Empyrean 14 - Filial Piety

Winter POV

There was something troubling Jaune.

They’d decided to spend the rest of the day covering up loose ends, or, well, that was the militaristic term to use. What it actually translated to was something far less grandiose. 

They were just taking it easy. Sitting in a cafe that the student base of Atlas loved to frequent. Close enough to the school to be visited for lunch, it was the perfect place for a quick break, especially now, when school was out for the year.

It was also as close to a date as they could get without putting a tag to it.

That considered, they’d basically spent every waking minute in Atlas together, adding her prior experience to that, it wasn’t hard for her to notice that Jaune was conflicted. It was easy to see, even without her experience. Jaune was - for all his might and prowess - still a newly-minted adult. 

That, and he wore his emotions on his sleeve, something that winter appreciated more than he could imagine.

“So, are you just going to sit there and sip on your coffee, or are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” She asked, and Jaune stopped mid-sip. She could see the conflict in his eyes. He actually believed he’d been doing a good job of hiding it. 

Gods, she found it adorable.

He put the cup down gently. Staring into it for a few moments, before meeting her gaze.

“I met Weiss.” He spoke, and with three words, everything became clear.

“I assume she was with father.?” She asked, and got a slow nod from Jaune. “I met her earlier, when I visited home. I didn’t expect her to come back home for the holidays, considering how bad things were between her and father before she left.”

Jaune nodded back. “I remember that her father cut her off before the Vytal festival.”

Winter sighed. “Of course he did. He did the same to me. Thankfully Atlas provides a stipend to its best prospects. I was able to make some nice savings before I graduated thanks to it.”

Jaune hmm’ed, “As far as I know, Beacon provides some financial support for orphans. It’s how Nora and Ren were able to pay for their supplies, especially considering Nora’s semblance.” 

Winter nodded. “That makes sense. In Atlas’ case, the stipend is instituted by General Ironwood to hook the best students in Atlas. Treat them well so they have less reason to jump ship after graduation.”

Jaune nodded. “Guess that explains why there’s so few huntsmen in Atlas. Let me guess, most end up working for Jacques?”

Winter nodded in response. “Yeah. There’s only so much you can compete against the power of money. Atlas pays well, don’t get me wrong, but a junior hunter under father earns more than I do as a specialist.”

“So Jacques has an army. Great.” Jaune sighed. “Just what we needed.”

“They’re mostly deployed to his mines. If we can proceed with our plan, they won’t even be able to return before everything’s over.” Winter answered, taking a sip of her tea.

“Also, that was a valiant effort at changing the topic. Now, are you going to tell me why meeting Weiss rattled you so badly?” she pressed, and watched Jaune’s mood sour. For a second, she thought she’d made a mistake, but as she saw Jaune’s momentary lapse in mood mellow down to a look of defeat, she understood that this was necessary.

Jaune wasn’t used to opening up, and it was understandable why. The sting of betrayal still clung to him, like a spectre refusing to leave. It was a sign of utmost faith in Winter that he was even willing to entertain such a query, much less give a clear answer.

For some reason, that made her heart race.

“It… it wasn’t so much the fact that I saw her that mattered. It was the fact that even though I’d believed I was beyond revenge, the moment I saw her, all I could see was red.” He spoke, unable to lock eyes with her. “Even as much as I’ve changed, something as insignificant as Weiss could get a rise out of me.”

Winter leaned back into her chair, her arms crossed. “Well, isn’t that to be expected?”

That stopped Jaune in his tracks. “Winter, I was seconds away from assaulting her. I could have killed her. I could have jeopardised the plan, all for some sort of petty revenge that I’m beyond?”

“Jaune. The fact that you held back speaks more to your character than you believe.” Winter spoke. “Hate isn’t easy to get rid of, especially when it’s justified.”

Before Jaune could counter her, she raised a hand, asking for his patience. As his mouth closed wordlessly, Winter continued.

“Standard process dictates that, if something like your scenario happens, a student at Beacon would - usually - escalate the issue to their teachers. Perhaps, in a situation of greater severity, even raise it to the headmaster, so that action may be taken by the relevant authorities.” She spoke, drawing in a big breath.

“Your ‘inflection’ reached the media before even Ozpin knew of it. I didn’t follow much of it before it became mainstream news, but once it did, and once I met you and dug deeper, I understood why it escalated that fast.” She finished, and noticed as Jaune’s eyes widened. 

“Of fucking course. None of the others have any connection to the media.” Jaune spat, a frown on his face. “Just what was she hoping to accomplish with that?”

Winter shook her head. “It’s how celebrities fight, Jaune. The amount of times Weiss has seen dad go in front of the media to spin a narrative, there’s no other way of legal offense that she knows.” She leaned forward. “It was also how she pressured father to let her join Beacon, after all.”

“What happened to just talking to the guy? There’s precedent, you’re one of the best huntsmen I know. Surely that fact only served to raise the Schnee company’s stock price.” He asked.

“Father is a rock. He does not care what others think about him. To him, loss of stock value is secondary to the loss of the person he’s groomed to be the next head of the company.” Winter intoned, a disappointed expression on her face. 

“He couldn’t bear to see it happen twice, but once the media got involved, he had no way of controlling her life. That singed him more than any amount of loss of value could.” She continued.

“Hence why he cut her off.” Jaune finished for her, “Hence why she believed ruining my life publicly was the most surefire way of punishing me.”

“It’s how she is as a person, my little sister.” Winter sighed. “She is so far removed from the concept of consequence that she still doesn’t see the effects her actions may have on someone else’s life.”

“That does not mean I should hate her as much as I do.” Jaune spoke, a pained look on his beautiful features. “I would have struck her down, Winter. I could have killed her.”

“Yet you did not, which is why we’re having this conversation.” Winter replied, her face void of emotion. “She is my sister, and if you were to raise your hand against her, It would be my duty to defend her.”

“That does not mean I don’t agree that she must be punished.” Winter finished, and bore witness to the baffled expression on Jaune’s face.

Yep, too fucking adorable.

“I have a plan. Weiss needs to learn to understand consequences. Once all this is dealt with, I promise I’ll help you get some sort of revenge.” Winter spoke.

“You’d help me take revenge against your own sister?” Jaune asked, still baffled.

“Am I not using your help in order to depose my father?” She asked. “Family is important, but when my family is out there ruining lives to enrich their own, then justice is more important.”

“I joined the Atlesian army to help people, to bring justice to those who have never known it. Just because it’s my family that’s on the receiving end doesn’t mean I’ll cast a blind eye.” She paused, taking a sip of her tea.

“And because of you, I am able to bring justice to my father, so let me be the one who helps you bring it to my sister.” Winter continued. 

“After all, we’re partners against crime, aren’t we?”

LB

Robyn POV

The efficiency of the Arc family was ridiculous to say the least, but the secrecy was something she did not expect. 

Families were convinced in clandestine meetings. Not that it was hard to get the downtrodden folks of Mantle to move, considering they had barely anything of value in the shambling ruins of this once-great city, but the speed at which they were secreted out of the city? 

That was the benefit of having an entire family of seasoned huntsmen at her beck and call. 

Primrose Arc was her main go-between. They’d met before. The oldest of the main Arc lineage was popular. Stories of her exploits in Vacuo and Vale were well-known to anyone in the loop, and Robyn was definitely in the loop.

The Happy Huntresses were strong, each in their own right a seasoned huntress of dozens of missions, yet she knew well enough that if they were to take Primrose head-on, it was unlikely all of them would get out of it unscathed. 

Yet, she’d been forthcoming with information, she’d been helpful, she’d been compliant. Robyn had even asked her why, and the response had been enlightening.

“I don’t want to let Jaune down when it comes to something this simple.” She had replied, as if it was something normal. As if moving an entire city, albeit one as sparsely populated as Mantle, was a trivial task. 

Yet, considering Jaune Arc deposed a legendary warlord alone, maybe this was a trivial task for someone of his ability. Which led to her next quandary.

If the rest of the Arc family was sent to help here, what exactly was it that Jaune Arc himself was planning to do? He mentioned an attack on the status quo, yet he was aided by Ironwood himself. That left only one real avenue of attack.

Jacques Schnee. 

She herself had mixed views on Schnee. He was a shameless corporate pig, that much was true, but he was rich, and he had money to spare. Money that could be spent bettering the state of Mantle. Part of why she was running for Mayor was because she wanted to grab the man by the balls. Make him pay for the restoration of Mantle.

Men of his kind would do anything for power, and offering him control over the council in exchange for development support for Mantle was a good idea, at least in her mind, but Jaune Arc’s little spiel about the council, about people in power, had enlightened her to some extent.

She could not play political games with those who had been born playing them. Those who were born in power would find a way to wrest it from her, to leave her a figurehead in their grand game of posturing and consolidation.

The reason she had finally accepted Jaune’s proposal was because, unlike the politicians whose den she was unfamiliar with, he was a warrior. A young and naive warrior who had taken down a man terrorizing an area so far from civilization that the authorities had stopped caring.

A man who didn’t care about profit or loss, who didn’t weigh risk against reward. Such a naive man, given the power to move the world. The fact that it was easier to trust someone like him over the established powers tasked with working for the betterment of her people said something about the state of Atlas.

And she had listened. As she watched Primrose and Fiona get along better than the little faunus had around anyone but their little group, she was finally able to convince herself of two things.

Jacques Schnee was not the answer. He would eat through her ambition with ease, and then crave more. He would take the power she offered and find ways of twisting her demands into something that would cause more harm than good. 

Jaune had said that one couldn’t change the status quo by being subservient to it. With his power, though, it could be changed externally, and if he was willing to ask for her help in doing so, then she would be at his service.

It definitely helped that he was great eye-candy to boot. 

LB

Willow POV

Winter had not come alone this time. 

She had flirted with the idea of shutting down her request. Winter rarely came to meet her these days without wanting something. As Winter’s mother, she was amenable to such demands, yet what Winter wanted wasn’t something frivolous. No new car, no new toy. No, Winter had never asked her for much, unlike her other kids.

What she’d asked for was for Willow to get a divorce from her monster of a husband. 

She knew it came from a place of concern. She knew it stemmed from her childhood, from watching the two of them fight repeatedly, before the fight had left her, and weariness had brought her to the bottle instead. 

She even appreciated the concern. What she didn’t appreciate was the insistence. They’d had this conversation multiple times since she was a teenager, yet every few months, like clockwork, they’d have it again.

Winter thought of her as a coward, and she thought of Winter as someone who didn’t understand the depths Jacques was willing to go down to in order to punish someone who went against him.

She sat on the balcony, calmly sipping from a glass of bourbon. She’d pretend it was tea if Winter asked. Her butler ushered Winter in, and following her was a man who, at first glance, took her breath away.

He was tall, with hair so blonde they might as well have been gold. His features were inhumanly perfect, and he walked with the kind of gait that would not be out of a book about kings and queens. All of that paled in front of his sheer presence. 

Just him walking into the room had put her on edge. Equal parts respect, equal parts fear. It inspired complete obedience the same way her father used to, but on a magnitude that was far greater. 

“Mother, this is Jaune Arc, my friend.” Winter spoke, introducing the man, who gave her a little smile that sent her heart into a flutter. He was dangerous, or at least had the potential to be so.

Yet, he wasn’t a threat. He didn’t want to pose as one either, as evidenced by the fact that he wasn’t carrying a weapon, not that he would need one. As trained as Willow was, she was hardly a combatant. 

“It’s an honor to meet Winter’s mother.” He spoke, offering her a hand, which she hesitantly shook. “Your daughter has been a close confidante to me during some troubled times. That's why I’m here.”

“If you’re here to talk about the topic that I think you are, then you’ll get the same answer that winter gets every single time.” She shot back, holding back venom. 

“I assumed that I could make you see things differently.” Jaune spoke, “especially with the assurances I can offer you.”

He gestured at Winter, who gave him a hesitant nod before turning around and walking out of the balcony, closing the door behind her. Whatever pitch they wanted to make to her, she wasn’t a part of it. 

It raised fears in her mind. This man was powerful, powerful enough that he could kill her and calmly walk out of this place without fear. She had guards, many of them trained to the level of professional huntsmen. Yet, this man, even unarmed, was unthreatened in her own home.

It was a sobering thought, so she downed some more Bourbon to calm her nerves.

“Out with your sales pitch. I don’t have all day.” She spoke. 

Jaune, unfettered by her vitriolic outburst, gave her a sardonic smile. “Oh, it’s not a sales pitch that I’m here to give you. It’s an ultimatum.”

He pulled out a stack of documents from god-knows where as he spoke, sliding it across the table to her. She picked it up hesitantly, and with every line she read, she felt the cold chill of dread creep up her spine.

“This… this is a joke, right?” She asked, but found no mirth on Jaune’s face, just a grim, expressionlessness that filled her with dread.

“That is no joke. It’s a promise.” He spoke, pulling out another contract. “What’s in your hand is a contract that finalizes your divorce, as well as giving you uncontested possession of the Schnee dust company.”

“It is - as of yet - unsigned. Your husband’s signature will not be hard to obtain. Yours? Well, that’s what I’m here for.” Jaune finished, passing her the second contract. 

“That, on the other hand, is a contract pertaining Jacques Schnee’s full understanding and willingness to transfer all of the Schnee Dust Company to one Winter Schnee, as well as the transferral of the Schnee residence to you.” He finished, and Willow’s throat suddenly felt dry. Yet, she couldn’t get herself to down the whiskey in her cup, lest this be a drunk hallucination.

“W-what is this?” She croaked out. “You cannot expect me to take these documents seriously?”

Jaune shook his head. “On the contrary, this is our way of telling you one simple fact.”

“We’re going to make our move. With or without you.” Jaune spoke, his gaze was imperious, there was no falsehood in his words. “This? This is just a statement of intent.”

“If you’re so adamant on this, then why give me this option?” She countered, holding up the divorce contract. “You have made it clear that you don’t need me. So why offer me this? What do you have to gain?”

Jaune sat back down across her, his eyes locked to her own. “I have two answers for that. The short answer or the long answer. Both are compelling. Which one do you want?”

“The longer one, please.” She breathed out, still trying to make sense of how her predicament went from having to have a long but fruitless shouting watch with Winter to… this.

Jaune took in a deep breath, then, staring at Willow with a dispassionate gaze, he started speaking. “The fact of the matter is, you really have no say in how the company is run. Your reluctance to leave Jacques reeks in equal parts of desperation and depression.”

He stood up from his chair, making the disparity between their sizes painfully abundant. “On one hand, you fear him. You believe that staying under his thumb, in this glorified prison of a house, will save you from his wrath, deluding yourself.”

“If he no longer sees any use for you, no amount of sucking up to him will save you. You know this, yet, you try to pretend it will not happen. You try to rationalize that, deep inside that man’s heart, there’s still a modicum of love for you. For your kids.” he continued, walking over to her, making her heart skip a beat in equal parts due to awe and fear.

“The only reason you still have that delusion is because you are still conditioned to love him. You cannot help it, but others can help you break that conditioning. There’s a chance yet to save you from the downfall that we will inflict on him, and hence, it is a chance worth taking.” He finished, taking a knee next to her, bringing his eyes down to her level, much too close for comfort.

“You don’t know him like I do, Jaune Arc.” She spoke, it was hard to muster up any sort of energy when faced with the blasted man’s gaze. “He will never let go of something he believes he owns. He would rather destroy it than let anyone else have it.”

“Jacques Arc is rich. This much is true.” Jaune spoke and his presence flickered. Willow felt it creep around her, the feeling of terror that she’d momentarily felt when she first saw him was now wrapped all around her, inescapable, undeniable might. Something she had never felt from her husband.

Recognition finally came to her as she stared transfixed at the monster in front of her. It should have been more obvious. The height, the build, the blonde hair, the barely-restrained might that dwelled within his young frame. This was the man from the video, the video that had taken Remnant by storm. 

“But he is not powerful. Do not mistake one for the other.” Jaune finished, and just like it appeared. The pressure vanished, but the memory stayed, and so did the slight shake in her hands.

“Understand that what I’m offering you is not a threat. You will be safe, whether you choose to join us or not.” Jaune spoke, walking back to his seat. He then pointed at the divorce contract, an expectant look on his face.

“That? All that is, is a way to do right by your father’s legacy, to actually be your own person for once. Take it or leave it, I’ll personally make sure that your husband can no longer get to you.” He finished, dropping back down on his seat. He pulled out a pen and rolled it over to her, then leaned back, awaiting a response.

He wouldn’t get one instantly. The ramifications of the deal were not lost on her. A chance to make her father’s company into her own, to mold it back into the shape that Jacques had perverted beyond recognition with his rampant greed.

Her hand tightened around the paper, and for a second she saw alarm in Jaune’s eyes. Yet, as I grabbed the pen with my other hand, I saw his expression mellow. I signed each page, one by one, not even bothering to read the contents past the first.

This was not just a document, this was a pact with Jaune Arc, the killer of Lau Ka Long, a man with the kind of power that money could simply not buy. For a second, right before signing the last page, she hesitated. The thought that she was trading one prison for another almost stayed her hand, but one look up at Jaune was enough to give her the final push.

There was a look of hope on his face, a look that almost completely invalidated the entire shakedown he’d given her. It was the same look her father used to give her. Pride, pure and unadulterated. 

She’d almost forgotten what that felt like, to have someone feel proud of her.

She signed the last page and passed the document over to him. He received it and didn’t even bother checking the signatures, the ever-radiant smile on his face spoke more than any words ever could. He’d been playing her from the start, and for once, it was all for her own benefit, for her father’s dream.

It should have been criminal to like a man who had just spent ten minutes shaking her down.

“Winter was right. Take away the fear, and you’d do the right thing.” He spoke, the gentle smile ever-present on his face. “You’ll be assigned a guard from my personal group. Someone far better than anyone Jacques is capable of sending your way.”

“Unless Jacques buys him out. Power may be power, but money is pretty good at corrupting people too.” Willow spoke, only to get a chuckle out of Jaune.

“Oh trust me, this is a man I can trust with my life. He’s my uncle, after all!” Jaune spoke. The playful smirk on his face made her blush. The sudden rise of heat to her cheeks was a feeling she had all but forgotten. 

Hope, pride, and even a blush. Young Jaune Arc was unconsciously doing more for her than any man had done since Jacques lied his way into her pants. The man was dangerous, and that had nothing to do with his admittedly impressive power.

Then again, she would be a single woman soon. There was no harm window-shopping, and considering the way Jaune had checked her out when he’d walked in, she was more than certain she’d still ‘got it’.

“Not that you haven’t already convinced me, but I’m curious. What was the short option?” She asked, and the wistful, carefree smile that appeared on Jaune’s face gave her pause.

“Well, that one’s much simpler.” He said, getting up from the chair and starting to walk out of the room, a playful tone in his voice. 

“Winter asked me.” He replied, slipping past the door, giving her once last smile. “And there’s very little I wouldn’t do if she asks.” He finished, closing the door behind him. 

She sat in silence for a while, listening to the snowstorm rage past the dust barriers of the estate. She would have reached for the bottle by now, for a celebratory drink, if nothing else. Yet, something stayed her hand. If she was truly meant to take over her father’s life’s work, nothing but her best would do.

She also sincerely wished Winter the best of luck with her relationship with Jaune. That man had charisma beyond any man she had ever seen. To have that sort of effect on her, the most jaded woman in Atlas, that took something special. Winter would have competition for his affections.

Even she couldn’t deny the effect the man had on her. For shame, he had to go so far as to enact that entire shakedown routine to get her to sign that contract. A good dicking would have sufficed far better, and would have been oh so much more enjoyable.

Well, soon she would meet his uncle. If her luck held firm, then maybe the charisma ran in the family.

For now, all she could do was wait.

LB

Jaune POV

“How’d it go?” Winter asked.

Her face was hidden. It was obvious that she was pissed. Not only had Jaune taken a great risk by revealing their intentions to Willow, but he had sprung the idea to talk to her alone at the last minute.

He couldn’t help it. The best plans were the ones he made up on the fly. He blamed it on the insane amount of points he had invested into his Intelligence stat. Either that, or maybe it was just an Arc thing to come up with genius plans on the fly.

On second thought, it was probably an Arc thing. He’d heard enough stories from his family to be sure of it.

“Well, I basically shook her down. She didn’t really take it well.” he began. The fact that she was looking away from him, out of the passenger seat window of the car, a show of her disapproval, hid his playful smirk well.

“That much was to be expected. I told you, she’s like a cornered animal. She won’t take threats well.” She answered with a hiss. Jaune understood he was playing with fire, but something inside him urged him to play along a bit more.

“Well, I didn’t threaten her per se, all I did was show her both contracts, and give her an ultimatum.” Jaune continued.

“I don’t see how that’s any different from a threat, Jaune.” She spoke, irritation coloring her tone. 

“Well, I told her that whichever choice she made, she’d be safe. I tried my best to get the point across, and you know how persuasive I can be.” I commented.

“And? Did she retreat into her shell like she always does? Did she make some fake promises of not telling him?” She asked, and the fact that she didn’t even consider the fact that I’d succeeded stung a bit.

I could understand why, though. She had been trying for years. Winter many things, but incompetent was not one of them. He could understand why she believed he had no chance of succeeding in this, considering that for all his might, he was still an outsider in this decades-old operation.

“Well, see for yourself.” Jaune spoke, passing her the document. She looked down, and the look on her face changed from one of frustration to one of bewilderment. 

“Jaune, this is the takeover document, what happened to the di-” She finally looked over, and saw the papers he was holding up, prominently displaying her mother’s fancy signature. One look, and it was like she simply stopped functioning.

Then, as a single tear ran down the side of her cheek, Jaune panicked. Maybe he’d pushed too far. Maybe he sh-

His chain of thought was cut short as Winter practically launched herself at him. Not at the papers in his hand, but at him. Her lips locked with his own, and he could taste them. Cherry, softer than the softest satin, but locked in a battle with his own like her life depended on it.

His confusion didn’t last long, as he cupped her face with his right hand, draping the other around her waist protectively, lest she roll off him, and consequently off the back seat.

She didn’t care. Her lips clashed with his with the kind of ferocity that was only reserved for the wildest of beasts. Their tongues twisted around each other. A thousand words were exchanged. None spoken, but each heard louder than any man could speak.

They came apart, gasping for air, both blushing up a storm. He looked at her, panting just as he was, she was beautiful, and for the first time, she looked like a massive burden had been lifted off her.

She crashed into him again. This time, on his chest, as her arms held him close, unwilling to let go. He felt a wetness on his shirt, and he returned her embrace. This had been a long time coming, after all.

“Thank you, Jaune. Thank you...” She whispered into his shirt, over and over again. Messy, crying. She was still beautiful to him. Memories of the time they had spent together filled his mind, and he found himself unable to deny the fact that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for this woman.

“Anything for you, Winter. Anything.” He answered, and for once, he meant every word of it. 

LB

So, here's chapter 14. Chapter 15 should be up in about 1-2 days. While editing, I found it prudent to add a few more scenes to chapter 15 as well as to remove one long, redundant scene. so be rest assured that the extra time will result in a far better chapter.

Chapter 13 will be posted on FFnet at the same time as chapter 15 is released. That will be the pace of update. 2 chapters here. 1 there.

As always, join the discord for more shenanigans. Link is https://discord.com/invite/AP8nG65RmA