Fractal Chaos 7.1

First part of Fractal Chaos chapter 7. The chapter ended up being way longer than planned so I'm posting them in chunks here. Hope people enjoy. Part 2 is coming soon.

Patreon note - I'm also planning to do a Patreon-exclusive Blake x Cardin hatesex oneshot at the request of a longtime supporter. I'll write that after the full update here. Hope you guys enjoy it :D

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Blake had never told anyone, but she'd always loved the fantastical. Whether it was the fantasy of fairy tales or the speculative fiction of exploring beyond the stars, Blake enjoyed them all. Life was difficult and no one could blame her for looking for a little escapism. In the world of fiction, she didn't have to worry about being judged for her race and hated because of what she was. She could do anything, be anything, and that helped her on those difficult nights.

Finding out about magic, immortals, and a secret war for the fate of the world wasn't what she had in mind, though.

When she'd left Beacon - a choice she still regretted to this day - she thought that a radicalized White Fang would be the biggest problem she had to deal with. Finding out about Salem and Relics and that their headmaster was an (admittedly unwilling) body snatcher was...a shock, to put it mildly. Whatever sense of victory she felt at Haven was swept away by the knowledge that all she'd done was delay one part of Salem's plans. Especially when Jinn told them the truth.

And now she was dealing with alternate dimensions. She'd read theories and fantasy books about them before, of course, but that didn't do anything to prepare her for having to deal with it in person. It really didn't help that the first version of herself that showed up was a fanatic who thought that Adam had the right idea of it. Even now, she still wondered how her counterpart had ended up. Had the alternate Yang mustered up enough will to stop her? Or was she continuing to follow in Adam's footsteps?

Her second alternate counterpart didn't make her feel any better.

A world where she was a Maiden. She still didn't have a lot of information on what exactly being a Maiden meant outside of having elemental powers and being able to open the Vaults, but she guessed that was enough to understand how important they were. The idea that all four of team RWBY were Maidens...the chances of it were astronomically low. One or two of them, maybe, but all four? There was a better chance of a Faunus getting into the Atlesian council.

Which was probably why General Ironwood was quick to put them to work. With the last batch of transfers, the General quickly ignored them as their problem. Now he was assigning them all to various tasks day in and day out. The temporal device had to be taken down for repairs too, so it was perfect timing. At least that other world was safe. Jaune and Ren just had to wait in a world without Salem. As for Neo...well, she was sure a Maiden Weiss could handle one mute psychopath.

The General assigned them to keep an eye on their counterparts. It made sense, at least in theory. They would know them the best, and from what they were told, their backgrounds were almost identical up until the diverging point of becoming Maidens.

In practice, however...

Blake kept an eye on the area as her counterpart pulled out another Dust crystal from the walls. Control of the elements evidently meant being able to manipulate Dust as well, at least with enough precision that Belle could harvest Dust without worries about causing a cave-in. Blake was assigned to keep her safe from Grimm or any other wandering hostiles, though she was pretty sure she wasn't needed. Not after what Belle did to that Tyrian guy a couple of days ago.

The biggest issue was having to listen to Belle's complaints.

"How did I know he'd tell me to do this?" Belle asked rhetorically, pulling out another crystal from the wall. Blake lifted it up gingerly and placed it on the already bulging stack. She was sure if Jacques Schnee was still alive, he'd have been ecstatic at the idea of a one-woman mining operation.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"This. It's so obvious." Another pull and a Fire Dust crystal plopped to the ground, "He could've assigned us to do anything, but of course, he sends the Faunus to get Dust from the mines. You can have all the magical power in the world and people still look at you for your ears."

"I'm...not so sure about that." Now she was defending the General of Atlas. Oh, the bitter irony, "The General's stockpiling Dust for both Amity and the upcoming fight with Salem. Since you three could go back to your own dimension any day now, it makes sense that he's trying to use your abilities as much as he can."

"So you admit he's using us." Belle raised a brow.

"Sure. I never said he wasn't." Blake shrugged, "I'm not saying it's a good thing, but I get why. You guys already beat your Salem, and from what it sounds like, it wasn't as much of a shithsow." She didn't curse a lot, but what else was she supposed to call a whole kingdom being destroyed, another subverted, and finding out only after the fact that their enemy was literally unkillable? "We're working with a deck stacked against us. He'll take any advantage he can get."

"Sure, fine, but why this?" She pulled out another crystal and tossed it to one of the nearly overflowing containers, "Dust won't be what wins the fight against Salem."

"I can't say I know what's going on in the General's head, but I do know that what worked for you won't work for us." They didn't have the strength, manpower, or morale to invade the Grimmlands to stuff Salem in a jar. They didn't have even one Maiden, let alone four, and Ruby, bless her heart, still had 'performance issues' with using her Silver Eyes. They were purely on the defensive right now, and she figured stockpiling Dust was better safe than sorry.

"Hm...if you say so." Belle traced a hand on the wall and hummed, "Alright, there's no more Dust in this section. Let's finish up here. Next part should be quicker now that I've got a better feel of things." They both grabbed the flatbed cart carrying the crates and pushed. As much as she disagreed with Belle's assertions that this was racially motivated, she couldn't deny that it felt like busywork. This wasn't exactly what she thought she'd be doing today.

"Alright, I'll make this quick."

Quick was right. Blake watched silently as her counterpart pulled out crystals by the dozens. She could practically hear Jacques having a heart attack from here, "...Why didn't you do that before?" Blake asked as she began picking up the stacks.

"Like I said, got a better feel for it. It's been a while since I've had to do this. I only did this once. Didn't want to run people out of their jobs." Belle levitated the crystals and plopped them down to one of the empty containers.

"Alright, now you're just showing off." Blake smiled slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Belle nudged her head to the side, "Come on, we're almost done."

It only took them a couple of hours to empty the mine. Most of the time was spent pushing the cart around and making sure to empty it back at the entrance. A few soldiers were assigned to keep guard and one of them stared at the veritable mountain of crystals they were given. Blake didn't blame him. How long would it have taken to empty a mine like this normally? Months? Maybe even years? And Belle had done it in less than a day.

They weren't finished, of course. The General gave them a map of other Dust mines in the area that he wanted emptied as fast as possible. The two of them hopped on board the bullhead and waited to be taken to the next one. Belle still didn't look happy at the job she was given, but she didn't complain...mostly. There was still the occasional muttering about how she couldn't wait to go back home and gorge herself on tuna. Blake didn't blame her. She was open to helping people in need, but she wouldn't have liked the idea of being trapped in another world either.

The two of them were on their fourth Dust mine when Belle suddenly said, "Tell me about the Fall."

"...Huh?" Blake looked back, brows furrowed.

"Beacon and Vale. I heard you guys talking about it but you keep changing the subject whenever it comes up."

"Well, it's not exactly something we like to dwell on..."

"I understand, but it's clearly weighing on all of you." She emptied the section of the mine and they began to walk to the next area, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I can tell that there's something unresolved there. Who better to talk to than yourself."

"...I'm confused. Where's this coming from? We've only known each other for a couple of days, but this doesn't seem normal for you."

"I don't know what you mean." Belle wiped her hands on her kimono and looked back, "So...?"

"There's not much to say." Blake looked away and tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud, "Cinder played everyone. We were so busy focusing on the White Fang and the Vytal tournament that we didn't even realize that there was something more." She still blamed herself, though a part of her also blamed Ozpin and the rest of his group. It was their job to watch out for whatever plans Salem's cronies had. She knew it was unfair to put it on them, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Vytal...feels like a lifetime ago," Belle murmured.

"I'm guessing it went better for you than it did for us." Blake scoffed. She would've been lying if she said she wasn't jealous. A world where Vale didn't fall and Salem was gone. She'd only known about her for a few months and she already found the idea of it almost impossible.

"Sure, but I'm not gonna say it was easy either." More crystals were pulled out of the walls. The two of them piled it up by hand instead of letting Belle move them around, "It was a pretty close call there. Adam, he...I guess he thought that he would just spite everyone he could."

"Adam..." Her grip on the Crystal tightened and she let out a shuddering breath. Even now, she couldn't excise the image of him out of her head. How she looked into his eyes when she and Yang plunged the blades into his chest. She didn't have a choice, she knew that, but the guilt was still there. How could there not be? She knew him for years. She looked up to him as her idol and even shared his bed. A part of her still desperately hoped to see the best in him even now.

She remembered her last counterpart. Could she have ended up like that? One wrong choice and she would've blindly followed in his footsteps.

"Ha. Guess it was too far for me to hope that Adam wasn't a piece of shit in this world." Belle laughed bitterly, "You know, I never did figure out what really motivated Adam. He kept telling me even up to the end that it was all for the Faunus. No matter how many Faunus he would've killed if he succeeded, talked about how I was the traitor when I visited him in that cell."

"Cell? He was...arrested?"

"Yeah, he was-" The implication of Blake asking seemed to dawn on Belle quickly and she shook her head, "...Don't second-guess yourself. I never do."

"Not sure if that's a good thing." Blake smiled weakly.

"Oh, please. My instincts are perfect. I've never been wrong."

Across dimensions, an alternate Jaune looked up once more and wondered if Blake needed some discipline for saying stupid shit again.

"Heh, sure." Blake rolled her eyes and picked up another crystal. The bright blue chunk of ice dust seemed to thrum in her right hand, "Adam...I think he was only motivated by hate at the end. Not even against Humans, just...hate in general. The world took everything from him and he decided he'd take everything back no matter who he had to hurt or kill. It wasn't about Faunus or Humans at that point. Just him and everyone else."

"Sounds about right." Belle sighed and stood with her back against the wall.

"What about you? You have the powers of the Maiden. You weren't ever tempted to lash out?"

"Sometimes, in my darkest, angriest moments, but not like Adam." Belle shook her head, "Equality can't be gained over a mountain of bodies. Defending ourselves? Fine, you can't make your point without some strength behind it. That's why I don't agree with Dad having a pacifist mindset. Offer one hand but arm the other. That's something neither Adam nor Sienna understood. Only difference between the two was that Sienna was selective."

"You sound like you know her personally." She never really talked to Sienna. She was the founder's daughter but that didn't entitle her to any special treatment. As far as Sienna was concerned, she was no different than any other skilled soldier."

"She tried to kill me." Blake blinked while Belle gave her a razor-sharp smile, "She found out about the Maidens and decided that she deserved this power more than I did. You should've seen the look on her face when she found out she was too old for it. Her and Ilia."

"Ilia." Blake chewed on her lower lip. She'd left her and Sun behind back in Anima to keep going with her team. She hoped they were alright, "What about Ilia and Sun in your world? Are...they alright?" She knew it was pointless to ask - they weren't her Sun and Ilia - but she was curious all the same.

"Ilia...well, she made her choice when she sided with Sienna. I tried to convince her, but she was set on her path." Blake chewed on her lower lip and didn't say anything. It made sense. She'd barely managed to convince her Ilia to turn against Adam's mad crusade, "As for Sun...he's fine, I guess?" Belle shrugged, "We're not really close. He's more 'Weiss' boyfriend' than anything."

"Wait, hold on." She looked her counterpart in the eyes, "Sun's dating Weiss? Did I hear that right?"

"Yeah? Guessing it's not the same here?"

"No, definitely not." Blake shook her head, "I don't...how does that even...I know Weiss isn't as prickly as she seems, but Sun? Is...Is your Weiss really different from ours?"

"I dunno. Heiress, likes fancy dresses, stick up her ass, and wants to redeem her family name. Sound familiar?" Blake nodded, "Yeah, same. I was as surprised as you are, but you know what they say about opposites attracting." Belle shrugged again, "They're good for each other, I think. Sun's a good guy and Weiss needs someone who she knows doesn't care about her family name or bank account."

"Well, can't say that you're wrong there." Sun was the type to say 'Sup?' to Professor Goodwitch, "Just...I really wasn't expecting that." Blake brought a hand across her hair and laughed softly, "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We've been dealing with a lot of weird worlds lately."

"Weirder than ours? I take offense to that." Belle laughed in turn.

"You'd be surprised." They finished loading the Dust and began moving to the next section, "So...would it be too much to hope that in a world without Salem, everyone's standing side by side in equality?"

"Haha...no." Belle's tone was dryer than paint thinner, "You'd think being one of the people who helped stop the Queen of all Grimm would get you more credit, but you'd be wrong." They stopped at the next section and Belle traced her hand against the wall, "People were grateful for a while, sure, but then everything went back to normal. Not to say they forgot about what we did, but..." She shook her head and pulled out a wave of crystals, "People listened to our pleas about equality, but then they forget because it's easier to go back to the status quo. Especially Mistral." She spat out the name like a curse, "So quick to announce how grateful they were without actually doing anything."

"I guess some things never change..." Blake sighed bitterly.

"That's why we're dressed up like this." She gestured to the dark kimono, "Propaganda and commercials, Weiss said. I don't like it, but it works. Keep pushing, don't let up, and use whatever you've got to accomplish your goals." She set the Dust crystals onto a neat stack in the crate "It's actually been a while since I've done any actual Huntress work. It's all propaganda or something else that requires the power of the Maidens. Any Huntsman can kill Grimm, but they can't change the weather to save a village from drought or make natural defenses for new settlements. And as long as we keep doing it, people are a little more open to what we preach. I feel like Sisyphus rolling that boulder up the hill."

"As long as one more person is convinced that equality is possible, then it's worth it, right?"

"That's what I tell myself." Belle crossed her arms and pursed her lips, "But it's not just the Humans. Other Faunus are resistant to it too."

"What? Why?"

"Old timers think that we should have another Faunus revolution and that I'm 'a traitor to my race' because I'm not leading the charge. Not that they'd actually fight, of course. The loudest ones tend to be the most cowardly," Belle scoffed, "Some other Faunus are the same. They think I'm a race traitor or that I don't deserve to speak for our race because I'm one of the 'pretty' Faunus. It's not a lot, thank God, but they're some of the loudest. I expected the Humans to try and drag me down, but other Faunus?" She clicked her tongue, ""It's not a pleasant feeling to hate your own kind sometimes."

Blake didn't know what to say to that. The thought of being the Face of Faunus equality, and other Faunus trying to drag her down, sounded so alien to her. She wasn't a leader. That was her father, not her. 

"...We should finish up here," Belle said.

"Yeah..." Blake grabbed the cart's handles and silently followed her counterpart deeper into the mines.