DISCLAIR: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishnt. Anyway on with the show...errr read.
Faces
To be honest, it wasn't actually sothing I'd done beforeuse my illusions to make myself seem like soone else, I an. I simply didn't need to, since I could actually beco soone else with a change of a title, physically shifting from Jaune to Jian in an instant. My height would change several inches, my features shift, and I'd even grow a tail, all of which was completely real; a transformation, rather than an illusion.
Even beyond that, I just didn't usually need to pretend to be soone else. With my senses as sharp as they were, I could pick up conversations from enormous distances and pick up trendous amounts of detail and with Naraka, I could flat-out break into places without leaving a trace. If I didn't want to be noticed, it was usually a simple matter for to hide myself completely, whether by crawling underground or by turning invisible. Between those advantages and the fact that I hadn't possessed the power very long, I simply hadn't needed to try and change my appearance.
And then there were the obstacles that got in the way of doing so. I could bend light to make myself seem smaller or larger than I truly was easily enough, but both ca with their own limitations. If I made myself seem smaller then I actually was, I'd need to both craft an illusion and turn any part of my body that didn't 'fit' into the illusion invisiblesimple enough, in and of itself. But there were other things to worry about, too; if I was smaller, I'd need to fake a proportionally smaller reach. Similarly, I'd need to use my powers to make sure that anything that seed to co in contact with was made to look like it had touched the smaller figure, rather than the true . And if I ca in contact with an actual person, if I didn't feel the part of whatever I seed to be
The sa applied to making myself larger, if sowhat differently. Rather than faking the inexistence of any part of my body that shouldn't have been there, I'd need to fake the existence of the parts that seed like they should have been there. Then you get into other issues of the disguiseminor things, mainly, but a large number of them. Accounting for how a larger or smaller person moved, making the motions seem to flow naturally, potentially adjusting a fighting style to a different body, that type of thing. It was annoying and had been, at least thus far, completely unnecessary. The 'simplest' solution was to disguise oneself as a person of the sa size and shape, which limited things a fair bit and, really, and at that point, you might as well just say screw it, turn invisibleand, if absolutely necessary, whip up an illusion without bothering with any overlaying, use it for a short ti, and discard it.
But that only applies to soone who has access to the wealth of options I do. I didn't bother because I was already spoilt for choice and could address the problem in a broad array of what were, to , simple ways. For those who couldn't bend the elents, turn invisible, or shapeshift into an entirely different person with what amounted to the push of a button, there were so uses for such a thing, here and there.
Which also made this the first ti I cast an illusion on soone else, actuallyand I was betting that maintaining such an overlay on soone else was going to get annoying after a while, but hey. What are friends for, if not to be occasionally annoying?
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Halfway through laying an illusion over Adam, I felt a practiced ease co over , despite the fact that I had no actual practice at doing such a thing. It beca abruptly clear to that I could anchor such an illusion to a person's body and Aura. After all, I mused, if you actually thought about it, my illusions were already anchored to Remnant, through so ans. Despite having no massor, at least, no more mass than lightI didn't have to adjust them in regards to the rotation or revolution of the planet I lived, nor the vaster motions of the galaxy or the universe. When you thought about it that way, if was obviously possible to do such a thing, so it was just a matter of figuring out how.
Although admittedly, at their most basic level, pretty much everything was just 'figuring out how and then actually doing it.' Doing it in practice tended to be a touch more complicatedbut at the very least, my power seed to know what it was doing.
A skill has been created through a special action! A skill to magically conceal oneself, 'Glamour,' has been created through the combination of Delusory and Disguise!
But why did I get it for this and not for the illusion I constantly used to hide my light? Was it because I hadn't actually changed how I looked? Or had my skill with Delusory been too low at the ti? Maybe a combination of both, with touches of my new skills thrown into the mix?
It didn't matter, I supposed. My power was so absurdly useful, I guess I couldn't fault it for occasionally being picky.
I wove strands of my Aura into Adam's, placing a layer of bright white over shining red. As I did so, his hair changed, darkening even as red streaks faded from brown. His horns, thankfully, were fairly subtle in appearance to begin with and I rely blended them into the rest of his hair before adjusting his skin tone so that he didn't look like soone who did almost all of his work in the dark. I brushed away anything that might give who he was away, changing his mask to sunglasses, erasing the symbols on his coat, and adding colors that weren't blood red and pitch black. His clothes hid most of his body, but I altered what I could of what remained.
"I'm doing the best with what I'm given," I told him. "But limited as I am towell, you, there's only so much I can do. I'll do what I can to fix your face, but I think it's a lost cause."
He kicked at my shin and given everything I'd put him through tonight, it seed only fair, so I allowed it. His foot slamd right into my Adamant skin and other defenses and he swore.
"Gah, you asshole," He snarled, lifting his foot off the ground. "I stubbed my goddamn toe."
"Oops," I said mildly before healing him, despite his actions against my person. Truly, the kindness within my heart knows no bounds. I didn't even alter the Glamour I was setting up, I was that niceand after a few finishing touches, I was also done. "There. It's not much, but you're not so hideous we have to keep you locked up in the basent anymore. Let's go."
He ignored , taking several quick strides towards the mirror he'd left lying on a deskBlake's mirror I noted after a quick glance. He looked at for a mont, glanced himself up and down, and gave his opinion.
"Eh," He pronounced. "It'll do, I suppose. I'll probably still look great standing next to an ugly human like you."
"I could write the words 'Princess Blowjob' on your back at will, you realize," I told him. "Literally at will, any ti I wanted, without you even noticing. And on that comforting note, let's go already."
He sneered at , but turned and angled the mirror to check before setting it down gently.
"Fine," He said, tone a tad sullen. "Where are we going?"
I snapped my fingers and drew us both into Naraka before gesturing towards the sa wall I'd just co through with a hand. The wall exploded outwards as if sucked through an enormous tube, leaving a smooth set of stair straight to the surface that I imdiately began to walk up.
"Around town," I answered, letting Jian's features fade away as I switched back to my usual out-of-combat title. "Let's go see what we can find out about my new friends."
Adam frowned at as he followed.
"You sure you want to be seen with like that?" He asked.
"Yeah, I know what you an," I replied instantly. "Usually a loser like you wouldn't get to hang out with the popular kids like , but I'll tolerate your presence sohow. Just think of it as doing charityyou're a poor disabled child that I'm trying to draw from the social void with my general magnificence. No need to thank ; I'm just doing it for the tax deduction and then back into the hole you go."
"Oh, shut your whore mouth," He snorted. "I'm serious."
I chuckled and cracked my neck, vanishing completely between one step and the next and causing Adam to jolt forward.
"Jaune" He began before cutting himself off as he walked into and bounced off. I reached out and grabbed him before he could fall down the stairs, reappearing as he righted himself, and tossed him a smile.
"Don't worry about it," I shrugged at him. "If I sense anything worth worrying about, I'll vanish in a heartbeat or I'll change my face or we'll just leave. But even if they do sohow see us without noticing and sohow recognize you through that illusionso what? We're allies nowRaven and my Grandmother are working together. We'll just say you're my bodyguard, because Jeanne Roma wanted an extra layer of protection for her youngest grandchild. I even had an actual bodyguard last ti I was here, so it makes sense. If you really have to, just say it was a request from Jian Bing and that before his overwhelming masculinity there was nothing you could do but obey."
"I would literally die before saying that," He told seriously. "But I see your point, I suppose."
"Besides," I continued. "There are advantages to being millions and millions of them. This specific one is that being the grandson of the Roma Matriarch gives a lot of leeway. All sorts of doors open when I ask them to, see?"
"Ah," He nodded slowly, having apparently forgotten what that ant here in Mistral. "I suppose I could see that coming in handy. Where to first?"
"You tell ," I said, continuing my climb up the stairs. "You're the one in charge of keeping in touch with these guys, right? Where do they usually hang out?"
"The illusionist, you an?" He asked.
"Or whoever else you want to see," I replied, giving another shrug. "Might as well check them all out, right?"
He nodded at that, expression considering.
"They don't usually stay in one place for very long," He answered slowly. "But there are a few places they seem to return to every now and then. Couldn't hurt to take a look."
"Mhm," I agreed, smile widening. "And besides, we got interrupted last ti we went out for drinks. I owe you for the Dust and, you know. Showing up."
"You're paying, then?" He asked imdiately to avoid any awkwardness.
"Of course," I chuckled. "Try not to get too drunk though, you lightweight."
I rolled the glass between my fingers, shifting the amber liquid inside. Adam had picked it from the bar when we ca in but I didn't recognize the brand. Well, truthfully, I didn't recognize any of the brands; after confirming that drinking alcohol would do absolutely nothing to or for , I'd lost all interest in it. I played along as Adam drank so that my friend could enjoy himself without worry, but my thoughts were elsewhere from the mont I sat down in the bar.
Thankfully, it wasn't difficult to find distractions. I'd say we'd gotten lucky with our first choice, but I liked to think I made my own luck; the mont Adam had told the possible locations, I'd scanned them all for signs of activity and then picked the one with the most. We'd picked a bar a few blocks away, got in without so much as a word about my age, and then I'd started keeping watch.
"When did they start using the White Fang for muscle?" I asked, glancing at Adam.
"Hm?" He intoned, reclining in a chair beside as he watched a ga on one of the holographic displays in the bar. I knew more about sports then I did about drinks, primarily because of the many video gas about them, but knowledge wasn't the sa thing as interest and I honestly didn't care even a little bit about who was playing, much less winning. I kept track of the ga in my periphery, as I did with everything around , but nothing more than that.
"There are a lot of mbers of the White Fang working down there," I clarified. "Grunt labor, mostly. When'd it start?"
"Ah," He said, frowning abruptly. "That. Pretty much since we began to work together. I'm actually not entirely sure because it was kept under wraps in the beginning butmaybe seven months ago. It was just minor things in the beginning, though."
"Given how little we seem to know, I assu they don't get told much," I guessed.
"No," He stated, tone annoyed before he drained the rest of his glass. "They seem to consider us a delivery service more than anything; they call us up, tell us what to do, and expect us to do it. And we fucking do."
"That must grate on a lot of people," I muttered. "No wonder they aren't very well liked."
Adam grunted in agreent.
"It's the main cause of dissent between us and them," He nodded. "A lot of people say they treat us the waywell, the way most humans do. Thing is, they aren't wrong, at least not entirely."
"Anything you can tell about the stuff they make you fetch for them?" I asked. "If they're having you deliver it for them, you must have so idea of what they're up to?"
"You'd think so," He sighed, topping his glass off. I rolled my glass again, downing it, and put it on the table. "But honestly, I have no idea what they're up to. Most of its just informationpretty much whatever we can get from the other Kingdoms and local businesses, really. Most of what's left tends to be small stuff that won't be missed and won't draw attention or stuff we can buy from stores. Since we got set up in Mistral, we've been doing a lot more of the latter, so it really is mostly delivery work; we actually picked up a few trucks just to help transport stuff. They might be building sothing, but if so, it could be just about anything you could make with access to a bunch of hardware stores and the supermarket. Which I assu is a lot?"
"You could build a few things that way, yeah," I understated, nodding slightly even as I frowned. "Doesn't really narrow things down. Butyou just deliver normal stuff? Things you could get in a store?"
He nodded and I pursed my lips for a mont, musing.
"Can I assu that a shipnt of nearly four thousand guns is outside the norm, then?" I asked. "I'm not really familiar with the gun laws in Mistral, but that seems a bit extre."
Adam looked at for a long mont.
"Huh?" He asked eloquently and I nodded in the general direction of our 'friends.'
"The crates the White Fang down there are moving," I said. "They're full of guns. Four thousand, three hundred and, hm, twenty-seven? One of the crates was opened recently, so I assu there are at least three more sowhere around here."
My friend was silent for a mont, a frown slowly working its way onto his face.
"That'sa lot of guns," Adam noted, putting down his drink as he slowly caught up.
"You didn't know about this," I stated, certain of the fact even before he shook his head. "Soone else's doing then?"
"I" He paused to organize his thoughts. "I admit, I don't know what everyone in the White Fang is doing at any given ti, but I feel like I would notice if we had that much firepower lying around. If nothing else, as the guy responsible forthem, I feel like I should be aware of this."
Anger was slowly working its way through the haze of alcohol and I tilted my head at him in consideration.
"Could soone be working with them behind your back?" I asked. "Providing them moreattention-drawing things without making you aware?"
"They better fucking not be," He growled. "What else can you see."
"A lot," I answered at once. "The guns look new. No offense ant, but given the way they're all neatly arranged in marked crates and such, I'd sort of figured they were stolen."
He tilted his head in acknowledgent, but his frown didn't fade.
"It's possible," He answered. "But that type of theftthat's fairly newsworthy. As in, worthy of being on the news, to say nothing of how word would travel within the White Fang. Even then, why would we give it to them? I'm not entirely sure of the size of their operation, but I can't imagine they'd need that many guns; I don't think they have enough people to use them if they wanted to. That's"
Pieces clicked.
"Ah," I drew out. "Then perhaps they're the ones delivering this ti?"
"What?" He asked again. "Jaune, what do you"
I let my attention drift, eyes turning up to the skies as waves of light filled the air. I shifted through the frequencies, searching for anything that would standout even as I turned my gaze slowly towards the CCT.
"There was a bombing in Atlas recently," I said slowly, the sound of my own voice briefly distant as the transmissions filled my senses, the news reporters face as clear in my eyes as his voice was in my ears. "A lot of stuff got destroyed, including several warehouses. Their still not sure what the purpose of it was or if anything was missing, butI'm going to go ahead and say 'yes.'"
When I returned fully to myself, Adam was staring at with his eyebrows raised.
"How"
"There's a news report about it," I answered. "It was on several channels so it must be getting a lot of attention. I found it in the airwaves."
"God," He muttered before shaking his head. "Whatever. You sure it's connected?"
"I haven't bothered with guns much since I learned how to outrun bullets," I admitted. "But I think they're of Atlesian make. The design on the box matches to one of the buildings that was on the news, too. Seems a bit unlikely to be a coincidence. I assu you'd know if the White Fang was responsible?"
"I dearly hope so," He answered, sounding a touch worried. "If we were responsible and I wasn't aware"
He shook his head.
"Can youshow ?" He asked, voice a bit uncertain.
I considered it for a mont and then nodded, taking a quick glance around the bar before raising my hands to either side. The air above them filled with color before consolidating into distinct images, holograms I crafted with Delusory. The scenes I was viewing, both in the sky above and the warehouse below, rose from my hands in miniature, as clear as if on televisionand after a mont, I had Levant provide audio as well.
"Jaune," Adam whispered urgently, head snapping towards the other people in the bar.
"Chill," I said distractedly. I was splitting my attention three ways, focusing simultaneously on the news report, the warehouse, and everything around usand on top of that, I was maintaining an illusion around myself, around my table, and above each hand, the latter of which were in constant motion and thus, in constant need of readjustnt, which itself ant I needed to pay close attention to the scenes I was displaying and recreate the scenes in the spectrum of light that Adam was used to. I'd say it made it a little hard to think about breathing, much less talking, but the truth was that I'd stopped breathing so I'd have one less thing to worry about. "They won't hear us, they won't see us."
Adam fell silent at that, focusing on the images I created with a frown firmly in place. He seed to catch on to the fact that I was preoccupied, because he didn't say anything else, watching both scenes in silence. Sure enough, the White Fang began transporting the crates into trucks after a few minutes, one of them getting a signal on a scroll that made Adam purse his lips. The news report played out after several minutes and I switched frequencies to another station when I found one. Several people entered and exited the warehouse as the minutes passed, one of the White Fang's trucks leaving and another arriving a few minutes later. It wasn't the sa truck, however, and the contents
"Adam," I muttered in exactly the sa tone, frowning when I rembered to adjust my own expression. I obviously needed to train Delusory so more if maintaining four illusions was giving this much trouble. Independent images or no, I could keep track of entire neighborhoods with my senses; this should have been nothing, but it wasn't.
"I see it," He said. "Can you see who's driving?"
"What kind of question is that?" I sneered after a mont's delay. As I did, I shifted my gaze a tad to pierce through steel and stone alike to see who was inside.
Two humans, I noted, taking down ntal notes fast as I morized everything about them. One male, one female; silver and green hair respectively, making them stand out almost as much as the rest of them. The way they were dressed and the weapons they held made think they were Hunters or, at least, Hunters-in-trainingand if that wasn't enough, a glance above their head's would have made it obvious.
The Thief
LV53
Erald Sustrai
The Butcher
LV58
rcury Black
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