Fanfic / In the Kingdom's Service

Cover art by KegiSpringfield

Jaune Arc, Field Agent of the VSS - Vale's Secret Service, or at least that's what he's been told. All he knows is that they found out about his faked transcripts, and now he works in the interests of the Kingdom. With terrorists on the horizon, not to mention a shady organization and an even shadier group operating under Ozpin, what's a bumbling teen turned secret agent to do?

— FanFiction.Net summary

In the Kingdom's Service is an Alternate Universe Fic of RWBY, written by Coeur Al'Aran.

Complete as of September 9, 2018.

In the Kingdom's Service contains examples of:

• Adaptational Badass: Several characters. Cardin, Ciel, Velvet, and Yang are all secret agents, while Oobleck is the director of Vale Secret Service. But the biggest change is Penny, who is a weaponized Relic made to kill Maidens.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Cardin Winchester. He behaves like he usually does in RWBY fanfiction, but his real identity is the agent Vanguard, who is the latest agent of the Winchester line in the VSS. Cardin is explicitly described as one of the most dedicated and heroic agents of the current generation, with his obnoxious/racist personality being just a cover to deflect suspicion from himself.
• Alternate Universe Fic: Jaune faked his way into Beacon at the start of the school year as in canon, but his forged transcripts get noticed by Vale's Secret Service. Thus he enrolls in Beacon as a student while also operating as a secret agent to spy on Headmaster Ozpin.
• Anyone Can Die: This fic kills off a shocking number of its and the RWBY show's major and supporting characters. Over the course of the story, Velvet, Cardin, Oobleck, Ciel, Coco, Mercury, Adam, Winter, and Cinder are all killed. The first three were all members of the Vale Secret Service and Jaune's mentors, and Coco, Velvet, and Ciel all die offscreen.
• Bad Boss: Alpha proves to be this for the VSS. He is perfectly willing to kill his own agents when they are no longer of any use to him, or has them tortured and killed if he believes their loyalty is in question. In addition, all he really cares about is staying in power, no matter how many of his people have to be sacrificed for it.
• Batman Gambit: Jaune's final plan for dealing with the Fall Maiden is to taunt Cinder with Emerald's death before she's killed, insuring that Emerald is the last woman she thinks of as she dies. Emerald's death was faked and Jaune leaves her in a chemically-induced coma in the catacombs of his new intelligence agency, insuring no one else ever becomes the Fall Maiden.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • Blake spends some time wanting to figure out why Jaune is acting so suspiciously. Ever since learning he's an agent in the VSS and, despite her fears, isn't investigating her at all, she repeatedly wishes that she had just minded her own business since now she has another secret to keep and this one might get her killed.
  • Played for Laughs with Weiss, who desperately doesn't want Ruby as a partner. Instead she gets Nora.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Inverted by Cardin, the true identity of VSS agent Vanguard. Jaune only learns the truth mere seconds before Cardin sacrifices his life to save Jaune's.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: A given due to the dubious nature of the VSS being a secret agency founded to deal with invisible threats.
• Boring, but Practical: Cinder compliments John White's (Jaune's cover identity's) preference for simple knives over fancier mecha shift weaponry, citing that they're concealable and basic; enough so that they're both easy to replace and hard to trace back to him (instead of being a highly distinctive weapon like almost all RWBY weaponry). Likewise, both she and Roman would rather take on someone intelligent but with subpar power over someone strong but stupid, as not only are the latter more liable to screw up a job, but it's easier to make someone stronger than to make them smarter.
• Combat Pragmatist: All of the Vale Secret Service agents fight as brutally as possible, seeking only to kill or disable an enemy before moving on. As such they will use explosives, distractions, cheap shots, and gang up on targets when possible. Jaune has used his grappling hook vambraces multiple times against enemies, including shooting them point blank into Neo's shoulder. At one point, Jaune even uses a corpse as a decoy against Mercury and Emerald in order to get the drop on them. Vanguard softens up Neo for Jaune by blowing up their car, which she was currently standing on. In many of his fights, Jaune makes a point of fighting at extreme melee range because even martial artists tend to be unused to fighting someone too close to even punch. Jaune uses this same philosophy to explain why he can fight stronger, better trained enemies despite his cover identity being a small time criminal who failed to get into a huntsman school. Such as getting away from Blake and Ruby while sabotaging the CCT by first smashing computers to spread broken glass all over the floor (Ruby took off her heels to fight) then taking Blake hostage long enough to escape.
• Cornered Rattlesnake: After resigning the Vale Secret Service because he refuses a Suicide Mission (specifically to sacrifice himself and his team to stop the Breach), Jaune is hunted by the VSS because he could leak information about them to Ozpin or Cinder Fall, both of whom he'd been tasked with infiltrating. When they kidnap Ruby, Jaune snaps and rats out their existence and location to Roman, Cinder, and Ozpin, causing all three factions to attack at once.

• Death by Adaptation:
  • Cardin ends up sacrificing his life to save Jaune from Mercury. Similarly, Mercury ends up getting executed by Oobleck not long after.
  • Oobleck ends up meeting his end on the train meant to cause the Breach, staying behind so Jaune and Blake can get out alive.
  • As Ozpin and Qrow discover during their raid on the VSS headquarters to rescue Ruby, Velvet is revealed to have been Killed Offscreen by her former employers.
  • During the attack on Beacon, both Ciel and Coco end up dying in the chaos.
  • Winter pulls a Heroic Sacrifice in order to ensure Adam Taurus dies with her.
  • Cinder dies in the climax of the final battle against Jaune and Penny.
• Dirty Business: Agents of the VSS are known to engage in this from time to time, all in the name of protecting Vale. One such example is when Oobleck was forced to collapse the tunnels connecting Mount Glenn to Vale, dooming the survivors attempting to escape (along with his and Roman's other two teammates).
• Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Eventually, Jaune ends up as a student at Beacon who's secretly working for the Vale Secret Service, pretending to work for Cinder Fall, and working alongside Roman Torchwick to stop Cinder. Roman is one of only two people (alongside Blake) who knows all of Jaune's loyalties, real and fake, and is upfront that he'll betray Jaune the moment their interests no longer align. After Oobleck dies and a new director takes over the VSS, Jaune plays all three sides against one another, though once again, Roman knows he's doing it and simply doesn't care because it advances his agenda as well.
• Due to the Dead:
  • There's a traditional funeral for a VSS agent after Vanguard (Cardin Winchester) falls in the line of duty. The service is completely silent with those present being in full gear and allowed to approach the casket, in order of their closeness to the deceased, to say something silently. Afterwards, the casket is kept under vigil for twenty-four hours then interred in the agency's catacombs. Downplayed however in that Oobleck tells Jaune that Vanguard specifically asked for a traditional VSS funeral and offers to let Jaune decide what should be done if he dies; Jaune asks if he does, his body be returned to his family and Oobleck give him a good (read: heroic) death.
  • Averted with Mercury's death. Once Emerald confirms his passing for Cinder, she simply kicks his body into the sewer and leaves.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Jaune is given the code name Rat as a VSS agent. Oobleck explains that it is more of a Meaningful Name, as a rat is very resourceful and is most dangerous when it is cornered.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Roman is disgusted with both VSS in general and Oobleck in particular after the latter sealed the tunnel to Mountain Glenn on the former's orders. Not only did Oobleck and the VSS condemn thousands to die either by falling rocks or the Grimm, but Roman and Oobleck's own teammates died right in front of them. In the aftermath, before becoming a criminal, Roman blew the whistle on their actions when the VSS and Vale Council tried to sweep the whole affair under the rug. In Roman's words, after over twenty years as a criminal, he still hasn't come close to the body count Oobleck earned that day.
• Fallen Hero: Roman Torchwick. He went from a student of Beacon to a criminal after losing his teammates at Mount Glenn, thanks to Oobleck collapsing the tunnels.
• A Father to His Men: Bartholomew Oobleck. He's shown to care about the agents under his command, especially his newest recruit Jaune. He is also willing to give up a chance to gain intel from an enemy for the sake of avenging a fallen agent, as proven when he executes Mercury after Cardin's Heroic Sacrifice. And most importantly, he is willing to allow himself to die so that Jaune has the chance to live.
• Fighting Fingerprint:
  • Members of the Vale Secret Service use different weapons while on the job than they do in their day to day lives for this exact reason. Oobleck trains Jaune in knife fighting as knives are versatile, easily concealable, and vastly different than using a sword and shield. Presumably this also applies to distinctive Semblances.
  • Later utilized when Jaune faces an Atlas agent while undercover. Jaune recognizes her stance as one used by Oobleck but can't verbally state that he's a VSS agent so instead uses another stance Oobleck teaches, knowing she'd recognize it.
• Foil: Oobleck and Alpha are both directors in the Vale Secret Service, but are complete opposites in every other way. Oobleck is A Father to His Men who knowingly gives up potential intel to kill the one responsible for one of his agents' deaths, while Alpha callously has anyone who might have shaky loyalty tortured until they either break or die. Oobleck intends to return the stolen Paladin to Atlas after having a look at the insides, but otherwise keeps everything above board. Alpha has an Atlas agent kidnapped and tortured for first the Paladin's location, then information on its specs. Finally, Oobleck is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who genuinely wants to help protect Vale and its citizens, but hates the Dirty Business he has to engage in to do so and ultimately makes a Heroic Sacrifice to save the city. By contrast, Alpha is a Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist who only cares about staying in power, and outright says he'd let tens of thousands die to protect himself. The most obvious contrast shows in their opinions on the Mount Glenn incident: Oobleck considers it a tragedy and confesses that Roman is right to want him dead for the deaths he caused that day; Alpha doesn't care it happened, as the thousands of deaths solved Vale's overpopulation problem and it was only the destitute and desperate who died rather than "anyone who mattered".
• He Knows Too Much: Played With. Blake fears that her knowing Jaune and Oobleck are in the Vale Secret Service might get her killed, though Jaune refuses to snitch on her and Oobleck reveals as he dies that he'd known for weeks. After Jaune resigns from VSS over their order to doom himself and his team to save Vale, he's slated for termination but it's later explained that the problem isn't what he knows^note By the time he leaves, the only agents Jaune knows the identities of are dead and his only other information is a couple safe houses, a code name or two, and that Ozpin and Cinder Fall are being investigated, but that he's got connections to both Ozpin and Cinder, neither of whom can be allowed to learn of the VSS and their actions.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Vanguard/Cardin Winchester sacrifices his life to save Jaune from being killed by Mercury.
  • Winter Schnee sacrifices her own life to ensure that Adam Taurus will never kill anyone again, taking the terrorist down with her.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Cardin Winchester pretends to bully Velvet Scarletina as part of their cover as Vale Secret Service agents. In reality, the two are actually in love.
• It's Personal: Roman's enmity with the VSS, Oobleck especially, is because they ordered Mount Glenn's tunnels to be collapsed to prevent the Grimm from reaching Vale. Oobleck was forced to do so, condemning everyone in the settlement (including Oobleck and Roman's teammates) to death; this proved to be Roman's Start of Darkness.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Near the end, Glynda insists that Ozpin selects Coco Adel to become the new Fall Maiden. Ozpin hesitates, citing that he's still not sure she'd be the ideal choice, but Glynda shuts him down because Beacon is currently under attack by those who want to steal the Fall Maiden's powers; there is no time to worry about finding the ideal choice. Ozpin reluctantly agrees with her, even after Glynda says that if she can't get hold of Coco, she'll grab any female student she can find.
• Killed Offscreen: Over the course of the story, Velvet, Coco, and Ciel all die offscreen. Velvet due to Alpha's torture/brainwashing and the latter for standing against Cinder.
• Logical Weakness:
  • Aura can protect against a blow only if it's specifically used to do so. Anyone with Huntsman training learns to do so instinctively to any attacks they see coming, but this naturally means Aura doesn't protect from sneak attacks.
  • Mercury's Armed Legs may be prosthetic and thus tougher than flesh and bone, but they can still be damaged. Jaune stabs Mercury in the knee and twists the knife before pulling it out. While Mercury isn't crippled like a normal person, the leg is still partially damaged and causes Mercury trouble when it won't support his weight properly.
• Machiavelli Was Wrong: Lampshaded by Roman, who claims that terrorizing and killing his men would get him a knife in his back the moment he turned around. Instead, he makes sure to reward competence and loyalty rather than punish failure. Though Roman does say that anyone who gets caught, especially if they go off on their own, is on their own.
• The Men in Black: The fact that the Kingdom of Vale has a Secret Service functions as this. As well as the Kingdom of Atlas.
• Mistaken for Badass: Jaune. He gets kidnapped by the VSS, though for the opposite reason as in the author's other work Professor Arc. Namely, Jaune's transcripts are obviously fake to anyone who digs through them... yet Ozpin accepts him anyway. Combined with how bad frontier town records are, the VSS naturally becomes suspicious and pre-emptively spirits Jaune away for interrogation and/or disposal. Unlike most examples, they quickly figure out Jaune is just a stupid teenager due to one of their members having a Semblance that lets him know if someone is telling the truth. On the other hand, others like Blake start assuming Jaune is unusually competent after he easily tracks her in the Emerald Forest despite her best efforts to stay hidden (Jaune is wearing glasses with thermal imaging and can see someone up in the trees).

• Mundane Luxury: Ren is noted by Jaune as lying in bed with "something akin to rapturous peace and tranquility" on his face, due to the fact that Nora isn't on his team so he can finally enjoy some quiet time.
• Mythology Gag: To one of Coeur Al'Aran's other RWBY AU fics. While undercover as John White, Jaune claims he became a criminal because he was rejected from Beacon and had no skills beyond fighting, so it's not like he could have opened a coffee shop or something.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Vale Secret Service is a morally dubious group who do what they have to in order to protect Vale and its citizens, with Oobleck stating that they put it all on the line to protect them "because we love them". But after Oobleck dies, it's revealed that only his faction has pure intentions; the rest (fellow director Alpha in particular) only cares about staying in power. Alpha kidnaps multiple agents, including one from another Kingdom's agency, to torture for information or to break them into being loyal to him. He even has Ruby kidnapped both as a trap for Jaune, and to harvest her silver eyes in the (correct) belief they would be a powerful weapon.
• Pragmatic Hero:
  • The VSS and Council of Vale both make a point of not killing Roman Torchwick because, regardless of how much trouble he causes, he keeps crime down overall out of a hatred for competition and "waste" (killing the people he robs).
  • When Jaune tries to stop the Breach, he's ordered to use the train's emergency brake so that only he, his team, Ciel, and Oobleck will die. When Jaune refuses, his superior activates his gear's self-destruct to take out the train. Unfortunately for them, Jaune didn't bring his gear to Mountain Glenn and was wearing some he found in safe house.

• Pragmatic Villainy: While acting as The Mole, Jaune criticizes another potential henchman for firing a gun to threaten the owner of the store they're robbing into giving up the combination to his safe. As Jaune puts it, Roman ordered them to get in, steal as much dust as possible, and get out, not hold up an old man for cash. Furthermore, not only is there a huge difference in being hunted for theft and being hunted for murder, but firing a gun is almost guaranteed to alert someone to what they're doing with how loud it is. Afterwards, Roman approves of Jaune's decision, especially since Jaune was the only one to actually bring back some Dust while fleeing Ruby.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • Both Jaune and Blake are suspicious of each other due to parts of their introductions not making any sense. Jaune claims he plays videogames on his laptop, but Blake notices he doesn't type nearly fast enough for that to be true. Meanwhile, Blake says her father works in construction, which has Jaune wondering how her father afforded such an expensive weapon as Gambol Shroud for her and where she learned to use it. Given that Jaune is a spy and Blake is a former terrorist, both are correct to suspect each other, though neither is actually a threat to the other.
  • After Jaune refuses a suicidal order and leaves the VSS, he and Blake are certain they will come for him, with Blake telling Ruby "Don't let them take him" before she passes out from her injuries. VSS agents disguised as medics try to kidnap Jaune mere minutes later.
• Revealing Skill: Members of the VSS or Atlas Special Forces are trained to fight with different weapons than their civilian identities, to avoid being identified by their fighting style. For similar reasons, any flashy Semblances, particularly unusual ones, aren't to be used. Jaune slips up during a spar when he uses one of his opponent's daggers far more skillfully than his own sword and shield.
• Suicide Mission: The VSS tries to force Jaune to sacrifice himself and his team to stop the Breach. He refuses to do this (with Oobleck helping to ensure he can get away alive), and resigns from the organization afterwards.
• Talking through Technique: During an undercover operation in In the Kingdom's Service, Jaune realizes that the Atlas agent he's fighting was trained by Oobleck due to the particular stance she uses. Jaune takes another stance taught by Oobleck to covertly signal that he's with Vale Secret Service without tipping off the nearby Emerald.
• Taught by Experience: Blake learned how to sneak around and hide while part of the White Fang and, unlike the VSS and ASF, had no fancy tech to help her. As a result, she's considerably stealthier and more observant than Ciel, who relies too much on her gadgets, both spotting and hiding from Ciel along with spotting the invisible person following Ciel.
• Title Drop: The final line of In the Kingdom's Service reveals the name of the organization replacing the Vale Secret Service: the Kingdom's Service.
• Tragic Keepsake: Roman Torchwick's last name serves as one in honor of his team (Team Torch) after he exposed that the Council and Vale Secret Service were responsible for collapsing the tunnel to Mountain Glenn, killing thousands including two of his teammates.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Roman Torchwick used to be Oobleck's team leader before Oobleck sacrificed them and thousands of others to seal the tunnel to Mountain Glenn. When Jaune sees a picture of Oobleck's old team, he notes the sheer joy and pride in his team on Roman's face, and is awed by how much the man has changed in the last twenty-odd years.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Oobleck. He genuinely wants to protect the Kingdom of Vale and will do what he must to do so, even if he hates the Dirty Business that the VSS engages in.
• We Win, Because You Didn't: Lampshaded when Oobleck claims that Jaune bested the Atlas Special Forces agent he fought. Even though she won their fight handily and Jaune was only saved by Cinder's arrival, neither's goal was to beat the other. The agent's goal was to recover the stolen Paladin and Jaune's was to stop her (as part of an undercover mission). Since she was forced to retreat, she lost and Jaune won.
• Wham Line: Vanguard's Heroic Sacrifice also reveals his identity.
  ' Vanguard:' Designation 1409. Codename: Vanguard.Initiate Winchester Protocol. Time: Three seconds.
  Jaune/Rat: C-Cardin?
  Vanguard: Good luck, Jaune. For the Kingdom of Vale.
• Worf Had the Flu: Jaune does fairly well against Neo despite her being overwhelmingly the superior fighter, because the car she was standing on a moment ago exploded; leaving her injured, deaf, and physically unbalanced.

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