Chapter 37: Uninvited Guests Pt. 3
A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here means two more chapters over on my P atreon, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story.
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With a sigh, Jaune pulls back from his initial attempt to delve into Salem's soul. He might not be able to comprehend what has her in such a tizzy, but that doesn't make the Grimm Queen's feelings any less valid. At the very least, he can hear her out first.
Salem slumps in relief as he stops trying to initiate what is likely to be an incredibly protracted affair. As she feels him leave her essence behind, she turns to him with an apologetic and altogether weary expression on her face. Reaching up, she caresses his cheek for a moment before smiling and giving him a light kiss on the lips. When she pulls back, she looks as though she doesn't know how she intends to begin.
"A-Apologies Jaune… but I do believe you're going to want to hear this."
Jaune tilts his head to the side, holding her in his lap all the closer.
"Of course, Salem. What is it? What happened while I was unconscious?"
Was it something to do with Cinder, Raven, and Vernal? Had one of those three decided to make some sort of move? Or was it something else?
Letting out a sigh, Salem glances off to the side for a moment before finally just biting the bullet.
"… It all began when I sensed a new bullhead entering the Lands of Darkness."
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Yang Xiao-Long was seriously beginning to question what the fuck they were even doing here. It had all seemed so important back at Beacon. The Headmaster himself had called her up to his office, where he and her younger sister had been waiting for her. To say Yang had been surprised to see Ruby there was an understatement, but as it was explained to the both of them… Ruby was the only one who even had a chance of pulling this off.
Her little sister. A Signal student. Yeah, in hindsight, Yang had never heard a more idiotic story. She couldn't believe she'd fallen for it. In her defense, Headmaster Ozpin wasn't just in charge of Beacon, he might as well have been the defacto ruler of the Kingdom of Vale. He was a big fucking deal. Hell, Yang couldn't have named a single member of the Council of Vale, the supposed ruling body for the Kingdom. And yet, she'd known Ozpin's name for as long as she could remember.
Still, at this point she wasn't feeling very charitable towards herself. Going along with this stupid farce was on her. Ruby's near-death experience… that was on her too. Licking her lips, Yang can only hold her sister closer, leaning down to press a kiss to Ruby's forehead.
"You're okay, Ruby. You're safe. I've got you."
She wished it was true, but only that last part has any actual accuracy to it. Yang does have Ruby right now. She's holding her younger sister in her arms as they both lay in a bed. Unfortunately, that's about where it ends. They're in a cell, after all. Metals bars and everything block them from exiting. Not that Yang would try to break out even if she could. The Grimm Queen that they'd been sent her to destroy had been very clear… those bars weren't to keep them in, they were to keep the Grimm out. If they tried to escape, they were likely to be killed before even making it out of the Castle.
… It'd been two years since Yang had seen a Grimm. The little Nevermore that had led them in had honestly almost been cute. The Queen of the Grimm, a humanoid monster of a woman, had not been nearly as adorable. Not only had she torn them apart with ease, but she'd held their lives in the palm of her hand the entire time.
At the same time though, Yang couldn't help but feel grateful. If it wasn't for the Grimm Queen's mercy, Ruby would be dead. Of that, the blonde had no doubt. Headmaster Ozpin had turned her sister into a… into a bomb. They were never meant to successfully kill Salem on their own merits. Instead, the moment that Ruby got close enough, something hinky started happening. Her little sister had nearly exploded.
If she ever got the chance, Yang was pretty sure she'd kill Ozpin herself. Probably wouldn't be easy, the bastard was supposed to be quite tough, but fuck it. She'd find a way. She'd kill him and that General Ironwood if she got the opportunity. What they'd done to Ruby and Penny was… unconscionable.
At least their so-called Team Leader hadn't been totally complicit in it. Across the way, in a cell of her own, Winter Schnee sits on her own bed, looking quite broken. Served her right for leading them here, but Yang also feels a small bit of pity for the older woman as well. It was obvious Winter hadn't known the depths to which her superior and the Headmaster had sunken.
Of course, that didn't mean Yang was going to throw any words of comfort the Atlesian Specialist's way. She had more important things to worry about, like her sister. Ruby still hadn't woken up. She was breathing normally, but that was about it. Yang didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to keep her sister safe. She didn't-
"My oh my. I almost didn't want to believe it."
Yang startles badly, only her hold on Ruby keeping her from reacting more violently. In comparison, Winter is immediately on her feet, eyes wide as she stares at the newcomer standing between their two cells. The Atlesian Specialist ends up asking the most pressing question on Yang's mind for her, in the end.
"Who… who are you?"
It's a fair question. They'd all been told about Salem. The Queen of the Grimm. The worst of the worst. It'd been explained to them that she was behind the monstrous Grimm and always had been. However, none of them had been told about a male. Before them stands another humanoid Grimm. This one is clearly a man… a young man at that. Blinking, Yang peers a little closer before realizing… he's her age, she's pretty sure.
The newcomer spares Winter Schnee only a glance before turning back to Yang and Ruby. He gives them a surprisingly apologetic smile.
"I do apologize for this misunderstanding. If you had approached on any other day, then I would have been able to smooth things over, I'm sure. But instead, you just happened to show up at the very moment I was indisposed and unable to act as a voice of reason."
Yang just stares mutely. Winter, on the other hand, grabs the bars of her cell and snarls.
"Hey! If you want to speak to anyone, speak to me! I'm team leader here, they're just kids! You can't-hrk!"
Yang barely has time to feel offended on her and Ruby's behalf. They were far from kids. Ruby was just about to leave Signal in fact. Even if Winter meant well and was trying to distract this new threat from her and her sister, she could do without the patronizing description.
Of course, before she can even get upset by that, Winter finds herself silenced by the Grimm Man grabbing her by the neck and squeezing ever so slightly.
"Ms. Schnee, I would advise you to stay quiet from now on. I have heard your offer to my Queen but have yet to decide if I shall accept it or not. Your culpability and share of the blame in the events that have unfolded so far is still not entirely understood."
He punctuates his statement by pulling his hand back, causing Winter to gasp and collapse backwards onto her bed. She doesn't say another word, just staring at his back with wide eyes as he once again turns to Yang and Ruby's cell. To be fair, Yang hadn't seen him move either. He was fast… just as fast as the Grimm Queen was.
More than that, the way he talked… he'd said HE would decide if HE would accept Winter's offer or not. Did that mean…?
"Um… who are you?"
When Yang asks the question, she gets a smile in response.
"I am the King of the Grimm. But you can call me Jaune."
Yang blinks at that bombshell. However, before she can fully process just how cavalier the self-proclaimed KING of the Grimm is being, Jaune has suddenly opened the cell door, causing her to stiffen up. As fast as she can, she pulls Ruby off of her lap and sets her unconscious sister down behind her, getting up off the bed to defend her with her life.
Seeing this, Jaune pauses.
"I mean you and your sister no harm, Yang. Unfortunately, her sleep will not end without my help."
Yang stiffens at that and finds herself involuntarily jerking her head to glance back at Ruby. Stupid of her to take her eyes off of the threat, but the King of the Grimm doesn't take advantage. He stays right where he is, looking at Ruby with some level of pity and sadness in his eyes.
"What… what are you talking about?"
"You met my Queen. She is… adverse to those with silver eyes. While she was willing to spare Ruby Rose rather than executing her on the spot, she was less willing to have the girl awake and moving about under her own power while I was indisposed. The trigger to… well, explode upon proximity to our kind has been removed. However, the sleep is not natural. Only I or Salem can end it."
Yang doesn't know what to think. On the one hand, she doesn't want to let this bastard anywhere near Ruby. On the other hand, Salem had saved Ruby's life, however inadvertently. And from the sound of things, Ruby wouldn't wake up without Jaune's interference. On top of all of that, Yang was forced to acknowledge that Jaune didn't actually have to wait for her permission. He was faster than she could ever hope to stop. He was explaining this to her as a courtesy, for whatever reason.
Lips thinning out at the shitty situation she finds herself in, Yang finally nods and steps aside.
"A-Alright… please wake her up."
Giving her an encouraging smile, the Grimm King steps past her and leans over Ruby, carefully pressing his fingers to her forehead in the same way Salem had done, but with a much gentler and slower movement to him.
After a beat, Ruby's silver eyes flutter open. She tenses in terror when the first thing she sees is Jaune's face, but he immediately pulls back, allowing Yang to rush in and encircle her sister in a hug.
"Ruby! You're okay!"
"Y-Yang! What… I don't remember what happened."
Before Yang can reply, Jaune cuts in, his tone deceptively jovial.
"Ah, well… you all showed up in the most half-assed attempt at assassinating my Queen that she's seen in hundreds of years. Unfortunately, Ozma used you all. Specifically, he used you, Ruby Rose."
Yang slowly pulls away from the hug, forced to give Ruby line of sight to the Grimm King. She still has her sister in her arms though, even as Ruby blinks her silver eyes owlishly.
"Um… d-do you mean Headmaster Ozpin? How did he use me?"
Nodding, Jaune smiles that same apologetic smile as before.
"He turned you into a bomb, I'm afraid. Your silver eyes mark you as special, Ruby Rose. Different from most other humans on remnant. Properly trained, you would be uniquely suited for fighting the God of Darkness' creations."
At their blank looks, Jaune rolls a hand at himself.
"The Grimm, I mean."
Yang can't help but go wide-eyed at that, even as Ruby does the same. But Jaune just shakes his head.
"Unfortunately, you are not properly trained. You're decades too early to be sent after my Queen, but Ozma has grown desperate. This is what I get for deciding to pull the Grimm back from harassing the Kingdoms of Remnant, I suppose. I try to do a good deed, and not only do you lot start wars with each other, but Ozma starts trying to expose and kill Salem harder than ever before."
This is… a lot, Yang is beginning to realize. She'd started getting that impression back when Salem easily defeated them all and put her sister in some sort of magical coma, but now, hearing Jaune explain it all so candidly, it was becoming crystal clear just how in over their heads they were.
"It's funny. To hear Salem tell it, he's always been content to play the long game before. He's happily spent decades getting his pieces into place as my Queen did the same on her side of the board. However, he's obviously floundering now that she's gotten up and left the table. He can't accept that she doesn't want to play anymore. He can't accept that there was no dastardly, devilish purpose behind the Grimm leaving you all alone. At this point, I'm beginning to think I'll have to find a way to deal with him more permanently, or this is just going to keep happening."
Yang lets out a shuddering breath as Jaune comes to a stop, the Grimm King glancing to the side for a moment. She dreads the answer, but at the same time she needs to know.
"What… what's going to happen to us now? What are you going to do with us?"
Those red eyes of his snap right back to her at that, and it feels like he's peering directly into her soul. Yang keeps her back straight and her head held high, however. She needs to be strong. For Ruby.
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What was he going to do with them? Honestly, did Yang Xiao-Long think he was a monster or something?
… Okay, he would NOT be asking that out loud. Jaune resists the urge to sigh, maintaining his façade as 'all-knowing Grimm King' as he stares at the two sisters in front of him. Truth be told, he knew what he wanted to do with them. He wanted to take them to Summer Rose. Yang might not have been Summer's daughter by blood as Ruby was, but to hear Summer speak of them, it was obvious she loved her like her own child all the same.
The only thing was, Summer was still unconscious. It was the main reason Jaune hadn't told the sisters about her survival just yet. Still, if he'd woken up, he fully believed the three who had helped him awaken his Aura would wake up soon too.
Until then, perhaps it would be best to let Yang and Ruby see Raven or something. Certainly, he didn't want them in this prison for a moment longer than they needed to be. Not only did he want to take them away from what might be a corrupting influence in the form of Winter Schnee, but he also wanted them out of this cell as soon as possible.
… In the end, it wasn't a choice at all. Jaune already knew where he was going to take them, even with his waffling.
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