The Grass is Always Greener 012 -- Epilogue (Patreon)

Jaune never knew you could feel such bliss one moment, and then such horror the next. After Emerald’s tearful, heartfelt revelation, things had been a little bit of a blur. This wasn’t the type of thing Jaune could ignore, nor was it the type of thing that could wait. After they redressed themselves, they’d made a beeline for the Headmaster’s office. Ozpin was still at the dance at the time, or should have been – but so were Emerald’s ‘teammates’.

The truth was a hard pill to swallow.

His feelings were a mess.

His confession had been truthful, from the bottom of his heart. It may have been uttered in the height of passion but he did not regret it. He loved Emerald. There was no denying this fact.

But was the Emerald he loved real? Or was she just a creation, a clever ruse to fool a gullible idiot? An ideal but didn’t really exist.

A part of him, a dark part – it wanted to latch onto that, to rage and scream and hate, to be angry. It would feel good, wouldn’t it? To lash out and make her feel just as wretched as he did? She’d lied to him, played with his feelings and was going to ruin an entire kingdom for what?

Some magic bullshit that Jaune wasn’t sure if he believed or not?

But she already did feel that way, didn’t she?

One look at her face told Jaune everything he needed to know. This may have all started as a ruse. This may have all been part of a larger plan, once. But if this had all been fake and he was just a silly fool, then why were they here, now, waiting for the Headmaster to tell him everything?

Why tell Jaune at all, if this meant nothing?

The fact that she had revealed her true purpose, that she was willing to betray Cinder, the woman that had apparently lifted her off the streets and given her a better life… didn’t that mean something? That just maybe… it wasn’t fake, after all. That just as Jaune loved Emerald, that perhaps she loved him too?

And now she wanted to protect him.

She didn’t want to lose him.

And Jaune – despite the shock and the hurt, he wanted to protect her too. He didn’t want to lose her.

She was willing to go against the person who gave her a fresh start, the first person to see Emerald and know her worth, even if only for her skills. Jaune understood that this can’t have been easy. To betray Cinder for him – that meant something.

This was real.

But it may all be out of his hands. There was no telling what Ozpin would do – but Jaune was decided. He felt what he felt, and he was willing to place his belief in Emerald. She didn’t need to do any of this but she was. Her life was about to become a living hell, and she was doing that for him.

He was going to stand by her side, through the good and through the bad. By revealing this plot, Emerald was potentially saving thousands of lives, tens of thousands even – that had to count for something.

He wasn’t sure how long they waited. The tower was deserted, the lobby empty. Next to the elevator were a series of chairs and they sat. Without thought, he reached out and laced his fingers with hers, and the look she gave him was filled with surprise – and hope.

“I’m with you,” he said – and he saw her expression almost collapse, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Mr. Arc?” a familiar voice sounded and they both jumped, suddenly tense. Ozpin stared at them in surprise, head tilted in question. “And Ms. Sustrai, I believe. And to what do I owe…” he trailed off, catching the unspoken tension. His face firmed, serious. “What has happened?”

“We need to speak to you,” Jaune spoke up, standing. “In private.”

Ozpin nodded once and then they joined him in the elevator, rising to the highest level. Jaune had never been here before. The room was circular and wide, though very sparse. There were no personal effects as far as Jaune could see, just a series of gears inside the walls, a large window in the shape of a half-clock and a strange desk, the legs metal work, the surface glass.

It was cold – almost inhuman.

Ozpin led them over to the desk and they took a seat.

“What do you wish to speak to me about?” Ozpin began, taking a quick glance at his watch. “At one o’clock in the morning?”

Jaune squeezed Emerald’s hand.

“There will be an attack on Vale next week,” Emerald said, voice rough from her earlier crying. She stared at the desk, unwilling to meet Ozpin’s eyes. “And after that, an attack during the Vytal Festival.”

Ozpin frowned. “An attack,” he repeated. “And how do you know this?”

“Because I work for the person who planned it.”

Though his face was blank, Jaune could tell that the Headmaster was taken aback by the confession. “You work for them?”

Emerald nodded. “Yes.”

“And what is the purpose of this attack?”

“The Fall Maiden.”

Jaune tensed as a strange feeling descended upon him. Ozpin didn’t visibly react to the words but Jaune knew that it had struck a chord with him. Silence stretched between them as the man considered her.

“I see,” he finally said. “Tell me everything.”

She did.

She told him about Roman Torchwick and his quest to steal as much Dust as possible, and what it was being used for. She told him about the White Fang and how they were being manipulated and used, primarily through a man named Adam Taurus. She told him about Mountain Glenn, and the coming strike using the old, abandoned rail network that connected the failed expansion site to the city of Vale.

She revealed the true nature of Leonardo Lionheart, the Headmaster of Haven Academy. How he was the reason they were able to become students and blend in, and his efforts on behalf of Cinder’s boss, someone that even Emerald had no information on. That had garnered a reaction from Ozpin, breaking through his calm facade. Disappointment, and anger were clear in his eyes.

She then told him about their attack on Amber, the Fall Maiden.

“I can create illusions with my semblance,” Emerald said – and showed them. Even Ozpin appeared surprised as a dog appeared on his desk, as if it had been there all along, resting its head upon its paws. It even yawned, its long, floppy ears drooping before it vanished without a trace. “I can only make a few people see what I want at a time. It takes a lot of concentration the more targets I’m trying to fool. For one person, though – it’s relatively easy.”

“This is how you managed to subdue a Maiden?”

“It got us close – but it was Cinder that took her down with our help.”

She went into detail about everything she knew about Cinder, Mercury and a girl named Neopolitan, an acquaintance of Roman Torchwick. And about herself, what she had seen, what she done.

Including the murder of a former White Fang operative.

“His name was Tuskon and he used to run weapons for the Fang. Through contacts, he was able to smuggle weapons into Vale for the cell operating in the city, as well as vehicles. He was also involved in their money laundering operations, and worked closely with Torchwick before he defected,” Emerald paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “We don’t know why he decided to turncoat but it was planned for awhile. Torchwick was tasked with dealing with the situation but he was dragging his feet. So… I dealt with it, Mercury and I.”

Jaune wasn’t sure how he felt about this. As a Huntsmen, he knew that one day, he may take a life. It was an unfortunate part of the job and not something he could ignore, not if he wanted to make a career of it. Emerald wasn’t a Huntress – and what she had done hadn’t been to protect anyone, or to stop a bad person. She’d done it for Cinder, to impress her, to show her that she was… a good tool.

It helped that this Tuskon wasn’t an innocent. Those guns he smuggled into Vale, the vehicles – they’d been used to wreak havoc. They may have caused innocent deaths and more in the future, if the attack on Vale and Beacon went ahead. He may have tried to leave the White Fang and start anew, but just like Emerald, it didn’t wash away what was already done. Not entirely.

A bird suddenly flew in through the window, black as night, landing on the desk with a scuttle of talons. A crow. Jaune almost leapt out of his chair in fright.

Ozpin didn’t appear alarmed, instead saying, “Please, continue.”

On and on it went, until Emerald had no more to say. She didn’t speak about her past other than a brief mention, though she did have one request.

“Mercury isn’t loyal to her,” she said, finally meeting Ozpin’s eyes. “He only follows her because she found him at his worst, and like me, picked him up out of the mud. He will cooperate if you give him the chance. Give him the opportunity, please.”

Despite their clear antagonistic relationship, it appeared that Emerald cared for her partner in crime, if only enough to try and spare him the worst of what was to come.

It had taken an hour to lay everything out. The elevator behind them dinged and Glynda Goodwitch appeared, expression stern. Jaune got the impression she knew what was said, even though she hadn’t been present.

“What you have shared with me this evening, I cannot begin to express how many lives this will save,” Ozpin’s face had been calm all evening but now, Jaune saw genuine relief. It was small but his smile was heartfelt. “Ms. Sustrai – Emerald – the information you’ve provided is invaluable. What is it that you wished to gain by telling me all of this?”

Jaune felt her fingers tense around his hand.

“I did it for Jaune,” she said, lowering her eyes again. “Thank him.”

He hadn’t done anything.

Only love a girl who had been loved too little.

Perhaps that was enough.

Sometimes it was the simple things that changed the course of people’s lives.

In the early hours, a joint operation was carried out between the Huntsmen employed by Beacon Academy and the Atlas Military. They converged upon the dorm room inhabited by Cinder Fall and Mercury Black, and despite her incredible skill and awesome power, she was subdued by the might of two kingdoms with minimal damage. Of course, it was impossible to do so without anyone being the wiser and by morning, the entire school knew that something had gone down – they just didn’t know what.

Jaune’s scroll was blowing up, his friends attempting to contact him. He had never returned to the dorm that night and with everything going on, they were worried. He sent them texts, explaining that he was fine and would see them soon, but he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

Namely the fate of his former criminal girlfriend.

Her change of heart had averted a disaster but it didn’t change the fact that she had been an accessory to a potential terrorist attack, one that would have crippled an entire kingdom. Emerald had been involved in the attack on Amber, and had killed a civilian on Valean soil, though that ‘civilian’ had been a member of a terrorist organization aligned with Cinder Fall.

They weren’t just going to let her walk scot free.

Ironwood wanted to make an example of her, and of Mercury Black – but much to Jaune’s relief, Ozpin stepped in. Due to their unique circumstances, they would not see jail time – instead, they would work on Ozpin’s behalf until he deemed them worthy of a pardon. If they attempted to run, they would be hunted down and imprisoned. His reasons were not entirely altruistic.

They knew too much. Their knowledge could not be allowed to spread out into the world. The closer he could keep them, the better.

Jaune didn’t care. As long as Emerald was free to be with him, he couldn’t give two shits about magic and Maiden’s and whatever else was going on. They’d be living at Beacon for the foreseeable future, joining as transfer students from abroad. At least, that is what they were telling everyone.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that they were allowed to leave Ozpin’s office, Emerald pausing at the elevator.

“What is going to happen to Cinder?” she asked quietly, but it may as well have been a shout.

General Ironwood and Ozpin shared a glance, filled with too much to process.

“The powers she stole will be repossessed,” Ozpin said. “And then she will be moved to a secure facility where she will live out the rest of her days.”

Life in prison was the best she could hope for.

They walked back to the dorms in silence. Exhausted both physically and mentally, they wanted nothing more than a soft bed and a soft pillow to rest their head. They were met by Pyrrha, a dozen questions and more on the tip of her tongue but one look at their faces told her more than enough.

“Are you okay?” she asked instead, worried. Not just for him. “Emerald?”

Jaune smiled tiredly. “Yeah. We’ve not had much sleep.”

Emerald eyed his partner warily, and Jaune knew that when Pyrrha found the truth, she was not going to be happy about it. None of his friends would be. Finding out that you’d been used, and that you’d be targeted specifically was never a nice thing to discover.

Emerald had become their friend so effortlessly that Jaune knew they would find it difficult to trust her after this. It would be up to him to help smooth over any rough edges.

“Ren and Nora are out right now,” she said. “The room’s yours.”

“Thank you,” he said gratefully, leading Emerald inside. Still dressed in their finery, Jaune couldn’t find the energy to undress, simply kicking off his shoes and socks before pulling her down onto his bed. She snuggled against his chest, one leg thrown on his own, an arm across his belly.

In one night, both of their lives had changed forever.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, caressing her arm with light fingers. She snuggled into him harder, nuzzling her cheek against his chest.

“Like shit,” she admitted truthfully.

There was a moment of hesitation. “...Jaune?”

“Yeah?”

“...How are you feeling?”

How did he feel?

Relieved, for sure. Hurt lingered, from the lies and deception – that would stay for a while, he felt.

Happy.

Happy that Emerald had chosen him, had shown him the good in her.

“Glad that you’re here,” he admitted. Feeling emotional, he pulled her up until their foreheads rested against one another, their noses touching. He stared into her alluring eyes. “This is real, right?”

She answered him with a kiss.

That was answer enough for him.