was a fight and a half yesterday, I was on my scroll the entire evening talking with them, and… well, regardless…"
"Do they allow paid sessions? More frequent ones?"
"They do, but they're expensive."
"How much are they asking for each session?"
"Two hundred lien a session."
That wasn't a shockingly high figure, even if it was likely still beyond what the matron here could afford to pay. Judging based on what Lilah said, this place could barely make rent and feed the children staying there, let alone pay for outside therapy.
But Jaune… well, he could do something about that.
"Here," He took out his wallet, and drew out two five hundred lien cards. "Use these and get Lilah some help sooner rather than later."
The matron stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "You… what?" He smiled down at her a bit sadly. "I know it's not much–"
"W-What!? No, it's…" The woman stared down at the lien. "How could… you're…"
"Uhm… is everything alright?"
She looked up at him, entirely flummoxed. "…Yes… but are you sure that…"
"I'm sure." He nodded. The lien in his wallet mostly just sat there anyhow. They were allowed to stay in Shade and eat for free there, and their occasional lunches or dinners outside of it were never too large of an expense. He still had another four or five 500 lien cards left. "You need it more than me. I'm sorry I can only do this much."
"Do you… would you like to speak with Lilah?"
"Yes, if I could."
He was led into a room just off of the entrance, which housed four different bunk beds, two on each wall. There was another room, seemingly housing another four, meaning there were sixteen beds here at the orphanage in total. That about added up with how many children he'd seen playing outside.
"Lilah?" The matron called out. "Are you up, sweetie?"
"Mrm…?"
Jaune watched as the blankets on one of the beds shifted, and little Lilah's head popped out from underneath. She looked up at him, and her eyes widened.
"Miss Cindy's boyfriend!"
…No, but… well…
"Y-Yeah." He smiled, because her thinking that was actually pretty helpful in this case. "I wanted to come by and see you. Make sure you were doing alright. How are you feeling?"
"I'm…" She was clearly not doing as well as he'd hoped she would be. But then, that was hardly a surprise. "…The matron is helping me. So, I'll be okay."
It was the simple logic of a child, but he could not help but hope she was right.
"Has Cinder come by to see you at all?"
Lilah shook her head. "She's probably hiding. She hides a lot."
"Do you know where she hides?"
"You don't know? I thought you were her boyfriend."
Oof. Okay, yeah, that did kind of hit at his logic a bit. "I'm trying to talk to her. We had a fight, and she ran off, you see."
"Oh. You want to apologize?"
"Yeah." He felt some small guilt manipulating a child, but he really did need to find Cinder, and fast.
"…Hm… okay." Lilah nodded. "Uhm, I don't know exactly where, but a few alleys down from the hotel she was staying at before is where she'd go and disappear. She's probably somewhere around there."
That was a lot more than he'd had to go on before then. "Thank you, Lilah. That'll really help."
"Make sure you're really nice to each other, okay!?" Lilah said with all the indignance of a marriage counselor. Jaune couldn't help but laugh.
"I will, I promise."
"Good." Lilah smiled. "…Thanks for coming by."
"No problem." He reached out and held out a fist. Lilah bumped her own against it. "Alright, I've got to go. I hope you feel better, okay Lilah?"
"Mhm. I will!"
He stood, and the matron followed him out. He was prepared to head out entirely, but the woman called out to him.
"What's your name, sir?"
"Jaune Arc."
"I… Jaune Arc, if you ever need anything… anything at all…" He shook his head. "It's fine–"
"No," The woman had steel in her gaze as she looked up at him. "I mean it. If it is within my power, I will help you."
"…Thank you."
"It is I who should thank you. If only the world were filled with people like you."
He blushed, before scratching at the back of his neck and laughing awkwardly. "I… don't really know about that. I'm…"
He let his voice trail off. There was nothing more he really wished to say to the woman. Instead, he took a breath, waved goodbye, and then set off to find Cinder.
SOMETIMES LATER
POV
The idea was stupid. Jaune acknowledged this. He acknowledged this as assuredly as he acknowledged that he didn't have a better idea, and so he was going to be engaging in the stupid idea. That idea ? Going to where Lilah had told him Cinder might be, and knocking on every door.
Was it dumb ? Yes. Did it work ? Cinder was alone. Again. The dull hum of the portable air conditioning unit within the small hobble that Cinder had been camping out in was beginning to drive her to madness. It was, aside from that unit, silent. Little stimuli laid within the room. A mattress on the floor, a few nonperishable food items, including a small container of water and a big bag of rice, and a method for her to keep her scroll charged. Outside of that… Outside of that, there was nothing. Cinder was sat atop the mattress, doing her best to prevent herself from walking over to the air conditioner and melting it until it was unrecognizable. That would've been destructive and pointless, which were the kinds of impulses she was doing her best to bite down on these days. It was… proving difficult. It was only more so in times like these.
…Not for the first time, she wondered how it was that Lilah was doing. The girl had been captured, and then brought back from the brink of certain death by her and Arc. She had, however, been clearly affected by what had happened. It would not have shocked her at all to learn that she would suffer mental instability for quite some time. She should have put it out of her mind. Doing so was also proving difficult. Unfortunately, Lilah was far from the only person she was having trouble putting out of mind.…She'd been thinking about Emerald lately.
It was imbecilic, of course. Emerald was an enemy, now. She was a member of Rose's little band of do-gooders, no different from Arc or that Xiao Long girl. She felt naught but hate for her. Anger. Yes. That was it. There was nothing else. No other emotion. …It hurt that not even Cinder could believe her own lies. Emerald was not even all of it. Perhaps her most infuriating thoughts of late were focused on an entirely separate character. One Jaune Arc himself. That man… ever since their encounter in the desert, it was as if the two of them were fated to continuously run into one another. It wouldn't have been half as bad if the boy had been as she'd remembered him when last they'd run into one another. Meek and naïve; easy to deal with. And yet…
He wasn't. And this new person who stood where he once had… she could not get a read on him.
That inability to understand was enough to irritate her. Cinder did not like being unable to read others. A habit she'd picked up during her days in the Glass Unicorn. It had become routine to take the measure of the many different guests who might be staying at the hotel. Knowing whether a guest might lash out at her and get her in trouble with the Madame had been essential to keeping herself as safe as she could be back then. Then, during her time at Haven and in Beacon, those same skills had been useful in identifying weaknesses; in gathering as much information for their mission as possible.
Now… well, while it might not have been a requirement, it still aggravated a piece of herself that she'd built up as a safeguard. Until she could get a read on Arc… until she could file him away like all the others into a section of her brain, then… It was as she had this thought that her arm – wrapped in bandages and covered even here – throbbed. Pain lanced up the limb, traveling into her upper arm and neck. She winced, grinding her teeth together. The pain would fade. It always did. And yet… It was a testament to how she was feeling in that moment that all she could feel towards that pain was rage. She pushed herself up off of the floor snarling. She took up her metal cannister of water with her good arm whilst trying to ignore the quaking of the other. She ripped off the bandages on her arm, and then her shirt for good measure, leaving only the bindings around her chest to cover her above the waist. She took the lid off of the jug, cataloguing that it was just barely wide enough for her to fit her arm inside. She channeled her semblance on it, not quite hot enough to begin to melt the metal itself. The water quickly rolled to a boil. The moment it did, Cinder, with a growl, shoved the Grimm arm down inside the liquid. The Grimm arm did not truly feel like flesh would. As such, the pain was muted. It was, however, still more than enough for a lesser person to yank their limb free, to run it under cold water and cry like a child. Cinder was not so weak. Not so feeble. Her arm writhed inside of the water, trying to find some method of escape, but Cinder had had enough of its arrogance. It would learn to obey her, or she would inflict greater suffering upon it, until– There was a knock at her door.
It was such a sudden thing that Cinder, without a second thought, did rip the limb out of the boiling water. The Grimm shook itself, sending droplets of still boiling water all over, stinging Cinder's exposed stomach, and arm.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek, even as she tried to resist doing something idiotic like slamming a fist through the wall beside her. No. She channeled the fury within her into a breath, and released it as best she could.
Caring not for how she might have looked, she made her way to the door and peered through the viewport. She wanted to see who it was that–
…
Somehow, Cinder was not surprised.
She opened the door with the Maiden's fire ready to burst free if she needed it, but was, in truth, not expecting for it to be. After all, despite multiple chances to take advantage of her, Jaune Arc, the man stood in front of her, had not.
"Oh, hey." He smiled. "Found you."
Cinder had a variety of thoughts in that moment. One of which was, "How did you manage such a thing, exactly?"
"Well, it's…" He trailed off, staring at her. "…I can uh… come back later if now's not a good time?"
"What is it that you're babbling about?"
"You uh… well…" He gestured to her body. "You're not wearing a shirt, and it looks like you were crying, maybe?"
Cinder's brow furrowed. The first thing she'd known, of course, but crying? She reached up with her right arm and felt at her eyes. Annoyingly enough, they did come away wet.
…
"Do you want me to–"
"Quiet." Cinder snapped. "Why are you here?"
"Uh… well…" The man ran a hand through his hair. "…You want to go get lunch?"
Cinder had a feeling that the expression on her face, then, was not one she would have been particularly proud to see.
/
Jaune had let Cinder choose where they ate. He'd done this because he wasn't fully sure if Cinder expressly trusted him – actually, scratch that, he was expressly sure that Cinder didn't fully trust him – and so wanted to give her the decision about where it was that they'd go for food.
That way, she'd know there wasn't going to be anyone there to try and apprehend her.
Cinder had dragged the two of them to a part of the city that he'd not been to before. It was a bit more rundown than where the bazaar she normally frequented resided. The people were no less lively, but it was clear they had a lot less lien to go around here.
They were stopped on their way to their destination by a young boy who seemed to be begging for lien. Before Jaune could open his wallet, Cinder clicked her tongue, drew out a few lien cards and threw them at him.
The boy beamed, picking the cards up off the floor before scampering off.
Jaune couldn't help chuckling. Cinder didn't look his way.
They ended up at a local place. Small, but homely. It was about the size of a garage, with room for two tables inside, and a few more set up in front of the building itself. Cinder got them one of the tables indoors, and made sure to cover her face as best as she was able before entering.
They sat down, and immediately, Cinder looked to him, and asked, "What exactly is your plan, here?"
"Uh…" He'd kind of been hoping for them to bond over what had happened the other day, realize that they weren't so different – or something along those lines – and then for Cinder to declare she was switching sides, before coming back with him to Shade. "I don't really have a plan?"
Cinder snorted. "Yes, I'm sure. At the very least, we know for a fact it is not a good plan."
He grumbled out under his breath, even as the proprietor brought them their food and drinks. It was a bowl of all different kinds of things. Spiced beans, chicken, rice, and greens he didn't immediately recognize. He took his fork, dipped into it, and brought some to his mouth.
"…Man, that's good." He mumbled.
"Indeed." Cinder stated with a pride like she'd made it herself. "It is why I come here."
He nodded his head as he chewed, before immediately digging into his meal. Within five minutes, he'd cleaned out the bowl, and was asking for another. It was brought to him incredibly quickly, and he began to eat again.
"You," He finished chewing, deciding to give his stomach a second to settle, and to interrogate Cinder a bit. "Didn't go to see Lilah yet, did you?"
Cinder's brow furrowed. "And?"
"I figured you'd have wanted to."
She eyed him suspiciously. "She is fine. I am aware that she is fine. What purpose would my going to see her provide?"
"It would help make her feel better?" This felt like a very obvious reason. "You do know that, right? That she wants to see you?"
Cinder laughed. "She'll be fine."
"Is that honestly what you think?" He frowned. "She went through something harrowing, Cinder."
"She's a strong girl." Cinder looked away. "She'll manage."
"…Why would you stay away? What's the point?"
"What?"
"You clearly do want to see her, so why aren't you?"
"…You're incorrectly assuming much about me, Arc." Cinder sneered. "I don't think I am." He refuted. "At least not on this issue."
"Eat your food and stop talking." He huffed, half-laughing, but did as the woman had said, finishing off the rest of his bowl and drink The proprietor brought them a second round of drinks, and Jaune sipped at his own occasionally. Cinder, however, watched him do so with narrowed eyes. "You do realize that, by taking you someplace that I am familiar with, I could have had the proprietor spike that drink with any manner of substance. A poison, a hallucinogenic?" Jaune hadn't realized that, no. He probably should have, but he hadn't. "…Well, you didn't." Cinder looked at him with such abject annoyance that he couldn't help but laugh. "You are one of a kind, Arc."
"I'm getting the feeling you don't mean that as a compliment."
"Wow, how intelligent of you. Perhaps there are more than two or three brain cells in that head of yours."
"So," he decided to just push right past that. "Do you come here often?" Cinder huffed. "Is that your attempt at a pick-up line, Arc? I think you may be barking up the wrong tree if that's the case."
He realized that 'come here often?' was, in fact, a pretty popular pick-up line, yes. He hadn't meant it in that way, though. "I was actually just asking if you come to this restaurant often. Sincerely."
"I do not go anywhere often." Cinder stated simply. "This is my first time leaving my base of operations for anything that wasn't acquiring food or water to bring back in weeks." Jaune supposed that made sense, yeah. "What do you do, then?"
"Hm?"
"On a normal, everyday basis. Do you like… play games, or read books or something?"
Cinder eyed him like he was an idiot. This was perhaps the third of fourth time in this single conversation. "I read the news, keep myself up to date on current events. Search for weaknesses in Vacuo's defenses."
Okay, well, that answered one question for Jaune. Cinder didn't get up to very much.
"Okay." He didn't call her on that one. He was trying to get on her good side, here. Maybe that explained why she'd gone along with this plan at all. She'd been bored, and him inviting her out had been the first actually interesting thing to happen – outside of Lilah's kidnapping – in around a week.
"…"
"Speak."
"Huh?" He met her eyes.
"You have a look on your face like you're holding something in." Cinder said over her meal. "Speak."
He probably should've kept quiet, in all honesty.
There was an easy sort of quiet between the two of them. Disturbing it would've been idiotic.
He was feeling somewhat idiotic at the moment.
"Why do you care about Lilah?"
The look Cinder shot him was one of confusion. "What?"
"It's just… does she remind you of yourself?" He questioned, meeting Cinder's widened eyes. "Is that why you–"
"Silence." She hissed at him. "Do not speak on that which you know nothing about."
"You told me quite a bit." He argued back. "Down in that canyon, you told me that you were a slave. That you were taken advantage of, and abused."
"Arc–"
"What's wrong with showing kindness?" He wanted to push the point. "What's wrong with it? I'm not rebuking you, if that's what you think. If you care for Lilah, genuinely care for her, then I think that's great. I'm saying you shouldn't run from that." Cinder's furious expression softened the slightest bit. "I am not running." Jaune didn't believe her. Not in the least. He just knew that pushing this any further would've been too much. for once, he erred on the side of caution.
"Okay." He gave up the point.
"…"
"…"
He felt as if he was letting the conversation get away from him. Like he was allowing everything to slip away. He needed to get ahold of it again. And… maybe that meant being honest with Cinder from his side of things. Maybe that would be enough to convince her to do the same. "Back in that canyon," He started again, and Cinder flicked her gaze on him again. "We talked about Salem. About facing her." Cinder didn't say anything, but she was listening. "You were the one who called her a force of nature." He reiterated. "Who said that she was impossible to stop."
"If you're trying to convince me to–"
"I'm not. That's not…" He sighed. "…I know."
"…What?"
"I knew that before you said anything." Jaune admitted, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the Vacuoan sky above them. "I knew that Salem was strong. I was there. Aboard that creature; Monstra. I know she's a force of nature. I know… I know that at this point, there might very well be nothing we can do to stop her."
Now that seemed to catch Cinder's attention. Her eyes narrowed.
"Everyone here in Vacuo… we all know this is our last stand. That this is it." Jaune spoke, and as he did, more and more words poured out. "We know how screwed we are. We know that we're up against an endless horde of monsters the likes of which we can't hope to hold off. Or at least… I do."
"You do?"
"Yeah." He muttered, being fully honest. "I know in my heart of hearts that there's nothing we can do. Not really. If we couldn't hold Atlas, then our chances of holding Vacuo are slim to none. Our conditions are worse in just about every way than they were then. We have less soldiers, less hunters, less ships, and worse natural defenses."
"So, what are you still doing here?" Cinder questioned, and she wasn't needling. She, like he had earlier, was asking genuinely. "You're strong enough. Grab enough supplies to make the journey, set off to the east, and leave."
"…Because that's not who I am." He looked to her, and he smiled, despite it all. "I told you, didn't I? If I see someone in front of me in need of help, then I just… need to. And right now… well, I guess no one needs help quite like the people here."
"Even if it means you're going to die?"
"Hah… maybe, yeah."
The last dregs of resentment in Cinder's expression faded. No longer hostile.
"Lilah was not the first I noticed, but Vacuo… it is the first time I have been somewhere without a goal in mind since I was a girl." Cinder said, folding her hands in front of her mouth – one human, one bandaged Grimm. "Given time to simply wander, not to plan, or scheme, but to exist… I find myself seeing those children out on the street and…"
"Seeing yourself in them?"
"…I had not considered such before." Cinder blew out through her nose; half laughing. "Perhaps so."
It was then, when Jaune had finally gotten through to Cinder just a little, that his scroll began to ring. He cursed below his breath even as he watched Cinder's guard raise back up in place in an instant.
He took his scroll out, the damage having already been done, and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Yo, Jaune!" It was Yang. "Hey, I wanted to ask if you would join the rest of us for a shopping trip! We're buying stuff for Ruby's birthday. You're welcome to get her something yourself, or chip in on a bigger gift. We're undecided, so you could be the tiebreaker on that one."
…Jaune had completely forgotten that they'd agreed to do that earlier. He'd gotten so caught up in thinking about Cinder, and Lilah, and…
"Right. Yeah… I'll uh… I'll be right over."
"What's up, you sound put out? Busy all of a sudden?"
"It's uh… no, I'm fine."
"Jaune, if you're busy, you can go shopping another time, it's no biggie."
"I…"
Cinder stood from her place at the table, having finished eating.
"This has been… interesting, Arc." Cinder spoke to him. "But it seems we both have things to attend to."
"That…"
"Jaune, you there?"
"I… yeah, I'm here, sorry." He shook his head. "Just uh… talking with someone." Yang, ever the gossip, leapt on that small admission immediately. "Who is it? Someone we know? Ooh! Is it your girlfriend?"
Jaune, not really listening and totally on autopilot, said, "Yeah."
This was dumb for several reasons. Jaune did not have the time to list them out here.
"O-Oh." Yang sounded surprised. "Uh… alright. But Weiss is… oh. She is uh… huh. Not gonna' be thrilled."
"What?"
"N-Nothing! Haha… uh… so you're busy, then?"
"Hm? Oh, uh, no. We just finished. I'll… be there in a few. Where are we–"
His voice cut off.
"…Jaune?"
"…Sorry." He muttered. "Distracted is all."
Because somehow, in the brief moment he'd looked away…
Cinder Fall had entirely vanished.
CHANGING LOCATIONS
KINGDOM OF VACUO
POV
Jaune Arc, it turned out, was a rather stubborn man. Cinder had intended for their last meeting to be the final time they would encounter one another. She had, in fairness, also intended for the meeting before that to be the final time they would encounter one another… and the meeting before that. Really, she should've been expecting him to show up at her door again with a bag of takeout. "Hey." He smiled. "Figured I'd drop by." There were so many ridiculous parts to that statement that Cinder didn't even have the will to muster up a response. She just shook her head, sighed, and opened the door. "Why are you here?" She asked, despite the fact that she knew why. "Like I said, just figured I'd drop by."
"As a part of your never-ending attempts to turn me away from Salem and towards your side?"
"I don't recall saying anything like that."
"Sure." She huffed. The man could pretend as much as he wanted, but the reasoning behind his presence was clear. "What have you brought?"
"Oh, uh, two servings of what you got last time at that place you brought us too."
Cinder hated that she instantly perked up at that. Arc definitely noticed, because the tiny smile on his face blossomed further. "Here," He offered. "We can eat and talk."
"You can leave. I have nothing to say to you."
"It's either I leave with both of these, or we sit and eat."
"…Fine."
The man was a shrewder negotiator than he seemed.
/
"Hey, Cinder!"
She glared. "Why are you here again?"
"Eh, was in the area. I was checking up on Lilah, actually. She's doing a bit better–"
"I am aware."
"Oh, that's right! She said you came and visited her. I'm glad to hear it–"
"Shut up and get inside."
/
"Hey."
"Back again?" She questioned.
"Yep. Brought food again. Hungry?"
"…Inside."
"Will do."
/
Cinder had something of a problem.
It was one in the afternoon. She had not eaten since that morning, and she was only growing hungrier by the minute. The reason for this, she felt, was obvious.
Jaune Arc was late.
He would have normally been present by this point. He had arrived, over the past few days, at 12:53, 12:56, 12:52, and 12:51, respectively. And yet, today, it was 1:01, and he was nowhere to be found.
…She refused to overreact to such, of course, because that would've been utterly ridiculous. Instead, she kept calm, sipped at a glass of water, and continued to wait.
…
..
.
..
…
At 1:07, Cinder had had enough waiting.
She took up her scroll, and sent a message to Arc. He lived under the code name of 'Jane Auguste' in her scroll's contact list, and she was sure that he had something similar for her in his own.
How he'd actually gotten onto her contact list…
/
"Hey, can I add your scroll number to my contacts list?" Cinder shot him a look of utter befuddlement. "Are you… there's simply no way you're serious." "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Why– actually, sure. Fine."
"Okay." Arc seemed confused. "Alright, well, glad that's settled." She took a deep, shaky breath.
/
'Where are you?' She messaged him. She did not immediately see a response, nor did Arc immediately read his messages the moment they came in, it seemed. This infuriated Cinder, who always checked her messages the moment that they came into her scroll. To do otherwise would've been foolish. Eventually, however, the little bubble indicating he was typing back to her did show up. To be clear, she had not noticed the moment it did with any urgency. Her eyes simply happened to already be trained on her scroll.
'At a party.' He texted. 'For Ruby. It's her birthday.' Cinder was not quite sure what it was that she felt in that instance of time. It was… something. Certainly, something. She debated – damningly – telling him that such an event was a paltry waste of time, but she did not want to appear affected by this. She was not, of course, affected, but she did not want Arc to make any false assertions. Instead, she sat back down at the table in her little hideaway, and she read the news, as she had been for days now.
She read…
and she read…
…
And then she stood up, donned her disguise, and moved out the door.
CHANGING LOCATION
UNKNOWN TOWN
POV
A convoy of Atlas soldier's as led by two of Beacon's professors, came through the town gates;....however, there was no greeting for them. In fact, there's wasn't any sort of noise at all, just silence that was as heavy as the stillness that settles over a funeral now and it's was something that all of them are used it by now has it was something's in there job recommends as some man and woman might have called it peace if they did not know better what's it truly means But in this town, there was no peace just the aftermath of something's horrifying take place as they look around as home as Doors we're hung crooked on broken hinges as some splintered inward as if something had tried to claw its way through as they sll can guess it as it was grimm's attack on this town and ..they don't see any survivors.
Long scars marked the wood and...climbed the walls of nearby houses and as they were savage and deep, yet there we're arrows buried in beams and shutter's, sword-cuts etched into timber and stone, has well as bullet holes along some walls Blood had been spilled as well now as what remained of the people now were only dark stains that's we're..baked into the earth and walls and they two know onething has Man and beast had done this...or something's that wore the shape of both.."By the Brothers..." As Oobleck muttered as he stepped out of an Atlas transport truck..as he looking around the place as well they're just to late as walking out just a few feet behind him was Professor Port and he, too, was shocked by the sight before them. "Not a single body," Port muttered, frowning "Not one seen."
As Oobleck gave a slow nod. "Yes, that's troubles me more than if there were a hundred," As he said to his friend The doctor then turned and looked at the Atlas soldiers as they began filing out of their own vehicles. "Search every house, find me survivors if you can, or something that tells us what happened here." As just he ordered them soldier's One by one began fanning out into the dead town In search of answers doing as Oobleck had ordered them to he was investigating as the situation as well as nursing and noticing walls and he can tell something big broken side here and then it is something strange as they aren't footprints here as what can it be aWhile the soldiers began prying open doors and vanishing into darkened households, Port lingered besides...Oobleck at the edges of the town's square and...has where's the wind whispered through broken shutters now as they both kept investigating..
They kept their distance from the rest so has not to let any of the other men overhear their conversation and now "You read the reports ?" As Port asked, his voice low now as Oobleck then nodded his head,..slow and measured...."I did " as he said to him calmly "And you believe them ?" He asked him " not completely but it is also council for talking about and they have always something to hide from us but I was more curious has why's hasn't this been reported earlier then expected and what exactly happened here ?" As Oobleck said to him " do you think are there any chance " just For a time, Oobleck said nothing, but his gaze wandered to the splintered door of a nearby house and tracing the very deep, ragged gouges carved into the wood now.
He studied them like any mystery a Huntsmen came across. Finally, he turned back to Port and shook his head. "No," he said. "I do not... You ?" As Port's brow knotted, and he's gave his friend a small shrug. "I've known frontier folk often to see what they wish to and swear that they saw it before gods and men alike has now ," Port began now "You and I both know that fear makes people's report the strangest things so there's must be some sense to it." He said to him as well just then Oobleck's brow arched..."So you say, yet I know you, Peter, and that's look upon your face," he began, gesturing at Port's face, "That is not the look of a man comforted by reason. What is it ?" As he's asked him.
Port drew a long breath through his nose, as if the air itself might steady him, then let it out slowly. " As This place used to be a great back in the day as before the war and when arcadia ruled over it " As port said it as remembering the time with his grandfather as visiting these areas with the others village boys " true but it is something we can't dwindle in the past now old friend and things were better back than " As oobleck said to him as this used to be a centre town for Huntsman as when they used to fight and petrol the woods better in the old day's as he has heard and read all the reports about it and port was investigating the ground and as walls of the house as they we're made like tracks but for what exactly "The marks, as I've hunted many wild animals and Grimm alike and I've seen as what teeth and claws can do, but these...
The marks resemble Grimm and Human. Plus, arrows are sticking out of the buildings, along with markings from bladed weapons and bullet holes from guns."
"Townsfolk defend themselves, or maybe a group of bandits raiding the town during the attack," Oobleck said.
Port shook his head slowly. "The townsfolk were definitely defending themselves, but I don't think bandits attacked during the Grimm attack; neither side would survive... Also, there is something that is bothering me just like it bothered you.
Oobleck's brow rose again. "Hm?"
"Grimm don't eat everything, they at least leave things, such as bones, scraps, something... They do not carry off every corpse, not cleanly, not all at once... Here, there's but blood. no body or a single bone! That is what doesn't sit well with me," Port finished as his eyes swept the town again, as if hoping to prove himself wrong.
Oobleck nodded slowly and understood and trusted Port's instincts. If Port said something was off with the scene, then something was. The Doctor had known the big man had spent half his life in the wilds, hunting both animal and Grimm before ever becoming a Huntsman.
He may be a teacher now, but the hunter had never quite left him.
"Professors!"
When they heard the shout, both men turned as one.
A young soldier came running up the street, a bundle clutched tight in one hand, and as he ran toward them, his boots slipped once on the dust and dried blood before he found his footing again. When he reached them, he bent over, dragging air into his lungs like a drowning man pulled from the river.
The soldier then straightened and looked at the two huntsmen. "We found this near the southern gate. There was a hand attached to it as well, severed and clutching it," He said, swallowing.
In his hand was a small book, most likely a journal. It was covered in dirt and had a few droplets of blood on its cover.
"Give it here," said Oobleck, holding his hand out.
The soldier passed it over quickly, as if glad to be rid of the thing, and once it was in Oobleck's hands, he opened it at once, eyes moving swiftly across the first page.
Port then looked at the young soldier. "Keep searching, please, young man," he told him.
"Aye, sir." The soldier nodded and hurried off, eager for distance.
When he was gone, Port looked back to his companion, one thick brow lifting. "Well?" he asked. "What does it say, Bart?"
Oobleck did not look up from the page. "It's a journal, from some of the details written down here, it belonged to one of the town guards."
Port shifted closer, curiosity gnawing at him as he looked over Oobleck's shoulder. "What does it say? He must've written something down that can help us."
Oobleck then suddenly began walking away from Port, but the larger man followed, and as Oobleck walked, he began to read aloud, loud enough for just each other to hear.
"No one is allowed into the forest anymore," Oobleck read. "We are all too afraid. Even the hunters won't go. 'Better to starve than face what waits beneath those trees,' one said after a bad hunt. When night falls, we see them. Yellow eyes in the dark. Watching. Always watching. Hungry. They don't look any Grimm eye's I've seen before."
Hearing that, both men's brows rose in confusion, wondering just what the guard meant when he wrote that down.
"We cannot see their shapes, they don't even have white bone masks like most Grimm... We only see the eyes staring back at us. They Move... They move like shadows given life."
The wind stirred as Oobleck turned the page and began reading the next one.
"The hunters said the woods were too quiet. No birds, no crickets, no sounds at all. Something has taken the forest. People are vanishing whenever they enter the forest, but no one sees how. They're simply gone."
Another page, and Oobleck's mouth tightened as his eyes moved faster now.
"Brothers preserve us, I saw them! I SAW THEM! I thought they were fairy tales to scare children, but they are real! Brothers! Seven! Any Gods that can hear me, have mercy! Please send as many huntsmen as you can! Seven Hells, call the Atlas Military! Let them see what's in the woods... Please... Let them come before it is too late!"
The words seemed to linger in the air long after he spoke them, as if the dead man's fear had weight enough to hang there. Then, Oobleck turned toward the next page, and only a few words remained, scrawled in a hurried, trembling hand. The next passage sent a chill through his body, but he read it aloud, low and steady.
"Send Help! Ten went missing last night! Thirty of us left! Dead things in the woods! Dead things watching! SEND HELP!"
Once Oobleck had finished reading it, he closed the book with care, as though it might bite him if shut to fast, and then he stood there for a good long moment, rigid as a pole in the ground.
When Port saw him turn around to face him, the larger man noticed there was something in his eyes that had not been there before.
Fear.
A chill crept through both men, and the hairs on their arms rose, and just a second later, they both felt it, that prickle at the back of the neck. It was that old and ancient warning that whispered into the very souls of men that someone... Or something was watching.
"This goes straight to Ozpin and James," Oobleck finally spoke. "Call the men back, we're leaving at once."
"Now?" Port frowned, glancing toward the scattered houses, the doors still yawning open like broken mouths. "What about-?"
"Peter... There are no survivors." Oobleck told him, his tone flat and true. "None."
Port looked at him for a bit, then gave a curt nod in response. Port yelled out that they were leaving, and the soldiers all quickly returned in twos and threes, some of their faces pale and some grim.
It wasn't long before they got back into their vehicles and drove back out of that place, not daring to even glance back. As they left, Oobleck had the little book clutched tight against his chest, like a mother would hold her baby, though what he carried was no innocent life...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
________________________________________________
TO BE CONTINUED