Reunion (Conti.)

I watched the Bullheads rise slowly, lifting the shipping crates into the air. I'd bid goodbye to the Faunus aboard, made sure they were all safely seated, and even used Observe on everyone flying the ships to glimpse their motives and intentions, just in case. Now, I watched them go, off towards new, hopefully better lives in Vale. With any luck, I'd see some of them around town, be able to keep an eye on them, and make sure they weren't having any problems. Maybe even lend a hand now and then, if anything happened. Of course, there'd be no way of truly knowing where any of them would end up until after the White Fang's work on that front was finished, but I could probably arrange things with Adam and Blake…

I sighed. I knew what I was doing.

I was looking for ways to stall. Now that I was so close, I found myself dreading the idea of going home, even as I wanted it more than ever. I'd resolved early on to tell my parents about my power eventually. I loved and trusted them and knew they felt the same way towards me, so I hadn't really worried about them knowing my secret. On top of that, I knew how strong they were and knew that they could help me grow stronger, too, so it only made sense to tell them eventually and ask for assistance.

However, more than anything…I knew from the beginning that I'd tell them eventually because I wanted them to be proud of me. It was strange, in a way, how that worked; I'd kept it from them initially for no other reason than the fact that I'd still been weak. I'd wanted to strengthen myself, prove my worth, and rise to the challenges I'd failed before first, prove that I could do it—even if I knew I didn't need to be strong to earn their respect or approval, I still…

But now I was strong. I still had a ways to go, still had higher to climb, but I knew how much stronger I was than before. Some of the things I'd done had been due to luck, but not all of it. I'd stolen the White Whale and made it fly because of my own power and skill. I'd fought stronger opponents and braved the lands beyond the Kingdom, trained myself around the clock, mastered skills, and won. I knew how extraordinary some of the things I'd done were, had seen it in the eyes and faces of hundreds of people now. Yeah, I'd cheated a lot to make it happen, but against the odds I'd faced, who could blame me? It was still impressive as all hell and I'd have been glad to have told my parents about it.

If not for the whole terrorist thing.

As expected of any plan, when theory met reality, things had gotten a little complicated. When I'd stolen the White Whale, when I'd awoke Ziz, when I'd been stranded, when I'd reached the town—stuff had happened that I hadn't planned for. That was unsurprising, because you couldn't plan for everything; the unfortunate truth about strategy and, really, life was that stuff just happened sometimes and you had to deal with it. I'd known from the very start that I wouldn't be prepared for all the things I'd face. I knew that for all the planning I'd done, all the effort we'd put into preparation, in the end something would catch me off-guard.

Nonetheless, knowing you could be caught off-guard was not actually a defense against being caught off-guard. Things had happened and I'd been forced to think on my feet, roll with the punches, and try to make it through. I liked to think I'd did pretty well on that front, what with surviving and all, but I couldn't much had gone according to plan.

Originally, we were supposed to take off together, remain unseen, and get a massive head start on any pursuers. Instead I had to antagonize and harm someone who'd done nothing to me, organize a hostage situation in broad daylight, and act the part of a villain. Then, instead of getting to the 'safety' of the Grimmlands, I'd woken up an ancient super monster and been whisked away. When I'd finally made my way to the mine after a huge delay, instead of hanging back while Adam and Blake dealt with anything that came up, I fought an amazingly powerful robot and ended up tearing her limb from limb.

I had no idea if what I'd done in Atlas had circulated yet, but it barely mattered, I knew the picture my actions must have painted of me. I didn't regret what I'd done—well, no, I regretted that it had been necessary to do those things. But the fact that I'd saved these people? Never.

But I did have to wonder what my parents would think, when I told them everything. Would they see it the same way? Would what I fought for matter in their eyes? Would it seem worth it to them, justify my actions and crimes? Or would they be disappointed? Angry? I'd saved a thousand Faunus from captivity and reintroduced the world to Ziz in the process. I'd liberated the enslaved and held a young woman hostage, defeating her and wielding her against her father. I'd threatened and bluffed, but who could tell what was truth or lie. Would they believe I wouldn't have hurt Weiss or the people around the airport? Would believing me matter?

I think it said a lot that I wasn't worried very much about the repercussions of them disapproving. Even in the worst case scenario, I knew they wouldn't kill me or anything. I'd probably find myself in jail in short order which, honestly, was fine. I mean, the nature of my power meant that I could improve my skills by struggling with something, so if I found myself in prison I'd just grind my skills for getting out or meditate or whatever until it wasn't an issue. With my Elementals, odds were good I could probably escape wherever they put me anyway, at least the first time I got arrested, and Adam and Blake would probably try to help, too.

It'd make things harder, crush most of my plans for the future, and generally ruin things for me…but honestly, even that didn't worry me too much. It was almost odd how little it worried me, really. I guess it was because, even if becoming a Hunter had been what I'd dreamed of my whole life, I was smart enough—or perhaps wise enough—to know I could help people in countless other ways, Hunter or not. I could heal people, fight to defend them, awaken Auras, and countless other things. If I found myself a known fugitive and forced to run and hide…I could deal with that pretty easily to, I thought.

But if my parents thought I deserved it, if I'd really let them down that much, if I'd enraged them, if I could never go home again…

I closed my eyes.

I was over thinking things. I'd wasted all the time I'd reasonably could. I'd unlocked the Aura's of the remaining Faunus, stood guard over the town with Adam and Blake, and seen the people I worked to protect away safely. My mind supplied other things I could do to put things off, some of them rather strange—but it was time.

Even if, thinking about, I did have to wonder what, if anything, would happen if I awoke the Aura of a plant.

"Jaune," Blake said, evidently noticing my discomfort and guessing its source. "You don't need to go back yet, if you don't want to. They'd have only just gotten your letter. You've done more than enough to earn a break if…"

Adam grunted in agreement and I smiled at them both.

"Nah," I said. "I don't sleep and I'd rather not dwell on this longer than I have to. Really…I shouldn't be worried; my parents are awesome. I guess I'm just worried about disappointing them but…at the same time, I want to see them a lot. It's stupid."

"No," Blake said, shaking her head slowly.

But there was a lot of weight to that one word.

Adam looked over at her and actually smiled—at her and then at me.

"No," He agreed without any sarcastic remarks.

My smile became a little sadder, a little more real.

"Yeah." I agreed quietly.

"Do you want us to come?" Blake asked.

I chuckled.

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"No," She said. "But we'll do it anyway, if you need us to."

I looked at them both for a moment before chuckling again, looking down.

"Thanks," I said. "That means a lot. But no; I want to talk to them alone."

I removed Dreary Midnight and stored it in my Inventory, Lenore joining it a moment later. I stretched, tail uncurling from my waist, and then dropped my arms.

"I guess I'll stash the White Whale somewhere for now," I said with a sigh as I floated upwards. "Until we can make sure no evidence has been left behind, at least. One thing at a time, I guess. I'll see you guys later, though; don't forget, you owe me training and drinks. And just…keep in touch."

For a moment, they just watched me go silently. It made me feel cool and dramatic.

"Wait, what's with the tail?" Adam ruined the moment as Blake tilted her head to the side.

A little annoyed by the interruption, I said nothing and continued my ascent.

XxXXxX

​

After stashing the White Whale in a safe, out-of-the-way place—or as safe as any place outside the Kingdoms could be, that is—I ran the rest of the way to Vale, getting there a few hours later.

Tailless, of course.

I felt a little self-conscious, sweaty and dirty as I was, but I ignored the part of me that wanted to put things off just that little bit further and take a bath. Instead, I unlocked the door to my house and walked in, taking a deep breath. And though I'd thought about it extensively…there was really only one way to return home.

"I'm back!" I shouted. "Sorry I'm late!"

There was a moment of silence that was promptly broken by the sound of motion. I barely saw what grabbed me and lifted me into the air, but I was already laughing.

"There you are!" My dad said, doing much the same. "You're okay!"

"You're alive!" I said, hugging him back.

He pushed me away a moment later, hands on my shoulders, expression darkening.

"Boy, you don't even know what you put me through," He said severely. "When we got called back and you were gone and Ziz—I thought I was going to die. And then you took a whole week to tell us you were okay? Really?"

"I was busy," I defended. "It was important!"

"More important than your father's life!?" He demanded incredulously. "Boy, when this is over, you and I—"

"Jack, shut up."

At that voice, we both went silent, turning to face my Mother. I hadn't even noticed her approach, but in the face of her severe expression my senses warned me of danger. I stood my ground as she approached, literally pushing my father out of the way.

"Jaune, what were you thinking?" She demanded. "Do you have any idea—"

Her voice broke off into a sudden snarl as grabbed me and pulled me close in a hug that felt warm. It may have just been the burning wrath of her ire, but I preferred to think of it as the soothing warmth of home that was temporarily keeping that inferno at bay.

Either way, I hugged her back with everything I had.

"We were so worried," She continued, voice no less furious despite how closely she held me. "When we came back and you were gone…everything was going crazy because of what happened and you—"

"Mom," I interrupted, more than a tad regretfully. "I know. I was there. I need to tell you what happened."

"—Then you have impeccable timing, Mr. Arc," A voice I didn't recognize made me go still. "We were just talking about you."

I looked up to see him standing there, cane in one hand, mug in the other. He was dressed all in green but for his black shoes; suit, vest, scarf, and pants. Against all of that, his grey hair stood out starkly—and while I didn't recognize the voice, I recognized the man.

I looked to my father who shrugged helplessly.

"I had to ask somebody to keep an eye on you while I was away, especially when you said you might be going into danger," He said in defense. "It's not my fault you went above and beyond."

XxXXxX