Far From Home 005

Blake was bored.

Bored to death.

There were only so many walks around the garden she could take before it lost its appeal, no matter how pretty the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. And they really were pretty, that unique shade of pink with a slight rosy hue that Blake loved. She could only take so many hours laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, counting the dust motes that hovered in the air above her until she felt like she wanted to scream. She wasn’t entirely a cat, after all, even though she did enjoy her rest. There were only so many conversations she could have with Sienna Khan before they were just retreading all the same subjects, getting her nowhere.

She needed something to do. Something that took her mind off the fact she was a prisoner and gave her some sense of purpose.

She was beginning to understand that Jaune’s chores were a blessing, not a curse.

So the next time she saw Sienna, she pushed down her pride and asked, “Do you have anything I can do around here?”

The teacup in Sienna Khan’s hand paused less than an inch from her lips, sculpted eyebrows arching in surprise. “Oh?”

Blake tried not to scowl but she wasn’t sure how successful she was.

“I need something to do,” Blake said, trying to keep her composure and not show how desperate she truly was. “I can’t just sit around here doing nothing for weeks on end. I’m going to go insane.”

Sienna considered her carefully, taking a quick sip of her tea before setting down her cup. The china clinked neatly, and the dark skinned woman leaned back.

“...I suppose I could find something for you to do,” Sienna said slowly. “Though I wouldn’t want you to accuse me of working you to the bone.”

Blake glared.

Sienna gave a soft laugh. “But sure, why not? You’ve never been one to shy away from a little hard work. That is something I’ve always liked about you.”

Anything would be better than sitting around, staring at the wall, alone with her own overactive imagination. She’d clean the damn bathrooms over this slow, agonizing boredom that was consuming her mind.

“We’ve got a delivery coming later today, and it’ll need to be unloaded and sorted. I’ll include you in the team.”

“Thank you,” Blake said, and it felt like pulling teeth. Sienna’s eyes told the whole story, having heard how difficult it had been to utter those two simple words.

“You’re welcome,” Sienna said, her mouth tugging into a smirk. “Though before that, I have something else I’d like for you to do for me.”

Blake suddenly felt wary.

“Your parents have been informed of your whereabouts,” she revealed, and Blake felt her heart skip a beat. “They know you’ve been… enjoying my hospitality, and are eager to mount a rescue mission. An expected outcome. What I want from you is to dissuade them.”

Blake blinked.

“What?”

“They’re fearful for your safety, as any loving parents would be,” Sienna said softly. “It is understandable. While they’ve been assured that you remain unharmed, their distrust runs deep. I want you to convince them to abandon any attempt at a rescue.”

“Why would I do that?”

Sienna looked at her as if she were a slow child, and Blake felt her cheeks heat up. “Have you forgotten the position you are in? Have you forgotten that you are not the only one we hold?”

Jaune.

She was threatening Jaune.

“Your parents don’t know about your little friend. If they should swoop in and somehow rescue you, which I doubt… but should it happen, what do you think will happen to Jaune Arc?”

Blake grit her teeth.

Sienna had a way of appearing welcoming, reasonable, her soothing voice lulling you into complacency, but this was the leader of the White Fang she was dealing with, and they were still her prisoners. These little tea parties, the patience she had shown towards Jaune – a human – it was all for a reason. To keep them compliant, manageable.

Hadn’t she told her that the reason she took Blake was to control her parents?

“He has been well behaved, so far, and strangely, many of my men have become… almost fond of him,” Sienna said this as if she couldn’t quite believe it, shaking her head. “They’ve even told me that he has connected with the faunus here in Mistral, despite knowing that he is a human. There was an incident the other day, during one of our outreach programs…”

Blake swallowed. This was the first time she was hearing about this.

“...apparently, your friend got down on the floor and played with the children,” Sienna frowned, and it was the first time since they’d arrived here in Mistral that Blake saw uncertainty on her face. “He let them climb on his back, and use his body as if it were a toy. He made them laugh, and endeared himself to the faunus who saw it. Tell me – why do you think he did this?”

She was looking for a reason. An ulterior motive. What Sienna failed to understand is that with Jaune, there wasn’t one. If he really did all of that, he did it for no other reason than to do it. To entertain those kids, to make them laugh and make them feel special.

Jaune was just that type of person.

“That’s just the type of person he is,” Blake said without a hint of hesitation. “Hasn’t he already told you already? He doesn’t see any difference between faunus and human. To him, they were just kids. That’s it. He played with them because he wanted to do it.”

Sienna stared at her silently, mulling over her words.

“So he isn’t the type of person you’d like to see get hurt, right?”

“No, he isn’t.”

“So you’ll convince your parents that all is well? I’m not asking you to lie,” she elaborated. “Just tell them the truth. That you’ve been looked after, and remain unharmed. That we have a friend of yours, and should they try come for you, we’ve got options.”

Did she have any other choice?

No. She didn’t.

Blake was shown to a room she’d never seen before. There were two men guarding the door with assault rifles, and within was a room filled with computers, servers, and communications equipment. Sienna led her over to a terminal that very much looked like one of the ones found in the CCT towers, if it had been ripped out of a wall. Cables lay strewn across the ground behind the terminal leading to a large column that disappeared into the ceiling.

“We’ve got a direct link to Menagerie,” Sienna informed her, pressing Blake down into the seat with two hands placed on her shoulders. Blake fought the instinct to throw them off. “The call is encrypted, of course. No one can listen in. Do you remember your parents number?”

She did.

“Call them.”

She hesitated but slowly, she typed in her mother’s number using the keyboard before hitting enter. The screen went black before a small loading symbol appeared, a blue ring that continuously rotated. It rang five times before someone picked up, and the screen bloomed to life.

Blake felt her breath catch as her mother’s face appeared, a face she hadn’t seen in over a year. Amber eyes blinked in confusion before they widened in shock.

“Blake?” Kali Belladonna questioned, voice filled with disbelief. “Blake, is that really you?”

She nodded quickly. “Hey mom…”

“Ghira~!” Kali roared, causing Blake to jump. Even Sienna tensed in surprise, the unexpected shout taking her unaware. “Blake just called!”

They heard something crash to the ground before Ghira Belladonna pushed his way onto the screen, Kali yelping as she was almost knocked aside.

“Blake?” his voice was panicked, eyes wide. “It’s really you!”

“Hey dad…”

The shock quickly vanished from Ghira’s face, instead filled with suspicion.

“Blake, what’s going on? Where are you?”

“She’s with me,” Sienna said, leaning in so the camera captured her face. Blake saw her parents blanch. “But you already knew that.”

“So it’s true…”

“It is,” Sienna said. “I’ve allowed Blake to make this call to show that everything is well. There is no need for you to do anything foolish.”

Ghira was tense, eyes glaring. “Sienna… just when I thought you couldn’t sink any lower.”

“Aren’t you pleased that you know where your precious daughter is? Before I sent word, you hadn’t heard from her in how long?” They remained silent. “Exactly. Last you heard, she’d defected from the White Fang… and then nothing. For all you knew, Adam had caught up with her, and dealt with it as only Adam can.”

Ghira scowled.

“Sienna…” Kali said softly. “Why do you have our daughter?”

“You’ve been pushing back against our recruitment efforts. Not only that, but you’ve banished members of the White Fang from Menagerie for no just cause. Something had to be done.”

“And so what? You threaten us with our daughter? Is this really what the White Fang has become?” Ghira asked coldly. “Blackmailing your own people? Where does it end?”

The tension was thick, choking. Sienna leaned forward, her lips peeling back to expose her fangs.

“It ends where I say it does,” she said dangerously. “I’m asking for you to let our people make their own decisions, not make them for them. It’s not your right.”

“But it is our right to protect our people from dangerous rhetoric like the one your followers spew. Such hatred isn’t welcome here on Menagerie.”

Sienna scoffed. “Dangerous? All we preach is that we stand up for ourselves, and not let the humans push us around. Companies like the Schnee Dust Company and the Mistral Trading Company are a blight to faunus everywhere, you know this, and yet you do nothing. I am doing something.”

“You’re losing control,” Ghira said calmly, gesturing to Blake. “The proof is right there.”

Sienna went silent, and Blake felt her irritation in the way she bristled.

“Talk with your parents,” she finally said, leaning out of view. “Tell them everything. Maybe then they’ll realize that I’m far from losing control.”

Blake watched as Sienna stormed off but not before assigning someone to watch over her. The man kept his distance but he was close enough that if she tried anything, he could put a stop to it instantly.

“Blake, honey,” Kali said urgently. “How are you? Are you well? Oh, you look so pale.”

Blake smiled as her mother fretted, affection blooming warmly in her chest.

She’d missed this.

Funny how twelve months ago, this would have irritated her.

“I’m fine,” she said, and at their doubtful looks, she pressed, “Really. I’m fine. Sienna… hasn’t done anything. I’ve just been sitting around, bored out of my mind. I get three meals a day, and I have the garden all to myself most of the time.”

“Where are you?” Ghira asked.

Blake glanced at her watchman but he didn’t say anything.

“Mistral,” she said. “I don’t know where in Mistral, though.”

“We’re going to get you out of there,” Ghira promised.

Blake shook her head.

“You can’t.”

He frowned. “What do you mean we can’t? Blake, we can’t leave you with that woman. The Sienna Khan we all knew is gone, replaced by that hateful creature. You can’t stay there. It isn’t safe.”

“I’m not the only one they have.”

Kali hesitated. “What do you mean?”

Blake told them everything. About how she’d started attending Beacon, trying to atone for her sins. How she’d met such wonderful people and became their friends, human friends, including Weiss Schnee herself. How she’d been in Vale when she was ambushed, kidnapped – and how a friend of hers, Jaune Arc, had tried to prevent it from happening, and had been taken because of it.

“If you try to rescue me, Sienna will harm Jaune,” Blake said quietly, defeated. “So far, she hasn’t hurt him because as long as I’m good, he is safe. Without me…”

It was obvious what would happen.

Ghira grit his teeth. “Blake…”

“Jaune’s my friend. We haven’t known each other long but he risked his life to protect me,” Blake said passionately, cutting her father off. “I owe him. He knows about my past, and doesn’t care. He saw me being attacked and stepped in, even though he was outnumbered. He didn’t stand a chance, and yet he still did it. I can’t abandon him. I won’t.”

“We’re not asking you to do that, honey. Right, Ghira?”

After a moment of tense silence, he nodded.

“No,” he said, voice low, frustrated. “We would never ask you to do that.”

But where did that leave them?

They talked for some time. She could see that her father was upset at not being able to do anything about her situation, but their hands were tied for the time being. Her mother was the calmer of the two, and was able to keep the conversation going, talking about little things, things that didn’t matter, wanting nothing more than to hear Blake’s voice.

She’d been such an idiot. Her parents loved her. All of her angst, all of their troubles in the past, it felt so foolish. If Blake had been more open to talking, and hadn’t let her emotions rule her, then maybe none of what happened after would have happened at all.

But if that hadn’t happened, then she wouldn’t have met her friends.

When she looked at it like that… maybe it was what needed to happen, as much as it sucked.

“Keep your spirits up, honey,” Kali told her when Sienna returned. “Stay safe.”

“I will, mom.”

Sienna had regained her composure, and nodded at her parents. “She will be safe… as long as everyone is smart, and doesn’t do anything to change that.”

Ghira glared but held his tongue, and the last sight she saw of her parents were their eyes, filled with worry.

“The delivery is ahead of schedule,” Sienna said into the sudden silence when the screen went black. “Good news. Do you still want to help?”

Blake nodded.

“Then follow me.”

She was led through a series of hallways, the last one which opened into a large warehouse. A couple of trucks were parked near the entrance, their backs open. Dozens of wooden crates were stacked three high, and as she approached, she noticed a familiar face among the crowd of faunus.

“Jaune?” she went to rush forward but then stopped herself, glancing at Sienna.

“Go on,” Sienna said with a smirk. “You’ll be working together. You can handle that without causing problems, right?”

Trifa was also there, watching over him like a hawk. By his side was a smaller woman with shoulder length orange hair, a pair of small antlers protruding from her head. That must be Deery, the girl Jaune had mentioned before.

Blake frowned as she moved closer, seeing the way she placed a hand on Jaune’s arm and giggled at something he said. It was awfully familiar.

“Jaune,” she said loudly, drawing his attention. He looked up and blinked, a sudden smile breaking out on his face.

“Blake! What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, I suspect,” she nodded towards the trucks.

“Listen up,” a large man with muscular arms shouted, silencing the crowd at once. “We need these unloaded and placed in the back,” he pointed over their heads, and they all looked behind them to see a clear spot on the left side. “These crates are heavy, so you’ll need at least four people for each one. Those of you with aura, you know what you can do.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Sienna said, shooting Jaune a look. “Once you’re done here, Blake may join you with your tasks. Don’t make me regret it.”

“We won’t, ma’am,” Jaune said, giving her a salute. Blake almost palmed her face.

Sienna’s lips twitched. “See that you don’t.”

“Jaune, what was that?” Blake asked, aghast. “Don’t salute her!”

“Oh, I was just trying to be polite,” he laughed awkwardly.

“It’s good to show your superior officers respect,” Deery said cheerily. “You did good, Jaune!”

Blake scowled. Who was this woman? Was she an idiot?

“She isn’t Jaune’s superior. Jaune is her prisoner,” Blake stressed. “He doesn’t need to show her respect.”

Deery blinked at her. “But you should always show people respect, shouldn’t you? Especially someone like High Leader Khan.”

She’d only been speaking with her for a minute, and Blake felt like her brain was trembling.

Trifa snorted. “You’re right, Deery. She is worthy of his respect.”

Blake held her tongue, not wanting to get into an argument with the spider faunus. She could tell when she was being goaded, Yang was her partner, after all. There wasn’t a bigger shit stirrer around than Yang Xiao Long.

Well, maybe Nora. It was just that Blake wasn’t sure if Nora was aware of what she was doing, while Yang was a hundred percent doing it on purpose.

“I’m glad you get to help us out,” Jaune said. “There isn’t exactly much to do around here other than work. You must have been bored stiff.”

“You have no idea,” Blake muttered.

He was in good spirits, and that was putting her in a good mood. After the emotional conversation with her parents, it was like a balm on her soul.

“Are you going to help, Trifa?” Jaune asked, turning towards his minder. “The more hands, the better!”

“Hell no,” Trifa shot down the idea instantly. “My job is to watch you, not lift shit. It’s your job to be a donkey. So giddy up, donkey boy.”

Most members of the White Fang didn’t have aura, and so they had to work together to lift and transport the crates. A few of them did, though, and with bulging arms, they hauled their load solo. Blake leapt up into the back of the truck when it was her turn.

“Deery, do you have aura?” she overheard Jaune ask behind her.

“I don’t. Oh, but I don’t have any partners to help me,” she fretted.

“That’s okay, you can help me.”

“Really? But don’t you have aura?”

“I do. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help out, right?”

Deery clapped her hands excitedly. “Thanks Jaune! You’re so sweet to offer!”

…Seriously, what the hell was going on there?

Blake grunted as she lifted one of the crates, feeling her arms and back strain. Keeping it braced against her belly, she walked it over to the edge of the truck and carefully stepped down. Jaune took her place, lifting a crate of his own, and quickly joined her, Deery ‘helping’ by placing her hands on the other side of the crate.

They made several trips back and forth, and Blake felt her curiosity get the better of her. As she set down her final load, she looked around quickly before subtly prying open one of the lids, peering inside. What greeted her eyes were neatly racked assault rifles.

Weapons. They’d been unloading weapons.

“Surely you know the old saying,” a voice whispered in her ear, and Blake flinched, dropping the lid shut. Spinning around, she came face-to-face with Trifa, the unnerving girl leaning in. “Curiosity killed the cat?”

Blake grit her teeth and refused to back away. “Very funny.”

Trifa smirked. “Just don’t get the wrong idea. They aren’t loaded, that would be stupid. You wouldn’t want me to get stabby, would you?”

“You’re trying a little too hard, aren’t you?” Blake shot back, catty. “I’m not scared of you.”

“That’s only because you’re too dumb to be,” Trifa clapped back smugly. “But don’t worry, you will be.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Jaune asked, completely oblivious. Deery helped guide the crate he was carrying to the ground before chiming in.

“They’re posturing.”

Trifa’s eyes narrowed. “No the fuck I’m not.”

For once, they were on the same page.

“We’re just talking,” Blake denied.

“They’re totally posturing,” Deery fake-whispered to Jaune who laughed.

Why was he laughing? It wasn’t funny.

“I liked it better when you didn’t talk much,” Trifa muttered, annoyed. “You’re very mouthy for a new recruit. I think someone wants to be on toilet cleaning duty.”

Deery was completely unfazed, shrugging. “Jaune would help me if I had to clean toilets. Wouldn’t you, Jaune?”

“Uh – sure, I mean, four hands are better than two, right?”

He was unbelievable. This girl was wrapping him around her little finger, and he was just letting it happen!

“You’re the best,” Deery cheered, leaning into him. “I made the right decision joining the White Fang. We’re definitely going to win.”

...Okay, this girl was seriously touched in the head. Jaune was everything the White Fang despised, surely she knew that?

Right?

After the two trucks were unloaded, another two pulled up. The crates in these trucks were smaller, though just as heavy. Blake had a pretty good idea what was inside.

Ammunition.

The amount of guns and ammunition here was enough to keep a small army stocked. It made Blake feel uneasy. What were these going to be used for? Surely Sienna Khan wasn’t about to make a move on Mistral itself? That would be suicide.

“Hey Jaune,” an older man yelled from across the room when the work was complete. He was tall and broad with a long, slender tail trailing behind him. If Blake had to guess from the appearance of the tail, he was a rat faunus. “Are you going to come play cards with us?”

“Sure,” Jaune replied before the question registered. “Can Deery and Trifa come?”

“Yeah, of course. More the merrier,” the man said.

Blake blinked.

What the hell was even going on here?

“Who said I wanted to play cards, asshole?” Trifa asked sourly.

“You don’t have to play, you can just watch,” Jaune said.

“Who said I want to watch you play cards?” she snapped, oddly intense.

Jaune sagged. “...So I can’t go play with them?”

Trifa hesitated, thinking of a reason why he couldn’t.

“I don’t have any other jobs to do. Well, not until later,” he amended. “I’m on dinner duty.”

“Fine,” she grunted. “This better not be stupid like last time.”

“It was fun, wasn’t it?”

To Blake’s surprise, a soft blush tinted Trifa’s cheeks.

Deery grabbed Jaune’s arm. “You’ll have to teach me. I’ve never played cards before.”

“You don’t want to play with them,” Trifa muttered.

“What? Why?”

“Those idiots play strip poker.”

Blake’s mind momentarily blanked.

They what?

And Jaune had played with them before?

Blake eyed Trifa with suspicion.

“What?” Trifa snarled.

“Pervert.”

Trifa’s face morphed in outrage. “How am I a pervert?” she roared, taking a threatening step forward. “I said I didn’t want to go!”

But that cute little blush told a different story.

“Oh,” Deery exclaimed. “I don’t mind. I’ll just win.”

Everyone looked at her dumbly.

“That easy, huh?” Jaune asked a moment, chuckling.

“Yeah! That easy. Anyway, we’re all comrades. What’s a little skin ship?”

Yeah, this girl was out of her mind. Jaune wasn’t her comrade! Hell, Blake wasn’t her comrade! Did she have a brain in that skull of hers?

“Come on, let’s go,” Deery pulled Jaune along, and he followed. Blake scowled and started following them with Trifa bringing up the rear.

“What is wrong with that girl?” she asked aloud.

Trifa scoffed. “I’ve been trying to figure that out.”

The room they were playing cards in was the dining hall area. A bunch of tables had been pushed together, and dozens of White Fang were present. It wasn’t just guys, either. There were plenty of women, and they were all preparing to play. There was enough room for several games to run side-by-side.

...Blake never recalled there being any such games when she’d been a member, though maybe that was because she worked under Adam, and Adam was… well, even before he’d let his anger rule his every move, he’d been a little high strung.

Sienna Khan was a much more lenient leader, apparently – or at the very least, understood that her troops needed to balance work in the Fang with a little bit of fun. Being freedom fighters wasn’t exactly the most enjoyable thing in the world, and it carried its fair share of stress.

A few card games never hurt anybody.

...and honestly, it was probably better than betting with money. Then maybe things would become heated.

“Jaune, over here,” that man from earlier waved.

They gathered by the table and Jaune sat with Deery on his left. Blake crossed her arms and stood behind him, refusing to sit. She wasn’t going to take part, she didn’t know the first thing about cards. Maybe Deery didn’t care about flashing everyone but Blake wasn’t that type of girl!

“You aren’t playing?” Blake needled Trifa.

The spider faunus glared at her. “Fuck no.”

A few people shot Trifa wary looks, and she met them with a cold look back. Blake felt a twinge of sympathy, but only for a moment.

“Will your friend be joining us?” the man asked Jaune, gesturing at Blake.

“His friend can speak for herself,” Blake replied shortly. “And no, she will not.”

“His name is Gray,” Jaune informed her. “And that guy next to him, they call him Char, though his name is actually Coal.”

Pale skinned with jet black hair, his skin shifted between regular human skin and scales. Some type of snake?

“The girl next to him is Korelle, she’s really sweet,” Jaune continued. Korelle had soft pink hair, cut short and spiked up, eyes a vivid blue, her ears adorned with numerous metallic studs and loops. Blake didn’t want to judge but she looked anything but sweet, her left arm covered in admittedly beautiful tattoos of different flowers and colorful fish, her singlet low cut, showing off her healthy if modest cleavage. At first, Blake couldn’t spot any faunus traits until she saw her hands, and the sharp talon-like nails she sported. “And next to her is Céleste.”

She was a woman with straight jet black hair and exotic, narrow green eyes, a pair of triangular, furry ears atop her head. Skin pale as snow, she had a small beauty mark under her right eye, her features sharp but feminine. Tall, and curvy, she looked like she should be modeling on stage instead of sitting in an underground bunker, playing cards with a bunch of faunus rights activists.

There were a few other men but Blake was focused on these two women who appeared to be shooting Jaune subtle glances when he wasn’t looking. As a woman herself, it was clear to Blake that these hidden looks were signs of interest.

Blake felt like she was in a bad dream.

And then everything got flipped on its head.

“What is going on here?” a familiar voice called out, a voice from Blake’s past.

Blake whipped around in shock, and it was like she’d stepped straight out of her memories. Ilia Amitola hadn’t changed a bit, right down to her olive skin and gray eyes, her brown hair pulled back in a traditional ponytail.

“We’re just playing some cards. What to join us?” Gray asked, holding up a pack before beginning to shuffle them effortlessly.

Illia scowled. “I’m not playing this perverted game with you. This isn’t how members of the White Fang should be conducting themselves.”

“Chill out a little, would ya?” Korelle said lazily, eyeing Illia up and down. “You’re too high strung, girl. Let loose once in a while, it’ll make you feel better.”

“How will this disgusting game help me feel better?” Illia snapped before spotting Jaune. “You! I should have known you would be here.”

Jaune smiled. “Hi.”

That only ticked her off more, her mouth opening to issue a furious retort when her eyes darted up and saw Blake. She froze, mouth open comically, eyes widening in surprise.

“Illia…” Blake said softly.

“...Blake,” she croaked.

Blake was hoping they could have met again under better circumstances, but she would take what she could get.