From Beyond: Aftermath Ch 3

Yang looked at Blake incredulously. "NO!"

Blake nodded. "It's him. I can tell."

Yang looked back at Amber. "But you're a chick!"

Amber/Jaune snorted. "Believe me, I noticed."

Blake picked up the story at that point. "After Jaune possessed that bear the first time, we tried to find out what else he could possess. He tried other people... but he couldn't possess anyone who was awake. Or even asleep. But during the fight on the docks, Sun got knocked unconscious..."

"I was trying to wake him up..." Jaune explained. "It was stupid, I didn't have a body, but I was desperate, and suddenly I was possessing him. I helped fight off Torchwick and the White Fang, and then Sun woke up again, and I got thrown out of his body."

Blake nodded. "So we knew that Jaune could possess unconscious people. It happened a couple other times..."

Jaune nodded. "The White Fang girl..."

Blake winced. "Don't remind me."

Jaune chuckled. "And that Atlas soldier at the dance..."

Yang blinked. "Wait. That was you?"

Jaune nodded, grinning. "Yeah. Blake was trying to hide by the wall so you wouldn't find her and find out she didn't really have a date..."

Yang pointed a finger at Blake. "You lied about your boyfriend?" She frowned. "Wait... who were you talking to on the scroll all the time?"

Blake shrugged and pointed at Amber. "Jaune. I used my scroll so I wouldn't have to explain why I was talking to a ghost. I used texts to talk to him when I didn't want anyone to overhear our conversations."

Yang blinked. "OH! Wow. You mean all of the things we overheard you saying was to Jaune?"

Blake shrugged. "I'd imagine most of them, anyway."

Yang blinked. "But what about that conversation on the first day, where your boyfriend wanted to watch you... shower..." she stopped talking, and her face paled. Slowly, she looked at Amber, her eyes starting to shift to red, and her hair starting to glow. "You've been peeping on us for the whole year?!" She shouted, rising to her feet in rage.

"No!" Jaune said quickly, holding up her hands.

"He didn't." Blake assured Yang quickly. "Don't you remember how I always changed alone? And how I insisted that everyone change clothes in the bathroom, or while I wasn't in the room?"

Yang's hair lost it's fire and her eyes faded back to lavender. "Huh. You did all that because you were making sure Jaune couldn't peep?"

Blake glared at the girl behind her mildly. "I'm sure he'd have wanted to, but... I made sure he didn't have the opportunity."

Jaune looked nervous. "I never saw anything much... besides, if you were a ghost, wouldn't you want to peek a little?"

Yang frowned. "OK... fair point, and I guess I can't blame you. Seeing as you didn't see anything..."

"To be fair, I did see you in your bra a lot." Jaune admitted.

Yang's eyes flashed, then she sighed. "I thought Blake was just being really prudish."

Jaune winced. "Sorry?"

Yang sighed. "I'll let it go... I guess. But you owe me."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "That's fair. What do you want?"

Yang wrinkled her nose. "A favor of my choosing?"

Jaune sighed. "OK. If you'll forgive me?"

Yang grinned suddenly. "Deal." Jaune looked nervous, and Yang shook her head. "I am apparently insane. I'm starting to believe this absolutely bonkers story of yours." She blinked. "Oh! And that's how you knew Blake! You've been haunting her for the entire year!"

Jaune nodded. "Pretty much."

Yang looked at Blake. "Jaune was your secret boyfriend the entire time."

Blake winced. "He wasn't my boyfriend..."

Yang pointed at her. "You're sitting in her lap."

Blake winced harder. "That's new. He... didn't have a body before. And I just started understanding how I felt about him."

Jaune smiled. "I've kind of been in love with her for ages... but I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't even want her to know how I felt..."

Blake sighed. "It wasn't until we were practicing with you trying to possess me that I knew."

Yang blinked. "Wait, Jaune tried to possess you?"

Blake shrugged. "I had to let him in. If I relaxed, I could let him control my left arm. And he could feel things, and taste what I tasted."

Yang's eyes were wide. "Wow... that's... kind of the most intimate thing I've ever heard of." She frowned suspiciously. "Wait... you never tried to possess me, did you?" Amber flushed guiltily and Yang started to growl. "That is not OK!" She started.

Jaune shrugged sheepishly. "Well, in my defense, if you were me... wouldn't you want to possess you?"

Yang blinked. "Huh." She glanced down at herself, then grinned. "OK... fair. I am hot as hell."

Jaune glanced at Blake nervously. "I wouldn't have done anything bad, anyway. I just... I was a ghost. I couldn't feel anything, touch or smell. I couldn't talk to anyone besides Blake, and most of the time she couldn't talk back. I was bored out of my mind."

Yang frowned. "Ouch." She sighed. "Yeah, OK, I guess I can sympathize a bit. I mean, that had to suck."

Jaune nodded. "It wasn't great."

Yang blew out a breath. "OK, this is insane. You're actually the ghost of Jaune Arc, and you're possessing Amber?" She frowned. "Why are you still possessing her?"

Jaune sighed. "I'm stuck. I honestly can't get out. When I possessed her, there wasn't any consciousness left. Every time before, I could sense the person. Their will... their thoughts. There was always something there. But with Amber... nothing. I have her memories. Her skills, but Amber wasn't home. I think she's been dead for awhile, just her body was being kept alive by the machine. She still had Aura. Half an Aura, I guess, and that's sustaining me. And... I'm not exactly just Jaune Arc anymore. I'm kind of Amber too. I remember being her. I think I'm a little more Jaune then Amber, but... I think I might be stuck this way. I might be Amber for good."

Yang blinked. "So... you're just, alive? Your soul took over Amber's body and now you're her?"

Jaune nodded. "Pretty much. It's not something I wanted. I was planning on having a robot body to run around in. But I don't think there's any undoing this."

Yang frowned. "So... are you still connected to Blake? If you go too far away will she start dying again?"

Jaune shook her head. "No. I was. During the fight with Adam, I could feel her dying. When I got injured, my Aura automatically started drawing more from Blake to heal my injuries. I could feel it happening, and it was killing her. So I... cut the connection. Amber was... I am apparently really good with Aura. I could sense the connection and I cut it. I couldn't let Blake die to save me. Then I passed out."

Yang nodded slowly. "I remember. Adam was down, and then you dropped like someone had cut your strings. Couldn't figure out why at the time..." She leaned back, shaking her head. "This is so insane. But it fits. It all fits. Damn." She blinked, then looked at Jaune. "Wait... how did you possess that Atlas soldier at the dance, anyway? I thought you could only possess unconscious people?"

Jaune nodded. "I found him unconscious in the bushes just outside the auditorium."

Yang blinked. "And it never occurred to you to wonder why there was an unconscious soldier conveniently just outside?"

Jaune laughed nervously. "Things were kind of weird right then. I guess Cinder must have knocked him out when she was breaking into the CCT."

Yang blinked. "Wait, that was her?"

Jaune shrugged. "Well, yeah. Same fighting style and powers. Glass, fire... had to be her."

Blake nodded. "Yeah. It must have been part of her plan. I guess she was trying to find Amber the whole time?"

Jaune nodded. "She made that pretty clear. The whole thing was set up so she could get into the tower and steal the other half of the power from Amber... from me."

Yang frowned. "What happened to her, anyway? She got away... I know that much, but how?"

Jaune sighed. "We were fighting down in the Vault. I told Ozpin to go help everyone up top... and that I'd handle Cinder, but I wasn't winning. I wasn't losing either, but... we were at a stalemate. Cinder is probably better at fighting than I am, but I was willing to kill us both to keep her from getting away with the powers, and I let her know that. In the end... I could feel Blake was hurt. Dying. I chose to let Cinder go so I could go save Blake."

Yang sighed. "Well, I can't blame you for that, but damn. She's going to be a problem in the future, huh?"

Jaune sighed. "Yeah. She'll be back for sure. She wants these powers badly enough that she'd nearly destroy the city in the process. She won't stop at anything to kill me."

Yang frowned. "Guess we'll have to kill her first." Blake looked shocked, and Yang shook her head. "I'm not apologizing for saying it. She wants to kill Jaune... she nearly destroyed Beacon. Hundreds of people got hurt... a lot of people died, and it could have been a whole lot worse. If I get a chance, I'll kill her myself."

Blake sighed. "I hope it doesn't come down to it."

Jaune shook his/her head. "I think in the end it'll be her or me, and I know who I'll choose."

Blake took a deep breath and nodded. "I know who I'd choose too."

Yang sighed. "Well, this got heavy all of a sudden." She looked up at Blake and Amber, who were still sitting together on Blake's bed, Blake tucked into Amber's chest and leaning into her quite comfortably. "So, what now? What are we going to do?"

Blake spoke up. "I don't think we can tell anyone."

Jaune nodded. "The part about me, anyway."

Blake shrugged. "No one would believe us. They'd just think we were crazy."

Yang frowned. "Yeah... I mean, we might be able to convince some of the others. I think we could convince Ruby..."

Jaune spoke up. "I figure I could convince Pyrrha. She kind of told me some stuff while I was a bear that I'm pretty sure no one else knows."

Yang frowned. "You spied on her?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "I was a teddy bear. She picked me up and talked to me. What was I supposed to do?"

Yang blinked. "Oh. Right."

Jaune shook her head. "I haven't told anyone about what she told me..." She frowned. "Well, not specifically, anyway. But anyway, we could probably convince Pyrrha."

Blake spoke up. "Penny could back us up, I guess." She looked at Yang. "Where is Penny, anyway?"

Yang sighed. "Apparently she left with what was left of the Atlas fleet. She said she wanted to be at Dr. Polendina's funeral."

Blake wilted, looking sad. "She called him her father. I guess, in any way that matters, he was. He was... weird, but he was a nice man."

Jaune sighed and nodded. "He was a good guy. He built that body for me just because Blake was helping his research out a little." He looked curious. "Did you ever help him with his research?"

Blake sighed. "Not really. I mean, he was working with you, so technically I was helping? Sort of? But he never actually needed to work with me, aside from running a few scans and taking some blood."

Yang shook her head. "Poor guy. Poor Penny! She seemed really torn up about it."

They all went silent for awhile.

Jaune finally broke the silence. "Anyway... for now, maybe we shouldn't share everything?"

Blake nodded. "About Jaune, anyway. But maybe we should tell the others about the thing with the Fall Maiden, and the fact that Cinder Fall is almost certainly going to come back."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, we can't leave that part out. If Cinder Fall is coming back, we're going to need to be ready for her."

Jaune looked thoughtful. "Well, maybe I can help? I have most of the same powers she does, so I could help you train how to fight a Maiden?"

Yang grinned. "That's actually a pretty good idea." She frowned. "She's as strong as you are then? Lightning bolts and everything?"

Jaune nodded somberly. "Stronger, I'd say. She's a better fighter than me, and she's got her semblance unlocked, I think."

Yang blinked. "And you don't?"

Jaune shrugged. "Not really. Amber got the Maiden powers before she figured out her Semblance, and after that she mostly just practiced with them. Cinder, on the other hand, seems to be able to control glass on top of the Maiden powers, and she's really skilled. Better than me, and I'm... Amber is... was, pretty good too." Amber frowned. "It's weird, talking about myself in the third person... but it's weird thinking of myself as Amber too."

Yang looked curious. "Isn't that awkward?" She gestured to Blake and Amber. "Being with a girl who's possessed by the guy you like? Do you even like girls, Blake?"

Blake hesitated. "I don't know what exactly I'm feeling, I guess." She looked down, frowning. "I know that I'm glad Jaune's still around. I was really scared when I thought he was gone. I'm really used to having him around all the time. Him being a woman?" She shook her head. "It's a little weird, I guess, but... honestly, it's better this way. He... she has a body. That makes a big difference. As a ghost, there wasn't any way we could..." She blushed. "Well, you know. Not that we've done anything. It was just... hard to be a girlfriend to a ghost, right?"

Yang chuckled. "Unless Jaune just liked to watch, anyway."

Blake buried her face in her hands. "Don't give him any ideas, Yang!"

Yang chuckled, but let it drop. "OK." She started a minute or so later. "So what's the story? How did you and Amber become a couple? Officially, I mean?"

Blake shrugged. "Keep it simple, I guess. Tell people we met before school started?"

Jaune shrugged back. "It's true... kind of."

Yang sighed. "Yeah, better than trying to make up a complex lie, I guess." She frowned, looking at Amber. "Will that work, though? Did Amber... the original Amber I mean, did she have a boyfriend or anything? Family?"

Jaune sighed and shook her head. "No. Everyone close to her is dead. It's one of the hazards of being the Maiden. People who want the powers will try and hunt us down. They'll use friends and family to coerce us, threaten us into doing what they want. Ozpin and... well, a bunch of other people who work with Ozpin have been keeping the Maiden's a secret for a long time now, so that we can hide. I guess Cinder found out about us anyway, though."

Yang looked curious. "How does that work anyway? The powers going from one person to another, I mean? How did Cinder steal them?"

Jaune shook her head. "She used something... I don't know what it was. It kind of looked like a little Grimm coming out of her hand. Whatever it was, it grabbed me by the face and kind of... sucked the power out of me." She gestured at the light scarring covering a good portion of her face.

Yang blinked. "This... little Grimm thing gave you those scars?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes. It was horrible... I... it's not the most pleasant of memories."

Yang winced. "Sorry." She hesitated. "But you said you got the powers from the Fall Maiden that came before you, and she got them from someone who had the powers before her. How does that happen?"

Jaune looked thoughtful. "Well, the powers pass on to the next host when the current Maiden dies. They go to whomever the Maiden is thinking about at the time... so, technically killing them is a pretty effective way to gain the powers, because you'd naturally be thinking about the person who killed you, right?" Yang winced, and Jaune continued. "I think that's one major reason that Ozpin and his group have been keeping the Maiden's a secret. Someone who would kill a Maiden for her powers isn't the sort of person you'd really want having magical elemental super powers, right?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah... that does sound bad."

Jaune sighed. "Anyway, the powers can only pass to a young woman. A maiden, so if the Maiden thinks about a man, or an old woman, the powers end up going to someone completely random."

Yang frowned. "That's a dumb system. Who came up with that garbage?"

Jaune shrugged. "The wizard, I guess. Although he's been gone for thousands of years now, so I guess we can't ask him what the heck he was thinking." She wrinkled her nose. "Seriously though, all this stuff is super top secret. Ozpin would be furious if he knew I told you." She shrugged. "Not that he can really DO anything to me about it, but I'd rather stay on his good side if I can. I already kind of pissed him off."

Yang looked curious. "How did you manage that?"

Jaune sighed. "Ozpin wants me to leave. Go hide and train out in the wilderness with some hunters he picks out. But I'm not leaving Blake behind."

Yang nodded. "Yeah. OK, I can respect that." She grinned. "Although Blake could go with you? Sounds kind of romantic...?"

Jaune frowned. "Cinder's coming for me. I'm not going to put Blake in a position where she's the only person between me and that psychopath."

Blake took a deep breath. "If it was just me at risk, I'd tell you I'd come with you anyway... but it's not. The two of us won't be enough to stand up to Cinder and Emerald and Mercury and whoever else she recruits to come kill you... and I'm not letting her kill you if I can help it."

Yang nodded. "Yeah. I'm with you there. No way I want to miss out on that fight. I owe Cinder a serious beatdown. At the least. Ruby and Weiss... and heck, every hunter at Beacon owes her the same. I say we make her come to us. She won't find Beacon an easy target a second time, right?"

Blake nodded. "She had to pull off that ridiculously complex plan just to try for Amber the first time, and it failed. We'll be ready next time, and we're on our guard."

Jaune sighed. "I don't want to put anyone else at risk, but Blake's right. Going off on my own would almost be like just rolling over and giving Cinder what she wants. And we REALLY don't want someone like Cinder with the full powers of a Maiden. Trust me." She sighed. "The trick will be convincing Ozpin that his 'go hide on a mountain someplace' plan is stupid."

Blake frowned. "It's not a stupid plan. Not really. Out in the open, someone can try and kill you, even if it'll be hard to pull it off here at Beacon. But if they don't know where you are, they can't find you to kill you."

Jaune frowned. "Amber has had to run and hide for most of her life. I'm not doing that again. If Cinder manages to find a way to kill me here? So be it. But I'm not running away anymore."

Yang nodded. "Well, I'm all for standing and fighting." She frowned. "Wow, we've been talking here for a long time. Ruby is probably chewing on her shoes by now."

Blake looked concerned. "Is she worried?"

"About you." Yang explained. "I'll let her know you're alright." Yang pulled out her scroll and started texting. "So... when are you getting out of here anyway, Blake? You're already looking a lot better."

"I feel better." Blake admitted. "My Aura's nearly back to full strength, and my shoulder's already starting to feel better."

Yang grinned. "So let's get a doctor and get you out of here!"

Blake winced. "I'm not really all that eager for another encounter with Dr. Tsune. She kind of creeps me out."

Jaune winced. "Yeah... she REALLY likes giving injections way too much."

Blake grimaced. "And does she have to use such large needles?"

The fox faunus in question took that opportunity to pull back the curtain around Blake's bed, holding a large syringe. "You're going to hurt my feelings at this rate." She said with a wicked little smile. "I've been looking for you, Amber. It's time for your Aura booster."