[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Jaune had had a LOT of weird meals in his day. His Great-Aunt Arturia's 100th birthday party. Saphron's engagement dinner. That time Coral and Verdy found out they were dating the same guy.

(The guy had managed to survive being hit by the flat of Dad's sword, so he had at least gotten dessert before they all beat the crap out of him).

This dinner with Kali, Ghira and Blake though? It was certainly up there.

"You... Remember that time you danced, Jaune?" Blake asked. Jaune slowly nodded.

"Yup."

"You were very impressive," she said.

"Thanks. I uh, I practiced a lot," he said. Blake beamed, and poured him more tea without asking. "Thanks."

"You're welcome!"

It was surreal. Before he came to Menagerie, he could count the number of times Blake smiled and/or interacted with him on one hand. Hell, maybe a few fingers.

Now, she was smiling, forcing laughs, touching him gently and being complimentary.

Jaune had been brought up with good manners, so he didn't jump to his first instinct: To start screaming Blake had been possessed. Or was on drugs. She was still a princess and her parents were the leaders of their nation. He should show some decorum.

"I did some dancing, but not a lot," Blake admitted.

"That's fine," Jaune managed.

"I... You and your team did very well," Blake said with a nod, "You all practiced that dance?"

"It helped with teamwork," Jaune muttered. He didn't know what was going on, but he was trying very hard not to lose it. He wasn't a complete idiot.

He finished his food, and bowed to Ghira and Kali.

"Thank you very much," he said, "I need some sleep please."

"You don't need to ask permission to be excused, Jaune," Kali chuckled, "You're free to leave when you want."

"I can show you to your room-Er, I mean, you know where it is already, but," Blake trailed off. Jaune shook his head.

"N-No... That's-"

"Good idea, Blake!" Kali said brightly. "Guide him to his room! We don't want you having an accident from fatigue, do we?"

Jaune looked over at Ghira with a pleading look. The Chieftain of Menagerie gave him a small smile.

"You should take care, Jaune. You did fight hard today."

"... Sure," Jaune managed.

Which is how he found himself being escorted by Blake. Her arms were wrapped around his. Her body kept bumping against his, so close and warm, especially through her kimono. She kept smiling as much as she could the whole way to his room.

He stayed patient and calm... Before he opened the door ahead of them and ushered them both inside. Blake let him go, and he turned around to slide the door shut. He took a deep breath before he turned around.

"Blake, is everything-?"

His question ended in a choking sound. Blake was pulling her kimono down, staring at him with her intense yellow eyes. He immediately moved forward, grabbed her hands, and pulled her kimono back up to keep her decent.

"Blake, what-what the hell is going on?!"

Blake flushed and looked aside.

"I... I'm sorry, you don't like this?"

"I... Yes? No? Kind of-I just-Why are you acting like this?!" Jaune managed. "You're so different from... It's freaky!"

Blake sighed softly. She bowed her head.

"I... I just..." He slowly looked up into his eyes. "I just wanted to... To make up for how I treated you."

"Eh?" Jaune blinked. "What do you mean-?"

"You..." She sighed. "I was pretty snide to you, behind your back. I never paid you any mind. I didn't pay... I didn't pay anyone much mind-!"

"Blake."

Jaune held her shoulders. Blake sighed softly and closed her eyes tightly.

"... I'm not good at this kind of thing," she murmured. "The... The only way I've been able to show how much I care about someone is... The physical way."

She pressed herself up against his front. She looked up into his eyes, determined.

"Jaune," she whispered. "I... You coming here for me? You going through all that? I-I just... I want to make it right. I want to... To show you that I appreciate you. I... I want to make up for everything I've done... Or haven't done..."

Jaune slowly shook his head.

"You don't have to do anything like that for me," he murmured, "You don't owe me anything. You owe Yang and Ruby apologies, but-"

"And I'll give them that," Blake said softly, "But..." She shakily lifted her hand to cup his cheek. "But... I-I mean..."

She shut her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, this is..." She tried to turn away. Jaune held her tightly.

"Blake," Jaune said quietly, "We can talk about this-"

"I can't," Blake whispered. "I-I can't! I'm just...!"

Jaune led her to the bed (thinking very hard about anything but that), and sat them both down. He still held her the entire time, as she clung tightly to him. She sighed softly, and avoided his eyes.

"It's all right, Blake," Jaune murmured, "I'm not going to judge you-"

"You should," Blake mumbled. "I... If I hadn't been a coward... If I didn't ruin everything I touched, we-we wouldn't..." She shook her head, and looked up at him.

"Please... I-I just want to forget about it. I want to... I want to do something kind for you. I want to do something kind, something good, anything," she whispered, rubbing her hand over his chest. "This... This is something I can do-"

Jaune took her hand in his, and slowly shook his head.

"Blake," Jaune said quietly, "Listen, okay? You-You don't have to do that. Not if you feel obligated. I don't want that, all right?"

Blake sniffled, and looked down.

"I... I'm sorry," she whispered. She wiped her eyes with her hand. "I-I'm sorry... I-I should go-"

"No! Nonono!" Jaune said quickly, holding her tightly. "No... Look. You've... You've got a lot of issues, right? So, we can talk about it. Right? You listened to me. You comforted me... You don't have to do anything. Just... Just talk to me, okay?"

He shook his head. "You don't have to..." He blushed.

Blake sniffled again.

"I don't... I don't know what I'm doing!" She hissed. "It's just so...! It's all I know how to show affection! You need it, you deserve it-!"

"I don't deserve anything," Jaune stated firmly, "Okay? You don't owe me anything. I'm just the messenger. I'm just the errand boy, the shield, the-"

"STOP IT!"

Blake breathed hard, glaring at him. Jaune's tongue was tied as her eyes blazed.

"You... You keep tearing yourself down! Beating yourself up! Stop it! You don't... You're not the one who abandoned everyone she ever cared about! You're not the one who betrayed her friends! You're not the one who ruined everything she ever tried!" She burst into tears.

"I'm just... I'm just a failure, all right?! I had everything, my parents gave me everything, and what did I do with it?! I-I got used by a terrorist organization and a psycho boyfriend! A psycho threatening to murder all my friends and family if I didn't do what he said! I-I ran away when you all needed me! I'm..."

She sobbed and tried to pull away. Jaune thought had gotten a lot stronger, and he held her tightly.

"I can't... I can't even... You're not even attracted to me," she sobbed, "I'm so pathetic...!"

"No, no," Jaune whispered, "No... You are attractive, Blake. Gods, I... You're not a failure, okay?" He found himself scratching her behind her ears, stroking her hair to calm her down as she wept.

"You've done so much... I might have been executed, okay?" He said softly, "You saved me. You and your family have been so kind to me. So that's a good thing, all right?" He hugged her tightly.

"My dad said... My dad said you're not a failure until you give up," Jaune murmured. "I don't think I'm much of anything... But I... Maybe I'm not a failure if I don't give up. And neither are you, Blake."

Blake kept crying into his chest. He kept stroking her hair, her ears, her back, and muttering anything comforting he could think of.

After a while, she got herself together. While emotionally exhausted, she slowly sat up, and he wiped her eyes.

"I... I'm sorry again," Blake mumbled. Jaune hugged her again.

"Don't. You don't have to tell me that," he murmured.

Blake sighed softly.

"Why are you so kind?"

"You're the one who's keeping a human as a guest in a faunus only city," Jaune tried to joke. She smiled briefly, and let out a small laugh.

"I... Thank you, Jaune," she murmured. She looked aside.

"I'm sorry... For the... Trying to seduce you."

Jaune blinked. He decided to choose his next words carefully.

"Don't be."

Blake stared at him.

Not carefully enough!

"I mean, if I wasn't... Like... Emotionally screwed up, and you weren't crying, I..." He shook his head, "I um... Uh..."

What would dad say? Come on!

He took her hand and looked her right in the eyes.

"I would take you in a manly way. I wouldn't stop until you'd passed out from pleasure."

WHY THE HELL DID DAD EVER TELL ME ABOUT THAT?! WHY DIDN'T I BLOCK THAT OUT DUE TO HOW MESSED UP IT WAS?!

Blake blinked. She then looked aside.

"I uh... You don't have to... Um... I know you're trying to make me feel better, but..."

Oh for...! Why am I so useless with words?! Godsdamnit, I need to fix this, I need to... I need to show her.

Jaune held in a sigh. He leaned in. He cupped her chin between his fingers. He pressed his lips against hers.

Warmth flowed through their connection, and it sent a shock up and down his spine. His tongue licked against her lips, and they parted. Their tongues met, tentatively at first, but then twisting and wrestling eagerly.

It was so warm, so...

Jaune abruptly realized he was making out with the princess of Menagerie right in his bedroom.

He pulled away quickly, breathing hard. Blake too was panting, staring at him with a soft look in her eyes.

"J-Jaune...?"

"I uh... I do know how to kiss," Jaune said quickly, "I-I have a lot of practice. With farmgirls. So I think I'm pretty good at it."

A beat.

Blake blinked... Then snickered a little. Jaune chuckled back.

"We're... We're hopeless, aren't we?" Blake whispered, bumping her head against his.

"Yeah," he said, "But not completely... Right?"

Blake stared at him, and slowly nodded.

"Can you..." She blushed. "Can you keep... Scratching behind my ears, please?"

"Sure," Jaune said softly. She hugged and cuddled with him, as he continued to comfort her.

She actually purred, and nuzzled against his neck. She sighed softly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome..."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Kali bursts into the room.

Jaune: "ACK! Ah, Miss Kali-!"

Blake: "M-Mom! It's, uh, we're just-I mean-!"

Kali: "Blake. Didn't I tell you that jumping right to seduction was a bad idea?"

Blake: "I..." droopy kitty ears "Yes..."

Kali: "I'm sorry Jaune. She's been through a lot. Don't be upset with her."

Jaune: "We... We both have, it's fine. We didn't do anything-"

Kali: "Well that's all right! Here."

She hands over a well thumbed sex manual over to them.

Jaune: "I... Wha-?"

Kali: "It starts with spooning and cuddling. Page 14 is where it starts getting a bit heated. Don't go past 30 until you've had a lot of practice, all right? I dislocated a rib doing that the first time."

Jaune: "Huh?!"

Blake, looking at the book pages, is turning bright red.

Blake: "B-But Mom, you said-!"

Kali: "I said you shouldn't leap right to seduction! But you should ease into intimacy, because frankly? You both need some. Now, here are some condoms. Here is some massage lotion. Here is some chocolate syrup. I'm going to leave and turn the music in my room with your father waaayyy up! So have fun~!"

She leaves, sliding the door shut... Before sliding it open and poking her head back in.

Kali: "And don't worry about getting knocked up, Blake~! I'm sure Jaune will happily take responsibility and marry you! Right?"

Jaune: "Y-yes! Absolutely!"

Kali: "See? Nothing to worry about. Have a good night~!"

She slides the door shut.

Jaune: "... I uh... Um..."

Blake: "Yeah... Maybe, um... We just... Cuddle?"

Jaune: "Cuddling sounds nice. Totally fine with cuddling."

Blake: "Y-Yeah, me too..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

I did have an amusing idea where Jaune, Ren, Sun, Neptune and Cardin end up getting a medal from the city for what they did during their night out, while RWBY's normal night antics land them in jail.

Ruby: "THAT'S SO UNFAIR! HOW DID YOU GET MEDALS?!"

Jaune: "We didn't burn anything down? Like, look: We literally saved a children's hospital's staff and patients from burning alive."

Neptune: "Woohoo! Got over my hydrophobia!"

Blake: "Wait, you had rabies?"

Neptune: "Wha-No! No! I don't think I did-?"

Jaune: "While you guys ended up burning down another warehouse to stop the White Fang. Also a nightclub."

Yang: "Oh come on, so you guys saved a children's hospital-"

Cardin: "With an orphan wing."

Yang: "Wait, they have an orphan wing? That's horrible!"

Jaune: "Would have been more horrible if we didn't evacuate them. They're orphans but they're not dead orphans."

Ren: "Dead orphans are much worse."

Ruby: "Dead orphans are definitely worse than live orphans. But still, medals!? I mean, Cardin's a racist bully!"

Cardin: "Well yeah, but I'm not gonna let some poor cute Faunus orphans burn alive, right? Plus, when I said 'Fuck the Faunus'-"

Velvet: "CARDIN! I was wrong about you!" She kisses him "Mmmm! Wanna take me on a date and pull my ears some more?"

Cardin: "... I meant what I said. Later chumps!" Heads off with Velvet

Weiss: "That... What?! That-That aside, Neptune! You're a cad and afraid of your own Semblance!"

Neptune: "Yeah, well... Jaune is a great motivator!"

Flashback

Jaune: "NEPTUNE IF YOU DON'T USE YOUR POWERS TO SAVE THIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU! STARTING WITH YOUR BALLS!"

Neptune: "Bro-code-!"

Jaune: "BRO-CODE DOESN'T APPLY WHEN A CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IS ON FIRE!"

Sun: deadpan "Think of the girls you'll get with this."

Neptune: Unleashes his Semblance "I HAVE OVERCOME MY INNER FEARS! WOOHOO!"

The present

Yang: "Okay, that sounds more like Neptune."

Weiss: "Definitely."

Neptune: "HEY!"

Jaune: "But, he did his job, and we saved everyone, and that's why we couldn't bail you out until this morning. Sorry."

Ruby: "Well... I mean, I am proud of you."

Weiss: "I also like how you abused Neptune."

Jaune: "Thanks, I like doing it too."

Ren: "We all do."

Sun: "Definitely."

Neptune: "Again, heeeeyyyy!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Neptune: "But on that subject: Why do I get shit when we've got a freaking harem protagonist right here?!" points at Jaune

Jaune: "What?"

Neptune: "YEAH! You've got all these damn waifus and you can't just settle down with one like a proper farmboy! No! You gotta be all 'so sorry' and 'I'm oblivious' to all the incredible hotties who want to bang you!"

Jaune: "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ruby: "YEAH! And even if he was a harem protagonist, I would totally be okay with it!"

Pyrrha: "Same!"

Blake: "I suppose, as long as I got to participate."

Yang; "Harem-what?"

Weiss: "HMPH! I don't like him like that! I just hate YOU!"

Neptune: "SEE?! YOU'VE EVEN GOT A TSUNDERE! YOU DAMN BASTARD!"

Jaune: "I have no idea what you're even on about, man."

Neptune: "ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Neptune seethes a bit and glares.

Neptune: "Seriously though Jaune Arc-IF THAT'S YOUR REAL NAME!"

Jaune: "It is-"

Neptune: "How do we know you're not some... ISEKAI?!"

Jaune: "... What-"

Neptune: "YEAH! You were some loser NEET in another world who got hit with a truck, and sent to our world!"

Jaune: "... Huh?"

Blake: "He doesn't seem the type-"

Neptune: "HOW DOES HE NOT?! He's got some CONVENIENT power up! He didn't know anything about Aura or the Vytal Tournament!"

Jaune: "Wait, how do you know-?!"

Neptune: "Weiss told me."

Jaune: "Why-Why were you talking about me-?'

Weiss: "I just talked to him about how horrible and terrible you were! I was being mean and bitchy and I'm sorry, okay?"

Jaune: "Uh... Thanks-?"

Ruby: "You should be! Don't shit talk Jaune! Jaune's great! He bakes cookies with me!"

Yang: "He gives me massages!"

Pyrrha: "HE WHAT?!"

Jaune: "Look, I was taught how to give professional massages, it's no big deal-"

Pyrrha: "HOW COULD YOU GIVE OTHER GIRLS MASSAGES, JAUNE?!"

Jaune: "Because I like to help people-?!"

Neptune: "AND HE ATTRACTS HOT CHICKS INTO A HAREM! Clearly, you're some weird creepy alien businessman from another world living out your fantasies in ours! MY FANTASIES!"

Jaune: "Dude, that is demented. Look, I knew what Aura was! I just... I kind of panicked, all right? I was bluffing because I... Ya know... Was basically an untrained civilian. As for the Vytal Tournament? To be fair I had been studying my EYES out the night before and paying attention to anything Professor Oobleck says is a challenge!"

Yang: "He's got you there, dork."

Pyrrha: "True."

Sun: "Can't disagree."

Blake: "Mmhm."

Weiss: "Yeah, fair enough."

Ren: "True."

Nora is hugging her plushy sloth that Ren got her, and is in bliss.

Jaune: "So, yeah, I'm not an isekai or whatever."

Neptune: "Oh yeah?! Where are your parents?!"

Jaune: "In North Sanus? Where are yours?"

Neptune: "HA! I'm an orphan!"

Blake: "... That sounds more like an isekai to me."

Neptune: "Wait, what-?"

Blake: "Also he has unusual hair, a unique power only held back by a contrived insecurity, acts like a playboy..."

Sun: "Gotta say, Neptune, that does sound more like an isekai than Jaune."

Jaune: "Yeah. Besides, why would I be the isekai? I've got seven sisters, why wouldn't one of them be the isekai?"

Neptune: "Seven sisters?! That sounds like a damn harem already!"

Jaune: "They're my sisters."

Neptune: "I mean, seven super hot blondes?! This has to be one of those really perverted isekais!"

Blake: blushes "I uh... I wouldn't know anything about those-"

Jaune: "Neptune, seriously-"

Neptune: "How do we know you're not just building a second harem to add to your existing one?!"

Jaune: "... Sun, he is implying I have fucked my sisters. Can I beat him up now?"

Sun: "By all means."

Jaune: "Thank you."

Neptune: "YOU KNOW I'M RIIIIIGHT!"

 

[LordofBones]

A bit grim, I keep thinking that Jaune with a katana (Blake's ideal) would be plenty nightmarish for Blake. Sure, he'd be brave, straightforward, dedicated to upholding his ideals, steadfastly against injustice, and mercilessly uncompromising.

And he'd also channel Saito Hajime, Wolf of Mibu, and he'd get on fabulously with Ironwood prior to, well, everything going to hell in Volume 8.

Jaune: "First with your parents, then with Taurus, and now with your team...time and time again, you've abandoned everyone and everything for an ideal you barely comprehend."
Blake: *shaking her head in denial and stuttering* "No, I-"
Jaune: "And as if that were not insult enough, you let Torchwick get away with everything he wanted and destroyed that which you should have saved. How can one who seeks to reform the White Fang try so hard to deny what they always have been?"
Blake: "N-no! I've tried! I've tried, damn you, we're not monsters-"
Jaune: "If you truly believe that, then you are a failure even as a Huntress."
Blake: *collapses, shaking* "No, no, no..."

And, Jaune with a spear:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pyrrha stormed into the room, her face a thundercloud. Nora idly peeked over her comic, ready to shout a greeting, before the words died in her throat.

The redhead's crimson locks cascaded down her back in deep carmine waves, her signature ponytail missing. Her coronet was crooked and her armguards were dented, and her sash nowhere to be seen. Nora clapped her hand over her mouth, and stared in disbelief at how JNPR's usually-modest champion was seemingly ignoring how her cracked breastplate barely protected her modesty, each step threatening to dislodge the armor with every generous bounce.

Ren politely averted his eyes and looked over Pyrrha's shoulder, one fine black eyebrow rising at the man behind the fuming Amazon.

Jaune brought up the rear, with his eyes fittingly fixed on Pyrrha's rear. Cockily, he rested a practice spear across his broad shoulders, with Pyrrha's sash around his waist like a champion's belt. His armor was gone, and the shirt beneath it was nothing more than shredded scraps of black fabric. His blonde hair was tousled and askew, and his bare skin was every bit as bruised as Pyrrha's. A cut on his right pectoral was slightly oozing blood.

The smirk on his face was dangerously challenging, and almost lupine.

Ren wisely took a step back as Pyrrha growled and visibly braced herself with her palms against the wall. She glared over her shoulder.

"Just one," she hissed, and held up a finger for emphasis, before thrusting her shapely rump out.

Jaune's smile grew as Nora and Ren both stared, eyes wide and mouths gaping as he raised his right hand.

The loud, throaty, almost moan-like shriek from Team JNPR'S dorm had the sleeping Team RWBY simultaneously crashing out of their beds in unknowing envy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spear Jaune is cocky, proud, confident, and takes a delighted joy in needling his super-hot redhead partner because she's absolutely gorgeous when she's competitive and/or pissed.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune: "... Um... Okay... So... I can explain-"

Blake: "You're... You're a faunus?!"

Ruby: "A dragon faunus?!"

Jaune: "NO! I mean, not that there's anything wrong with being a faunus but that's not what I am!"

Pyrrha: "Then... What are you, Jaune? And know that we will never, ever judge you for what it is, because you're Jaune to us and we love you! Platonically!"

Jaune: "Thanks Pyrrha, that really helps and I really appreciate-"

Weiss: "WHAT ARE YOU JAUNE?!"

Jaune: "I'm a dragon."

Weiss: "A... A dragon... Faunus?"

Jaune: "No, just a dragon. Well, part-dragon. As in the magical creature, yeah. My mom's a dragon, and my dad's a human."

Yang: "... So your dad-"

Jaune: "Slew a dragon with his mighty sword, yeah, he's made the same joke for seventeen years, Yang. SEVENTEEN. YEARS."

 

[LordofBones]

"Oh boy," Ruby breathed out as she yanked on the black shaft. "Oh boy oh boy oh boy," she continued chanting as more of the beautiful black metal was pulled from the small hill of precious gems and priceless metals, fresh green vines coiling around the shaft where bright blooming roses grew, until she was looking at an elegant scythe shod with carved rubies that blended with the black metal, patterned with roses and boasting a blade black as night. Tears pooled in her eyes as the legend's name bloomed in her mind, the metal singing in her trembling hands.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a young man's voice piped up behind her.

"Beautiful?" Ruby whispered, her voice quivering; "It's more than just beautiful. It's Crescent Rose!"

She could actually hear the voice shrug, accompanied by a sudden breeze. "It's just a pretty sword on a nice stick."

"Just a sw - you...you...you heathen! Crescent Rose is a masterpiece, a legend...of...." Ruby's voice trailed off as a sudden sense of dread raced up her spine. The cave was empty when she'd come in, empty except for the vast hoard of treasure buried deep inside that no human or faunus could have amassed within a single lifetime. She turned around, slowly, and found herself staring at a forelimb as tall as her house shod in scales as gold as the hoard itself.

The dragon smiled down on her, flashing teeth like scimitars. "Oh, do go on. I just love hearing a thief lecturing me about my own hoard."

The words died in Ruby's mouth. She tried to say something, anything, but being stared down by a monster out of myth drove the thoughts from her mind. A long tail coiled around behind her, blocking the only way out.

"What's yer offer?" she squeaked out, before her mind caught up with her mouth and her eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry?"

"Crescent Rose. What's your offer for her?" She slapped her cheeks, trying to make her stupid mouth shut up before she got eaten.

The dragon stared at her. "I...I...Are you serious?" he asked weakly.

Ruby gave up, nodded, and prayed that she'd give the dumb lizard indigestion. What she didn't expect was for a boyish grin to cross his lips, before he pulled out a pair of scrolls, one human-sized and the other...

"You know how to play PokeGrimm?" the dragon asked eagerly, holding up a scroll big enough to clobber her silly.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Eeeee..." Ruby tightened her cloak around her body, one arm protectively shielding her bare breasts as her thighs crossed. She glared at her boobs through teary eyes, her modesty only protected by her cloak, choker and leggings, while the rest of her clothes were piled up next to the beast's forelimb. "Stupid useless sacks of meat!" she chanted, glaring down at the cleavage popping out against her arm.

The dragon actually looked slightly dazed. "Whoa..." he rumbled quietly.

That caught Ruby's attention. She turned her silver glare on him as he politely averted his eyes, the golden scales on his cheeks darkening. "Brute! Bully! Meanie! Cheat!" she shook her fist at him, then shrieked and tried to cover herself up again.

The blue-eyed leviathan gasped in shock. "I'm not a cheat! You just suck!" he snapped back.

Ruby gawked at the accusation, then glared up at the dragon with her hand son her hips. "Nuh-uh! I've never lost a match of PokeGrimm! You're just using your weird dragon powers to cheat!" she shot back, then followed the dragon's wide-eyed gaze to the exposed Ruboobies heaving with every breath. She squealed and crossed her arms over her chest, her flowing cloak mercifully hiding the rest from view, before turning her glare back on the blushing dragon.

The wyrm steeled himself. "Alright, one last game. If I lose, you keep the scythe and get your clothes back."

The silver-eyed Huntress stared at her opponent. "And what do you want if you win?"

"If I win, you keep the scythe and get your clothes back...and I get a kiss."

Ruby felt her entire body slacken. "Whawhawhaaaaa-?!" she babbled, arms waving like a windmill as she gave the dragon a no-holds barred free show.

He inhaled sharply, but soldiered on. "You heard me. I win, you get everything you want, but you have to kiss me...or are you chicken?"

A pair of steely silver eyes was his answer.

Ten minutes later, a blushing Ruby puckered up and closed her eyes, expecting to feel cool scales against her lips. There was a wave of heat and flash of light even through her eyelids, before a pair of strong, calloused male hands cupped her bare ass and lifted her up in the air. Her eyes snapped open as her generous breasts flattened against strong pectorals, her arms instinctively wrapping around a sturdy neck for balance as she stared at a familiar face with tousled blonde hair and bright blue eyes before Jaune crushed his lips down on hers. Ruby gasped and moaned, arching her back and burying one hand in his hair, the other tracing down his neck and shoulder to where the golden scales of his wings seamlessly arose from the skin of his back. She traced her tongue around his draconic canines, teasing the sharp fangs, as he growled and wrestled his tongue with hers, before her hand abandoned stroking his wing and went to the clasp of her cape.

"Leave it on," he snarled into her mouth-

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaune almost jumped out of his chair in shock when a small hand stroked his exposed wing. The half-dragon stared down at the little Reaper that had spent almost the entire day avoiding him, and now had her fingers tracing the golden scales of his right wing.

"Ooooh, it feels even better in real life..." Ruby cooed, right before she realized who was staring down at her.

It took Yang, Nora, Pyrrha and one of Weiss's Arma Gigas to pull Ruby out from under her covers.

 

[LordofBones]

I'm a bad man.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cardin: "Team RWBY tried to make friends with one and see what's happened to them? Now it's time to avenge our comrades!"

[CARDIN]
What can you expect
From filthy little animals?
Their whole disgusting pack is like a curse!

Their masks' a hellish red
They're only good when dead
They're vermin as I said, and worse

[VALE SURVIVORS]
They're savages, savages

[VELVET]
Barely even faunus

[VALE SURVIVORS]
Savages, savages

[CARDIN]
Drive them from our shore!
They've tried to destroy our city
Which means they must be evil
We must sound the drums of war

[VALE SURVIVORS]
They're savages, savages
Dirty shrieking animals

[VALE SURVIVORS]
Now we sound the drums of war

[IRONWOOD]
This is what we feared
The White Fang are monsters
The only thing they desire is to make us bleed

[WINTER]
Beneath that milky mask
There's emptiness too vast

[MARROW AND FIONA]
I wonder if they even bleed
They're savages, savages

[NEON]
Barely even faunus

[ATLAS]
Savages, savages

[IRONWOOD]
Killers at the core

[WINTER]
They've tried to kill us
Which means they can't be trusted

[IRONWOOD]
We must sound the drums of war

[ATLAS AND VALE]
They're savages, savages
First we bury our children
Then we sound the drums of war!

Pale-faced, Ghira shut the screen. He stared at a horrified Sienna.

"What have you done?"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Alternatively...

- - -

Jaune and Blake were concerned when they saw Cardin and Velvet head off towards an unoccupied section of Beacon's dorms. The bully had the rabbit faunus' hand in a tight grip as they headed off. Blake, being a keen warrior of justice, and Jaune, wanting to be a hero, followed them stealthily. Well, Blake was stealthy. Jaune was doing his best.

They watched Velvet and Cardin vanish into an empty dorm room. The two stalked up and took up positions on either side of the door.

"On three, we bust in and save Velvet," Blake stated. Jaune nodded.

"Right!"

"Ready... THREE!" Blake declared.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to count-?"

Blake kicked the door in and stormed in. Jaune followed.

"All right Winchester, you're... Done...?"

"NO HE'S NOT!" A naked Velvet shouted at her. "KEEP GOING HONEY! I WANT TRIPLETS!"

Blake and Jaune gaped at the human and Faunus in a... Very indelicate state. Cardin coughed awkwardly.

"Uhhh... Soooo-"

"YOU'RE DATING?!" Jaune gasped.

"YES!" Velvet shouted. "NOW GET OUT!"

"But-But-You hate Faunus!" Blake sputtered.

"No, I said 'Fuck the Faunus'," Cardin pointed out, "I very specifically said that and-"

"ENOUGH TALKING SWEETIE!" Velvet growled, "I'M IN HEAT SO GET ON WITH IT OR I'LL MAKE YOU THE WOMAN!"

"On it, Honeybunny!"

"Oh I love you so much, sweetie!" Velvet cooed. "NOW GET TO WORK!"

Blake and Jaune quickly exited, and shut the door behind them. Both wore red faces.

"I... Uh... Um... Wow," Blake managed.

"Y-Yeah," Jaune muttered. He coughed. "Uhh... So..."

"Let's... Pretend this never happened," Blake decided.

"Agreed."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The Vytal Festival had fallen into complete chaos. Vale was under attack. Atlas' robots had gone mad... And now Adam was here. He'd cornered her in the library. She'd tried to protect a human and all she'd gotten was injured. She tried to push herself up, but Adam kicked her in the ribs.

"GYAH!"

"You deserve this, my love," Adam seethed. He lifted his blood red katana up. Blake shut her eyes tightly.

No... Please... Not now...!
SHING!

She reopened them. A pair of boots filled her vision. She looked up, and up, and up...

A seven foot tall man in jeans, wearing white and black armor on his torso, with blond hair and a massive white and black bastard sword, stood in front of her. Adam had jumped back, seething back at the newcomer.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The older man sighed, and shook his head slowly.

"Miss Belladonna, right?" He asked in a deep, pleasant baritone.

"Y-Yes," Blake managed.

"My son wrote about you to me," he said. He glanced back at her, and smiled. If not for the luxurious beard, the lines around his eyes, and the scars on his cheek, Blake would swear she was looking at an older version of Jaune Arc.

"Name's Nick Arc," he said, "Used to be a Huntsman, too." He turned his eyes back to Adam. "My wife and I were rooting for our son in the stands... When all this happened."

"Run," Blake urged, "Please! He's-He'll kill you-!"

"If he does, then he'll have earned it," Nick grunted.

Adam struck furiously, lashing out with incredible speed. With equal speed though, Nick swung the much longer sword like it weighed nothing, parrying and deflecting Adam's fearsome blows with loud reports of straining steel.

"YO! BLONDIE!" Nick shouted. Blake spotted Yang out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?!" Yang shouted back.

"Your partner needs medical attention! My wife's trying to set up a safe zone nearby! Go help her!" He barked. "I'll handle him."

"But-!"

"GO!" Nick shouted. Yang nodded, scooped Blake up, and ran out as fast as she could.

Blake looked over Yang's shoulder, biting her lower lip as Adam's katana glowed bright red.

- - -

"You're signing your own death warrant, old human," Adam snarled. "What?! You wanted them to have a head start? Once I kill you, I'll just find and kill them both."

Nick sighed.

"No, idiot," he stated, "I just don't want any civilians around when I cut loose."

His Aura exploded like a bonfire around him, as he swung his blade right into the ground. A massive blast of Aura energy erupted right at Adam! The White Fang leader barely got his Aura up long enough to block, but the force still blasted him through the walls of the library, and right out onto the green grounds surrounding Beacon. He staggered up, and barely got his sword up in time to keep Nick's sword from slicing him in half.

Adam leaped back, and swung Wilt to unleash a massive Moonslice right at him.

"DIE!" Adam snarled,

It was so wide, no human was fast enough to dodge it!

And Nick Arc didn't. His sword glowed brightly with Aura, and he swung hard. The Moonslice broke into two beams. They lapped at Arc's burly arms, leaving deep cuts that drew blood, but otherwise the human warrior was unharmed.

"Who... Who are you?! WHAT ARE YOU?!" Adam demanded in shock.

Nick just shook his head, and held up his blade.

"I'm an old man in a profession where most die young," he stated, "And you have my undivided attention, terrorist scum."

- - -

There are many shonen anime with competent adults who pass the torch to the next generation or are defeated for believable reasons. RWBY has no competent adults and doesn't know how to write them while still letting the bad guys win. So that's one goal of mine with my RWBY fic: To balance the old by showing them as competent and powerful, but also to show the younger generation stepping up.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Also, the adults sharing funny stories of their youth (aside from just Port) would have been fun and led potentially to a lot of fun hijinks, drama, and character building moments.

I may put this into the "In a Family Way" story or another one:

- - -

Isabel Arc smiled warmly at Ruby. Ever since she'd met the little prodigy, she'd been taken with her. She reminded her so much of her daughters at this age... And a little bit of Jaune, too.

"So, what can I do for you today, Ruby?" Isabel asked. "Want to bake cookies again today? I do have time."

"I'd love to!" Ruby chirped, "But uh... I was wondering if you could tell me about my mom? My dad and uncle have all sorts of stories, but you also knew her, right?"

Isabel smiled and nodded.

"I did. We weren't super close, but we were friends," she said. She sighed. "Though she could be a major headache. I was... A bit more rules-oriented than she was. And very serious..."

She sighed.

"And she could be... A bit annoying."

"How?" Ruby asked.

- - -

In the past...

"I'm soooo borrrrred, Isabel!" Summer whined, lying on the senior's bed and kicking her legs up into the air. Isabel Arc, Summer's "senpai" (Whatever that meant) did her homework at her desk nearby.

"Don't you have a team to be annoying?" Isabel sighed.

"They're all busy," she whined, "And Raven's being mean again!" She beamed. "Hey! Can I bug your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Isabel said, perhaps a bit too quickly. Summer grinned. "Okay, he's... Kind of my boyfriend?"

"I mean, you are going on trips all the time," Summer pointed out.

"He's an orphan and he needed work," Isabel coughed, "He gets along well with my town militia. That's all!"

"Annnnd...?" Summer prompted with a grin.

"And we're not having this conversation," she stated. Summer popped up and leaned over her shoulder.

"Come onnnnn!"

"No."

"Come onnnnnn!"

"No."

"I want juicy girl gossip!" Summer whined. "Raven's all hardcore and meeeeaaaan!"

"Well, too bad, I don't gossip," Isabel sniffed.

Summer pouted.

"... What if we could prank Raven?"

Isabel sniffed.

"I'm far too mature to stoop to such a level-"

Summer stared at her.

"It's Raven."

Isabel sighed.

"... What did you have in mind?"

Summer beamed.

Later...

Summer and Isabel made it to her dorm and sat down. They began to do actual homework, enjoying the peaceful silence of the late afternoon.

The peace of Beacon Academy was shattered by a blood-curdling cry.

A moment later, Raven Branwen, the scariest first year at Beacon Academy, stormed in and snarled.

"SUMMER ROSE! I KNOW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS?!"

Summer and Isabel glanced at the now platinum blonde Raven. Summer snorted, trying to hold back laughter.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Summer managed. "But it looks good on you!"

Raven roared in rage. Isabel rolled her eyes.

"Come on. It's obvious that it couldn't have been Summer," Isabel stated, "She was with me the whole time."

"Then who-?!"

Nick walked in, smiling broadly as he held up an empty bottle.

"Hey Isabel! I finished with the blonde hair dye!" He said cheerfully. "Don't even know why you had it, but... Uh..."

He blinked at the aura of unfathomable rage now billowing out of Raven. He coughed.

"I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding-"

"DIE!"

- - -

Ruby and Isabel giggled.

"Oh, poor Nick," Isabel sighed, "But we made it up to him later... Well..." She winked in a saucy way, "I did."

Ruby made a face.

"Ewww... You don't have to tell me that kind of stuff!"

Isabel hummed.

"What if it would help you with my son?"

Ruby blushed bright red.

"W-W-We're just friends! Friends! Super besties! Really and truly!"

Isabel raised an elegant eyebrow, then nodded.

"All right..."

"But," Ruby said quickly, "J-Just in case I ever... Change my mind...?"

Isabel hid her smile.

The more things change... She thought fondly.

- - -

Isabel being around means there's an actual mother figure for our heroes to have. Jaune may be mortified when his friends start gravitating to her for maternal affection and advice. And when they look to his dad for a father figure... Well. Poor guy.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune, Blake, Velvet, Ren, Sun, and Cardin sit in a room. Cardin and Velvet sit on one side of a large table, while Blake and Sun sit on the other side. Jaune and Ren sit in the middle. Cardin is glaring at Blake, a glare Blake returns, while Velvet looks concerned and nervous while Sun is laying back in his chair. Jaune looks exasperated but determined while Ren is his usual stoic self.

Jaune: "Okay... Thank you for coming. Let's all just take a breath, not get upset-"

Cardin: "She ruined Velvet's birthday party!"

Blake: "Well EXCUSE ME for thinking you were being racist!"

Cardin: "I WASN'T! Velvet loves carrot cake! I got her a carrot cake!"

Blake: "Is it my fault she's a stereotype?!"

Velvet: "I wouldn't-I just like carrot cake, all right?! Why is that bad?! Lots of humans like carrot cake!"

Cardin: "I was trying to make my girlfriend happy, Blake! That is the opposite of racism!"

Blake: "How do you know it's not unconsciously racist?!"

Cardin: "BECAUSE THE ONLY THING I WANT IS TO MAKE MY GIRLFRIEND HAPPY! SHE TOLD ME SHE LIKES CARROT CAKE! I GOT HER CARROT CAKE!"

Jaune: "Okay, chill out Cardin. No yelling, that won't help."

Velvet: "The little orange and green carrots made of cream were very nice, Cardin."

Cardin; "Thanks babe. I thought that baking class my mom made me do was useless but I'm glad it came in handy."

Sun: "Besides, you can't really talk, Blake."

Blake: "What do you mean?"

Ren: "He means that you're basically a stereotype yourself."

Blake: "What?! I-I am not!"

Jaune holds up a laser pointer and shines a beam near Blake. She bats at it for a moment... Before blushing.

Blake: "I-So I'm embracing my animal instincts! That-That's just part of who I am! I'm not hiding who I am!"

Sun: "Ahem...?" Points at the bow

Blake: "WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?!"

Sun: "I'm just being a bro!"

Blake: "Over being a good boyfriend?!"

Sun: "Being a good boyfriend means I stand up to you when you're being unreasonable, right?"

Blake: "I was NOT being unreasonable to assume that the racist guy was being racist to his girlfriend on her birthday!"

Jaune: "Ummmmmm..."

Blake: "I-I mean... Carrots... And rabbits..."

Velvet: "Actually rabbits don't eat carrots much in the wild, Blake. That's just a stereotype from cartoons. If you feed rabbits nothing but carrots, they'll die from diabetes."

Cardin: "HA! Who's the racist stereotyping person now, Blake?"

Blake: "..." siiiiighs "I'm... Very sorry, Velvet."

Velvet: "And....?"

Blake: "I'm... Very sorry, Cardin. I shouldn't be so... Hypersensitive about certain things."

Cardin: "Ha! You really shouldn't you-!"

Velvet elbows him. He gives her a pleading look. She shakes her head. He sighs.

Cardin: "... Apology accepted."

Velvet: smiles happily

Jaune: "Well, it's good you guys were able to talk this out."

Velvet: "Yup! Now..." grabs Cardin's bicep "I am so proud of you, Cardin honey! Let's go make like rabbits!"

Cardin: "WOOHOO!"

Blake: "Wha-But-!"

Sun: rests a hand over hers "Deep breaths, deep breaths..."

Blake: "Nnnnngh...!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Blake meets with Jaune, who has been "designated" as the guy to help her with her issues.

Jaune: What did I do to deserve this?

Blake: "I-I mean... So much human media has been hurtful towards Faunus! Is it my fault so much of it can be true?"

Jaune: "Uh huh?"

Blake: "But we made the hurtful stereotypes ours, in the White Fang. To make them ours, take them back from the humans!"

Jaune: "Uh huh."

Blake: "Adam told us to embrace our animal instincts!"

Jaune: "Uh... Huh."

Blake: "He loved red to make himself angry! To hone his anger! Like a bull!"

Jaune: "Bulls are colorblind."

Blake: "... Wait what?!"

Jaune: "Yup. They can't see red, it just looks black to them. They just get mad because of being in an arena where they have to fight to the death."

Blake: "... Chameleons-?"

Jaune; "Don't actually shift colors to blend in, it just denotes their mood."

Blake: "... Wolves-?"

Jaune: "Aren't loners, and when they form packs they're family units, not based on who is the alpha or beta or anything else like that."

Blake: "..." small, despairing laugh "Is... Is my entire life a lie?!"

Jaune: "No! Nonono! It's all right, Blake, it's all right! So you were deceived and... Um..."

Blake: "Stupid?!"

Jaune: "NO! No, I didn't say that! I only know this stuff because my mom and dad were very much in favor of education! Um, I'm sure yours were too-"

Blake: "THEN I'M JUST AN IDIOT?!"

Jaune: "I didn't say that either-!"

Blake: "UWAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Jaune: hugs her and strokes her back "It's okay, Blake, it's okay... You're okay... You're trying to do better..."

Blake: sniffle "Am I good kitty? I want to be a good kitty! I want to be the best kitty ever!"

Jaune: "You're a good kitty... You're a good kitty..."

Blake: "... Can you... Scratch behind my ears?"

Jaune: "Ummmm... Shouldn't... Sun do that...?"

Blake: "He thinks it's weird."

Jaune: "... Okay....?" Scratch scratch scratch

Blake: "Nyaaaahhhh~! Nyyyyyaaaahhhh~!"

Jaune: Okay this is... Very cute... Also weird... Cuweird...

Blake: "Nyaaahhhh~... Master~..."

Jaune: "And now it's completely weird..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Yang, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Weiss, Ruby, Blake and Pyrrha just finished the MOST strenuous workout they have ever had courtesy of Jaune's father, Nick.

Yang: "Urrrgh... I have bruises on my bruises..."

Jaune: "Owwww..."

Pyrrha: "Yesss... This is amazing! I want to do this every day!"

Everyone Else: "NO!"

Nora: "Moron!"

Ren: "Training junky."

Weiss: "Please no more!"

Blake: "Owww..."

Nick: "Hahaha! No, this is enough for now!"

Jaune: "Urgh... Thanks a lot, Dad."

Nick: "Hey, it's tough love. You gotta sweat so you don't bleed! That's what my master told me."

Yang: "Urgh, you sound like my dad..."

Ruby: "Too much like Dad..."

Nick: "HA! He probably stole it from me! We were rivals! ... Sort of!"

Jaune: "What do you mean, 'sort of'?"

Nick: "The truth is, I was a bit too... Free-spirited for my fellow older classmates. So! I took your dad and uncle as my kohais!"

Jaune: "Translation: They were almost as immature as he was."

Nick: "YES!"

In the past... In the STRQ dormroom...

Raven: "I don't see why I can't be leader. I could totally beat up Summer. Or just knife her in the back."

Summer: "I can hear you."

Raven: "Good."

Qrow: "Uggggh... Homework is lame."

Taiyang: "Totally. Can't we go do something fun, Summer?"

Summer: "Not until your homework is done! You too, Raven!"

Raven: "Homework is useless! What matters is who is the strongest!"

Nick busts in.

Nick: "GUYS! GUYS! GUYYYYYSSSS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA-IT'S AMAZING!"

Summer: "What?! What?!"

Taiyang: "What is it, Nick?!"

Nick: "THERE'S A NEW GOAT EXHIBIT AT THE ZOO! WE GOTTA GO!"

Silence.

Taiyang: "... THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!"

Qrow: "I'm game!"

Summer: "A goat?! Count me in!"

Raven: "What."

Summer: "How do we get there?"

Nick: "We can get Isabel to drive us! She has a driver's license!"

Raven: "What's a driver's license-?"

Taiyang: "AWESOME!"

Raven: "What happened to homework?"

Summer: "WHO CARES? IT'S A GOAT!"

Taiyang: "You're sure she'll drive us?"

Nick: "Trust me! She's all heart!"

Later at the zoo...

Isabel: sigh "I can't believe he talked me into this."

Raven: "You're so weak to him! You'll never see me act so pathetically around a man!"

Summer: snerk "Sure Raven, sure."

Raven: "I WON'T!"

The boys are staring into the goat enclosure. The goat is just chewing on something, and making goat noises.

Taiyang: "Heheh... What a silly goat."

Qrow: "Such a silly little guy."

Nick: "I know! He's so cool...!"

Summer: "So cute~!"

Raven: "It's a goat. You can see them in any village around here!"

Qrow: "But he's in a special exhibit. A special goat exhibit, Raven!"

Raven: "... SO?!"

Qrow: "So he must be... A special goat!"

Nick: "The special-est goat!"

Isabel: "That's not a word."

Nick: "Of course it is! Atlas has special-ests!"

Isabel: "No, they're specialists!"

Nick: "What's the difference?"

Isabel: "UGH!"

Taiyang: "HA! I get it!"

Qrow: "Hey... Think we can feed him?"

Isabel: "Uh... No. No you cannot feed him."

Qrow: "Who says?!"

Isabel: "The sign that says 'no feeding the animals'?"

Qrow: "What? That's lame! Hey, wait, does that mean they'd throw food at him if the sign wasn't up?"

Taiyang: "Dude, we should do that! Hold up a sign that says 'Feed the Animals!'"

Qrow: "Cause we're animals!"

Taiyang: "YEAH!"

Summer: "No guys, no, that wouldn't work."

Raven: "Thank you."

Summer: "They'd just throw partially eaten or bad food at you!"

Taiyang: "Oh yeah."

Qrow: "Really? Lame."

Raven: "I-You... What?!"

Isabel: sighs in pity and empathy "In any event, don't feed the goat. It's against the zoo rules-NICK!"

Nick: Threw in his hotdog and cotton candy "What? You say something?"

Isabel: "I-CAN'T YOU READ?!"

Nick: "Yes! I can!"

Isabel: "What does that sign say?!"

Nick: "... 'Don't Feed the Animals'-Ohhhhh..." A pause. He then tosses in his popcorn bucket

Isabel: "NICK!"

Nick: "SORRY! He looks so sad, Isabel! He just wants to eat people food!"

Isabel: "IT'S BAD FOR THEM!"

Nick: "So is junk food for us, but you still eat creampuffs when you think I'm not looking."

Isabel: blush "I DO NOT!"

Zookeeper: "HEY! You aren't feeding the goat, are you?"

Students: "Nooooo..."

The goat throws up a plastic zoo popcorn bucket.

Zookeeper: "..."

Students: "..."

Taiyang: points at Nick "It was his idea!"

Nick: "DUDE! NOT COOL!"

Summer: "RUN!"

In the present...

Nick: "... They did lift our ban a few years ago."

Weiss: "Feeding a goat doesn't sound so bad."

Nick: "It wasn't. But then Raven led us into the tiger den to escape because she wanted to ride a tiger, and hey! That sounded like fun, so I went along!"

Ruby: "... And our mom and dad?"

Nick: "They had to share a tiger. I wasn't sharing mine. Traitor."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Yang: "So Professor Arc, you have a pretty sweet motorcycle."

Nick: "Thanks!"

Yang: "How did you get it?"

Nick: "Well..."

In the past... Nick is just chilling out near a motorcycle dealership.

Nick: "Doobie doo... Doo doo doo..."

A younger Roman Torchwick drives a motorcycle through the fence and slams it onto Nick's head.

Nick: "GAAAAHHHH!"

Roman: "Oh shit oh shit oh shit! Uh, hey! You still alive?"

Nick: "Uggggggghhhh...!"

Roman: "Good enough for me! I ain't getting a murder charge!" He runs off.

In the present...

Nick: "The dealer and the cops were so impressed I actually survived, they let me have the bike if I promoted how safe they were!"

Yang: "... When one of them fell on your head."

Nick: "Yup."

Yang: "And you survived only because of your absurd amount of Aura."

Nick: "Basically."

Yang: "... Awesome!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

"Aw, thanks Sun!" Weiss cooed, opening her gift. She gasped in joy. "Ooh! Banana cupcakes?"

"Well, I like to give you my banana whenever possible," Sun said with a wink and smirk. Weiss giggled, though her blush was quite real.

"Oh you beast!" Weiss giggled, slapping him on the shoulder.

"That's what you like about me!" Sun teased back.

At the far end of the table where Teams RWBY, SSSN, and JNPR were gathered, a multitude of emotions ran through the other Hunters-in-Training.

"This is getting kind of gross, not gonna lie guys," Yang uttered.

"I think it's sweet!" Ruby giggled.

"You would," Yang groaned.

"It's so great!" Nora cheered, "Gives me ideas! Riiiight, Renny?" She pressed against her stoic best friend/crush/partner. Ren continued to eat his breakfast calmly, through a twitch had developed over his right eyebrow.

"No."

"Me too!" Nora cheered.

"I'm glad they're in a fulfilling relationship," Pyrrha said cheerfully.

"This is horrific," Neptune moaned. He perked up. "Hey Pyrrha? Wanna try to match them if you're happy for-?"

"No."

Pyrrha's tone had not changed, nor had her smile, but her eyes were terrifying enough that Neptune coughed and immediately backed down.

"Uh, Yang, babe-"

"No," Yang stated, not even breaking her stride. Neptune looked at Ruby, and Yang spoke again. "Try and die."

"Uh, um..." He looked at Nora with a smile. "Hey, Valkyrie-!"

"Try and I'll break your kneecaps," Nora said cheerfully.

Neptune looked over at Blake eagerly.

"Hey, mysterious lady, I'll-!"

Blake actually snarled at Neptune. He fled from the table. Sage and Scarlet watched him go.

"Huh," Scarlet observed, "He didn't get castrated."

"This time," Sage said with a nod.

Blake for her part was trying very hard not to look at Weiss and Sun's little performance. She kept her eyes firmly on her plate even as they carried on.

"Heehee! I love them, Sun!"

It doesn't bother me... It doesn't bother me...! Blake thought.

"Well, there's a language of cake in Atlas, so I looked up what they meant."

IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME...

"There is! ... Geez, you actually studied it, huh?" Weiss asked, blushing.

"Hey, I'll even open up a book for you, Weiss!"

"Awww... So, what does banana cake mean?"

"Well... I could show you, but I know how you are about school rules."

"S-Sun! You're so naughty!"

IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME! Blake seethed inside, as she dug her claws into the wood table.

She got up and stormed out, without a look towards the obnoxious couple. All the way outside, to the nearby park on the quad. Blake plopped herself down on a bench and glared angrily out at the picturesque scenery.

After a bit, she heard footsteps nearby. She recognized the scent of the boy who stood nearby.

"Jaune?" She asked. Jaune shrugged.

"Hey," he said quietly. "I saw you storm out... Not hard to guess why."

Blake grimaced and glared back out at the scenery.

"It's stupid," she muttered, "We weren't even together."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Yeah, well... Neither was I with Weiss," Jaune said.

Blake winced. She'd been so wrapped up in her issues, she hadn't even...

"Sorry," she murmured. Jaune shrugged.

"Well... I mean... It's dumb, right? I never had a chance with her anyway. Why would she ever want me? Some country bumpkin."

"She..." Blake hesitated, "I mean... She did kind of like the attention. I know that."

Jaune snorted.

"Yeah... Like she liked Sun's attentions," he muttered.

Blake nodded slowly.

"I... I mean, we weren't together but he was..."

Mine, she thought, but was he really? If he was so quick to just go for Weiss... That little witch...

"Yeah," Jaune nodded, "I get it. It sucks."

Blake nodded slowly.

"I don't... I never really thought I could feel that way for someone ever again, after what I'd been through, but..."

Jaune sat down next to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but... Relaxed.

"I know," Jaune said with a nod, "I-I mean, I don't know the whole story, and you don't have to tell me, but... It's all right."

Blake sighed softly. She squeezed his hand over her shoulder.

This is... Nice, she thought, Just nice warm affection, from someone without any ill intentions... Weiss really was throwing away something wonder-

A lightbulb may as well have gone off over her head. She turned to smile at Jaune.

"Jaune? I have an idea," she said.

"Uh... Sure," Jaune managed.

- - -

Weiss sighed as she sat with Sun. They were still away from the rest of their teams. Blake had left, as had Jaune.

"I'm... Starting to feel a bit bad about all this," she murmured. Sun nodded.

"Yeah... Me too." He stared at her. "If you want to stop this, I'm game."

"I..."

The thing was that, unlike Jaune or (ugh) Neptune, while Sun did flirt with her, it was... Fun. It wasn't overblown and cheesy... Well it was, but he was in on the joke. He could be lewd but fun-Winks and nudges to make her laugh. He was good at that.

And Weiss hadn't gotten to laugh a lot in her life. It was pleasant... And it became more difficult to focus on how it was making Blake feel, when she was being overwhelmed with how it was making her feel.

"I-I mean... Do you want to stop this?" Weiss asked softly. Sun stared at her for a long moment. He took a bite from his banana cupcake, and hummed.

"Well... I..."

He was hesitating. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

"Holy-What?!" Ruby cried. Weiss and Sun looked back towards the doors.

Blake and Jaune re-entered the cafeteria... Blake holding onto the blushing Jaune's arm with a warm, happy smile and-NO BOW ON HER EARS?!

"What the-Belladonna's a Faunus?" Muttered some random student.

"Well, it was kind of obvious in hindsight, her last name and all," another said, "But why is she with Arc?!"

Blake shot Weiss a smug look, before she pulled Jaune into a toe curling kiss.

"Mmm... Thank you for giving me the courage to come out like this, Jaune," she said breathlessly, after letting Jaune's lips go. "I'm so glad I got to see the real you, and that you showed me that. It let me show who I really am."

Jaune gaped at her, obviously a bit overcome with that kiss. She stomped on his foot, and he coughed.

"Ah, uh... An-Anytime, Blake," he said, smiling genuinely despite the pain.

Blake shot a smug look over at Weiss as she led Jaune to another table. Sun and Weiss gaped after them.

"She... What?!" Weiss hissed. "She's supposed to be upset! Not... Not... Oooh!"

"Um... Should we stop this now-?" Sun asked, but Weiss shook her head.

"I-I don't-No! I mean... Unless you want to but-No!" She glared after Blake and Jaune. "She can't do that!"

At the RWBY/JNPR/SSSN table, everyone scooted away from Pyrrha as every metal utensil began to bend ominously.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ruby: "Hey Mister Arc! Hey Mrs-Er-Doctor Arc!"

Ruby pops in on them while they're eating a picnic lunch on the quad lawn.

Isabel: "Hello Ruby."

Nick: "Hey!"

Ruby: "I had a question! Um, if you don't mind?"

Nick: "Not at all! Oh! Oh! Hang on, first... Catch this cookie!"

Ruby: "OOH I LOVE THIS GAME!"

Nick throws a cookie into the air with his incredible strength, sending it flying almost as fast as a bullet... And Ruby catches it in her mouth thanks to her Semblance.

Ruby: "OMMMMMNNNGGHHH!"

SMASH! CRASH! A car alarm goes off.

Nick: "... Um... Oops?"

Isabel: sighs in irritation "Nick...!"

Later... Isabel had patched up Ruby and is healing her. Nick is on the corner of the picnic blanket nearby, brooding unhappily after his scolding.

Nick: "She loves that game!"

Ruby: "I really do! Though uh, I guess I'm not able to play super well yet!"

Nick: "Ha! You should see Jaune. He went through a barn last time we played."

Isabel: "Without his Aura!"

Nick: "Like a champ! I was so proud of him!"

Ruby: "Ummm... Oh! I had a question!"

Nick: "Shoot!"

Ruby: "Isn't Doctor Arc from the Arc family, and you're not?"

Nick: "Yup!"

Ruby: "So why did you take her name and not the other way around? I mean, I know Weiss's dad did that because he wanted to get power, but why would you do it?"

Isabel: "Um, well... It was... A gift, kind of."

Ruby: "A gift?"

Flashback to Isabel and Nick's early days at Beacon. Isabel is going over paperwork.

Isabel: "Nick? NICK!"

Nick is not doing paperwork. He was relaxing on a nearby bed.

Nick: "Yeah?"

Isabel: "I told you to fill out your paperwork! You didn't put your last name!"

Nick: "Hm? Oh. That's cause I don't have one. I mean, not really."

Isabel: "Huh?"

Nick: "Well, I was an orphan. Never knew my folks. My master, Ken, didn't have a last name either since he was a monk and swordsman. And my village wasn't registered with Vale's Identity Database, so I don't know who my folks were. So I just went by 'Nick'."

Isabel: "Is that how you were registered? Just Nick?"

Nick: "Well, Nick 'Blank', but, that's not a great name. Still, is it a big deal?"

Isabel: "It would make things a lot easier."

Nick: "Oh... I guess I'll just make up a last name then. Ummmm... Nick Supermaster!"

Isabel: "No."

Nick: "Nick Ultrablaster!"

Isabel: "No."

Nick: "... Nick Strife?"

Isabel: "NO!"

Nick: "Come on!"

Isabel: sighs "... Hey... If you'd like... You could use my last name?"

Nick: "Eh?"

Isabel: "It would make things a lot easier, if you wanted. I wouldn't be adopting you or anything, but... Well... It'd be yours."

Nick: "Nick Arc...? You'd... You'd do that for me?"

Isabel: sighs "Honestly, there are so many Arcs all over Remnant, it wouldn't be too unusual-"

Nick: "I like it!" He beamed at her "Nick Arc!" He took the paperwork and filled it out "Thanks Isabel. I... I really appreciate it. Only my master gave me a name before."

Isabel: soft, fond smile "Don't... Don't look too much into it, all right? It's just a name."

Nick: "It means a lot to you though, doesn't it? Family? A home? A place where you belong?"

Isabel: "... It does."

Nick: "I... I never really had that before." Beams "Thank you, Isabel. I promise. I won't tarnish the name."

Isabel: "Heh. You'd better not."

In the present...

Nick: "And when I proposed... Well... I told her that it was to make it official. She let me into her family, and her heart, and I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life."

Isabel: blush "N-Nick!"

Nick: "I mean every word."

Ruby: sniffles "That's... That's so romantic!"

Nick: "Aw, thanks Ruby!"

Isabel: sighs, but smiles lovingly at her goofy husband

Nick: "So... Cookie Catch again?"

Ruby: "ALL RIGHT! Let's do this-!"

Isabel: bonks her husband "NOT UNTIL SHE'S FULLY RECOVERED!"

Nick: "OWWW! Yes dear!"

 

[ArsMagna1337]

I immediately thought of Perry's theme when nick was singing his little tune

Click to shrink...

Meanwhile, in an alternate timeline during a certain White Fang rally.

Roman: Wait, you hear that noise?

Roman and the Atlas Weakadin- sorry, Paladin got crushed by a superior Mad Scientist-grade colossal mech. Then a hatch was kicked open to reveal someone familiar. He screamed to the sky with his fist raised up high.

???: Curse you Perry the Platypus Faunus!

White Fang 1: Wait, wasn't that the guy from Mountain Glenn screaming about a Platypus Faunus?

White Fang 2: What's his name again? Merlot?

Roman: Help! I'm crushed!

Neo holding up a sign with the words: Are you sure you aren't a Murphy? I have a cousin on downstreet Vale where the whole thing always happens to him.

Blake: What the fuck!?

White Fang members, gasping in shock.

White Fang 1: Oum my Gods, she swore in the rally where we have children here.

Blake: Huh!?

White Fang child: My ears are impure, I have seen the dark side of the world.

White Fang girl: Shh... It's okay, hunny. The big bad false White Fang member will be exiled now.

White Fang 2: It has come to our attention that someone swore. Please take her down and throw her to the garbage where she belongs.

All the White Fang members turned to Blake, as she attempts to exit. Only for Sun to knock her out.

Sun: Language!

The White Fang cheered before one of them shouted.

Random White Fang Member: Let's destroy public property to show how much we respect our newbie!

White Fang 1: WOOOOO!

White Fang 2: Let's flip Beacon's pool as well!

Roman: Still stuck here. It would be a "good" thing to let me out now!

Neo, holding up a sign: Nah, let them cook.

---

Spoiler: What's going on in this universe...

Basically, the entirety of White Fang post-Blake acts like the students in Clone High after Adam had a mental breakdown of him being one of the many clones that Adam has that Merlot created accidentally.

Also minor Phineas and Ferb crossover for Merlot being Doof-expy and the Perry the Platypus Faunus; and minor Milo Murphy's Law crossover for Neo's cousin's family.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Our heroes end up in a lost, ancient temple filled with horrible Grimm, snakes and scorpions.

Pyrrha: "Um, Jaune, Ruby? Can we go with you when you choose the mission next time?"

Jaune: "Oh come on, this is hardly worse than the last temple of doom!"

Ruby: "And this one has even more puzzles! Yay!"

Weiss: "WHY WOULD ANCIENT PEOPLES MAKE YOU TURN A SUN DIAL JUST TO OPEN A CLOSET DOOR?!"

Ren: "The past is filled with mysteries, indeed..."

Jaune: "Who knows? Maybe they were just bored geniuses. Like, if I was building some gigantic temple, I'd just get bored making everything the same. Why not add some boulder traps?"

Nora: "Ooh! Ooh! Or a room with mashers that smash you if you don't jump through them right!"

Ruby: "Or a room where if you get a lever puzzle wrong, you drown!"

Jaune: "Yeah, see? They didn't have TV back then, so they had to figure out how to make their own fun!"

Yang: "Not my kind of fun, Lover Boy!"

Jaune: "Well that's what the monsters are for."

Yang: "Good point!" YANG SMASH!

Weiss: "And WHY are we risking our lives in this stupid temple?!"

Blake: "To recover the lost erotic sculptures of Eros. They're priceless historical artifacts and some of the greatest erotic art in the world!"

Weiss: "... You're kidding."

Blake: "I'm not."

Jaune: "She's not."

Ruby: "Really, that is in the mission briefing."

Weiss: "WE'RE RISKING OUR LIVES FOR PORN?!"

Blake: "Erotica, thank you! And it's history!"

Nora: "EROTIC HISTORY!"

Jaune: "Also we're getting paid pretty well. There's also that."

Ruby: "AND PUZZLES!"

Weiss: "Can you believe this, Pyrrha?!"

Pyrrha: blush "... Is the erotica... Really that good?"

Blake: nods "Absolutely."

Pyrrha: "Then... Well... Anything for the sake of history~!"

Weiss: sobs "What did I do to get assigned two teams of lunatics?!"

Jaune: "Come on, if you didn't actually like it, you'd have waited in the Bullhead!"

Later...
Weiss: "Wha... YOU ORDERED THIS MISSION, BLAKE?!"

Blake: "As Princess of Menagerie, I should be a patron of the arts and work to preserve the glories of our past for future generations to learn from and enjoy!"

Weiss: bright red "IT'S FIVE HUNDRED STATUES OF PEOPLE IN DEBAUCHERY!"

Blake: "Yes, and now it will be preserved and enjoyed for all time!"

Weiss: "Honestly, there's no way some of these positions are possible..."

Blake: "Perhaps we should aid in the research! Jaune, what do you say to me commissioning the teams again to-?"

Jaune: "No."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Blake Belladonna seldom emoted. It was not in her nature. However, the news she was given in Headmaster Ozpin's office was terrible enough she felt she absolutely deserved to express it loudly.

"I'm WHAT?!"

"Facing expulsion, and possible deportation," Ozpin repeated calmly. Blake gaped at him as he sighed. Professor Goodwitch was ever at his right hand, and took up the explanation from there.

"You entered this school with forged identity documentation, Miss Belladonna," Goodwitch said testily, "Despite my disagreement with the Headmaster. He could only get you a temporary student visa for your fraudulent identity."

Blake winced deeply at that. Ozpin gave Goodwitch a look, and the Combat instructor sighed.

"Your circumstances warranted some... Consideration, perhaps," she allowed in a gentler tone, "But if you won't contact your parents-"

"I-I can't," Blake said, looking ashamed. Goodwitch shrugged.

"Then your legal right to stay in this country, at this school, is going to expire."

"What-What about Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren?" Blake asked desperately. "They're orphans from Mistral!"

Ozpin nodded and sipped his coffee.

"Yes, they are. But while their parent did not survive, their parents did actually do the proper paperwork and sent it to the Mistralian Central Database before they expired. Both Miss Valkyrie and Mister Ren had plenty of verifiable documentation that could be accessed, and their combat instructor at the orphan combat school they attended was their sponsor for citizenship. You have falsified documents that I could finesse into allowing for a temporary study visa. I said you were a Faunus student from Menagerie here as part of a foreign exchange program. But that is the best I could do."

Blake sighed and looked down at her knees. She dug her fingernails into them.

"So... I will have to leave," she murmured. Ozpin shook his head.

"Now now, Miss Belladonna, I would not have called you here if I did not have a solution that would let you legally stay," he said gently. "There are a number of legal ways to go about this, and I have arranged for a lawyer to begin processing."

"If you just told your parents about this," Goodwitch pressed, "I'm sure they would-"

"No! I can't do that!" Blake insisted. Goodwitch sighed. Ozpin shrugged.

"In which case, there is only one real recourse. It was instituted to allow Huntresses to finish their education at Beacon and become citizens without a great deal of red tape. It was enacted after the Faunus Revolution given all the missing records and large losses of life in those times. Many refugees from other kingdoms sought shelter and security. This loophole was left in case of similar disasters in the future."

"What loophole?" Blake asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Ozpin and Goodwitch shared a glance. He sucked in a deep breath.

"Are you absolutely certain you do not wish to contact your parents-?"

"ABSOLUTELY!" Blake insisted. Ozpin shrugged. Goodwitch sighed.

"In which case, the only other option for you is to get married to a Valean citizen."

Blake's jaw dropped.

"M-M-Married?!"

"Just a temporary one," Ozpin insisted, "Long enough to allow for other legal means to go through. It could easily be annulled... If the other party was fine with it, of course."

"You can still call your parents," Goodwitch insisted again.

"Well Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said, "What's it to be?"

- - -

Jaune Arc was stowing his gear in his locker. He'd managed to pull his weight during the last mock battle with Team CRDL, but man, that mace still packed a whallop! Still, Pyrrha's tutelage was really showing. He'd even taken down Sky!

Okay, Sky was their wheezing nerd, but it was still something.

He shut the door on his locker... And yelped at Blake Belladonna standing there.

"Oh! Uh... Hey Blake," He said with a smile. He didn't know her very well, of course, but he was best friends with her team leader so he could be friendly.

"Jaune," Blake said, "I... I need some help."

Jaune blinked.

"Er... Sure. I'll help if I can," he said. "What's the problem?"

Blake sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils.

"I... My visa is expiring. My student visa. I'm... Not a citizen of Vale."

"Oh," Jaune winced, "That really sucks."

"It does," she said, "My... Home situation in my country is... I can't go back."

Jaune nodded again. "I see... I think I can help you."

Blake brightened a bit. Her smile, while small, was pretty.

"Really?" She asked.

Jaune nodded with a smile.

"Sure! My uncle's an immigration lawyer! We get so many newcomers from Vacuo in Radian. I could ask him if he could look into things for you-"

"I... Appreciate that," Blake said, her face a strange mixture of exasperation and gratitude, "But Headmaster Ozpin has a lawyer working on it."

"Oh," Jaune winced. "Sorry."

"But you could help in another way," Blake said quickly. "If... You wanted to."

Jaune smiled.

"I already said I'd help if I could, Blake. What's this other way?"

Blake sucked in a breath.

"Under my current circumstances, I might be deported while my case is being heard. Until my case is finalized, there's... Only one other way to let me stay."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"What's that?"

"Marriage," Blake stated bluntly.

Jaune stared.

"I... Uh... Oh..." He beamed. "And you want me to help you find someone to marry, right?"

Blake sighed.

"No Jaune... I want you to marry me."

Jaune blinked. He blinked again.

"... Hah?!"

- - -

Romantic hijinks and immigration law. A match made in Hell.

And let's be honest, out of everyone else she could choose... Jaune is probably the least offensive. Besides, at this point, if she did marry Yang, she'd strangle her over her bad jokes.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Right, speaking of...

- - -

Saturday had been exhausting. Between everyone's parents showing up, setting up the new room, and having to corral Nora and "Patrick" (Which had involved luring Nora into a trap using a bare-chested Ren slathered in syrup), Yang's energy level was just above zero.

She slumped down on the queen sized bed they'd been gifted, as Jaune shooed Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren out the door. Ren still looked deeply unhappy, as Nora pawed at him. Yang did not envy Pyrrha in the dorms, and shot her an apologetic look.

Pyrrha shot back a sad but coping look, and smiled genuinely when she wished her and Jaune goodnight. Jaune shut the door, and let out a long, hard sigh.

"Geez... I am beat," he muttered. He turned and walked to the bed. He slumped down onto it, staring up at the ceiling before covering his eyes with a groan. Yang chuckled and laid down next to him.

"Tuckered out already?" She asked.

"Anyone would be with Nora," he stated firmly. Yang nodded.

"Sorry I couldn't help with the wrangling, but, ya know, pregnant and all."

"I suspect you're gonna use that excuse a lot in the next few months," he sighed. Yang nuzzled him.

"Aw... Don't blame me, blame our baby! You wanna be a responsible dad and not let Mama overexert herself, right?"

Jaune rolled his eyes.

"You nearly tired yourself out laughing."

"Come on. It was funny," Yang giggled.

"It was not."

"Your voice is scratchy," Yang said. She handed him a bottled water, which he accepted gratefully. The trap bated, she waited until he was gulping it down to spring it.

"Seeing Nora drag you around on that rope! With how much you were yelling, I can't blame you being a little..." She grinned, "horse?"

Jaune groaned into his now empty water bottle, before he tossed it at the waste basket. He kicked Patrick, whom Nora had returned. The rocking horse creaked unrepentantly.

"It was not that funny."

"It absolutely was," Yang snickered. Jaune sighed again.

"Tragedy plus time equals comedy, I guess," Jaune mumbled. He sat up, and looked around at the walls. "Posters are a little sparse. I thought you had more?"

"I did, but 'Achieve Men' posters feel a little inappropriate since I'm preggers and engaged," she said with a shrug. "Besides, I think motorcycles are much better decor."

"No kidding," Jaune said with a grin, nodding at a sleek, wolf-like motorcycle on a poster, "A Remus 205? My dad has one."

"Really?!" Yang gasped. "Those are super rare! How did he get it?"

"He said he got it to fight some evil leather twink who was trying to destroy the world with a giant sword," Jaune said. At Yang's stare, he chuckled. "He actually found it in pieces near an abandoned village and put it back together with help from my mom and her neighbors in Radian. He didn't even know it was that valuable until later. But he told me the first story when I was six."

"He used 'twink' when you were six?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Mom really let him have it for that," Jaune said with a nod. He smiled and took her hand, squeezing it.

"I mean... Seriously though... Are you okay with this?"

Yang nodded.

"I-I am... Mostly... It's still scary and new. But... We're gonna have to get used to living together, right?"

"Right," Jaune nodded. Yang smiled.

"And I'm glad you've got more than what you had."

"My parents brought some of my stuff," Jaune admitted. He reached into a box, and rummaged around. He pulled out some books with a smile. "Aw. My parents read these to me when I was a kid. Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn..."

Yang reached in, and blinked at a holotape. She snorted in laughter.

"Professor Paradox: Doom of the Khaleds?"

"Hey, come on, that's a classic!" Jaune said, reaching for the tape. Yang sighed heavily.

"I'm aware. My dad and Ruby watch this show all the time."

"Really? So you're familiar with it?!" Jaune asked, grinning broadly. "Who's your favorite Professor? Your favorite enemy? Your favorite-?!"

Yang really hated to do this, given how enthusiastic he was, but if this was going to work... She had to be honest.

"Jaune? Let me make this clear. I have seen every godsdamn episode of this show. I don't want to see anymore," she said firmly. Jaune's face fell.

"But... Come on... You watched it with your family-"

"Yeah! Because we had one TV and they outvoted me!" Yang scoffed. "I mean... The Tenth Professor Paradox was pretty hot, but I will very happily live the rest of my life never hearing another argument about how the Thirteenth Professor Paradox ruined the franchise worse than the Sixth, or pretending an egg whisk is a death ray, or hearing the Albion Broadcasting Company jingle. Okay?"

Jaune pouted.

"But-"

"Nope! Dad told me honesty is very important in marriages, as are boundaries. No Professor Paradox, ever."

Jaune sighed.

"Fine. Great, our first fight," he muttered. Yang chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Look on the brightside. You can binge the entire show with Ruby and my dad." A pause. "And our baby."

Another pause.

"Maybe."

Jaune brightened.

"I could!"

"Besides," Yang said cheerfully, "There are other things we can do together, right?"

She batted her eyelashes. Unfortunately, Jaune had chosen this exact moment to duck his head back into his box.

"Ooh! You're right! You like Azur Blaze, right? It's a great fighting game, and they made an anime about it in Fuujin-"

Yang cleared her throat, and took him by the shoulder. She pulled him up, and looked at him very intently. She made her smile very sultry.

"Other things?"

Jaune blushed a bit but kept his composure. He cleared his throat.

"I uh... I-I mean... I do want to do that with you, Yang. I really, really do."

"Oh?" Yang cooed, "Really?"

Jaune gulped.

"... I haven't been able to get you out of my head all day."

He said it while looking her in the eyes, though his eyes dipped to her chest at the end. A flash of heat rushed through her, as well as a feeling of intense affection.

"So...?" Yang asked, soft and warm, as she leaned against him. "I mean... I'm already pregnant. And we're engaged."

Jaune put his hand over hers. He nodded very slowly.

"It's just... I don't remember our first time."

"I don't either."

"I..." Jaune swallowed. "I'm... Nervous. I know it's stupid but-"

"I'm nervous too, Jaune," Yang admitted. She flushed at his state. "I-I mean... Ya know... Contrary to my reputation, I was a virgin before we... Ya know..."

Jaune nodded.

"Right... Same... Mostly."

"Mostly?!" Yang demanded, her eyes red and her hair blazing.

What whore took him from me first?! Was the thought that shot through her.

"J-Just... I did kiss one or two girls at my middle school!" Jaune said quickly. "That's it, honest!"

Yang managed to pull her rage back. She frowned and looked at her fists, feeling stupid.

Freaking hormones...

"O-Oh... Um... Sorry," she murmured. Jaune hugged her tightly.

"None were as pretty or amazing as you, though," Jaune said, with that honest, earnest look of his that just made her insides melt.

She pulled him into a kiss. One he returned.

"Let's not worry about anything," she whispered, "We'll deal with all of that tomorrow. Right now? Let's just... Pick up where we left off, huh?"

He smiled.

"Sounds good to me..." He pulled her into a kiss this time, and she returned it eagerly.

- - -

Ruby sighed. It was a bit saddening to not have Yang in her room anymore. Sure, it was silly-She was right across the hall! The room just felt... Lonelier, somehow.

She rolled over to say good night to her other teammates... Then froze.

"Blake? What are you doing?"

Blake flushed. Her bare cat ears twitched.

"Just... Stretching my ears out," she said in a stilted tone. She blushed harder, and gasped.

"What? What is it?" Ruby cried. Blake shook her head.

"N-Nothing!"

Weiss scowled at her from the bottom bunk.

"You're listening to Yang and Jaune, aren't you? You perverted voyeur!"

Blake's silence and guilty look were more than enough evidence in the court of Ruby Rose. Ruby scowled at her.

"You should be ashamed, Blake!"

"It's hard for me not to hear them!" She said defensively.

"You can still plug your ears!" Weiss huffed.

"It's not my fault I have two sets of ears," Blake gritted out... Before she blushed and gasped again.

"What? What?" Weiss cried.

"Ummm..." Blake tried.

"Blake! Seriously, that's gross!" Ruby huffed. "No more eavesdropping!"

"Yeah!" Weiss insisted. "You should absolutely be ashamed of listening in... On what they're doing... Together."

A pause. Weiss cleared her throat, and in a low tone asked:

"What are they doing, Blake?"

Ruby glared.

"WEISS!"

"I was just curious!"

- - -

There, much better.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Unfortunately, Jaune's secret gets out at Beacon and... Well... Some people have some thoughts.

Cardin: "Wait, wait, wait... You're... A dragon?!"

Jaune: "Half dragon... Part dragon? Not sure how much human but-"

Cardin: "A dragon?!"

Jaune: sighs, rolls his eyes "Yes. Yes I am."

Cardin: "Then... You could have just beat my ass any time you wanted?!"

Jaune: "What?! No! I'm not great at fighting or the transformation! I still struggle to breath fire-!"

Cardin: "You decapitated an Ursa with one blow of your sword!"

Jaune: "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm actually competent in a fight!"

Cardin: "But you're tougher and stronger than a normal human, right?"

Jaune: "SO ARE YOU! SO IS EVERYONE ELSE AT THIS SCHOOL!"

Cardin: "No. Nuh uh. You made a fool out of me, Jaune Arc!"

Jaune: "Eh?"

Cardin: "NEXT COMBAT CLASS, YOU'D BETTER BRING YOUR DAMN A GAME!" He grabbed Jaune "Nikos! Ren! You're teaching him how to fight! We're making sure he's fighting his best next time!" Glares at Jaune again "You're making me look like an idiot!"

Yang: "Do you need help with that?"

Cardin: "SHUT IT! We're making sure you're fighting at your truest potential! And you're not holding back, GOT IT?!"

Jaune: "Um... Got it?"

Cardin: "GOOD!"

Cardin storms off

Nora: "... I think you made a new friend, Jaune-Jaune!"

Jaune: "How?!"

At CRDL's table...

Dove: "Cardin? You all right?"

Cardin: manly tears "At last... I can have a real rival! A true manly bro who fights and helps me ascend in power! I'VE FOUND... THE GOKU... TO MY VEGETA!"

Sky: "Er... Don't you mean your Vegeta-?"

Cardin: "NOBODY WANTS TO BE GOKU!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Cardin: "Bro, would you rather marry Chichi, or Bulma?"

Jaune: "Um... Bulma-?"

Cardin: "DAMN RIGHT!"

Jaune: "But a better question is: Would you rather marry Hinata, or Sakura?"

Cardin: "... Well I'm Vegeta in this thing-"

Jaune: "Answer the question!"

Cardin: "HINATA OF COURSE!"

Jaune: "DAMN STRAIGHT! So just don't go Sasuke, bro. You were edging into that, being evil for petty, stupid reasons."

Cardin: "Right, right... Also... Who would you marry? Nobara, or Maki?"

Jaune: "Nobara so I could save her."

Cardin: "... That is acceptable, bro. I'd go for Maki but, Yuta and her is my OTP."

Ruby: "NO WAY! ME TOO!"

Yang: watching this "... I can't believe the school bully is having a nerdfest with Jaune and Ruby."

Blake: "Ridiculous, isn't it?"

Yang: "Yeah."

Blake: "Sukuna x Megumi is the only true OTP."

Yang: "Ha?"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ruby: "All right... Here's a tough one: Who is the trashier villain? Obito... Or Geto?"

Jaune and Cardin: "Geto/Obito."

Cardin: "Really bro? Obito is the worst."

Jaune: "Yeah, but he was a teenaged kid who died and got manipulated. He's still an evil bastard who only redeemed himself by the skin of his teeth at the end, but he got twisted up pretty bad and is clearly crazy. Geto just decided to start killing off everyone who wasn't a cursed energy user and then got clapped by everyone! He's all about 'monkeys monkeys monkeys'! But he's at his most dangerous when some other guy is piloting his body!"

Cardin: "Obito was also super self-serving and obsessed with a girl who wouldn't give him the time of day! Almost every bad thing that happens in the manga is because of him! Kakashi tore him apart and it STILL took Madara betraying him for him to even show the tiniest bit of remorse!"

Jaune: "But at least he showed some remorse! Geto died as he lived: A racist dumbass trying to kill off humanity for stupid reasons!"

Ruby: "No no no... Guys, come on. Are either of these villains truly worse... Than Shou Tucker?"

Cardin and Jaune: "FUCK THAT GUY!"

Jaune: "But at least Tucker got his commeuppance in the end!"

Cardin: "Damn straight! They didn't try to make him seem like he was 'misunderstood' or anything!"

Jaune: "Naruto forgave Obito though!"

Cardin: "Yeah but that's because he was trying to break the cycle of hatred! He clearly hated the guy but he wasn't going to continue the cycle! That was the point!"

Jaune: "At least Obito's plan made SOME kind of warped sense! Geto was just straight up stupid and weak! That's why he's trashier!"

Cardin: "No, Obito is!"

Nora: shoves Pyrrha in "Go on! You got this!"

Jaune: "Eh? What's up Nora?"

Nora; "PYRRHA HAS AN OPINION!"

Cardin: "What is it, Invincible Girl?" snorts

Pyrrha: "U-Um... I honestly really hated Mahito... The most..."

Silence. Then...

Jaune: "... Yeah, Mahito fucking sucks."

Cardin: "Hate that evil twink."

Ruby: "So glad he got what was coming to him!"

Pyrrha: blushes happily!

Yang: "I have no idea what's going on anymore."

Blake: pats her on the shoulder

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Alas, the trio comes to blows later on. Ren and Pyrrha break it up.

Ren: "What's this about?"

Ruby: "Who should Ash Ketchum be with! It's obvious it should be May!"

Jaune: "MISTY!"

Cardin: SERENA!"

Weiss : "Iris!"

And everyone just gives her THAT look.

Weiss: "..." blush "WHAT?!"

Jaune: "... My crush is gone."

Ruby: "Mine too."

Cardin: "What is wrong with you?"

Weiss: "WHAT?! SO I LIKE HER BETTER! SO WHAT?!"

Blake: "Trash taste. Besides, everyone knows he's married to the journey."

Jaune: "Well yeah, but we're arguing who he SHOULD have."

Ruby: "THE JOURNEY CAN'T GIVE YOU KISSES!"

Cardin: "DAMN RIGHT!"

Ruby: "LOOK AT YANG! SHE'S ALL LIKE "OHHH I'LL BE A WANDERING BADASS AND EXPLORE!" SHE'S NEVER GONNA GET MARRIED!"

Yang: "URK!"

Ruby: "SHE'S MARRIED TO THE JOURNEY AND THAT WILL END WITH A SINGLE APARTMENT FILLED WITH CATS!"

Yang: "What?!"

Ruby: "Or maybe a lesbian with a lot of domestic violence-"

Jaune: "Don't say stuff like that, Ruby! It's insensitive!"

Ruby: "I'M NOT WRONG! Being married to the journey SUCKS! Ash shouldn't be like my sister! He should have a happy ending!"

Yang: "I TOO AM GONNA GET MARRIED! AND I WON'T BE A LESBIAN IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP!"

Ruby: "Oh yeah? Prove it!"

Yang: "..." Grabs Jaune "Come on Jaune! We're going on a date!"

Pyrrha: "What?!"

Jaune: "Wh-What-?!"

Yang: "Snooze you lose, P-Money!" Runs off, cackling "NO CATS OR SINGLE APARTMENTS FOR MEEEE!"

Pyrrha: "GET BACK HERE!"

Everyone watches this unfold. Ruby chuckles.

Ruby: "Kukuku... All according to cake!"

Cardin: "... Keikaku-"

Blake: "Shut up, nerd!"

- - -

... Yeah that got away from me.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune, Ren, Cardin, and Sun are again chilling out and fishing.

Jaune: "I'm just saying, Ultimate Fantasy 13 is overrated! It was a freaking giant hallway the whole way through and Lightning sucks!"

Cardin: "Most Fujin RPGs are giant hallways, deal with it! I just don't think it was that bad!"

Jaune: "It was your first FRPG!"

Cardin: "Sorry, I played the Fadden sports game series! And Call to Duty! And other manly games like that!"

Ren: "... I'm an orphan and even I know those games are trash."

Cardin: "They are not!"

Sun: "Cardin, they're played by jocks who want to be nerds. Even I know that!"

Cardin: "You dropped five hundred lien on that gacha game!"

Sun: blush "I'm promoting the arts! All the waifus in that game are well drawn! I'm doing my part as a patron-!"

Jaune: "Riiiight..."

Sun: "I blame Neptune! He got me into it!"

Ren: "We can blame Neptune for many things, but that's on you, bro."

Sun: "Damnit... You're right. I can't blame him for everything."

Jaune: "Why are you two friends again?"

Sun: "He comes through in the clutch, and I keep him from dying due to his own stupidity. It's kind of like being a dad."

Cardin: "I guess I can see that, and my game taste is not trash!"

Jaune: "Dude, it totally is. You don't know enough about actual gaming to say anything!"

Cardin: "Ugh, fine. I'll play through the other Ultimate Fantasies. Though personally, I think that Sephiroth guy is overrated."

Jaune: "A little. Kefka, now THAT'S a scary villain."

Cardin: "I guess I'll find out..."

Silence falls.

Cardin: "So... Of the exchange students, who is the hottest?"

Sun: "Me, of course!"

Cardin: "I meant girls, dumbass!"

Ren: "No short stacks so I'm not interested."

Cardin: "That Cinder Falls chick is pretty hot."

Jaune: "Yeah... But she looks like she's in her twenties despite being, what, a second year?"

Cardin: "Is that a complaint?"

Jaune: "No! Just... She seems to be trying too hard... Or maybe she got held back. Sun? You go to Haven too, what do you know about her?"

Sun: "She showed up last year as an exchange student from an apprenticeship to some Huntress. To finish up her training. Other than the fact she's got amazing legs and Neptune struck out with her twenty times? Got me. Though... She has this weird habit of cackling evilly."

Cardin: "... Still sounds hot."

Sun: "Absolutely is. How about you, Jaune?"

Jaune: "I mean... Yeah Cinder's hot... But that shy girl May is..."

Ren: "Yeah?"

Jaune: "I shouldn't say. I promised."

Cardin: "Come on, out with it!"

Jaune: "I uh... I went into the wrong locker room and I saw her in the shower." wince

Cardin: "... And?"

Jaune: "... Wow. Just... Wow." coughs "Uh, but I like the girls here better!"

Sun: "Come on man, all the details! Don't hold out on us!"

Jaune: "Dude, I live with six women. I do not want to be murdered for being an accidental peeper!"

Ren: "Some of them wouldn't mind so much, you damn harem protagonist."

Jaune: "I'M NOT A HAREM PROTAGONIST!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune has not been in a good mood since his parents showed up. Pyrrha sits with him outside to ask why.

Pyrrha: "Hey Jaune... Are you doing okay?"

Jaune: sigh "Just fine..."

Pyrrha: "Jaune... Please?"

Jaune: "I just... They told me I couldn't be a Huntsman my whole life, and now they're here and pushing me to train. Taking my dream seriously after all their crap... They didn't believe in me then. Why now?"

Pyrrha: "Maybe because you did impress them?"

Jaune: "Hmph... I don't feel like I have..."

Nick: "THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, SON!"

Jaune and Pyrrha: "ACK!!"

Nick emerges from a bush with a smile.

Jaune: "Dad! How in the hell-?!"

Nick: "Well, I did pick up skills other than just swinging my sword around."

Pyrrha: "Wow! That's impressive! I couldn't even sense you-"

Nick: "With your Semblance, right?"

Pyrrha: "Urk! Well... Yeah..."

Nick: "It's very impressive to develop Aura sensing of any kind at your age. As for you, Jaune."

Jaune: "Yeah?"

Nick: "... Forgive us. You were our precious baby boy. You were so weak and sickly... We didn't want you to have to take up the burden we did."

Jaune: "But I want to."

Nick: nods "Yes... And if you got into Beacon, then... You have potential. But! I have one condition."

Jaune: "What is it?"

Nick: "The Arc Family needs heirs. It's an archaic practice to be sure, but as the only son, you are expected to carry on as Clan Head after I am gone. You must ensure the Arc Family doesn't die out! You must take wives and produce children!"

Jaune: "I-Wait, WIVES?!"

Nick: "Yes! Three is fine! I was adopted by the clan so I could only have one. Also your mother would murder me if I took more than one, so-"

Pyrrha: "I-I VOLUNTEER! I KNOW TWO OTHERS WHO WOULD, TOO! I JUST WANT TO BE FIRST WIFE!"

Nick: "Good on you, daughter-in-law! I'm so proud, Jaune!"

Jaune: "WHAT?!"

Nick... Bursts into laughter.

Nick: "Hahahahaha! Oh your face, son, ahahahahahahaha!"

Jaune: "Ugggghhh... You're not funny, Dad!"

Nick: "Yes I am! Thank you, Miss Nikos, for playing along!"

Pyrrha: blush "Ahahahaha... Y-Yes... Playing along... Eheh... Heh..."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Ruby did not think she could be as mortified at Beacon as she was when she got detention for that food fight. Or getting hit in the face with pudding during said foodfight-That was honestly a bit worse.

This though? This... Was the worst.

"Hello Class!"

Taiyang Xiao-Long, her father, was standing where Professor Goodwitch normally was during combat class. Yang cringed and hissed behind her.

"I'm your Substitute teacher, Taiyang Xiao-Long," he said with a cheerful smile. "I'll be filling in for Professor Goodwitch for this week while she's on vacation!"

"This is your fault," Ruby muttered to Yang, "You finally drove her around the bend-"

"How is this my fault?" Yang muttered back, "Blake's the one who got us into vigilantism!"

"So yeah, this is Blake's fault," Ruby said with a nod.

"It is not!" Blake muttered, "It's just your father, how bad could it be?"

"Says the girl who hasn't spoken to her parents in two years," Weiss muttered.

"Hey!"

"Take your seats, take your seats," Taiyang said, still cheerful. He winked at Ruby and Yang. Both Ruby and Yang smiled back weakly. Finally, everyone sat down. Taiyang looked around.

"Now, I've looked over your combat performance records," he said, "I've seen a lot of great standouts-Miss Nikos, and my daughter, Yang, among them."

Pyrrha waved modestly. Yang managed a weak grin.

"I've also seen some students struggling," Tai said, and Jaune visibly winced all over his body. He smiled warmly at them all.

"Now... To start us off? Let me show my combat records from my first year."

The holoscreen behind him shifted, and showed a much younger Tai grinning awkwardly at the camera. A lot of murmuring picked up. Tai smiled around the classroom. Ruby and Yang goggled at the ratings... Primarily how bad they were.

"What do you think?"

"You were rated deadlast?" Jaune gasped. He coughed. "Uh, sir?"

"Yup!" Tai said cheerfully. "I had been trained in my family martial arts since I was a kid... But I was reckless. Cocky. And stupid. I thought I could just power on through anything on my own." He shrugged. "I was wrong. Got my ass kicked a lot, too."

He looked around.

"That's the point I want to make clear," he said, "Some of you struggle at some things, some of you excel at others. That's why you're in teams. You work together to take down things you never could alone. You want to be good on your own, sure, but never forget that you're combining your efforts together. You all contribute different things to the fight: Insight, leadership, muscle, range, stealth. And you grow stronger the more you work together."

Taiyang nodded in nostalgia.

"Me? I thought my Semblance made me hot shit. And it did... Until I got my ass beat by my teammates because I thought it made me invincible. That's the thing about Semblances: They're just one weapon you have at your disposal. You can't just rely on it alone to get better. Like every other skill, you have to train it, hone it. Your team will help you do that. And thanks to that team... Well... Let me show you."

He grinned.

"You're gonna love this. What you're seeing is my normal state."

He narrowed his eyes... And his Aura flashed into existence as a bonfire, and his eyes burned red. Yang and Ruby gasped along with the rest of the class.

"This is my Semblance, Burn. My daughter Yang has a very similar one," he said, "Hers takes kinetic energy damage and turns it into more Aura, supercharging it. Mine does the same, but it can also be activated at will, with enough practice. And... Like any other Semblance, with enough practice... It can evolve."

"Evolve?" Ruby chirped. She didn't know this about her dad! From Yang's look, she didn't either.

"Yup," Taiyang said with a nod, "I don't break this out often. I haven't practiced it a lot lately... But this...? This is to go... Even further..."

He grunted, and his Aura flared brightly.

"BEYOND!"

With a loud bellow and an explosive flash of Aura energy, his power blew up the sand from the pit and made cracks in the railing around it. The students gaped as one as the dust settled, revealing Taiyang. His eyes burned green, as his hair flared and sparked with lightning bolts. He smirked out at the gobsmacked class.

"Sorry about the mess... This is Burn... Level 2..."

He vanished. Everyone gasped. They all looked back, as the bright light was unmistakable. Taiyang waved at them from the back of the class, before vanishing and reappearing back in the ring.

The power died down, and he returned to normal. He smiled warmly.

"So... If I can go from deadlast, to being able to do that? There's hope for you all," he said with a nod.

"Maybe this won't be so bad," Ruby murmured, a smile on her face. Yang though was glowering at their father.

"When was he gonna teach me that?"

"When you grow up," Taiyang said, not even looking their way but still smirking. Yang flushed.

"So! Who wants to spar first?" He asked the room, still cheerful.

- - -

Taiyang shouldn't be some loser who does nothing. We don't even know what his Semblance or Weapon is. That's just ridiculous. He's crucial to the backstory of the fucking plot involving Summer! Which is integral to the entire fucking story! So I gave him some awesome.

He's not able to maintain his transformation as easily anymore, he's out of practice. But he's going to find reasons to get back into shape, very soon.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Such a story could play out with Taiyang as a teacher at Beacon, interacting with the students, being a goofy dad... Then comes the Vytal Festival.

- - -

Knocking Yang out had been one of the most painful things Taiyang had ever had to do. He'd tricked his own eldest daughter, lied right to her face... And knocked her out.

He had handed her to Jaune and Pyrrha, and told them to run. To save as many civilians as possible, and to get out of here. To take care of his daughters... Though that was mostly directly at Jaune.

They'd obeyed, thankfully. He'd seen the look in their eyes, all of their eyes.

They were all too willing to give their lives in a futile battle for others.

It was foolish, it was ridiculous... It was noble.

He snorted. It was all too familiar.

They would be great heroes one day... But this was a war. The old shouldn't sacrifice the young for their safety.

That had been the one thing he would always disagree with Ozpin on.

But if the old wizard's current body was dead... Well... Nothing for it.

He climbed all the way up to the top of the tower through the elevator shaft, and hopped up. There stood Cinder Fall, cackling madly as she threw fireballs. She twisted the flames in her hands into lightning, and let it fly. Tai barely dodged the shot she fired, as she giggled.

"Ohhh... Professor Xiao-Long! I'm afraid I'm in charge now," she cooed. "If you're here to give me a detention, I'll have to refuse!"

"No," Tai said with a shake of his head, "I'm here to stop you."

Cinder laughed out loud, before channeling another blast of lightning and striking him dead on. He was slammed through the metallic walls, almost right off the tower. He grabbed onto the outside and swung himself back in, breathing hard. He tossed aside his burning vest, leaving him in his undershirt and khaki shorts.

"You? The old has-been with a neat little trick?!" Cinder mocked. "The dorky dad whose well past over the hill! I've got the powers of the Maiden! You can't even think to stop me!"

Taiyang let the insults flow over and past him, like he always had.

"Children don't belong in war... Adults should protect them, and end threats to their happiness. That's why I'm here."

Cinder scoffed. Taiyang smirked.

"Tell me... Do you want to see a power even your queen fears?"

Cinder stared at him for a moment, uncomprehendingly... Before she laughed with a mocking sneer on her face.

"There is no such power!"

Taiyang nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

"Guess I still have one last thing to teach."

Summer... I'm sorry I didn't figure this out until after you were taken from me... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you... But I am grateful for your love, and the children we made... I won't let them be taken too... No more today...

He pictured the faces of his wives, his best friend, his children... And let the fire within burn.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


View: IEoDs1qdc0s
View:
%20
His%20body%20bulked%20up,%20a%20strange%20ecstasy%20mixed%20with%20an%20almost%20unbearable%20pain.%20Yet%20he%20could%20see%20beyond,%20feel%20beyond,%20anything%20he%20had%20before.
%20
Not%20since%20after%20the%20night%20Summer%20had%20died...%20Not%20Qrow%20had%20beaten%20the%20living%20shit%20out%20of%20him%20to%20remind%20him%20that%20he%20was%20a%20father,%20he%20had%20responsibilities...%20And%20he%20had%20power.
%20
A%20power%20that%20exploded%20all%20around%20him,%20tearing%20gouges%20and%20cracks%20in%20the%20floors%20and%20walls,%20forcing%20Cinder%20to%20put%20up%20a%20magical%20barrier.%20She%20stared%20at%20him,%20uncomprehendingly,%20with%20fear%20behind%20her%20anger.
%20
He%20could%20feel%20the%20energy%20threatening%20to%20tear%20him%20apart%20from%20the%20inside.%20His%20soul%20was%20on%20fire,%20it%20might%20all%20burn%20away,%20and%20leave%20him%20as%20nothing%20but%20dust%20thrown%20into%20the%20wind%20afterwards.
%20
But%20whatever%20the%20outcome,%20the%20fear%20in%20Cinder%27s%20eyes%20was%20never%20going%20away.
%20
%22Sorry%20that%20took%20so%20much%20longer%20than%20the%20others,%22%20he%20apologized%20with%20the%20smirk%20of%20a%20demigod,%20%22I%20call%20this%20one...%20Burn%20Level%20Three.%22
%20
He%27d%20make%20sure%20of%20it.
%20
-%20%20-%20-

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Of course Cinder Fall had seen Taiyang Xiao-long's Semblance. She'd been in the classroom when he began doing substitute teaching. She had looked up his public records, and any private files she could on the man who had once tried to kill Salem with his team.

His Semblance at Level 1 was certain intimidating. Level 2, he appeared like a god of thunder from the ancient mythologies of northern Solitas. Now at level three, his hair burned and waved like white flames, as his eyes burned blue. There was none of the rage in his previous transformations-There was anger, but it was tightly controlled and focused right on her as power crackled around him like a storm held in human form.

His combat prowess had been formidable back in the day. He certainly looked formidable now. But he had retreated to a backwater little island to teach brats. In her mind, he was nothing: Especially not when she had the power of the Fall Maiden.

She realized she might need to reconsider that exactly one second after his fist connected with her jaw, and she felt teeth get knocked out of her mouth as she herself was slammed into the nearest wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

"Wha-!"

She summoned up all her new magical power to form a barrier and unleashed a fire blast. Her jaw pulled itself back together, the Grimm, her Aura, and her Maiden Magic all working in tandem to heal her. She'd just gotten her jaw back into place and her teeth were regenerating just as her fire blast wiped out everything in front of her...

And he reappeared right above her, slamming a kick she barely blocked with her arm and a summoned sword. The force still slammed her back, and she flew away from the wall to get some open air. She turned and unleashed a dozen conjured arrows! He punched and kicked them all to pieces, before he vanished again. She swung around to fill the air behind her with flames, blasting holes in the walls!

Another super strong punch hit her in the kidneys, then another, another, another-!

A kick to the small of her back made her bones creak as she was slammed through the wall to the outside of the dome. With a roar of rage, she rose into the air. She held her hands up, and summoned the storm.

The cloud churned and spun over her, and lightning crackled overhead. She threw her hands down, and nature's fury rained on the Beacon Tower's top. Lightning lashed like whips of the gods, tearing apart the dome and causing explosions and fires!

A burning white blur emerged from the dome, flipping back and dodging the lighting blasts!

Impossible...! Cinder thought, just as that blur resolved itself into Xiao-Long. He vanished, then reappeared right in front of her. She summoned her swords and stabbed into his chest!

He just flared his Aura hotter, and they snapped against his flesh. He grabbed her shoulders, and, using a blast of Aura from his feet that vaporized his sandals and sent them spinning, threw her back through the dome!

"GAH!"

She went through the wall and the floor and the next floor... Ending up a battered, bloody heap in a scrappile that had once been a collection of machines. She looked up as her bones knit and her flesh healed... Only for Xiao-Long to plant both his feet right in her gut, wrenching a scream and a spray of blood from her mouth!

Summon... Summon...!

This was more complicated... The Grimm were resisting her orders. She could guess why-The Grimm inside her were filled with the closest equivalent to fear they could feel. She mustered up her magic and Aura and projected both as hard as she could, blasting Xiao-Long back through several large machines. She managed to get back up, drawing breath frantically into her lungs as her ribs painfully got back into their proper places.

Xiao-Long shook his head, standing up with a shudder. His power was intense-Intense enough it was tiring him out. She had only one chance to win this, then.

"DIE!" She roared, summoning dozens of glass arrows and unleashing them. She let loose a second wave of fire blasts, and lightning she called down from above. She was tearing the top of the tower to pieces, causing explosions and fires. She had to protect herself from that, too, but the bigger threat was Xiao-Long. He kicked and punched his way through the hail of arrows, then blasted through the flames. The lightning... It was hurting him, she could tell, but his flames rose higher as he fought through every blast.

His eyes were fixed upon her. Filled with no remorse, no mercy, only a grim determination and a cold fury.

It was easily the most terrifying thing she had ever seen, as he kept advancing no matter what she threw at him!

"DIE! JUST DIE!" She shrieked, gathering up her power and exploding it through her Aura in all directions!

The massive blast tore through the metal walls and supports of the upper levels. The metal groaned, then began to shriek as the ceiling began to collapse. Cinder summoned her power and flew upwards through the many holes their fight had produced, trying to escape as hundreds of tons of metal began to collapse. She looked back over her shoulder and gaped.

Xiao-Long was right behind her, those eyes still burning...!

She reached out to the Grimm, with as much raw fear, rage, and power she could...!

One answered.

KABOOOOOOOOM!

One of the mountains nearest Beacon exploded. A huge black form spread its terrible, reptilian wings. It took flight, causing a hurricane-level gale as it ascended. A horrific roar issued from its mouth, filling every living creature across Vale with horror and dread.

Cinder flew for all she was worth, and landed on the back of the great Grimm Dragon. She sucked in a breath, tried to calm herself.

Kill the glowing one! She ordered the Grimm. It roared, and dove on the smoldering Beacon Tower. She looked back at last, her smirk re-emerging.

The idiot had fallen back, landing on the tower. There was no way he could reach her-!

He vanished. He reappeared up above the Tower, fifty meters... Then disappeared to reappear, and again, and again-!

Wha... Cinder stared, He's propelling himself with his Aura to FLY?!

He reappeared right above her, and dove like a falcon. Cinder barely dodged out of the way as his fist landed. The Aura blast unleashed from the impact exploded outward, making the Grimm Dragon roar in pain!

"You...!"

Xiao-Long reared back, ready for a much more powerful blow targeted at her head. She slammed her hands down onto the back of the Grimm Dragon.

CONSUME! She screamed in her mind.

Hundreds of Grimm limbs erupted from the dragon's back, clawed and grasping. They dragged Xiao-Long down, and he sank down. He fought furiously, but unable to build up momentum for his blows, he was weakened. She could see his power was doing a lot of her work for her, too-Parts of his skin were blackened, burning up from the inside.

Cinder managed to stand on shaky legs, and her arrogance returned.

"Haa... Haaa... Pathetic effort... Hasbeen...!" She sneered, as Xiao-Long was consumed by the Dragon Grimm.

He grit his teeth, his eyes burned, before he vanished. Pity. She would have liked to have seen the look of despair on his face as he broke...!

Now, she had to focus on healing, and destroying Vale. She slowly made her way towards the head of the Dragon-The best place to watch her plan come to fruition.

- - -

The Grimm held him tightly. His Aura was fading... He'd used too much energy... He was familiar with this, the feeling of burning away.

He'd felt it before... When they failed to stop Salem. He'd pushed himself to his limits. He was well beyond his limits from back then... But it felt the same way.

Like he was fading away to nothing, burning like paper, leaving nothing but ashes behind that would blow away into the wind...

He could still see Summer as she fell. Still hear himself scream as he was dragged away by Raven and Qrow.

Strange... He could see her face now, even in this all-encompassing darkness and pain.

He could almost feel her hand on his cheek, so familiar...

Tai... You can't give up... Not yet...

"I've... Got... Nothing left," Taiyang gasped into the snarling, all consuming darkness.

She still felt warm against him.

You can't give up... Not yet...

"... I can't," he agreed. Summer smiled at him, full of love and hope.

Just like she was when she fell.

You can do it, sweetie, she said, Now...

She rested a hand on his heart. His burning heart.

Get up... And finish this...

Tai breathed in. He focused on the warmth. The burn began to ebb, the pain faded... But the light exploded around him.

I'll see you soon, Summer...

- - -

Cinder had mustered up the breath to laugh again. She could see the helpless people below her, fleeing like ants. She had just told the Dragon to pick out one of the larger skyscrapers first, to topple it like a tree onto the city streets...

The Dragon bellowed in pain, and she heard and felt a rumble throughout its body.

She turned around back towards the back of the beast.

No... No...!

White light burned from between the jagged spines and ribs of the might Grimm Dragon. Another rumble, and the entire monster shook. It bellowed again, and another blast of Aura erupted from its insides.

No no no...!

Another blast erupted, this time from below. She could feel the Grimm's pain, and clutched at her chest in sympathetic connection. The entire Grimm Dragon began to falter, shudder...

Because something had just destroyed its heart.

Another blast, another, another! Each time, it got closer, traveling up the Grimm Dragon's neck. Cinder screamed and unleashed everything at the bit connecting the Grimm Dragon's head to its neck-Every arrow, every blast of fire, every jagged sword, every blast of lightning!

The neck burst, and the beast's screams were cut off as its head came clean off its body.

And through the hail of death she had unleashed, He came.

"NO! NOOOO-!" Cinder shrieked. She threw up every barrier she could-Her fire, her Aura, her swords, her godsdamn arrows-!

And none of it mattered as Xiao-Long's burning fist broke through all of it. The impact stuck so hard she felt every bone along her right side shatter. Her skin burned and crackled, and she fell. All she could hear was the sound of her screams, all she could see were those eyes...!

She hit the ground like a fallen angel, the pavement exploding around her. Agony like nothing she had ever felt burned through her, so intense she couldn't even scream anymore. She couldn't see out of her right eye, she could feel nothing but agony inside and out... Her Aura burned, frantically trying to keep her alive even as the Grimm inside her did the same.

The pain fed the Grimm... She knew this... But she found herself begging for death to end it...!

She vaguely made out a familiar mop of green hair, and one of silver, over her. She felt herself be moved, carefully. She could just make out the sounds of a Bullhead, and felt medical instruments being applied to her. It was only then she mercifully blacked out.

Yet those eyes still remained in her nightmares.

- - -

Tai managed to use a little bit of Aura to slow his descent. Just enough to land without breaking anything, though he wasn't in great shape.

He looked up from the crater he'd formed. He took as deep of breaths as he could manage. They just got shallower and shallower, as his body seemed to... Fade around him.

He looked up. He could see green grass, flowers and trees. Just at the edge of the crater, he made out two red flowers, and two yellow flowers, waving in the slight breeze but otherwise unharmed. Despite everything, they still lived. Still grew. Still endured.

He let out a soft laugh, as he collapsed onto the dirt. He felt warm arms embracing him.

I knew you could do it, Summer whispered. Now... Let's go home.

Right behind you, he thought. Yang... Ruby... Qrow... Raven... I love you. You'll be okay...

Taiyang Xiao-Long closed his eyes for the last time, and smiled.

- - -