Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics)

[Lazurman]

Also lore dump for those who don't know Dishonered.

Click to shrink...

That's part of the genius of using non-metaknowledge-abusing MCs: we get to explore the world for the first time alongside the characters. Hell, if the experience is riveting enough, might even sell me on buying the game.

 

[Imperium]

Soo goood

 

[Peke]

Bro the outsider is definitely gonna make an appearance, if not to Jaune then to Lisa since she doesn't have blank

 

[Desu-Vult2ElectricBugaloo]

No blondes but there is a brunette damsel in distress. That said, the loot isn't that impressive, guns and some elixirs. I bet the best loot in the whole mission would be to sell the damsel in distress.

Click to shrink...

Damsel would net a probable large sum because....well.... there are likely more Dark Phenex's out there.

But the Elixirs while seemingly low, cannot and should not be under valued. Dishonored offers both HP and 'MP' Elixir and if Tats and Jaune could reliably find stashes, then can stock up on essential life saving items. Foldable Switch-Sword, Trap grenades and a extremely versatile Crossbow with specialized ammo may not be Jaune's alley but it would fit Tattletale for sure.

Black Shard Arm and Runes powers are pretty good loot as well assuming they can function outside the Universe.

The Heart though. The Heart is essential a compact Tattletale-lite. If one avoids the Moral conundrum of logging around a soul-forged item with seemingly possible sentience, then its a damn good person item to keep or sell.

 

[Vacivus]

That's part of the genius of using non-metaknowledge-abusing MCs: we get to explore the world for the first time alongside the characters. Hell, if the experience is riveting enough, might even sell me on buying the game.

Click to shrink...

It's an excellent game, would very much recommend anyone who hasn't played it to do so.

 

[Elite_Noob]

Spoiler: Dishonored spoilers

the MC of dishonored is corvo the queens bodyguard/assassin/maybe lover?. Power hungry people murder the queen and kidnap her daughter/maybe corvos daughter and frame corvo

Then in a dream or something it's been awhile I can't remember the outsider shows up who is basically an Cthulhu esc Eldritch entity and is all like "hey have this cool tattoo it's all the rage these days"and corvo gets magic powers his main one being a silent short range teleport that he can spam witch is op in fights or parkour

Corvo then goes to save the queens daughter/maybe his daughter and get revenge on the queens killers and put the queens daughter on the throne he joins the resistance shenanigans ensue

After the daughter is rescued and the path to the throne is clear the resistance poisoned corvo and went to take the throne for themselves but corvo lived and he's all "oh here I go killing again" more shenanigans ensue

Eventually he puts the queens/maybe his daughter on the throne the end

I think that's the general storyline I may have got a few bits wrong it's been a few years since I played

 

[Heliel43]

Finally Dishonored got some attention. If it's dishonored 2 time lewd princess

 

[Heliel43]

I always get high Chaos ending

 

[Coda1000]

Didn't expect Dishonered, what a coincidence cuz I just finished repllaying the 1st game recently and would've started the 2nd one during the week too lol.

Thanks for the chapter~

 

[Hellion]

It was nice seeing the grimdark of Worm drain from Lisa with her interactions with Jaune. Hears to hoping he can keep acting like the goofball in shining armor and get her to put down her cynicism.

I also liked how they dodged the uber plagues zombies, just to get a different form of plague zombies and magic assassins instead. Hard to tell which is worse for them TBH, TT's power can help them avoid infected supplies/areas either way, and Aura makes it easy for them to ignore basic enemies either way as well. So its only really a danger versus elite mooks and boss enemies. Racoon City had several evolved zombies and maybe the strike teams could also pose a threat, but Kirkwall has the aforementioned assassin's and also an Evil Witch Coven. The timescale is a little more generous for Kirkwall though. Loot wise Racoon City had some real science and tech goodies for the taking, while Kirkwall really only has the Bone Charms and Runes. Lisa will, probably, have a knack for finding them and they can get weird. Actually Lisa is great for investigating many of the mysteries and scenes that play within the city. Jaune has a actual chance of not just stumbling through each mission like a bull in a china shop.

Depending on the interpretation; the passive aura armor could save their skin or be nonexistent, making the ambushes, that the setting has plenty of, catch them with their pants down. Both of them will be surprised either way when the more mystical aspects of the Universe their in start to show themselves. Makes me really look forward to see how you develop the story!

 

[Elite_Noob]

Every action video game protagonists greatest weakness, getting their asses kicked/knocked out in cutscenes/scripted events

 

[Lokpik]

I'm not to familiar with dishonored but I'm looking forward to it. Maybe they can find some decent people but I'm kinda hoping they decide to disinfect things before bringing it through portal. I'm not sure if natively they know how to make bleach but they are by a sea and they have interesting steam punk tech, Lisa could likely replicate it given a little time and effort.

A possible future world I hope they go to, the fifth holy grail war, remember the spells and stuff gets called mystery, tattletale would be useful during it(hell the bus scene from unlimited blade works abridged would be either a good transition in or out.

I'm glad they avoided resident evil that world is terrifying (house haunted by raccoons lol)

 

[Eternal Dreamer]

Universe: Dishonored. Location: Dunwall. Event: House of Pleasure.​

Click to shrink...

The OutSider would like to know your location.

 

[Alexsanderson]

Ya think that if Jaune had picked Resident Evil, the system would have suggested for him to get some sort of disease immunity?

I mean, that place wouldn't be as immediately lethal as Worm in general, but BOW's are still no joke.

 

[Dahaka1e]

Ya think that if Jaune had picked Resident Evil, the system would have suggested for him to get some sort of disease immunity?

I mean, that place wouldn't be as immediately lethal as Worm in general, but BOW's are still no joke.

Click to shrink...

Considering that Jaune looks like a modified human to Lisa, he might not need it. Nowhere is it stated that all versions of humanity share similar genetics. Even without the aura, BOW may not work on Jaune due to the difference in genes. Lisa has less chance.

 

[Lazurman]

I'm not so sure Jaune's got disease immunity from Aura. It's long been theorized that Ozma was killed by cancer, way back in the day. The healing'd help with most of the small shit, but lethal illnesses?

 

[Dahaka1e]

I'm not so sure Jaune's got disease immunity from Aura. It's long been theorized that Ozma was killed by cancer, way back in the day. The healing'd help with most of the small shit, but lethal illnesses?

Click to shrink...

Did people at that time even have an aura or just magic? Judging by the show, magic is easier than aura (at a basic level). Humanity had no motivation to open the aura. It seemed to me that Ozma was surprised by the aura during his first reincarnation. (or so I remembered)
Plus, I personally think that Jaune will be immune due to his alien origin.
People are always afraid of diseases from other planets in science fiction, and forget that they evolve to suit the organisms around them. Plants do not suffer from human diseases and vice versa. If humanity is very different genetically, Jaune is in no danger.

 

[Lazurman]

Did people at that time even have an aura or just magic? Judging by the show, magic is easier than aura (at a basic level). Humanity had no motivation to open the aura. It seemed to me that Ozma was surprised by the aura during his first reincarnation. (or so I remembered)

Click to shrink...

I believe humanity did always have Aura. Ozma certainly didn't hesitate to trivially kill a Grimm with a sword when he reincarnated. His confusion likely stemmed from them not being his hands, his body, instead a stranger's.

He also didn't call out Aura as something that had appeared in the time between his death and rebirth, only Dust and faunus.

 

[Demiurgos]

I asked him before on AO3 but he asked me if Darkphoenix (was that his name?) chose an AU version of RWBY.
Making many things different in the environment.
Because it would be fun to see Jaune see his mother or sister from another universe.

It may or may not be based on an idea I thought of. In which Jaune's mother is Artoria Lancer Alter and everything ends in incest (like no one expected). Everything would be based on a chatbot that I saw.

 

[jadecriminal]

Ah, Dishonored. A supposedly narrative driven game whose introduction parts crashed my belief in the directors storytelling ability so hard I lost all desire to play and refunded it.

So all I know is from osmosis: Plague, supposedly merciful nonlethal actions result in fates worse then death.

This story is interesting but he brought back Tattletale of all people... I guess it could be worse as she isn't actively malicious.

Also did he lose that tinkertech knife he picked up? I guess he did get melee leviathan so that's fair.

 

[Mishkaz]

I guess they'll be playing a part in Emily's rescue.

 

[naturaljunior]

oh man I forgot about the Heart, that was dope af.

 

[spartansneverdie312]

No blondes but there is a brunette damsel in distress. That said, the loot isn't that impressive, guns and some elixirs. I bet the best loot in the whole mission would be to sell the damsel in distress.

Click to shrink...

Don't forget the eldritch abominations. Some of the Outsider's boons are kinda busted. Like stopping time.

Edit:
I hope we revisit Worm. I loved the Sundancer interactions: they stole the show for me. Sure, every si/oc/whatever meets with Lisa or Taylor and the other, but Sundancer was a breath of fresh air.

 

[naturaljunior]

Don't forget the eldritch abominations. Some of the Outsider's boons are kinda busted. Like stopping time.

Edit:
I hope we revisit Worm. I loved the Sundancer interactions: they stole the show for me. Sure, every si/oc/whatever meets with Lisa or Taylor and the other, but Sundancer was a breath of fresh air.

Click to shrink...

Sundancer interaction was so wholesome, wanted her instead of Lisa to follow him.

 

[spartansneverdie312]

Sundancer interaction was so wholesome, wanted her instead of Lisa to follow him.

Click to shrink...

Same! Her power is more interesting to work around too, unlike Lisa, who just becomes an exposition dump.

 

[Fragment of Serenity]

Well... this could go great... or really, truly, awe inspiringly poorly.

All depends on if Corvo is feeling merciful or not. 50/50 odds.

I'm hoping that he's one of the less... stabby versions of Corvo. If so, he and Jaune might actually get along well.

Either version will try to murder Lisa as she is categorically incapable of keeping her mouth shut.

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Jaune flipped the gold coin high in the air, admiring the way it glinted in the light as all his worries seemed to just fade away.

He has been doing this on and off ever since they discovered the odd little disc lying forgotten on a shelf and Tattletale taught him how. His whole life he only ever encountered Lien, and it seemed so normal for currency to be in the form of rectangular cards that he at first thought it a joke on hearing there were places that still use coins. It's wild how people would walk around with precious metals in their pocket, let alone something this heavy, but he sort of understood the point now. The ting sound the coin makes when flicked was very satisfying.

Earth Bet preferred paper money according to Tattletale, flimsy pieces of paper that can tear or smudge. Stamped with ink. Unlaminated. Pure insanity.

This piece of revelation did suggest he essentially robbed the convenience store in Brockton Bay he visited, considering Lien would be of an unknown and unaccepted denomination. That, or he had left behind otherworld artifacts of far greater worth compared to the things he took. Food for thought.

In any case, his search of the living room had further yielded a silver coin plus three of copper hidden under the couch cushions, which altogether he hoped would suffice for buying some necessities. Other than that, the apartment appeared devoid of valuables, and with the beginning of restlessness setting in, Jaune would glance at the bedroom entrance every minute or so as he waited. Tattletale entered it a short while ago to comb for more of this world's coinage while he stayed out here, and he had not heard a peep from her since then. He should probably check on her.

"Ahhhhh!"

He should definitely check on her.

The scene he arrived at, sword drawn, was of a threadbare room containing many empty bottles, a faded painting, a bed, a table, and a Tattletale perched atop the table. Back pressed against the wall, she caught sight of him and at once pointed a finger at the ground. He followed it down, scanning for the grave threat that had terrified her.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

It, being a rat half-visible under the bed.

Jaune looked from her to it, to her. "You have Aura. Its bites won't even break your skin. Come on, get down from there and let's go."

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" she rattled on in a continuous loop, staying right where she was. He supposed a lifetime of being a squishy person from Earth, lacking Aura, was screaming at her that rats were dangerous creatures.

Too bad, he wasn't about to kill small animals on a whim. Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors and crossed the room over to Tattletale, holding out both arms with the intention to pick the girl up and carry her from the room. In doing so, he walked past the bed.

His shadow must have startled the creature. It leapt for him.

Tattletale screamed. Jaune screamed. The rat screamed, then went splat as Jaune punted it mid-leap into a wall.

What? The damn thing jumped higher than he expected, straight at his descendants. He can be forgiven for panicking a little.

"Is it dead?" Tattletale asked in the ensuing quiet, peeking around him for a better view.

"The bloody smear says yes. Poor guy."

She glared at him as she climbed off the table. "That 'poor guy' was foaming at the corners of its mouth and had bloodshot eyes. The rats are the ones spreading the disease!"

Jaune paled.

"Are we going to be okay? Because we're in a room with it, and I'm pretty sure rats get everywhere in a city."

"Oh god, don't remind me." Tattletale looked ready to camp out on the table again. She rubbed her forehead, thinking. "You said Aura would block their teeth, right? So long as it transfers through biting, we should be safe. The problem would be if it's airborne. I think I found a medicine which can help, but to make sure, can you use your phone—" He corrected her on the terminology, she ignored it— "to pull up the description for this?"

She held out her hand to show him a vial. Composed of a hexagonal glass tube capped by a metal lid, it featured a label proclaiming the glowing red liquid contained inside as 'Sokolov's Elixir'. Taking it, Jaune entered the Marketplace page that detailed his sellable possessions (plus Tattletale).

"Sokolov's Elixir…says here it's a flawed attempt at a cure, only effective for staving off the earliest of onset if you catch the disease—and you were right, they call it the 'Rat Plague'."

For a moment, the validation Tattletale gained from her accurate deduction overcame the wariness at her surroundings, and a beaming smile lit up her face as she fist-pumped in delight. His snickering brought her back down to Remnant, and she tried to play it off.

"A-hem. Of course I'm right. I'm always right. Anyway, we should hang on to the elixir, and keep an eye out for more. Unless we have a way of getting enough Points for some sort of immunity [Skill] or an actual cure from the store, this could save our lives."

"Works for me. 'Blood from the eye' doesn't exactly sound like a good time." Jaune tucked it into a pocket on his poncho, opposite the one carrying the remaining stimpaks from the package he bought and used on Tattletale. "Did you find anything else?"

He asked for the sake of politeness; her empty hands rather answered that question, as the outfit she wore featured neither pocket nor space. To his surprise, the girl shouted an "Ah!" and ducked around him to approach the bed. She then thought better of it, and skipped away while gesturing for him to go ahead.

"There's something behind the bedpost. I was reaching for it when the rat attacked me."

"And now you want me to risk a second rat, is that it?" Jaune groused in faux-outrage, knowing quite well he would have suggested the same plan. Due to his combat training, him scouting from the front lent their party better odds of surviving whatever threat they may face. The wimpy Thinker, not so much.

Propping one knee on the floor, he leaned low, fishing out his own scroll instead of the Company one and turning on the flashlight function. A sweep of the dark corners confirmed no other rodents in sight. Just some pieces of trash, dust, and the aforementioned object lying where Tattletale said it would. The strange shape and feel piqued his curiosity, and after retrieving it, he and Tattletale stood in a huddle to study the thing.

"Looks like a piece of junk," he remarked.

Indeed, the object seemed to lack any clear purpose, a three-pronged contraption made of brass and a milky white material, affixed to a buckle. An odd script decorated the prongs with unfamiliar letters. He tossed it up and down, trying to understand how something with such an awkward shape can rest so comfortably in the palm of his hand.

Tattletale recognized the material before he did.

"Ewww—It's made from bones!"

The obvious concern struck him. "Human?"

A moment of thinking—or perhaps Thinking, as one might call it when superpowers are involved—and she arrived at an answer. "No, it belongs to a bigger creature. Whale or shark, given the nearby sea."

Much relieved, Jaune exhaled a long breath. Nobody ever wants to hear that they were currently inside a cannibal's house, so confirmation otherwise was appreciated.

The scroll gave them a name for the item. Locals refer to it as a 'bone charm'. Tattletale would not stop grinning after they learned she was yet again correct. Jaune let her be, because she had uncovered a gem.


Bone Charm
Universe: Dishonored
Harmless superstition, or foul witchery? Good luck charm, or the conduit to a place Outside?
That's not up to you to decide.
Under certain circumstances, this accessory is capable of granting esoteric abilities. Currently inert, deVoid of a power source.


It was a magic amulet!

Okay, the wording may evoke some (or many) worrying connotations, and the feedback Tattletale suffered from her power when she delved too hard into the item's various implications lent a level of credence to it. For the value of 260 Points and its ease of carry, though? The charm was for sure coming along with him, empowered or not. In fact, he preferred it as-is, a mere trinket he can pawn off at a good price without a debate on the pros and cons of keeping it on hand.

That, after half an hour into the trip? In the literal next room over? Not bad. Delighted by the find, he sported a chipper smile as he practically skipped to the apartment's front entrance.

Following the ignoble start to their adventure that was the battle against a rodent, Jaune and Tattletale opened the doors to a new world.

"Woooow, the city looks as bad out here as in there," Jaune commented. A hop took him from the top of the broken staircase to the ground. Tattletale followed with less grace, but succeeded in sticking the landing.

The surrounding area existed in a state of neglect, vegetation springing up through the cracks and unboarded windows shattered. The worst of the lot was the building opposite him, located at the end of its own lane branching off the main avenue. A grand edifice six stories tall, its supporting structures have collapsed on both sides to leave one rickety tower piercing the sky, wrapped in vines. It swayed in the winds.

Shaking his head at that monument to all building code violations, he walked out onto the street, noting how both ends of the road along with all the alleys were encased in the same type of barricade he saw earlier, and had no easy means to exit. Posters dotting the brick walls advertised theater shows and circus acts, memories of a better time judging by the faded print. His lips curled in distaste at the one boasting of the viciousness of their dog fights, though the poster beside that soon captured his attention.

~The Golden Cat~
The finest ladies in all the Isles
Skilled in the sensual arts!​

My, my.

"You're gawking."

"I'm just surprised since Vale doesn't allow those places to advertise themselves so blatantly. Euphemisms are the order of the day for adult goods and services. It's an academic interest, I assure you."

"Uh-huh." Her voice dripped with doubt. "Come on, let's get out of here. This place is so quiet, it's creepy."

Now, why did she have to remind him? He had almost managed to ignore the deafening silence and what it portends. The sun, the little of it visible through the clouds, sat high in the sky, yet the two of them accounted for the only living souls around. Jaune looked from the top of the tower to the vacant sidewalk, from the face in a window to the darkest nook and cranny, hoping that everyone had departed from the area instead of…well…departed.

Hang on, he saw what in a window?

His gaze snapped towards the second floor of a building adjacent to the tower, a large structure featuring a restaurant or similar on the ground level. He searched for human features behind its curtains.

Nothing. Had it been a trick of the light?

"There are people inside that pub." Tattletale declared with absolute certainty, pointing to the same building.

"You spotted the face, too?"

"Errrr, what face?" Before Jaune could shout 'ghost!' and run screaming, she elaborated. "Someone swept away the muddy tracks leading to the door. The residue is still wet, meaning it was a recent thing. Seven minutes ago, to be precise."

Jaune tried to identify said details, then gave up and accepted her word on the matter. She owned a superpower geared for detecting clues; he'd trust her to know what she was talking about. Besides, mud prints denoted shoes, which meant no ghostly hauntings. People, he could handle just fine.

The pair glanced at each other. Understanding flashed between their eyes, and they shared a nod.

"Alright," Tattletale began, "this is the gameplan—hey!"

Jaune spun around, blinking. "What's wrong? I figured we could just go knock on the door and see if they're in."

"No! I mean, yes we should, but…Oh, nevermind." She slumped, and drudged over to follow him.

Her attitude left him scratching his head, but he proceeded to do just that, approaching the front door to give it three sharp raps. While they waited for a response, he peered at the sign above the entrance, which proclaimed this as the Hound Pits Club. That name spoke volumes of the establishment's favorite pastime.

Once they reached the minute mark, he turned to Tattletale again, jerking a thumb at the pub to ask a silent question. She mimed a walking motion with her fingers.

"Hey there, we're coming in!" he called ahead. With a light push, the door opened.

"Duck!"

Tattletale's warning came too late. An arm slithered around him to seize hold, and the man who had not been behind Jaune a second earlier pressed a blade to his throat.

"Don't move."

So, of course, Jaune did the natural thing for a Huntsman in this situation, and moved. He jerked his head aside, allowing the sword to scour across his neck, painful but failing to leave a scratch on Aura, and snapped a backfist to the assailant's face. Knuckle struck metal, enhanced strength winning out to force the man to let go.

Arming himself with shield and sword, Jaune advanced on his opponent still recovering. He swung his blade. It cut nothing but air.

"How did you do that?" he blurted to the dark-clad figure now standing a few yards from his original position.

"You first." The voice sounded neutral, the man's emotions inscrutable under the metal mask styled in the fashion of an eerie, grinning skull. It was dented where Jaune struck, the damage evidently not enough to take him out of commission. Rather than waiting for an answer, he took a step. A blur, and he vanished to reappear on Jaune's right side, stabbing. The shield deflected it, and the man spun with the motion, slashing Jaune on the cheek. Once more, to little effect.

Trying for a feint, Jaune dipped his shield arm, an opening immediately capitalized on. He tanked the attack, countering with a strike of his own. At this distance, it could not miss. Yet, miss it did, his opponent seeming to teleport right out of his grasp.

The fight approached a stalemate apparent to everyone involved. Jaune failed to connect even one hit, while his opponent cannot land a decisive blow. There was a troubling moment when the man went for a device strapped to his belt, but he changed his mind and left it alone. That act of restraint convinced Jaune to dial back, aiming solely for arms and legs, signaling for the other man to respond in kind.

Further deescalation was derailed by newcomers pouring out of the building. Most of them were garbed in normal, if dated, clothes that marked them as everyday civilians. They wielded clubs and kitchen knives, harmless for a given value of harmless. Jaune dismissed them as serious combatants.

The one at their front was different. His hard-set face was scarred and weathered. Dressed in a military officer outfit one might see from the Great War, festooned with medals, he carried a pistol in one hand and took aim, not at Jaune, but at Tattletale who stood a small distance behind the boy. Without a trace of hesitation, he fired.

…

"Didn't you say that Aura protects me? I would have been fine," muttered Tattletale into his chest.

"I might have forgotten, and getting shot still fucking hurts," Jaune said through gritted teeth. "Also, was it me or was that guy smirking?"

"Uh-huh. He planned on you jumping in front of me. Thinks he'll get an easy shot that way."

"What if I hadn't?"

"Then he expected I'd be dead," she growled, face darkening. "He wouldn't mind that outcome either. Bastard."

The military man seemed to swear by his method, though. Once he got over the sight of a human blocking a bullet with his back—right where the heart was—and living, he raised a second pistol to try again.

Jaune's first opponent appeared by his side, pulling the gun hand to point it at the sky. Their entire group halted to stare at the unexpected development.

"Corvo?"

"You can stop there, Havelock. The boy was disengaging from our battle when you arrived." He then addressed Jaune. "I never intended to harm your life, merely to subdue then ask for the why and how of you locating us. If you lay down your arms, I swear your woman will be safe."

Tattletale squawked in outrage.

Cautiously, Jaune lowered his weapons. When no attacks ensued, he put the sword back in its scabbard. The final test of their promise came when he returned the shield to sheath-form. Aside from some intrigued gazes at the mechanism, in particular from a bespectacled man, they kept to the deal. The newly identified Havelock re-holstered his pistols, and the man named Corvo activated his own mechashift to fold the sword into a compact form.

Jaune has found a compatriot!

"Good." Corvo nodded his thanks. "now, would you mind answering my question?"

Havelock coughed into his hand. "We should retire to a place less open. The district is supposed to be abandoned, but who can say for sure what spectators we might have garnered with the previous commotion." He indicated the Hounds Pit Club for emphasis.

That it would let them surround Jaune and Tattletale went unspoken, though it may also be that he realized the futility of such a trap.

The interior of the pub nailed the classic look that many try to emulate. Or, he supposed, the period-appropriate look. A long wraparound bar, spacious and sturdy. Aged wooden floor, smoothed by years of customer traffic. Booths lined the windows, seats upholstered in red leather. A sense of upscale pretension long since faded permeated the atmosphere.

Most of the inhabitants retreated to the periphery, leaving a select few individuals to handle the matter, the leaders of this outfit if Jaune were to judge. Corvo and Havelock were among them. Another, pinched face sneering, dressed himself in aristocratic fineries. The last sported an austere jacket in black embroidered with gold trimmings. They set themselves at a remove, facing the pair.

Havelock took point on the conversation, manner brusque. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

I'm something like a pirate, here to blunder. Show me to the booty!

"Let me talk." Tattle pushed him aside, even without her superpower able to guess that he was thinking dumb thoughts. To the room, she said, "I'm Taylor, and he's John." She told the lie without even batting an eye. "We're—"

"Are we truly going to entertain this harlot's farce?"

The room froze stock still, and the temperature dropped to below zero. Tattletale's friendly smile transformed into one much more vicious as she glared at the aristocratic man.

"Excuse me?" she hissed, eyes narrowed to slits.

Corvo interceded, "Pendleton, I advise that you recant your words. They are currently our guests—"

"I'm sorry, but are you blind to her attire?" He swept a hand up and down to indicate the supervillainess's costume, then pointed at Jaune. "And accompanied by a 'John' to boot? They were obviously looking for a place to rut. Just dump their bodies in the river and be done with it. Unless we can make a deal…" A lecherous grin grew on his face.

Tattletale skipped two steps to stand behind Jaune, putting her body out of the man's view, and stuck out her tongue over Jaune's shoulder. "Yuck! Never in a million years, old man! And curb that bloodthirst. Your attack dog won't do squat to us." She turned to Corvo, shrugging in mock helplessness. "What? That's how he thinks of you. Strange, though. He believes you can take us on even after that display outside. Ah ha ha, it's because you managed to do the impossible in his eyes. Murder, but not a simple murder." Her eyes flicked from face to face. "Someone important, someone secured in his seat of power. Very impressive. And that's not close to being the last target."

Jaune's fingers inched towards his sword as intense gazes centered on them.

"I know not what dreamful substance has you under its sway, but I would be cautious of bandying about wild accusations were I you," Havelock warned.

"Awww, don't call me a liar, not when you're all traitors." The tension ratcheted up another notch. "Or do you prefer freedom fighters? Loyalists? You were an admiral, weren't you? But the regime change put an end to that." Tattletale glanced from him to Corvo. She read his posture, and what she gleaned there cut short her scathing diatribe. "Who is she?"

Panicked, the last man said to the others in a rush, "They know too much. We can't let them leave."

Holstered weapons made their return to hands. Jaune replied in kind, armed and ready for renewed hostilities. Notably, everyone on that side sent expectant looks towards Corvo. The 'attack dog' moniker might be insulting, but not inaccurate, then. At least, they seem to acknowledge him as the best fighter among their group.

Corvo did not oblige them. When he brought his hands up, they were empty, held with palms outward in the universal—and apparently multiversal—'calm down' gesture.

"Given the information you may or may not possess, what are your intentions towards us?"

Tattletale opened her mouth, pausing when Jaune nudged her in warning. They were one step away from a complete breakdown of diplomacy. She rolled her eyes, before giving the room a bright smile. No one was fooled.

"Well, we want payment, of course." Under her breath, she added onto her statement to dispel Jaune's alarm. "Follow my lead. Trust me." Then, louder. "We're for hire! Think of us as troubleshooters of a sort. I'm the brain, he's the brawn. We take care of problems others cannot."

Him, merely the brawn? This slight shall not go unpunished.

"He is, as you witnessed, an absolute juggernaut, capable of shrugging off bullets and blades with nary an injury. Who among you can boast the same?"

Yet, as her boon companion, he must back her up in these circumstances. Yup, yup. Jaune played along and flexed his arms, elated at the flattery.

"As for me—"

"What my partner lacks in might, she compensates for with her astounding intellect." Jaune lowered his arms, resting one on Tattletale's shoulder. She tolerated it, preening at the compliment he paid. "Secrets cannot hide from her eyes, as you have experienced for yourselves."

"You're trying to infiltrate a location," Tattletale, unable to help showing off, further demonstrated. She read a new detail off Pendleton, and used the tidbit to elaborate. "A brothel."

Jaune spread the other arm out wide as if to invite applause for a magic trick. In fact, one person at the far end of the pub did exactly that, sending Tattletale's ego to the stratosphere. The rest were not far behind in their amazement, even if they hid it better.

Hell, he himself had to admit that it was a neat ruse, wowing people with knowledge she can't possibly have access to. Professional fake-psychics would kill to own her ability.

"In short," Tattletale concluded her pitch, "whatever it is you need, an extraction plan for the little girl or a bodyguard who would not blink at withstanding lethal attacks during the rescue, there's nobody in the world more suited than us!"

Jaune whispered at her from the corner of his mouth. "I'm down with the idea, but why are you so agreeable to this?"

An innocent person in captivity? Sign him up for the mission. That Tattletale pushed for it was a pleasant surprise. She might be sweeter than she let on.

"The girl in question is royalty," she whispered in reply.

Royalty, the implication being that her safe return was worth a whole lot of gold coins and magic amulets. With that piece of information, Jaune questioned Tattletale no further; it fitted what he knew thus far of her character to a tee.

An examination of the pub indicated a favorable reception. The civilians were the most impressed, but he doubted they held much sway over any decisions made given their deference to the smaller cadre before him. Havelock wore an expression almost akin to excitement—it was difficult to tell for sure on that rockface of his. That he had removed his hands from his pistols said it clearer than words can; he very much liked the sales pitch. The still-unnamed man appeared interested, tapping his chin in thought. Pendleton continued to glare but Jaune attributed that to the total rejection he received from Tattletale and him raging about it. Their final member, Corvo…

"The thing you see is blank to me."​

…he stood unmoving in an odd pose, arms crossed with a cupped palm open to the ceiling. The skull mask revealed nothing of his opinion, though it spoke volumes of the influence that the 'attack dog' wielded in how the others waffled one way or another without coming to a conclusion as they waited on him.

And, finally, Corvo broke his silence, choosing to give neither acceptance nor rejection, but a test.

"Answer me this: how would you get inside the Golden Cat brothel quietly?"

"Why not go in through the front door?"

Everyone, Tattletale included, stared at Jaune. In the unsettling silence, he scratched his cheek, nervous and wondering if he said something stupid.

He had very little inkling of how a brothel operated when it came to the nitty-gritty details, since he never entered one, but the classical model of the business set itself up as essentially another brick-and-mortar shop, right? Customers go there to purchase services and whatnot. The ad poster they slapped on the wall outside denoted its status as a legal enterprise; the place should therefore be publicly accessible rather than hidden, leading to even fewer hoops to jump through than, say, one of the unlicensed brothels in Vale.

The snooty aristocrat was the first to recover, laughing in his face. "Haha! Yes! We'll just have a wanted man walk where he pleases. What could go wrong?" The laugh shifted to a snarl. "Fool!"

Sheesh. They could have just mentioned that caveat beforehand.

Tattletale came to his rescue, interrupting, "Hang on, people. He's got a good idea going. Each one of you is a known party, but us?" She pointed at Jaune, then at herself. "We're strangers, free to go in. It would be a simple matter from there to act as his lookouts and support squad, passing along information for Corvo to complete the mission. Should things go wrong, he'll have a second fighter on hand to cover his retreat. How about it?"

The cadre looked at each other.

"We must confer on this," Havelock declared.

Jaune and Tattletale were bade to rest at a booth, while the four men retreated to a different table, within view but out of earshot. There, they discussed the merits of the suggested plan.

-o-​

An admiral, an assassin, and two blonds gathered around a sewer access hatch. No, this was not the start of a joke.

"We do not know what's down there."

"You do. That guy scouted it out earlier."

"Therefore, your task is to identify the source of the recent noises."

"People. Sick people. They've gone mad at this stage of the plague and will attack us on sight. There, test completed."

With how Havelock's teeth were grinding, Jaune would not be surprised if they ended up as stumps. The man's sinking mood contrasted the smug grin growing on Tattletale's face.

With great effort, the former (though don't say that to his face) admiral nodded to confirm her deductions.

"As you say. However, we will reserve judgment of your capabilities until we see results."

This band of monarchic loyalists may be amenable to the idea of hiring them, but Jaune suspected Tattletale's continued presence would reverse that opinion within the next ten minutes if he did not interfere. She has a gift, and to stop her from sharing it with everyone else, Jaune hooked his arm around hers.

"Come along, Chatterbox," he said, pulling the girl towards the hole in the ground. Not too deep, the drop to the walkway below measured about ten feet by eyeball estimate. They never installed a ladder, necessitating a jump.

They landed in a tunnel. Dark, dank, built of bricks and low enough that Jaune had to stoop. Someone above must have flipped a switch, because a lone light turned on at the corner ahead, the sole path forward from their position. Jaune and Tattletale shared a look, then started walking.

"She carries the scent of far-off shores. It carries no scent at all."​

Taking the turn let them enter the main area proper. The actual sewage pipes were tacked onto an existing tunnel network, which spanned the width of a city street and featured a path running along the side. The surface of the walkway was dry, to their relief. Fishermen boots or not, wading through filth would have sucked. Broken boats in the shallow water and sunlight beaming in from a sea entrance told the tale of a smuggler's den once upon a time.

Jaune took a step, but paused as he felt a tap on his arm. He turned to ask what Tattletale needed. His eyebrows raised at her response.

"Can you turn off Blank?"

"I'd prefer not to. You understand exactly why." Jaune deadpanned.

"I'm serious."

So was he. Still, he waited for her to explain.

"I should have asked you the moment we got to this world. I didn't expect we'd run into danger so soon. We're in known hostile territory now, though, and during an op, I need a full grasp of the available information, which you interfere with. The wrong conclusions can get us killed. Being able to use my power lets me stay on the same page as you, to better work together. Some privacy in the day to day is fine, but…sometimes the situation demands otherwise." She finished with a shrug, leaving him to ponder her words.

With a mental click, the defenses of Blank came down.

"...Just like that?"

"Were you lying?"

"Uh-uh."

The cheeky smile said otherwise.

"That's my normal smile." she protested, not even noticing that she was once again holding conversations with his unspoken thoughts.

"He lied to the girl who believed him most; she tricked him with a kiss."​

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember that I can turn it back on whenever I like."

To their dismay, the path terminated further down, only resuming after a lengthy gap. The metal catwalk meant to span the intervening distance had collapsed into the water. A nearby door renewed Jaune's hope that they could advance while remaining on dry land, but it was locked.

"You really, really do take me to the best places, Jaune," Tattletale remarked as they waded into the mix of seawater and sewage. She looked ill, her superpower revealing all sorts of details about what she was stepping in. "They disposed of bodies here. People. Dogs, too. And…there's a vibration in the water. I'm not sure why."

"Did you get anything on our target?"

A noise came from around the bend, a hacking cough. Then, the sound of vomiting.

"They're close."

What an astute observation.

"And it's targets. Plural." She mulled it over, listening for more sounds. "Two of them. One closer than the other."

That was part of the test, wasn't it? Either Tattletale detected the second threat, or it would catch them with their guards down.

Peeking past the corner, they spotted a figure on a walkway. Jaune's first look of a person infected with the plague affirmed his resolve to chug down those elixirs by the barrel. Pale, waxy skin pockmarked by gouges, either from scratching himself raw or from the insects that wriggled in and out of their living nest. Two streams of blood dripped down the man's face. A black sludge poured from his mouth. He alternated between piteous moans and snarls.

A change in perspective, and Jaune observed the target as a foe. A stumbling gait, uncoordinated. Empty hands, no weapons to speak of. The maddened mind removed the possibility of tactics or skills. A negligible threat.

"I'll take care of this." Jaune climbed onto the walkway.

The infected person heard the sound a sword makes when it withdrew from a scabbard, and turned in their direction. Shield raised, sword prepped for a stab, Jaune advanced towards the plague-carrier, on guard for the moment they would attack.

The man– the thing, it shambled down the corridor, stretching its arms wide to catch Jaune. It would not succeed. He aimed his blade and—

"Jaune, don't kill him! Just knock him out!"

Adapting, he twisted the sword, lifting it to bonk the infected person on the head with the flat of the blade. They promptly collapsed, unconscious.

"What was that, Tattletale?"

The girl caught up with him, and spared a glance both disgusted and pitying to the body at their feet.

"He wasn't hostile, not really. The body language said he was glad to see you. There's enough of a mind left in there to think of seeking help, but he didn't realize he might spread the disease to us that way."

Oh.

"Good job. Thanks for warning me." He would have regretted it, he thought, had he killed the man and found that out afterward.

"Eeeeeeargh…"

As one, they looked to the source of that groan. Out of the gloom appeared another figure, similar to the first in displaying symptoms of the Rat Plague. The difference was, this one retained surer legs, outright sprinting at them.

"Is that a cry for help, too?"

Tattletale shook her head, and hid behind him. "He's hoping to murder and eat us. I dun wanna be dinner, Jaune."

"Got it."

He returned his sword into its scabbard, then used the entire thing to none so gently whack the charging berserker upside the head as he came within range. Momentum sent the body sliding across the ground for a bit, stopping right before it would drop in the water.

"Nice!" he complimented his own feat. A conundrum soon arose, however. "Do you have handcuffs on you?"

Tattletale spun to show all sides of herself, then spread her hands helplessly.

Right. No pockets. He eyed the nearby branch tunnel.

"What do you think of splitting up? You'll guard them, and I'll keep going."

"Nope. No way. That's how people die in movies, Jaune. Besides, without me spotting the signs, you could well get ambushed. It's safest that we stick together."

"Alright, but that does mean we might need to knock them out a second time on the way back."

"She hates being alone, it reminds her of home."​

At a glance, the next stretch of the tunnel was clear of plague victims. Before they traveled down it, Tattletale directed him to an abandoned cabinet next to the water. It had a note sitting on top that she immediately snatched up to read.

Jaune, on the other hand, picked up the object laying inside the opened cabinet, recognizing its style despite the different shape. The slab of whalebone was as big as his hand, supported by metal clamps and decorated with abstract markings. Individual bits and pieces of the art reminded Jaune of different things—a sword, a chair, a clock… a compass maybe—yet the whole of the thing seemed nonsensical at best.

Sellable. That's the important word to remember.

"What did the note say?"

Tattletale crumpled up the letter and tossed it over her shoulder. "Nothing you want to know. By the by, I recommend getting rid of that thing the first chance you get."

Jaune checked the amount of Points he could get for it, and agreed. The first chance he gets after they leave this world, it's gone. What great value. He would like ten more of these 'runes' to bring back, please and thank you.

"Also, if Cthulhu rises from the deep, I'm abandoning you."

The random quip drew out a laugh from him. "Yeah, okay. Except, I can outrun you. If tentacles and fish people start appearing, they'll catch you before me."

Wait a minute, how come she knew of a Remnant fiction?

…

Best not to think about it. Tattletale clearly was, and her sickened face said nothing good.

"Ready to move on?"

"Definitely. I have a sudden and urgent need to be far away from the sea."

Of a like mind, they turned around.

A skull stared at them out of the darkness.

"AAAAAAA—"

"—AHHHHHH!"

"Hm. Work on that," Corvo advised the screaming, hyperventilating teens. "Maintaining one's composure is crucial to a successful mission." He indicated the bodies, now secured with ropes. "Well done subduing the weepers. I will inform Havelock that you have completed the task. Go wash up, there are rooms prepared for you."

-o-​

Jaune awoke in the middle of the night, shivering.

The chill seeped to his very bones, and burrowing into the blanket did nothing to stave it off. He twisted and turned for a minute or two, trying to rub warmth back in his arms, then decided on a different course when that failed to improve the situation. Maybe the heat needed restarting, and everybody was in bed hoping someone else would deal with it. That he had not one clue of how a Dustless system worked can be surmounted by grit and ingenuity. Probably.

Sitting up, he panned his gaze around the room.

"Huh. Lisa's not here."

Had the whispers of the pub's inhabitants gotten to her? They had certainly responded with scandal when the girl, distrustful of the rebels, insisted on bunking with him for safety. It was the sort of tut-tutting one would hear from prudish busybodies aghast at the very notion of opposite sexes existing in proximity before marriage, only more prevalent in this world's society than his own. Tattletale said it matched with a general attitude typical of an era from her world called Victoria England.

She acted blasé about it earlier, but who knows? The opinions of others have a way of getting to a person.

He did wonder how she moved her bed out of the room without waking him. Or why. The place was more empty than not, and possessed free beds aplenty.

Odd.

Slipping on his shoes, he walked to the door and pulled it open.

…

Jaune blinked in confusion.

He should have entered a hallway. What laid before his eyes was another bedroom. Half a bedroom. It had one wall. Above that stretched an endless void. He took a step forward, and nearly fell through a gap in the floor. Below that, nothingness.

Jaune grabbed onto the door frame, his breaths coming short and shallow. Frantic, he cast his eyes every which way. As he did, he began to pick out certain details.

The posters that hung on the bedroom wall. A video game console and the projector that would turn a scroll into a viewing screen. Comics and books on the shelves, titles he could recite by heart. A desk.

A set of papers laying atop an envelope, yet to be sent. He recalled this day.

Only…instead of a blond teenager agonizing over the crime he was about to commit, someone else stood before the desk. A man older than him by a year or two. Not much can be said of his plain features. Sickly pale, he had dark hair, cut short.

The false transcripts did not garner his attention. He was looking at a poster set above, of a Huntsman and a Huntress posing heroically to the backdrop that was a shining beacon of light.

Turning to Jaune, the young man with black eyes greeted him.

"Hello, cheater."

---

Author's Notes: No hell, below uuuus. Above us, only skyyyyy~
Don't fall in, though.

The Heart speaks, but can you hear it?

 

[Rehcra]

Not guy lie the the 'mysterious' guys at the end gives me incel vibes that say to me he's the type of person to drag people down to his level because he has nothing better to do.

Not sure how I got there but hey.

 

[DannyPhantom619]

Don't hate the player hate the game.

 

[Yokmakarok]

Not guy lie the the 'mysterious' guys at the end gives me incel vibes that say to me he's the type of person to drag people down to his level because he has nothing better to do.

Not sure how I got there but hey.

Click to shrink...

He is really not