Lifted Chapter 10:

Metal Gear Em

It's been way too long, but here we are.

Cr00cy and I are both alive and powering on slowly but surely.

I think people get confused about fear.

I think a lot of people think it's just something that you can up and overcome, but that's never been my experience.

Fear isn't just something that's up and gone. Fear sticks with you.

Fear of losing your life, fear of losing everything you've built, fear of losing the people you love.

That kind of fear will change you.

I know it changed us.

I'd love to tell you about our harrowing adventures to claim the Vale PD patrol boat and sneak across the harbor to ninja our way onto dock 7, barely avoiding detection and certain death at every turn, but...that actually turned out to be the easiest shit I'd done in awhile.

Turns out that VPD isn't as vigilant as the recruitment ads would have you believe. Hell, I'm not even sure if we'd have had to wait until nightfall to steal the boat. We just kinda walked over and jumped in. Sure, there was the brief learning period where Jaune almost rammed it into the other docked patrol boats as we figured out how the throttle worked, we got the hang of it pretty fast. From there, we just puttered our way over to the other dock without someone so much as looking our way.

Now the next part? That turned out to be significantly more challenging. We parked in between the two huge cargo ships we'd watched being unloaded, now empty and abandoned, and hopped onto dock - peeking around the sides of the massive ships before making a beeline over to the nearest tower of cargo containers. From there we started making our way from massive pile of steel to massive pile of steel on our way over to what we hoped was the Atlesian side of the docks while avoiding security patrols.

Which took much, much longer than I expected. Mostly because we had to freeze every couple of seconds to try to hide from whatever sounds mine or Jaune's overactive imaginations thought we heard. We eventually settled into a rhythm of making a semi-straight line over until we'd hear, or thought we heard, something, then doubling back and taking a more roundabout way around whatever it was. Unfortunately, that started eating into our timeline with a quickness. I glanced down at my scroll after shielding it with my body and cursed.

"What?" Jaune whispered.

"It's almost ten." I whispered back.

"What time is this thing supposed to happen?"

"Eleven."

He shrugged. "We still have an hour."

"Yeah, but I'd like to get there before the majority of Vale's most wanted and their extremist friends."

He winced. "Good point. What do you want to do?"

Wasn't that a good question? Jaune was just full of those today. I chewed on my lip as we hugged the side of the container we'd hidden behind, a sinking feeling that I knew the answer, and that the answer sucked, growing.

"We've gotta move faster," I said finally.

"No duh," Jaune offered helpfully. "How do you intend to do that?"

"Just follow me and I'll show you, smartass," I snapped back.

"What the hell does- Em!" Jaune hissed as I took off, staying low and tight to the container wall. I moved as quickly as I could as quietly as I could, no longer jumping at every cricket chirp and car backfiring, desperately hoping that I'd catch sight of someone before the caught sight of me. I stopped short of an open area in the maze of containers, taking a moment to peak out and check the clearing while Jaune caught up. Once I heard him breathing heavily behind me, I set my feet and started forward, ready to be in and out the open area as quickly as possible.

At least, until Jaune nearly gave me whiplash grabbing me by the shoulder and dragging me back behind the container. I whipped around, ready to give him a piece of my mind before he placed a hand over my mouth and pointed. I decided to put my issues with Jaune's manhandling tendencies on hold and followed his finger upward to a man in a dark suit standing on top of a tower on the steel boxes, looking out over the dock and speaking quietly into a radio.

"Ready to show me?" Jaune whispered in my ear, clearly still a little irritated by our little jog. I took a deep breath and stared up at the man, letting my Semblance slowly take hold. This is where things took a little finesse. I couldn't just make him see someone running around like we had back at the SDC facility, or he'd call down more security, and while he looked like he might be with Junior, I couldn't be certain enough to make Junior's voice come over the radio he was holding and tell him to move on. Instead, I decided to go with a more subtle approach, slowly making the sound of static come over the radio.

He reacted like most people do when technology stops working, namely, holding it out in front of his face and staring at it real hard like that was going to fix it. Then he started slapping it, clearly convinced that the engineers that had designed it had forgotten a good ole dose of blunt force trauma. He cursed, flicked the radio on and off a few times, which was hard to keep up with by the way, then cursed again before finally starting to climb down from the pile of containers. Once he was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Jaune.

"You ready?" I asked, somehow keeping from gloating at his impressed face. He nodded back and we slowly entered the clearing, looking around at the multiple corridors in the steel maze that we could take before Jaune pulled on my arm and pointed towards a tower of containers in the distance to our left, the sigil of Atlas proudly stamped on the side.

"That looks like us," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed quietly, before starting off towards the tower at a jog. It didn't take us long to figure out that we'd picked the right path, as we heard voices bouncing off the steel walls ahead of us. I slowed to a crawl and hugged tight to the side of the container nearest to us as we edged close enough to see who it was.

Junior's boys, roughly a half dozen of them from the look of it, all wandering around the edges of what looked to be a very large, but otherwise unremarkable shipping container, quietly bullshitting. Too many of them for us to make this happen by force quietly, so I waited and listened, either hoping to hear something useful or for them to fan out enough that we might be able to pick a few off.

"Fuck, it's cold!" The tallest one, who I thought I'd see around the casino once or twice, complained.

"Yeah, the docks get that way. Sea breeze coming in and all that," the guy next to him commiserated.

"Then why we gotta do this at the docks?"

"Cause that's where the cargo comes in, dumbass. You wanna try to cart this thing all over Vale?"

"Fair," the taller one admitted. "But why's it always gotta be at like midnight or something, smart guy? Answer me that. It's not like midnight is when it gets dark."

His smaller friend shrugged. "People like the dramatic effect? Fuck if I know, man."

"Some ominous bullshit is what it is if you ask me," he grumbled. "Shit, I gotta take a leak. Hold the fort down, ok?"

"And what a fort it is," his partner snarked, making a sweeping gesture to their steel surroundings.

"Yeah, yeah," the big guy sighed, making a beeline straight for our little hiding spot.

I'm not sure if you believe in a higher power or all that, but at that moment - with one of Junior's boys breaking every horror movie trope that I can think of and practically asking to be taken out - I felt like me and the Gods were probably on pretty good terms.

This theory was of course immediately shit on when Jaune fucking pushed me into a gap between two of the containers just as I was about to go after the goon and I fell flat on my ass. I was about halfway up and on my way to giving him a good ole 'what the fuck,' when I heard him speaking to someone.

"Uh, who goes there?" He asked someone I couldn't quite see, sounding about as nervous as he looked.

"Who goes there?" I heard a puzzled voice ask.

"Who the hell are you?" Another shot back. I crept forward as quietly as I could till I was able to just peak around the corner of the container and see who Jaune was talking to - a pair of White Fang grunts.

Yeah, the Gods were definitely shitting on me.

"I asked who the hell are you," the one on the left repeated, hand starting to drift towards his hip.

"I'm one of Junior's boys!" Jaune rushed out, raising his hands up in a peaceful gesture. It was a shaky lie, but I couldn't think of a better one on the spot either. The Fang member's hand stayed by his waist, but he seemed to relax a little at that.

"Don't look it," he grunted, eyeing Jaune up and down. "Didn't get any word on anyone like you being here either. Just told us to look for the guys in black suits. How do we know you're who you say you are?"

That was a great question. And like most great questions I'd been asked over the past 24-hours, I didn't have an answer for it. It didn't look like Jaune did either, because he started fidgeting in place the same way he always does when he's caught in a lie. Fortunately, the grunt on the right provided us an out.

"Hey, I remember you!" He said, snapping his fingers. "You're that kid from the fight the other night."

"Who?" His partner asked, relaxing a little.

"Dude, he's the guy that knocked out Banesaw! That shit was wild!" He explained excitedly.

"Oh yeah, it is you," the man said, finally straightening and letting his hand drop down. "Guess Roman is pretty serious about this whole thing if he's bringing you in for security."

"Uh, yeah. Really wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly," Jaune played along.

"Oh shit, you guys are early!" A voice called, making me jump. Junior's boy, who'd I'd honestly forgotten about in the heat of the moment, had apparently caught sight of the trio and - seeing the two guys in Grimm masks - correctly assumed they were Fang members. The way he eyeballed them told me that he was about as impressed with that fashion decision as I was. "You, uh, think those might be a little over the top?" He asked, pointing at them.

"They're for security, provide anonymity." The one on the left defended.

"Bro, so do ski masks, but they don't scream terrorist."

"We're trying to send a message!" He shot back.

"Yeah, well you mind doing it on your own time? I'm not looking to get rolled up by the VPD because they see your spotlight of a disguise. Be subtle, like Jaune," he said, motioning towards the boy. "'Cept not like Jaune, cause you should be covering at least part of your face." Jaune shifted uncomfortably in place.

"Uh, sorry about that…"

"Craig. I was working the sound the night you had your fight," he offered, "and don't worry about it." He said, handing Jaune a pair of sunglasses he fished out of his coat pocket, which I had a lot of questions about - like who has a spare pair of sunglasses on them at night - but I decided to let go for the moment. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Uh, Junior asked me to come along," Jaune lied again.

The suit cocked his to the side. "Didn't say anything to me."

Jaune smiled and shrugged sheepishly, looking ridiculous in his new sunglasses. "I dunno what to tell you. Just got the call a little bit ago."

The man hummed as he looked over the Fang members. "Yeah, maybe that wasn't such a bad last minute call. Glad to have you with us," he finished, holding out a fist for Jaune to bump, which he did.

"So, uh, where are we doing this?" Jaune asked.

"Right over here." He said, jerking his head back towards the way he'd come.

"Are we doing this or what?" The more ornery of the two Fang members growled.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on." Craig grumbled, before mumbling something about faunus that I won't repeat here to protect sensitive ears.

"The fuck did you say?" The Fang member shouted, hand falling back towards his waist, before his partner snatched it.

"Chill. We're here for the package, remember?" The other faunus warned, shooting a meaningful look over to Jaune. The man looked like he wanted to argue, but eventually let his hand drop.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"You got your boy?" Craig asked.

"We're good. Why don't you go ahead and show us the merchandise?" The faunus shot back.

"Sure thing. After you." Craig said, stepping aside and motioning back towards his post. After a few suspicious looks back and forth, and a few sent Jaune's way, they nodded and started walking towards whatever weapon of mass destruction Roman had acquired for them.

If you find yourself wondering - Em, what are you supposed to do when the whole plan, sad as it was, falls apart in the space of a few minutes? - then I'd tell you that's another one of those good questions that I definitely don't have the answer for. So, I did the only thing that I could think of.

I followed Jaune.

Mind you, I did it at some distance, keeping to the shadows enough to make sure that none of the Fang or Junior's thugs could see me, but I am aware that it's a pretty clear trend in my life. Craig shouted some kind of bullshit password at the rest of the boys as he approached and they converged on him and the Fang members. Which was good from the perspective that it gave them something else to do besides look for the green-haired girl that was creeping around the edge of their little pow wow, but also meant that Jaune was surrounded by criminals. And not the good kind, like me.

Or Junior.

Or Chris, I guess.

Or the twins, depending on how much they've been drinking.

Look, let's just agree that I dragged Jaune into some morally grey territory and we'll sort out who exists where on the spectrum later.

Point is, I had no way to get to Jaune and no exit strategy, which is - to use a trade term - being pretty fucked. Of course, the universe wasn't done having it's way with me yet, because after a brief urinary olympics, Junior's boys took the Fang and Jaune inside the giant metal container they were guarding, which meant I had no idea what was going on anymore. Luckily, Jaune thought of a brilliant and subtle way of communicating what he was seeing.

"Wow, that's a big robot!" He half-shouted.

Fucking Jaune.

"Maidens, kid! You want to keep that shit down?" I could hear Craig hiss. "We're trying to keep this thing off the six o'clock news if you don't mind."

"But it's almost midnight." Jaune defended.

"Boss definitely didn't pick you for your brains, huh?"

That one probably stung me more than Jaune, mostly because I've been following his plans for years.

"Sorry, first time for something like this." Jaune apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Craig sighed, before - I'm guessing - turning to the Fang members. "Well, kid's not wrong. This what you guys signed up for?"

"It'll do." The faunus that had been giving Jaune shit allowed.

"'It'll do', huh? You guys been running around with a lot of high tech gear recently? Cause last I saw on the news, it looked like a car that starts the first time would be a step-"

"Craig." Another one of the boys warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he grumbled. "Listen, this monstrosity is yours, so that it and go do whatever it is that you do-"

"Fight for equality."

"Yeah, that, as far away from the bar as humanly possible."

"That some kind of faunus joke?"

"Fuck me," Criag moaned. "Fine, take this shit as far away as faunusly possible. Happy now?"

"Not really, human," the Fang member shot back.

"Oh? Well then, can I interest you good boys in a trea-" Craig grunted as someone, who apparently didn't want to get in a gunfight in the middle of the docks, elbowed him in the ribs. "Listen, what's it going to take for you guys to fuck off? I kinda got other things, a lot of them prettier than you, that I was trying to do tonight." He asked instead.

"As do we, humans. Unfortunately, we don't know how to pilot the robot."

I would describe the silence that followed as rage filled, which is a weird thing to be able to feel from outside of a shipping container, but I'll be damned if I didn't start reaching for my pistols.

"You fucking what now?" Craig growled.

"Sorry, never really got the chance to learn when we were working with all those cars that don't start." The Fang member snarked.

"Yeah? Well you were talking some mad shit about it not being that impressive a second ago. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"That wasn't the deal."

"The fuck it wasn't. We delivered the damn thing."

"To the rally. You're supposed to deliver it to the rally."

"Bro, it's right fucking here. You take it to the fucking rally."

"Sure, as soon as you teach us how to drive the thing."

The silence that followed that I would describe as embarrassed, mostly because Craig didn't have shit to say to that. The Fang member apparently caught on to that little detail too.

"You don't know how to pilot it either, do you?"

"Didn't think I'd have to!" Craig burst out. "It's your robot!"

"That you stole for us!"

"I could steal a submarine, wouldn't mean I could take you down to the bottom of the harbor!"

"Psh, sounds like a pretty pathetic thief to me."

"You know what? On second thought, I think I can show you the bottom of the harbor. Just stand right there for me."

I was already up and moving towards the opening of the container, convinced that things were about to take a turn for the violent when a very short, but very big, lie cut through the night.

"I can do it."

I could feel every eye in the room turn to Jaune.

"You can?" Craig asked slowly.

"Uh, yeah, sure thing." Jaune lied unconvincingly.

"And just where the hell did you learn to pilot this pre-market mech, kid?"

Wasn't that, like a troubling number of others, a good question? I tensed again, ready to bail Jaune out from his bullshit lie, when he doubled down on the bullshit.

"Neo taught me."

"Who's Neo?" One of the Fang asked.

"Pray for your sake that you never find out," Craig grumbled. "How'd Neo teach you, kid?"

I got the distinct impression that Jaune was shrugging. "Dude, I don't know how all her Semblance works. All I know is that she teleported into my room wearing an Atlas uniform and then started telling me how to drive the damn thing. Well, signed it to me, I guess."

"Is that a thing? Do you have people that can do that?" The Fang asked.

"I think so. Not really sure. Nobody knows for sure." Craig explained. "Sounds kinda like a Neo story, kid, but I'm not sold yet. What are you leaving out?"

I felt as much as heard Jaune sigh. "She kept signing down by her chest. Kicked me in the chest everytime my eyes dropped."

"Aaaannnnnddd now it's a Neo story. Ok, I'm sold. You ready to pilot this monster for us, kid?"

"Uh, I think so?"

"Doesn't sound very confident." The Fang pointed out.

"Listen, if you knew this bitch you'd know that's the best you're getting." Craig explained. "Alright, kid, you're up."

"You want me to just…"

"Hop on up there. You're the best shot we got."

And just like that, I watched Jaune disappear into the shelter with the boys, leaving the two Fang grunts outside. Not sure if you've ever had the anxiety attack of knowing that your best friend is about to be found out as a class A liar by not one, but two very scary organizations. I assure you that it's less than a good time. I had to figure out a way to get Jaune out of there and I had to figure out a way to do it fast. I started to creep around the container that I was hiding behind, trying to angle myself in such a way that I could come at the two Fang members in a line, hopefully taking out the first before the second knew I was there.

Papa Arc may have been a reluctant teacher, but he was a damn good one.

My fingers curled around the grip of my weapon as I tensed my legs. I started a countdown from ten to see if maybe some miracle would happen before I started a fight on docks that would almost certainly evolve into more than what Jaune and I could handle on our own.

I got all the way to four before what I definitely wouldn't describe as a miracle, but was almost certainly divine intervention of the dickish kind, happened.

Blake showed up.

Well, her and some blond guy with a tail and abs for days, who I made a mental note to look up later. I say later because they were currently about to fuck up my plans - well...my near non-existent plans. They were hopping along the tops of the stacked shipping containers, I assume trying to be sneaky, as they closed in on the same White Fang members that I was stalking.

This was what we call in the business of stealing things, a big fucking problem. I'm not sure if I could use my Semblance on Blake while simultaneously fighting off Junior's boys and the Fang, but I certainly couldn't do it with what looked like another Huntsman candidate running around. At least, I assume he was. Who the hell has abs like that? Goddamn.

All of this was kind of a moot point however, because even if I was cool enough to do all those things, I wasn't cool enough to do it without someone being able to ID me or Jaune. Which would most likely end with Jaune being expelled and me at the bottom of this harbor.

No, I don't know why I ordered those two things like that. It's probably nothing to worry about.

Besides, I had much, much more exciting things to worry about. Like how monkey boy - I'm not racist, that's just the defining trait I had to go off at the moment besides the abs - decided that a loud ass 'whoop' was the way to start in on a stealth mission. The two Fang grunts apparently shared my surprise, because they cursed and started reaching for their weapons before monkey boy crashed down on them, his staff making an uncomfortable cracking sound as it bounced off their heads and they dropped like rocks. He smiled proudly up at Blake, who looked less than pleased, as he stood above their concussed bodies. It was his turn to look surprised when Junior's boys opened up on him.

I'm guessing that he hadn't taken the chance to scope out the whole perimeter before jumping in. From what little I know about Blake, I'm sure she'd let him know how she felt about that shit later.

Whatever the case was, Jaune and I's little stealth mission suddenly became a level in Duty Calls as the docks lit up with gunfire from about half a dozen different locations. And if the shouting in the distance was anything to go off of, I was assuming that things were about to get even more exciting. I wasn't too worried about Blake and her boy toy, they were making their way through the boys with a quickness. I was worried about Jaune though, which is why I took advantage of the second Faunus War breaking out on the docks to sprint for the doors of the shelter he was in.

Just in time for them to blow up in my face.

I do mean that literally too, the front wall of the container was literally blown off its hinges. And I'll tell you what, in a night that had mostly been about trying to be as quiet as possible, it was fucking loud. Like, I had to check to see if my ears were bleeding loud.

Aura's weird in what it does and doesn't cover.

From the look of Junior's boys that had been in the container with Jaune as they came stumbling out of the smoking and twisted steel of the shipping container, blood trickling out of their ears and unable to stand up straight, it had been a lot worse in the enclosed area. They caught Blake and her boy toy's attention, and they seemed to be trying to figure out if the goons required any further trauma for night when a deafening screech and hiss cut through the night air, followed by the ground shaking as something monstrously heavy slammed down. Then it happened again. And again. And again.

Worse, the thunderous footsteps, because that's the only thing I could think they might be, were getting closer to us. Blake and company looked about as shocked as I felt when the head of what I'd later learn was called a Paladin emerged from the wreckage. It was a massive, a titan of steel and glistening weaponry that looked capable of taking on hordes of Grimm by itself. I was suddenly hugely relieved that Jaune and I had taken the risk to keep this monster out of the Fang's hands. That relief lasted for all of an instant before the pieces started to click into place for me.

Junior's goons were on the ground.

The Paladin was up and moving.

Jaune was nowhere to be seen.

Holy shit...that son of a bitch had actually figured out how to pilot it!

As it turned out, that was somewhat of an overstatement, because with its next step, the metal behemoth slipped and went tumbling unceremoniously to the ground. Blake apparently took that as her cue to jump into action, because she started firing on the cockpit of the Paladin like it was going out of style. Fortunately, whatever caliber she was using was pretty light in the ass, because the rounds bounced off the darkened tempered glass of the cockpit without leaving much of a mark. Unfortunately, she'd apparently given up on that idea and was currently rushing forward to cut the pilot, Jaune, out of the machine.

I'd started shooting at her before I even realized I was doing it.

She veered off as the first shot pelted her Aura and slammed into one of the towers of steel containers, leaving a sizable impression in it. Unfortunately, the whole stack didn't see fit to tumble down on her. Certainly would have made my job easier. Instead, I got the unique pleasure of panic using my Semblance on her as she glared my way.

Fun fact about my Semblance, it can be very, very detailed, but only when I have the time properly plan it out and build it up in my mind. Otherwise, it just allows me to blur out my face and distort my voice like I'm on one of those 'protect the witness' videos that Vale PD put out, which is what Blake was currently experiencing. From the way she was hefting her blades, I decided to forgo the crippling headache of trying to use it on her partner as well and focus on fighting her. Besides, he had no idea who the fuck I was, and I didn't intend on going to Beacon anytime soon.

No, the problem was definitely going to be fighting them both at the same time, which it looked like I was going to have to do as Jaune's mech - and doesn't that feel weird to say - was flailing away on the ground and monkey boy started circling around to my side. Shit was looking pretty bad. Luckily - I guess - it started looking even worse as a fresh burst of gunfire ripped through the night and made all of us hug the ground. My head shot to the side and I saw two separate groups firing at us, one wearing tailored black suits and the other sporting Grimm masks. I guess both Junior's gang and the Fang had decided that explosions and gunfire weren't a sign that the arms deal wasn't going swimmingly. Monkey boy shot off to meet them like the polite host he was. Blake, however, only had eyes for me.

Really knows how to make a girl feel special.

Truth be told, I've never really fought many other Aura users besides Papa Arc, and honestly I was hoping to keep it that way. I'm not into making life harder than it needs to be like Jaune is. That being said, I immediately noticed a few key differences between Blake and the old man. Namely, how fucking fast she was.

The cat girl was on me in an instant, her blade flashing in my face, making me flinch back as her stupidly big heel found a home in my stomach. I doubled over, barely blocking her next strike with my hastily raised sickle. That didn't save me for long though, as I felt the pommel of her other blade slam into my nose rocking my head back, then something cold and steel press into my chest - which I soon recognized as the barrel of her weapon - before an incredible heat replaced it and I found myself sprawled out on my back on the cold, wet concrete of the docks.

"Give up. You're outmatched," Blake advised, pointing the barrel of her weapon down at me.

It wasn't bad advice. She was clearly better than anyone outside of Papa Arc that I'd ever fought in a fair fight - Neo doesn't count. But here's the thing, I'd noticed one other key difference between her and Papa Arc that kept me from throwing in the towel.

"You hit like a pussy," I informed her in my distorted voice.

That got about the reaction that I expected/hoped for. She grunted as she pulled the trigger, sending a shot my way that I deflected with my sickle before she lunged for me again. Unfortunately for her, Blake had committed the cardinal sin of fighting an illusion user...she'd given me time to get set. Her eyes widened as her blade slammed down into the hard concrete, they widened further when my shin acquainted itself with her sternum, sending her flying backwards through the air. She made what I'd call an unfairly athletic move and righted herself in the air, landing back on her feet and growling at me before shooting towards me again - blades and teeth flashing.

There's a cat joke to made in there, but I felt like I'd already reached my quota for the night. Besides, I already had what I needed. I may be an ok, if dirty, fighter on my own merits, but if I can get you to swing at what you think is me - an arm's length to my left? Well, then I'm fucking devastating.

I danced around the faunus, chipping away at her Aura as she continuously swung and missed, her tight, focused strikes coming faster and wilder as her Aura continued to drop and she became more desperate. I waited for my moment, the one where she'd overreach and make a mistake desperate enough that I'd be able to end it - preferably without seriously hurting her - and when I showed her an image of me slipping on the wet ground and losing my footing, that moment came. She lunged at me, desperate to take advantage of what she must have seen as a momentary slip from a superior opponent. Blake howled as my blade sliced down on her outstretched arm, forcing her to drop one of her twin blades. She made to dive for it as it skittered along the pavement and I shot her in her knee, making her buckle and groan before I planted my knee in her chin. She flopped onto her back and slid the blade underneath one of the nearby steel containers with my foot. She'd find it later...probably.

"Stay down," I parroted back at her. "I'm not here for you."

"No, you're here for the Fang," she hissed as she pushed herself up to her knees, propping herself up on her remaining blade. Well, she wasn't exactly wrong. I spared a quick glance over to where Jaune's Paladin was, slowly shambling it's way to its feet, before returning to her.

"It's not like that-" was about as I got before she shot pavement, causing a blinding flash and sending up a spray of dust and cement that made me cover my eyes. I felt her slam into my chest as she drove us both to the ground an instant later. Well, how about that?

Bitch fought dirty too.

I blinked furiously, trying to clear my eyes as my hands fought hers blindly. I had to get my Semblance going again before she could see again clearly. At least, I hoped that the blast had left her in the same state as me. Luckily, I was bigger than her, and even in the magical world of Aura, that meant that I could sweep her and end up on top, pressing my knee into her stomach while I pinned her wrist. Finally, I began to see a black blur that I could focus on and try to activate my Semblance on.

That's when the new, somehow more festive, explosions started. Both our heads whipped over toward the entrance of the docks where the Fang and Junior's boys had been pouring in to see three very familiar, very worrying, silhouettes standing among the flames.

"Blake! Where are you!?" A very shrill, very worried, Ruby called.

"Fuck," I whispered, before Blake kneed me in the cunt, making me repeat the curse at a much higher volume before she pushed me off her.

"Ruby! Over here!" she shouted at the red-head.

I did the only thing I could given the situation. I ran. I'm not proud of it. In fact, the very memory of it makes me sick to my stomach, but I knew that I wasn't about to take on four Huntresses, much less four that I'm pretty sure counted as among some of Beacon's best, at the same time. I needed to help Jaune, and I couldn't do that while getting my ass kicked.

I slammed a fist into Blake's dumb, cheating cat face, and scrambled away into the darkness, hiding behind one of the many overturned and charred shipping containers and peaking my head out to watch team RWBY go to work. If what had been occurring before was a shit show, then this was a full on fecal festival.

They tore through Fang and Junior's goons alike, sending white and black clad bodies flying like bowling pins. I couldn't be sure how much time was left until the involuntary distraction force had exhausted itself, but at the rate they were going, I guessed that I didn't have a ton of time left to figure out how I was going to get Jaune out of that goddamn mech.

That's the moment I'd say that shit got real.

I looked back towards Jaune's mech just in time to not only see it make its way back to its feet, but for it to open up every weapons port and restraining device on it, pointing them at Fang, goon, and Huntress alike. Everything seemed to freeze in that moment, as every living being on the dock stopped and stared at the re-awakened colossus staring them down. It was at that moment that the immortal words emanated from the machine and echoed through the night sky.

"Weapons armed."

I've never seen a room, much less a whole goddamn dock, clear so quickly. Everything with a pulse sprinted away from the Paladin in what I'd call a damn good show of survival instincts. All of which turned out to be a good call, because it started to unload. Rockets, lasers, and high caliber rounds tore through the night sky, shredding steel like it was paper and collapsing tower and tower of shipping containers. At some point, it apparently found a Dust deposit somewhere on the dock, because things really started to go high order, as explosions started from the far end and started creeping their way back towards us. Fucking thing had turned the whole place into a death trap.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I found myself on top of the damn thing pounding on the tempered glass of the cockpit.

"Jaune, you better get out of this goddamn thing right now!"

I could feel the explosions in my chest as the container after container went off like giant firecrackers, sending wave after wave into me as they got closer and closer.

"It's not fucking funny, Jaune! You need to get out now!" hot tears streamed down my face as I slashed my sickle across the seemingly impenetrable transparency of the cockpit.

The heat from the fire washed against my back as something particularly big went up and I chanced a look over my shoulder, which is when I spotted a stack of containers roughly a fucking mile high in the path of the fire...all with the Schnee Dust Company logo emblazoned on them.

"You know you have like two dozen sisters that will kick my ass if you bite it, right?!"

I couldn't help myself from looking anymore, glancing back and forth between the creeping fires and this fucking impenetrable canopy, which I was currently trying to jam the blade of my sickle into the seal of.

"Please, Jaune, please! I'm fucking begging you! Get out of the goddamn robot!"

I looked over my shoulder one last time and saw that the fire has reached the SDC containers, flames licking on the white snowflake logo and turning in black.

"Fuck you, Jaune! If you die here, then I-" was as far I got before the canopy tore itself free of the machine, launching me into the air as I watched what I assumed was the rest of the cockpit - including Jaune - rocket off into the night sky. I kept my eyes on it as long as possible before the cold water of Vale's harbor enveloped me, and I was fighting for breath. At some point, I was aware of an incredibly intense and hot wave wash over me, that I'd later come to realize was the SDC stockpile, and the Paladin, blowing the fuck up. When I surfaced, coughing and sputtering, on the top of Vale's small but choppy harbor, I immediately started looking for Jaune. After a minute, my eyes locked onto the off-white of a parachute floating in the water, and I swam for all I was worth toward it.

When I reached the thing, it was to a rapidly sinking and unconscious Jaune, still strapped into the detached seat of the Paladin. My weapon of choice was probably somewhere deep, deep beneath the waves of Vale's harbor, so I kicked and bit at the restraints holding him in as we sunk further and further the surface. I took one last gulp of air as we submerged and pulled wildly at the restraints, wishing as hard as I could that I had some kind of useful Semblance, like fire, cutting, or ice - anything that would let me save Jaune. I wished all the way until my lungs burned, begging me to return to the surface and taste some of that sweet, sweet air.

Fuck them.

Jaune was still down there.

Honestly, I'm not sure if it was desperation or some form of divine inspiration, but my hands eventually found the release switch, and I found myself and Jaune floating towards the surface. I don't remember a lot of what happened next, but when I came back in, I was performing chest compressions on Jaune, shouting at him for all I was worth.

"Fuck you, Jaune! Wake the fuck up!"

Jaune, for his part, remained real fucking quiet, so I pressed my lips to his and started breathing for all I was worth before returning to chest compressions. I'm not sure how long this cycle went on for, but a few things that I am sure of…

Eventually Jaune's eyes fluttered open.

I was bawling like a fucking baby when it happened.

He saw fit to spit up all the seawater he'd given a tour of his lungs directly into my face.

I'd probably have been more upset about the last if I wasn't so relieved by the first. I pulled him to me and squeezed his stupid face against my chest much more roughly than I imagine you're supposed to with someone that almost just died.

"Thank the Gods! Maidens you scared me so fucking much! Are you ok?!" I wept, laying my heart out on the line.

"You know...I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to make out with people that are asleep. I think it's like a crime or something." he croaked weakly, being an asshole.

I let him drop back on the concrete for that one.

"Fuck you."

"That's definitely a crime. Mom told me so."

"Yeah? She tell you that you're supposed to be a little bit more grateful to people that save your life too?"

He hummed as he slowly sat up. "I think that might have been in there somewhere," he frowned as he reached up and wiped a stray tear away from my cheek, "definitely threatened me about making girls cry though."

"Yeah, shouldn't do that shut." I whispered back, taking his hand in mine.

"Sorry about that."

We sat there for a minute, quietly enjoying each other's company...before the world came crashing back in.

"Holy shit!" Jaune shouted, jumping to his feet. "The girls! I saw them there!" He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Did they get caught in the blast!? Are they ok!?"

"I-I…" Truth be told, I didn't have any idea what happened to those girls. I'd seen them fleeing the blast zone in the beginning, but then I'd been too concerned with getting Jaune out to worry about anything else. As I wanted to keep Jaune here with me, I knew what I had to do. "I don't know. I saw them running away, so they're probably ok, but you should check on them."

"Yeah," he agreed quickly, pulling his scroll out then cursing at its waterlogged state. He looked hopefully at me and I shook my head.

"I don't even have mine anymore. Must have lost it in the water."

"Maybe we can-"

"Just go you dummy!" I chastised. "Your team is going to be losing their minds anyway. I'm sure the News is eating this shit up."

He looked hesitantly at me. "Em, are you-"

"Go!" I commanded. "I'm a big girl, I'll find my way home."

He nodded and started backing away, pointing at me as he went. "You're going to call me?"

"As soon as I get a new phone."

"You promise?"

"Pinky swear and everything." I promised, holding the little finger up.

"Don't forget."

"Jaune!"

"I'm going! Love you!" He said, turning and starting to jog off into the night, his shoes squeaking with every step.

"Yeah, love you too you big idiot." I half-whispered as I watched him disappear into the darkness.

Sneaking back into Junior's place seemed way easier than it should have been. I'd expected the boys to be out in force, securing the perimeter in case whoever had come after the shipment - me - decided to hit a little closer to home. Instead, there wasn't so much as a soul on the streets, which given the long line that usually wrapped around the block to get in the doors of The Club, was kinda eerie.

Hell, even calling it sneaking would be a bit of a stretch. I more just walked up to the front door and slowly, very slowly pulled the handle down so it wouldn't make any noise, just like I would back in the day when I'd been out way past curfew.

The problem with that was that Papa Arc always waited up on me.

A giant hand closed around my wrist like a vice as soon as I cracked open the door to the club. I pulled against it on instinct and tried to slam the door on their arm, but the door ripped open and I was thrown to the ground inside. I scrambled awkwardly in a panic, trying to turn back and face the source of the threat, my hands reaching for my weapons. Two things ended up stopping me.

The first was when I saw it was Junior standing by the door, looking for all the world like a disappointed dad.

The other, and far more concerning, was the designer shoe that stomped down on my right hand. I started to scream out in pain, but that was cut short by the cane that cracked across my jaw and sent me sprawling.

"You stupid bitch!" Roman roared as I felt his slash across my back. "Do you know what you've done!? Do you!?" He demanded as he continued to beat seven different kinds of hell out of me.

I'd like to tell you about how I stood up to him. About how I grabbed that cane and gave him a taste of his own medicine. Except I can't, because...well, we had an agreement, didn't we?

What I actually did was turn right back into a scared little girl on the streets of Mistral and curled up into the fetal position, trying my best to cover my head as the blows rained down. Roman played the part of angry pickpocket victim well enough. Or maybe he was one of those drunks that just want to take their day out on someone. Or one of the guys that thought I was pretty and got angry when I didn't want to spend the night with them. And that I bite.

It's hard to tell honestly, it all kinda blends together after a while. You end up just covering up and trying to be somewhere else until they got bored or tired...or until they beat you to death.

Whichever came first.

"Roman," I heard Junior's voice cut through the pain. Roman ignored it, continuing to slam his cain into me.

"You've fucking killed us!" He shouted down at me.

"Roman, that's enough." Junior said, closer this time.

"You fucking killed us, you know that!?" He howled, ignoring Junior again as he really started to put his back into it and I felt the blood start to trickle down my back.

"Roman!" Junior roared, and suddenly the beating stopped. "I said enough."

I still didn't dare to peak my head out from behind my arms until I heard Roman say-

"Best take your hand off me, Junior."

I slowly raised my eyes and saw the giant holding onto the gangster's arm, apparently caught mid-swing, by the wrist above his head.

"Don't take that tone with me in my bar, Roman." Junior shot back.

Roman chuckled darkly. "Oh, it's your bar is it?"

"It is."

"And for how much longer do you think that's going to be the case?" The mobster asked as he stared him down. "She could take it from you in a second."

"Maybe," Junior agreed solemnly, " but tonight, it's still my bar, and I said enough."

"Yeah. Yeah, ok." Roman whispered as he went limp, his cane dropping back down to his side as Junior released him. Big Cat watched him the whole way as he trudged over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of something expensive.

I don't think we were supposed to talk about the way he positioned himself between me and Roman, so none of us did. He silently helped me to my feet, eyes scanning over the welts that would be bruises soon.

"Thanks," I whispered weakly. He grunted in reply and shook his head.

"Em, what the fuck were you thinking?" He asked quietly. I decided that there wasn't any point in lying anymore. They obviously knew something was up, and playing dumb might set Roman off again.

"Junior, they were going to hurt people. A lot of people. Too many." I answered shakily. Big Cat's face twisted up in a pained grimace at that, but Roman barked a laugh from the bar.

"Oh Gods, we picked one with a conscience! What are the fucking odds, huh, Junior? And here I thought you'd sold us out to someone else."

My eyes shot up to Junior. "I wouldn't."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

"Well, that's sweet and all…" Roman sighed heavily as he poured himself another glass, "but I'd almost have felt better if you did. Maybe then I could hope for a bigger fish than the great white we're currently dealing with. Either way, I wouldn't worry too much about people getting hurt anymore."

"You think the Fang will back off?" I asked hopefully, stupidly.

"Oh no, they're still going to hurt people. A hell of a lot more than you can even imagine, but-" he took a deep pull from his glass, "we're all going to be very dead by then, so don't worry your pretty little head about it. Ok?"

"Shit," I whispered, a cold dread creeping its way into my heart.

"You feel better now?" He asked. "This is what you wanted, right? To feel better about your-"

"Roman," Junior warned, cutting him off. The gangster grunted and shrugged.

"Whatever. She's on her way here now anyway. Might as well be civil before we bite it I guess."

"How long do we have before she gets here?" Junior asked.

"You keep saying 'she,' who is 'she?'" I tried, only to be completely ignored as Roman snorted and pointed to himself.

"Junior, you think she tells me when things happen?"

"I'd assume-"

"No, she tells me the where, and I damn well better be there when she arrives."

"Who's she?" I asked again.

"Is there anything we can do before she gets here?" Big Cat asked, not even looking in my direction.

"Uh, get drunk is what I'd suggest," he answered, shaking his glass. "I'd pray for mercy too, but I don't believe in any of that shit."

"I've got guys, we can-"

"Junior," Roman cut him off. "I need you to stop thinking of her like a person and think of her more like a natural disaster. It's going to happen. There's nothing you can do to stop it." He downed the rest of his drink and stared down into his empty glass. "Trust me, I've tried. We'll either be alive come sunrise...or we won't. That's all there is to it."

"Who. Is. She?" I demanded, quickly losing patience and becoming increasingly scared.

"I just…" Junior trailed off.

"You send the girls out?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, as soon as you called."

Roman nodded and said gently, "Then you've done everything you could. Now we wait."

"Who the fuck is she!?" I shouted as loudly as I could, finally getting both their attention. Roman hummed as he considered me.

"Actually, we should probably clean her up before she gets here now that I think about it. She looks like hell."

Junior snorted. "And whose fault is that?"

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a passionate man when my life is threatened."

"Whatever," Big Cat grumbled. "Just grab a bottle of water and towel from behind the bar. We'll get her cleaned up."

"No! Nobody's doing shit till you tell me exactly what's going on." I demanded.

Roman tsked as he fished behind the counter. "Girly, we don't have time for me to answer all you damn questions."

I ignored the fact that he'd just told us he had no idea how much time we had and pressed on.

"Just one then. Who is she?"

Junior looked like he was trying to find something to say before a noise cut through the bar, silencing everyone.

A single knock from the door.

Roman sighed and slumped down in his stool.

"Well, Girly, you're about to find out."

Memory Lane

I like to think that I've made Jaune's life a lot more exciting than it would have been. Made him experience more of it, you know?

That being said, exciting can also loosely translate to trouble when I'm involved, so I guess you can say that I've gotten Jaune into a lot more trouble than he would have otherwise. But so what? It's been good for him.

Except for when it hasn't.

I remember the first time that I got Jaune into something that was above both our heads. I remember the first time I almost got Jaune killed…

"Em, this is super duper dumb," Jaune told me for roughly the hundredth time since we'd arrived under the overpass on the edge of Vale that we were scheduled to meet some of my...less than legal friends at.

"Nobody asked you to come," I informed him.

"Uh huh. And what was I supposed to do, just let you come down here on your own?"

"That was the plan as I recall. Hence me, you know, not telling you the plan." He rolled his eyes at me, which was almost as annoying as what he said next.

"Sure you didn't."

I turned and gave him a big ole eyebrow raise.

"Exsqueeze me?"

"You heard me."

"Oh, I heard you, I just don't know what the fuck you're talking about," I clarified, before poking a finger in his chest. "And don't you dare roll your eyes at me again, Jaune Arc."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, ok. I just hear you walking around my room, talking real loud on your scroll about a 'meet up' and a 'package,' and I figured that you were trying to send one of your weird passive aggressive messages across."

"Yeah? Well, maybe you figured wrong," I countered, suddenly aware that I wasn't nearly as slick as I thought I was.

He smirked real big, which is one of the hallmarks of being an asshole.

"Maybe, but the way you kept 'losing' your scroll around me with all your texts with this guy pulled up says different."

A more perceptive asshole than I'd originally anticipated.

"It's rude to read a girl's texts, you know?"

"You could just like, I dunno, ask for help. You know that, right?"

"I didn't need it." I informed him, which is technically true. I would have been fine on my own...probably. But on the more honest side of things, I needed Jaune because I'm a giant fucking fraud and doing something like this on my own was terrifying.

Luckily for me, Jaune gets me enough not to point that out, which I suppose makes up for him being a bit of an ass.

"Soooo, what are we here for anyway?" He asked after a minute.

"Something cool," I said, playing coy because I was still a little embarrassed.

"Like...illegal cool?" He asked slowly, which earned him a deadpan stare. He sighed, "right, of course it is. What is it exactly? You know, just so I have an idea how long I'm going to jail for."

"We're not getting caught, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Em," he pleaded, which restored enough of my fragile, fragile pride that I relented.

"Fiiiiine. We're here to pick up the one thing your dad has sworn up and down he'll never let me have." He blinked at me for a second.

"Tequila? A driver's licence? A webcam? Em, you really need to narrow it down."

I mentally took back all the nice things I'd ever said about Jaune.

"Har har. You're a real comedian, you know that? No, asshole, we're here to pick up a weapon, a Huntsman weapon." I watched with satisfaction as his eyes grew wide.

"Maidens, Em! Dad will kill you!" He exclaimed.

"Only if he finds out," I corrected, sending him a meaningful look. He groaned and ran a hand down his face.

"Where'd you even find one?"

"That took some time," I allowed. "Turns out that they're not exactly growing on trees."

He tsked. "No kidding, they're stupid expensive." He squinted at me. "Hold up, where'd you get the cash for this?"

"That," I started, "is none of your business. Besides, Ivory is giving me a hell of a deal on this one."

"Ivory, huh?"

"That's the dude's name."

"And what do we know about Ivory?"

"That he has wholesale Huntsman weapons."

"Maidens, Em." He hissed. "You ever stop to think about why that might be?"

I shrugged. "He did list them as 'gently used.'"

He threw back his head and groaned. "Fuck me."

"Pretty sure that's a porn category, but no thanks." I kicked at his ankle when he glared at me. "Anywho, looks like our guy is here." I said, nodding towards the black SUV that had pulled off from the highway and started to make its way down the dirt path to us. Sure enough, once it pulled up a few meters away, a tall, lanky guy with jet black hair wearing tattered jeans and a sports coat of all things stepped out of the driver's side.

If you're the curious type, his skin looked like he hadn't seen the sun in a few years, so the name fit just fine.

"You Topaz?" He asked, keeping his hands where I couldn't see them. I ignored Jaune's snort behind me and tried to remain professional.

"Yeah, that me."

He nodded towards Jaune. "Thought you were coming alone."

I shrugged. "Family. What are you going to do? He's harmless." That earned me a huff from said harmless Jaune. "You got the package?"

He hummed. "That depends, you got the cash?"

"Right here," I answered, producing a very fat envelope from my back pocket. "Now, show me what you got."

He grunted and reached back into the vehicle, bringing out two of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. Twin sickles, each of them small enough to fit into a hand and compact enough to fit onto a belt. They didn't gleam, like those legendary blades you'll hear in storybooks. No, instead they seemed to absorb the light, somehow both staying subtle and shimmering at the same time.

I knew I had to have them.

I licked my lips. "So, we doing this?"

Ivory nodded and started walking forward. Honestly, I wasn't even paying that much attention to him at that point. My eyes were locked onto the weapons hanging loosely from his hands as I dumbly pressed out the envelope in mine, desperate to make the trade.

So, you can imagine my surprise when those same weapons started to rise up as we got closer. How it took me a second to process what was going on when Ivory held the barrel of one right up to my eye. You can understand the weight of suddenly knowing exactly how he had gotten these 'gently used' weapons hitting me slowing down my reaction time.

Fortunately for me, it didn't slow down Jaune's. He slammed into Ivory like he was a goddamn missile, tackling the gangster's outstretched arm just in time for the shot to pass by my head instead of through it. I stumbled back, stunned, as Jaune and Ivory wrapped up in a whirlwind of fists and curses. My world slowed to a crawl as Ivory, who apparently had his Aura unlocked, pistol whipped Jaune with enough force that I swore to the Gods that I heard his skull crack. He dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, lying there in a heap. Ivory spat on the ground and tried to bring the gun back around on me.

I don't know if I have shown someone the level of horrors that I hit Ivory with before or since.

He fell to ground screaming and clawing at his eyes as I poured every nightmare I'd ever had into this dumb fucking bastard's head. I pressed my Semblance in ways I'd never done before, really bringing out the full array of senses. I made sure he smelled his flesh burning. I made sure he tasted the blood in his mouth. That he saw every monstrosity, that he felt and heard every violation.

It still wasn't enough. This motherfucker had hurt Jaune, and I was damn sure going to hurt him back.

I don't know when I started hitting Ivory, but I do know that by the time that grey Huntsman pulled me off him, Crimson would have been a better name. I rounded on the guy, who looked to be about Papa Arc's age with black hair and red eyes, and just about slugged him too. He caught my wrist and shook his head.

"Kid, that's enough." He nodded towards Ivory's prone form. "He's down."

I glanced back at the motionless gangster, then down at my blood soaked hands, and my mind started to race as the panic set in.

"I-...he-" The Hunter put a gentle hand on my shoulder and shushed me.

"It's ok, it's ok. I've been tracking this guy for a while. Likes to target young people that can't afford the high end gear. Case of self defense if I've seen one, kid." I'll never know if he knew that was a lie or not.

"But the police-"

"Don't you worry about them." He soothed. "Why don't you just grab your blond friend over there and make tracks? Vale Central Hospital isn't too far from here."

"Thank you," I whispered, tears in my eyes as I rushed over to Jaune and pulled him onto my shoulder.

He hummed. "Don't worry about it. Got a couple of nieces about your age that this guy could have gone after."

I think I made some kind of noise in response as I loaded into Ivory's SUV, but I can't really be sure. I was just about to hope in the driver's seat when I felt the Hunter's hand on my shoulder again. I looked up at him and he pressed the sickles into my hands.

"Hey now, don't want to forget your weapons, do you, kid?"

I swallowed and nodded numbly. "No, sir."

"Get out of here, I got this."

He must have too, because I've never heard anything about Ivory since.

For my part, I then proceeded to break every traffic law in Vale on my way to the hospital.

Jaune never really brings that day up, but I still think about it all the time. I think about it because it taught me several important lessons.

Never trust anyone, Jaune scares me with how selfless he's willing to be, and most importantly...that I'm willing to kill anyone that tries to take my family away from me.

Vile Weapons

The battle against the White Knights went about as well as could be expected, which is to say that we were losing badly.

Our hastily thrown together lines were blown apart as their organized and well equipped first ranks slammed into us like a tidal wave. Ice Monkey and Topaz soldiers alike scrambled over each other in a desperate attempt to flee from the snow white uniforms and reform, but it was to no avail. Their fire was accurate and deadly, cutting us down in swaths.

I have very little recollection of my own sprint back to our trenches. A flash here of Crooc suddenly being beside me. Another of us picking up Burk off the ground. Yet another of Demy waving us in and covering us with all too weak rifle fire.

What I do remember is collapsing against the wall of the trench and Captain Atic's manic grin filling my vision.

"Good work, boys! Got'em right where we want them!"

"You're insane." I sputtered, but he just shook his head and laughed as he and Captain Fan rolled steel canisters up to the lip of the trench. They looked back to us again, that sickening grin adorning both their faces.

"Behold! Our secret weapon, boys!" Captain Fan started.

"Noxious Trench Refuse!" Captain Atic continued.

"NTR!" They finished together, before unsealing the containers and releasing what I can only describe as some of the most foul and acrid gas that I've seen. It crept across the battlefield, slowly rolling over both the White Knight's line as well as our own. All it touched coughed and sputtered, regardless of affiliation. Men and women dropped to the ground, clawing at their eyes and howling. Through it all the Captains smiled, clapping each other on the shoulder.

"You're killing us all," I croaked weakly.

Captain Atic cocked his head to the side. "Who's that, boy?"

"The fandom." I whispered back.

He laughed and shook his head. "Well, don't worry, lad! That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!"