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[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

Dragonslayer: In The Family Way 12
- - -

Yang and Jaune stood in the boxing ring in Beacon's gym. As other students worked out around them, Yang scrutinized her fiance's stange with an intense scowl

"Okay... Okay... Let's see..."

She swung her fist for his face, and he got his arms up just in time to block. She continued the combo, punching and kicking furiously as she drove Jaune back.

"Better, better-!"

Yang switched to an open palm strike and hit Jaune right through his guard in the stomach, following up with an uppercut to his jaw. He nearly flew out of the ring, barely managing to keep on his feet and brace himself against the ropes.

"Still leaving yourself open," Yang said with a grin. Jaune nodded, wincing as his Aura went to work healing him.

"Y-Yeah," he croaked out.

Yang's eyebrows rose in alarm. She knelt down next to Jaune.

"Are you okay Jaune?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Jaune managed, in a clearer voice. He stood back up, rubbing his upper chest. She went up with him, her arms still around him in worry.

"Just-That hit hard."

"Well it was supposed to," Yang said cheerfully. She shook her head. "This isn't great training though."

"It isn't?" Jaune asked. Yang sighed.

"Well it's fine for me, but you... Well, you can't exactly punch back, can you?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Nope," he said, "I'd never hit my wife."

"Aw," Yang cooed, "Not even if I asked~?"

She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, before planting a kiss on his neck. He sucked in a deep breath as her tongue lingered on his sweaty throat.

"Y-Yang..."

"Mmm... Not even if I was asking for it?" She whispered sensually, pressing herself against him. She didn't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or what, but she loved the smell of Jaune's sweat. It never failed to excite her...

Jaune wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his forehead to hers. Their eyes locked as he held her tightly.

"You're really asking for it now," he growled, and Yang's eyes burned red in delight-

"AHEM."

They pulled apart rapidly. Yang scowled over at Weiss, who was blushing heavily.

"D-Do you mind trying to remain decent in public?" Weiss demanded.

"That was a pretty good impression of Goodwitch, actually," Jaune commented. Yang grinned.

"Yeah! Angling for a new career, Ice Witch?"

"UGH! Just stop being disgusting horny animals in public!" Weiss stated, blushing bright red. Yang huffed, and pressed herself against Jaune.

"Aw... Jealous you don't get to watch, Weisscream?"

"N-NO!" Weiss cried, turning and running off to the locker room with a bright red face. Jaune blinked in disbelief.

"She's... Not seriously-?"

"She might be, which is hilarious," Yang giggled... Before she pressed herself against him. She whispered in his ear.

"Seriously though, get us to our room or I'm tearing off your clothes right now."

Despite the many times he'd been called one, Jaune was not a dolt. He gracefully grabbed Yang's hand and dragged her out of the gym.

Ruby and Pyrrha, running on treadmills, watched them go. Ruby made a face.

"Geez... They're going off to do... That again, huh?"

Pyrrha blushed and nodded.

"It uh... It seems likely."

"How many times can they do it in one day?" Ruby asked, exasperated. She glared down at the treadmill as she jogged. "Can't be that much fun..."

Pyrrha didn't say anything, she just bowed her head, blushed, and kept running.

- - -

Later that night, after class, Jaune was woken up by Yang shaking his arm.

"Jaune? Jaune?"

"Hmm? Wha-What? What is it?" Jaune sat up, looking around worriedly. Yang bit her lower lip.

"Ummm... It's uh... It's a little silly but..."

"What?"

"... I need a burger," she said.

Jaune blinked.

"Right now?"

"Right now, with pickles and onions," Yang insisted.

Jaune sighed. Yang winced, feeling embarassed. Gods, it was such a cliche and-The baby was barely two months old now and she was already getting cravings!

"I-I know it's a cliche and I know it's the middle of the night so it's a long flight to Vale," Yang went on, "M-Maybe the cafeteria has what we need? We could break into it or-or ask a teacher and-"

"Come on," Jaune said. He took her hand and pulled her up. He got her a sleeping robe, given her tastes in sleepwear had gotten a lot sexier, and she dressed. He held her hand and led her out of their room and down the stairs.

They arrived in the common area of the dorm building, where a kitchenette sat in the still darkness. Jaune led Yang to one of several identical tables and sat her down on the cheap wooden chair standing at it.

"Just give me a few minutes," he said reassuringly, and she nodded. Jaune found an apron, pulled it on, started up the grill, and then went to the fridge. He pulled out beef patties, and got some buns from the cabinets overhead. He set down a skillet, and soon began to cook the beef patties. Yang's mouth watered as the smell drifted under her nostrils, and as she watched Jaune work the grill in just an apron and boxers.

Oh wow, I am discovering all sorts of things about myself tonight...

He came to the table with a finished burger, piled high with onions and pickles. He set with down with a smile.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"I uh... Those spicy chips, Devil Triangles?" Yang ventured. Jaune nodded, and went to the cabinets. He pulled out a bag, as Yang began to tear into the burger. She moaned happily-Oh this was divine!

"Mmmmm~!" She grabbed the chips and gobbled them down too. "Mmmm... What, are you-nom-psychic or something?"

"No, but my mom left me a list of common foods pregnant women often want," Jaune said, "Fats and proteins with highly acidic vegetables are common ones. Good for the baby. You'll probably want more dairy too, to help the baby's bones develop."

"Ohhh man," Yang groaned, as she polished off the burger (Damn but it was good!) and the chips, "I'm gonna get fat."

"Not if you keep exercising you won't," Jaune chuckled. "Not that I would mind."

Yang scowled at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean," Jaune smiled warmly at her, "That you'd always be beautiful to me, Yang. No matter what."

Yang stared intently at him, her eyes shining. She began to sniffle as tears fell down her cheeks. Jaune leaned forward, concerned.

"Yang? Are you all right-?"

She tossed the table aside and jumped him.

Ruby yawned, wandering into the kitchen.

"Is someone cooking-"

Her face went bright red.

"Nevermind," she said quickly, using her Semblance to rocket away back to her dorm. She entered shakily. Blake, who was still awake and reading, didn't even look up from her book.

"... Ran into them going at it, huh?" She asked.

Ruby nodded slowly, her face so hot it was a wonder she wasn't glowing in the dark.

"You're doing better than Pyrrha and Weiss," Blake said.

"H-How so?" Ruby managed.

Blake smirked a little.

"You're not sticking around to watch."

"EWWWWW!"

- - -
 
The Mysterious Buzzing Sound
Like this kitty didn't! Ha! Ya can't fool me! You were stalking them and waiting for them!
.....
Ruby: "Blake you're a cat faunus right?"

Blake: "no I was born with these ears as a prank."

Ruby: "sorry, I was just wondering what that buzzing sound coming from you has to do with being a cat?"

*Blake.exe has suffered a system crash*

Blake: "it's uh...purring?"

Ruby: "you mean you do like us?"

*Ruby hugs Blake*

Ruby:"I didn't realize purring came from so deep."

Blake: "well you learn something new every day...."
 
Dragonslayer: In The Family Way: Guy Talk
The guys are chilling out fishing,,,

Cardin: "So, how are things with you and Yang?"

Jaune: "Great! I mean, we have had a few fights but we worked it out."

Neptune: "Ugghhh... On one hand, man... I am super jealous you landed Yang Xiao-Long! A dorky loser like you managed to score that babe?" sobs "You lucky bastard!"

Jaune: "Uhhh... Thhhhanks?"

Neptune: "On the other, your life is totally over man! HA! You knocked her up and you're gonna marry her!"

Jaune: "Yeah, I am."

Neptune: "Your life is over, bro! HA!"

Jaune: "My mom and dad have been happily married for over twenty years."

Neptune: "Yeah but you're tied down and one day, Yang'll have hair curlers and be yelling at you with screaming babies all over and you'll be miserable!"

Jaune: "I don't think that will happen. Plus Yang doesn't need hair curlers, though I like to brush her hair! It's really nice-"

Neptune: "Meanwhile, I'm free as a bird! All the beautiful women in the world will be mine!"

Jaune: "But I'm happy with Yang, so... Why would I care?"

Neptune: "GAAAAAH!" He storms off

Jaune: "... What's his problem?"

Ren: "He's an idiot."

Sun: "And jealous. Also Jaune? Thanks bro! You're my wingman!"

Jaune: "I am?"

Sun: "Yeah! Blake's actually accepted my offer for a date! I think it's because you and Yang showed her a functional relationship! Her last one was... Pretty bad."

Cardin: "How bad?"

Sun: "Adam Taurus bad."

Cardin: "... Like... That bad or actually Adam Taurus?"

Sun: "Yes."

Cardin: "Bro."

Sun: "I know."

Cardin: "Are you sure you want to date her though? She's... Ya know... I mean, to date a guy like that..."

Sun: "She's what I'm into, and she's doing a lot better."

Jaune: "Well... Good luck, Sun. Truly."

Sun: "Plus, how can you not love a chick into porn?"

Everyone can hear Blake shouting "EROTICA!" from far away.

Sun: "Sorry!"
 
Drunken Jaune Returns: Pyrrha
- - -

Okay, so maybe going to another guy's night out was a bad idea. He really needed to get some time away from Blake. Oh sure, he did like her... As a friend. But her being so deep in her anime maid persona was kind of creepy.
The alcohol just took the edge off. And hey, he wasn't that drunk. He had gotten away when Neptune had decided to hit on that hot crazy chick who looked like a brunette Yang. Geez, that lady needed to calm down.

He staggered back to the JNPR dorm room. He entered, after fumbling with the doorknob a few times.

He looked up... And saw Pyrrha with her hair down, in nothing but a T-shirt and panties. In his drunken state, there was only one conclusion to draw.

"Hey... Are you... Pyrrha's twin sister?" He slurred.

The extremely hot redhead blushed... Then slowly nodded.

"Sure Jaune... I am Pyrrha's twin sister. Why don't you just sit down and relax, hm? You look like you've been drinking a lot."

"Yup," Jaune said cheerfully, as Pyrrha's twin sister guided him to sit on his bed. She sat down with him and held him steady.

"So... Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Jaune said, "I mean... Sort of? I mean, I like Blake... But her 'Master' stuff is a little... Nuts... Oh, you wouldn't know her, Pyrrha's twin sister."

"Oh that's fine, she tells me everything," Pyrrha's twin said with a smile, "And yeah, it's a little weird. Have you thought about talking to her about it?"

"I... I wanna," Jaune admitted, "I just don't wanna make her mad... Or ruin our friendship... Kinda like wit yer sister."

"Oh?" Pyrrha's twin asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Yeah... Like... She's hot. Soooo hot. You're both... Soooo hot. And amazing... And if I wasn't a loser fraud, I'd... I'd like... Do sexy things with you. All the time..." He shook his head.

"S-Sorry, that's... Too forward-"

"N-No, no, that's fine!" Pyrrha's twin said quickly. Jaune grinned.

"And Pyrrha's suuuuper nice, too! You're both soooo nice!"

He sighed.

"Which is the problem."

"Eh? How is that a problem?" Pyrrha's twin asked.

"Cause... You bein' so nice... Makes me think of you like a sister," Jaune groaned, "And I don't wanna bang my sisters! Only weirdos do!"

Pyrrha's twin turned bright red, but was smiling warmly.

"O-Oh?"

"Yeaaahhh... L-Like... She's too nice," Jaune continued, "If she... If she like... Ordered me to take my pants off? Ohhhh wowwww... Yeah. I'd be right there. Fuuuuck yeah!"

Pyrrha's twin put her hair up in a ponytail. She put on her circlet. Jaune blinked drunkenly at the broadly smiling Pyrrha.

"... Oh," Jaune mumbled.

"Pants off, now," Pyrrha growled happily.

"Yes ma'am!"

- - -
 
Last edited:
Lancaster: The Rivalry
- - -

Ruby sighed in relief as she sat down on her bed with her Scroll rolled out. The dormroom was finally deserted, and she could get some game time. She adjusted her headset and grinned as her stream began.

"Hello Roseheads!" She greeted her fans as she went to the log-in menu for her favoritest MMORPG ever: Fantasy Galaxies of Conflict: Shadow Raids of Legend, "Sorry it's been a while! I just started Hunter Academy early, so I haven't had as much time for streaming! But I'm still here!"

She beamed as the comments section lit up with supportive messages... And some angry ones. She rolled her eyes at those. Her cute doggy girl anime avatar wagged its tail as she logged in.

"Anyway! Today we're gonna be doing a Shadow Fortress Dungeon!" Ruby announced, as she guided her Level 130 Space Wizard Shadow through the catacombs of a dark Space Wizard's lair, "This one was ruled by Lord Gorbaz, who in the expanded lore was a master of Space Wizard Necromancy trying to bring back his deceased wife and son, who then had to be slain by the Light Space Wizards in a laser sword duel! He turned back to the Goodside at the end and was reunited with his family's spirits in the afterlife! It's a really touching novel and comic! And it was in Paladins of the Ancient Republic, too!"

She made a face as she killed some low-level undead.

"And in the Wizney-verse, he was turned into an abusive wife beater and child abuser," Ruby groused, "Because Wizney hires people with major daddy issues. I don't have daddy issues! I could write a way better novel! Especially the tech parts! In fact, I-"

She paused as she entered the antechamber of the dread fortress. Her eyes narrowed, and she hissed into her microphone.

"You."

A painfully familiar game avatar turned to face her, wielding a red laser sword in each hand. The avatar was, unlike her red and black wearing Light Space Wizard Shadow, in bright white and black armor. He wore a samurai-like face mask and helmet and was tall and menacing.

It was her nemesis. A nasty, mean, sarcastic jerk of a gamer who had dogged her since she'd started streaming two years ago. He always toed the line, never becoming truly abusive so that he'd get kicked and banned. And she had to admit, quietly, he was quite competent. His streams, while filled with invective and insults, were very informative and showed a deep love and passion for the game and Fantasy Galaxies of Conflict.

But he was still a dick.

The worst part was? Whenever she encountered him, her streaming numbers went way up. Even as unpleasant as it was... Well... She did want to make her fans happy.

Even if it meant she had to deal with this jerkoff for a while.

"Lord Darkarc!" She growled as the avatar sent a very insulting emoji her way.

"Hello RoseScythe," a digitally altered voice greeted her, "Still min maxing your way through everything, I see."

"It's the only way to really play the game!" Ruby sneered, "It's intelligent gaming!"

"Or maybe you just pay to win," Lord Darkarc said mockingly.

"I DO NOT!" Ruby shouted back, as her comments section went crazy, "I only buy skins! And I got a really good one for completing Quest of the Doom Nova!"

"Everyone did Quest of the Doom Nova," Darkarc snorted.

"Back when it was easy, yeah!" Ruby growled, "But then they made it way harder!"

"In the dumbest ways possible!" Darkarc replied, "I guess that's why you liked it! You just min maxed your way through it like you do everything! Honestly, your streams are so boring!"

"THEY ARE NOT!" Ruby shouted. "You're just jealous I get more views!"

"You only get more views because you pretend to be a cute girl!" Darkarc taunted, "I bet you're a fat ugly cow in real life! Goes with your gaming skills!"

"AND I BET YOU'RE A-A TOTAL FAT LOSER WHO LIVES IN HIS MOM'S BASEMENT!" Ruby snarled.

"Ooh, so scathing! What ya gonna do, uwu at me?" DarkArc laughed.

"THAT'S IT! PVP MODE, RIGHT NOW!" Ruby snarled.

They did fight... And Ruby's Stealth mechanics did let her get in some good hits. DarkArc was only two levels above her-It shouldn't have been an issue!

But then he called down an Aetheric Lightning Storm, and she was hit with every status effect known to man.

"Wha-NO! NONONONO-!"

Her character went down. DarkArc's synthetic laughter filled her headphones as she gaped at the GAME OVER: RESPAWN? screen.

"YOU CHEATING-HACKING-SON OF A BITCH!" Ruby shouted angrily. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"I'll have beaten the quest before you even respawn!" DarkArc taunted, running out. "Later sweetheart! Drown your sorrow in shitty cookies, ya fat hag!"

"MY COOKIES ARE NOT SHITTY!"
Ruby bellowed. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"HA! My best friend's cookies would wreck your shitty cookies any day of the week!"

"WHO'S YOUR BEST FRIEND?! YOUR RIGHT HAND?!" Ruby shot back.

"Oh, that'll burn really bad when I finish the last boss," DarkArc jeered. "LOSER!"

"
ASSHOLE!"

"BITCH!"

"DICKHEAD!"

"FEMCEL!"

Ruby respawned and chased after DarkArc. She avoided most of the mobs to get to the main boss-She was at a high enough level, she'd be fine.

She confronted Lord Garboz and fought him, summoning her companion characters to aid in the fight. It was honestly pretty rough, but she'd practically automated the AIs to work with her timing perfectly.

She finished off the boss, and whooped loudly.

"YEAH! GOTCHA!" Ruby cheered. "HA! Seven minutes, twenty seven seconds! Beat that!"

She heard DarkArc's taunting voice again.

"Read your messages and weep."

She checked the messaging channel. Her jaw dropped at the screenshot.

"Wha-FIVE MINUTES?!" She screeched.

"Oh! Oh! Is that the sound of despair?" DarkArc mocked her. "What a pity! What a pity! Guess your autistic screeching didn't avail you, sweetheart!"

"OOOOH! YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THIS, DARKARC!" Ruby snarled.

"I'm shaking in my boots!"

"You-!"

She froze. She studied the screenshot a bit more. She caught sight of a familiar Scroll desktop wallpaper behind the game window. It looked like the corners of a picture... A picture she'd taken for...

"Sorry Roseheads, BRB," she said, pausing the game and the stream. She pulled off her headphones and opened the door.

She walked across the hallway and opened the door to Team JNPR's dorms, slowly and quietly. She peered inside.

"Well DarkArc Fans," Jaune Arc cackled, "I guess we'll see RoseScythe another day. And kill her. Now! Who wants to go to the lobby and murder some overconfident newbs?"

Ruby gaped in shock. She shut the door behind her, loudly. Jaune started, and slowly turned to stare at Ruby.

"Ruby?" He muttered.

"... DarkArc?" She whispered.

Jaune stared in silence for a bit longer... Before his eyes widened.

"... RoseScythe?" He croaked.

- - -

Jaune and Ruby being rival gamers before they even meet in real life is a very stupid but potentially fun idea.
 
Lancaster: The Rivalry 2
Ruby: "How could you be DarkArc?! You-You're so sweet! So kind-!"

Jaune: "How could you be RoseScythe?! You insulted my mom, my dad, and my lesbian sister!"

Ruby: "YOU INSULTED MY COOKIES!"

Jaune: "I didn't know they were YOUR COOKIES! YOUR COOKIES ARE AWESOME!"

Ruby: "W-WELL THANK YOU! AND I LIKE YOUR PARENTS AND SISTER!"

Jaune: "THEY LIKE YOU TOO!"

Ruby: "WHY ARE WE YELLING?!"

Jaune: "I... I don't know! It's just... Normal..." He chuckled "Geez... You know, we keep getting shipped together."

Ruby: "Haha... Ahaha... Y-Yeah, that's... That was weird, huh? I mean, they started doing that when I turned 14. Creepy, huh?"

Jaune: "Y-Yeah... Heh... Creepy."

Ruby: "I mean... Not so creepy now, huh?"

Jaune: "N-No! No... Definitely not..."

Silence.

Ruby: "... I um... I don't really do much streaming anymore-"

Jaune: "Same. And uh... Training and fighting is a lot better for dealing with anger and frustration than video games."

Ruby: "Oh... Is that why you were so nasty?"

Jaune: "Yeah... I didn't... I really didn't mean it."

Ruby: "S-Same... Really."

Silence falls again.

Ruby: "Sooo... Um... Y-You know, I liked all those indy horror games you played through. I'd never even heard of a lot of them!"

Jaune: "Yeah, my sister Verdy is really big into indy gaming. She's made a few that are artsy horror games, so I promoted them by playing through 'em."

Ruby: "That's really nice of you. I liked those games too."

Jaune: "... Want to try playing one together some time?"

Ruby: "... S-Sure. I'd like that."
 
Lancaster: Views on Morality
Slightly different Ruby and Jaune meet at Beacon...

Ruby: "Hey Jaune... Um... You wouldn't think badly of me if I'd killed some people, right?"

Jaune: "Like... What kind of people?"

Ruby: "Thugs and criminals. This White Fang bastard who said he was going to rape me. I took his head off!"

Jaune: "Oh shit... Yeah. I'd kill a guy who threatened to rape you. I killed one who threatened to rape my sister."

Ruby: "Really?!"

Jaune: "Yup! A bunch of bandits tried to raid Radian. My dad and the militia fought most of them, but a few got onto our farm. So I shot them with the Dust shotgun, and stabbed one with Crocea Mors."

Ruby: "... When did you do this?"

Jaune: "When I was twelve."

Ruby: licks her lips "That's... Wow. With no Aura? That's amazing!"

Jaune: "Really? You don't think I'm a monster?"

Ruby: "Not at all! Do you think I'm a monster?"

Jaune: "No! I mean, some criminal trying to kill and rape you? He's a walking dead man."

Ruby: "Yeah... Want to train together? Want to know how to decapitate a guy cleanly?"

Jaune: "Boy do I!"

- - -

Basically, both Ruby and Jaune are still kind and nerdy... But life threw some curve balls and they both got a taste for killing the FUCK out of evil bastards.

And they finally find someone who doesn't think their desire to kill motherfuckers "disturbing".
 
If Jaune took Physics...
Jaune: "Hey Pyrrha? Your Semblance lets you control electromagnetism, right?"

Pyrrha: "I... How did you-?"

Jaune: "I figured it out. Took a while, but I did. Anyway, I'm right?"

Pyrrha: "I-Yes! Wow Jaune, that's really impressive!"

Jaune: "So, you sense the iron in people's blood, and can manipulate metal in weapons or armor. Pretty cool."

Pyrrha: "Yes! That's amazing-!"

Jaune: "So, what else can you do with it?"

Pyrrha: "Eh? What do you mean?"

Jaune: "Well... Can you like, control the charge of particles?"

Pyrrha: "... I can do that?"

Jaune: "Well, if you could, it would let you do all sorts of cool things. Like, if you could suppress the charge on protons, you could basically negate the atomic bonds holding stuff together. Like, you could turn an enemy's weapons into the finest dust ever. Then they'd be screwed."

Pyrrha: "R-Really?!"

Jaune: "Yeah! And if you could also suppress the charge on the neutrons that make up matter... You could make stuff explode, because you're basically turning the atoms into antimatter. That would probably be super dangerous... But also really cool."

Pyrrha: "How do you know all this stuff?"

Jaune: shrugs "Eh, I took physics in middle school. A lot of people thought it was a waste of time since Semblances and Dust are like magic, but the universe still follows rules. That and the teacher was a super hot redhead."

Pyrrha: "A super hot redhead, you say?"

Jaune: "Er, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Pyrrha: "No! No, that's fine! But tell me... What else could I possibly do with my Semblance, Professor Arc?"

Arc: "Well..."

Elsewhere...

Cinder: "Why do I have a sudden feeling of doom?"

- - -

Because as usual, electromagnetic-based powers get reduced to 'manipulate metal' in fiction when the reality is? You're in control of one of FOUR FUNDAMENTAL FORCES OF NATURE. Holy shit the things you could do.

Oh, and Cinder is FUCKED if Pyrrha can do even a little bit of the stuff Jaune comes up with for her.
 
Childhood Friend: Jaune and Weiss
- - -

"Jaune Arc. Short, smooth, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

Weiss stared intensely at Jaune. Ruby blinked, looking between the two weird people she'd run into right off the airship at Beacon. The snooty heiress blinked a few times, then had a look of vulnerability on her face Ruby certainly wasn't expecting.

"J-Jaune?" She asked. "Jaune Arc? Isabel's son?"

Jaune blinked a few times back... Then grinned.

"Weiss?"

"Ha," Weiss smirked, "Could it be anyone else?"

"I guess not," Jaune said with a grin, "Wow, made a new friend and found an old one! What are the odds?"

"Eh?! You two know each other?" Ruby cried.

"My mom's a doctor and did a lot of work for the Schnee family," Jaune explained, "And she dragged me along. I met Weiss and we played as kids."

"It... It has been a while," Weiss admitted quietly. "So, um... You got into Beacon too? I thought your mother didn't want you to become a Huntsman?"

"Er... I managed to talk her and Dad into it," Jaune admitted with a nervous laugh. "So! How are you? You look great!"

"Ha, y-yes, of course I do," Weiss managed, just as nervous, "I'm fine."

"How's your sister?"

"She joined the military. Became a Specialist," Weiss explained. Jaune nodded.

"That's amazing! She must be incredible."

"She is," Weiss affirmed. She glanced at Ruby with a frown. "Friend of yours, huh?"

"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby introduced herself, scowling, "You're the one who blew me up with Dust!"

Weiss sized her up carefully, before nodding.

"Yes, well... Sorry about that," Weiss shrugged, "I suppose I should have been more careful."

"Oh, um... That's okay," Ruby managed. Weiss nodded to Ruby, then seemed to forget her existence entirely as she flitted over to Jaune's side.

"So! Tell me all about Radian! How's your family? Was the trip here difficult?"

Feeling distinctly like a third wheel, Ruby nevertheless followed along with her new friend and his... Hanger on.

- - -

Initiation had been difficult, but honestly? A lot of fun! She got paired up with Pyrrha, and she was amazing! She wasn't called the Invincible Girl for nothing!

Then they'd met up with Jaune and Weiss, and they'd beaten a giant Nevermore together! They were commissioned into their own team: Team JSPR, or "Jasper".

She wasn't team leader, that was Jaune, but Ruby honestly didn't mind. She was happy to be on a team with two good friends, and... Weiss. Who wasn't... Horrible, but she was... Weird.

"Jaune," Weiss said pleasantly, "I think we should put our beds together. When you were little, you did sleep better with someone with you."

Jaune laughed a bit nervously.

"Er... I got over that Weiss, but thank you," he said with a kind nod, "I appreciate it."

"But I insist!" Weiss said urgently. "I-I mean, what if you roll out of bed and fall to the floor?"

"I'm fine, really Weiss," Jaune emphasized with a kind smile. "I've grown up a lot since then, Promise."

Pyrrha's smile became a bit more brittle at this.

"I'm glad you're thinking about our team leader, Weiss," she said carefully, "But he is a Huntsman-in-training. He can handle himself." She beamed at Jaune. "Besides, we need to sleep so we can start training tomorrow!"

"Eh? You want to train with me?" Jaune asked, blinking.

"He's training with me!" Weiss said quickly, taking Jaune's arm. "After all, he's my partner!"

"He's my team leader," Pyrrha stated, taking his other arm, "And I'm a regional champion."

"How about we all train together?" Jaune suggested quickly. "We're a team, and we need to get better together."

The two other girls stared intensely at one another, and Ruby swore she could see electricity crackling between their gazes despite their polite smiles.

"Sure thing, Jaune," Weiss agreed. "You're right."

"He absolutely is," Pyrrha said with a smile, "Well... Good night!"

"Goodnight!" Weiss said cheerfully, her smile not quite meeting her eyes.

The two women headed to their beds, still smiling... And both disrobing while casting looks over at Jaune. Jaune for his part turned bright red, as did Ruby.

"Er, I can wait in the bathroom-"

"Nonsense Jaune!" Weiss said with a smile, "We're teammates now. We must be comfortable with each other!"

"Absolutely," Pyrrha said cheerfully, "Don't be afraid to look! We're all together now."

Jaune sighed.

- - -

Later, Jaune and Ruby snuck out for a midnight snack... And Ruby sat him down.

"So... Um... Weiss likes you?"

Jaune sighed heavily.

"Yeah," he shook his head. "She was a good friend growing up, really. But her family... It wasn't the best. Let's say she uh... Got attached to me."

"Seriously," Ruby muttered. "And Pyrrha?"

"Got me," Jaune shrugged, "I just was nice, but she's uh... She likes me too?"

"And you? How do you feel about all this?" Ruby asked.

"I mean, I like them both! Really!" Jaune said with a nod, "But I want to wait on romance until I'm... Ya know... Settled. Beacon's tough. Plus, we're a team. If a romantic relationship goes bad, it might get us all killed."

"Wow, you've really put a lot of thought into this!" Ruby complimented him. Jaune smiled warmly back.

"Thanks Ruby. I just... I care about all of you, and I don't want to screw things up."

"I bet Weiss is just... Ya know... Really happy to see you. I'm sure she feels the same way and is just overwhelmed! But she'll calm down. I... I know what it's like to not have friends."

Jaune smiled kindly, and squeezed Ruby's hand.

"Not anymore you don't," he stated. Ruby blushed and beamed back at him.

"Aw... Thanks Jaune."

Jaune nodded back.

"Any time."

- - -

They returned to the room. Weiss met them, looking worried.

"Jaune? Ruby? Why were you out?" She asked.

"Just getting a midnight snack Weiss, honest," Jaune said with a kind, honest smile. "Don't worry so much, okay?"

"I... Of course," Weiss said with a nod. She beamed at him. "You're not the type to cheat!"

Jaune and Ruby blinked.

Weiss turned bright red.

"O-On... Your sleep cycle... That's totally what I meant! Ahahaha!" Weiss laughed nervously.

"Eheh, yeah," Jaune said with a wince. Ruby patted him on the shoulder.

Or maybe she's just crazy, Ruby thought.

- - -
 
Benefits of a Kitchenette
I included a common room and kitchenette in White Knight Errant because such an environment gives you a lot of opportunities for slice-of-life and character-building stuff, comedic, dramatic, romantic, and so on. So! Here are some ideas to work from:

For instance, Cooking Tiers. Who are the best cooks among teams RWBY and JNPR?

Pyrrha, Weiss, and Blake? Utter disasters. They have all burned water at some point.

Ruby is only good at cooking sweets.

Ren and Nora can cook some decent stuff since they were on the road, but aren't as familiar with modern appliances or anything really complicated.

Yang and Jaune are the best overall.

So! Some ideas from there:

-Pyrrha tries to cook for her team, and it's a complete catastrophe. Jaune then begins to instruct her, as he's happy to pay her back for her tutelage. They bond.

-Jaune and Yang end up having to take care of the others because they had to take care of their siblings, and bond like a Mom and Dad.

-Ruby mistakes Jaune cooking desserts for her as hints of love and takes Penny's advice on how to attract Jaune's attention back.

-Nora has a maiden's crisis when she likes Jaune's pancakes more than Ren's and feels she's in a love triangle. Blake eggs her on for the lulz.

-Blake becomes obsessed with Ren or Jaune for how well they cook fish stew, leading to drama.
 
Jaune the Negotiator
Amusingly enough it kind of reminds of Jobless Reincarnation where one character has almost 0 combat value but was his party's favorite person as he was the team cook, negotiator, and general jack of all trades guy.

Oh?

- - -

Blake had not enjoyed this mission at all if she were being honest. Weiss even less so, which made their bickering worse.

They were to accompany Team JNPR on a low-level mission to a village out in East Sanus to protect it from Grimm, and to resolve the issue that caused Grimm to multiply. Apparently the local farm workers were demanding higher wages, and the company that employed them was denying them those raises.

Blake had initially sympathized with the farm workers when they arrived and started killing Grimm. She'd even encouraged a few of them to strike back at the company. Then they'd gotten mad with her, and so had Ruby and Jaune.

Jaune had taken her aside when they got a moment of peace between Grimm raids in one of the fields.

"Blake," Jaune stated, "This isn't helping the mission."

"These people are clearly being oppressed by those with more power-"

"Blake!" Jaune growled. "I thought that a reformed terrorist would have realized the world isn't so black and white."

Blake winced.

"I-How do you-?"

"Ruby told me," Jaune stated, "I asked for information on anything that might compromise the mission. I think that's a pretty big red flag."

"So what, you're going to hold my past against me-?"

"I won't hold anything against you as long as you obey Ruby and I and keep these people alive," Jaune retorted, his voice hard as steel. That took Blake aback briefly.

Blake glared heatedly at him, expecting the goofy young man to back down. He always did when Weiss snarled.

"Injustice isn't something you can just ignore-!"

"The argument between these people is going to get everyone here killed," Jaune stated firmly, glaring back at her, "If we don't resolve it, more people will die. We can fix people being poor or rich later, but right now? The priority is people's lives. Got it?"

She frowned, and slowly nodded. In all honesty, she'd gotten used to Ruby's style of leadership: Get yelled at until they finally did what she wanted done and fight whatever was threatening them.

Jaune... His team obeyed him without question. He didn't have to yell, except when things were loud. Even Nora, the hyperactive ball of energy, followed Jaune's orders. Not always to the letter, but she got it done.

He was very... Focused. Honestly, he hadn't hit on Weiss once. Something the heiress seemed to disbelieve, given the looks she kept giving him.

The real eye opener was the meeting at the village hall, with the company representative on one side of the wooden assembly room, the worker's rep on the other, the village mayor at her desk on the top of the square, and Teams RWBY and JNPR on the bottom.

The farm workers rep began. She was a built woman with her brunette hair in a tight bun and wore overalls. She angrily decried the company not paying them overtime due to the Grimm attacks, accusing them of being like the SDC with price gouging.

Weiss had very nearly leaped to her feet at that, but Jaune had reached out and held her back without looking. All of Team RWBY was very surprised at that. Pyrrha had just smiled warmly, while Ren remained calm and Nora grinned.

Then the company rep, a local, equally well built balding redheaded man in somewhat nicer clothes than the rep, gave his side of things.

"We haven't been able to increase wages because the Grimm attacks are hurting our ability to get resupply through," he stated, "We're not hording anything. We're not being greedy. Those are the damn facts, you stubborn jackass! If we could get spare parts for the farm equipment, we wouldn't have this issue! But you keep attacking us and drawing these damn Grimm here!"

"You're the one who keeps sending our workers out to the fields when Grimm are around!" The worker rep shouted back.

"Would you rather starve?! We paid Hunters to come out here-!"

"Hunters in training! A bunch of kids!" The worker rep sneered.

"And they did the job!" The company rep shouted. He glared. "If I could hire them instead of you bozos, I'd do it in a heartbeat!"

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?! What if we all walk off the job?!"

"Where's the food gonna come from, jackass?!"

"You've got plenty of fertilizer coming out of your damn-!"

Jaune nodded to Nora. She slammed her hammer onto the floor, making a loud BANG! Everyone started. Jaune nodded.

"Okay, now that I have your attention," Jaune said, "We were asked to arbitrate and settle the dispute. So that's what we're going to do." Jaune turned to the farm worker's rep.

"It is true, given all the work I've seen you guys doing under these conditions, you could definitely use a raise," he said, "Fighting Grimm even as a Hunter is difficult, fighting them off while farming? That's really tough. So yes, you're absolutely right. Under these conditions, you should get more money."

The farm worker rep smirked in triumph, as Weiss balked. Blake smirked a little herself.

"However," Jaune turned to the company rep, "The company isn't your enemy here. If they don't have the money and can't get supplies through, then that's the fault of the Grimm, not them. You both need eachother. Plain and simple. The company rep is a guy from your village-You're in this together, he's not some guy with no stakes in this at all."

The company rep smirked nastily back at the farm worker rep. She glared back.

"And both of you need to stop treating this like your own personal feud," Jaune went on, and both reps glared at him.

"How dare you-!"

"You little-!"

"You're divorced," Jaune said blandly. The village mayor coughed, and shrugged as both reps glared at her.

"He did ask about you two before we began," the mayor said.

"So," Jaune said, "With that in mind? Let's work on figuring out what we can do about the current situation, in a way that we can all agree on. At least for the time being."

As it turned out, the farming equipment all required one main component to function: An energy converter for Dust to electricity. Jaune had some of the worn out ones brought in. He handed them to Yang and Ruby.

"You guys know motorcycles and engineering," he said, "Is there any way we can fix these?"

"Hmm," Ruby hummed, "Maybe. The thing is, the conversion coils wear out and get warped over time. If we had a really strong magnetic field, we might be able to get them into some kind of working condition?"

"It wouldn't be a long term fix," Yang warned, "But I've been able to keep Bumblebee running on refurbished converters for a few months longer than they would have lasted otherwise."

Jaune turned to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha?"

Happily, Pyrrha used her Semblance, with Ruby and Yang's guidance, to warp the coils back into some shape. They then went out to a tractor, and tested it out. The converter failed to start once, but the next time, the machine roared to life.

"Okay," Jaune said, turning back to the mayor and the two reps, "If we can refurbish some converters for you, can you resume work long enough to get the supply chain going again?"

The farm worker rep frowned, but slowly nodded her head.

"I think we can," she said, side eyeing her ex-husband, "We'll have to go slow but it's doable."

"Slow is better than nothing," the company rep agreed, "If you could do the same for a few of the supply trucks, we might be able to get some more from a trading outpost nearby?"

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, who beamed.

"Leave it to me, Jaune!"

"All right," Jaune said with a warm smile, "I'd call that a done deal!"

- - -

Pyrrha worked very hard with Yang and Weiss to fix as many converters as possible. Blake and Weiss had helped out wherever they could, mostly by going on patrols around the village. On one such patrol, she went out with Jaune around the perimeter. They didn't say much until they got outside. Then...

"You were... Surprising," Blake admitted.

Jaune blinked.

"Hm?"

"Tonight," Blake said, "You stayed calm and in control the whole time. You found a solution to the problem."

Jaune sighed and shook his head.

"We bought them some time. Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby figured out the solution," he said, "It's temporary, and it doesn't solve a lot of their other problems-"

"No, but it keeps people alive," Blake said quietly. "Isn't that the main priority?"

Jaune stared at her for a long moment... Then he smiled. She found it in herself to smile back.

"Yeah," he said.

"I do have to ask," Blake continued, "How did you... Keep cool? Negotiate so well?"

Jaune shrugged, scanning the horizon.

"My dad's head of Radian's militia. We don't have a police department, just a Ranger station. They mainly deal with crimes outside the walls, so the militia has to handle a lot of disputes. Domestic stuff, whose cow tramples whose fence, stuff like that. My dad did a lot of conflict resolution, and brought my sisters and I along. My mom's a doctor and pretty well respected, too, so she handles stuff like that as well. And my sister Tanya? She's a really cutthroat businesswoman. She was trading in candy, toys and money since she was like, seven."

"But you're... At Beacon, you're always so..." She trailed off.

Jaune shrugged.

"I guess... I feel more comfortable here," he admitted, "People living their lives, trying to sort crap out. I-I can't afford to be bumbling or a goof here." He smiled and shrugged. "I guess... Here I know how to be. At Beacon? Not a clue."

"I think acting like this would be a good start," Blake said softly.

"Really?" Jaune asked, blinking.

"Definitely," Blake smiled. "Even if you don't know what you're doing, acting like you do? That can definitely make all the difference."

Jaune nodded.

"Maybe... Thanks Blake."

"Any time."

- - -

That... Just sort of happened.
 
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A Pyrrhic Victory
The world didn't make sense anymore. That was the one thought stuttering through pyrrha's mind.

Being told of becoming a maiden, seeing the secret chamber under the school. Watching Cinder kill the woman in the pod.


And then watching Cinder die. A cruel barbed black dagger being pushed through her throat from behind by a dear friend.

Jaune: I think you've done enough.

Pyrrha: Jaune? I dont- what's going--

Ozpin: Mr.Arc, I believe you have some explaining to do.

Jaune: Probably. But not to you.

*A ominous black glow seeps from the blade in jaunes hand and spreads through cinders body eating away at it and turning it to ash.*

Ozpin: what?

Jaune: wondering where you're fancy little light show is? It's gone Oz. One maiden down.

Ozpin: you foolish boy do you know what you just did?!

*Jaune visibly angry*

Jaune: I DID YOUR FUCKING JOB! You arrogant old sack of lies. If there's no maiden there's no key to the vault. If there's no key then there's no way to get to the relic.

*Ozpin raises his cane*

Ozpin: and where did you learn this info? From Salem? She can't be trusted! She's using you Mr.arc!

Jaune: oh get over yourself, you think that you and your wife are the only people who can make plans, news flash oz, we're people not pawns.

Pyrrha: I don't understand, did you lie to us? Lie to me?

*Jaune glances at his partner clearly starting to have a breakdown*

Jaune: I told no lie. My name is Jaune Arc, I'm from Radian. I became a huntsman even though my parents didn't want me to and gave me no huntsman training.

*Jaunes eyes turn to Ozpin colder than ice*

Jaune: I am Jaune Arc infiltration and assassination specialist of Radian. A town made up of people who have defected or descendants of people who have defected from these two immortal immoral assholes.
I undertook a mission against my parents protest to enter beacon and destroy one of the maiden powers or relics.

Ozpin: how?

Jaune: another of your mistakes. You and your wife spent so long looking for ways to permanently kill each other, and when they didn't work you just forgot about them.

*Jaune waves his ash covered knife around*

Jaune: while they can't kill a immortal they work quite well against mortal magic.

*Jaune starts wiping his knife off*

Jaune: surprisingly cruel, or maybe not so surprising. To put a spell in a knife that makes the targets own magic eat itself in a disintegration spell that even breaks down the soul.

*Jaune smiles. It's not a kind look*

Ozpin: I can't let you leave here.

Jaune: you also can't stop me.

*Before Ozpin can do anything Jaune disappears in a flash of white*

Pyrrha is alive, cinder didn't get the maiden magic, and Jaune didn't get hurt.

Pyrrha is alone, the maiden magic is destroyed, and Jaune is gone.

A true pyrrhic victory.
 
The Pretend Boyfriend Snaps
A common trope for fics is pretending to be someone's boyfriend/girlfriend for a whacky scheme. Usually a nice guy who won't take too much advantage of the situation. However, every man has his limit...

- - -

"Enough is enough, everyone!"

Jaune glared at the collection of women he'd called to his dormroom, his arms crossed over his chest. Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, May Zedong, Cinder Fall, Penny, and even Professor Goodwitch were all present and staring back at him in a mixture of confusion, apathy, forced indifference, or a happy oblivious smile (Penny).

Nora and Ren were off to the side, sharing a bucket of popcorn as they watched raptly.

"Mister Arc," Glynda said calmly, "I don't know what you mean but you should be more respectful in your tone-"

"I'M TIRED OF BEING YOUR FREAKING GIGOLO!" Jaune shouted angrily.

Silence fell harder than a boxer indebted to the mob. All the women looked at each other, eyes narrowing.

"Jaune, what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked slowly.

"Oh like you don't know?!" Jaune demanded. "You started this whole thing! You insisted I pretend to be your boyfriend to keep the paparazzi off your back! I did that! That was fine!"

"For shame, P-Money," Yang sniffed. Jaune glared at her, and Yang shrank back.

"And then, you asked me to pose as your boyfriend for couples events at a club! Which we wrecked!"

"It uh... It was fun though right?" Yang asked, laughing nervously as Goodwitch and Weiss glared.

"How utterly repugnant, but expected of you, Xiao-Long," Weiss sniffed.

"Oh like you can talk!" Jaune growled. "You dragged me off to those stupid social events!"

"I-I needed something to get my father off my back," Weiss protested weakly, "And Sun wasn't interested so I couldn't even piss him off-"

"Wow, that's pretty low, even for you," Blake deadpanned. Jaune stormed up to her and glared heatedly.

"Don't get me started on you, Blake! Your mom keeps demanding to know why you aren't pregnant yet!"

Blake flushed and tried to look innocent as everyone else glared at her.

"Um... She needed reassurance after I became a terrorist and never spoke or wrote to her for two years?" She tried.

"That is the worst," Ruby sniffed. Jaune glared at her, and she coughed. "Um... When I asked you to be my pretend boyfriend, Jaune, it was just practice, y-ya know? For the real thing? And you're my best friend and I trust you?"

"That kind of gets you off the hook," Jaune stated, "If not for the fact you got me into a fight with Roman Torchwick. TWICE!"

"He was stealing comic books, Jaune!" Ruby cried, "And Dust! He's an utter fiend!"

"Hmph," Cinder sniffed, "At least I'm just pretend dating Jaune for non-nefarious reasons."

"You're smuggling Dust," Jaune deadpanned. Cinder coughed.

"F-For non-nefarious reasons!"

"Honestly, I don't even know how much detention you've all earned," Goodwitch sighed. Jaune's glare turned to her.

"When are we meeting your mother again, Professor? She still demanding grandkids?"

Goodwitch coughed.

Jaune turned his glare on Penny.

"Penny, I was fine with going out as friends, but why do you keep telling everyone I'm your boyfriend?"

"Is that not accurate, Friend-Jaune?" Penny asked, tilting her head, "You are a boy, and a friend. Thus, Boyfriend! Am I missing context? Is it because I am a perfectly normal human woman?"

Jaune sighed, then turned his attention to May.

"May, you..."

He paused.

"I... Don't think we are fake dating?"

"Um, n-no," May said, blushing, "I was actually um, going to ask you out for real?"

"Oh," Jaune muttered, "Um... That's cool-"

"You can't do that!" Pyrrha cried. "W-We're... We're fake dating him!"

"Yeah!" Ruby growled. "Go get your own real boyfriend!"

"ENOUGH!" Jaune shouted. He glared sternly. "The point is... I was fine with helping you all out in a pinch. But I'm not just gonna be your fake boyfriend. May just wants to date me for me, she doesn't want to use me! So either this ends, or...!"

He was going to think of an alternative, but... Ending all this nonsense was really all he had. There wasn't another option-

"Or we all actually date him!" Penny said cheerfully.

Jaune blinked.

What.

He winced, preparing for the onslaught of female violence... Waited... Waited some more...

"Well," Ruby mused, "It would be nice to have a big family! Just like Dad, Mom, and Auntie Raven tried!"

"Yeah, totally," Yang agreed.

"I..." Pyrrha flushed. "I suppose... We could share. It would be the least we could do for Jaune, given how we've abused him."

"I..." Weiss blushed. "I-I agree too! N-Not that I like him or anything, it would just be fair!"

"Well... I'm not getting any younger," Glynda mused.

"You're all a pack of utter degenerates," Cinder sniffed... Before smirking. "I can work with that."

"Oh my," May mumbled, blushing brightly.

"Just like in my fanfics," Blake sighed happily.

"HOORAY!" Penny declared. "Let us enact the Harem Ending, Boyfriend-Jaune!"

Jaune looked at the pack of ravenous women, and then to his other friends.

"Uh... Ren? Nora?"

"You're on your own, buddy," Ren stated firmly.

"Good luck, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora said cheerfully. "We're rooting for you!"

They then jumped out the window, leaving Jaune to his fate.

- - -
 
Knightshade: Stupid Idea
Urgh. Well here is a Stupid idea.

Jaune and Blake's dads, Nick and Ghira, were best friends and swore an oath of brotherhood. They hoped to marry their kids together and become one family, human and Faunus together!

Only things didn't quite work out as they hoped, as Isabel was against Jaune becoming a Huntsman and he ran off. While Blake ran off to the White Fang.

But then they both turn up at Beacon Academy. And now both sets of parents are hoping to make their dreams of unity (and cute blonde kitty grandkids) come true!

Told you it was stupid.
 
Valean Space Program
One other stupid idea I had long ago was that the Arc family were heroes of yore.. But in the modern day they were working on the space program. Jaune's Auntie Oberth wants to go colonize other worlds and leave the Grimm behind with SCIENCE! And wanted Jaune to be the test pilot! She promised Isabel that Jaune would become the first man in space!

But being a test monkey for rocket engines in the Remnant Equivalent of the Kerbal Space Program was not Jaune's idea of fun. Fighting Grimm sounds a lot less dangerous, to be honest.
 
Nothing Left to Fear...
As far as Cinder Fall was concerned? Today was almost perfect.

Vale was in chaos as the Atlasian drones and airships fired on everyone. The Grimm surged into the city like an army of locusts, killing and devouring. The Headmaster lay dead at her feet, and the power of the Maiden was hers.

She heard activity in the elevator to Ozpin's office, and she smirked.

Now the best part of the day was here. The true cherry on top.

That Spartan... She'd been an annoyance to her from the moment she came to this wretched school. Even more than Ruby Rose. Her grace, her poise, her smiles and her strength... She had been looking forward to breaking her. To see her fall into despair and accept how hopeless it all was, before Cinder ended her.

It was a delicious thought, and she turned to the elevator. A good gloat was on her lips, and she prepared to let the so-called Invincible Girl have it...

The doors opened. Out stepped... A blond young man in white and black armor. Cinder gaped, but quickly recovered.

This was even better!

"Oho? What are you here to do, boy? Fight me? Prove you're not the pathetic deadlast? Or do you think your little girlfriend will be impressed if I kill you first?"

Jaune Arc looked up into her eyes. There was some fear, yes, but his gaze was focused and stoic. He began to walk towards her. Cinder laughed again.

"Well... If you want to die so badly, I suppose I should grant you a quick one," she sneered, "Then I can show your body off to your pathetic little friends and watch their faces fall!"

She threw a massive fireblast right at him. He vanished into the blaze, and a massive explosion erased where he was standing. Cinder cackled again, the overwhelming flow of the Maiden powers leaving her almost lightheaded!

"Ohhh this magic is amazing!" She laughed.

"It's not magic."

Cinder started. She looked up. Standing on the edge of the dome of the office, Jaune Arc stared down at her.

"You-Wha-?!"

"It's not magic," Jaune repeated, looking a little shaken, but still incredibly calm. She unleashed another fire blast, and Jaune blurred, clinging to another part of the ceiling as she blasted a hole through where he'd been standing.

"What do you know about it?!" Cinder demanded, preparing a dozen glass arrows to shoot at him.

"My great-grandmother taught me what it was," Jaune said, his tone soft but still filling the room, "It's an energy field generated by all living things. It guides us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together. It's the energy of life itself, with a will of its own."

Cinder sneered.

"What? Your old hag worked for Ozpin? As one of her pawns?"

"No," Jaune said, shaking his head, "She was something else. She didn't want to reveal it to this world... She told me to keep it a secret. Because if I showed it off? If I let everyone know...? There could be terrible consequences."

He dropped to the floor. He pulled his sword from his folded-up shield which was serving as a sheath for the blade. He then did something she didn't expect-He broke the hilt of Crocea Mors and dropped the metal blade to the floor.

"But I don't have any choice left," he said, "And I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

Cinder growled.

"Who do you think you are, you pathetic weakling?! A hero?!"

"No," Jaune said, and Cinder was taken aback. The boy had always been goofy, harmless looking. His eyes bright and wide. Now? Now looking into his eyes, she could only see a mountain there: Implacable, immovable, and untroubled.

He tapped something on the sword hilt... And a blue energy beam burst into life. It formed into a blade of coherent energy, as he took a somewhat familiar fighting stance. Like a blend of Niko's, and something else.

"I am a Jedi."

- - -
 
Nothing Left to Fear... Aftermath
Pyrrha: "Jaune... I-"

Jaune: "First, I am so, so sorry I lied! I... I did have combat training, I just...! Ugh, you're probably even angrier with me for being such a fraud! I am so sorry, guys."

Pyrrha: "... Actually? This explains some things."

Ren: "It really does."

Jaune: "Say what?"

Pyrrha: "For an 'untrained civilian', you were... Incredibly lucky. You avoided dangers, you moved so clumsily and yet got through things without any major harm... I was wondering if you were subconsciously using a Semblance that was probability based or something else."

Ren: "Same, to be honest."

Jaune: "Oh... I mean... So you don't hate me?"

Ren: "Of course not, Jaune."

Pyrrha: "I'm... I'm a little hurt you didn't tell me."

Jaune: "I know... I know. I wanted to tell you, I swear. Great-Grandma just made it clear, revealing your power in the Force... There's a galaxy of dangers out there."

Ruby: "What, your great-grandmother is from space?"

Jaune: "Yes."

Ruby: "Wait what?!"

Jaune: "Yeah. Apparently Remnant is a lost colony world of humans. We didn't come from this planet, we came from another, long ago."

Nora: "... SO WE'RE THE ALIENS?!"

Jaune: "I mean... Kind of?"

Nora: "WOOHOO!"

Yang: "Kind of throwing a lot at us, Space Cadet."

Jaune: "Don't I know it..."

Weiss: "You really expect us to believe that?! You've been lying about so much else-!"

Jaune: "I didn't WANT TO, WEISS! But..." sighs "Now everyone in the world knows that the Force exists. That I have technology NO ONE on this planet could have created. That I have POWERS virtually no one else on this planet has! Okay? So it's not exactly a picnic for me, either!"

Weiss: stares

Most of their other friends stared.

Jaune: "... I'm sorry."

Weiss: "... No. No, I suppose if I had a secret like yours... I would have kept it to myself, too."

Jaune: "Look... No more secrets from now on. I promise."

Pyrrha: "So... You said you could anticipate Cinder's movements by reading her mind. Is... Can you-?"

Jaune: "No. I mean, that is a Force technique but Grand-Grandma never taught me that. It's very high level. I can sense emotions from other people very reliably, and see bits of possible futures. They can get mixed up sometimes since I'm not as good at that stuff as I could be. Great-Grandma only started my training a year ago, since I showed my Force sensitivity late. At least according to her."

Pyrrha: "S-So... You can sense... Emotions..." blush

Jaune: "I-I mean, only really strong ones! That's probably why I like being around you and Ruby, you have such strong positive emotions! Yang's nice too. Ren is quiet, and Nora's just a lot of fun. Blake... Uh... Sorry we didn't hang out a lot-"

Blake: "Am I that unpleasant to be around?"

Jaune: "Er, no! You're just... We don't really talk a lot."

Blake: "We'll have to change that, given your abilities. Can others learn them?"

Jaune: "I mean... If you're Force sensitive? Yes. If not? No, though Aura is weird because it's like the Force and yet NOT like the Force? It's uh... It's complicated. And Weiss-"

Weiss: "What? I'm a horrible bitch to be around? All my negative emotions make you sick, is that it?!"

Jaune: "Nonono! You're... I actually like being around you. When you're not mad. You're my friends and I can sense you're all good people."

Weiss: blush "O-Oh..."

Pyrrha: Still blushing up a storm

Ruby: Ditto
 
Uncle Jaune 8
- - -

Jaune wasn't entirely sure why Blake had asked him to go on a weekend outing. She'd never seemed particularly interested in socializing with him before. But after going out with Weiss, it sounded like a nice idea.

They sat at a bookstore café, sipping iced coffee, while Jaune gave Adrian a bottle.

"So," Blake began, "You've been looking forward to this book?"

"Hm? Oh yeah," Jaune said with a nod, holding up the book in question, "Quest of the Golden Duck is a great series! It's a great reinvention of the classic pulp stories from before and after the Great War! Ancient temples in jungles, adventurers, seaplanes, air pirates-It's awesome!"

He beamed at Adrian, who was gulping down milk happily.

"You're gonna love the classics, aren't you buddy? Aren't you?"

He looked back at Blake with a smile.

"What did you get?"

"Lone Coyote and Cub," she said, holding up a volume of the popular Mistralian manga, "Are you familiar?"

"I am, sort of," Jaune admitted, "I always liked the artwork. But uh... It's a little..."

"A little what?" Blake asked, staring at him with an unreadable expression. He shrugged.

"Just... It's a little different from what you normally read-Not that that's a bad thing, really. It's good to expand your horizons, and stuff."

Blake nodded.

"I suppose I'm feeling inspired," Blake said, "To expand my horizons."

"That's... Good," Jaune said, blinking a little at how intensely Blake stared at him. Adrian whined, and Jaune took his bottle before wiping his face. "I was a little surprised you asked me out... N-Not that this is a date or anything!"

"Well, I thought you would like a break from Weiss' baby mania," Blake said wryly. Jaune nodded.

"I mean, I'm glad we're on better terms but she was a little... Weird."

"How so?" Blake asked.

"She kept insisting it wasn't a date... Which it wasn't," Jaune added quickly at Blake's slight glare, "But she kept getting us romantic stuff at the restaurant. Also she tried to get us the family discount at the roller rink when she heard what it was."

He shook his head.

"Seriously weird, huh?" He asked Adrian.

"Wa puh!" Adrian stated succinctly before he began chewing on a teething ring.

"Still, I'm glad she's being... Uh..."

"Nice for once?" Blake asked dryly. Jaune frowned.

"You shouldn't be so mean to your teammate, ya know," he chided her gently. Blake sighed.

"I know... But she makes it difficult."

Jaune sipped his ice coffee... Then grimaced.

"Geez... I gotta go to the bathroom." He reached for Adrian's baby carrier, but Blake shook her head.

"I'll watch him, don't worry," she said. Jaune smiled.

"Thanks. If he gets fussy-"

Blake gave him another small smile. He had to admit, it was pretty.

"I'll handle him, really."

"Thanks Blake." He rubbed Adrian's head, and headed off.

- - -

Blake pulled Adrian out of his baby carrier, and held him. He squirmed and whined a bit, but soon settled down when she waved a toy in front of his face.

Blake honestly didn't have a lot of experience with babies, given her life and small family. So she was fascinated by Adrian. He was so cute, cuddly, warm, and his large eyes and inquisitive nature really spoke to her on a primal level. In a good way.

Getting to spend more time with Jaune was also surprisingly pleasant. She hadn't paid him much mind at first, but she could admit he was endearing in how he took care of his nephew. They had a lot more in common than she might have guessed, with his interest in literature. Sure, most of it was not to her taste, but he had read the classics and could appreciate Mistralian manga.

Albeit not romance novels and erotica, but... Maybe she could change that.

It would be nice to have a male friend in her life who wasn't a genocidal maniac with a lot of psychological baggage.

"Why hello Blake!" Said the last person Blake ever expected to see. Blake paled, and turned her head to see a brightly smiling cat faunus woman.

"M-M-M-Mother?!"

- - -

Jaune returned from the bathroom, a little anxious as he made his way back to their table.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Blake, far from it. He'd seen her in combat and knew she was a good person. Adrian would be perfectly fine with her.

Indeed, he could see Blake with his nephew at the table as he approach. He also saw an older woman who resembled Blake cooing and making faces at him, making the baby laugh. Jaune smiled.

"Hey Blake! And uh...?"

"J-Jaune, this is my mother, Kali," Blake said quickly, "She's visiting from Menagerie."

"Well, after I heard that my long-lost daughter whom I feared was dead or worse was going to Beacon, I just had to come and visit!" Kali said cheerfully, though there was an unmistakable edge to her voice. Blake winced. Jaune coughed.

"Ah, well... I'm Jaune Arc," Jaune said, "And I'm-"

"He's my boyfriend, Mother," Blake said quickly, with a desperate, pleading look directed at Jaune. Jaune blinked.

Wait what?!

"He is?" Kali asked, raising an elegant eyebrow as she looked Jaune up and down. He fidgeted under her expression, and glanced at Blake in desperate confusion.

What?!

Blake's pleading expression became far more desperate. Jaune mentally sighed.

"Y-Yeah, though we're uh... It's a little new for us both," he said, just barely managing to not come off as deadpan. Kali hummed... Then rose up and hugged him tightly.

"Urk!"

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Kali gushed. "My little kitten's moved on from her horrible racist ways! Dating a human! And such a responsible one, too! A single father at your age!"

"Uh, n-no, he's my nephew, I'm just looking after him for my sister," Jaune said quickly. He'd seen more than enough TV to know that too many lies and falsehoods in some stupid scheme would just collapse under their own weight.

"Oh! Well, that's still very good of you," Kali said cheerfully. She sat back down in her chair, as Jaune took the one near Blake. She immediately reached out and took his hand. He squeezed it reassuringly, and she relaxed as Kali went back to fussing over Adrian.

"I'm just so relieved to find her safe, sound, and with a responsible young man as her boyfriend," Kali said, smiling very genuinely.

"Sorry," Blake mumbled. To her mother and to Jaune.

"Well, I know one way you can make it up to me~!" Kali said, sing-song.

"What's that?" Blake asked.

"Well~," and here Kali smirked at Jaune, "He already seems good with children."

Blake blushed.

"M-Mother!"

"I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind some grandchildren from you two!"

"Errrr..." Jaune blushed. "It's... A little early for that, don't you think?"

Since this relationship had apparently started two minutes ago.

"I-I need to finish schooling, Mother!" Blake said quickly.

"I can give Beacon a massive donation so you can finish your studies while pregnant," Kali said cheerfully, "Jaune's been taking care of his little nephew during school hours, correct? It would just be like that! Only you'd be doing something that doesn't break your poor mother's heart and keep her up crying all night in fear for her daughter!"

"I deserve this," Blake sighed, "I really do."

"Ummm... It's a little early for us, ma'am," Jaune said quickly, "But since I'll be taking care of him, you can see Adrian whenever you like?"

"Hmmm," Kali hummed, before nodding. "That is acceptable..." Her eyes narrowed ominously. "For now."

She was then back to cooing over Adrian. Blake gave a very apologetic look to Jaune.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay," Jaune said with a shrug, "My sisters had their drama. This helps you and your mom, I don't mind. What's the worst that could happen?"

- - -

At a White Fang base...

Adam Taurus glared hatred and death at the still image one of his agents had obtained. It showed Blake and some blond idiot human male at a cafe with a baby.

"Bad enough she ran out on me," he hissed, "She went and got herself knocked up by some human?!"

He shattered the tablet between his hands with a snarl.

"Her punishment must be more severe...!"

Ilia, standing nearby, sniffled.

How could she betray me like this...? Though that baby is kind of cute...
 
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Nora Loves to (Fusion) Dance
"Please Jaune? Pleasssse?" Nora begged. She had put her hands together and bowed her head in the JNPR dormroom. The team of Hunters was chilling out on their bunks, when Nora had started up a discussion about old Mistralian anime. One in particular, with a move she had really loved. "Please do it with Renny?"

Jaune sighed, and shrugged. He looked over at Ren, who gave him a small, wry smile.

"I guess, but I don't think I'll be much good."

"What does this 'Fusion Dance' do, anyway?" Pyrrha asked, interested.

"Ooh! If you do it right, two fighters turn into one super powerful fighter!" Nora said enthusiastically. "Then you can beat Majin Buu or Broly!"

"It's from a Mistralian anime," Jaune explained.

Ren nodded. Nora again made a pleading face.

"Please...? It was so great! I watched it whenever I could growing up! It was hard without a regular TV but... Please?"

Jaune may have grown up with seven sisters, but there was no way to resist Nora's puppy dog eyes. Ren of course knew better than to try resisting at all.

Jaune sighed and stood up.

"If it makes you happy, Nora, sure," Jaune said with a genuine smile. Nora beamed.

"YAY! Oh, remember to synch your Auras, too!"

"Er... Sure," Jaune nodded with a shrug. He looked over at Ren. "How do we-?"

"Just follow my instructions," Ren said. It took a few minutes, but they did actually get their auras to glow and pulse at the same frequency. Pyrrha was dazzled.

"Wow Ren," she breathed, "To have that much control over your Aura at your age? It's-Unprecedented! You really are amazing!"

Ren nodded and offered a modest smile, as Nora beamed.

"Hey, I'm doing it too," Jaune complained playfully. Pyrrha blushed.

"S-Sorry Jaune! You're also doing a great job with Ren!"

"Come on, come on!" Nora cried happily.

Ren shrugged at Jaune. Jaune shrugged back, a fond smile on his face. This was a load of malarkey, but if it made Nora happy, who were they to deny her?

"All right..."

They assumed mirrored poses with their arms and legs.

"Fu..."

They scooted away from one another and struck another dramatic pose, in perfect harmony.

"Sion!"

Then, they tilted towards each other, their fingers meeting tip to tip.

"HA!"

SHOOM!

Pyrrha and Nora were blown back against the wall by the explosion of Aura energy. Both slowly sat up. Nora's eyes sparkled as she grinned from ear to ear. Pyrrha gaped in shock and amazement.

Ruby busted open the door, the rest of her team following.

"Guys! We heard a boom! What... Happened...?"

Ruby and her team all gaped in disbelief.

Standing in the center of the room was a dark blond young man with a streak of pink going through his hair. His eyes were vibrant blue with a pink ring around each. He was tall and muscular but stood with poise. His clothing was a strange mixture of Jaune's white armor and Ren's green and white robes. An orange sash was tied around his waist, the ends of which waved as though in a breeze.

"Wha... What just...?" Pyrrha tried.

"Holy crap," the young man managed in a voice that was a pleasant blend of Jaune and Ren's, staring at his hands in shock, "It worked?!"

"IT WORKED!" Nora cheered, bouncing up and down on her bed. "IT WORKED! IT WORKED! IT WORKED!"

She grinned at all the other girls in triumph.

"Now we can be ONE BIG HAPPY HAREM!"


- - -
 
Weighed Down By Armor
- - -

Combat Class. A joy for Jaune always. And he got matched up against Cardin, again. It was honestly disheartening at this point.

"YAH!" Cardin swung his Executioner mace down and blasted up sand. Jaune narrowly avoided it, his improved footwork coming in handy. Pyrrha's training, and inspiration to use his dancing skills, were serving him well... But as he thrust his sword at Cardin's chest, his aim just... Dropped. He missed.

He missed, at point blank range!

"YAH!" Cardin bellowed, swinging his mace right into Jaune's chest. The whomp knocked the wind out of him, and he went flying to the edge of the ring. He heard something... crack.

"Ugh...!"

He held his chest. The pain... The pain was... Pretty bad... But he felt his armor cracking...

What in the hell...?

He looked down in shock as bits and pieces of his armor plate fell onto his hands. The cracks grew bigger, bigger... Before the entire armor plate fell apart like a ragged jigsaw puzzle.

"JAUNE!" He heard Ruby scream. He saw Cardin's boots enter his vision and heard him slap his mace onto his palm.

"Just not your lucky day, Jauney-Boy," Cardin stated, sounding... Regretful.

Pity. He was being pitied by HIS FUCKING BULLY AFTER HIS FAMILY'S ARMOR WAS SHATTERED...!

Jaune felt the mace approach him, felt the air pushed by it. Heading right for his head...

His hand snapped up on reflex. The mace hit it... And didn't move.

Jaune's heart was pounding in his ears as sheer, unadulterated RAGE burned through his blood!

"RAAGGHHH!"


He was up on his feet and uppercutting Cardin, just like Pyrrha and Ren had taught him to do. Cardin flew back... Back... Right through the classroom windows with a CRASH!

Jaune stared after him dumbly. The classroom was dead silent. Jaune stared at his fist, then at the unusual sight of Professor Goodwitch being utterly flabbergasted.

"... Um... Huh?"

- - -

Cardin and Jaune were both rushed to the infirmary. Cardin, thankfully, wasn't seriously injured. Jaune was actually worried he'd killed him, but no! Just broke his jaw... And ribs. And a few other bones.

He tried very hard not to look over at the former bully as his team and RWBY clustered around him.

"Wow VB, you took him out with one punch!" Yang said, an honestly admiring look on her face, "You've been holding back on us!"

"WOW! That was incredible, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora cheered. "Not enough knee-breaking for me, but maybe you can do it next time!"

He heard Cardin gurgle in terror nearby, and Jaune winced again.

"How did you do it?" Pyrrha asked, amazed. "I-I mean... You've been improving greatly, Jaune, but how did you do it that fast? And-And are you okay?"

"Is his Semblance anger based?" Blake speculated. "That could be dangerous, but... Potentially useful-"

"How," Weiss managed, "How did YOU do that?! You?! The Deadlast Dolt?! How?!"

The stress and disbelief all just ran over him.

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" Jaune shouted. "HOW SHOULD I KNOW?! DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE ANY ANSWERS?!"

Ren set his hand on Jaune's shoulder. The blond took deep breaths, and slowly calmed down.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at the floor. Pyrrha put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Jaune. We're all here for you," she said.

"I GOT YOU COOKIES, JAUNE!" Ruby cried, zipping back with her Semblance. She held the plate in front of him. "Here! Here, it'll help!"

Jaune smiled up at his best female friend and took the cookies. He did feel ravenous.

"Omnomnom... Thanks Ruby, you're the best," he said, as Ruby beamed, Pyrrha stared, and Yang scowled.

Weird...

"Ah, Mister Arc."

Everyone looked up as Headmaster Ozpin walked in. Jaune finished his cookie with a loud, nervous gulp.

"H-Headmaster-"

Ozpin held up what was left of the armor with a slight smile on his face.

"I believe I have some answers for you," he said. "This was your Great-Granduncle's Armor, correct?"

"Y-Yeah, Great-Granduncle Cornelius," he said.

"I did some examination of it," he said, "This appears to have been... Training armor."

"Training Armor?" Ruby asked. She gasped. "Ohhh! Is that why it had such bad coverage?"

"More than likely," Ozpin nodded, "But more than that, it seems that Cornelius's Semblance was used on this armor... And it was still working."

"His Semblance?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. It was called 'Ultra Hard Mode'," Ozpin stated, "It would suppress the natural abilities of anyone or anything he used it on, such as Aura Generation, strength, coordination, reaction times, and so on."

"Well, that sounds very useful for fighting enemies," Weiss said, "But why would he apply it to his own armor?"

"Because," Ozpin stated, "If you continuously train with said armor suppressing your attributes, at some point, your abilities will increase. How long have you been wearing this armor, Mister Arc?"

"Since I left Radian, about a year ago?" Jaune tried.

"And you've worn this armor almost constantly while training?" Ozpin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Jaune blinked.

"Oh... Ohhh... Ohhhhh..."

"Wow!" Ruby gushed. "Just like my Mistralian animes!"

"It most likely worked very well for you, Mister Arc, because you are of the Arc bloodline," Ozpin said, sounding slightly amused, "Though more than likely you were due to grow out of it. I suggest you keep up your training, indeed, increase it. Just because you've reached this level doesn't mean you should get complacent."

"Y-Y-yes sir!" Jaune said with an eager nod. He looked to Pyrrha with a grin. "Can-can we train even harder, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha's smile was as warm and friendly as ever, and yet... There was a glint in her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry Jaune," Pyrrha said, "I'll make sure our training goes as hard as possible."

"... Wow that sounds ominous!" Nora said cheerfully. "Don't worry, Jaune-Jaune! I'm sure you'll come out on top!"

"Oh, I hope so," Pyrrha practically purred.

- - -
 
A Tiny Bit of Affection and Understanding
- - -

Blake had tried so hard. Just... So hard!

Yet it never seemed to make a difference. A good difference, anyway.

Glynda Goodwitch's rant about how many civilians had gotten hurt in the highway battle still rang in her ears. All four of them.

So after that, she'd hidden herself away in the library, in a study room that was barely used. She curled up in a ball and pressed her face into her knees.

She just... She just wanted to feel as small as possible.

She just wanted to hide from the world, and let her tears run.

She heard someone enter the room, but didn't have the energy to lift her eyes up to see. She felt him sit next to her, smelled him, heard his heartbeat.

"Hey Blake," said Jaune Arc.

Silence fell. Blake sniffled. Jaune remained quiet for a while, as Blake continued to cry softly.

"... Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

Blake gave him a side glance.

"Why?" She mumbled.

Jaune shook his head, and looked upon her with compassion.

"Because someone should," he stated firmly. "You want me gone? I'll go. You want me to stay? I'll stay. It's... It's about what you need. Not me."

Her tears burst forth, and she sobbed. She buried her face in his chest. She felt his arms wrap around her, and she felt so warm...

"I... I tried... I wanted to do good, and... And...!"

She had seen people die before. She'd done bad things with the White Fang before... But seeing the pictures of innocent children in hospital beds, being taken away in ambulances... It broke her heart.

Jaune just stayed with her, stroking her back, murmuring soothing nonsense and noises the whole time. She cried and cried, and he didn't move for anything.

- - -

A few hours later, Ruby heard someone knock on the door to her dorm. She was still feeling very miserable, as she got up and walked to the door. She opened it up... And gaped.

"Jaune?"

He was carrying a sleeping Blake. He shushed her quietly and carried her in. Ruby moved aside, and helped him tuck the exhausted cat faunus into bed. Yang and Weiss were already asleep, though it wasn't easy.

Ruby didn't think it would be easy for her, either.

"... Thank you," Ruby mumbled. "I... I don't... Um..."

Jaune smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's okay," he said quietly, "If you need someone to talk to, I'll listen. But um... As my dad used to say? 'As long as nobody is dead, you can make amends and do better tomorrow.'"

Ruby sniffled and hugged him tightly. He held her back and patted her on the head.

"Th-Thank you Jaune," she mumbled. "Thank you..."

Jaune sighed and nodded.

"It's... It's what I'm here for," he said.

- - -

Jaune has had a fairly normal upbringing compared to everyone else, and he's had to comfort his siblings (and be comforted by them) a lot. So even if he is a goober and sucks at combat, he IS good at listening and helping his friends vent.

Of course, we know he has his own demons, and he may not be dealing with them. So a psychological interplay of all these characters and others going to Jaune for emotional support, to vent, and other things might be interesting.

A bit more serious in some ways than Jaune being a counselor. In this case, he's just a good friend.
 
Why Jaune Doesn't Use a Ninja Cleaver...
- - -

Getting asked out to see Vale on the weekend by Blake was... Unusual, to say the least. Nora actually asked if the cat Faunus had turned into a robot when they weren't looking. But no, she had meant it, and despite how Pyrrha stared at him, Jaune had accepted.

They went out via a Bullhead earlier than planned that morning, to shake off pursuit. Jaune couldn't really fault her-Yang, Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha had all been trying to invite themselves along. But Blake was practiced at losing tails, and so here they sat at a cafe near the main wall. It overlooked the great forests behind the city, lush and beautiful, shadowed by the great mountains that surrounded Vale.

Here they sat, and sipped coffee and tea. She wore a casual black turtleneck with a white skirt. He wore his jeans and Pumpkin Pete hoodie.

And they didn't say anything for, what, ten minutes?

Jaune was the first to break.

"Uh, so... Um..." Jaune smiled nervously.

Blake stared intently at him.

"Yes?"

"..." Jaune sighed. "Let me guess, you want me to try out your weapon and see what happens?"

"Well..." Blake slowly nodded. "I-I do, yes... But I thought we'd get to know each other, first."

Jaune blinked.

"Oh," he mumbled. Blake smiled softly, and sipped her coffee.

"I think it's an amazing ability, Jaune," she said, "But... I'm not easily won over in romance."

"I guess I'm hardly your type," Jaune sighed. Blake smiled.

"I'm... I'm not sure about that," she said, and Jaune's eyebrows went up. "I mean, I used to think I liked tall, dark, mysterious, and edgy men. Men who were dark and mysterious, and very hurt inside. Broody."

"Er..." Jaune blinked, "Well... Okay?"

Blake sighed.

"And then I dated one," she said, "And I realized... It was terrible. I couldn't... I couldn't fix him. He didn't want to be... And... And he was..."

She sighed.

"He was... Adam Taurus," she admitted.

Jaune winced.

"Oh... Oh. I-I'm so, so sorry, Blake-"

"For what?" Blake asked quietly. "You proved... I..." She smiled slightly. "Honestly? The fear of him finding me here has hung over me. You saw what he tried to do to Weiss."

Jaune scowled.

"The fact you could fight him to a standstill is... Well..." She flushed. "Um... Remember when I told you the kind of guys I thought I liked?"

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Uh, yeah? Broody and all that stuff?"

"Well... When I was younger, it was the opposite," she said, "I liked blond, bright, happy and confident boys. Who were fiery, hotblooded, and determined to do right."

Jaune stared at her for a moment.

"Did they also wear orange?" He joked, sipping his coffee. He put it down when he saw Blake blush.

"W-Wait... You liked... Genji the Gutsy Ninja?" Jaune gasped.

"... Still do," Blake bashfully admitted. "At first, I thought Hanzo, his rival, was hotter... But over the course of the story, Genji really won my heart and admiration."

She scowled.

"At least until the timeskip ruined everything."

"I mean, the movies were pretty good," Jaune said, "But yeah, that was a hot mess."

"I guess..." She smiled at him. "Seeing you stand up to... To Adam like that? It reminded me of what I liked before all of that happened... And maybe I'm re-examining some things about myself."

"Errr..." Jaune blinked. "We... Are just talking about my Semblance here, right?"

"Well," Blake smiled, pushing some hair back behind her human ears, "You standing up to my violent psycho ex does tend to get a girl's attention."

"I..." Jaune stared down at the table. "That... It doesn't feel like it was me."

"Would you have stood in front of Weiss to protect her from Adam without your Semblance?" Blake asked.

Jaune looked up, bright red, and nodded.

"Of course I would! I-I did-!"

"Then the fact your Semblance gives you a new name and a funny accent doesn't matter," Blake said earnestly. "It's still you. The other girls... They'll understand that in time."

She smiled warmly and leaned forward a bit.

"But hopefully not too soon," she said.

Jaune... Leaned back. She pouted in confusion. He shook his head.

"I... It's just not that simple," he said quietly.

Blake opened her mouth... When two lines jabbed into them both. Electric Dust went off and they both screamed. The other patrons of the cafe shrieked and scattered, as White Fang operatives clambered over the walls. Blake reached for Gambol Shroud, pulled it out...

She was bit by a Dust round, and she was knocked off her feet. The binding fabric between the gun and the sickle snapped away into her hand. Her instincts made her tuck the fabric away up the sleeve of her casual turtleneck, just as the butt of a gun hit her face. Everything went dark.

- - -

Blake woke up to a slap. She started at the pain, and took note of the situation.

She was tied up, her hands behind her and her feet in front of her. A tight collar was around her neck, humming, and her Aura was suppressed-It had to be Aura binding. She was sitting in a forest clearing, and could barely hear the sounds of the city. She looked up, and saw a familiar redhead in black looming over her. They were in a cave of some kind, though several large tree trunks were growing through the walls and ceilings. It had been thrown up relatively recently then-Created with Earth Dust. It was a common method for making a temporary headquarters in the White Fang.

Maybe it can be seen, maybe they can find us, Blake thought frantically, even as she trembled from the malice Adam was emitting.

"It's been a while, my love," Adam snarled.

"Jaune, w-where's Jaune?" Blake gasped. Adam slapped her again, backhanded. It drew blood from her lip. She looked back, managing a scowl despite the terror billowing up inside of her.

"Where's Jaune?"

Adam stepped aside. Blake stared in horror. Jaune was strung up on a large boulder as though to be crucified. He was already bloody and bruised, and covered in cuts. He looked up with a groan.

"JAUNE!"

"He actually begged for me to take your hits," Adam growled. "You got a human to heel for you. How touching."

"P-Please, Adam," Blake begged, "Do whatever you want to me! J-Just let him go!"

"The human who humiliated me? Who's been trying to steal my girl?" Adam shook his head. "No... He's not escaping, Blake. But I'll let you watch him die, how's that?"

"NO!" Blake screamed, as Adam stalked away. He drew Wilt, and slashed off Jaune's rope bindings. The blond knight fell to his knees, and coughed.

"Get up," Adam growled.

Jaune slowly stood back up, breathing hard. Blake could tell he was terrified, yet to his credit, he held his head up high and stared back into Adam's mask.

"Just let her go," Jaune said, "And I'll-"

"You don't have any say, human," Adam stated coldly, "But I will let you die like a warrior. I can do that much."

"Adam, please!"
Blake begged. "I-I'll do anything! ANYTHING YOU WANT! PLEASE!"

She fell onto her face, tears pouring from her eyes. Her hands rubbed against eachother.

"Yes. You will," Adam harshly replied.

He swung Wilt, and Jaune's Aura collar fell off. His cuts and injuries began to heal, as Adam hefted up his katana. Jaune gulped, but his gaze remained steady.

Blake felt the fabric... The smart fabric that served as the chain in Gambol Shroud's Chain Sickle mode.

They didn't take it from me, she thought in wonder. It's part of my weapon... It's part of it... Will it be enough?!

Adam pointed the katana right at Jaune's heart.

NO CHOICE! Blake thought. Frantically, she shimmied the smart fabric down into her hands. She tensed her muscles.

"Now human, you will-"

"NO! DON'T PLEASE!" Blake shrieked. She crawled desperately, and managed to get some purchase. She sprang forward and rolled right up to Jaune. He knelt down to try and get her. She rolled so her back was facing him, and when she felt his hands, shoved the smart fabric into his hands.

Adam kicked her right in the gut, and she curled up in pain. Jaune tried to tackle Adam, but the White Faunus leader swung Wilt and unleashed a Moonblade at point black range. The red blast knocked Jaune back, slamming him through the boulder and across the cave. His Aura resisted, but there was a bright flash and explosion. Blake gasped in horror.

"JAUNE!"

Adam grabbed her by the hair and held her up painfully. She winced as he turned her to look upon the clearing smoke. Tears poured down her cheeks as she saw Jaune laying there, unmoving.

"NO! JAUNE! JAUNE!" She bawled. Several White Fang members laughed mockingly. Adam pulled her hair to make her face him.

"I granted him a warrior's death," he sneered, "You, my love, will suffer far more before you-"

There was a loud popping sound. Adam and Blake looked back at Jaune's body.

Nothing lay there, save for a small cloud of smoke. Blake's eyes widened.

What the...?!

"YO! BLAKE!"

All eyes went up to the tree branches overhead. Relief flooded Blake's body, and tears fell from her eyes.

There was Jaune, arms crossed over his chest, standing on a tree branch. The smart fabric from Gambol Shroud was wrapped around his head like a bandana, the ends waving slightly behind him. He grinned broadly, even through the cuts on his cheeks.

"JAUNE!" Blake cried out.

"You were right," Jaune called out, "And I realized something. I'm more afraid of losing my precious people... Than myself. So I won't give into fear..."

He grinned and gave a thumbs up.

"That's my ninja way!"

Blake's eyes widened in shocked recognition.

Did he... But how-?!

"KILL HIM!" Adam shouted. The White Fang opened fire with Dust rounds. Jaune vanished again in a cloud of smoke. Adam searched the trees quickly, as did Blake.

Where did he-?

She saw him on another tree branch. He jammed his fingers together into a familiar handseal, and his Aura burned like a sun.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

All of a sudden, hundreds of copies of Jaune appeared all over the branches, walls and boulders of the HQ, completely surrounding the White Fang.

Adam's jaw dropped, as Jaune's grin shined like a beacon.

"SORRY FOR THE WAIT! THE GENJI ARC NINJA CHRONICLES HAVE JUST BEGUN! CHAPTER ONE: BEATING ALL YOUR ASSES!"

The hundreds of Shadow Clones jumped and dove for them, yelling battle cries.

"They're just illusions," Adam shouted, "They can't hurt you-!"

One Jaune punched Adam right in the jaw. He fell back, spitting blood. The other White Fang members opened fire into the huge mass of Jaunes, but the Shadow Clones either popped, or evaded the fire to land hits on them. Dozens of clones attacked Adam from all sides.

While that first hit had hurt him, Adam wasn't a formidable warrior and terrorist for nothing. He fought them furiously, swinging Wilt around and slicing through the clones like a hot knife through butter. He was driven back, back, as more clones charged and began throwing rocks and anything else they could.

Blake felt a hand reach for her collar, and snap it open. Her Aura returned, and she took Jaune's hand.

"CHEESE IT!" Jaune shouted. They ran out of the cave, dodging gunfire, followed by Adam's roars of rage... And made it out into the nighttime forest.

Jaune pulled Blake onto his back with a grin.

"I'll handle the transportation! You just heal!" He said. He climbed up a tree gracefully, and began tree hopping through them. He sailed through the trees with ease and grace, his style... Remarkably similar to hers.

"Are-Are you okay, Jaune?" Blake asked.

"Yup!" Jaune said, "Though you should call this mode 'Genji'." He grinned back at her. "Thanks for everything."

"I... You saved me-"

"Yeah, but my Semblance lets me use your Semblance, and supercharge it! It's sooo awesome!" Genji cheered. "Wow, can I do it with other Semblances? That would be super cool! Bet I could beat up a whole lot of bad guys! And become the Arckage!"

"Is... Is there such a thing?" Blake asked, unable to help her little smile as they sailed through the trees.

"No... But I can dream, can't I?"

Blake actually giggled, and held on tightly.

Maybe her childhood dreams were so silly after all... If they could be realized like this.

- - -

Because we all had a Naruto phase.
 
Ren's Martial Arts
Jaune and Ren sat together on a bench in Beacon's main courtyard, just enjoying the sunny day. A few leaves blown out of the green trees drifted by. Jaune sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and his face on his hands.

"I'm sooo borrred," Jaune groaned.

"Did you do your homework?" Ren asked.

"Yes Ren, I was bored enough to do that," Jaune sighed. "You?"

"I did my homework, yes."

"Were you bored while doing it?"

"... Yes."

Both young men sighed quietly. Jaune looked over at Ren.

"Hey Ren... Not to disrespect the tragedy of your childhood but... You're like, a super awesome martial artist, right?"

"Yes."

"With all sorts of cool Aura techniques and fighting moves?"

"Yes."

"So like..." Jaune hummed. "Could you stop someone's heart with like, a punch?"

Ren blinked.

"... Why?"

"Because it would be cool? You have to admit, it would be cool."

Ren blinked twice... Then nodded.

"It would. I think I might have done it once."

"Really?" Jaune asked.

"Some bandit was trying to kidnap Nora," Ren said calmly, "I hit him with a full powered Aura palm strike in his chest. He stopped moving and breathing after that. Pretty sure that killed him."

"Okay," Jaune said, taking his friend's confession of murder while a child in stride. Well, not murder. Definitely self-defense. If some creep had tried to kidnap one of his sisters or girls he was close to, he'd kill the shit out of them, too. "But are you sure it was his heart and you didn't like, rupture any of his other organs?"

Ren blinked again and gave the matter some thought.

"Huh... I suppose I'm not entirely sure."

Jaune grinned.

"We should test it!"

Ren blinked.

"On who?"

- - -

Later, Yang went out to the training grounds. She yawned, and stretched her arms up over her head.

"Lazy Saturday..." She looked over and saw... Watermelons. Lots and lots of exploded fruits, vegetables, and meats littering the lawn.

"Eh?"

She followed the path of destruction out a little ways to a large tree and some old columns providing shade. Jaune and Ren were standing there, both wearing ponchos, goggles, and hats. Jaune was recording things with his Scroll behind a plastic screen, while Ren focused intently on a watermelon on a stone table.

"Okay... And...!"

Ren's fist burned with pink Aura energy, and unleashed a palm strike against the watermelon. It exploded into a shower of watermelon chunks, which Yang barely avoided.

"GAH! HEY! What the hell are you doing?!" Yang shouted angrily.

"Oh, hey Yang!" Jaune greeted cheerfully. "Ren once blew up a guy's heart with his martial arts, so we're seeing what else he can blow up! Wanna help?"

Yang blinked. She blinked again. She then grinned.

"You sons of bitches... I'm in!"

- - -
 
Childhood Friends: Pyrrha
Today is canonically Pyrrha's birthday! So let's all write some bits to celebrate our shy redheaded Amazon!

For starters...

- - -


Pyrrha Nikos sighed mentally as she kept up her professional smile. This Weiss Schnee was proving quite persistent this early in the morning, and was saying things she had heard a thousand times before in various forms. Nothing new. If she was going to make a fresh start at Beacon Academy, she really didn't think falling into the old ways was going to do it.

"Hey, name's Jaune Arc-"

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she spun around, her ponytail waving behind her dramatically. Her eyes locked onto the speaker-A tall blond boy with blue eyes, white armor, and a black hoodie. Her jaw dropped.

"J-Jaune?!" She gasped.

Weiss Schnee scowled deeply.

"What? Has this idiot bothered you before, Pyrrha?"

Jaune, for his part, stared in shock.

"Uh, have we met before?" He managed.

Pyrrha beamed.

"Jaune, it's me! Don't you remember?!"

Never in her life had she wanted to be recognized by someone more than this moment.

Jaune blinked, blinked again... Then the light of recognition filled his eyes, and he sucked in a deep breath.

"... Pyr?"

"YES!" Pyrrha laughed giddily. Jaune laughed with her and reached out with his long arms to pull her into a hug. One she gratefully, eagerly accepted. She bowed her head and sighed happily at his familiar warmth.

Off to the side, Weiss Schnee gaped at this embrace in utter disbelief.

"It's been so long!" Jaune laughed. "I really missed you! I kept sending you letters but you stopped replying!"

Pyrrha winced, then narrowed her eyes. She looked up at him apologetically.

"I-I'm really sorry, Jaune," she said earnestly, "After my fighting career took off, my mother became very, um, restrictive about my mail."

She hadn't thought that Mother could be so cruel to deny her letters from her childhood best friend. Well... She'd have to re-evaluate their relationship when next they met. Severely.

"W-Wow, looking kind of scary there, Pyr," Jaune chuckled nervously. Pyrrha coughed, and was all genuine smiles again. It felt good.

"Sorry, just... Nothing to do with you," she said quickly. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good," Jaune said with a nod, "Trying to fulfill my dream. You're doing well, right?"

"Are you kidding?!" Weiss demanded. "You didn't recognize her?! She's PYRRHA NIKOS! Four time champion of the Mistral Regional Fighting Tournament!"

Jaune blinked, then grinned at Pyrrha.

"Really?! That's amazing, Pyr! I'm so proud of you!"

Pyrrha blushed heavily. His earnest praise meant more to her than millions of likes on her Facetagram.

"She's a model for many magazines!"

"That explains how you grew up into such a beauty," Jaune went on, "When we were little you were super cute, but I couldn't imagine how you'd grow up!"

Oh, this was a dream. A dream come true!

"SHE WAS ON THE FRONT OF PUMPKIN PETE CEREAL BOXES!" Weiss shouted, now sounding thoroughly exasperated. Why, Pyrrha didn't know or care.

"Oh cool! I got a hoodie by eating that! Sent in fifty boxtops," Jaune said cheerfully.

Weiss Schnee looked close to a conniption. Pyrrha Nikos could not care less.

"So," Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "Um... I was wondering if you'd like to-"

"Yes," Pyrrha said with a quick nod, "Anything. Including marriage."

Oh Gods why did I say that?! Pyrrha thought to herself frantically, Now he thinks I'm some kind of psycho!

Jaune went bright red but laughed it off. Her mortification vanished.

"Er... That's a little quick on the draw there, Pyr," he said, "I-I mean, last time we met you made me eat mud pies."

Pyrrha flushed deeply.

"They were good mud pies?" She tried.

"I'm sure they were," Jaune said dryly. "Anyway, if you wanted to team up, I think it would be-"

"Of course!" Pyrrha said happily. She took his hand in hers, blushing all the while. "I did say 'anything'."

They walked past the gobsmacked Weiss Schnee. Jaune chuckled.

"Well yeah, but a guy might take advantage of that."

"Not you," Pyrrha said with utter surety, "Definitely not you."

"Well, thanks Pyr," he said. "... So... Did you actually try the cereal before you agreed to be put on the box?"

"Yup."

"Did you know it's actually terrible?"

She laughed and leaned against him as they walked out into the sunlight.

All of her worries about Beacon were far, far away. Where they belonged.

- - -
 
Seeing Death
Alright, fuck it. If crossovers are allowed, here's a little something I just writ up in like an hour while sleep deprived.



Ever since he was young, Jaune Arc had been a strange boy. She could admit that she and her daughters weren't exactly thrilled with his oddities. But Isabel Arc had buried her fears and tried to be a good mother for her only son!

It was hard.

He was just so… so…

He looked at everything with the same cold, glassy eyed stare. His eyes reminded her of the huntsmen she had met during her tenure as a doctor. Huntsmen saw death every day. They killed Grimm, and were killed by Grimm.

She knew many huntsmen that had killed people, too. Mostly bandits and criminals who threatened lives. But she knew some had killed those who didn't exactly deserve it. Still, she was a doctor; it wasn't her place to decide who should be healed and who shouldn't.

But her little Jaune held those same eyes. Almost as if everywhere he looked, he only saw death. Like everything around him was crumbling to ashes. And no matter how much she detested it and tried to refuse it, the fact was…

Jaune scared her.



Ozpin drank the steaming hot chocolate out of his favorite mug. He liked to drink it while it was still hot enough to scald his mouth. It kept him awake and alert. Helped him focus on more important matters.

And one of those matters had come up again. Jaune Arc had enrolled in Beacon this year. Now, Ozpin knew he was old. He was going on nearly 172,000 years at this point, possibly a bit longer, it was hard to keep count. But the point was, he was old and had seen pretty much everything there was to see.

But this? This was new.

Well, not entirely. Ozpin met the boy a few times before, when Jaune was very young. It's not every day someone awakens their Semblance with their aura still locked, after all. And a three year old child, at that.

Ozpin had come and tried to help as best he could. But the boy was inconsolable. Ozpin originally thought was boy's Semblance was some kind of precognition, and it was causing him distress or showing him some horrid future.

Then the boy cut the bed perfectly in half with his fingernail.

Ozpin knew Jaune's Semblance was powerful, but it was something beyond his realm of expertise. He knew a lot, but the exact mechanics behind Semblances was not something he knew. He couldn't help the boy, so he recommended some professionals he knew and trusted.

He did not like what those people told him about Jaune's Semblance. Still, the family grew to be used to the Arc boy's weird oddities, and eventually the topic slipped Ozpin's mind.

Until he received the letter of Jaune Arc's transcripts. They were faked, obviously. But Ozpin didn't care. He knew the boy would be fine. More than fine, perhaps.

Of course, Ozpin's luck had quite run out at that point it seems. Because Jaune Arc somehow survived and passed Initiation without having his aura unlocked… but he had slain Grimm with ease. A single strike from his knife, and even the biggest and toughest Grimm collapsed dead at his feet.

All without aura.

Ozpin took another mouthful of hot cocoa down his throat and hummed to himself. An old lullaby he and Salem had sung to… his kids…

Once Jaune returned from Initiation, Ozpin had sent Glynda to unlock the boy's aura and test his Semblance. See what it could really do.

And now that he had the report in front of him? Ozpin was both utterly terrified and filled with hope for himself… and Salem.

Maybe this was what he needed? Maybe Jaune Arc is the blade that will finally, finally put an end to Salem and his lives.

Glynda had the boy cut through all kinds of materials. She recorded every second of it. Wood. Iron. Steel. Dust. Diamond. Even composite materials with the highest cutting resistance known to man.

Jaune Arc cut through them all with the same ease. He even used his fingernail on one instead of his knife.

Then Glynda, with his permission, took him out into the wilderness to test his Semblance in live combat scenarios.

The Nemean was famed for its durability. Its kind were almost, if not completely, immune to slashing and piercing attacks. But Jaune's knife slid right through and bisected the thing.

Then Glynda had a strange thought when she asked him what he knew of his Semblance. Jaune told her that he 'saw death' and could 'make it real'.

There was one type of Grimm that was… a particularly large pain in the Kingdom of Vale's backside. Whenever one moved into a place, it would have to be abandoned.

It's not that this specific species of Grimm was strong, fast or durable. In fact, they sucked at combat. What made them such a pain was the fact that they had very high capacity for potent regeneration. Every bit of damage was replaced in seconds.

You either had to smash the thing into paste before it could regen, or somehow burn, disintegrate or annihilate it down to the smallest giblet. And if you cut them into multiple pieces? The pieces would regenerate separately, creating more of them. In fact, supposedly there originally was only one, but a foolish human cut it into two, and then four, and then eight, and on and on it went.

No. Ozpin will not apologize.

But when Jaune Arc came face to face with a Gyuki, he cut through one of its legs and… it didn't regenerate!

Smirking at the memory of watching that video for the first time, the Headmaster of Beacon took another long sip. While he did, he thought back on all the information he had gathered on Jaune Arc's Semblance.

'Seeing death' and 'making it real'. Jaune always cuts in perfectly, unnaturally straight lines. It stops regeneration. The haunted look constantly in Jaune's eyes.

It brought a worrying realization to Ozpin.

Jaune Arc was being truthful when he said he 'saw death'. Whenever he saw people, he literally saw them die. Constantly. Since he was three.

After confronting him, Jaune explained his Semblance fully. Jaune Arc could see 'Lines' and 'Points' in things. At first he thought they were weaknesses, but then he stabbed the point on a door and it twisted and bent until it could no longer be called a door.

No. Jaune Arc's Semblance was what Ozpin had been seeking all this time! Jaune saw death, and he 'made it real'. His Semblance was seeing the 'End of Existence' of something and actualizing it.

That's why the Gyuki didn't regenerate! Because Jaune 'killed' the parts he cut. That severed body part no longer existed as 'Gyuki's leg' and, because the very concept of 'Gyuki's leg' had been 'killed', it couldn't regenerate the lost limb, almost as if the fact it had an 8th limb was erased from existence.

Yes… Yes…! He wasn't exactly comfortable inducting a first year student into his Inner Circle this early in the year, but… How could he pass up this chance? A chance to deal with Salem for good, without invoking the Brother Gods and bringing them back.

And then they'll finally be free. Salem will be free. He will be free.

He just… Ozma wanted to die so fucking badly.

Having a student with the possibility of actually succeeding? Of making it stick? It burned to have to wait.

But Ozpin could wait. He had waited for so long already. What's a few months? Once he brought Jaune up to speed, he'd have him help dealing with the Fall Maiden problem. Jaune was confident he could 'kill' someone's aura, so all he needed were two good hits. Should be easy enough.

And then he'll bring Jaune to Salem. Once Ozpin confirms that Salem is gone and not coming back?

Only then will Ozma beg for death. For rest. He had been awake for so, so long. He had the blood of hundreds, thousands of innocent men, women and children on his hands. Is it so wrong that he just wanted it to end?

And end it shall. For Jaune's eyes could see it. Ozpin could see. Jaune had watched him die. Not Ozpin. Jaune watched Ozma die. His perception of the concept of death was inhuman, and just what he needed more than anything else.

"Ah."

Ozpin smiled and sipped his cooling chocolate.

"That's a good name for it."

Glynda glanced at him, putting her scroll down. "Pardon, Headmaster?"

"Jaune's Semblance." Ozpin nodded. "I just came up with the perfect name."

Glynda Goodwitch pulled out a pen and notebook. "And it is?"

Seems she was as interested in the boy as he was. Then again, maybe she was interested for a different reason than he was. Ozpin had seen her stash, and Jaune hit all of her buttons.

Hm. He'll see about getting them alone together more often. If Jaune Arc was truly capable of ending his suffering, then as his Headmaster he should reward him appropriately. A good witch wife seems like a nice reward.

"How about: The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?"
 
The Arc Clan: Edward Elric
Now, I've filled out Jaune Arc's family myself because again... We've only met one sister. Never met his parents. And while a lot of fics like to fill out his other sisters with crossovers... I suggest we go bigger.

Every member of Jaune Arc's family is an expy, a crossover, and there are a LOT of them. And they just keep popping up all over Remnant! Because the Arc family is at least as prolific as the Duck family in the Milton Banks Donald Duck comics. Even more so!

So, to start us off...

- - -

"Uggghhh," Ruby moaned. She sniffled over the box, the coffin for her poor, poor baby. She was dressed all in black, and loudly blew her nose with one of Jaune's thoughtfully provided handkerchiefs.

"Dearly beloved," she announced to the six other people in the Bastinda Memorial Gardens, "We are gathered here to pay our final respects to my most beloved, trusted friend ever..."

"Gee, thanks," Weiss grumbled.

"Crescent Rose!" Ruby sobbed. Nora was crying right alongside her, and patted her on the back. Yang looked caught between deep concern and amusement. Blake was unreadable. Pyrrha was trying her damnedest to smile politely. Ren was using his Semblance so hard he was nearly black and white.

"Why can't she just fix it?" Blake asked.

"The part that goes with it is no longer produced," Yang sighed, "And Dad won't spot her the money to machine a new one."

"But he will spot her the money for a new weapon?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Well the school will help with that, not the spare part-It's complicated," Yang sighed.

Ruby sniffled, as Nora patted her on the back.

"Why... Why must the good die young?" Nora sobbed.

"Where's Jaune?" Ruby mumbled, looking like her heart was breaking, "I-I thought he'd be here..."

"Wow, he finally found something better to do with his time," Weiss scoffed. Yang elbowed her. "OW! What?"

"He said he was seeing a relative-" Pyrrha tried, but the blond soon rounded a corner.

"WAIT! WAIT! HANG ON!" He shouted. Following close behind him was a very old man, much shorter than Jaune. Yet he kept pace easily with the teenager... Though panted just as hard as they arrived at Crescent Rose's "coffin". His hair was stark white and waved back in a tightly wound ponytail. His beard was neatly cut. His eyes were yellow, almost gold, and his chin was rounded on his strong jaw. He wore a simple white button up shirt, black waist coat, black slacks, and boots... As well as white gloves. One wrist was obviously flesh, but the other barely concealed metal.

"Haa... Haa... Sorry Ruby," Jaune said, "I told my Great-Great-Uncle Ed about it, and he insisted we come!"

"Haa... Haa... Haaa... Lemme catch my breath," Ed said. He stood up and groaned. "Ooh... Damn, not as spry anymore..."

"Come on Grunkle Ed," Jaune laughed, "You're spryer than any other one hundred and twenty-year-old man I know!"

"Heh, you're right about that, kid," Ed chuckled.

"ONE HUNDRED TWENTY YEARS OLD?!" Most of team RWBY and JNPR cried. Ed sighed.

"Yes, yes, good healthy living, activated Aura, and my wife makes me take yoga. Pain in the ass is what it is,"

He chuckled.

"Though it does let Winry and me have some fun in the bedroom-"

"GRUNKLE ED!" Jaune groaned. Ed cackled like a banshee.

"Aw come on! You know how are family is! Where do you think all your uncles and aunts came from? Now, let's see, what's the device in question?"

"Um... Here, sir," Ruby said, pointing down to Crescent Rose. Ed knelt down, and pulled on a pair of glasses. He huffed.

"Ugh... Hand me a screwdriver, will ya girly?"

"S-Sure!" Ruby said worriedly, "But what are you going to do?"

Ed worked quickly, and pulled out the component in question. Well, what was left of it. It had burned out. Ed examined it carefully, and hummed. He looked over at Jaune.

"Boy! You don't look like you're doing anything important!" He barked. "Get me a fork, some wires, and some tungsten-"

"Right here, sir!" Ruby said quickly, handing the components over. Ed raised his eyebrows.

"Hmmm... I like you, girly," Ed said. "All right..."

He carried the materials to a stone table, and set them all down. The teams gathered about, as Grunkle Ed clapped his hands together... And then held them over the various materials.

A red light shone from his hands as archaic symbols glowed on the back of his hands. In a flash, the raw materials were gone and a new component lay in its place. Ruby gasped.

"It... How...?"

"Grunkle Ed's Semblance is called 'Transmutation'," Jaune said with a proud grin, "He shares it with Uncle Alphonse! It lets him basically make anything he wants-OW!"

Ed had punched Jaune in the arm with a scowl.

"Hardly! It requires a lot of math, hard work, and studying!" He huffed. "You all from Arturia's branch of the family... Swords and more swords, bah! Ever thought about using your brains for once?"

"Fighting with a sword and shield takes brains too," Jaune grumbled.

"Feh! Should've come study under me," Ed harrumphed, "Would've made you fight like an Elric-Arc!"

Ruby installed the device, and held up Crescent Rose. It mechashifted flawlessly into its sniper mode, then back into it's scythe mode. With a happy gasp, she turned to Jaune and Ed, tears in her eyes.

"Oh... Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Thank Jaune, I'm married," Ed chuckled.

"Wha-MMPH!"

Ruby kissed Jaune right on the lips. Yang gaped, Ren stared, Blake blinked, Weiss gasped at the scandal, Pyrrha glared, and Nora whooped.

"WOOHOO! ONE OF MY SHIPS! YAY!" She beamed at Ed. "Wow! Great work, Grunkle Ed!"

"No problem," Ed grinned, "Anything for one of my favorite nephews... Even if he is dumb. Still! I suppose if he married Ruby, it would even things out for their kids-"

"M-Marry?!" Pyrrha gasped in horror.

"Well, um, it's very impressive that you can do that," Weiss said with a nod.

"Yeah, heh," Yang chuckled, though she was definitely shooting glares at Jaune, "You really didn't come up short!"

Jaune's eyes widened and broke the kiss.

"Yang, No-Grunkle Ed-She didn't mean-!"

Ed laughed.

"Aw, relax kid! I'm over that!" The ancient man waved a hand, "I'm not so sensitive anymore!"

"To what? Short jokes?" Yang asked.

"Yup," Ed said with a nod. "Especially when a beautiful young woman says it."

Yang blushed.

Jaune sighed in relief.

"Oh good, I was afraid your temper was still short after-"

Grunkle Ed shifted his mechanical arm into a gun and pointed the barrel in the terrified Jaune's face.

"WHAT?! ARE YOU CALLING YOUR BELOVED GRUNKLE A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK THE SIZE OF AN ANT?!"

"N-NO! OF COURSE NOT!"

"GOOD! KEEP IT THAT WAY!"

- - -

Feel free to make your own!

And in case you missed it?

[/URL]

This is Jaune's Great-Great Uncle, though he just calls him Grunkle for short.
 
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The Arc Clan: Thorkell
Don't have anything TOO well thought out... but...


Tai glared at the dark-haired woman standing at his door, nearly twenty years of longing and heartbreak bubbled underneath the surface, "Raven... you've got a lot of nerve to-"

He was cut off when Raven launched herself at him, faster than he'd ever seen her move before. Before he could respond, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into the most scorching kiss he'd ever received in his entire life. His mind froze and rebooted itself for several seconds even after Raven broke the kiss off.

"Abba gabley buh?" He babbled dumbly.

Raven, wrapped her around around his waist and shouted, "Alright Thorkell! See! This is my darling husband, Tai Xiao-Long! Father of my daughter and one of the strongest fighters in Remnant! You can PISS OFF NOW!"

The fog in Tai's brain quickly faded and he glared at her, "What the h-"

"Go along and I'll do that thing with my tongue every night for the rest of our lives..." She whispered.

...
...
...

"YEP! WELCOME HOME HONEY BUNS!!!" And with that, he also wrapped her up in a tight one-armed hug.

That was when all the good feelings faded as he watched the BIGGEST man he'd ever seen in his life step out from behind a tree. When the hell did he get there?!?

He LOOMED over both Tai and Raven who hugged all the tighter, whether to maintain the charade or from sheer terror neither of them were sure.

He looked between the two of them for a few minutes, then sighed, "Fine."

Then he glanced over at Tai, and it was like a Leviathan was bearing down on him. "But so there's no hard feelings, how about a friendly spar? Let out all the bad air."

Tai was in the interesting situation where his instincts told him that accepting the spar or denying it would be catastrophically bad for his health. But glancing at Raven, who was also at a loss, he mentally flipped a coin and came to a decision.

"Alright."


__________


"And that's how your mother came back home." Tai finished his story in the ICU of the Vale General Hospital in a full-body cast to Qrow, his daughters, and their teammates. All of them turned to look at the other person in a full body cast sitting in a bed right next to Tai. The only thing they could see of her was her red eyes glaring out from a small slit made in the layers of bandages and plaster.


Kinda got away from me but I figure Thorkell's the cousin people don't like talking about among the wider Arc family.
 
The Arc Clan: Cousin Francesca
Some potential Arc relatives

I got one... Beware, a little bit sexual.




"What's wrong, Vomit Boy? Weiss reject you again?" Yang asked while picking at her teammate's food with a fork.

"That's my fish. Get your own." Blake glared.

Jaune pulled his face up off the cafeteria table. "No. Well, she did, but that's not what I'm…" He flexed his hand and sighed. "My mother called me this morning. Apparently one of my cousins is coming here."

"Didn't you say you have seven sisters?" Pyrrha asked her crush. "Why didn't she just send one of your sisters?"

"SEVEN!?" Yang shouted.

"It's not that simple, Pyr." The blonde boy insisted. "My mom's busy with the hospital. My dad's probably on a mission. My sisters either have families, are on missions, or are in school. They don't have time to come all the way here just to see me."

"And your cousin does?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What does your cousin even do?"

"She's… technically a Huntress." The Arc averted his gaze with a blush.

"...'Technically'?" The heiress insisted.

"I don't actually know." He revealed. "She's just so weird and her Semblance is scary! Oh gods, and she's coming here! I don't want her to hurt anyone!" The leader of JNPR dropped his head and started to panic.

Nora wrapped him in her arms. "It's alright, Jaune-Jaune! If Fearless Leader's cousin is scary, we'll protect you!"

"I-It's not me I'm worried about! It's Professor Ozpin!"

With a loud crash the doors of Beacon's cafeteria slammed open. Most students looked up from their conversations and food to see a strange sight.

A girl in white and black. Her hair was long and straight, white on the outside but black on the inside, with two visible white skulls on the black inside. Black ribbons decorated the white half of her hair. For some reason her clothing was very revealing. A vertically striped white and black corset. A very short frilly white skirt with a split in the front, revealing her stark white panties. Her thigh high boots were again, white with a bone pattern on the thigh. Her gloves, if they can be called that, don't even cover her palms and instead run from her wrists to her elbows and end in frills. She carried a frilly white parasol.

The scariest thing about her was her eyes. Her irises were black and her pupils were white. Not only that, but when she scanned her gaze over the gathered student body, she didn't look at them like people.

She looked at them like food.

That was, until her gaze landed on one particular student. "Francesca has found you!" She shouted, speaking in third person with a smile that was all teeth.

"Oh no." Jaune shrunk in on himself.

The girl hopped and danced through the cafeteria, swinging her parasol and clocking many a student over the head as she did so. "Francesca was so worried! When dearest aunt Isabel called, Francesca was beside herself!" She told them when she came to a stop at the table teams RWBY and JNPR were eating.

"Woah! Is she your cousin?" Yang asked her friend with a grin. "Because she has taste!"

"'Taste'!?" Weiss growled. "She's… She's vulgar! Her u-u-underwear is showing!"

Yang craned her head towards her sister's teammate and smirked. "Is that the first thing you noticed?"

"Do not start this again, Yang!" The wintry girl threatened.

"Yaaaang! Stop teasing the useless lesbian!" Ruby complained.

"You should introduce us." Lie Ren spoke up, nodding to Jaune.

"Oh, right." The boy unshrunk himself and glanced towards his cousin. "Everyone, this is my… cousintechnically… This is Francesca Prelati-Arc. F-Francesca, these are my friends. This is-"

"Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. Francesca knows, Francesca studied before coming." She nodded sagely.

"Uh… Yeah." Jaune didn't even bother pointing out anything wrong with what she said. There was no point.

Francesca suddenly grabbed Pyrrha and lifted her off her seat. "Wah-wait!" The redhead cried out, finding herself unable to break the strange girl's grip.

Francesca plopped her down on the floor, and pat her head. "There, there. You stay there like a good girl, while Francesca gets her Jaune time."

With Pyrrha still frozen in shock, Francesca sat on the champion's seat next to Jaune. With a single movement she pushed Pyrrha's lunch off the table and onto the floor, and pulled the boy into a tight embrace.

"H-Hey!" Pyrrha, for once, spoke up for herself.

"Damn. Jaune's cousin has an easier time being obvious than Pyrrha." Yang noted.

"What? That's absurd! Don't just assume things like that about people!" Weiss scolded her friend. "They're just close."

"Yeah, real close." Blake retorted.

They watched as Francesca pressed her breasts against Jaune's arm, almost forcing his hand against her panties. And then her other hand slid down his armor and beneath his belt, before she grasped something in his pants. "Did Francesca's Jaune miss her~? Fuuu~" she whispered before blowing air into his ear.

"S-STOP!" Jaune slammed his hands onto the table, startling everyone except Jaune and his very close 'cousin'. "N-Not here!" He corrected.

"Awww~ Does Jaune not want Francesca to play with his body anymore?" She hopped onto the table and… lifted her skirt, exposing even more of her panties. "Does Francesca's Jaune want to play with Francesca's body instead?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Weiss began to scream. She realized that Yang was right.

The blonde party girl clapped a hand over Weiss' mouth, muffling her mental shattering. "Shut up! Momma's starting to get invested! Hehehehe~"

"Yang, that's disgusting!" Ruby shook her head… before leaning forward and crumpling the table beneath her fingers. "It should have been me, not her!" She whispered.

Of course, the champion thought the exact same thing. She stood up and, after putting on her angriest face she could, spoke up to the wench who dares to steal her Jaune! "S-Sorry!" She screamed out the first thing that came to her mind.

Everyone glanced at her, and suddenly Pyrrha realized what she had said… She didn't mean to say that. Francesca turned her gaze to the amazon. "Francesca accepts your apology. Francesca forgives you for trying to sleep with Francesca's fiancé."

"FIANCÉ!?"



Ruby and Pyrrha barged through the elevator's door, dragging the Arc with them. Francesca stepped out after them and glanced around the office before zeroing in on the Headmaster himself.

Said Headmaster glanced up from his scroll. "Ah. Ms Nikos, Ms Rose, Mr Arc. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ruby slammed her hands onto his desk, cracking the wood. "Why did you never tell me Jaune was engaged!?"

Pyrrha followed the younger girl's example, spreading more visible cracks through the desk. "H-How could you do this to me!?"

"I… did not know Mr Arc was engaged." The Headmaster appeared flummoxed. "Who…?" He turned to the Arc and noticed something. A particular person standing next to Jaune and sensually blowing into his ears. "P-PRELATI!?"

"Oh, Francesca did not see you there. Francesca was busy with her Jaune time." She grinned.

"What the hell are you doing in my school!?" Ozpin growled, shocking Ruby and Pyrrha.

"P-Professor?"

"I… I apologize for my outburst." He breathed deeply and calmed himself down. "Now… Prelati. Why are you here? Why are you… a woman?"

"W-What? You can't just ask someone why they're a woman!" Pyrrha spoke up.

"Yeah! What's with you? She's Jaune's c-cousin!" The silver eyes Rose agreed.

"...No. No she is not." Ozpin revealed. "Mr Arc?"

"I… I lied." The boy tapped two fingers together with a blush that wasn't entirely from the fact that Prelati was playing with his bum the whole time. "Kind of…"

"...I see what's happening. Jaune Arc." Ozpin called out, getting his undivi… mostly undivided attention. "Did you explain what Mr Pre… Ms Prelati's Semblance was?"

"N-No."

Ozpin messaged the bridge of his nose. "Very well… Francesca Prelati here has a Semblance that is entirely unique. But one that is undeniably powerful."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Ruby glanced between them, eyes filled with concern.

"Nearly six hundred years ago, a man by the name of Francois Prelati lived. He was born in Vale, and during that time the Kingdom was undergoing a… 'change of hands', let's call it. It was a dark time for the common folk. But Francois Prelati didn't mind. He had more time to do what he loved most: Hunt down young and unspoiled children and slaughter them in a myriad of bloody and creative ways as a sacrifice to the dark gods he worshipped."

"...By the gods…" Pyrrha whispered.

Ozpin continued. "Of course, Francois didn't just kill them. He did unspeakable things to them, and sometimes he let them go afterwards, on a whim. That led to the police finding out his identity, and when he tried to escape… They gunned him down. Of course, Francois discovered his Semblance in death. He woke up. But he was no longer Francois Prelati. He woke up to find he wasn't in his old body, but a newer, fresher one."

"W-What?" Ruby started to put it together, sparing a glance at the girl molesting her best guy friend.

"Francois Prelati's Semblance is 'Eternal Return'. Every time he dies, he will reincarnate within thirty days in a new body, somewhat near where he died. Of course… It seems he isn't limited to male bodies." Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "Isn't that right, Francesca Prelati?"

Her grin was predatory. "Of course, Ozzy. But Francesca still hasn't forgiven you for putting holes through Franesca's bodies. Francesca had to die over sixteen times before you left Francesca alone."

"...You were trying to eat a village."

"Francesca was peckish. Francesca apologizes for trying to eat the stupid humans. Francesca has changed… a little." She shrugged.

"...And what brought on this change?"

"Francesca's precious, beloved Jaune!" She shouted while kissing him all over his face.

"And why are you so interested in Mr Arc here?"

"Because he didn't see me as a monster." Francesca said, speaking in first person for the first time. "Even after he learned of my past, the crimes and the atrocities, he found it in his heart to forgive me. Jaune Arc is earnest. He is strong of will and character, and found it within his heart to love a monster. Not many people could say the same. It's why his mother unofficially adopted me into the family, and has allowed our engagement.

"...I see." Ozpin nodded, relaxing for the first time. "And what about the… foreplay?" He gestured to her hand cupping and massaging the front of his jeans.

Prelati squeezed Jaune against her. "Francesca and Jaune used to play together like this all the time! Francesca is confused as to why he is embarrassed! Jaune was eager when Francesca played with his body at home! Jaune even played with Francesca's body! Now he's all shy~!"

Ozpin nodded. "I see." He let out a long sigh. "Very well. If you promise to behave, I suppose I can let you stay."

"NO!"
"WHY!?"

Ozpin ignored the two very thirsty girls. It wasn't his business who the Arc fraternized with. Then again… "But, Francesca, I do have a favor to ask. So, if you'll let the children return to their lunches and classes so we can talk in private, that would be wonderful."

Francesca nodded. "Francesca accepts. Francesca already knows what Ozzy will ask about. If Ozzy agrees to give Francesca plenty of Jaune time, Francesca sees no reason she can't… Help Ozzy with his silly little girl problems. Francesca is surprised that Ozzy still dreams of a harem, but Francesca wonders why only four Maidens? Francesca thinks that the more maidens in a harem, the better. Francesca thinks Ozzy is stupid and retarded and shortsighted and unwise and a fool and a dolt and a blockhead and a simpleton and a nitwit and a dummy and a lunkhead and a dunce and a ninny and an oaf and a chump and a moron and a nincompoop and an imbecile and has dementia and is old as dirt and smells funny!"

Ozpin shattered his mug in his clenched fist, spilling burning hot chocolate everywhere. "...I suppose that's the best I'll get from you."

Prelati stuck out her tongue and bopped herself on the head. "Ehe~!"
 
A Little Too Convincing
Venturing out into Vale was a risk, true. Adam was essentially the most wanted Faunus in Remnant. But he still felt the need to go out from time to time, if only to feel the sunshine on his face and the wind in his hair.

He went to a Faunus-run cafe in Old Vale. The owner smelled of dog and bear faunus, yet also of human. Mores the pity. Yet he could restrain himself from killing the race traitor for a few moments...

"Welcome to the Just Right Cafe and Bakey, Nyah~!"

A vision of loveliness greeted him. A short haired blonde cat Faunus, with bright blue eyes and a happy smile. She wore a beautiful maid outfit: Subservient, and yet, unbroken and unbowed. Such tenacity in the face of humanity's hatred!

"How can I help you?" The vision asked. Her tone was... Rougher, but her entire countenance was so charming.

"I would like food, please," Adam said quietly. The catgirl beamed.

"Don't worry, master! I know things seem rough... But a good hot meal can make everything seem better!"

Adam sat down at a booth. The angel in a maid outfit left, and brought him coffee and pastries. He bit into one... And he held a hand up to his eyes. He nearly wept. It tasted... Like home.

"Are you all right, sir?"

"I... Yes... Thanks to you," he said.

She smiled. She even smelled like Blake... Yet the warmth in her smile was so much stronger.

No, Adam thought, I can't pull her into my war. My reward... My reward will be her smile when I rule over humans and make them our slaves!

Until then... I will simply appreciate her warmth.

- - -

Jaune sighed as he walked back into the kitchen. Nora giggled.

"Wow! You really walk well in heels! Like you've done it before!"

"I have," Jaune groaned. He glared at Goldie. "Seriously Goldie?! Why do I have to crossdress?! In Blake's outfit to boot! I'm dying here!"

Goldie laughed.

"Well, Kitty Princess is out, and you're better in heels than Nora! Cuter, too!"

Jaune groaned and rubbed his eyes. He knew he'd have to fix his makeup but he didn't care.

"I'm not doing this again."

"Come on!" Goldie growled. "We're bringing in so many customers with a blond, happy catgirl maid!"

"Yeah, but it also brings in all the creeps," Jaune shuddered. He peeked out at the redhead bull Faunus in sunglasses and a hat, eating the complimentary pastries like they were manna from the gods. "Especially that guy. He's such a weirdo!"

"He's a weirdo who tips well," Goldie stated, "So until he stops tipping well, get out there and serve!"

Jaune sighed.

- - -
 
Uncle Jaune 9
Adam Taurus was not a coward. He knew this deep down. He was willing to fight on the front lines with his troops, to lead them in their glorious war for victory.

Yet in war, one had to make decisions traditional morality called cowardly. Yet such traditions had been made by Man, and thus, were of no concern to Faunus kind. Anything and everything was on the table when it came to victory.

Kidnapping a baby was not a particularly difficult task for the White Fang. Adam trusted his operatives to retrieve the brat without any problem.

In their safehouse deep in Forbidden Fall Forest, he strode into the room where the brat was crying.

"Well, now we'll see..."

He stared intently at the baby crying in his carrier. He sniffed the air. Behind his mask, his eyes narrowed.

"This isn't Blake's child," he growled.

"Well, we brought the kid that Arc guy was taking care of, sir," Trifa, a Spider Faunus, said nervously, "We did as you ordered!"

"It is Arc's brat though," one of the Albain twins pointed out, "Perhaps that is worth something?"

Adam hummed.

"Perhaps," he allowed, "But his worth is far lower than if he was-"

The lights all went out. The booms of explosions echoed from outside. Adam seethed and hit his radio.

"Report!"

"Sir! We've got several Huntsmen and Huntresses attacking the outside of the facility!" One of his lookouts shouted over the sound of gun and Dust fire,

"Damnit," Adam growled. They headed out into the hallway, taking up defensive positions. Adam clicked the radio again.

"Who is it?"

"Looks like RWBY and most of JNPR!"

"Most?" Adam demanded. "Who is missing?"

Something in the hallway behind them creaked. Every eye turned towards it in the pitch black hallway. Adam drew Wilt.

The darkness was dispelled by a gold burning, Aura infused sword. One that illuminated a familiar blond figure in white and black armor.

With one critical difference. Jaune Arc in every picture Adam had seen of him had either been smiling or exasperated.

This Jaune Arc's face was a mask of cold, focused rage.

"OPEN FIR-URK!" Trifa was cut down immediately by Arc's blade, as the other Faunus opened up. Arc's Aura flared, and the shots just bounced off either his Aura field or his shield as he methodically, mercilessly cut down every Faunus who attacked him. The Albain Twins attacked together, but Arc shield bashed one through a wall, while he stabbed the other through the chest without so much as losing a step.

Adam dashed forward, striking furiously. They fenced hard and fast, sparks flying from their swords as they clashed. Had Adam been out in the open, he could have easily flanked the lone knight. But in this confined space, his maneuverability was hampered-And Arc had the reach.

"MOONSLICE!" He roared, unleashing the crimson Aura slash. It should have cut Arc clean in half... Instead, his Aura burned like the sun and he broke through it, slashing downwards!

"GAH!"

Adam fell back with a scream, and stared down at the stump where his hand used to be. He looked up just in time for Jaune's fist to meet his face, shattering his mask and slamming him into the concrete floor hard enough to shatter it.

"UGH! Ahh... Haaa...!"

Arc stood over him, a pillar of Aura wrath. His eyes narrowed like the judging eyes of a vengeful god.

"You will answer my question," Arc spoke, his voice hard and cold as an Atlasian winter, "Or I cut you to pieces. Where. Is. My. Nephew?"

Adam Taurus did not consider himself a coward. Yet when faced with the wrath of one he'd dismissed as an inferior... He was all too quick to comply.

- - -
 
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