Chapter Text
Operation: Un-Whipped
Chapter One: The Brotherhood of Huntsmen
The bell above the café door jingled as Jaune Arc stepped inside, shaking the dust from his boots. He spotted Ren already at a corner table, posture straight as always, sipping tea that looked far too fancy for the cozy little place.
"Late," Ren noted without looking up.
"Fashionably," Jaune countered, sliding into the booth. "Besides, we're waiting on—"
The door swung open again, and Sun Wukong bounded in with his usual grin. "Bros!" he announced far too loudly, drawing a few stares from the barista. "Long time no see!"
"Subtle as always," Ren murmured.
"Hey, subtlety is Neptune's job."
Right on cue, Neptune Vasilias strolled in, hair perfectly styled as if he'd just stepped out of a commercial. He adjusted his jacket before sitting, smirking. "Please, subtlety is an art. What Sun does is… noise."
Soon after, the group were seated together, exchanging handshakes mostly, except for Sun who insisted on hugging, much to Ren's dismay. They each had their order taken by the waitress and not long after, their drinks arrived and the gathering could finally be commenced.
The four clinked their glasses together—coffee, tea, iced mocha, and Sun's ridiculous smoothie.
"Can you believe this?" Jaune said, looking around the table. "Between missions, training, and, uh… everything else, it's been what? Months since we've actually hung out?"
"Closer to five," Ren corrected.
"See? That's tragic!" Jaune threw his arms up. "We're supposed to be the guys! The legendary brotherhood of huntsmen!"
Sun raised his glass. "To brotherhood!"
Neptune leaned back with a grin. "More like the Brotherhood of Whipped Huntsmen. Face it, we're all caught up in our relationships now."
Jaune sputtered. "Whipped? Excuse me, I'm not whipped."
Ren, deadpan: "Ruby says otherwise."
Jaune nearly choked on his drink.
Sun howled with laughter. "Dude, you didn't even deny it!"
Jaune crossed his arms, indignant. "I'll have you know Ruby respects me as a partner and a boyfriend!"
Neptune smirked. "Is that why she makes you wear safety goggles whenever you're in her workshop and she's playing with Crescent Rose?"
"That's called responsibility!" Jaune shot back. "You try standing within ten feet of her when she's welding."
Sun nearly spit out his smoothie. "Oh man, she's got you in full protective gear? Bro, you're not her boyfriend—you're her lab assistant."
Ren, quiet as ever, finally set down his tea. "At least Ruby is thoughtful. Nora once decided the fastest way to wake me up was with a frying pan."
The others winced.
"Like… she hit you with it?" Jaune asked carefully.
Ren nodded. "Twice. She said it was for my Aura training... after using it to make pancakes. She failed at that by the way."
Sun slapped the table, laughing. "That's not training, that's attempted murder!"
"Bonding," Ren corrected, expression perfectly flat.
Neptune leaned back with a grin. "Hey, at least none of you have Weiss Schnee for a girlfriend." He sipped his coffee dramatically. "Try surviving that shopping trip. I carried bags for two hours. Two hours. And then she said I was doing it wrong."
Sun burst out laughing. "What, like your posture wasn't classy enough?"
Neptune flicked his hair, unbothered. "It's all about presentation. She said I was holding them like a 'street vendor.'"
"Wow," Jaune muttered. "I thought Ruby was tough on me."
"Speaking of tough," Ren added, looking at Sun with a rare smirk. "How many times has Blake dragged you to the bookstore this month?"
Sun froze. "…That doesn't count."
"It counts," Ren replied smoothly.
Jaune grinned. "You didn't even deny it."
Sun leaned forward defensively. "Look, she gets lost in all the books, and somebody has to hold the stack, right? I'm supporting her passions!"
"You're her pack mule," Neptune said flatly.
Ren gave a tiny nod. "At least you're consistent."
Sun groaned and dropped his face into his hands.
Neptune raised his glass with a smug smile. "Gentlemen, I give you… the Brotherhood of Whipped Huntsmen."
Jaune opened his mouth to protest—then thought better of it. He didn't want to go down this rabbit hole on his own. Not like he had much to argue with based on their collective situations. That said, he was not about to cheers to it. Instead, he just twirled his glass.
Sun slapped his palms on the table. "No way. Nope. I'm not buying it. We are not whipped. I am too damn young to be a pack mule or whatever."
Ren stifled a laugh at his friend's inability to comprehend the term, while Neptune just lowered his glass, annoyed that no one had joined him in what was nearly an embarrassing statement—if he had any shame. Jaune, however, was glad someone had spoken up, even if it wasn't much of a conviction.
He recalled the days of living with his family, how his father always asked "how high?" when his mother told him to jump. Once, Jaune had asked why. The words were clear as day, something his father had learned from his father. And his father before him.
'She scares me, son.'
The blond knight sipped his drink as the memory surfaced, then recalled that night at Beacon all those months ago—when he and the others were pursued by a collective of drunk huntresses after their stupid ploy to record them drinking. He regretted the action now, of course… but not the outcome. Still, he was determined to break this chain the Arc men had suffered.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Jaune added with a shrug.
"Actually," Neptune cut in smugly, "I was going to say it first."
Ren and Jaune immediately groaned in unison:
"Glad you didn't."
"Super glad you didn't."
Neptune blinked. "Excuse me?"
Ren set down his tea calmly. "Every time you open your mouth, we all get in trouble."
Jaune nodded quickly. "The camera car. The double-date plan. That time you said to blackmail Ruby to get her to stop eating cookies in bed? Remember?"
Sun snorted, laughing. "Oh man, I did hear about that!"
"As did I," Ren added.
"Exactly!" Jaune threw up his hands. "So yeah, Neptune, you saying it first would've doomed us."
Neptune looked wounded. "My words are not cursed. Also, I regret nothing."
"They are," Ren said flatly.
Sun waved them off, leaning forward with determination. "Look, my point is—we don't have to just sit here and accept this. We're huntsmen! Warriors! We don't get whipped—we fight back!"
Jaune gave him a look. "Fight back against… your girlfriends?"
"Exactly!" Sun declared, puffing his chest out.
Ren sighed. "This won't end well."
Neptune smirked. "Oh, I'm in. What'd you have in mind, Monkey Boy?"
Sun grinned. "Simple. We each prove we're not whipped. One way or another."
The table went quiet for a moment, then Ren groaned into his hands. "This is going to end terribly…"
The table sat in silence after Sun's declaration. Ren's palm covered his face, muffling his sigh.
"Come on, man," Sun said, leaning toward him. "We need all four of us on this. Unified front. Brotherhood and all that."
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly. "The last time I listened to you three, I got captured, left behind, and Nora broke my pelvis."
Neptune winced. "Oof. Rough."
Jaune scratched his cheek, awkward. "In our defense, we thought you were right behind us."
"You ran off without me."
"…Yeah," Jaune admitted quietly.
Sun waved the past away with a grin. "Hey, you and Nora were bound to wind up together anyway. Now it's about balance, my dude. You need to take charge of your life with her."
Neptune leaned in with a practiced smirk. "Exactly. A broken pelvis is better than a broken soul, my friend."
Ren gave him a flat look that lasted several beats too long. Finally, he turned his gaze to Jaune.
Jaune straightened, twirling his glass once more. "Look, Ren… I've gotta break the Arc family cycle. And I can't do that if we don't stand together. Brotherhood, remember?"
Ren's lips pressed into a thin line. He looked ready to refuse again when his scroll suddenly buzzed. He glanced down at the caller ID, answered, and listened for only three seconds before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"She lit the curtains on fire again," he said flatly, and hung up. "The neighbors just called and said they took care of it… again."
The others watched him expectantly.
Ren exhaled, calm as ever, and raised his tea. "I'm in."
Sun whooped, nearly knocking over his smoothie. Neptune clapped Ren on the shoulder. Jaune grinned like a man who had just signed away his sanity but couldn't wait to see what happened next.
The Brotherhood of Huntsmen was united. And doomed.
The warm glow of Weiss and Neptune's apartment contrasted the chill of the evening outside. Ruby sat curled up on one end of the couch, nursing a cup of hot cocoa nearly drowning in whipped cream. Blake sat nearby, legs crossed with a slim novel resting in her lap, though she hadn't turned a page in a while.
Across from them, Weiss perched neatly on an armchair with her coffee, her posture as flawless as ever even in her own home. Nora sprawled on the rug, humming to herself as she scrolled through her device, only to flip it face-down when a neighbor's name flashed across the screen.
"Not again," Weiss said sharply, narrowing her eyes.
"Eh, it's fine," Nora chirped, waving it off. "Couple of flames on the stove builds character."
Ruby tilted her head. "Uh, flames on the stove are bad, Nora."
"Don't worry, I blew on it before I left," Nora said with utmost confidence.
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's… not how fire safety works."
Ruby took a sip of cocoa, then glanced between them. "So… is anyone else a little worried about the guys all meeting up tonight?"
Blake looked up from her book with a thoughtful hum. "Worried… or just cautious? It's been a while since they've all gone out together."
Ruby shifted in her seat. "Last time they did, we spent an entire night chasing them through Beacon after their brilliant idea of filming drunk huntresses. And then we had to act like Ozpin wasn't aware after graduation. It's still awkward seeing him."
Blake's lips twitched. "And Blake being afraid of your doll, Weiss. Snowball, was it?."
"Don't forget Neptune running down the hallway of the apartment handcuffed only for Yang to slug him as he tried to escape me," Weiss added crisply, setting her coffee down with a sigh. "Yes, I'm concerned. That group together is a magnet for idiocy."
Nora rolled onto her back, grinning. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. Ren and I made it out okay."
Weiss arched a brow. "Didn't he end up in the infirmary?"
Nora blinked innocently. "Oh, right. The pelvis thing. Minor detail."
Ruby groaned, covering her face with her hands. "This is why I'm worried."
The room went quiet for a beat, filled only by the sound of Blake turning a page.
Then, finally, Blake said, "Two days."
Weiss looked at her. "What?"
"That's how long I think it'll take before whatever they're doing catches up with them." Blake shut her book. "Two days."
Ruby peeked over her cocoa, eyes wide. "…That's generous."
Weiss sighed. "I'll give it one."
Nora shot both arms up with a grin. "Place your bets, ladies!"
The four of them chuckled at Nora's "place your bets" declaration until the laughter softened into a calmer rhythm.
Ruby smiled into her cocoa. "Honestly, though… it is kinda nice. The boys get their night, and we get ours. It feels like forever since we've just… hung out."
Blake closed her book, setting it aside. "Yeah. As chaotic as Yang and Pyrrha are as roommates, I do appreciate having some peace tonight. Sun doesn't exactly help the noise levels, but…" She allowed herself the faintest smile. "He's my himbo."
Ruby giggled, tucking her knees up. "I do miss our dorm life sometimes, you know? Us all crammed together at Beacon, staying up way too late. But…" She glanced down at her mug, cheeks pink. "…I like living with Jaune too."
Weiss arched a brow but said nothing, only hiding her smirk behind her cup.
Nora, meanwhile, sat up with a big stretch. "Dorm life, couple life—it's all the same for me and Ren. We live together, we train together, we shop together. He cooks, I taste-test. Perfect system." She nodded proudly, as though it were an established fact of nature.
Ruby grinned. "Sounds… very Ren and Nora."
Weiss set her cup down on its saucer with a small smile. "Well, regardless of what trouble the boys find themselves in, I will admit—it is nice to have these couple of days to ourselves. No missions, no noise, no nonsense."
"Except my stove," Nora added.
Weiss shot her a look.
Nora raised her hands defensively. "I blew on it!"
The girls laughed again, the cozy apartment filling with warmth that had nothing to do with the fire hazard Nora had probably left behind. For now, the night belonged to them.
Back at the café, the boys had relocated now to the little office space they'd somehow commandeered. The room smelled faintly of coffee grounds and cleaning solution, but Sun Wukong didn't care. He had donned his trademark sunglasses, rolled his sleeves up, and stood dramatically before a cheap whiteboard he'd borrowed from the staff.
On it, in bold messy handwriting, he had written:
Operation: Un-Whipped
Sun smacked the board with his marker for emphasis. "Gentlemen! As leader of Team SSSN, I hereby declare us the Brotherhood of Not Whipped Huntsmen! Our mission: prove to ourselves, to the world, and most importantly, to our girlfriends, that we are free men!"
Neptune raised a hand lazily from his seat. "Quick suggestion?"
"Denied," Jaune and Ren said in unison without looking at him.
Neptune frowned, crossing his arms. "You didn't even hear it."
"That's why it's denied," Jaune muttered, sipping his coffee.
Ren added, "It saves us time."
Sun ignored the exchange and continued, pointing the marker like a general leading troops. "Now, here's the game plan. Step one: Independence. Each of us needs to do something bold to show we can't be pushed around. Step two: Bravery. That means no backing down, no excuses, no—"
"Step three is probably regret," Jaune interrupted under his breath.
"Step three," Sun powered on, "is victory! And finally, step four: celebration. We reunite here in forty-eight hours to prove who truly stands tall!"
Ren leaned back, unimpressed. "This sounds more like a group sacrifice pact than a plan."
"Hey, you're just scared," Sun shot back. He tapped the board again with flourish. "But I believe in us. We can do this! Now—let's strategize our first moves."
He scribbled all their names down one side of the board with overdramatic arrows branching out, while Neptune watched with a smirk and Jaune rubbed his temples like a man already regretting life choices.
Sun drew the first name with a dramatic marker squeak: JAUNE.
"Alright, Fearless Leader. Your problem is Ruby walks all over you with her cuteness, and you fold like a lawn chair. You're a weak man for her shiny, mischievous eyes."
Jaune sputtered. "I am not a weak man!"
"Exactly why you're going to prove it," Sun said, underlining Jaune's name three times. "Your mission: say no the next time she wants something unreasonable. Cookies in bed. Getting sweets at midnight. Weapon modifications at sunrise. You stand your ground."
Jaune paled. "…You want me to tell Ruby no while she's holding a welding torch?"
Ren muttered, "Rest in peace."
Moving on, Sun scrawled the next name: REN.
"Now, Ren. Buddy. Pal. You're living with Nora, and she treats you like… well, like Nora treats you."
Ren's expression didn't change. "Accurate."
"Your mission: take charge of the kitchen. No more fires. No more making her pancakes on demand just to keep the peace. You are the cook, you make the rules, you own it."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "That's… not the worst idea."
Neptune leaned toward Jaune and whispered, "It's going to end with more fire, isn't it?"
Jaune nodded solemnly.
Sun then scribbled NEPTUNE in huge letters, adding a doodle of perfect hair waves for emphasis.
"You, pretty boy, are Weiss Schnee's boyfriend. Which basically makes you her butler."
Neptune gasped, offended. "I carry those bags with style."
"Yeah, but style doesn't make you free. So your mission: break free of the role. Start small. I know Weiss makes you go to bed when she does—so deny it if you're not tired!"
Neptune went white. "That's… death."
Ren nodded. "Definitely death."
Finally, Sun wrote his own name in huge block letters: SUN.
"And me? Simple. Blake's got me wrapped around her finger. Always dragging me to the bookstore. Always making me sit in awkward silence when I am a loud and outspoken manly man. My mission—" He spun the marker like a sword. "—is to put my foot down. I will not go silently into that good night or sit in a corner with a bunch of other guys I don't know who were also dragged along unwillingly!"
Neptune pinched the bridge of his nose. "This… is the dumbest plan I've ever heard."
Ren sipped his tea, deadpan. "And I've heard many."
Jaune slouched back with a grin. "Still better than half your ideas, Nep."
Sun slapped the board with finality. "Gentlemen, Operation: Un-Whip begins now."
The four of them sat in silence, contemplating the catastrophe to come.
"…This is going to end terribly," Ren repeated.
The silence stretched in the cramped office until Neptune slowly raised his hand again.
"No," Ren and Jaune said in perfect unison.
Neptune scowled. "It's a question. You're both rude."
Jaune gestured vaguely with his coffee. "Still no."
With a dramatic sigh, Neptune leaned back in his chair. "Fine. But let's say, hypothetically, all of this blows up in our faces—what's the contingency plan?"
Ren folded his arms. "Damage control?"
"Running away?" Jaune offered.
"Faking our deaths," Neptune said with a snap of his fingers, "and starting new lives in Vacuo. I've got the sunglasses for it."
Sun smirked and tapped the marker against the board. "Relax, gentlemen. I've got us covered. If plan A fails…" He slid the sunglasses down just enough to flash a grin. "…we roll into plan B. Trust me, you're gonna love it."
Ren groaned into his tea. "I already don't."
Jaune rubbed his face. "Why do I feel like plan B is just 'run faster'?"
Sun didn't deny it. The marker squeaked across the board one last time, underlining the bold letters of their doomed crusade.
Neptune's question hung in the air, and all eyes drifted back to Sun.
He lowered his sunglasses just enough to give them his trademark grin. "Plan B? Simple."
Ren frowned. "I knew it."
Sun smacked the board with the marker for emphasis. "If Operation: Un-Whip goes south, we go underground. Deny everything. We regroup, we rebrand, we come back stronger."
Jaune tilted his head. "…Rebrand?"
"Exactly," Sun said with absolute confidence. "New name. New mission. Operation: Extra Whipped."
The room went dead silent.
Ren stared at him flatly. "…You want us to surrender?"
"Not surrender," Sun corrected, pointing the marker like a sword. "Strategic retreat. We lean into it. Flowers, chocolates, compliments every five minutes—we go so over the top with the whipped thing that they can't even be mad anymore."
Neptune blinked, then slowly started nodding. "…Okay, I'm not gonna lie, that's actually genius."
Jaune groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "We're doomed."
Ren sipped his tea and muttered, "This really is a sacrifice pact."
Sun spun the marker triumphantly. "Gentlemen, whether it's Plan A or Plan B—we win either way."
Jaune raised a hand, his brow furrowed. "Wait. How exactly do we 'win' if Plan A fails? Because Plan B just sounds like… giving up."
Sun wagged the marker at him. "Not giving up. Reframing the battlefield."
Ren arched an eyebrow. "By showering them with bribes?"
"By showering them with affection!" Sun corrected, puffing his chest out. "Think about it—if we can't prove we're not whipped, then we prove we're the most whipped. It's reverse psychology. They'll be so overwhelmed by our devotion, they won't even remember the dumb thing we did in the first place."
Neptune leaned back with a smug grin. "I hate to say it, but that's… actually not terrible."
Jaune groaned. "That's not strategy, that's just surrender with extra steps!"
Sun jabbed the board again, sunglasses glinting. "Wrong! That's called adaptability. That's how winners think."
Ren sighed. "That's how losers justify themselves."
"Details," Sun said with a dismissive wave.
Jaune slouched in his chair, muttering under his breath. "This is going to end so badly…"
Sun just smirked. "Trust me, Jaune-boy. Whether it's Plan A or Plan B—either way, the Brotherhood walks away victorious."
Sun capped the marker with a flourish and leaned against the board like a conquering hero. "And once Plan B is in motion, gentlemen, that's when we pivot to Plan C."
Ren didn't even look up from his tea. "Of course there's a Plan C."
Jaune rubbed his temples. "Dare I even ask what it is?"
Sun grinned. "The ultimate counterattack: make them jealous."
Neptune perked up. "Jealous? Of what?"
Sun threw out his arms dramatically. "Of our freedom! We go out, we have fun, we act like we're living the single life—pool halls, karaoke, beach volleyball, whatever. Once they see we don't need them to keep us busy, the power dynamic shifts back in our favor."
There was a long pause.
Ren blinked. "You want to antagonize four incredibly dangerous women… on purpose?"
"Not antagonize—strategically demonstrate independence," Sun corrected, wagging his finger.
Jaune buried his face in his hands. "This is how we die."
Neptune, despite himself, leaned back with a smirk. "Okay, I don't hate it. Jealousy's a powerful motivator."
Ren sighed through his nose, deadpan. "So is fear. And broken bones. And hospital bills."
Sun slid his sunglasses back into place with a confident smirk. "Trust me, brothers. Operation: Un-Whip isn't just a plan. It's a movement. And with Plans A, B, and C in play… there's no way we can lose."
The room fell into heavy silence as the three of them stared at him, already envisioning their impending funerals.
Ren finally muttered, "I'm starting to miss the pelvis thing."
Sun thrust his hand forward, palm open. "Alright, brothers—let's seal this pact!"
Neptune grinned and slapped his hand down on top. "I'm in. Victory through strategy."
Jaune groaned, but Sun pressed on, rattling off the plan like a drill sergeant. "Step one: Independence! Step two: Bravery! Step three: Victory—or Plan B. And if all else fails—Plan C: jealousy! Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"
Neptune nodded confidently.
Jaune stared at them both like they'd lost their minds. "You know I'm going to end up guilty by association, right? Like, I don't even have to do anything—Ruby's gonna kill me just for being in the room."
Sun leaned in with a grin. "So you're in?"
With a heavy sigh, Jaune finally set his hand on the pile. "Fine. But if this explodes in our faces, I'm haunting you."
Ren sat back, arms crossed, eyeing the stack of hands like it was a death trap.
"Ren," Sun urged, voice serious now. "We can't do this without you. Brotherhood."
Ren exhaled slowly, then muttered, "This is idiotic, but I need to try something to save my curtains and kitchen." After a long pause, he placed his hand on the pile.
Sun's grin lit up the room. "Go Team Unwhipped Huntsmen!"
Neptune immediately frowned. "Terrible name. Sounds like a bad band."
Before Sun could argue, the office door creaked open and the café janitor stepped in, holding a mop. He blinked at the four of them crowded around the whiteboard.
"…Why are you in my storage room?"
The four huntsmen froze.
Jaune cleared his throat. "Team meeting?"
"Out."
Sun quickly snatched up the whiteboard as they were ushered into the hallway, still grinning like a man on the edge of glory.
Operation: Un-Whip had begun.
The night air was cool as Jaune and Neptune walked side by side, the faint glow of streetlamps lighting their path. The whiteboard scheme still weighed heavily on Jaune's mind, and his nerves finally spilled over.
"I'm terrified," he admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Like… absolutely terrified. Ruby's going to kill me the second I say no."
Neptune let out a humorless chuckle. "Think I'm not scared? Weiss is scarier than half the Grimm we've fought. But hey, we've got to stick together. United we stand, divided we fall."
Jaune shot him a look. "Neptune… last time we were united, we fell. Literally. Off a balcony into beacon's courtyard. Because of your brilliant 'sneak into their room with a camera' plan."
Neptune smirked despite the memory. "Yeah, but that's where the law of averages comes in, my friend. Statistically speaking, after that disaster, we're due for a win."
Jaune groaned. "That's not how math works."
"It's exactly how math works," Neptune said confidently as their apartment building came into view. "Tonight? We're rewriting history. Operation: Un-Whip starts now."
Jaune muttered under his breath, "And ends in the hospital…"
The glass doors of the apartment building slid open with a soft chime, spilling warm light into the night. Jaune followed Neptune inside, still dragging his feet like a man marching to his own execution.
"I'm telling you, this is going to blow up in our faces," Jaune muttered.
Neptune, ever composed, straightened his jacket and adjusted his hair in the glass reflection. "Relax, Arc. We've got a plan. Plans equal confidence. Confidence equals success."
"That's not how life works," Jaune shot back.
"Sure it is. It's called 'manifesting.'"
As they crossed the lobby, Neptune flashed a grin and a lazy wave to the receptionist behind the desk. "Evening, Cynthia!"
The young woman blinked, then offered a polite, if slightly awkward, smile in return. She avoided him now, mostly due to Weiss and her glares, but still had to be courteous if addressed. Jaune gave a small nod of greeting before tugging Neptune by the arm toward the elevator.
"You realize," Jaune said as they waited for the doors to slide open, "you're way too comfortable in this whole doomed operation."
"Correction," Neptune replied, stepping into the elevator once it arrived. "I'm confident. There's a difference."
Jaune sighed, following him inside. "You're also delusional. That's the difference."
The doors slid shut, leaving the two Huntsmen with nothing but the soft hum of the elevator and the weight of the missions they'd just sworn themselves into.
The elevator hummed softly as it carried them upward, the numbers above the door blinking lazily from floor to floor.
Neptune let out a long sigh, finally turning to Jaune. "Man, you've gotta quit with all this doom and gloom."
Jaune frowned. "Easy for you to say. You're not about to tell Ruby Rose 'no'. Whether she's holding Crescent Rose, a welding torch, nor nothing— that's a scary thought. Then I have to sleep next to her!"
Neptune placed both hands firmly on Jaune's shoulders, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Listen, Arc. This is it. You're either in, or you're out. No middle ground. So what's it gonna be?"
Jaune swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. After a long pause, he gave a single nod. "…I'm in."
"Good." Neptune's expression softened into a grin. "Then you need to start acting like it. You're going to break the Arc cycle, right?"
Jaune's lips twitched into a nervous smile. "…Right."
"Then we all have to do our part," Neptune continued, his voice carrying that rare serious edge. "We try. We fight back. We beat the system. Together."
The elevator chimed as the doors slid open to their floor, spilling warm light into the hallway.
Jaune exhaled slowly and stepped out beside him, muttering, "Together."
His shoulders rose and fell as if bracing for battle. "You're right. A man needs to stay strong to his convictions. He can't abandon his brothers."
Neptune smirked and gave a firm nod. "Exactly."
Jaune's expression wavered, a dry laugh escaping him. "Besides… it's not like I can say I didn't know about the plan if it all goes terribly wrong, anyway."
Neptune groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Not the pep talk I was going for, but… good enough."
They stepped out of the elevator together, boots echoing against the quiet hallway as they made their way down. Their apartments faced one another at the far end, doors just a few steps apart.
Both stopped in front of their respective doors, keys in hand. For a moment, neither moved. Slowly, they turned, meeting each other's eyes. No words—just a shared look, a silent understanding of the doomed missions awaiting them on the other side.
With matching grimaces, they slid their keys into the locks. A final nod passed between them. Brothers in arms. Brothers in peril, and then they turned the keys.