[RWBY] White Knight Errant

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Sleeping in was a luxury Blake indulged in whenever possible. It pleased her instincts in a way she could never really articulate. She snuggled into her blankets and glorified in their warmth and softness. She was practically purring.

And then her cot was unceremoniously tilted up and she was sent to the wooden floor in a heap.

"Oof!"

She looked up in shock and anger as Nora Valkyrie grinned over her.

"Time to get up, Kitty Kat!"

"It's the weekend," Blake moaned, and checked her Scroll, "We don't have to be up for another hour..."

"Ren and Jaune-Jaune are already up!" Nora said, happy and cheerful, "And since they are, I thought we'd have some girl talk! Just you and me!"

Blake blinked in confusion as she stood up.

"Okay... I need to get ready-"

"Sure thing!" Nora chirped, "Bathroom's all clear!"

She sighed and made her way to the single bathroom. It was very cheaply assembled, just a toilet, a sink with a mirror, and a cheap bathtub, but it was more than enough. She stepped inside and started the water in the sink. She rummaged for her toothbrush.

"All right," she began slowly, "What do you want to talk about-?"

She looked up into the mirror and froze. Nora was grinning with narrowed eyes, right beside her.

How did I not notice-?!

Nora wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders, holding her with an iron grip the cat Faunus couldn't escape. She could feel the hum of electrical power through Nora's skin and saw sparks in her eyes. Blake was familiar with people holding back their rage-And Nora's was literally crackling right under her skin.

"Kitty Kat," Nora began, "I get that you've had a rough life. Renny and me? We've had a rough life too. Bad things have happened to all of us. But me? I've only ever had Renny."

Blake slowly nodded, forcing herself to remain calm even as her hair began to stand on end.

"Then we came to Beacon. We met some great people—wonderful people, like Jaune-Jaune. He takes us seriously. He cares about us. And we care about him," Nora said, still grinning but her voice soft and deadly, "He's the kind of person who would sacrifice everything for us without a second thought. He's like our big brother. Probably cuz he has like, seven sisters and he's really good at that!"

"Y-Yes," Blake managed, as Nora's grip tightened almost painfully.

"So I'm kinda peeved that you dragged him into a fight that could have gotten him killed without us," Nora said.

Blake shook her head.

"I-I told him he didn't have to come-"

"But he did. He would," Nora said, even more softly, "Because that's who he is. So... If you ever endanger Jaune-Jaune like that again because you wanna get back at your old friends? We'll have another girl talk!

Her eyes blazed.

"With my hammer! Got it?"

Blake very slowly nodded.

"... I won't," she said quietly, "I-I promise."

Nora's smile lost its edge and Blake's hair fell back down as the voltage in the air dropped. Nora patted Blake on the back.

"Great to hear! Now come on! Renny and Jaune-Jaune are working out, and we don't wanna miss it!"

She practically skipped away. Blake watched her go, still trembling. She took a few deep breaths.

Okay... Maybe I should start paying more attention to my fellow students, she thought.

- - -

Behind the Just Right Bakery and Cafe was a relatively clean backyard. The grass was overgrown in a few spots, and there was an old car on cinderblocks, but otherwise it wasn't a terrible place to be. The early morning sunlight shone down on the alley, reflecting off of wind chimes, windows, and the chrome on the salvaged car's exterior.

It was pleasant enough, Jaune supposed. At least for what they were doing.

"Okay," Jaune said. He flared his Aura, and focused, "My mom's strength technique isn't the first Aura augmentation skill, obviously. But it's really simple to learn, and easy to use. She made it that way for medical and rescue purposes. Give you enough strength to lift up a heavy patient, move debris off of someone, that kind of thing. Of course, the fact it's simple to use means it works great for combat."

Ren, sitting on a cheap folding chair nearby, nodded. Jaune chuckled.

"Of course, the catch is you either have to have REALLY good Aura control, or a LOT of Aura to use it for longer than a few seconds," Jaune said, "Or to use it consecutively for, say, combat. She does have incredible Aura control and a LOT of Aura. I've only got the Aura. So..."

He reached into the wrecked car. He grunted and lifted up the entire loose, rusty engine block over his head with one arm. He held it up, concentrating.

"See?" He managed. He then carefully set the engine block down, letting it thump on the grass, "Now you try it."

Ren nodded, and stood up. His Aura flared pink, as he focused. He then reached down and took hold of the block. He lifted it up over his head with a grunt, holding it up for a few moments, before he brought it back down onto the grass smoothly. Jaune grinned.

"Hey, great job! On your first try, too!" He clapped. Ren shook his head.

"I didn't hold it for as long as you, and I required both hands," Ren said, "I still need work. You're much better than me."

"Yeah, but eh, I've got more practice and all I've got going for me is a lot of Aura," Jaune said, clapping his friend on his shoulder, "You're gonna be better than me in no time."

Ren studied Jaune with his usual stoic expression.

"Why can you never take a compliment, Jaune?"

Jaune blinked. Ren didn't look away, his gaze even. Jaune coughed and looked aside.

"It uh... It's that big of a problem, huh?"

"Yes."

Ren sat back down on his folding chair. Jaune sat down on the wooden step leaning into the cafe, facing him.

"... I don't deserve them," Jaune decided.

"Not a healthy outlook," Ren observed.

Jaune let out a soft sigh through his nostrils.

"I'm working on it," he said, "But if I was where I should be... Nobody would have been in danger."

"None of us are where we want to be, Jaune," Ren said gently, "No one is perfect. That's why we train. If you constantly compare yourself to others, you will never be happy."

"That's fine for guys who don't have to keep other people alive," Jaune snorted, "It's different for me. I'm your leader. I need to be better. I can't stop improving."

"That is true," Ren said, "However, constantly tearing yourself down won't help. It will also demoralize your team."

Jaune winced.

"I... Well..."

Ren tilted his head.

"Jaune... You aren't the savior of the world. You shouldn't act like you are. You'll only end up destroying yourself."

Jaune sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping.

"... It's just... I want to be a hero. I was raised to be a hero. My mom is a hero. My dad died a hero. And when push came to shove... When my mentor needed me, I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't... I wasn't good enough."

He stared down at the grass, glum and angry. Ren hummed.

"When the Grimm destroyed my village, orphaned Nora and I... We also weren't good or strong enough."

Jaune looked up sharply, his eyes wide.

"That's different! You were kids! No one would ever blame you for-!"

"I did," Ren said softly, "I sometimes still do."

Jaune grimaced in sympathy.

"Ren..."

"I'm mostly past it now. I couldn't afford to let myself be weighed down with guilt... I had to look after Nora. I couldn't afford to be weak for her. She's... She's my everything."

Jaune was silent. This was probably the most emotive Ren had ever been. His eyes were distant, his voice heavy with feeling.

"... I do want revenge. I want the Grimm that killed our families, destroyed our village, dead. I want it to suffer before it goes, and I will ensure it feels pain and fear before it dies if I can. But it's not my highest priority right now. Nora is. And she always will be."

"Yeah... Yeah. It'd be impossible not to see that," Jaune said with a nod. "But you guys... You earned your place here. I feel like I don't deserve it. Not... Not after everything I'd been through, or... Or done."

Ren leaned forward a bit.

"Jaune. You can use a technique that would let you win almost every fight if you wanted to. So why don't you?"

Jaune scoffed in disbelief.

"Because I'm not an insane, murderous asshole! I'm not gonna unleash an Aura Blade blast in Combat Class!"

Ren nodded slowly.

"Then it's more complex than just a matter of who is stronger. You have many talents, including leadership. We follow you for more than just your competency as a Huntsman, after all."

Jaune chuckled.

"I... Thanks, Ren," he said quietly. Ren smiled softly.

"I've done nothing but speak the truth. A good leader appreciates truthful feedback to grow."

He looked at him intently.

"Besides. Nora likes you very much. As do I. We don't want to lose you."

Jaune chuckled softly.

"... You know... I'm pretty sure she'd marry you if you asked," he said.

Ren was silent. He stared back at Jaune impassively.

He couldn't help continuing.

"It's hard not to see how attached you are. I mean... I don't think you two are gonna go with anyone else. You've been through too much," Jaune went on, "And she's not exactly, ya know... Subtle about her feelings."

Ren sucked in a deep breath, and let it out as a sigh that seemed both wistful and exasperated.

"... That is... More complicated," he finally said. He gave Jaune a wry look.

"Besides, I wouldn't be talking about romantic troubles if I were you."

Jaune winced.

"Touché, bro. Touché."

He stood up and stretched.

"Let's get back to training-"

The door burst open behind Jaune, and knocked him off balance. He stumbled and yelped as he fell towards Ren. Ren's pink eyes widened comically just before Jaune slammed into him and drove him into the grass.

"GAH!"

"OOF!"

"RENNY! JAUNE-JAUNE! BREAKFAST TIME-!" Nora announced before she trailed off. Jaune looked back over his shoulder as Nora gaped in shock. Blake looked over Nora's shoulder in equal disbelief, and her face went bright red.

"NOOOO!" Nora cried, throwing her hands up and wailing to the heavens, "THAT FLAT CHESTED TSUNDERE TURNED JAUNE-JAUNE GAY! AND NOW HE'S AFTER RENNY!"

"WAIT WHAT?!" Jaune yelped, forcing himself up to his feet and waving his hands frantically. "NO! NO NO NO-!"

"DON'T WORRY, JAUNE-JAUNE! RENNY!" Nora cried, reaching to yank her shirt off, "I'LL CONVERT YOU BACK! YOU CAN BOTH HAVE ME!" She turned to Blake. "KITTY KAT! GET NAKED!"

"Wh-What?!" Blake gasped, her face burning brighter red.

"YOUR PARTNER AND HER SISTER LOVE JAUNE-JAUNE!" Nora cried, "HELP THEM BY KEEPING THEIR MAN ON THE RIGHT SIDE!"

Ren, now on his feet, calmly walked over to Nora and pulled her into a hug. She continued ranting into Ren's chest.

"We'll go get breakfast started," he said evenly. He carried Nora into the cafe, as she clung to him and wailed. The door shut behind them, leaving Blake and Jaune alone. Jaune coughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Never a dull moment with them, huh?" He tried with an exasperated smile.

"Y-Yeah," Blake agreed.

The faint sounds of early morning traffic dominated for a time. Jaune cleared his throat.

"So... Did you call your parents?"

Blake nodded.

"Yes."

Jaune stared at her.

"How did that go? You uh, you don't have to tell me-"

"It... It went better than I thought it would," Blake admitted quietly. She fixed her eyes onto his.

"Thank you for pushing me to do it," she said. "There's... Still a lot of work to do, but it's... Better."

Jaune nodded.

"Good."

Blake looked at the backyard and the engine block.

"What were you two working on?" She asked.

"Oh," Jaune said, "I'm teaching my team my mother's Aura strength technique. After that fight with Thanh, I want us to all work a lot harder and I figure it can be a nice ace up your sleeve even if you don't rely on brute force." He smiled at her.

"Would you like to learn it?"

Blake nodded.

"I... I would like that," she murmured.

"Cool," Jaune said, "We'll do it after work, then."

He went to the engine block, and lifted it up. He then carefully slid it back into the car. Blake studied his motions, impressed despite herself.

"You have excellent control over the technique," she said.

Jaune paused. Then he smiled back at her.

"Thank you," he said, "My mom taught me it and trained me how to use it. It's... Probably one of the only reasons I survived out there." He looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers, "That and Gato's training."

"I... He taught me some of that as well," Blake said, "I would be happy to help you with your Aura Blade techniques, if you'd like? I've never been very good at them, but I learned the basics well enough."

Jaune smiled warmly.

"I... I would appreciate that, thank you," Jaune said.

They stood in awkward silence for another moment. Then, Goldie's voice rang out from inside the Cafe:

"KID! STOP MAKING OUT WITH THE KITTY PRINCESS AND GET TO WORK!"

"ACK! Y-YES MA'AM!" Jaune shouted, quickly rushing into the cafe. Blake, blushing just as hard, dodged out of the way as he scrambling inside past her.

"W-We weren't making out-!"

"WHATEVER! WE'VE GOT A BUSINESS TO RUN!" Goldie shouted.

Blake held in a sigh. She lingered a bit. Part of it was her natural stubbornness. The other part?

She whipped out her Scroll and quickly texted Yang.

Yang. How are you?

Less than a second later, Yang replied.

Hey Kitty! I thought the cat had taken your tongue! Nice to hear from you! How are you? You okay?

Blake smirked and rolled her eyes.

I'm staying with Nora, Ren, and Jaune. Working at a cafe.

There was a longer pause. Yang then texted back:

Really?

Yes. Really. He's in a butler outfit. And he can be all yours.

Another pause. For a moment, Blake wondered if she'd gone too far.

Then...

When and where?

Blake smiled. It wasn't the most conventional apology she could imagine... But it was a start.

Besides, if Yang finally made a move? She wouldn't have to put up with her struggling conscience as much...

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Well, as far as trying to make things up to her, Yang thought Blake was putting her best foot forward. She'd grabbed the first ferry back to Vale from Patch she could, and grabbed Bumblebee. She drove through the early morning traffic, weaving through the cars at high speed with a reckless smile on her face.

She had been fair to Ruby though. She'd left her a message about it, so she could catch up... After she'd gotten enough sleep. She'd been working with Dad on some 'special training'. Yang had pried a little, but Dad had just told her it was private and Ruby would tell her when she was ready.

Well, after everything they'd gone through this semester, Yang couldn't blame her or Dad for wanting to work harder. Yang pushed herself a lot this past week for the same reasons, and she was going to keep it up in the next.

And go even harder in other ways.

She drove through the New City sections first, filled with gleaming skyscrapers and crisscrossed with hover train bridges. Then passed through the old Middle City walls, deeper into the interior. Finally she passed the Old City District Walls-Or rather what was left of them. Aside from a few sections preserved here and there (many covered in graffiti), the ancient walls that had once protected Old Vale were pretty much gone.

Not that Yang spared them a lot of thought, she had more important things to worry about.

She pulled up in front of the Just Right Bakery and Cafe, and turned off the engine. She took a deep breath as she caught sight of Jaune through the windows.

Geez...

She'd been on dates before, even gotten up to heavy petting, but all of that had just been for some fun. Like trashing nightclubs. A stress reliever. She wasn't a loose slut who rode any handsome man she ran into... She had too much responsibility for that. Despite everything, she took those responsibilities seriously.

Now Ruby was growing up, and... Here was a guy she had some genuine feelings for. A guy who... Well.

Yang noticed a lot about her childhood friend. A lot of things others might have missed. White lines on his calloused hands and body, for instance: Scars left over from Aura healing. To even have those thin little lines meant he'd had to have fought and gotten hurt a lot.

He threw himself into a fight without fear or hesitation. He took charge when it was needed. He saved her sister, and the rest of them, without a second thought. He was domestic too, able to cook, clean, and do a lot of other things you'd expect out of a house husband!

And he'd grown up to look damn good.

Honestly, that was the problem. He was... Everything she might want in a man already and it was overwhelming. The fact he shied away from aggressive women like Pyrrha was also trouble: Yang was aggressive. That was her very nature!

So she hadn't known how to approach him. Especially not with Ruby infatuated with him!

Ultimately though, she couldn't just keep hemming and hawing. Her dad was right: She had to be true to herself.

If he didn't like it, then she'd know it wouldn't work out.

Still, she thought to herself as she rose from Bumblebee and walked towards the cafe doors, No sense in scaring him off. We've got a date, and Gods know I'm fine with taking it slow. Not rushing things. Just... Easing in, since it's clear neither of us knows what we're doing.

She walked in. Jaune perked up when he saw her and smiled warmly. He walked up to her, trim, fit, and handsome in his butler's outfit, and bowed.

"Welcome, Mistress Xiao-Long, how may I serve you today?" He asked with a grin and a wink.

Yang flushed, and grinned as her eyes burned just a bit.

"Oh, the ways I could take that line," she chuckled. Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate it."

"Maybe I'd like it better if you were on your knees, Crybaby," Yang teased back. Jaune paused for a moment, and Yang worried if she'd gone too far.

He then smirked.

"Maybe you'd like it better on yours."

He was flirting back. He felt comfortable enough to flirt back holy shit...!

Yang grinned and advanced, wrapping her arms around Jaune and looking right up into his eyes.

"You gonna put me there, Ladykiller~?"

Jaune coughed but didn't back down. He pressed back against her, his firm chest feeling very nice against hers.

"If my Mistress desires it, of course," he said.

Ohhhh shit, Yang thought as her cheeks went bright red. Down girl down girl down girl...!

"OI!" Goldie shouted, making them both jump, "Kid! If you want to make money as a gigolo, do it when we're not serving breakfast! I'm not taking a bloody downgrade on my health department grade!"

"You told me to flirt back!" Jaune cried in exasperation.

"I didn't tell ya to be an exhibitionist!"

Jaune tried to pull away, but Yang gave him a kiss to his cheek. She beamed at the irate woman.

"Sorry ma'am, just appreciating the customer service from the staff," she chuckled. "I'm always right, hm?"

"People who said that never had customers," Goldie harrumphed. Yang gave Jaune another kiss on his lips, before heading off to a booth. Jaune flushed.

"Hope you're planning out our date, Ladykiller~," Yang tossed back. Jaune coughed and looked over at Goldie. Goldie shook her head.

"You adding a blonde to your harem, Kid?"

"I don't have a harem!" Jaune protested.

Yang sat down at the booth, smiling happily. She looked up at Blake as she walked up to her table. Blake's ears twitched a bit before she spoke.

"Hello Mistress nyah. May I take your order, nyah?"

Yang stared for five seconds, before she erupted into laughter. She wrapped her arms around her belly and laughed her ass off. Blake glared.

"This isn't funny!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! It totally is!" She cackled.

"This-this is degrading and objectifying-!"

"You were maid for this kind of thing, ahahahahahaa!"

Yang got herself under control, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Ohhh... Best morning ever!"

Blake sighed.

"Well... I don't feel guilty for texting Pyrrha and Ruby now," Blake deadpanned.

"Wait what?!"

Blake sniffed.

"I'm kidding," she said.

"Yeah!" Nora cried, waving from the back of the cafe, "I did that!"

"NORA!" Both Yang and Jaune shouted.

"All's fair in love and war!" Nora declared.

- - -

Pyrrha had rushed out of her hotel and into the nearest taxi the moment she'd gotten the text, only pausing to throw on street clothes. She practically bounced with glee in the back of the car as it pulled out into traffic, her mind focused on one thing.

Her Jaune... Her team... Her friends...

Oh, this long week had felt like an eternity without him or her other friends! So many forms, so many meetings! Her mother had kept trying to contact her, kept trying to apologize and... It had all been so emotionally taxing. She had felt so worn down, so empty and hollow.

The hurt in her mother's eyes had nearly broken her, so many times... Yet she thought of her friends, and her resolve returned.

Now... Now she could be back where she belonged. With the ones she loved.

And more importantly...

Jaune in a butler outfit! Jaune serving me in a butler outfit! Jaune in a butler outfit! JAUNE!

Pyrrha trembled happily as she pictured it in her mind.

She sat in her room in her mansion back in Mistral, sipping her tea while on the phone. Jaune, her beloved butler, cleaning up around her. She sipped her tea as he went about, locking the doors and pulling the curtains shut.

"Yes, yes, that will work fine, thank you, goodbye," Pyrrha murmured. She then put down the phone onto the cradle with a click.

"Is that all the business for today, Jaune?" She asked.

"Yes Mistress," Jaune said with a nod, "Save for our..." He cocked an eyebrow, "Personal business."

Pyrrha licked her lips, set her tea down... And pounced on Jaune.

"Jaune~! Jaune! Jaune!"

"Miss? Miss? We're here?"

"Ah?!" Pyrrha gasped. She looked at the dark-skinned taxi driver who held out a hand to her. He made a grasping motion.

"My money?"

Pyrrha quickly dropped some lien into his palm, and darted out of the taxi cab. She looked up at the cafe, and took a few deep, steadying breaths.

Don't be crazy. Don't be crazy, she thought to herself, You're going to be better. You're not going to lose control.

She used some techniques she had trained in since childhood, to relax and calm down her raging feelings.

He knows you're not a monster, Pyrrha argued with herself. He knows you'll never hurt him. Not like that BITCH who hurt him...

Pyrrha shook her head.

Just go in and show him how much you miss him, she decided, In a calm, collected manner that shows how sane you are!

She smiled softly, and opened the cafe door. She walked in. Nora bounced up to her, looking cute in a maid outfit.

"Heeeeyyy Pyrrha! I mean, Mistress! Welcome to the Just Right Cafe!" She greeted. Pyrrha beamed back as she began to scan around the cafe.

"Hey Nora! Where's Jaune-?"

Her eyes locked onto him. Her face turned bright red.

There... There he was. That butler outfit was superior to what Weiss had put him. It was impeccably tailored and fitted to show off his height and his body. He turned and beamed at Pyrrha, even as he hovered nearby... Yang.

"Hey Pyrrha!" Jaune said cheerfully. "It's great to see you!"

"Mm," Yang grinned, "Yeah~. Just got here early to get serviced by Ladykiller."

"Served by," Jaune sighed.

"Same thing~," Yang teased with a cocky wink right at Pyrrha.

For a moment, Pyrrha contemplated seizing every metallic object in the cafe and shooting them all at the smug blonde. Judging from how Jaune recoiled, her smile had gotten rather dangerous.

No, no, Pyrrha thought to herself, Don't fight like that. Fight like… Fight like a woman. Like Hoss said...

With that, she walked right up to Jaune, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.

Her eyes crossed from the explosion of warmth that burst deep inside. She trembled as electricity shot through her body. Jaune opened his mouth in shock, and the kiss just got better!

My first kiss… It's right in front of a rival, with my true love… It's perfect…!

She paused and pulled back briefly.

"Ah, is a kiss all right, Jaune?" She asked, suddenly unsure.

"H-Huh? Y-Yeah, sure," Jaune managed, looking dazed. Pyrrha beamed.

Like in her Mistralian manga that she had been extensively researching over the past week! Her brain was slowly turning into happy mush…!

Jaune was yanked away by Yang, who scowled.

"Hey hey! Ease up, P-Money!" She snarled. "I've got first date!"

Pyrrha grabbed onto Jaune's other arm and yanked him back.

"I got his first kiss!" Pyrrha growled.

Yang smirked smugly.

"No you didn't~," she said, pulling Jaune right back. Pyrrha looked at Jaune in shock, seeking out proof that she was lying… And he coughed.

"Ah, well-"

"YOU," Pyrrha snarled, eyes burning in rage at Yang. The blonde's eyes flashed red.

"Bring it on, P-Money! Let's see how invincible you really are~!"

Jaune glanced over at the tall blonde woman in the blue dress and arpon who was at the cash register.

"Uh, Mrs. Goldie? You want to intervene?"

Goldie smirked and sipped a mug of coffee.

"Not my department," she said, "She hasn't bought anything."

Jaune sighed heavily, and summoned up breath from his diaphragm. He held them both apart by their shoulders.

"Okay, come on, enough," he said flatly, "This isn't something to fight about. Yang, Pyrrha, sit down. Pyrrha? Order some breakfast."

Reluctantly, the two ladies sat down at the same booth. Jaune took a deep breath and calmed himself. Pyrrha felt a flush of guilt, but it vanished at Yang's smirk. Jaune shook his head.

"How about you just get breakfast and relax, huh? We can work things out after-"

The door burst open, and a crazed, wet looking Ruby burst in.

"JAUNE! NORA TOLD ME YOU WERE ELOPING WITH PYRRHA!"

"I sure did!" Nora shouted out.

Ruby vanished in a burst of rose petals and reappeared, tackling Jaune.

"OOF!"

"SAY IT ISN'T SO!" She cried.

"IT ISN'T! NOW LET ME GO!" Jaune growled, bonking Ruby on the head. Ruby winced.

"Owwww…!"

He sighed, and rubbed her head gently.

"Calm down, okay? Sit down, order something. We'll sort this out properly, okay?"

Ruby sniffled.

"... Do you have chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Yes."

Ruby beamed, and kissed Jaune's cheek.

"Mwah! I love you, Jaune!"

Jaune patted her head.

"Yeah yeah… Come on, sit down, order. We'll work this out calmly and rationally." He looked over at Yang and Pyrrha. "Right?"

"Oh, of course Jaune!" Pyrrha said with a tense smile.

"Absolutely," Yang purred, smirking at Pyrrha, "Whatever you say, Lover Boy~."

Jaune guided Ruby to the booth. She scooted in next to Pyrrha, where she grabbed the menu. Jaune glared over at Nora.

"Seriously Nora? What's the deal?!"

"What?" Nora asked, shrugging as she poured more coffee for another patron, "You did elope in my dream last night!"

"You didn't mention that part!" Ruby grumbled.

Nora winced.

"Whoops!"

Jaune glared.

"Ren? Bonk her extra hard when she returns to the kitchen," He called out.

"Got it," Ren tossed back.

"And no more pancakes from the kitchen!"

Nora gasped.

"Jaune-Jaune! No! Please!" She skidded to a halt in front of him, on her knees.

"You're taking my sweet Renny away! Don't take the other love of my life away!" She sobbed. "Unless…" She gasped. "You want us both!"

Jaune groaned and bonked her on the head.

"Owwww~!"

"No, I don't."

"What if Ren was a girl?" Nora asked, tilting her head. "Like a sweet shy Mistralian ninja princess?"

"Still no! Come on, back to work," He stated, exasperated, as he patted her head. "We'll work out your punishment later."

Nora nodded, sniffling a bit.

"All right. Thanks Jaune-Jaune!"

"Yeah yeah," Jaune sighed, as Nora got up and skipped away. He glanced over at the owner of the bakery, still behind the cash register.

Goldie smirked and nodded.

"See? You didn't need me at all," she chuckled.

"I'm getting the feeling you're just trolling us," Jaune sighed.

"Welcome to the real world, kiddo," Goldie smirked, "Now, Cat Princess! Get on Booth 7!"

Blake, who had been staring intently at everything going on, blushed and scurried off to Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby's booth.

"Yes ma'am!"

Jaune sighed. He looked so stressed. Pyrrha frowned. She really needed to help take some of the burden off his shoulders…

"I'll just take the Baby Bear Breakfast," she said, glancing over the menu, "That looks good!"

"Ooh, let's get the cookie pancake plate, Yang!" Ruby cheered. She beamed at Blake. "It looks great! And you look great too, Blake!"

"Thank you, Ruby," Blake sighed, though she managed a slight smile at her cute team leader. The outfit did look good on her, Pyrrha had to admit.

"No Ruby, you've had enough sugar," Yang sighed. "We'll both take the Valean Omelets, with fruit on the side."

"Extra strawberries!" Ruby insisted.

Goldie cleared her throat. Jaune looked away from them.

"Come on Kid, tend to your harem later. We got more customers!"

"They're not my harem!" Jaune insisted again, as he went back to work.

"Sure they're not," Goldie chuckled.

- - -

Blake Belladonna did not read smut. Ninjas of Love and other assorted works were not just mindless, poorly constructed excuses for erotic encounters! They were intricately plotted, well characterized, and fantastically written stories of adventure, intrigue, and erotic scenes that were just as well written!

She wasn't reading cheap Valean bodice rippers, thank you very much!

She could admit though, she did tend to look for literature based upon what kind of… Erotic situations they delivered on. The writing had to be pitch perfect, of course, but she had her preferences like anyone else!

For instance, she rather enjoyed the harem genre. Usually it was just a male power fantasy, with a harem of fawning waifus who had no personality just there for the blank main character's sexual satisfaction. Most of it was trash, but the gems in the genre seemed to address more than just the petty sexual needs of the reader.

They addressed the need to feel loved, to feel cherished. Or explored the complex relationships between humans and Faunus.

It wasn't a racial thing, thank you very much! She enjoyed White Wolf for its complex dynamics of a male wolf faunus with a harem of human women who all had their own issues (many of which were solved with very intense sexual coitus, of course, but also a lot of psychological discussion and examination) as much as she enjoyed The Good Master about a group of damaged Faunus women who, with the help of a kind but firm human master, began to heal by recognizing that they didn't have to face the world alone. That they also solved those issues with intense sexual coitus did not take away from the excellent interpersonal drama and character work.

They both explored the often complex relationships between human and faunus on the personal level and definitely wasn't just for some kind of fetish.

Now though… As she served her friends breakfast, she had a realization.

Her love of erotica could be helpful to others. It could be more than just her 'weird' little hobby.

"Excuse me Mistresses, nyah," Blake murmured, as Ruby giggled. She headed back to where Jaune was finishing gathering up some dirty dishes from an empty table. She followed him into the kitchen, where he set the dishes down on the sink. He looked back over his shoulder.

"Something I can help you with, Blake?" He asked.

"Yes," she said, "What are you going to do for dates for your harem?"

"They're not…" Jaune trailed off with a sigh, "They're not my harem, all right? They all asked me on dates, and… And I'm going to try to keep them happy-"

Blake moved in front of Jaune, eyes narrowed.

"Just keep them happy? Is that all you're going to do?" She demanded.

Jaune started.

"Wha-What do you mean? They're interested in me… I guess-"

"You guess?" Blake pressed, pushing Jaune back against a wall covered in pots and pans. "Is that all you feel for them?"

Jaune glared in confused anger.

"No! Of course that's not all I-!"

"Are you just stringing them along?" Blake pressed. "Just using them for their talents, their bodies-?"

"NO!" Jaune practically yelled, his eyes burning with repressed Aura. It was strong enough Blake was almost pressed back by the sheer power he unleashed.

"No, I…" He narrowed his eyes. "I would rather die than let harm come to any one of them."

Oh. Oh wow. She felt her mouth go dry, and her cheeks flush red. The sheer sincerity in his voice, that turned what would be a cheesy line into a stone cold fact.

Just like Isaiah in "White Wolf", she thought happily. Even now, she could imagine Jaune as the White Wolf, the fearsome, damaged warrior wolf Faunus. Confronting the fearsome ninja princess Sayako about his past. Their passions would explode as the truths of their dark pasts were exposed, he pinned her against the wall and kissed her, tearing her clothes off and-

Ahem.

"If it helps," Blake said carefully, "I uh… I have experience with romantic relationships. It… It didn't end well… But I can offer what advice I can to help."

Jaune stared at her. Blake shook her head.

"I just… I just want to help. To make up for what I've done."

"You don't have to-"

"But I want to," Blake insisted, backing off and allowing Jaune to step free of the cookware. "I want… I want to make my teammates… My friends… Happy. Don't you?"

Jaune smiled, and slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I do," he said. "I just… I mean, I'm kind of dating three girls at once. I feel like a manwhore-"

"It's just dating, Jaune," Blake said quickly, "You're just going out to learn more about them in a social setting you both control. That's all. You all know about it, you all accept it."

Just like the harem in The Good Master. Jaune even resembled Troy, the human lead, in that story. He had to be tough, in charge, to keep his harem happy. That required strength, character, the ability to communicate boundaries well and to be selfless.

Being well endowed had also helped in that story but she was sure Jaune was fine in that department. He had seven siblings, after all.

"It's not like you're immediately getting married," Blake continued, "They clearly want it. Do you want it?"

"I… I don't deserve-"

"That's not what I asked," Blake said quietly, "Do you want it?"

Jaune smiled.

"To go have fun with people I care about? Yeah… Yeah, I do."

"Then just go with that," Blake said with a soft smile.

"It's just been a while since I even had a date," Jaune explained, "I mean, my mom and my sisters were pretty controlling back in Radian."

"Oh?" Blake asked, tilting her head curiously. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, in hindsight, I get that they did it because there were a lot of girls just after my family name and money. I did the same to guys who were after my sisters for the same reasons, or just for a thrill. But the furthest I ever got was a few dates out at restaurants or movies."

He scowled.

"And one girl who was just using me to get back at her ex."

Blake nodded slowly.

"Then I can help you," she said softly. "I mean… My relationship wasn't the most conventional. And honestly? It was… Not very healthy, but…" She smiled. "I'm willing to share my experience. To help you."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow. Blake nodded.

"Completely. If you'd like the help?"

He was silent for a moment, before he nodded with a smile. She rather liked it.

"I… I would like that," he said. He coughed.

"I'd better get back out there, so Goldie doesn't yell some more."

"G-Good idea," Blake said quickly.

Jaune hurried out. Blake again hesitated. She felt eyes boring into the back of her head, and slowly turned to look at the source.

Nora stared intently at her, looking just as intimidating as ever despite her cute maid outfit.

She then slowly lifted her fist… And gave Blake a big thumbs up.

"That's the way, Blakey!" Nora said cheerfully. "I'll be Auntie Nora in no time, spoiling cute little blond kittens!"

"... Thank you?" Blake managed.

"You're welcome!" Nora chirped, as she bounced off with plates of food in her hands out the swinging doors of the kitchen. Blake watched her go, then looked over at Ren, who was hard at work at the stove.

Blake opened her mouth.

"Don't ask," Ren said, "It's just how she is."

"I… See," Blake managed.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Ponce had a very long, beautiful central plaza overlooking the beach in the cove below. The tall white walls reflected the sunlight onto the beach, just as the white buildings did, making the entire town glow.

It was always warm and comforting, even with the masses of tourists and cars driving around the area.

Sun, Scarlet, and Sage were sitting at a table at an outdoor cafe with a parasol shielding it from the hot, bright sun. All in swimsuits and shirts (Though Sun's was open, as usual). All three sipped their frosty fruity drinks as they watched Neptune escort Weiss back to her sister. Weiss hugged Neptune and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, before she headed back to meet the imposing Winter. Neptune waved back with a smile and a wink.

Weiss swooned a bit, while Winter just glared death. Neptune, by sheer dint of his Mistralian nerve, waved and walked across the crosswalk toward his friends. He sat down with them at the table.

"Hey guys, what's up?" He smirked and leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on an empty one, "I was just escorting a beautiful girl around the town! How about you?"

"We were taking bets on when her older sister would kill you," Sage deadpanned.

"I think Weiss will kill him," Scarlet said with a nod, as he sipped his drink. Neptune scowled as he ordered a drink on the restaurant app on his phone.

"You're just jealous!"

"Unlikely," Sage observed, as Scarlet snorted in laughter. He then moaned.

"Shit, you made my drink come out my nose, you dick!"

"Ugh," Neptune grunted, before he looked over at Sun, "Can't one of you assholes be happy for me?"

"Dude, you are going to get yourself killed and then I'll have to find a new team member," Sun said dryly.

"I mean, does the heiress to the biggest corporation in the world seem like a pump and dump?" Scarlet asked, after wiping his nose with a napkin.

"She's not a pump and dump!" Neptune protested, as he happily accepted his fruity frosty drink from the server. "It's just a nice, fun fling!"

"I'm sure her sister will be thrilled to hear that," Sage deadpanned. Neptune scoffed.

"Look, it's a front," Neptune said, "She wants to enjoy the romance, and I'm providing it! Weiss isn't that serious about all this either!"

"She looked pretty serious about it to me," Scarlet observed. Neptune scoffed and crossed his arms petulantly.

"It's not like that! And her big sister just has to chill out! Let Weiss make her own decisions! This is just some fun for both of us!"

"So you haven't even considered the fact she might be serious about you?" Scarlet asked.

Neptune huffed.

"Not even a little!"

Sage and Scarlet both looked over at Sun. Scarlet's face was despairing, while Sage was more obliquely stoic than usual. Sun sighed.

"He's my best friend, but he really doesn't know how to use his cool the right way."

"Hey!" Neptune growled.

"I blame you for why he's like this," Scarlet stated.

"HEY!" Neptune yelped.

Sun scowled.

"You were the one who helped with his wardrobe and convinced him to dye his hair. I blame you for his douchery!"

"Please," Scarlet scoffed,"You can't blame me when you have-!"

"Peace, you two," Sage advised, "Let's just be there for him when he crashes and burns."

Scarlet nodded.

"Yes, so we can mock him."

"And maybe fix him," Sun chuckled.

"Before Winter or Weiss 'fix' him," Sage deadpanned.

"Screw you guys!" Neptune growled, as his friends laughed. Well, Sun and Scarlet laughed, Sage just kind of smirked. "And I wouldn't be talking, Sun!"

Sun gestured to himself with both hands.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're simping over your princess, bro," Neptune stated, "Just ask her out!"

"I'm not simping over her," Sun stated smoothly, as he sipped his drink, "Mm, banana. I'm texting back and forth with her because she's my responsibility! And we're friends!"

"Uh huh," Scarlet deadpanned.

"Seriously though man, just ask Blake out," Neptune stated, "Maybe you'll stop ragging on my romance if you have your own!"

Sun rolled his eyes.

"Even if I was interested… Not saying that I am!" He said quickly. "She's literally a princess, dude. You gotta do things properly."

"In that case, you had best hurry," Neptune snarked, "Or that Arc guy will add her to his harem!"

Sun rolled his eyes again. He was doing that a lot when it came to Neptune.

"What, the guy who looks like he's gone through a war? That hardcore guy? Come on, he's not some kind of playboy!"

"He literally got three girls to ask him on dates all at once!" Neptune growled. "That guy is a menace!"

"You did notice how hard it was for him to do that, correct?" Sage asked. "He clearly has had a difficult past-"

"That's like catnip to girls like Blake!" Neptune argued.

Sun raised an eyebrow, and Neptune grumbled. Scarlet interjected.

"I think he means that Arc is the noble and dark type. He pushes women away because he doesn't want to burden anyone with his inner demons. That's catnip to girls."

"He also tried to selflessly sacrifice himself for all of us," Sage added, "That tends to stick in a girl's mind."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean he'd know how to do anything about it! Besides, he's got Pyrrha Nikos," Sun said, perhaps coming off a bit defensively, "That hot blonde chick, and that cute smaller girl! He's got his hands full!"

Sun smirked and patted his stomach.

"Besides… I have abs!"

"And yet," Neptune pointed out, "Who is she spending her semester break with?"

Sun checked his scroll.

"... She's working at a cafe with Jaune," Sun read dully. At the smirks from his friends he scowled.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Honestly, I think you're better off letting her join Arc's harem," Scarlet said, "The girl is insane."

"She is not!" Sun protested. "I mean… Okay, so she's obsessive and has her issues, but who doesn't?"

Scarlet groaned and held his forehead.

"Oh Gods... You're going to try to fix her. You're in full broken bird syndrome."

"I don't want to fix her! I just want to help her!" Sun insisted. "And I'm not simping over her! See? Here I am, with my friends-who happen to be assholes-and not simping over her!"

Neptune laughed mockingly.

"Yeah buddy, sure, we totally believe you!"

"She led us into a trap against terrorists, bro," Scarlet said, "And she still thinks the White Fang can be reformed or something."

"And I got a look at her reading history," Sage deadpanned. "You know not what I have seen."

Sage's eyes were haunted. Sun snorted.

"You get flustered over holding hands with your girl!"

"Because still waters run deep," Sage stated, "In Blake's case, there are some very scary monsters in those deep waters."

"I can handle it! If I'm into her… Which I'm not saying I am," Sun went on. He glared back at the smug looks on his friends' faces. "Knock it off!"

"Give it up, Sage, there's no convincing him," Neptune said, "Sun has always had trash taste."

"Hey!" Sun protested.

"I suppose that would explain why you're his best friend," Sage deadpanned. Neptune sputtered.

"HEY!!!"

"Assholes, all of you," Sun grumbled, sipping his drink. He checked his Scroll again: Blake had just texted him.

"And what does the girl you're totally not simping over want now?" Scarlet asked.

"For your information," Sun stated, "She wants my help with Jaune's romantic life! Not that she wants to join him," he clarified, glaring at the smug Neptune, "But wants me to help him with it."

"Oh? And how would you be helping him?" Neptune mocked.

Sun smirked.

"Harem ending."

Neptune choked on his drink.

"WHAT?!"

"I take it back," Sage said, "She might not be all that bad."

"Especially if she makes Neptune have a stroke," Scarlet snickered. "It'll be more merciful than what Weiss or Winter will do to him."

"You're all just so fucking hilarious!" Neptune growled.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

It was great being back in Vale with her friends! The last week with her dad had been so heavy, she'd been begging for some kind of relief.

Not that she hated learning about her mother and spending time with her father. It… It really was nice to reconnect with her, in a way.

Even with the entire 'fate of the world' and 'being hunted for your eyes' thing.

Geez… She really needed to talk to someone about this.

But I have to trust them completely, Ruby thought to herself, even as she tore into her omelet, I have to be careful. I'd be in danger, but… So would they.

It was a sobering thought, and her earlier good cheer faded away.

"You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked, looking over at her sister curiously.

Ruby glanced up, and then put her eyes back on her plate.

"I'm… I'm fine," she murmured. "Just, uh… A little tired."

The moment she'd gotten Nora's text, she had rushed for the ferry back to Vale. And maybe abused her Semblance a lot. So she wasn't lying, exactly.

Even Pyrrha shot her a concerned look.

"Are you sure?" She asked quietly. Ruby glanced between her concerned sister and concerned… Friend? Mentor? Rival?

She needed a break.

"H-Hang on, I need to use the bathroom," she said. She scooted out of the booth, and made her way towards the restrooms.

She rounded the corner underneath the wooden signs that denoted "Men" and "Women", and nearly ran into Jaune coming out of the men's room.

"Ooh! Oh, J-Jaune!"

"Hey Ruby," Jaune said with a smile, "Sorry I haven't been around your table a lot. Been hard at work."

Ruby nodded quickly. He then frowned.

"You okay? I didn't get a good look before, sorry, but you look… Tired."

Ruby smiled awkwardly.

"I'm just… I've been…"

How did she even begin? Where did she begin? If she couldn't tell Yang, how could she tell Jaune?

"It's… Complicated," she mumbled. Jaune sighed, and took her hand. Her cheeks went bright red.

"Ah, Jaune, I-! Your job-?"

"I'm on break," he said, leading her out the back door, past knicknacks and tables, through the kitchen where Ren busily worked (she gave him a smile and he nodded back to her, finally into a cramped but fairly clean backyard.

Jaune turned around and smiled at the little reaper.

"Besides, more people come for Nora and Blake in their maid outfits."

"I-I bet you'd be great in a maid outfit!" Ruby blurted out. Jaune stared back at her, and she flushed deeply.

"I-I mean… I think you would…" She mumbled.

Jaune sighed, and scratched the back of his head. He then pulled out his Scroll, opened it, and flipped through some apps before he turned it to her.

Ruby's eyes lit up, and she held her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh at the image.

"Is that… You?! In a dress and pigtails?!"

"Yup," Jaune said, popping the 'p', as he showed off the ancient picture, "I was like, four, and my sisters are evil, evil people."

Ruby giggled. She giggled hard, bending over as it turned into a laugh.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHA! Y-You just… You keep that on your Scroll?!" She managed.

Jaune coughed.

"They… They sent me it," he said. He shrugged as he closed it back up. "Came in handy, right?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah," Ruby snickered. She looked up at him with a bright smile. "Thanks. That… That helps a lot. I feel so much better."

Jaune smiled back warmly.

"I'm glad. So… What's bugging you?"

Ruby, startled, looked up at him.

"Is… Is it that obvious?"

He grinned and shrugged.

"What? We're friends. I can tell something's bothering you."

Ruby frowned, and looked aside.

"It… Well…"

All of this was so new. So scary, so heavy.

How did she start this conversation with any of her friends? 'Hey, turns out I have magical superpowered eyes that make me a target and might get my friends killed because the fate of the world might be on my shoulders!'

Even Ruby knew that wouldn't go over well with anyone.

Jaune frowned.

"Is it the date?" He asked.

Ruby shook her head rapidly.

"N-No! No! Not at all!"

"Because if you don't want to do it, we don't have to," Jaune said gently. He chuckled. "I mean, if you wanted us to go out as friends, you just had to ask. You don't have to compete or anything-"

Ruby scowled.

"Why?" She asked. "What's wrong with me wanting to go on a date with you?"

Jaune blinked. He shrugged uneasily.

"I-I mean… There's a lot of better guys-"

"You saved my life, Jaune," Ruby stated, "You read comics and play video games with me! You bake cookies with me!"

"I haven't done a lot of that with you lately," Jaune tried joking, but Ruby was unmoved. He shook his head. "I guess… I mean, I'm not-I'm not disrespecting your feelings or anything, really."

Ruby's frown deepened.

"Is it because you don't like me?"

"No! Of course it's not that!" Jaune protested. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I like you, Ruby. I care about you, a lot. I care about all of you! Which is the problem. I just… How am I supposed to handle three girls wanting to go on dates with me all at once?"

Ruby shook her head, and shrugged helplessly.

"I-I don't… I don't know! This is the first time I-I've wanted to go on dates! That I've been interested in a boy! I-I just…" She shook her head.

"I just know that… That I want to date you. Okay? I-I trust you and like you and…" She shrugged helplessly.

"Isn't… Isn't that enough?"

Jaune stared at her. He walked up and hugged her tightly. She returned it.

"Yeah," Jaune murmured, "Yeah, it… It should be. There's just a lot about me that… That I don't know you'll like when you learn it."

He rested his chin on her head. She pouted up at him despite it.

"Well… You might not like parts of me, either," she said, "Isn't that what dating is about? Finding that stuff out? Maybe… Maybe Pyrrha and Yang won't like parts of you either. We-We'll still be friends, right?"

Jaune nodded.

"Absolutely," he said softly. Ruby beamed.

"Then… Then maybe we shouldn't overthink it?" She asked. "I-I mean… I know it can get complicated. It might get really complicated. I-I don't know anything about it and… And uh…" She trailed off, looking away in embarrassment. Jaune rubbed her back.

"Or maybe it'll work out great," he said. She glanced up at him in shock.

"You… You're being positive?" She asked.

Jaune blinked.

"Is it really that weird?"

"A-A little, yeah," Ruby said with a nod, "Usually you're kind of a grump. I mean, a nice grump but still a grump. I mean, I like you being a grump but this is… New."

"I'm… I've been talking some stuff out," Jaune admitted, "With some people. It's helped a lot."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby said, "I uh… I've done some talking about stuff, too. It helped."

She smiled at him.

"There's… I mean, there's stuff I want to talk about but can't and… Yeah. Kind of the same thing with you, I-I think? Maybe?"

Jaune slowly nodded.

"Maybe."

"Maybe stuff… We could talk about on our date?" She asked sweetly. Jaune sighed softly.

"Maybe. It might be a bit of a bummer."

"My stuff too," Ruby admitted, "But… I'm glad we can talk about it."

"Just please don't kill your sister or Pyrrha over me," Jaune said, a small smile on his face, "I'm definitely not worth it."

"The best way to do that is to make us all your girlfriends," Ruby said. Jaune blanched. "At least, that's how it works in Blake's Mistralian comics-"

"Ruby!" Jaune hissed. Ruby giggled. He sighed and shook his head.

"I thought you were so innocent."

"So does everyone," Ruby snickered, "It can come in handy sometimes."

Jaune sighed and shook his head. He ruffled her hair, which she pouted at.

"Gonna have to keep a closer eye on what you read, before Yang kicks Blake's ass."

"Nngh, stop doing that," Ruby grumbled, pushing his hand away. "I'm not a kid, you know."

"Okay, so what should I do instead?" Jaune asked. Ruby flushed and looked aside, tapping her fingers together.

"You… I mean… Yang and Pyrrha… Um… They kissed you," she mumbled. "Can't you… You know… K-Kiss me?"

Jaune stared at her. He leaned forward, slowly. Ruby's cheeks went bright red. She closed her eyes, puckered her lips…

His lips pressed against her forehead. Her eyes shot open as Jaune pulled away with a smile.

"I… I meant on the lips, you jerk!" Ruby stuttered.

"Maybe after you turn sixteen," Jaune said with a smile, and a gentle bonk to the top of her head. Ruby whined.

"Awww…!"

"But don't worry," Jaune said, patting her head, "I'm planning it out. I'll make it great for you. I promise."

Ruby pouted a bit, but her mood was much improved.

"You'd better."

"Ahem."

Both Jaune and Ruby jumped. Goldie stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Your sis and the redhead are done with their food and paying the check," she said, "They want to say goodbye to their harem lord and take their little squirt with them."

"They're not my harem," Jaune sighed, as Ruby giggled.

"After that you're bussing their table, Kid," Goldie smirked. "And you'd better keep attracting them! They tipped well!"

"Yes ma'am," Jaune sighed. Ruby took his hand and snuck a kiss to his cheek.

"Come on Jaune," Ruby said cheerfully, "Time to say goodbye to your harem~!"

"You're so unfunny!"

Ruby giggled again as Jaune led her up and out. Yang and Pyrrha were a little testy with her for holding Jaune's hand, but it made her feel good. They both got in kisses goodbye with him-Yang taking longer, and Pyrrha then wanted another kiss, but Goldie then forced them all out.

Jaune looked like he was going to protest, but a glare from Goldie and he just gave them an apologetic expression.

Ruby blew him a kiss, and beamed at Yang and Pyrrha.

"Want to go play video games?" She asked.

Pyrrha blinked.

"I… I actually haven't been able to do that a lot," Pyrrha admitted, "It was fun at Beacon."

"Then let's go game!" Ruby cheered. "To the arcade!"

"Oh, what the hell," Yang chuckled.

"Plus, Jaune likes it when we get along," Ruby said cheerfully.

Pyrrha sucked in a deep breath, and flushed. Yang blushed as well.

"Did you get that from one of Blake's books?" Yang asked, suspiciously. Ruby beamed and shook her head.

"Of course not!" She said, just as cheerfully.

She did glance back at Blake who was smiling at her through the windows as well, and waved. Blake waved back… And winked.

It was nice she had Blake to give her advice on these things, Ruby reflected, as she dragged Pyrrha and her sister off to have some fun!

- - -

Jaune gave Blake a suspicious look.

"Did you just wink at Ruby?"

"No," Blake stated calmly. "Now, go bus the tables. Then? We will be working on your dates with your harem."

"They're not my harem," Jaune said wearily.

"Not yet!" Nora said brightly. Jaune scowled at her.

"REN!"

"On it," Ren said, bonking Nora on the head.

"Owwww!"

Blake wisely held her tongue, but couldn't keep a small smile off her face.

- - -

Almost done with the semester break...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Beacon had started as the Beacon Castle for the Warrior King of Vale, several centuries back. The original architecture had been nearly all replaced, built over with the current egg-shaped exterior tower that rose up high into the sky, but some remnants of the castle and the city that once surrounded it could be found all over the grounds, from the palatial gardens and fountains that had once hosted parties and battles for the sake of Vale, to the many ruins covered in vines and grass that littered the training areas of the Emerald Forest.

While the school was closed for the semester break, Ozpin would take meetings out in the gardens. This was his favorite: The Bastinda Memorial Gardens. It was framed in white columns and arches without a roof, with long rectangular pools drawn down the center of the white tiles like morse code. White stone tables, stools and benches were artfully arranged, and flowers bloomed everywhere.

Bastinda had been a wonderful wife to his warrior king incarnation: Patient, kind, loving, and understanding. She had struggled with Ozma taking over her husband, but had stayed with him through it all. Despite the pain and loss she felt every day, as Ozma became more dominant than the love of her life. She had made Ozma feel guilty over his curse, as few ever had. She had seldom raised her voice, only taking the pain inside and being supportive, but also challenging him.

She had reminded him of Salem, before she fell. What she could have become, if they could have been happy together.

Thus, after her death, he had ensured all of his incarnations kept this garden in her memory, with her favorite flowers, Galucium, or the horned poppies. They came in yellow and red, bringing a splash of color to the usually austere garden fountains and statues.

They were also toxic, which had the benefit of keeping most garden pests away.

A pity it does not work on politicians, Ozpin lamented, as he sipped his coffee and looked over at his mealtime companion: One Rufus Winchesterm Councilman of Vale. He was a tall man dressed in a burgundy suit, with a bright red tie over his white undershirt. His waistcoat was black, and stretched slightly from his belly growing only a bit larger than his still formidable muscles. His dark red hair was receding, with stripes of white running over his temples, but his most distinctive features were his handlebar mustache, his keen, gray eyes, and the red of his cheeks as he ranted.

"It's completely ridiculous, Ozpin! On the face of it, no matter how you look at it!"

The tall, beefy man waved his hands animatedly, as though trying to grasp the concepts he was yelling about.

"These Grimm attacks, the White Fang raids, the Dust shortage-All of these are higher priorities than this nonsense being pushed by Glocken! Why are we worrying about unionization and discrimination when some kind of horrible invasion might be at our doorstep?! It's completely idiotic!"

"Calm yourself Rufus," Ozpin said, as Rufus rose to his feet and began to pace.

"Bad enough the Vytal Festival is upon us-These endless raids are overwhelming the local militias and police! Even the Valean Rangers aren't able to keep up!" Rufus wagged his finger in the air. "They're packing military grade equipment and we can't figure out how! It's getting dangerous out there, Ozpin! We can't just ignore all this in favor of some media crusade against discrimination or leave it all to an overstretched Atlas! That bloody Glocken is playing to the crowd while the country burns!"

He turned to Ozpin and shook his fist.

"As stunning as it may sound to you, Ozpin, I don't enjoy seeing people get killed!" He snarled. "We need to take action, NOW!"

He slammed his fist on the table, nearly upsetting the plate of cookies and coffee pot. Ozpin steadied the table, and scowled up at Rufus. Rufus coughed, and pulled his hand back.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, "It's hard not to see those young men and women coming back in body bags, and think about my son or daughter being the next victims."

He scowled.

"You might think I'm just manipulating you, Ozpin, and damnit, maybe I am! But I do actually give a damn about our people and I want you to give a damn with me!"

"I agree," Ozpin said.

"I know you've got a hundred arguments about why we need to pass this bill to get what's needed," Rufus continued, as though he had not heard Ozpin at all, "I know damnit, that's how politics works! We all have a share and we all need to work together to get it! Of course I know that's how the game is played! But we all have a common interest in not dying! I know you think I'm some kind of blowhard-"

"I don't, actually," Ozpin said, and Rufus kept going.

"-but I'm a blowhard with a point and we need to get my proposal passed, damnit! What do you say?"

Ozpin stared at him for a long moment.

"I agree with everything you're saying, Rufus," Ozpin said.

Rufus blinked a few times.

"I… What?"

"I agree," Ozpin said with a nod. "Would you care to sit down, Rufus? Or would you like to ignore me in favor of another rant? I don't know about you, but I am a busy man."

Rufus looked caught between a scowl and laughter, before he sat down.

"You could have stopped me a bit sooner," Rufus muttered.

"It would have taken more effort than I was prepared to exert," Ozpin said, still amused, "Besides, you were on a roll."

"Then… You do believe in re-establishing the Valean Defense Force?" Rufus asked, hopefuly.

"I do," Ozpin said.

Winchester chuckled. He shook his head.

"Forgive me. It's… A surprise. I know we have rarely seen eye to eye, Ozpin."

"True," Ozpin agreed with a nod and sip of his coffee, "But it has only been out of principle. Which is something I appreciate."

"Is that so?"

"I would rather an enemy who opposes me out of a genuine belief that I am wrong, than sycophants who will say yes to everything I say. It is... Refreshing, after a fashion."

"I would take that as a compliment but I feel that it would also be an insult," Rufus muttered. Ozpin chuckled.

"Take it as you like. I do agree we have become far too reliant upon Atlas-All of us have."

"We won the war and they became our mercenaries," Rufus snorted, "Sometimes I wonder if they were the true winners. Our militias just can't handle this rise in activity and Atlas has too many commitments as it is!"

"That said," Ozpin interjected, "Atlas' reaction to a military build up might be problematic. Another Great War is in no one's interests."

Rufus nodded.

"If we must, we can buy from them to get our army started, until our domestic production is able to meet demand. They will probably try to drag it out, make us reliant on them as long as possible."

Ozpin nodded back.

"Indeed. But those are growing pains in a necessary process."

"Mm," Rufus said, eying the cookies and coffee. He finally took some coffee from the pot into a mug, and prepared it with the barest hint of sugar and cream before he imbibed.

"Ah… South Vacouan, very nice."

"My preferred brand," Ozpin said, "I can support this... If you will support the Faunus Rights bill being considered."

Rufus looked up from his coffee, and scowled over it.

"I can't do that, Ozpin. Not how it's written."

Ozpin sighed.

"Rufus, it is this stubbornness that makes the media paint you as a racist."

"They'd paint me that anyway if it got their darlings more power," Rufus sneered, "Look, we don't want to end up like Mistral, do we? Every single effort at 'equality' has been used to split up the various factions and ethnic groups even more, pitting them against one another to seize more and more for the ruling elite! That has resulted in a country that looks more like dozens of smaller, constantly feuding countries! Do we want that here, too? Faunus and men are equal. The law must reflect that."

Ozpin was silent for a moment, considering things, before he answered.

"... I agree there are issues there. But with the White Fang activity, the Council wishes to convince the Faunus that we are not the enemy."

"And pandering to them has always brought the greatest results? We need a bill, that's not just about Faunus but for all living beings, we need a Universal Civil Rights Bill. That is something I could support, but not what will effectively create a caste system that will breed resentment and hatred! The very things the Grimm feed upon!"

Rufus drank his coffee, and ate a few pastries. He wiped his mustache clean with a napkin as Ozpin silently thought things over.

At last, the Beacon Headmaster let out a long sigh.

"... I can use up a favor to get it sent back to committee, and keep it there until next year. But this issue is not going to go away, Rufus."

Rufus smiled slightly. It was a rare thing to see, but then, the stubborn man rarely gave an inch on anything.

"I never said it would... But we need better ways to approach it. Not unless we're going to end up fighting eachother as much as the Grimm. Still... A favor?"

"I will make noises about how we are putting militarism over domestic civil rights... As I must." Ozpin sipped his coffee. "In return... You have the contract for the city's defense systems, correct?"

"Yes, Winchester Arms does handle that. They're mostly Atlas-based systems but we build them domestically with our own code."

Ozpin leaned in.

"How sure are you of their preparedness?"

Rufus frowned in some concern and confusion.

"Very sure."

Ozpin nodded.

"Good. I want to know as much about the city's defenses as possible. Every weak point, every gap, anything that can be exploited."

The Winchester patriarch's frown deepened, drawing lines in his forehead.

"May I ask why?"

"Not right now."

"... Is this related to the Grimm migrations?"

Ozpin kept his body language and facial expressions perfectly neutral. He had more than enough practice at it, after all.

"They might be. Let's just say, I want every option available for now. If I'm wrong? Then at least I better know how the city is defended."

"If you're right?" Rufus pressed.

Ozpin met his urgent gaze with one of cold detachment.

"... Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he said. "Also, you must rein in your efforts to go behind the Council's back."

Rufus coughed, and looked to the side.

"I… Don't know what you're talking about-"

"The riders attached to Bills 204.4, 204.5, 205.5, 207.8," Ozpin recited, "All meant to invoke Articles 9 and 11 for the creation and provisioning of militias and issuance of letters of marque."

Ozpin arched his eyebrow at the slightly uncomfortable looking Councilman.

"It is fortunate indeed that no one read through those Articles of the constitution for those riders because they were attached to farming bills," Ozpin said dryly, "And that the budgets for such things have not been touched since the Great War due to interlocking amendments to keep the government solvent. Otherwise they might have said you were raising your own army."

Rufus sighed, and looked Ozpin in the eye as a few birds tittered nearby.

"Even if the VDF bill passes, it will still take time to get it up and running," he said, "We need military forces yesterday. It's not like I just started tossing out Letters of Marque to any idiot air pirate or mercenary company I ran across!"

Ozpin sighed heavily.

"Then who did you give these letters to?"

"The Merry Men Convoy, the Ali Baba Company," and here Rufus did manage a slight smile, "And the Jolly Roger Pirates."

Ozpin stared at Rufus in disbelief.

"What? They're mercenaries at worst!" Rufus protested. "They never go after individual towns! They follow rules of engagement!"

Ozpin sighed and pushed up his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I am well aware of that, Rufus… But did you have to choose companies that are so very… Eccentric?"

Rufus sipped his coffee and snorted.

"I wouldn't be talking about eccentric companions if I were you, Ozpin."

Ozpin met his stare evenly and finished his coffee before he reached out to pour himself more.

"... Touché, Rufus. Touché. You, however, are taking responsibility for the headaches they cause."

"I knew what I was signing up for," Rufus shrugged. He hesitated for a moment, bird song filling the air and attempting to lift the suddenly awkward atmosphere.

"So… How is my son doing?"

"Very well," Ozpin said, "He had some issues at the start, but he has evened out. I believe his new girlfriend is helping with that."

Rufus raised his faded eyebrows.

"Girlfriend, you say?"

Ozpin held back a smirk.

"Yes. You can ask him all about it at dinner."

He had to take his victories where he could, after all.

- - -

Bastinda is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West in the Russian version of "The Wizard of Oz". Hence why her favorite flower is a poppy.

"Rufus" means "Redhaired", a fitting name for Cardin Winchester's father.

And you can guess the references in the PMCs that Winchester has hired. We will meet one in the next chapter which will finish up the Semester Break Arc.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Sparring with Pyrrha, even when she was being as careful and low level as possible, was always a challenge. The woman was a beast, no question. It felt like it took everything Jaune had just to keep up with her, and she wasn't even trying.

But it gave him a goal. To be that good, or at least close to it, some day.

Just so he could fight alongside her properly, and give her some real support.

Three four six... Six two three...!

"Don't think about the positions, just move!" Pyrrha coached, her blade clashing with his, "Without thought! Don't hesitate!"

Jaune tried to parry her next blow and knock it out of her hand, but she saw his attempt and with a flick, tried to do the same. He twisted his arm too late and Crocea Mors flew out of his right hand.

Her blade danced as she thrust right for his chest. He pulled up his gauntlet instinctively to deflect... And three sharp, backwards-angled blades slid out of his gauntlet.

"What the-?!"

Pyrrha too was surprised as Milo slid in between two of the blades. In her shock and with his arm waving... Her sword came out of her hand and tumbled to the floor.

"URK!"

Her fist, out of instinct, traveled the rest of the way to hit Jaune right in his solar plexus and down he went.

"AH! JAUNE! I'M SORRY!"

- - -

Weiss was doing some studying in the common room when the door slammed open. A very unhappy Jaune stormed in, wearing his full armor. Pyrrha wandered in after, looking sheepish.

"Arc."

"Schnee. Do you know anything about..."

He held up his gauntlets and the blades snapped out on either side.

"These?!"

Weiss blinked.

"Yes? They're traditional Atlesian gauntlet blades. They're designed to help you parry or entrap an opponent's blades, or get a grip if you slip on an ice sheet. I thought you might like them."

"I..." Jaune looked over at the still sheepish Pyrrha, before looking back at Weiss. "I appreciate them. Really. Just would have been nice knowing I had them."

Weiss scoffed.

"What, you didn't look up anything on the upgrades I bought you? You didn't ask Schwartz?"

"I didn't know I had them!" Jaune said, exasperated. "They didn't activate until today!"

Weiss blinked.

"Really? I thought you would have lost your sword again before now. I suppose you're making progress, of a sort."

Jaune glared at her before he turned and headed for Team RWBY's dorm.

"I'm breaking Myrtenaster with these things."

"OH NO YOU'RE NOT!"

- - -

Yes they are basically like Batman's gauntlets.

In this case it is a shout out but it does actually fit with the universe and the gift Weiss made of the armor upgrades to Jaune. And they will come in... Handy?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Weiss had just settled in for the night, practically dancing on the air as she laid down into her comfortable bed in the Chateau D'Aulnoy. Her thoughts were light and happy, as she sighed and snuggled into her sheets.

A week. A week of romance with her first boyfriend, Neptune! He'd been such a gentleman! He had gone swimming with her, explored the cliffs, toured the city, and they'd had so many meals! He'd been endlessly warm and polite and complimentary! He had held her hand, and kissed it, and been so gallant and kind!

He had often seemed distracted at times, which had been a bit annoying. Especially around other women. She'd worked hard to keep his attention on her.

She should have been the center of his attention in all ways! Who did he think he was?

Though honestly, he was probably intimidated by Winter. Winter had followed them around, never overbearing but always around. She supposed she couldn't blame him. Winter intimidated her.

She appreciated her older sister's concern but really! She could handle herself!

Otherwise, it was a lot of fun. It was probably the most fun she'd had in a long, long time.

Even with Winter's overly protective tendencies.

Weiss was just about to drift off to sleep, hopefully with dreams of her wonderful first boyfriend… When the peace of the night was shattered by loud music and raucous singing.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me
We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me~!"

Weiss groaned and sat up.

"What is going on…?"

She got up out of bed and stalked to the window. She cast open the curtains and glared out.

"Who is making all that… Racket?!"

A gigantic red and gold airship was hovering alongside Ponce, over the beach. It was long and large, at least 200 meters long from Weiss' quick estimation. It had a massive, sleek hull, dagger shaped, with large Dust-powered engines in huge nacelles near the aft with long, trailing wings to aid it in flight. It had intimidating triple gun turrets on the dorsal and ventral sides, with several smaller guns all along the hull. A tall, swept back, fin-shaped mast stood on the top deck, covered in antennas and sensors, which made the entire vessel resemble a gigantic, sky-going shark.

And lit up with lights, a large black flag with a skull and crossbones waved from the mast.

From her studies of history, Weiss recognized it as a Valean Montana-class air battleship, one of the last ever built for Vale. Only one had been finished, but it had been left in drydock for decades before they decided to scrap it. She knew this because the SDC had been contracted to scrap it while her grandfather and her uncle were still in charge.

When they'd come to the drydock though, the battleship had vanished. It had been stolen and christened with a name that would strike fear into hearts across Remnant:

The Jolly Roger.

Smaller airships, mostly commercial or light patrol models, darted around Ponce, all painted in similar red and gold colors. One flew past Weiss' hotel window with a roar, and she shrieked in surprise. Yet even louder than the engines was the singing!

"We kindle and char and enflame and ignite
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho
We burn up the city, we're really a fright
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho~!"

Winter burst into the room, already in her battle uniform and wielding her sword.

"Weiss! Get dressed, get your weapon, they're pirates!" Winter cried.

Weiss complied, yanking on her combat outfit and taking up Myrtenaster. She grabbed any stock of Dust she had on hand and got ready in a few minutes. Outside, numerous pirates were spilling out of Dustcraft, into shops, bars and across the Ponce boulevard.

Winter and Weiss leaped out the window and landed on the main thoroughfare of Ponce, just as one of the many dust craft landed before them: An Atlesian gunship, painted in red and black stripes. Several other dust craft flew around them, spotlights illuminating the two Schnee sisters. Weiss held up her hand and scowled against the brightness, even as Winter stood firm.

The hatch on the gunship opened, and several air pirates ran out. All dressed in combat armor vests, boots, with guns and swords at their sides over their multicolored clothing. They formed an honor guard around the ramp of the gunship, and stood at attention as a man stepped out.

He was tall-Almost seven feet tall. His hair was black and curly, tied in a tail behind him. His face was almost aristocratic with his high cheekbones and pointed chin, with an immaculately tended beard to frame his face. His eyes were black as the night and swept over the area with a keen gaze.

He wore a broad-brimmed burgundy hat, topped with a black Nevermore feather. His pants were black and his shirt white, underneath a deep red greatcoat, and his boots were well travelled and up to his knees. Pouches hung from his belt, along with a well used cutlass. His left hand was normal flesh, but his right was shiny and metallic, flexing at some unconscious musing.

He stepped out onto the pavement of Ponce, his gaze finally zeroing in on Winter and Weiss. He showed no fear, no malice-Just a hard, unrelenting determination. If the situation were not so dire, Weiss might have called the older man handsome.

"Ladies," the man spoke with a smooth baritone voice, "Captain Jim Silverhand, at your service." He doffed his hat and bowed.

"What does the most infamous Valean air pirate want with a resort town?!" Winter demanded, pointing her sword at him.

"Yeah!" Weiss declared, pointing her own blade at the man.

Captain Silverhand stood back up with an almost charming smile.

"Why… We are here to celebrate!" He cried, holding his arms up, "Isn't that right, lads?!"

"YAR!" Bellowed his crew, from the dust craft to the pirates with him.

"You won't get past us!" Winter snarled.

"But you must," Silverhand chuckled. "For if you don't, the consequences will be most… Dire."

The pirates with him tensed, their hands on their weapons. Winter shifted into her combat position, as did Weiss.

"Weiss, I'll hold them off. You run and raise the alarm," Winter muttered to her younger sister.

Weiss stared in shock.

"Sister?"

"I'll handle this, you need to-!"

"Dad?!"

The tension was broken as both parties turned to look over at Team SSSN. Scarlet was staring in shock and disbelief, as Sun, Neptune, and Sage stood ready with their weapons.

Silverhand's expression abruptly changed from shock… To joy.

The pirate captain moved, and Winter made to strike to protect the young man. Silverhook however moved too fast for her reflexes, and in an instant, he was…

Embracing the redheaded teenager?

"SCARLET! MY SON! How are you?" Silverhand laughed, patting the shorter man on the back, "Look at you! Are you eating enough, son? Are these reprobates taking care of you?"

"Uh, yeah, Captain Silverhand, sir," Neptune managed, as dumbfounded as anyone not a pirate or Scarlet. "We are.

"Totally," Sun said, raising an eyebrow. Sage looked almost amused.

"Son…?" Weiss managed.

Scarlet pushed Silverhand away with a scowl.

"I'm fine, Dad! Seriously, what the hell is going on?! Why are you all flying around and making a ruckus?! You're scaring everyone to death!"

Silverhand looked a bit embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I wanted to find you and celebrate the good news!" He looked over his shoulder. "SMIEGEL!"

A shorter man in battle vest over a blue and white striped shirt darted out from behind the taller pirates. His hair was white, his blue eyes magnified behind spectacles, and he carried a Scroll rather than a weapon.

"Yes sir, Captain!" Smiegel cried, skidding to a halt in front of Scarlet and his captain, "Young Master Scarlet, the good news!"

He held up his Scroll and projected a large legal form. Winter and Weiss read it quickly, Winter finishing first with a disbelieving scowl.

"'Letter of Marque, issued by the Valean Government?!'"

"That is correct," Silverhand said cheerfully, "My fleet have gone legit! We are now part of the Valean Defense Forces… Such as they are!"

"You and your gang of ruffians?!" Weiss cried in disbelief. Silverhand grinned.

"Absolutely! We've all received a blanket pardon, and can now go about as lawful citizens!"

"Let me see that!" Winter demanded, looking over the Letter of Marque with a scowl. Smiegel looked over at Silverhand, who then nodded.

"But of course! Miss Schnee, Miss Schnee, you will find the documentation authentic, and my crew's behavior beyond reproach!"

A pirate was thrown out of a nearby bar. The man snarled, stood up, and pulled out his gun.

"I'll teach you to-!"

"HAWKINS!" Silverhand barked. Hawkins winced and looked over to Silverhook.

"Captain, I-I was just-!"

"We shall comport ourselves as gentlemen, Mister Hawkings!" Silverhand barked, "Or I'll keelhaul you!"

Hawkins shook and saluted.

"Aye-aye, sir!"

Silverhand smirked over at Winter, who scowled angrily back.

"As you can see, Miss Schnee, unless we are violating any laws, we cannot be impeded-Certainly not by a foreign agent."

"You… You're violating airspace!" Weiss tried. Silverhand looked over at Smiegel, who checked his Scroll.

"Aye sir, we might be loitering."

"Ugh," Silverhand sighed, "Pay the bloody fine!" He looked back to his son with a bright smile. "So, how are you, my lad?"

"I was better before you dropped in," Scarlet grunted. "Seriously, what is all this?!"

Silverhand sighed and shook his head.

"Right… I knew you'd be upset," he said. He turned to his pirates. "Crew! The song!"

"Aye sir!" His pirates cried. They produced musical instruments, and Silverhand held a tuning pipe to his lips. He blew it, producing an A. He nodded.

"Right, begin men!" Silverhand shouted.

The pirates began to play a jaunty tune, and the lead began to sing.

"It's okay to be gay, let's rejoice with the boys in the gay way
Hooray for the kind of man that you will find in the gay way-!"

"NO!" Silverhand bellowed, as Scarlet gaped in utter mortification, "NOT THAT ONE! WE ALREADY DID THAT ONE!"

Smiegel smacked every one of the pirate musicians, who all took the punishment stoically.

Sun and Neptune were coughing suspiciously behind their hands. Sage shook his head. Weiss wondered when this had become her life.

"Right, the other song-"

"I DON'T NEED A SONG!" Scarlet growled. Silverhand stared.

"You used to love singing along with the crew!"

Scarlet swept his hand through his hair, irritated.

"Yeah, when I was eight! Seriously Dad, what the hell?! Why are you doing all this?!"

"I just wanted to celebrate with my beloved son," Silverhand shot back, "Come on, lad! Isn't this what you were so upset about? You went off to be a hunter because you didn't want to be a pirate!"

"I didn't!" Scarlet growled. "So what changed, huh?!"

Silverhand sighed, and doffed his hat again. He pressed it to his chest, as the pirate band began to play somber music.

"Last year, we ran across a lad trying to make his way to Vale to become a Huntsman," he said, "A plucky boy, running away from home, defying his family. It wasn't an easy decision for him to make, but he still stuck to it. He was impetuous, and got in constant trouble… But he was a good lad, and earned my respect. Because I realized…"

Silverhand looked over at Scarlet, his face dark with emotion.

"He had become a man. He was no longer a boy. And you must respect a man's choices."

He looked into Scarlet's eyes, somber and serious.

"You had become a man, and I didn't respect your choices," he said softly, "Can you forgive me, Scarlet? Can you forgive your captain, your father, his mistake?"

Scarlet's mouth opened and closed a few times. He coughed and looked aside.

"I… Of course, Dad," Scarlet managed.

Silverhand held out his arms. Scarlet sighed, and stepped up to hug his father. They embraced.

"Awww," the pirates all cooed. Smiegel sniffled and wiped his eyes. Weiss, despite the ridiculousness of the situation, felt a bit touched and jealous of the obvious fatherly love and care the pirate captain was showing his son.

"Brings a tear to the eye," Neptune snarked.

"So wholesome," Sun sighed.

"I am very moved," Sage deadpanned.

"You assholes can shut up!" Scarlet snarled.

Silverhand laughed and patted his son on the shoulder.

"Well! That clear everything up, Miss Schnee?" He asked Winter. He looked over at Weiss. "Miss Schnee?"

Winter sighed heavily.

"If your men cause any trouble, you will answer to me," she growled. Silverhook grinned and nodded.

"Of course, miss, of course. NOW! Let's go drink and sing! DRINK UP, ME HEARTIES, YOHOOOO~!"

They headed off to a nearby bar, along with the rest of the pirates. Winter followed with a scowl. Weiss watched them go. She looked over at Neptune, who was grinning.

"Neptune?"

"Oh! Hey Weiss!" Neptune said. He closed the distance between them and embraced her. "You weren't scared, I hope? I'd have fought all those pirates for you."

Weiss flushed. Sun and Sage both rolled their eyes. Ugh, boys.

"I uh, I'm fine, thank you," she said with a smile. She shook her head. "Honestly? This has just been too… Weird. I kind of want to just… Go to bed."

Neptune waggled his eyebrows.

"Oho? I like forward girls."

Weiss went bright red, and giggled nervously.

"I-I mean… I didn't mean… Well… I mean… We… We might-"

"Weiss!" Winter called. Weiss and Neptune looked back at Winter, who scowled at them.

"We'll be keeping an eye on the pirates tonight. Sun Wukong! Your team too," she stated, glancing at Sun.

Sun sighed, and shrugged.

"As you wish, miss," he said. "Come on men. And Weiss… And Neptune."

"HEY!" Neptune growled, as his two friends headed off after Winter. Weiss chuckled.

"It… It's all right, Neptune," Weiss said with a smile, "I-I'm sure we'll get the chance for you to show your… Manliness, later at Beacon?"

Neptune glanced at her, and put on a charming smile. He took Weiss's hand.

"Of course, Snow Angel. Anything you like."

Her heart fluttered as she followed Neptune along. Even amongst all these raucous, poorly groomed pirates, it was still an amazing time.

Still… She really did look forward to returning to Beacon. It was sure to be much quieter, if nothing else. Even with her ridiculous friends.

- - -

Back in Vale, Cinder Falls looked out onto Vale from the room of the safehouse. It was up in a highrise building, a modern, blocky thing with no personality. She and her teammates were nothing but anonymous boarders among thousands, all populating the great tower like termites in a mound.

She stared out across the great expanse of Vale, the lights of the city forming a starry sky to reflect the work of the gods above. The broken moon shone down upon it.

The great white tower of Beacon shone, as though something divinely crafted. Like it was a symbol of hope.

Cinder sneered, even as her teammates slept peacefully behind her.

"Your false hope will fall, Ozpin," she growled, "And I will show the world the truth. A truth that will burn your world…"

She snapped her fingers, and flames burned in the palm of her hand.

"To ashes."

- - -

Naturally Captain Silverhand and Smiegel are basically Captain Hook and Smee from "Peter Pan". Since Scarlet is a Peter Pan reference, it seemed logical for him to have some pirate (adopted) family.

The Jolly Roger is named a Montana-class air battleship, after the last battleships ever designed for the US Navy, the Montana-class. Montana is named for the Spanish word for "mountain", so it fits into Remnant fairly easily. She is named for Captain Hook's ship from "Peter Pan", and for the Jolly Roger flag typically flown by pirates.

Now all we need is Cardin and Velvet's views of the Semester break, which UnknownAnon has been graciously writing for me!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"So," Winter began, as the sisters enjoyed their last day at Ponce at a beachside cafe, "You are still happy with Neptune?"

Weiss sighed, a bit irritated.

"Yes Winter, I am very happy with him."

"And not at all interested in Jaune Arc?" She pressed.

Weiss turned bright red.

"C-Certainly not! That ruffian cuffed me in the back of the head like I was a misbehaving child! He punched me in the face during combat training and alleged I was frigid! He-He enjoys being out in the wild and always goes around as a filthy mess! Ugh! He's such an uncivilized lout!"

Weiss's Scroll pinged, and she scowled. She held up a picture that Ruby had sent her.

"See? My team leader sent me a picture of him living like a-a bohemian! Right in our dorms!"

Winter stared intently at the picture of Jaune Arc, wearing only an apron and boxers, serving breakfast to his appreciative teammates. She slowly sipped her coffee, and daintily wiped her lips with a napkin before she spoke.

"Is he single?"

Weiss gaped at her sister.

"WHAT?!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The last week of the semester break was busy as hell. When not working at the Just Right Bakey and Café, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Blake trained. Blake and Nora picked up the Aura Strength Enhancement Technique very quickly, and Blake taught Jaune some tricks to get better control over Golden Lion's Roar.

He had ended up blowing up a cabin at the Berdea Coastal Park, but they'd run before the cops could show up.

Their friends had kept visiting, of course. That wasn't too stressful, for the most part. Yang made him laugh easily, Ruby actually shared her comics, and Pyrrha... Well, he was able to bond with her properly. She was really trying.

Right now Pyrrha, Yang, and Ruby were at what had become their usual booth at the café. Jaune had brought them their lunch, and was lingering a bit while Nora and Blake handled the other tables.

Pyrrha had her Scroll out and scowled as she furiously swiped her fingers over the screen.

"I did promotions for games featuring my likeness," she said, "But I had no idea they were so..." She grimaced. "Bad."

"Oh yeah," Ruby said with a nod, "They're mostly knockoffs of God of Strife."

"Though there was that one that was a knockoff of the Dark Paladin: Paradigm City game series," Jaune pointed out, as he poured them more water. Pyrrha looked up at him in shock.

"O-Oh?" She asked.

"Yeah," Jaune said with a nod, "It basically just ported the same combat system and some kind of story where you fight a criminal syndicate? It was really confusing."

Ruby made a face.

"Ugh, yeah, that game. Dark Paladin is way better, really." She turned to Pyrrha with a bright smile.

"Do you have 'Amazon Vision', Pyrrha?" Ruby asked cheerfully, "That lets you see through clothes and walls and stuff?"

"Er, um, n-no," Pyrrha managed, shaking her head, and glancing significantly at Jaune. Jaune smirked a little.

"Good to know," he quipped, as Yang snickered.

"She'd never get anything done," she said. She looked Jaune up and down and licked her lips, "Neither would I~."

Jaune flushed a bit. He cleared his throat.

"That game was still pretty terrible, no offense Pyrrha," he said.

"N-None taken," Pyrrha managed.

Nora passed by behind Jaune with a full platter of food.

"Though your ass looked amazing in that game, Pyr~!" Nora said, sing-song, as she danced by the table. Pyrrha turned bright red, as did Ruby and Jaune. Pyrrha then looked intently at Jaune, a question in her eyes.

"Um... Well...?"

Jaune glanced at Yang. The blonde was grinning. He then looked over at Goldie, who smirked.

He turned back and shook his head.

"What?"

"You know, which ass is better?" Yang teased. "The game or the real version? Which one have you stared at longer?"

"I'm not answering that," Jaune stated flatly.

The door opened and the bell rang. Jaune turned and headed up to meet him with a smile. A tall Faunus man entered, with feral-looking sideburns and muscular, hairy arms. He wore a simple white button-up shirt, over which he wore a black vest with black dress pants.

"Hello Master, welcome to the Just Right Cafe," Jaune said with a bow, "How may I serve you?"

"A table in the back and some coffee," the man said with a pleasant smile. Jaune nodded and led him there. He sat down at the small table, and Jaune quickly grabbed some coffee and a mug and brought it over to him. He poured the coffee, and the man gratefully took it.

He sniffed the coffee and smiled before adding some cream and sugar. He then sipped it.

"Ah... That's the stuff," he sighed, "I'll take the full Big Bear Breakfast meal. Runny eggs, with sausage and Albion muffins and grape jam."

"Right sir," Jaune said cheerfully. He turned... And nearly jumped out of his skin at Blake's sudden appearance. She scowled at the man, her fists tense and her knuckles white.

"Blake?" Jaune muttered.

"Tukson," Blake hissed. The Faunus man looked up at Blake, still sipping his coffee calmly.

"Lady Belladonna," Tukson greeted gently, "I see you also left the White Fang."

Blake scowled. Jaune immediately put a hand on her shoulder, his Aura ready to flare.

"You think that I would believe that?" Blake asked in quiet rage. Tukson continued to sip his coffee, looking unconcerned.

"Really, Your Highness," Tukson said, "If I was here to kill you, would I really just walk in through the door?" He raised an eyebrow at her attire. "Though you dying in that outfit would be a propaganda win for Sienna Khan."

Blake growled, and Jaune held her more tightly. Goldie walked up, scowling.

"Hey, Tukson. You're not tormenting Kitty Princess, are you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tukson said, gently amused, "Why would I do that to such a charming waitress?"

Blake seethed a bit more. Goldie stood between them.

"Be nice, both of you," she stated calmly. She smiled at Blake.

"He left. Perrito helped him," she said softly. "You're safe."

Blake relaxed a bit, but her glare remained. Goldie turned back and glared at Tukson.

"You behave, or I'll have Perrito bring out the eyes!" Goldie hissed.

Tukson grimaced, and nodded quickly.

"Yes ma'am," he said.

Goldie headed off into the kitchen. Jaune looked at Blake.

"You okay?"

"I will be," she murmured, "Go get his food."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Don't poison it too much."

"Of course," Jaune deadpanned. He headed off to the kitchen, to give Ren the line order. He tried to keep his eyes on Blake whenever possible though.

- - -

Blake and Tukson stared each other down. Tukson continued to sip his coffee, his body language a bit tense as he tried to look composed.

"Honestly, I'm flattered you knew me by name," he said.

"You were the treasurer for the Vale branch," Blake stated, "It pays to know who handles the money."

Tukson chuckled tightly.

"Yeah. I think your father said something similar," he said. He looked at her intently. "I'm no threat to you, Princess. I got out of the White Fang. I have no loyalties to them any longer. Just like you, hm?"

Blake continued to scowl.

"I hope so," she said softly. Tukson nodded, and looked off at Goldie.

"Her husband was a frequent target of us in Vale," he said, "For bullying. He married a human and is doing well." He snorted.

"His family demonstrated why this was a bad idea."

Blake nodded slowly.

"I can see why."

"Well... I went myself to see who the hell his guy was," he said. "We sat down and just... Talked." He bowed his head.

"What it boiled down to," he said quietly, "Was that we were trying to destroy the lives of Faunus and humans who were living together, in harmony. The way we had hoped things would work out... In the beginning."

Blake kept her face carefully neutral, even as her emotions again surged behind her eyes. Tukson looked back up to her with a small smile.

"I own a bookstore now," he said, "Up in the Middle City. Decent rent, good neighborhood. It's... It's nice."

"I..." Blake nodded, "I'm glad to hear it."

Jaune finally came back, carrying plates of food. Tukson pulled his arms back from the table, as Jaune set it all down in front of him. The blond butler smiled.

"Your food, sir," he said. Tukson nodded.

"Thank you, young man. You Lady Blake's partner?"

"Er... We're just friends," Jaune said. Tukson smiled.

"Good. We all need friends, especially in these times."

He dug into his food, eating happily, before he pulled out his Scroll and began to peruse it. Jaune beamed.

"Yes sir..." He looked over at Blake. "Blake?"

"Right," Blake murmured. She turned away and got back to work.

"You okay?" Jaune muttered back.

Blake slowly nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah. I..." She looked back at Tukson, before turning back to Jaune, "Yeah. I am... I will be."

Ren walked by, carrying a full platter of food.

"Your harem's getting antsy, Jaune," Ren said.

"Right, I'll get back to them," Jaune said quickly. He then glared after Ren.

"They're not my harem!"

Blake laughed softly.

Maybe she would visit Tukson's bookshop next weekend, after their first week back at the Semester. Things were a bit awkward still. It was better to give it some time. She imagined he didn't like reminders of the White Fang any more than she did.

It was nice that an intrusion from her past life was... Peaceful.

It gave her hope for the future.

- - -

After breakfast, Tukson returned back to his bookstore. It was in the Middle City section, mainly built right after the Great War and right before the Faunus Revolution. The building was a white Garibaldian style, but the storefront was fairly classic commercial style with large windows below the sign displaying "Tukson's Book Trade".

He entered the warm, homey shop with a soft sigh, turning the Closed Sign around to Open. He made his way to the front desk where the register sat, and took his place behind it. He took a last sip of his coffee, which he had brought with him from Just Right.

It was a bit of a trek, but it was worth it for the connection with Goldie and her family. Pity he couldn't see Perrito today, but he would catch up with him next weekend. They were both so busy...

The door bell rang, and Tukson looked up with a smile. Two human teenagers entered: A dark skinned girl with green hair, and a gray-haired teenager in dark blue clothing.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, may I help you?"

The teenaged boy grinned, violence burning in his eyes. The green-haired girl smirked nastily. Tukson grit his teeth, and his claws extended from his fingers.

"You're direct. I like that," the boy said. He swung his legs out at Tukson, and Dust rounds went off!

Tukson dove away as the blasts tore apart the bookshelves behind him. He pulled out his Dust gun and opened up on both of them with an angry growl.

The two teenagers took the hits... And faded away. Tukson's eyes widened.

"Wha-?!"

Pain screamed from his stomach. He looked down and saw a dagger shoved into his belly, held by the green-haired woman. He looked up just in time to see the boy swinging his foot right at his face.

Strangely, his last thoughts drifted back to his old friends. His saviors.

Perrito... I'm sorry I won't make it to our next session...

Then everything went black.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Pyrrha was trying as hard as she could to keep her emotions under control. She was so giddy though-She would be back with her team! Back with her friends!

BACK WITH JAUNE!

No, no. She had gotten a taste of freedom. She'd... She'd binged a little, but thanks to her time with Yang and Ruby, she wasn't going to overreact any more. She was Jaune's friend. Friend.

Yes, just his friend. For now. She would change his mind, she knew she would.

She opened the door to the dormroom with a happy smile.

"I'm back~!" She cried happily. "I'm-!"

Jaune emerged from the bathroom in nothing but a small towel. He was drying off his hair with another as he emerged.

"Haaa... Finally. Freaking shower wouldn't work at Just Right," he muttered. He looked up at Pyrrha with a smile.

"Hey Pyrrha! How's it going?" He asked brightly.

"..."

Jaune coughed.

"Ah. Right. This uh... It's a little awkward. I'll go put on a shirt-"

"DON'T," Pyrrha purred.

"Yeeeeah, I think I'll go get my shirt-"

"I can take mine off if you want?" Pyrrha asked, already pulling her shirt up over her head and toss it aside... Only for Jaune to bonk her.

"Ow!"

"Pyrrha," Jaune sighed, resting his hands on her shoulders, "Come on. We talked about this."

"S-Sorry," Pyrrha murmured. "I can't help but admire your composure! You're able to keep such... Incredible... Control..."

She noticed that Jaune was looking down at her new, dark red, lacy bra. He looked up briefly, his cheeks bright red.

"Hm? Uh, oh, ummmm..."

Pyrrha knew she was beautiful. She knew she was sexy. She knew she was attractive... But knowing that Jaune found her that way too? That hit her harder than any number of admiring gazes or compliments.

"Jaune~," Pyrrha crooned.

"Oh man, I'm going to go get a shirt!" Jaune said quickly, rushing off.

"It's hardly fair for you to go shirtless, is it~" Pyrrha went on. "Shouldn't I get to go shirtless as well~?"

"No! No, we're not doing that!"

"Or around in nothing but towel~? Fair is fair-!"

"CUT THAT OUT!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Alas, UnknownAnon's been wiped out by work lately. So I helped him out and put together the last section of the Semester Break with him. Where we catch up with Cardin and his family.

- - -

Meanwhile, with Cardin…

- - -

The Winchester estate was a fairly modest one, by the standards of the Council members of Vale. Their ancestral home had been destroyed by a fire prior to the Faunus Revolution. This home had been built in the Cottage and Craft Style, a two story and comfortable home in the center of a grassy green lawn, with a separate garage and training facility. It was here that Cardin Winchester spent most of the days of his semester break.

"Simulation Complete. Combat rating at eighty-one percent efficiency."

Following the automated system's announcement, Cardin dropped his mace and let out a heaving breath before wiping the sweat from his forehead. Standing on the arena across from him, a battered and worn training bot dropped its arms and settled into an idle state as the system began to shut down. The aspiring huntsman grinned proudly to himself, glad to have finally gotten past the eighty point wall he'd been stuck behind for the past few weeks.

Just because he was on a small semester break that didn't mean he could be idle. It had annoyed him that he hadn't been able to break past the seventies against the level-four training bots in Goodwitch's combat class before the end of the semester, but now he'd finally fixed that problem here!

Having a training arena at home was certainly convenient and lucky.

"So this is where you were."

Glancing to the side, Cardin noticed his older sister Argentia standing at the entrance of the Winchester training room with her arms crossed.

"What do you want, sis?" Cardin asked, wondering how long she'd been watching him and if she'd make her own comments on his performance.

"Dinner's ready." The woman answered bluntly before she turned on her heel and left the room. "Don't keep us waiting."

Cardin glanced over at the large digital clock on the other side of the room. His eyebrows went up when he noticed how late it was. It hadn't felt like he'd been training for that long, but it appeared that he'd spent his entire afternoon fighting the training robot.

"Ah, I'll be there in a bit!" Cardin called after his sister before hopping off the training arena and grabbing a towel off of a nearby rack to wipe himself down.

A few minutes and a quick shower later, Carding was rushing through the hallways of the Winchester estate towards the dining room. Upon entering, he found his family was already sitting at the table.

"Sorry!" Cardin said as he hurriedly took a seat.

"No need to apologize." Aurelia assured her son, the Winchester matriarch nodding at her youngest as he sat across from her. "Argentia told us you were in the training hall. It is good that you're keeping yourself tempered even while you're on break."

"I'm not where I want to be." Cardin answered back.

And it was true. In prep school he'd been one of the top students in terms of fighting ability, helped by some of the private instructors his mother had hired along with some friends of his father giving him pointers. However, at Beacon he wasn't one of the standouts.

Even discounting the obvious example that was Pyrrha Nikos, end of semester testing scores had shown that he wasn't one of the outstanding talents Beacon had accepted. He was head and shoulders above the middle of the pack, and above average certainly… but simply being "above average" wasn't enough at Beacon. Not when other first years like Yang, Coco, Ren, or even the small prodigy girl Ruby had combat scores higher than his.

Even Arc had a combat score that settled him on the border of eighty, though he'd trained himself half to death getting there. While he'd only just made it to eighty today.

"Even still, we only have you with us for a few more days. With your father and sister home, we could all spend a day training together before you head back to Beacon." Aurelia offered.

Cardin perked up at that. "That'd be great!"

"That is a good idea, Lia." Rufus said, biting into his steak before scoffing. "Couldn't come at a better time. I've been needing to work off some steam. These talks with the council… feels like the ball is finally starting to roll on addressing Vale's security issues, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating to deal with those idiots."

"You think everyone on the council is an idiot, dear."

"Only most of them!"

"Can attest to that." Argentia added. "I attended that sponsored gala with dad last week. Listening to those old toadies debate was like nails scratching on a chalkboard. Now I know why mom got me that dress. She sent me along with dad so she wouldn't have to go herself."

"That's entirely untrue." Aurelia replied, and even though her expression was stoic the corners of her mouth were twitching. "It was a valuable experience for you, especially since you've taken interest in our company. The people you met there are the types of people you'll have to collaborate with if you choose to join the family business. And you looked beautiful in that dress."

"I think I'd rather go back to the frontier than suffer another experience like that." Argentia drawled, earning a chuckle from Aurelia and a bark of laughter from Rufus.

"We are glad to have you back home. Both of you." Rufus spoke up, setting his utensils down and nodding to both his children. "Argentia has done fantastic work, leading groups of huntsmen to help fight off Grimm that roam the frontier. I've begun to hear your name circulated amongst some of the PMCs and militia groups Winchester Arms works with helping protect the border towns and villages. You're gaining a reputation now, Argent. As a huntsman and as a father, I couldn't be prouder of your accomplishments!"

"Thanks, dad." Argentia said, cheeks pinking a little at his praise.

"And seeing Cardin's scores for this first semester, he's doing quite well for himself. And he's showing drive and motivation that I haven't seen from him in quite some time." Rufus went on. "I'm glad you're taking the initiative without any prompting, Cardin. Just remember to temper yourself. You've still got several years left at Beacon. Trying to rush and blitz through your studies and training will only have a negative impact on you in the long run. Don't be afraid to slow down and recharge your batteries from time to time."

"I know. It's not like I've been training every day." Cardin replied.

He'd taken plenty of time to relax since the break started. He'd overslept, did some online gaming with Sky, hung out at Russel's place a few times, visited a blacksmith shop with Dove the other day to make sure the team's armor and weapons were in good quality before the break ended, and then the whole team had met up to see the latest Grimminator movie.

…And he'd also exchanged plenty of texts with his girlfriend in his down time. But he was keeping that a secret. Him dating a faunus girl… Cardin wasn't ready to drop that bombshell on his family.

"Gotta say though, the best thing about coming home isn't being able to sleep in or not have to worry about homework." Cardin smiled as he cut off a piece of the juicy sirloin on his plate and popped it into his mouth. "It's being able to eat mom's cooking again. Haven't had a meal this good in quite a while."

Not counting the lunches Velvet had started making him, but he wasn't going to bring that up either.

Aurelia smiled at that. "I'd save those compliments for your girlfriend."

His mother's comment made Cardin choke and cough on his steak.

"Cardin's got a girlfriend?" Argentia blinked. "Since when? And why haven't I heard him bragging about it?"

"I was surprised to find out myself." Aurelia said with a light shrug. "Your father mentioned it to me this morning."

"And I'm surprised that I only learned about it when Ozpin mentioned it offhand to me during my meeting with him the other day." Rufus picked up after his wife, turning to his son who was thumping his chest to force the stuck food down his windpipe. "He didn't tell me much, but it is interesting I heard it from him before I heard it from you. When were you planning to tell us about her?"

"Ah, oh, well, y-you know," Cardin coughed, tugging at his collar-Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? "J-Just didn't want to… Make a big deal out of it…"

"Make a big deal out of it?" Rufus laughed, "Ozpin told me you saved her from a Grimm attack! Carried her all the way back to Beacon when she broke her ankle!"

"Oh, how romantic!" Aurelia laughed.

"Heh, little brother's got some moves, who would have guessed?" Argentia asked, grinning and winking at Cardin.

"It-It wasn't like that!" Cardin said quickly. "I-I mean, it was, but she just twisted her ankle-!"

"Don't be so modest, Cardin!" Rufus said encouragingly. He looked over at his wife with a fond smile. "Certainly a better first impression than I made on your mother."

"Well, obviously," Aurelia laughed, "You were a jerk! Cardin clearly learned from me how to properly woo someone."

"I wasn't that big a jerk," Rufus snorted, though he was smiling as he said so.

"So, who is she?" Argentia asked, tilting her head curiously. "Did Headmaster Ozpin say?"

"He didn't," Rufus said, eyeing Cardin. "He seemed almost amused. She is a she, right Cardin?"

"YES!" Cardin screeched. "SHE'S A SHE!"

"Is she pretty?" Rufus asked. Cardin nodded furiously.

"Beautiful! Smart, kind, a great cook-"

He nearly hit himself. He wasn't going to gush over her, he wasn't!

"She's… You know, all right," he mumbled. Argentia smirked, as did his mother. Even his father looked a bit smug.

"Now now, let's not tease him too much," Aurelia said with a soft smile, "Cardin has every right to keep things to himself."

"Really son, there's no reason to act so stressed out," Rufus tutted.

"Unless he's serious about her," Argentia said. "I mean, you are serious about her, right?"

"I…" Cardin thought hard about Velvet. It had only been a few months but honestly? He could say he felt… Deeply for her. The way she smiled, the conversations they had, the comfortable silences… Dealing with Coco's wacky bullshit.

It was all very… Special to him.

"I am, honest," Cardin said with a nod, "I-I'm not some kind of playboy, or anything!"

"Good to hear, son," Rufus said with a smile. "So, when do we get to meet her?"

"Uhhhh…" Cardin tried.

Aurelia tutted.

"Come now, Rufus! He doesn't need to drag her here! We might just scare the poor girl off!"

"I just want to meet her," Rufus huffed.

Cardin sighed in relief.

"You'll get your chance at the Beacon Dance," Aurelia said.

Cardin's eyes widened.

"B-Beacon Dance?" Cardin whispered. Rufus nodded.

"Of course, son. We go every year. I am on the Alumni Association Board, after all," he chuckled. Aurelia reached out and squeezed her husband's hand, a loving look passing between them.

"Oh, it'll be wonderful to see you there," Aurelia said with a smile, "With your girlfriend."

"Can I get some tickets?" Argentia asked with a grin, "I'm gonna want to see this! We'll have the best time ever, won't we Cardin?"

Cardin began to sweat. He very slowly nodded.

"Y-Yeah… The absolute best," he managed.

I am sooo fucked…

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"Jaune? Jaune! Come down here!"

He'd just finished packing his backpack, making sure Crocea Mors and his armor were strapped securely to it. He'd figure out how to smuggle them out later. He took one last look around at his room. The familiar posters from far off places Aqua and Tangy had sent him, the paintings by Verdy, the models he'd built with Orchid, the bookshelf packed with novels and comics Saphron and Coral had gotten him, the comforter Lilac had knit for him... All of it. One last time.

He headed downstairs, past the walls of photos and pictures of their many, many family members and friends. Right down to the living room. He saw his mother standing there in her usual green dress, her hair up in a ponytail, her glasses on. She glared at him, holding up an envelope as he walked up to her.

"Yeah Mom?"

"Don't you 'yeah Mom' me, what is this?" She demanded, waving the envelope at him. "It's from Beacon! An acceptance letter!"

Juane hid a wince. He had been getting the mail every day to avoid this, but of course the day he got distracted with packing was the day it arrived. "Oh, so I got in?" Jaune asked, trying to sound casual even as his mother began a slow burn.

"How did you get in?!" She demanded. "You were supposed to be studying for the Valean Medical Institute!"

"Yeah, I did," Jaune said with a shrug, not meeting her eyes, "I applied to both. Got accepted by both."

"If VMI accepted you,why in the Gods' name is this letter here?!" Mom demanded, tossing it down onto the coffee table. Jaune tried looking up into her eyes, but could only lock onto her frowning mouth.

"You told me you wanted me to get into VMI. I did that," he said carefully, "But I want... I-I'm going to go to Beacon."

"You're not trained to be a Huntsman!" Mom growled, "You're trained to be a MEDIC! That's why I unlocked your Aura-!"'

"I got in, I took the exam and I passed," Jaune stated flatly, reaching out to the envelope on the table "I-I'll figure out the rest as I go along, okay? I've got six months, I'm in great shape-"

Isabel snatched it back up, and her fist crushed the letter.

"You're not going to be a Huntsman, Jaune!" Mom snarled. "I won't let you throw your life away! You're going to VMI, and you're GOING to be a doctor!"

"Mom, I can help people!" Jaune insisted. "I can fight! I can be a hero-"

Isabel scoffed. "A hero? There are no heroes! Those are stories told to children so they will grow up to march to their death."

Jaune's face distorted as if he'd bitten into a rotten apple. "Would you say that to Auntie Arturia?! Or maybe Great-Uncle Adrian?" Jaune insisted. He bit his lip, but he was in too deep now. "Would you have told Dad there aren't any heroes?!"

His mother's shoulders shook. She turned her icy glare on him, slow and dangerous.

"Is that what you think he was?" Mom demanded, angry and bitter. Jaune's jaw dropped.

"M-Mom... Of course! Everyone said... You said-!"

"Your father could have retired!" Mom shouted. "He could have stayed here, worked hard, done some real good! But he just kept going out into harm's way! He... He was SELFISH!"

Jaune's jaw dropped as his heart felt like it was in a vice.

"M-Mom, you don't mean that-!"

"He went off to be a hero and he DIED," Mom stated, anger dripping from every word, "He could have stayed with us and done some actual good! But instead, he decided to be selfish and stupid!"

"He saved lives! Just like you!" Jaune shook his head back and forth.

"You and your sisters deserved a father! I deserved a husband! Instead all we have is a shiny statue and platitudes!" Mom shot back. "All I was left with was grief! HE WAS SELFISH! You don't get to be selfish, Jaune!" She waved her finger at him, as his eyes sought out the floor. "You're not going to throw your life away for your stupid, childish dream!"

Jaune's shoulders shook, as a raw rage filled him. His mother kept talking.

"You're going to tell Beacon you can't make it, you're going to get ready for VMI-"

"Why do all my sisters get to choose, but I have to be your vanity project, huh?!" Jaune demanded quickly, still not meeting her gaze, "Why can't you let me choose what to be?!"

"Because you'll choose wrong!" Mom shouted back. "You'll choose the same thing that killed your father! Do you want to be selfish and stupid like him, huh?!"

"He wasn't selfish," Jaune whispered. He slowly looked up into her eyes, fighting back hot, angry tears. "He wasn't selfish, and he wasn't stupid!"

"Jaune, you're not-!"

"YOU WERE!" Jaune snarled. His mother froze, staring at him in anger and confusion.

"Wha-What do you-?!"

"I heard you talking the night before he left," Jaune managed, between ragged pants as the rage seemed to claw its way out of him, "In my room! He asked you to come with you! HE ASKED! You said NO! And if-If you had gone, MAYBE HE'D STILL BE ALIVE!"

His mother's jaw dropped.

"Jaune, how could you-?!"

"You got him killed!" Jaune shouted, the tears falling freely now, "And now you're just a scared, bitter old woman who can't accept it!"

She slapped him. He staggered back two steps, his arms out for balance, but he stayed standing. He looked up, his face grim. His anger just solidified into a hard ball in his chest.

His mother was crying, guilt and hurt on her face. Her hand trembled. She reached out again.

"J-Jaune, wait, please, I didn't mean to-!"

He turned and ran. Right up the stairs. He grabbed his backpack and shouldered it. He threw open the window and leaped out, landing roughly just before his mother could burst into the room. He started running.

"JAUNE! JAUNE, WAIT! I'M SORRY!" He could hear his mother crying out from the window, "PLEASE! JAUNE!"

He stormed off into the night. And he didn't look back.

It began to rain. Even with the clouds enveloping the sky, he could still see everything illuminated by the broken moon. He could hear the roars of Grimm and the loud booms of a familiar rail gun sword. In an instant, he was in his armor and cloak, Crocea Mors held in his hands. He charged forward, now on a dark forest road.

He could see a tall figure in shining white armor ahead, swinging a gigantic blade with one hand as he fought through hordes and hordes of Grimm. He turned his head and stared into Jaune's eyes. Jaune's jaw dropped.

"D-Dad?!"

"Son," Nick Arc said, grim and disappointed, "You promised you'd never make your mother cry. You promised you'd be there for her when I'm gone."

Jaune's jaw dropped. His grip on his weapons became slack.

"Dad, I-I didn't-!" His eyes widened as he saw a truly massive Grimm tower up over his father from behind. "DAD LOOK OUT!"

Again, he tried to move, but a flood of black water erupted from around his dad. Jaune was knocked back. He fought against the current, but no matter what he did, he kept getting further away.

Yet his father's terrible words rang clear in his ears.

"You made your mother cry, son," Nick said softly, even as the giant Grimm bore down on him, "Didn't she cry enough when she lost me? When you lost me? How hard will she cry when she loses you?"

The Grimm fell upon Nick from behind as Jaune screamed.

"DAD! DAD, NO!"

His eyes opened. He sat up, breathing hard. He wiped his sweaty face as his heart pounded in his chest like war drums.

"Haa… Haa… Haa… Haa.."

The sun was just starting to peek out over the Valean mountains outside the window. Nora and Ren were snoozing in their joint bed on the other side of the Beacon dorm. And Pyrrha was cuddled up next to him, her arms around his waist. Her eyes opened up, widened in alarm when she saw his face.

"Jaune? Jaune, are you all right?" She asked softly.

Jaune sighed. He nodded to his partner.

"I'm fine," he said softly. "Really."

Pyrrha stared intensely at him. He gave her a small, forced smile.

"It was just a dream," he murmured. "I promise I'm all right. Thank you Pyrrha. I-I really appreciate it."

Pyrrha sat up with him, still concerned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked quietly.

Oh yeah, talk to someone else with severe issues with their parents? What a great idea, his brain said sarcastically. No, this was his battle. He would face it, and wouldn't burden his teammates with it.

He shook his head.

"It's all right," he murmured. "Really. You go back to sleep. I've got to go get breakfast started for our first day, anyway."

Pyrrha's frown didn't change, but she slowly nodded.

"If you're sure," she said softly.

"I am," Jaune said. He smiled more genuinely at her. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"I…" She looked aside. "I had trouble sleeping when I was away," she admitted. "I hope I'm not causing your nightmares-?"

"No! No, of course not," Jaune said quickly, taking her by the shoulders to make her look him in the eyes. "This isn't your fault, really. Hell, they'd be worse without you."

Pyrrha blushed deeply, her skin nearly as red as her hair.

"Um… I-I think… Uh… Um…Ineedacoldshower!"

As though she now had Ruby's Semblance, she ran off like a shot for the bathroom, shutting it tightly behind her. Jaune watched her go, and sighed. He kicked the sheets off and stood up. He rubbed his face.

"Glad I showered last night," he muttered. He headed off into the common room. He reached out for his Beacon Academy apron, which he had left hanging on a peg near the kitchenette. His fingers met nothing but wood paneling. He blinked and looked over at the stove, where a familiar girl with blonde hair was already getting the pots and pans out.

"Yang?"

"Oh, morning Ladykiller," Yang said with a wink and smile. He flushed: She was in nothing but her sleep wear, which he thought he was used to. Her hair being up in a loose ponytail while she wore an apron though…

The hell? Why does that do things for me? He thought, as Yang continued to speak.

"I just thought that you could use an egg break, huh? I'm not a bad cook myself either, you know." She smirked and winked at him as she broke the eggs into a bowl, and mixed them up expertly.

"Wouldn't want you to burn out and end up with egg on your face, eh?"

"I… Yeah," Jaune said with a nod. He moved into the kitchenette. "I can help out-"

"Ohhh no," Yang stated firmly, grabbing him by the shoulders and guiding him out to the group table, "You've been serving us all this time. You should accept some service too, every once in a while."

Jaune let her sit him down in a chair. He nodded slowly, as she went back to cooking. He watched her, still blushing a bit.

"So," Yang said, as she began frying up some turkey bacon and beans, "You sleep okay?"

"Uh, yeah," he murmured, "More or less."

She fixed him with a skeptical look.

"You sure?" She asked softly.

Jaune managed a nod.

"Just… Nightmares," he explained quietly. He shook his head. "I get a lot of them."

Yang nodded, as she flipped some pancakes.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "I still get nightmares over going out into the forest with Ruby. You know… Where Uncle Qrow doesn't show up in time and…" She looked into his eyes.

Jaune ground his teeth nervously. He glanced to the side, at the warm sunlight pouring in through the windows. He wrapped his arms around the back of the chair, and rested his chin on the top as he swung his legs around to hold onto either side.

"... Just… My fight with my mom, when I ran away," he admitted quietly. "I got accepted into VMI. I did the exam and everything. But I'd also applied to Beacon, and I got in. She found out and, well…"

He trailed off.

"How bad was it?" Yang asked, soft and neutral. Jaune shook his head, looking towards the kitchenette and not right at her.

"She said my dad was stupid and selfish. That he'd thrown his life away, and left us all alone. That I couldn't-shouldn't-do the same thing."

His eyes found the floor as the soft sound of bacon frying filled the air.

"And what did you say?" Yang asked, still quiet.

"I said some pretty horrible things back to her. Made her cry," he said. Yang didn't say anything, so he explained:

"Before my dad left on the mission where he died, I heard them arguing. My dad wanted my mom to come with him. She said she couldn't, she had to work."

He closed his eyes.

"I told her…" He took another deep breath, "I told her that if she'd gone with him, he wouldn't have died. That it was her fault."

Yang was silent, as Jaune stared down at the floor in his shame.

"I just… My dad promised me to look after everyone if anything happened to him," he explained. "I-I guess… With everything that's happened, I started remembering more of what we talked about. He was a hero. I always looked up to him, I wanted to be just like him… And I guess I just…"

He grit his teeth.

"I was such an asshole. How could I say that to my own mother…?"

He felt her hands rest on his shoulders. He looked back up. She looked down at him with a look of pure compassion.

"Hey. We all say stupid shit when we're angry," Yang said quietly, "You didn't mean it. I'm sure she didn't mean it either. I mean… When Mom died, my dad just fell apart. Losing someone you love just… It breaks you, and everyone breaks in different ways."

She shook her head. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"And I'm sure that argument wasn't what you think it was," she continued, "I heard from someone that my mother lived in the woods, and I got it into my head that that meant some old shack on Patch. That… That nearly got me and Ruby killed. We're all stupid when we're kids, huh?"

"Y-Yeah," Jaune managed. Yang ran her fingers through his hair, and he shivered as he looked her right in her eyes.

She smiled.

"When she sees you become a badass hunter, she'll accept it," Yang said, "It's just gonna take time and hard work, okay? But it's your choice. She has to respect that if she loves you. And she does, right?"

"Yeah," Jaune said with a small nod. He found a smile on his face.

"Thanks Yang. I… I really appreciate it," he said.

Yang sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well… I gotta look after you. Who's gonna pay for our date~?" She asked mischievously. Jaune flushed.

"Yang, seriously, I-"

She leaned down and kissed him on the lips. It was brief but warm. She pulled back, and patted him on the head.

"Don't overthink things," she advised softly, "You'll just go crazy. Try to go with the flow more, huh? And accept it when pretty girls want to do things for you."

"Pretty, dangerous, violent and crazy girls," Jaune muttered back. Yang winked and giggled.

"It would be boring otherwise!" She turned and headed back to the kitchenette, her hips swaying noticeably. Jaune slapped himself to get his eyes off her rear.

"Ugh… I'd be happy with boring!" He insisted.

Yang laughed mockingly, as she flipped pancakes onto several plates.

"Yeah, right! If you wanted boring, you wouldn't have become a Huntsman!"

Jaune held up his finger, opened his mouth… Sighed.

"I guess I can't argue with that," he muttered.

Yang laughed.

Neither of them noticed that the RWBY dormroom door had been cracked open throughout the entire conversation. They did notice when the door burst open. Ruby appeared in a burst of rose petals right in Jaune's lap, hugging him tightly.

"Hey Jaune! Good morning!" She said happily. "You doing okay?"

"I-Uh, yeah, fine," Jaune managed.

"I missed you so much!" She whined.

He smiled and hugged her.

"We saw each other last week," he chuckled.

"Yeah, but that was in the real world, not here!" Ruby insisted.

"Ugh, must you all make so much noise this early?" Weiss groused. She walked in and scowled at Jaune. "Arc! You're not cooking breakfast?"

"I didn't know you missed my cooking that much," Jaune deadpanned. Weiss scoffed.

"Certainly not! I just know you won't poison me," she cast a glare at Yang. The brawler snickered.

"Come on Weiss-cream! I wouldn't poison you! Not unless you left me in your will. Who else would bring home the bacon?"

"Ugggghhhh," Weiss groaned, sitting down. Blake crept in, sitting down next to Jaune, still reading a book.

"Morning Jaune, morning Ruby, morning Yang, and morning Weiss," she said in her usual deadpan. Weiss snorted.

"I would have thought working as a waitress might have taught you some manners."

"I would have thought being rich would have taught you some," Blake shot back. Weiss squawked.

"I am perfectly polite! You started casting aspirations on the character the day we met!"

"I was following your example," Blake shot back, making Jaune and Ruby snicker.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Pyrrha came in, drying her hair with a towel. She beamed brightly.

"Good morning everyone!" She then took the seat next to Jaune. Clearly trying very hard not to glare at Ruby. "Ruby, Jaune can't eat like that."

"Sure he can!" Ruby said cheerfully, "I can feed him!"

"I can handle that, thank you," Jaune said quickly.

Nora and Ren came in next. Nora grinned brightly.

"Oh boy! Lap sitting Day!" She cheered. She pulled Ren into a chair, and plopped herself down on his legs. "I call Renny!"

"I call Jaune!" Ruby cheered.

"Don't we get any say in this?" Jaune asked.

"Do we ever?" Ren quipped.

Laughter ensued. Even Weiss smirked a little. Jaune sighed and patted Ruby on the head.

"It's good to be back," he muttered.

- - -

Here we go...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Hei "Junior" Xiong hadn't gotten where he was in life by being stupid. He'd been brought up in the Xiong Crime Family, the heir apparent. His father had crossed Lil' Miss Malachite out of Mistral, and he'd died. Junior had thus ascended to the head of the family, and rather than take revenge, he had settled. The family was now subordinate to Lil' Miss Malachite's operation. Many in his family had grumbled over this, but Junior had worked hard to make sure they focused on the positives of this change in management.

Miss Malachite wasn't that demanding of a master: As long as you supplied her with information and her monthly tithes, she left you alone. Even provided muscle in the form of her daughters, and healthcare benefits. Even let him skim a little off the top if he'd done a good enough job.

As long as you were loyal and gave her accurate information, she let you handle your affairs.

Honestly, she was a better boss than Junior's Old Man ever was, and that was why Xiong Senior's passing hadn't resulted in outright rebellion.

Sure, if the old lady ever became a dictator or lost her edge, Junior was perfectly fine with overthrowing the old bat and taking over. Becoming a proper Boss again. But part of him really hoped that never happened. It was too much responsibility and brought too much heat down on your head.

Especially nowadays.

Miss Cinder Fall, the one-woman firestorm who had been burning up the mob scene of Vale, had stormed in with her crew and told him he worked for her now. He finished cleaning his glass, set it down calmly on the bar, and simply said that it wasn't his call. Lil Miss Malachite was the boss.

Cinder had stated he worked for her now. The Twins had tried to see to her then, but Junior had held up a hand. How in the hell would he explain things to Miss Malachite if her two daughters had gotten fried?

So he called up Lil Miss Malachite and told her the situation, all the while Cinder clenched and unclenched her fists full of flame, and sweat beaded on his forehead. Miss Malachite calmly told Cinder that if she wanted Junior's services, she had to pay for them like everyone else. With a sneer, the raven-haired beauty had dropped some lien on the table and demanded a meeting.

Junior had acquiesced, and for three hours, he was grilled on every little tidbit of information he had on Vale, its defenses, and Beacon.

Honestly, the whole time he'd felt a wrong breath or twitch away from death.

Finally, she was satisfied. She stood up, warned him and Lil Miss Malachite to stay out of her way, and left with her two cronies. It was only after he'd watched her leave the club from the security cameras he started breathing normally.

"Whiskey, neat," he muttered. A cool glass was passed to him, and he downed the drink in one go-Savoring the booze wasn't on his agenda.

He lowered his glass... And nearly choked when he spotted Roman Torchwick standing next to him.

"Roman?! What the actual fuck-?!"

"Shhh," Roman said, holding a leather-gloved finger up to his lips, "Hey, I was a master thief before I met Neo. People don't appreciate how hard it is to go around without being spotted on hard mode."

He poured himself a glass of the whiskey and drank it down more slowly. Junior stared in disbelief at Roman, as the redhead finished off the glass with a sigh.

"Ah, you always did have the good stuff, Junior."

"Roman... Again... What the actual fuck?" He asked. "Is that woman with you-?!"

"HA!" Roman barked in sad, sardonic laughter, "With me, he asks? Other way around, compadre. The lady's got me on a leash so tight my throat's in my asshole! I've only got a few minutes before she notices anything."

"What about Neo?" Junior asked, looking around in fear as he always did when that little psycho came up. Roman shrugged.

"She's getting ready for her first day of school," he said, "Wants to look pretty for her crush."

Junior stared, long and hard.

"... You want to cut the bullshit and explain why the criminal underworld of Vale went completely insane over the last year?" He demanded. "I know the Fire Bitch is tearing a bloody streak through every mob boss who doesn't play ball and you're acting like you need to breathe Dust. I also know White Fang's involved-And what the fuck, Roman?! Your reputation is in tatters as it is, why are you involved with fucking terrorists?!"

Roman sighed. He poured himself another drink.

"Junior? If I could tell you everything, I would... I mean, for a price. I haven't completely lost my mind. But I don't even know the full picture."

He finished the whiskey before he looked at Junior seriously over the glass.

"But since we're old buddies, I thought you should know the basic gist of what I've figured out so far."

"And that is?" Junior asked.

The jaunty smile and roguish tilt of his bowler hat was entirely at odds with the way Roman delivered the answer to Junior's question.

"We're fucked."

- - -

The main assembly hall for Beacon was packed, even more than it had been at Initiation. Jaune and Ruby had been lucky to get their teams there early, so they could get seats. Many other Hunters-in-Training had to stand in the back. The murmuring filled the circular room, magnified by the acoustics to be relentless. Even so, the eight friends were comfortable in their seats.

"Wow," Ruby murmured happily, looking around excitedly, "There are so many new faces! Oh hey! There's Sun's team!"

She stood up and waved happily.

"HI SUN! HI GUYS!"

Sun and his team waved in response, the monkey faunus grinning and waving happily while Scarlet and Sage gave more restrained waves back. Nora waved with Ruby with equal aplomb, before Ren gently pulled her down and held her hand to keep her docile.

Neptune shot Weiss a cheeky grin and wink. Weiss swooned in response, while her friends rolled their eyes.

"Oh, I didn't even begin to tell you about my vacation to Ponce with Neptune!" Weiss gushed to Yang. "Oh, it was so romantic! The sun, the sand, the waves-!"

"Yeah, sure, great," Yang stated with a sigh.

"Come on!" Weiss whined. "I'm-We're bonding as young women should! Over gossip!"

"Sun told me a lot," Blake volunteered. Yang leaned over and grinned like a shark smelling blood in the water.

"Oho~? And here I thought you were too busy with Jaune playing maid and butler~?"

"I-I was not," Blake muttered, even as Weiss's elegant eyebrows went up.

"Oh? Maid and butler, huh?"

Blake glared at Yang.

"Yang, don't you dare-!"

Weiss's Scroll beeped an alert. The Schnee heiress examined the pictures, then shot the smuggest look imaginable over at Blake. The Menagerie Princess glared, the slightest hint of red on her cheeks.

"Who-?!"

Ruby flushed, and tried to whistle innocently.

"RUBY!" Blake growled.

"You were so cute!" Ruby protested, pulling back behind her big sister for protection. Yang grinned broadly.

"Come on, Blake, if Coco tagged you, everyone already knows. Why not embrace it?"

"It's so undignified!" Blake groused, as Weiss flipped through the photos with a smirk.

"Shared, shared, oh yes definitely shared-Wait..." She frowned at one of the pictures and looked over at Jaune.

He was sitting on the other side of Ruby, looking through his own Scroll. Weiss's eyes widened.

"He was a butler too?"

"I think I said that," Yang deadpanned. Weiss giggled.

"I suppose my wardrobe pick was a good one, hm Arc?" She called out to him. Jaune rolled his eyes.

"No. Miss Perrito has actual taste and isn't just a frigid sadist."

"Why you...!" Weiss growled. Jaune shot her a smirk.

"What? Yours had those Godsawful tails! I'd have been tripping onto my face!"

"It would be an improvement over your current visage!" Weiss snarled. "Get a shave, you ruffian!"

"Aw, but I like his stubble, Weiss!" Ruby whined. She hugged Jaune and rubbed her cheek against his. "Heehee! It tickles!"

Weiss flushed deeply.

"Will-Will you stop that?!" Weiss hissed. "We're in public!"

"It is very ticklish," Pyrrha said happily, leaning in on Jaune's other side with a fond smile.

"Especially when you're kissing," Yang added with a smirk. Pyrrha's eyes flashed, but she nodded with a competitive smile.

"Oh yes-"

"Seriously?!" Weiss growled. "You're such a-a scoundrel! Neptune didn't act like such a shameless playboy, Arc! You could learn something from his sense of decorum!"

"I bet I could," Jaune sighed. He gently pushed Ruby and Pyrrha back. "Come on guys, Ozpin's starting."

"Later then," Pyrrha winked.

Headmaster Ozpin walked out to the podium. He gave a slight smile out to the crowd, one fatherly and comforting. It quieted down the students, though true silence only occurred when he tapped his cane.

"Welcome back, returning students," he spoke, "And welcome, friends from foreign academies. While we are all strangers to one another, we are united in the goals of safeguarding life on this planet. I know you have been told this many times before, in long, often rambling speeches..."

He waited for the laughter to die down with a small, indulgent smile.

"It is the truth. You are our future. The Vytal Festival is meant to showcase that future, and our unity against the darkness. So I will take this time to thank the Atlasian Military for protecting Vale during this time."

Ozpin snapped his fingers, and the ceiling vanished leaving clear blue skies over their heads.

No, wait, Jaune thought, making out the textures of the ceiling, Just a projection?

In a moment, the sky was filled with Atlesian airships. Numerous frigates, light and speedy, led the well-organized formation. After them came cruisers, large, long, and sleek. Finally, a quartet of battleships, huge and ominous, passed overhead.

There was clapping and cheering from several students Jaune presumed to be Atlasian. Weiss looked a bit proud herself, though far more restrained.

"In addition," Ozpin went on, "The newly reformed Valean Defense Force is joining the defense of Vale."

At this, several small airships of various makes, but all with red and gold coloration, flew by in a less rigid but still well-ordered formation. After that came a mixture of larger airships-At least two Valean passenger liners like the type that had brought the students to Vale, a few destroyers Jaune swore he recognized from old holos of the Faunus Revolution, and other assorted vessels he didn't recognize.

At last, a huge and familiar dagger-shaped air battleship, bright red with gold trim, flew overhead-Far lower and faster than the others, the wash of the vessel's engines making the auditorium shake and many students cry out in shock. Jaune spotted Scarlet roll his eyes, as Weiss scoffed in annoyance.

Huh, he held back a grin, Guess they met Silverhand, too.

THAT had been a hell of a weekend. The songs were never going to leave his head.

Ozpin, as always, remained unperturbed.

"The Vytal Stadium itself is being situated on the far side of Vale, to be prepared for the festival," he stated, "Until then? Study hard. Get to know your fellow students. And work hard! Dismissed!"

The auditorium was filled with noise again, as the students got up and began to head for the exits. Blake got out first and headed over to speak with Sun. Weiss headed over with her, to speak with Neptune with an excited look on her face. Nora and Ren took off as well, Nora chanting about not wanting to be late while Ren dutifully followed behind.

"Let's see... First class is Oobleck's," Jaune read off his scroll, "Let's get going. Don't want to be late."

"Oh geez, yeah," Yang shivered, "Definitely not to his class. Guy's a sadist if you're late!"

"Friend Ruby!"

Ruby turned and smiled warmly as a familiar orange headed walked up to them with a happy wave.

"Penny! It's great to see you!" She said happily. "Are you here with your team?"

"Yes!" Penny said cheerfully, "They are headed to their classes! It would be nice for our teams to meet yours, correct? That is standard Vytal Festival protocol!"

"Well, sure!" Ruby said with a beam, "That would be great!"

"Sensational!" Penny cheered. She looked over at Jaune, her smile unchanging, "Friend Jaune, would you also like to meet my team?"

"Sure Penny," Jaune said, smiling at her. The girl was weird, but she'd gotten them out of legal trouble despite barely knowing them. In all honesty, he wanted to get to know the girl better.

"Excellent! I am combat ready!" She said cheerfully.

Jaune felt a hand grasp his elbow, firmly. He looked back, a bit startled. Sure, he wasn't Blake, but he liked to think he'd gotten better about being snuck up on! He'd survived in Grimm-infested woods, for crying out loud!

He blinked stupidly. The girl in the Haven Academy uniform was stunning. Long, luscious black hair. A body to kill for (like most Huntresses, really). The face of a smug angel, and burning amber eyes. Flanking her was an equally beautiful dark skinned girl with green hair and red eyes, and a tall, cocky looking pale skinned boy with gray hair and eyes.

"Hello Jaune," she said, "Forgive me, but I heard you are headed to Professor Oobleck's class next?"

"That's right," Jaune said, mindful of how Yang's eyes were burning red and the sudden increase in static electricity around Pyrrha and Ruby, "Do I know you?"

Ah shit, right I'm-NO I'M NOT A DAMN HAREM LEAD! He thought to himself.

The woman tittered, and while it was meant to be beguiling... It set off warning bells in Jaune's head.

This chick's bad news...

"We're from Haven, and I'm afraid we don't know our way around," the woman continued, in a voice dripping with honey. She pouted. "Your cousin said you were a reliable sort-Could you show us the way?"

"Cousin?" Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha all asked.

Out from behind the other members of the girl's team stepped a short, curvy girl with black hair and eyes in a matching uniform-But there was no mistaking that smirk.

"Mint?" Jaune managed. She nodded with a lick of a lollipop.

"I thought she lived in Vale," Yang said, her tone suspicious.

"Oh, she's Mistralian," the woman explained, "She was just taking some vacation time with her father here before she transferred for the festival. Would you mind helping us get our bearings?"

Jaune forced a dopey smile onto his face. The kind of thing he made before he ran out into the night towards Beacon. Because Roman's warning was ringing in his mind like an air raid siren.

"Sure thing! Anything for my cousin and her team," Jaune said cheerfully, "You know my name. Yours would be...?"

"Cinder," the woman said with a sensuous smirk, "Cinder Fall."

- - -

And she's in the house!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -


Having the Vale CCT right in Beacon did offer certain advantages when it came to telecommunications, Ozpin reflected. He was able to hold his conferences with minimal chance of any eavesdropping, utilizing the most advanced cyber and electronic security ever devised by mankind.

Even so, he still preferred face to face meetings when it came to anything of importance. To impress upon his comrades the gravity of the situation. It also helped him maintain his humanity, to really interact with the people he was leading in this fight for survival.

It was rarely possible to have them all in one place, but anyone who could show up was a boon to this aspect of the fight. He looked over them, whether physically here or not, with a sense of pride.

General James Ironwood, the commander of Atlas' military. The stern, tall man was impeccably dressed in his white and blue uniform, the very image of professionalism. His aide, Specialist Winter Schnee, beautiful and deadly and cold as her namesake. Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's loyal, faithful, impeccable second in command. Beautiful, stern, powerful and efficient.

And one more newcomer… Who was drinking from a bottle of rum.

"Ah, that's the stuff," Captain James "Jim" Silverhand said, as he lowered his bottle. He gave a jaunty wink and grin at Ozpin. "Thanks Ozpin! Knew you wouldn't hold out on me!"

Ironwood scowled deeply at the pirate captain as he sat with Glynda and Winter on the other side of the Headmaster's desk.

"Ozpin," he began, "Would you care to explain why one of the most wanted pirates on the planet is here?"

"Haven't you heard?" Silverhand asked with a smirk, "I've been pardoned. Reformed. I'm on the up and up!"

Schnee wrinkled her nose in distaste. Goodwitch's eyes narrowed. Silverhand shrugged.

"Plus, we are talking about security here, right? If my son's going to be here, I should be involved in the arrangements."

"By all rights I should arrest him on the spot and drag him back to Atlas in chains," Ironwood growled. Silverhand smirked, his metallic hand resting easily on the hilt of his cutlass.

"That would be a neat trick, considering you've never been able to before-"

"Enough," Ozpin stated firmly. He shook his head. "In the end, we are all on the same side. Against the Grimm. And he has been pardoned, James. No need to provoke an international incident."

Ironwood still glared daggers at the slovenly pirate. Silverhand smirked.

"That said," Ozpin stated, "Jim, you will be courteous and polite."

Silverhand pouted a bit, but pulled his boots back and sat up straight in his chair.

"Yessir," he said.

"Now," Ozpin stated, "While the Atlasian fleet will secure the airspace above Vale proper, the Valean Defense Force will maintain watch over Beacon and the Emerald Forest."

He held up a hand to forestall Ironwood's objections.

"This is purely for practical reasons, James," Ozpin said, "The citizens are familiar with Atlasian ships and will not be alarmed. Former pirate ships could very easily be cause for alarm."

Silverhand pouted a bit. Ironwood scowled, but slowly nodded.

"The other militias and PMCs being integrated into the VDF will be camped out in the same area," Ozpin stated, "Making use of the old VDF base for training. This will, in turn, free up our students for more field missions."

"Are you sure that's wise, Ozpin?" Glynda asked calmly, "While field experience is all well and good, the increased Grimm activity means it might be much more dangerous."

Ozpin nodded. She was never one to shy away from speaking her mind, after all.

"I am. I believe the VDF and Atlasian forces will be a boon in that regard," Ozpin replied, "They will be able to provide back up and air support far more quickly than we could. The increased Grimm activity means there will be no shortage of training opportunities, but it can be done with increased security for our students."

"Sounds good to me," Silverhand contributed, "Robin and Ali are old pals of mine. They can handle the ground security."

"Indeed," Schnee deadpanned, "And in what hive of scum and villainy did you first meet?"

"Schnee," Ironwood admonished quietly. Silverhand smirked back, and leaned forward.

"Vale University Drama Club," he said, not missing a beat.

Winter blinked in confusion.

"He's not kidding," Glynda sighed.

More details were worked out. Silverhand, as the defacto commander of the VDF, made several useful and insightful recommendations on where they could assign the students first. Ironwood managed to stay professional enough to work out patrol and refueling schedules between their two fleets. Schnee even helped by working out a patrol and training rotation with the PMCs, and Glynda shared her knowledge of Vale's terrain and local Grimm patterns to work out potential areas for students to go on missions first.

Overall, the meeting ended in success, as they accomplished a great deal. Even with the occasional snarky remark between the participants. Most of them thanks to the pirate captain.

At last, James and Winter rose. Glynda did too, walking around to stand at Ozpin's side. Silverhand stood up, and stretched with a loud groan.

"Well, I'll be happy to tell Rufus we're actually getting somewhere," SIlverhand said with a grin. He winked at Glynda. "Before that, I'm getting a drink. Care to join me, Professor Goodwitch?"

"No," Goodwitch stated, calm but hard as steel. Silverhand looked over at Winter.

"Specialist Schnee?"

Winter scowled.

"After the disaster you caused in Ponce? Never!"

"I would hardly call that a disaster," Silverhand protested, "We paid for all the damages! I had my men clean up the glass!"

"Even so!" Winter growled. Silverhand laughed and held up his hands.

"Fair enough, fair enough! After all," and here he looked out the window at the distant form of his red ship, a wistful look on his face, "There's only one Lady for me."

"An obsolete hunk of junk," Ironwood snorted. Silverhand turned to Ironwood, the first spark of genuine anger burning in the captain's eyes.

"You may insult me as you wish, General," he stated, "But you will respect My Lady."

He grinned.

"Besides, as I recall, my hunk of junk was able to pull out of a dive in Niddhog Canyon… And your shiny new bucket of bolts didn't."

Ironwood grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

"You're fortunate none of my men died that day," he hissed.

Silverhand nodded.

"You could thank me for that: I did stick around long enough to give you some air support."

"It was unasked for and unneeded!"

"Unasked for? Sure, but unneeded? I don't think so-"

"Enough," Ozpin stated firmly, "Jim? No more provocations. You took an oath and are now legitimately employed. Please stop acting like a child."

Silverhand sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Fine," he muttered. He headed out to the elevator first, singing something under his breath. The elevator doors slid open, and he stepped inside. With a last bow and tip of his hat, the doors closed and he was gone. Ironwood gave Ozpin a glare.

"Really?" He demanded.

"In the end," Ozpin said, steepling his fingers, "He is doing all of this for his son and crew. And in the face of Salem, we need all the help we can get."

Ironwood sighed heavily. He nodded.

"Granted," he muttered, "But I don't have to like it."

James, Winter, and Glynda sat back down. Ozpin activated the full defensive suite for the room: Sealing the doors and windows, and cutting off any electronic noise more significant than stray electrons.

Holowindows appeared around the table. Headmaster Leonard Lionheart appeared, looking nervous as usual in his luxurious Haven office. Another window showed the face of Taiyang Xiao-Long, still a bit scruffy but in good spirits in his family home. Behind him, a gray corgi rolled around cutely on the carpeted floor.

A third window appeared, this one showing the cockpit of a private Bullhead. Qrow Branwen and Isabel Arc were sitting in the pilot and co-pilot seats, looking expectant.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ozpin stated, "It is good of you all to join us. Doctor Arc has only recently joined us, but she is fully committed to the mission. And given the situation, I felt that expediting her membership was prudent."

"Hello," Isabel said politely. She nodded to James and Winter. "James, Winter, it's good to see you well."

Ironwood gave her a slight smile.

"Isabel. Glad you have finally joined us."

"There were… Some issues," Isabel admitted, while Qrow's face became stony. "Nevertheless, now that I know what we're up against? I'm all in."

"Good," Ironwood said with a nod. "Ozpin said you had crucial information for us."

"We do," Qrow added.

Isabel uploaded the scans of the medical results. Lionheart's face fell as he got a good look at them, and listened to Isabel's explanation.

"You mean to tell me that someone's been fusing humans with Grimm?" The lion Faunus asked, looking sick to his stomach.

"Unfortunately yes," Isabel said.

"Do we know who might be behind it?" Taiyang asked, looking deeply concerned.

"There's only one person I know who might have been able to pull this off," Isabel reported, "A Doctor Merlot of Atlas. James, you're familiar with him?"

"I was, to a point," Ironwood admitted, "It was Special Projects, part of the Research Directory. At the time I wasn't as highly placed, but the project was very popular. Doctor Merlot's disappearance was very abrupt, and the project shut down soon after."

"How are you sure it's him though?" Lionheart asked. "Surely other research projects into Grimm hybridization have been done."

"Yes, but the results matched the projected outcomes from Merlot's public scientific papers almost exactly," Isabel replied. She shook her head. "That can't be a coincidence."

"So, either Doctor Merlot is still alive, and active, or someone has his research and has taken it to its final conclusion," Ozpin said, "To what ends or purposes, we can't determine. It is clear he was not sharing all that he had accomplished with Atlas' government or military. That Spider-Grimm was too advanced to have been nothing but a one-off or a mistake."

"Which means we need access to all of Merlot's research and financial data," Qrow stated, "It's the only way to get a lead on where he or whoever's using his research might be."

All eyes turned to Ironwood. The general sighed.

"Much of the project was classified and buried in the ten years since he vanished," he admitted, "A great deal of it was lost in a lab explosion in the Scientific Directory two years ago. I'll dig up what I can, but I would suggest you contact Willow Schnee of the SDC."

"My mother? Why?" Winter asked, confused.

"She served on the grant committees for the SDC at that time," Ironwood explained, "And Merlot got a great deal of backing for his public research from them. They were interested in the possibility of using Grimm in Dust mining operations. Nothing came from it, but those records should still exist."

Winter nodded and looked to Isabel and Qrow.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, "But I was disowned."

"Any help would be appreciated," Isabel said with a compassionate look. "This Grimm didn't appear to be able to swim, so it likely came from Vale. Meaning that Merlot or whoever is using his research likely created it here."

"We'll cross reference it with financial records here as well," Ozpin decided. "Leonardo? Have you anything to report?"

Lionheart shrugged.

"Just that the re-establishment of the VDF is making the Mistralian Council nervous," he reported, "Are you certain it's needed? We know Winchester is a blowhard, and anti-Faunus-"

"As has been said, we need all the help we can get," Ozpin said calmly, "And while I cannot argue against the first, the second I will protest. He is not anti-Faunus, Leonardo. He can be trusted."

"If you say so," Lionheart muttered.

"You aren't thinking of adding him to our group, are you?" Glynda asked with a frown. "Not before he's fully vetted."

"I may consider it in the future, when we are certain of his motives," Ozpin said. He nodded to Ironwood. "Having another member of a Kingdom Council would be very useful."

"Indeed," Ironwood said, a small bit of annoyance in his tone, "But caution is warranted. Indeed, I would have liked to have been informed that Isabel was joining us beforehand."

"She figured it out herself, James," Qrow said dryly, "I had to bring her in after."

"Indeed?" Ironwood asked, raising an eyebrow. Isabel stared him down.

"I'm pretty deep in as it is," she said, "And if I were a spy? My cover is way too good. After all, what kind of idiot would join the bitch who murdered her husband?"

Ironwood was silent for a moment, before nodding slowly.

"Agreed. My condolences."

Isabel nodded gratefully.

Ozpin looked around.

"Anything else?"

There wasn't. Ozpin nodded.

"Good. Until our next meeting."

Ironwood, Schnee, and Goodwitch headed for the elevator, as Ozpin released the locks. Isabel, Qrow, and Lionheart's holographic screens vanished.

Ozpin waited for the elevator doors to shut. He resumed the lockout, and turned to Taiyang.

The blond man sighed and shook his head.

"I appreciate being included, Oz, but I don't think I had a lot to contribute-"

"Your daughter's eyes are active," Ozpin stated blandly.

Taiyang froze. He turned a calm look to his former Headmaster, and slowly nodded.

"Yes," he said, "She told me."

Ozpin nodded.

"Then-"

"Let me make one thing clear, Ozpin," Taiyang stated, his eyes burning even as his tone remained calm, "I am all in for fighting this war. For saving humanity. But my daughter isn't a weapon, she's a person. And she should be treated as such. I don't blame you for what happened to Summer, but she went into this with eyes wide open. That will be the same for Ruby. Understand?"

Ozpin was silent. He saw the burning, paternal anger in his eyes. It was a familiar feeling to him, one that had brought him much joy and pain over his long eternity.

He slowly nodded.

"I understand, Taiyang," he said, "I won't push her into anything she's not ready for. However… You won't begrudge me keeping an eye on her, will you? Others know about her lineage. They will be interested in her."

Taiyang sighed, and nodded. His corgi hopped into his lap, and Taiyang pet him.

"I know. She's got good friends looking after her there. But I'm warning you, Ozpin. Don't push it."

"I won't," Ozpin said calmly. Taiyang nodded.

They talked about a few other things, such as getting Taiyang out for the Vytal Festival, before the call ended. Ozpin released the lockouts, and contemplated the warm, late morning sunshine.

He wasn't going to put Miss Rose in a gilded cage, no. He had learned his lesson with Amber. At the same time, Amber's experience necessitated that he take some direct action.

A student who was close to her acting as his eyes and ears would do nicely, but which one? He looked through the files.

Miss Schnee was unlikely to do so. She would ask too many questions. Same with Miss Belladonna, and she had her own issues to address. Her big sister was right out for obvious reasons.

Team JNPR then? Miss Nikos had seemed pliable, and was still a top candidate for the Maiden Powers. Her abilities were not in question. However, the fact she had recently broken off ties with her mother meant her psychological profile had changed.

That would require more thought.

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were too tightly bound to consider this. Miss Valkyrie herself was far too flighty and unpredictable.

Which left only one option, really…

- - -

"Why thank you Jaune," Cinder simpered, as they filtered into the classroom. She turned a smoldering smile on him, "You saved us a lot of time."

"Oh, it was nothing, don't mention it!" Arc said with a nervous smile. His partner Pyrrha ushered him away, her own smile very tense. It gave Cinder a bit of pleasure to see her petty distress, but she soon put it out of her mind. She grabbed some seats with Emerald, Mercury, and Neo in the far left hand side of the classroom. Professor Oobleck zipped in, and immediately launched into a lecture Cinder didn't pay any mind as she contemplated her surroundings.

Cinder Fall had never attended a regular school. Her life had not allowed it: She had been taught at home, just enough to read, write and do basic math by her contemptuous excuse of a family. She had once envied the children in the village who got to go to school. Who got to go and socialize, learn together, and gain a common understanding of the world.

Now, experiencing the real thing, she found her contempt increase. Such coddled, lucky little brats. Being taught in comfort while she had to suffer.

The Grimm inside her flexed. It caused pain, but pain was good. Pain brought her more power. And power was all she had ever desired.

Even so... Some prices for that power were more annoying than others. Such as having to put up with Professor Oobleck's high paced lecturing while sitting on this uncomfortable bench.

"... Which is why we have the Vytal Festival!" He summed up, pausing only to sip from his ever-present coffee mug. "Excellent question, Miss Rose!"

"Eh? Oh, uh, thanks Professor!" The young girl chirped, looking like she regretted ever asking the question in the first place. Cinder kept her face as neutral as possible, but inwardly she scowled. The carefree look on that annoying little brat's face burned her something fierce. Somehow, this teenaged imbecile kept interfering in her plans. Not enough to impede them, but she was making it more difficult. She'd have to deal with her properly.

"Now, while the two-week semester break was relaxing, and relaxation is vital to anyone's physical and mental well being," Oobleck rattled off, "I believe it is crucial to keep on your toes! Thus we will have a random question-and-answer session right now! MISTER ARC!"

The blond idiot who had guided them to the classroom jumped. Pyrrha Nikos, his partner, smiled encouragingly at the dope on his left side, while on his right, Rose's older half-sister grinned and winked.

"Yes Professor!" Arc cried.

"Here is an easy one: What is Healing Dust?" Oobleck prompted.

Arc cleared his throat, relaxing.

"Healing Dust is an artificial mixture of several Dust strains and compounds to allow for the transfer of Aura from one person to another!" He said cheerfully.

"I would hope the son of the inventor of said Dust would know that much," Oobleck observed, "Explain how it works!"

"Basically," Arc went on, "It's Dust that filters out the parts of Aura that another person's Aura would reject, boosting their healing with a kind of 'neutral' Aura energy. It can be applied to the whole body to enhance general wellness, or focused on specific injuries to heal them faster."

"What are the limitations of Healing Dust?" Oobleck continued his interrogation. Arc winced.

"Well, you have to have an unlocked Aura to use it," he said, "And the transfer efficiency is pretty low-Most of the time, only a tenth to a quarter of the Aura a person uses gets into the other person's body. My mom's managed fifty percent but that's really hard."

"Yet the use of Healing Dust increases the chances of patient survival by what percentage?" Oobleck pressed. Arc screwed up his face in mild concentration.

"A 300% chance on average."

"Exactly why it is worth it! Not unexpected, Mister Arc, but good to know!" Oobleck said. "Moving on! Mister Lark, can you tell us..."

Cinder gave Arc an appraising gaze as he leaned back, looking a bit embarrassed at the sudden increase in attention he was getting. Nikos was blushing while gazing at him in adoration, while Rose and Xiao-Long looked at him with similar affection. Hell, even the Schnee heiress and Princess Belladonna were eyeing him. As were several of the other exchange students.

Neo was smirking at him, but the little psycho did that to lots of people. She was probably imagining how much fun it would be to keep Arc alive while she sliced him up.

How a reprobate like Roman Torchwick had become an 'uncle' to this fop was an intriguing riddle. One that Cinder might need to unravel.

After all, Isabel Arc's revolution in medical Dust healing made her a person of interest to Mother. Perhaps her son would be a useful hostage when the time came.

It's not like the idiot was dangerous or anything.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The whole damn day had been filled with nothing but crap. Having to wrangle his team to get to the assembly, having to run around and dodge all these new transfer students-It was rough and Cardin had nearly had his fill. Sure, seeing the airships flying overhead was pretty awesome, but they paled in comparison to what he really wanted.

Finally though, lunch time came around. He headed out onto the quad, and scanned around.

He spotted a familiar pair of brown bunny ears, and jogged over towards her. Velvet looked up and beamed from the picnic table she was sitting at.

"Cardin!" She cried. He grinned back confidently as he slowed to right in front of her. She stood up, her cheeks flushed.

"Miss me?" He asked. Velvet hesitated... Then pounced, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to kiss him feverishly. He was momentarily stunned, but returned the kiss eagerly as he held her around her waist.

The kiss was hot, wet, and electrifying. She pulled back only to catch her breath, panting softly as she looked him in the eyes.

He wanted to say something suave and witty, like "I'll take that as a yes."

"... Humwha," he managed.

Velvet flushed again.

"S-Sorry! I just... I really missed you," she said with a wide grin. He kissed her again happily, and she hummed in joy against his lips.

Somewhere in between the hormones and the warmth and wait that's her chest holy shit those are her boo-NO! Cardin managed to get control and pull back.

"I uh... We uh..." He gestured to the food she had at the table. "Lunch?"

"OH! Oh y-yes, yes, sorry!" Velvet stammered. They separated only a little, Cardin keeping an arm around her waist. They sat down and ate the lunch Velvet had prepared. They were really good sandwiches again.

"Mmm... Reubens?" Cardin asked, after swallowing. Velvet nodded.

"Yeah! I wanted to experiment-How are they?"

"Great!" He said cheerfully. "I like the-the sauce. It's really tangy!"

"I'm glad!" Velvet beamed, taking another bite, "Human taste buds are actually stronger than Faunus ones, so-so I sometimes have trouble adjusting the flavors to not be overwhelming. Daichi, uh... Heh. He didn't react well to a spicy meatball sandwich."

"How bad?" He asked. Velvet winced.

"Ummm... He had to down a whole gallon of milk?"

Cardin snickered and shook his head. Velvet pouted.

"It's not funny! He erased the memory... And then the same thing happened a week later!"

Cardin was laughing so hard he had to cover his mouth to avoid spraying her with crumbs. Velvet's lips twitched, and she soon joined in.

"Hahahahaha! Hahahaha!"

They managed to calm down. Cardin beamed at his girlfriend happily.

"So, uh, how was your break? You said you were helping your family out."

"I was! I was!" Velvet nodded. She held up her Scroll. "My mom's almost done with her pregnancy, so we're all kind of on edge. I'm kind of glad she didn't have the baby when I was there. Every time she does, it's such a panic! I-I kind of just want to avoid that mess, and just show up to see the new baby, you know?"

She winced.

"Oh, that sounds terrible..."

"I mean, if it had happened, you'd have gone with her anyway, right?" Cardin asked. Velvet nodded.

"Yeah! I just... You know... It's just exhausting and stressful. My dad's bald from how he stresses over every baby, but he's always so happy..." She chuckled. "I am looking forward to it. Just hope to avoid the hassle this time."

"Mm," Cardin nodded. "I guess you didn't catch the latest Grimminator movie?"

Velvet made a face.

"Ugh, no. It's gone way past the soulless cash cow phase."

Cardin gaped.

"What?! No way! This new director-He-He's like, doing his own cool thing, but he's also kind of paying respect to the old stuff-! It's great! And they use the catchphrases but it makes sense! It's not just key jangling this time!"

"I don't know," Velvet hummed, "I think the original is still the best."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't do new things with it," Cardin argued. He shook his head and groaned. "I'm dating a film snob."

"Nuh uh, just dating a girl with taste," Velvet grinned, nuzzling up to him. He sighed.

"Yeah, all right. But we're seeing it, and I'll prove to you it's actually good!"

"All right," Velvet said with a beam. She then hesitated.

"Uh... Oh... Um..."

Cardin frowned.

"What is it?" He asked. Velvet shook her head, as her ears twitched.

"It's... No big deal," she said, "Just... My parents asked about... Me having a boyfriend, and-and all."

Cardin paled a little. He slowly nodded.

"O-Oh... Um... Me too... For a girlfriend, I mean."

Velvet nodded.

"Yeah... Uh... I-I didn't... I didn't tell them you were, you know... Human," she admitted. She winced. "I am so, so sorry Cardin! I-I don't mean-I'm not ashamed of you but-!"

"But it... You're not ready," he said. She nodded. He sighed. "Yeah... Same."

He held Velvet in his arms, silent. She just cuddled against him. They both listened to the sounds of birdsong and the faint roars of airship engines far away.

"... They... They were happy I wasn't dating Hex," she said. Cardin glared.

"Did he try anything-?!"

"No, no," Velvet said, rubbing his bicep to calm him, "He just gets weird and creepy on DustNet. We all blocked him. But... I-I mean..." She sighed.

"I don't know how... How to break it to them," she explained.

"... Me neither," Cardin admitted.

She was silent as she rested her face against his chest. He reached up and gently stroked her ears. She trembled, and then hummed happily.

"We'll... We'll figure something out," he said.

"Yeah..." Velvet sighed happily, "It's... It's not like we have a hard deadline... Or anything..."

Cardin grimaced. She looked up into his eyes, concerned.

"Cardin?"

"Um..." Cardin took a deep breath. "My dad and mom attend the... The Beacon Dance, every year. They'll... They'll be here."

Velvet stared in silence. She then blushed.

"Oh... So um..." She bowed her head. "You know... You know, you don't have to... Have to take me."

Cardin blinked.

"Wait what?"

"You... You could just go with someone else," she muttered, "I... If things might get that bad-"

Cardin scowled. He grabbed her chin and tilted her face up, so her eyes met his.

"Do you really think I'm some kind of asshole who would do that?!" He demanded. Velvet flushed.

"I-I just want to-I don't want to make trouble-!"

"Look! If I do take a girl to the dance, it'll be my girlfriend, understand? I'm not some-some coward or jerk!" He growled. He then hesitated and got a handle on his emotions. He thought it through.

She's... She's trying to spare my feelings? Give us more time...? Geez... She's too nice... Damnit... I...

"I mean... Um..."

He tried to articulate that he appreciated her making that sacrifice, but... He wasn't going to do it because he wasn't some coward. He was further going to say this wasn't one way, that he wasn't going to hide her or be ashamed of her. There was time before the dance, maybe they could sort something out.

He was going to say all this... But a shiny eyed Velvet had started kissing him again and his tongue was otherwise engaged.

"Mmph?!"

"Mmm!" Velvet mumbled. She pulled back and beamed at him. "I... I'd love to go with you!"

"... Cool," he managed.

Goddamnit, why can't I think straight when I'm around her?! His brain demanded.

She kissed him again, and... He had his answer.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

It wasn't like Pyrrha would ever begrudge Jaune positive attention. In her opinion, he deserved it. He should have more people see him for his talents and skills. His goal was to be a great hero, just like his ancestors! Just like his parents!

It was also nice… In principle… That Professor Oobleck had given Jaune a question that let him toot his own horn, so to speak. He'd done the same for many other students, herself included.

Pyrrha was familiar with such tactics in press conferences. Oobleck no doubt was hyping up his students in front of the transfers. He'd even gotten the stoic Ren to talk about his Mistralian background.

However, Professor Oobleck's tactic had gotten Jaune surrounded by transfer students after class: Most of them female, and all blocking his friends from saving-er, walking off with him.

Very pretty females, at that.

"Gotta say, your mom is awesome!" A cat Faunus girl named Neon, from Atlas, gushed as she clung to Jaune's arm. She was part of Team FNKI ("Funky") from Atlas, and seemed completely out of place amidst her far more serious and subdued teammates, what with her multicolored hair and bubbly personality. "I remember when she gave a lecture to our class on how to use Healing Dust! She was so nice!"

"Uh, yeah, that-that's great," Jaune said with a slightly tense smile. A smile that was agitating Pyrrha, Yang, and Ruby.

"Yes!" Penny contributed happily, "Friend Jaune, your mother's techniques helped me a great deal!" She paused. "As I am a normal human girl! With Aura! Like a normal human!"

"Sure thing, Penny," Jaune said with a weary nod. Another attractive girl with purple hair and green eyes also approached him, her smile filled with confidence and sensuality. Pyrrha could hear Yang grinding her teeth nearby.

"Hey! I'm Nebula Violette, with Team NDGO out of Vacuo," she cooed, "Healing Dust is always so hard to use. Would you be willing to help teach us how to properly use it?"

"Uh," Jaune tried, "Maybe? I've got a pretty packed schedule…"

He was already backing away from the far too forward girl, even as Neon held on. He bumped into someone behind him, and spun around. He freed his arm (Much to Pyrrha's joy and Neon's disappointment), but his shocked expression filled Pyrrha with dread.

Because he clearly recognized the blushing, busty dusky skinned redhead girl stuttering before him.

"May?" Jaune asked in amazement.

"I…. Oh… H-Hello, Jaune," she managed with a shy smile. "It-It's been a while."

"Sure has!" He laughed. "It's great to see you again! How's your village?"

"O-Oh, fine," May managed. She looked like she would rather be hiding-The lick of her hair covering one of her eyes and the beanie over her head, plus her retreating body language, all belied the fact that the girl was stacked. Enough to rival Yang and herself!

"Uh oh," Blake murmured, "She's trouble."

"Really?" Ruby whispered back. The secret cat Faunus nodded.

"The shy, big boobed childhood friend? Always trouble in these situations," she said.

"Totally agree," Nora contributed, as Ren stayed far back from the drama, "Her boobs hide deadly secrets!"

Yang growled.

"I'm the big boobed childhood friend!" She declared, low but angry.

"But you're not shy," Blake argued, "That's a trap meant to entice his protective instincts."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. Yang grit her teeth. Ruby had murder in her silver irises.

"We'll have to work together on this," Blake murmured.

Weiss, who was hoping to go see Neptune for lunch, sighed.

"All right, anything to end this blockade," she grumbled, "All over Arc, of all people."

Yang boldly charged in, 'accidentally' shoving past several transfer students. Pyrrha secured her right flank, and Ruby her left. Weiss and Blake kept the wedge going, letting Nora and Ren escape to the door.

Yang moved between Jaune and May with a fiery smile.

"Hey, sorry, we gotta get going!" She said cheerfully.

Pyrha then grabbed Jaune's other arm, smiling just as widely.

"I-Indeed," Pyrrha managed, "After all, my boyfriend and I were planning on eating together."

"BOYFRIEND?!" Several girls gasped, Yang, Weiss, Blake, and Ruby included. Yang grabbed onto Jaune's other arm, as Ruby got onto his back.

"We didn't agree to that!" Yang hissed.

"Yeah! That's not fair!" Ruby whispered angrily.

Pyrrha tried to speak, but what she had said, so boldly, had made her face turn bright red and her brain melted. She was giddy with excitement! She'd said it, she'd done it!

Jaune sighed. He gave Pyrrha as gentle a look as he could.

"She's exaggerating. I'm single, it was nice to meet you all, let's go to lunch," he stated. Pyrrha's face fell, and even further when he gave May a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again, May."

"N-Nice to see you too, Jaune," May managed, looking very intimidated by the three young women.

"Y-Yeah! Let's go to lunch, Team RWBY!" Ruby announced. She beamed at Jaune. "With you, right Jaune?"

"Naturally," Jaune deadpanned, with a small smile. Yang glared hot death at Pyrrha. Jaune sighed.

"I'll see all of you, relax, just give us a minute," he said with a smile. Yang slowly nodded, still shooting hate back at Pyrrha as she wrangled the protesting Ruby out the door.

Jaune followed, Pyrrha letting him pull her along. Her emotions were in such a frenzy right now! But she fell back on her instincts, trying to keep herself controlled.

They had to duck around at least two corners before they lost the other students. Jaune sighed heavily and looked back at Pyrrha. She opened her mouth, but he beat her to the punch.

"Sorry about that," he said, "I mean… My mom was always so busy, but I had no idea she had, you know, fans! I thought you'd be more popular!"

"I… I um…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry about the girlfriend thing. I-I just… It popped out, and I lost control…"

He loved her when she was honest, but she'd gone too far! She thought she was better! She knew she could do better! She didn't want to come off as-as crazy!

"Pyrrha," Jaune said firmly, "It's fine. Okay? May is just a girl I met when my parents took me to Vacuo when I was seven. We met, we had some fun, she still has the same beanie and hair style. She was nice, but that's all it is, okay?"

Pyrrha bowed her head, deeply ashamed.

"I… I'm sorry," she mumbled. Jaune's face softened, and he hugged her.

"Hey, it-it's okay," he said, "We're all working this out together. Hell, I didn't know what to do with all that attention. I was kind of frozen, but… You were there for me." He beamed.

"You're not alone, Pyrrha."

"Thanks to you," Pyrrha insisted quietly. She looked him right in the eyes, even as her heart raced, "I-I think… I think I…"

She closed her eyes.

"I think I might love you. F-For that."

Silence. She slowly opened her eyes, worried about what she might find. Jaune was still there, still holding her… Blushing hard.

She smiled like the sun. Jaune coughed.

"I uh… I-I care about you too, Pyrrha," he said, "A lot. Like I care about Yang, Ruby, Nora, Ren, Blake…" He shrugged. "Even Weiss. Most of the time."

"I… I care about them too," she insisted. Jaune nodded.

"I know," he said softly, "I'm honestly… I was really happy when I saw you hanging out with them. I…" He sighed. "I'm not a psychologist, but when you volunteer at hospitals as much as I have, you pick stuff up."

He paused again, gathering his thoughts.

"Your mom… Your mom seemed like she wanted to be the only thing in your life," he said, "And I don't want to just-just replace her. Exchange one master for another. I just… I just want to be one good friend in your life. Of many good friends."

"I-I…" Pyrrha bit her lower lip, so moved her eyes felt wet. He did understand, he did!

"I'm… I'm not sure I know how to do that. To make those connections… To find people who care for me-"

"You're doing fine," he insisted. "Really, but it'll take time, right? I know you can do it."

He gave her a wry smile.

"Then, well… You'll find a better guy than me, and won't have to settle."

Anger spiked in her chest. She hated when he was so down on himself, hated hearing him joke about it. She mustered her courage and hugged him tightly, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"This isn't settling. You're the kind of guy I always wanted to spend time with, even when everyone told me I wasn't allowed. If I'm allowed to want things for myself, then I can decide who is good enough."

"P-Pyrrha," Jaune whispered. Pyrrha pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes.

"We all care about you, too. And you hurting yourself hurts us, too."

Jaune winced deeply. She kept going.

"So if you want to help me be better? Help us all. Then we get to help you, too," she said firmly.

A dark look passed over Jaune's face. He was no longer the long-suffering team leader. He was an older man, who had seen and suffered much. His eyes were seeing nightmares-Nightmares he had never told her about, but she knew how he suffered.

"Maybe I don't deserve to get better," he murmured. Pyrrha shook her head.

"You do," she said, "I'll make you-We'll make you see it. Promise."

Jaune sighed. He slowly nodded.

"I guess it is that bad, when everyone talks to me about it," he said quietly.

"Don't focus on it," Pyrrha advised quietly. "Focus on the fun we're going to have on our date. And… And the fun you'll have with the others."

"If you'll focus on the fun you'll have with the others, too," Jaune said, "Okay? We're still on for our dates. We'll have fun. I promise. Just... We're not going to get married or anything, okay? Don't stress so much over it. You aren't rivals with Yang or Ruby or-Professor Goodwitch?!"

Pyrrha's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Her too?!" She cried. "She-She seduced you?"

"Wha-No-!"

Of course he had! If Jaune was this wonderful of a man, enough to attract all this female attention, of course older women would also follow him! Pyrrha could see it now! How harsh and unrelenting Professor Goodwitch was to Jaune in class! It was the perfect cover for her amorous intentions!

"The beautiful, mature woman-Of course she would fall for you!" Pyrrha sniffled, "! I-I knew I had competition, but her too?!"

"No Pyrrha, I'm not-!"

"Ahem."

Pyrrha slowly looked over her shoulder. Professor Glynda Goodwitch stood there, stern as always, but her lips were twitching ever so slightly.

"Thank you for the compliment, Ms Nikos, however misplaced. Mister Arc? I need a moment of your time, please."

"Ah, sure Professor, thanks," Jaune managed with a nod. He looked Pyrrha in the eyes. "For the record, no, I'm not dating the Professor." He looked back at her. "No offense, Professor. It uh… I mean, you'd never date a student, after all!"

"Certainly not one as much trouble as you, Mister Arc," Goodwitch deadpanned, her lips twitching slightly again.

"It won't take long. You should get to lunch, Miss Nikos."

"Of-Of course, Miss Goodwitch," she said. She paused and kissed Jaune deeply. It was an impulse, based on nothing but petty jealousy… But it felt so good.

She broke the kiss and smiled lovingly at his dazed expression.

"Yang got one today, I should get one too," she whispered with a soft giggle. She turned and headed off. Jaune watched her go, blinking.

- - -

Silence fell for a moment, before Jaune turned to Goodwitch awkwardly.

"I uh…" He coughed. "So... Um... You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," Goodwitch stated, "I'll make this brief: Is your team entering the Vytal Tournament?"

Jaune blinked.

"Well... I mean, Pyrrha mentioned it. And I guess it makes sense to compete in the team section, since RWBY is too, but..." He winced. "I'm really not where I think I need to be. I don't want to hold the team back."

"I believe you'll do better than you think, Mister Arc," Goodwitch stated calmly. She shook her head. "I am not ordering you to do so. Just because your teammate is believed to be a shoo-in for the championship is no reason to push her. However, I am fairly confident that after your showing at the docks, you will not be a hindrance to your team at all."

She smirked slightly

"Indeed. I believe you will provide extra motivation for victory."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"I... Yeah, I guess. The problem is, my most powerful skills are..." He trailed off and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Bent for lethal applications?" Goodwitch prompted. Jaune winced and looked aside. She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. He started and looked up at her.

"I understand the burden of learning control," Goodwitch said softly, her face compassionate, "I do. I believe you have the potential to master your abilities. If you need extra help, I will do what I can to provide it."

"Professor," Jaune murmured. She smiled gently.

"Take it from someone who had to work very hard to master her own powers when she was your age," she said with a nod. "Besides, with everything going on, I need as many capable Huntsmen and Huntresses as possible."

Jaune gulped. He wasn't sure about this. He wasn't. But since he was here... Since they were alone...

"About the transfer students," Jaune began, "I uh... I mean..."

Goodwitch stared at him.

"Yes, Mister Arc?" She asked.

Shit, what do I even say? Jaune thought frantically, 'Hey, my arch-criminal buddy warned me that dangerous criminals are infiltrating the school?'

He didn't think Neo would be keen on coming clean. Besides, he had no idea what they were even after. Only that it scared Roman. That didn't give him any clues though, probably because Roman was also mostly in the dark.

But he had to do something.

"I... I mean, I don't have a lot to go on, and I kind of can't reveal the source, but..." He worked his jaw, "Some of them... Aren't what they seem. They might have connections to... To the dock incident."

Her stare was impassive, but not dismissive. She slowly nodded.

"I see," she said quietly, "Which ones?"

"Cinder Fall's team from Haven," Jaune said softly. "Again, I... I don't have anything to go on that I can talk about-Geez, that sounds like crap, doesn't it?" He muttered to himself. Goodwitch shook her head.

"There are many students with... Complicated backgrounds, Mister Arc," Goodwitch said, and Jaune immediately thought of Blake, "You don't have to reveal anything you're not comfortable with. But you're certain they are involved?"

"Positive," Jaune said firmly. "I don't know what they're after. I just know they're connected somehow to the dock incident, and maybe others. Though uh... Mint, the short one? She's trying to get out of it."

Goodwitch raised an eyebrow. Jaune shrugged sheepishly.

"She's... Kind of my cousin? It's... Complicated."

"Indeed," Goodwitch observed. She sighed. "I will take your information to the Headmaster."

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Really?"

Goodwitch nodded.

"Yes, Mister Arc," she said, "And in the meantime? Please keep your eyes open. Let me know if you learn anything else."

Jaune nodded, feeling a weight leave his shoulders.

"Thank you, Professor," he said gratefully. She again gave him a small smile. He had a feeling she didn't do it often.

"Now, you should run along to lunch."

She arched a sardonic eyebrow.

"Unless there's anyone else you have to kiss goodbye?"

Jaune wisely shook his head.

- - -

Most girls are not here for the Jaune Bowl, just here for gags. So relax, Jaune isn't going to have a hundred girls in his harem.

Doesn't mean I can't have fun with him being terrified of the possibility though, right?

And yeah, Jaune does the sensible thing and squeals on Cinder. Let's see where this goes.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Pyrrha knew that Yang was going to be waiting for her outside the cafeteria hall. Honestly, she preferred it. Ruby's puppy dog eyes would have made her feel even worse. She felt bad enough that the blonde was glaring at her as she approached. The sunlight and bird song helped her to calm herself, as she stopped a few meters away from the blonde brawler. There were other students nearby, but all far enough away to not eavesdrop.

"Sorry," she said quietly, "I... I panicked."

Yang still glared. Pyrrha shook her head.

"I want... I want to do this fairly," she said softly, "I really do. That wasn't fair to you or Ruby."

Yang very slowly nodded, the tension mostly leaving her body.

"I get it," Yang said quietly, "Honestly? You're a lot like her."

"Ruby?" Pyrrha guessed. Yang nodded.

"She's... Not exactly very social herself," she said, "And hell, this is her first crush. I... I know it might end in heartbreak. I just want to make sure she's given as fair a chance as possible. You know?"

Pyrrha slowly nodded.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile. Yang sighed, and then smirked.

"Of course, now Jaune's got a reputation as a lady's man," she said, "If he's got at least three beauties after him. So hey, it's not all bad."

"Oh dear," Pyrrha winced, "I-I don't think he'll like that."

Yang chuckled. She lowered her arms and smiled softly.

"Well, it's not like it's wrong, is it?" She asked with a smirk.

Pyrrha couldn't help a small giggle. She shook her head.

"And... May is apparently just a friend to him," Pyrrha said.

Yang snorted.

"Yeah, because he knows how everyone genuinely feels," she stated. She sighed. "Blake may get most of her relationship knowledge from her smut books. But she's right. So... Let's work some things out with Ruby, huh?"

Pyrrha nodded.

"And... And Jaune is taking you out this week," Pyrrha stated firmly. She flushed. "I-I'll make sure of it."

Yang flushed. She rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"Heh... Well... I'll make sure it goes off with a Yang."

Pyrrha winced. Yang grinned.

"What? It'll be fully Pyr-reviewed!"

Pyrrha winced harder.

"Please stop."

Yang grinned.

"Never!"

- - -

In the cafeteria, Ruby was trying not to sulk but it was honestly really, really hard. Weiss had gone off to eat with Neptune, and how they fawned over eachother was nauseating even at this distance. Blake was sitting with Sun and his team. For some weird reason, she was just reading a book and occasionally nodding to what he said. Sage and Scarlet were talking about something that Ruby really didn't care about.

Nora and Ren were eating with her at their usual table but were deeply involved in a conversation about soufflés that even she couldn't follow. Yang had run off, and Pyrrha and Jaune were gone.

Right after Pyrrha had to make that announcement...

It was so frustrating, and she picked at her mashed potatoes with a deep pout.

"Hello Friend Ruby!"

Ruby looked up and managed a weak smile at the orange haired girl.

"H-Hey Penny."

Penny sat down with her, perfectly folding her hands in her lap. It was so much like Weiss Ruby nearly let out a snort.

"Hey Penny," Ruby said. Penny tilted her head.

"Are you all right? You are showing signs of depression and sorrow."

"I, well..." Ruby sighed. "I'm just unhappy."

"You are having... Difficulties?"

Ruby nodded.

"Um, well... Yeah."

Penny nodded again. She hummed.

"Based on my research, it is likely to do with Friends Jaune, Yang and Pyrrha?"

Ruby flushed.

"I... Yeah, it is," she said.

"Further analysis suggests that you wish to tell them something, correct?" She asked.

Ruby actually beamed, feeling very relieved.

"Yes! That's amazing, Penny!"

The Atlasian girl beamed back, nodding eagerly.

"Of course! I am an effective observer and analyzer of human behavior!" She paused. "Since I am a perfectly ordinary human girl myself!"

"Er, well, sure," Ruby said, blinking curiously. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because that is what I am!" Penny said cheerfully.

Ruby thought about it, then shrugged. Given how weird she was, it would be pretty unfair of her to call Penny out on it.

"So... What do you think I should do?"

"May I suggest you speak with your friends directly about the matter?" Penny said, tilting her head back the other way, "Would that not be the most efficient way to do it?"

"I-I mean... I wish I could but there's a... A lot of issues involved..." Ruby trailed off into a mumble. Penny hummed.

"Are you not scheduled for a social outing with the possibility of romance, aka, a date, with Friend Jaune? Can you not tell him at least?"

Ruby blushed deeply.

"I-I uh... Um... Y-Yes, but um... I just... I don't know if I should wait, or if I'll even be able to tell him then," she said.

Penny hummed.

"Navigating social situations is very difficult," she observed.

"Totally," Ruby sighed.

"I often have issues with that myself, Friend Ruby," Penny said. She smiled and laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "My father tells me to never give up! The more I interact, the more I learn and the better I do! It is the same with you, since we are both ordinary human girls!"

Ruby smiled warmly at Penny.

"Thanks Penny," she said with a nod.

Ruby saw Yang and Pyrrha entering, both looking much happier. She forced her smile back at them as they approached, even with how awkward she felt. Sure, she was jealous of Yang and Pyrrha being... Being so much more brave than her. More socially adept, with better figures and-

"Ugh, that's not helping," Ruby muttered. In comparison, telling someone about the Silver Eyes thing felt easier.

"Hm," Penny hummed, "I believe there is still tension between you and Friends Yang and Pyrrha."

"Yeah," Ruby sighed.

"Then you require an... Icebreaker, yes?" Penny suggested. "Or perhaps a cathartic release of emotions?"

"Errr..." Ruby shrugged. "Sure?"

Penny beamed.

"I believe I have a solution!" She declared as Pyrrha and Yang sat down across from Ruby.

"Hey Rubes," Yang said, "Pyr and I talked and we think that-"

Penny then took hold of Ruby's mashed potatoes and threw it into Yang's face. Ruby and Pyrrha's jaws dropped. Penny still kept smiling, as the bowl of potatoes fell from Yang's face. The blonde blinked... And then her eyes burned red and her hair flared gold.

"PENNY WHAT THE FU-?!"

"I declare a food fight!" Penny cried, "For the purposes of cathartic release! Friend Nora, Friend Ren, aid Friend Ruby against her sister and Friend Pyrrha!"

"WHAT?!" Ruby tried. Nora grinned and picked up a bowl of pea soup.

"CAN DO!" Nora cheered. She threw the bowl right at Pyrrha. The redhead ducked the shot, as did Yang... But Weiss didn't.

Splat!

"NORA?!" Weiss sputtered, even as her boyfriend, Neptune, tried very hard not to laugh, "WHAT-WHAT IS THIS-?!"

"FOOD FIGHT!" Nora bellowed, along with Penny. Weiss sneered.

"I'm not going to participate in such an immature, petty-!"

Sun grinned and picked up a bunch of bananas.

"Finally! Something fun to do!" Sun grinned. "TEAM SUN! ATTACK!"

Ruby felt numb. Like everything was happening to someone else. Yang grabbed a plate and blocked the volley of peeled bananas Sun threw like a machine gun. Pyrrha formed a shield with forks, knives and spoons. Nora threw bowls of pudding like grenades, as Weiss shrieked and dodged.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, PENNY!" Yang roared.

Penny grinned.

"Catharsis has commenced! Wonderful! Let us expand the fight to heal more relationships!"

"NO PENNY NO!" Ruby cried. She yanked a bowl of creamed spinach out of Penny's hands. "You can't just-!"

Penny let go and the bowl of spinach went sailing over the table. As if in slow motion, Ruby watched as Pyrrha turned to deal with the approaching projectile... And missed her deflection as it went right into her face.

Ruby couldn't help a snicker.

"RUBY!" Pyrrha cried out in shock.

"Hooray Friend Ruby!" Penny said cheerfully, "You are engaging in catharsis!"

Ruby grinned and picked up a loaf of Valean bread she spun around like Crescent Rose.

"I sure am!"

- - -

Jaune approached the cafeteria, a small smile on his face.

He had managed to do some real good. Next to that, some social embarrassment seemed like nothing.

He would talk with his team, his friends, and sort all of this awkwardness out. Pyrrha was right, they had the dates to look forward to.

After all, this wasn't some Mistralian romcom comic. Everyone was perfectly reasonable.

He opened the doors to the cafeteria, a smile on his face...

And a key lime pie hit him right in his smile.

His arms fell down, as the pie slid off his face and splattered onto the floor. He blinked the cream out of his eyes and gaped at the full food melee now going on.

With RWBY and his team smack bad in the center.

He sighed heavily.

"Yeah, okay... That's on me," he muttered.

- - -

Professor Goodwitch eventually had to come in and break up the food fight. Making all of the desks and benches float with her furious gaze burning with power was more than sufficient to stop the chaos. Damn, was she scary.

Jaune sighed as he sat with his teammates, Sun's team, and Penny Polendina in a mostly empty classroom. They were all separated, and not allowed to sit together. Vella Moisia sat at the teacher's desk, her eyes down on her Scroll. The teacher's assistant was probably a better choice for monitoring them than Professor Goodwitch. The look she gave him...

Right after she shared those kind words with him. Geez...

"You all right?" Whispered his partner.

Pyrrha sat down next to him, silent. He shrugged.

"Just didn't think we'd be in detention right on the first day back," he muttered. He glanced at her. "You all right?"

Pyrrha nodded, blushing a bit.

"Just fine," she said quietly. She looked over at Blake, who nodded. She gave her a small smile, before glancing back to Jaune. "You should ask Yang out this Friday."

Jaune blinked.

"It's our first week back-"

"Perfect time for it," Pyrrha insisted, "Or-Or so I've been told."

"I mean... I'm not rushing things am I-?"

"No," Pyrrha cut him off again, flushing as she did so. "No, you aren't."

"You would say that," he sighed. Pyrrha smiled softly.

"I just... I understand how she feels," she murmured.

"Miss Nikos, back to your seat please," Vella said gently. Pyrrha nodded and rose. She beamed at Jaune, as she walked over to her seat and resumed her studying. Jaune gulped, and looked over at Yang. He sighed, and gave her a smile as her eyes met his.

"This Friday work for you?" He mouthed to her.

Yang beamed and nodded. Jaune beamed back. He did like her smile, really.

He looked over at Ruby, to offer a reassuring look. She smiled back too, albeit a bit more guarded.

That said, he noticed a lot less tension between her, Pyrrha, and Yang. Which he hoped would become the norm.

He was not a damn harem protagonist!

"Jaune."

Jaune nearly jumped at the soft tone and looked to his side. Blake had sat down next to him, silent as always.

"Uh, yeah?" He murmured.

She handed over a piece of paper to him.

"Your date is all setup," she said.

Jaune opened the paper and stared in shock. He looked over at her.

"I... Really-?"

"Yes, really," Blake stated firmly. "Your other dates will be set up too. We've taken care of everything."

Jaune glanced over at Sun, who gave Jaune a thumbs up and a grin. He also saw Neptune, who glared hot death at him.

"Just make sure she has fun," Blake murmured, "She is my partner, after all."

"I will," Jaune said with a nod, "Promise."

Blake stared intensely. Jaune stared back.

"You should at least act like you're looking forward to it," Blake murmured. Jaune sighed.

"I am... I just..." He stared over at Yang, then Pyrrha, and finally Ruby. Blake elbowed him lightly.

"We'll get through this together," she murmured. "Don't tell me all your words about hope were for show."

"They aren't," Jaune insisted.

"Good," Blake murmured.

"Miss Belladonna!" Vella called out. Blake smiled, nodded one last time to Jaune, and rose to head back to her seat. He sighed softly, but he wore a small smile.

Maybe he should just try to focus on the good things in his life. It was what he was fighting for, after all.

Even if he didn't deserve it... They did.

- - -

Just a bit of levity. Though we're not going fully into the food fight as in canon, since that was mostly an excuse to show off incredible animation rather than stuff easily conveyed in prose.

Added that bit at the end to finish off the chapter! Date will be next time!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Well it had been a week and so far, Cinder's little infiltration seemed to be going well. At least according to Neo. Their fraudulent papers had held up, which Roman had not been counting on. Sure, he was a pretty damn good forger himself, but getting the headmaster of Haven to really sign off on their papers?

That was impressive. In a terrible sort of way.

Clearly, someone had put some actual thought into this entire scheme. Whatever the hell it was. He somehow doubted it was Cinder herself: Sure, she was brutal and had some cunning (and power to back it up), and she could be reasonable at times, but she was too quick to fry people who disagreed with her to be the real brains of the operation.

The fact she looked like a pornstar in her school uniform may have also been a red flag. But hell, he remembered how things were when he was at Beacon. You couldn't go five steps without running into a supermodel looking woman! Or a pornstar looking woman! Or both!

Ah, those were the days. Well, back to work.

He was secure in one of his favorite safe houses, relaxing in a bathrobe and looking over the reports from his men. Hey, even a criminal empire ran on paperwork. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Godsdamnit this woman is gonna ruin me," he muttered, "I'm up to my eyeballs in fucking debt! What the hell am I gonna do…?"

The door alert went off. He checked the video feed from his security cameras, and sighed heavily. He groaned again.

"Really? Fucking again?" Roman hung his head low, holding it between his hands.

"Uggh…" He was expecting these guests, at least, but dammit, he really needed some 'me time'.

Then again, since most of his 'me time' lately involved ruminating over how fucked he was, he supposed he may as well get back to work.

"Should've just stuck to boosting cars," he muttered, getting up and rummaging around in his closet to get dressed, "Should've just stuck to boosting jewels, and romancing lonely trophy wives, but nooooo… Got too damn greedy, didn't you Roman? You just had to think being handsome, badass and clever meant you should go right to the top!"

Properly attired (and with his make up on-He had standards, thank you very much!), he turned to the door where his unwanted guests had been patiently waiting.

He snapped his fingers and the door swung open. He sat back in his chair, looking relaxed as an exceptionally attractive young woman with dark skin, shimmering white hair, and a purple suit strode in with a warm, grateful smile. Behind her, following like a shadow, was a tall, thin man in a dapper blue suit and fedora, his face covered by a gas mask as he walked with a canesword.

"Thank you for having us, Mister Torchwick," the young lady gushed, dimples appearing in her cheeks as she smiled, "I'm a huge fan! That mid-air Queen of Aurora heist was amazing!"

Roman allowed himself a charming smile. Well! At least this associate of Cinder's could do flattery.

"Thanks! Took some doing, but hey: Nobody had robbed a casino airship that was also hauling a billion lien worth of Dust at the same time. Somebody had to put that in the record books," he said, modestly buffing his nails against his chest. "You are?"

"Iridescent," she said cheerfully, "This is my associate, Mister Slick. We recently took control of the Sanusian Deathmatch Fighting League."

"Yes, I've seen your work,' Roman observed. "Never quite my scene."

"Oh?" Iridescent asked, tilting her head almost cutely. Roman nodded, and waved a hand.

"Don't get me wrong, I see the monetary appeal of making schlubs fight in gladiatorial death matches against Grimm and each other, but it's a little too infrastructure heavy for my tastes. Plus, human trafficking was never really my thing. No offense."

"None taken," Iridescent said cheerfully, "I was born to it. My parents were slave fighters."

Roman nodded slowly.

"That right?"

"Yup!" She said, still far too light in tone, "My dad used to be a landed noble, but he lost it all gambling and had to make a living somehow. Met my mom, they got together, and had me! Apparently, they were fighting for my freedom when they died."

"Uh… Yeah," Roman managed, "Sorry about that?"

Iridescent shrugged. Slick remained motionless, and expressionless, as he had from the beginning.

"I was raised to be a lure, a gofur-Anything they wanted me to do, really," she said, "I was plotting to get my revenge, take over. It was a very long, involved plan. Was going to take years."

Her smile changed tone, and became utterly dreamy. She held her fists between her large breasts.

"Then… Then, I met him," she sighed, "And everything changed!"

"Him? Him who?" Roman asked, arching an eyebrow.

"He was just supposed to be another mark," Iridescent explained, "He was wandering just outside of Radian, a young, Hunter-in-Training. A real white knight. I pretended to be attacked by bandits, and he beat them all! I asked him to please free my village from the headman… And he accepted! He wandered right into our clutches, and we put him to work fighting in the pits!"

"Uh huh," Roman said, nodding slowly.

"He fought so heroically!" Iridescent went on, "Never giving up! Oh, it set my heart ablaze to watch him fight! He reminded me of my father, that grim determination, the hatred in his eyes."

"Uh huh," Roman added, again nodding. It was best to just let crazy dames stay lost in their reminiscing. Much safer that way. It was one of many reasons he was grateful Neo was mute.

"Then…" Here Iridescent's grin grew, her teeth shining, "Then, one wonderful night… He used an Aura Blade, and killed the Boss and all of his lieutenants! All in a single blast! In one fell swoop, he had liberated me in the most violent, destructive way possible!" She sighed happily.

"I offered myself to him, but he ran out into the night! I'd thought he'd been lost to me forever… But then… I found him."

Mister Slick held up a Scroll. Some of the media footage of the dock incident played. The vid froze on an image of a familiar blond in armor. Roman's heart sank into the pit of his stomach.

Oh no…

"Yes," Iridescent giggled like a schoolgirl. She tucked her hands behind her back and smiled shyly at him. "I was wondering… Would you help me get his attention, Mister Torchwick? I would be ever so grateful."

"I don't think Cinder would be happy," Roman managed. Yeah he was appealing to their mutual boss, but for good reason.

Iridescent snorted.

"As long as the Deathmatch League is giving her fighters and money, why should she care?" Her eyes blazed.

"Besides," she went on, an unhealthy light in her blue eyes as she grinned hungrily, "I'm not about to let those whores get their hands on my Jaune."

Roman mentally sighed.

Seriously Kid? Another one?

Well… Hopefully the Kid had gotten some rest during the break. He was going to need it.

And maybe Cinder's non-existent standards for hiring would play to his advantage this time.

"What did you have in mind?" Roman asked, bracing himself.

- - -

Yang checked over her makeup in the RWBY dorm mirror. Like she had the last five times. It wasn't likely to have changed much in the last ten minutes, but you never knew.

She looked over her outfit: A black and yellow striped tank top held up with two black strips tied around the back of her neck, with her muscular stomach fully displayed. Over this was a short black jacket. Her wide hips were held in a tight black skirt, with yellow stripes over her thighs. All of this set off with black, calf-length boots. All in all, she thought she looked as hot as she could manage.

It was an outfit she'd put together over the semester, especially for this date. She was very good at that.

"Don't be so nervous," Blake commented from her bunk.

"I'm not nervous!" Yang insisted. She grinned.

"I'm charged up for this! Yeah! Full of anticipation!"

Ruby pouted from a desk, Crescent Rose half-assembled in front of her.

"Yang," she whined, "Don't lie, okay?"

Yang blew out a breath.

"Fine, I'm a little nervous," she said. She walked over to Ruby and smiled. "But I bet I won't be half as nervous as you will be."

"HA!" Ruby cried with a cocky grin, "I-I'll be totally calm for my date! Yeah! No nerves here!"

"Sure, Rubes, sure," Yang chuckled, ruffling her little sister's hair affectionately. Ruby scowled, and brushed her hands away.

"Ugh, stop that! I can't wait until I'm tall enough for people to not do that," Ruby grumbled.

Yang glanced over at Weiss, who was texting furiously on her Scroll. She raised an eyebrow.

"You got anything to say, Weiss-cream?" She asked.

Weiss glanced up, and shrugged.

"No, nothing," she said, "Just hope you're not too disappointed in Arc."

Yang snorted.

"I don't think I will be," she stated. "What's with the cold, anyway? Thought you made up with Jaune?"

"I'm fine with Arc, mostly," Weiss sniffed, "But he's such a shameless playboy! Carrying on with three women!"

"We're each just going on a date with him," Yang pointed out, "We're all aware of it." She squeezed Ruby's shoulder comfortingly. "And you're pretty forgiving of Neptune flirting with anything hot and female."

Weiss flushed.

"I-I'm not! He's just… You know, he appreciates beauty," she muttered, "And his eyes are only for me!" She brushed back her hair with a scowl. "He's only going out with me! He's just talking! And looking! I-I can forgive that! He did protect me in battle!"

"So did Jaune," Blake quipped. Weiss blushed heavily.

"He protected all of us," Weiss growled, "That doesn't mean I'm just going to-to accept being second or third place in his heart!"

"Neither are we," Yang said with a smirk, patting Ruby's shoulder again, "But it's fine to just go out and have some fun."

"Then why are you so nervous?" Weiss shot back. Yang hummed, and shrugged.

"I guess you're right. Thanks Weiss!" Yang said cheerfully. "I'm going to go enjoy my date with Jaune! With or without your approval!"

"You're so motivational, Weiss," Blake observed, turning the page on her book. Ruby snickered, even as Weiss huffed.

"Ugh! Whatever! I'll just be looking forward to a proper date with a proper man, thank you very much!"

There was a knock at the door. Yang walked over to it, and opened it up with a bright smile.

"Hey Jaune~," she said cheerfully. Her smile grew a bit as she looked him over: He had taken the blue slacks from the suit, with a partially buttoned up white button-up undershirt, and combined them with a brown leather jacket. He'd arranged his messy hair into a still messy 'do, but there was a method to the chaos that made it look more tasteful.

He smiled warmly, and presented a single flower to her-A rose.

"Hey Yang," he said. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," Yang said, taking the flower and turning it around in her hands, "Nice jacket. Where'd you get it?"

"I uh, I asked Schwartz if he had anything I could borrow," Jaune said, "He said I looked good in this."

"He was right," Yang replied. She set the rose down in a glass full of water, and took his arm. "Don't wait up, girls~!"

"Hey Jaune have a good time-!" Ruby said quickly, waving, before Yang shut the door. She pouted a bit. Blake then rose from her bed, and pulled on her own jacket. Ruby blinked.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"Well, we're going to follow them, aren't we?" Blake asked. Ruby blushed.

"I-I mean… Um… Sh-Should we?" She asked.

"You don't want to?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. Ruby flushed.

"I-I mean, yeah, I do, but isn't that… Weird? Wouldn't we look crazy?"

"What's this 'we' stuff?" Weiss groused. "Are you kidding? Nobody would go and spy on their date!"

There was another knock at the door. Blake opened it, and Pyrrha stepped in. She was dressed in a hoodie and wearing sunglasses.

"R-Ruby," Pyrrha said, nervously, "Um, I realize it would be a bit unfair if I went spying on Jaune and Yang's date alone, so… Would you like to join me?"

A beat. Nora stuck her head into the room too, wearing a fake mustache and a broad grin.

"Come on! It's not stalking if we're all going!" Nora said cheerfully.

Ruby looked over at Weiss triumphantly. The platinum blonde reached out, grabbed a pillow, pressed it against her face, and screamed into it for a good ten seconds. She then dropped the pillow, sighed, and grabbed her own jacket.

"Fine. If we must," she grumbled.

- - -
Yang's outfit.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Outwardly, Jaune was able to keep his reactions fairly calm. In between getting knocked around by him, Gato's training had also included some mental excercises to stay focused. And of course, learning how to channel his Aura for medical purposes and Golden Lion's Roar had required some training in managing your emotions.

So on the outside, he looked composed as he walked with Yang out to the Bullhead docks, her arms around his, the scent of her perfume in his nostrils and her curvy, warm body pressing against his.

On the inside…

HOLY SHIT GODS ABOVE SHE'S HOT HOW IS SHE THIS HOT I DIDN'T THINK SHE COULD GET HOTTER HOLY SHIT…!

They sat down together on a bench as the engines started up. They didn't really talk much during the flight, just general stuff. Jaune double checked his nausea pills, and took five. That kept him focused, mostly. He wasn't puking his guts out, though the entire trip was still pretty miserable.

However, for all of Jaune's calm and preparation, it really was hitting him right now:

This is a date. This is a date. Holy shit this is a date. I'm really doing this.

I know her. I know her. She's not Iridescent. We're friends. I can trust her-

She shifted a little, and her chest pressed against his arm. Even through his nausea, heat blasted through his mind and body.

HOLY SHIT SHE JUST-!

"We're here!" Yang said brightly, as the Bullhead came to a stop. She helped Jaune up-Even with all the anti-nausea pills, he was still unsteady. "Geez, sure you're all right?"

"Y-Yeah, I took some meds," Jaune managed. He set foot on the ground, and took deep, calming breaths. Yang giggled.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just funny how you still get air sick!"

"Yeah, it's a barrel of laughs," Jaune muttered.

"Or a few buckets and trash cans of laughs," Yang laughed.

"Hmph," Jaune grunted.

She kissed his cheek.

"Don't sulk."

"I-I'm not," he managed, the green in his cheeks being replaced with red. She took the lead, pulling him along to the parking lot outside the airship port. She pulled out a small yellow remote from her purse, and clicked it. Something between two SUVs chirped in response, and she eagerly walked towards it with Jaune in tow.

They came across a heavily customized, bright yellow and black motorcycle. Sleek, powerful, and mean. Jaune sucked in a breath.

"Woah… A Wayland Motors 6113?!"

Yang grinned broadly as Jaune separated from her, looking the bike all over like a kid on his birthday.

"I call her Bumblebee! You're familiar?"

"Are you kidding? These are classics!" Jaune said enthusiastically, "My dad had one! Saphron inherited it when he got a Remus 205!"

Now it was Yang's turn to gasp.

"Your dad had a Remus 205?! Was it full milspec?!"

"It was!" Jaune grinned, "Armor, run flat tires, Dust booster, the works! It was so cool! It uh…" He trailed off, his smile becoming a bit sad, "It vanished when he died. Never found it."

Yang smiled apologetically, but Jaune held up a hand.

"No… It's okay," he said, "We're here to have fun. And we're already off to a great start."

"Perfect!" Yang said cheerfully. She tapped the side of the vehicle, and two helmets slid out of a hidden compartment. One was yellow and black, matching the motorcycle. The other was pink with cookies all over it. Yang smile's remained apologetic, but there was some mischief in her eyes.

"We seriously have to wear these?" Jaune asked, taking the pink helmet. Yang shrugged.

"We did tell Goodwitch we'd obey the law in Vale," she said, "And I didn't think to get you your own helmet. You'll have to use Ruby's."

Jaune sighed, as Yang carefully tucked her hair into a hairnet, and then donned her helmet. She threw her leg over Bumblebee's seat, and sat down. She activated it, the rev reverberating through the air.

"Besides," Yang said with a wink through her visor, "If you suffer through the helmet, you get to ride with me."

Jaune had the girly pink helmet on and was sliding in behind Yang in moments. He coughed, and pulled back a little.

"Ah, er, sorry-"

Yang giggled again.

"You regularly sleep with a girl in your bed, Stud," she pointed out. "Or it is just because it's me you're suddenly shy?"

Jaune took a deep breath.

"I refuse to answer on grounds of self incrimination," he stated. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. She revved up, and slowly backed out. Then, she gunned it, and Bumblebee tore out of the parking lot like Yang had lit a rocket.

"W-WOAAHHHHH!" Jaune wailed, clutching Yang tightly as she darted into traffic. Numerous angry horns filled the air as she raced around and between the cars. "H-HEY! I WANNA SURVIVE OUR DATE, DAMNIT!"

"JUST ENJOY THE RIDE, HANDSOME~!" Yang shouted back with a laugh, "YOU'VE ALREADY GOT A GRIP, EH?"

Jaune flushed harder, but held onto her curvy, muscular and yet soft form as she tore through the Valean traffic. Her bottom posed the biggest challenge.

Okay… Okay… Focus, Jaune thought, Focus… Remember Gato's teachings…!

His mental Gato nodded, looking mysterious, wise, and composed.

Yes Juan, he spoke, Focus on the flow of your energy. Focus on channeling that energy, like a river.

Right, focus on the river of energy, Jaune thought.

Focus on channeling that river, Mental Gato went on, Harnessing its explosive power and energy!

Right, harness…

Focus on channeling all of that energy, Mental Gato continued, Into a long, hard sword, throbbing with energy you struggle to contain-

THAT'S NOT HELPING!

Mental Gato just laughed, as Jaune sighed and did his best to hold on as Yang shot through a busy intersection. No, it wasn't helping, but damnit… A smile still came to his face.

They made it to a club in Middle Vale, a few blocks away from the Old Vale Walls. Yang grinned as she drove Bumblebee to a parking spot on the street. She pulled off her helmet and hairnet, letting her golden locks fall to her back. She shook it out, her golden mane practically glowing in the neon lights illuminating the street.

"Here we are!" Yang said brightly. Jaune looked up at the club's neon sign, and raised an eyebrow.

"'Junior's'?"

"You're familiar?" Yang asked, leaning back quite intentionally. Jaune twitched, but tried as hard as he could to keep his calm.

"I mean, my uncle Alex talked about it from time to time," he said, "Lots of bar fights."

Yang pouted.

"So I'm not the first, huh? Still… Good to know we'll fit right in."

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

She smirked at him.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little bar brawl?"

"No, but I am afraid of Professor Goodwitch," he stated. "And so should you."

Yang groaned softly. She slid off the bike, huffing a bit as she crossed her arms under her chest.

"Fine," she grumbled, "I'll behave, Daddy."

"Good," Jaune said, smirking through his blush as he extended his arm for her to take, "Gotta be a good example for Ruby, Mama."

Yang blushed deeply. She smiled, and took his arm in both of hers.

"You know, you just might end up having some fun tonight," she grinned.

"One can always hope," Jaune said, as he led to the club doors.

- - -

The rest of teams RWBY and JNPR had followed at what Ren had assured them was a safe distance. They'd grabbed the Bullhead right after them, and had given chase via the public bus system.

They soon reached Mid-Vale, and a rather loud nightclub in a rougher part of town. Ruby hopped off the bus, nearly vibrating with nervous energy. Pyrrha was right behind her, just as nervous. Nora followed, stroking her fake mustache in a way she thought made her look innocent, while Ren, Blake, and Weiss followed with varying levels of apathy or disbelief.

"How did you track them?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't put a tracking device on Arc, did you?"

"What? No, noooo!" Ruby said, laughing nervously. Pyrrha laughed just as nervously, while Nora joined in because laughing was fun.

"Of-of course not!" Pyrrha insisted. "I uh… I can just track him with my Semblance!"

"That's not weird at all!" Ruby insisted.

Weiss sighed, and held a hand to her forehead.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Arc, but that is a little weird, Pyrrha," she said gently.

Ruby beamed, holding up her Scroll.

"Then, good news! I just tracked them thanks to the app we all got to track people through their Scrolls! That… That's far less creepy, right?"

"Oh yes, it's absolutely less creepy!" Pyrrha said with an eager nod. Weiss gaped.

"No it isn't!" She protested.

"It isn't?" Pyrrha asked. She gaped. "OH NO!" She held her cheeks. "Oh no, oh no, nonono! I-I promised I wouldn't be crazy!"

"You're not being crazy!" Ruby insisted.

"You're both being crazy!" Weiss groaned.

"It totally isn't crazy! It's all out of love!" Nora said cheerfully.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Weiss cried in exasperation.

Ren shook his head, as calm as ever.

"Why are we disturbing them at all?" Ren asked. "I'm sure things will go just fine. We don't need to barge in on their private time."

Pyrrha winced.

"I… I mean… I suppose we shouldn't," she murmured, "I just really want to… To see, but…!"

Blake nodded, finally stepping forward despite being silent the whole trip out into Vale.

"Absolutely. This is all just out of love, and to make sure the date goes well," she said. "After all, each of you is getting a fair shot with Jaune. It would be deeply unfair if Yang… Well…"

"Well? Well what?" Ruby asked, eyes widening. Blake raised her eyebrows. The slightest hint of a smirk was on her face.

"If she decided to go all the way."

Ruby and Pyrrha both turned bright red. Weiss gaped, her own pale cheeks darkening. Nora grinned. Ren shook his head.

"I doubt Jaune would let it get that far-"

"NO! Yang would never do that!" Ruby cried. "Sh-She promised it would be fair-! She's my sister-!"

"She wouldn't do that!" Pyrrha insisted. "N-Not with Jaune's trust issues! Sh-She would never do that!"

"Are you so certain?" Blake asked softly. "It might be best to make sure. Discreetly, of course."

"Discreetly? Them?!" Weiss cried.

"But," Nora pointed out, "Jaune-Jaune is really, really hot!" She grinned and patted Ren on the shoulder. "Not that I would ever stray, Renny!"

"I know," Ren deadpanned, "I think you're being paranoid. Jaune and Yang won't do anything like that-"

"BUT WE SHOULD TOTALLY MAKE SURE THEY DON'T!" Ruby shouted, charging in with Pyrrha. They barged in through the front doors, the bouncers taking one look at them and parting. They were clearly familiar with Huntresses and wanted no part of them.

Nora grinned and dragged Ren with her. "COME ON!"

Ren, looking a bit exasperated, followed her along.

Weiss shot a glare at Blake.

"Why do you provoke them like that?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blake said, almost innocently. "Besides, don't you want to make sure Jaune doesn't take advantage of your teammates?"

"He wouldn't dare…!" Weiss growled, and stormed on in. Blake felt a deep feline sense of satisfaction.

It is nice to have friends. Friends who can be so ridiculous and yet…

Her Scroll vibrated. She checked the caller ID before she unfurled the device and answered the call.

"Hello Perrito? What is it?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then, Perrito spoke. His voice was soft, shaky, and filled with sorrow.

"Hello Blake… I just… I needed to call you about someone… It's Tukson."

He sniffled. Blake's chest tightened in dread, and she heard her heart pound in her ears.

"Perrito? What… What happened?"

Perrito sucked in a deep breath before he answered.

"I'm sorry… He's dead."

Her grip tightened on her Scroll.

"Where are you?" She demanded.

"The Cafe, but-"

Blake immediately took to the rooftops, running towards the Old City. It wasn't too far from here.

"I'll be right there!"

- - -

I managed to write some more for this. But I'm still taking things slow.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The forest was calm. There was nothing but bird song, the rustling of the leaves in the breeze, the gentle creaking of trees and the chirping of squirrels.

Jaune had managed to crawl up onto shore, just before the sun rose. He sat there, his Aura keeping him warm despite how cold and dead he felt inside.

There were people out there who didn't know that Gato Zapatos was dead. His family didn't know. His wife, his children, his grandchildren... None of them knew.

None of them knew... It was his fault. All his fault.

If I was stronger... If I was better... If I hadn't set out with no plan, no ideas...

He couldn't feel anything but the cold. All of it deep inside of him.

Jaune stared at his knees, just wrapping his arms around his legs like he was a small child again. A small child, hoping for his dad or mom to find him. To bring him home.

He shut his eyes tightly.

Mom... Dad... Gato... All I did... What could I do... What can I do...?

"HELP! HELP! HELP, PLEASE! HELP!"

Jaune sat up, eyes wide. He stood up, and looked around. He could hear the cries of people. People in trouble. He hesitated.

What if it's another trap? Another trick? What if... What if...?

"HELP!"

Jaune grit his teeth. He drew Crocea Mors, opened his shield, and charged in the direction of the sounds.

He broke through the trees onto a road. A few Beowulves had surrounded an armored caravan truck. The tires had been torn up, rendered useless. The engine block was a wreck. An Alpha Beowulf was tearing away at the doors, trying to break in. The screams came from inside the caravan, as the Beowulves began to shatter and splinter the armor that protected them. One little boy was shrieking as loudly as he could through a partially opened window vent on top.

His eyes locked with his. He looked so desperate, so fearful... So hopeful...

The door on the van began to budge from the impacts of the Grimm against it... When they paused.

The Beowulves turned away, the Alpha leading it. The monsters all stared intently at him before roaring and charging.

Shit shit shit... Shit shit shit...!

He had fought so many Grimm in the ring. Ended so many monsters. Yet his fear filled him, rooted his feet to the ground. He didn't have Gato to coach him. He didn't have his mother or father or anyone else to protect him.

He was all alone.

I can't... I can't...!

You can't, you can't, Gato's voice came into his mind, unbidden, as though he was right there with him, You already have, Juan. Many times.

But you're not here with me! It's my fault! It's all my-!

None of that matters, Juan, Gato's mental voice went on, If you don't do this... No one will. And more innocent people will die.

Will you let that happen?

Jaune swung his blade, and the Alpha Beowulf's head came clean off. He slammed his shield right into the dying monster's chest, sending it flying into its packmates charging right behind it. Jaune charged, bellowing angrily. He swung and bashed and punched his way through the Beowulves. Only two remained. The one on the right latched its jaws onto his gauntlet, and yanked his sword away as it pulled away. The other lunged for his throat.

Jaune formed a fist, channeled his Aura, and rammed it right into the Grimm. His Aura burned white as the Grimm's skull imploded. Its body flew away, slamming into the caravan as it dissolved. The other Grimm tried to lunge for Jaune, but he swung his shield around to bash it senseless. It fell onto his side, and Jaune held up his shield and slammed the edge right through its neck.

He panted, long and hard, drawing as much air as he could into his lungs. He walked over and picked up his sword. He looked over at the caravan. He saw many wide, amazed eyes.

Especially on that little boy.

Jaune managed a smile at him. The little boy smiled back.

Live your life, Juan... Live it well...

I don't know if I'll ever be able to do that, Gato, Jaune thought, as the people came out of the armored vehicle with wide smiles, But... But I'll try.

I'll try.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -


The club was packed. People danced on the wide, open main floor, sat and talked around stylish tables, and threw back drinks at the bar. Yang led Jaune towards the bar itself, and they both sat down on stools right up there. The place had a lot of open space, making the music and lights loud and bright, but not oppressively so. Jaune was honestly glad: He hated tight spaces, after everything he had been through.

The bartender, a tall, older man with black hair and beard, walked up cautiously. He narrowed his eyes at Yang, as he cleaned out a glass with a small towel. Jaune immediately felt a terrible tension falling upon them, and many eyes focusing on the pair.

Shit, shit, shit, who did I piss off? Jaune racked his brains, Did I piss off a guy who works for this guy?! I don't think so, but-HOW WOULD I KNOW?!"

"Hey, Goldielocks," he stated to Yang, "Didn't we have a chat about the last time you showed up here?"

"Aw, come on Junior, I thought we had an understanding?" Yang replied, batting her eyes. Jaune looked over at Yang with a raised eyebrow. He was now filled with a sense of relief and dread.

"What did you do?" He asked slowly.

Yang scoffed.

"Why do you assume it was my fault?"

"Because it was," Junior stated gravely, glaring hard even as he kept cleaning the glass.

Yang tried to look innocent, but failed miserably. She grinned.

"I mean… It kind of was?" Yang shrugged, "But he wouldn't give me information."

"I didn't have information," Junior stated flatly.

"Well I didn't know that!" Yang insisted.

"And so you wrecked up my club?" Junior demanded.

Jaune's eyes flicked back and forth between his date and the irate bartender.

"You have fights every other weekend!" Yang asked, waving a hand, "Mine wasn't that destructive!"

"Tell that to my insurance company!" Junior growled. Yang grinned, her eyes flashing red.

"Maybe I'll add to the damages."

Jaune held in a laugh, though he really shouldn't be feeling this way. He could sense people closing in around them from behind. He reached out and took Yang's hand. She looked over at him as he shook his head.

"Relax, sir," Jaune said, "We're here on a date. Just out for good old fashioned fun. No wrecking up the bar, promise."

Junior glared at him, looking him over.

"You… Alex's nephew?" Junior asked.

Jaune had to hold back his heart from leaping out of his chest. How many freaking people know about that?! Why would you tell him that, Roman?!

Outwardly, he managed a nod. Junior sighed, and gave the scowling Yang the gimlet eye.

"You and your boyfriend behave yourselves," he ordered.

Yang rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Yeah yeah…"

Junior headed off, and the sudden sense of pressure eased off. They still had eyes on them, but the attention was more cautious or curious than aggressive. Jaune let himself relax a little. Yang smirked a little.

"Your Uncle Alex seems to have some pull," she observed, with an odd smile and glint in her eyes Jaune couldn't decipher. Which was strange, given Yang usually wore her emotions on her sleeve. It's what he liked about her.

"Well, uh," Jaune shrugged, "Being a mob boss and an accountant are two different skill sets. Uncle Alex is… More flexible in his ethics when it comes to running numbers. I guess he gets around, since a gangster is a decilien a dozen, but a good accountant is priceless?"

Yang still kept staring at him, but slowly nodded. She leaned in.

"You know, you're easy to read when you lie," she murmured.

Jaune let out a breath. He glanced away.

"Sorry," he murmured, "Not… Not my secret to tell."

Yang shook her head, frowning softly.

"I guess I understand that," she said quietly. She then grinned.

"Hey, buck up! We're here to have fun, right?" She slammed her fist on the table. "Two Strawberry Sunrises!"

Jaune snickered, as Yang shot him a look.

"Something funny?"

"Nothing," Jaune grinned, "Just… The girliest cocktail ever made? Seriously?"

"I like strawberries," Yang pouted, as another bartender set down the crimson drinks. "What, you drink moonshine or something?"

Jaune chuckled as he threw back the cocktail without so much as a flinch. He then smirked at her surprised expression.

"Northern Sanus, we start drinking alcohol with our primary school meals," he said. Yang smirked back.

"Please, I was sneaking drinks when I was eight. You have met Uncle Qrow, right?"

"Sneaking? Impressive," Jaune replied, "To someone who didn't have mugs of wine for breakfast, lunch and dinner." He paused. "Well, until Mom made us stop. When I was twelve."

Yang tilted her head, her smirk sharp as a knife.

"Oh? You're saying you can handle your liquor better than I can? Sounds like you're trying to take advantage of me, Stud."

Jaune chuckled.

"Or you might just be a lightweight who wants the excuse," Jaune shot back, "Wild girl like you, luring in an innocent like me."

"Oh? How innocent are you, really?" Yang asked.

That… Was a splash of cold water to Jaune. Enough for his brain to assess the tactical situation.

She likes it when I fight back, he thought, Oh shit we're flirting… Friend date! Friend date! Friend-!

"Yo!" Yang called to the bartender, "Orochimaru Whiskey! Leave the bottle!" She smirked back at Jaune in a clear challenge. "Unless all that talk is talk?"

Well… Shit… Now what? Jaune thought to himself.

Meet the lady's challenge, Juan! Inner Gato shouted. She has been riling you up from the start! Time to prove your manhood! She likes it when you reveal it!

Phrasing! Jaune thought back. He met Yang's eyes, and nodded slowly.

The shot glasses were poured. He took one, and Yang took the other. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before they sipped at the same time.

Jaune held back a wince. Sure, growing up on wine had hardened him, but this stuff tasted like paint thinner. Yang looked a bit grimmer, but still smirked back at him.

"That's one down, Stud," she said, "You gonna keep up? Or am I gonna have to go back to calling you 'Crybaby'?

Fuck it. He was going to have a good time, whether he liked it or not, it seemed.

- - -

Sorry for the delay. We'll get shorter chapters but faster updates this week.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Rufus Winchester was not a man given to long silences. He was a man who preferred to be in action, doing something, anything. He still maintained his family weapons at his manse, after all. He had taught his son how to do the same.

He had also taught his son many filthy swears and curse words. Not always on purpose, though Aurelia still gave him the business over it sometimes.

This though? Even his formidable repertoire of blue language seemed inadequate to the state of old Fort Celliwig. Even from the Manwe Aerospace Firefly transport he rode, harnessed in tight, the base seemed more trees and ruins than a fortress to defend mankind.

The Valean-built utility airship could carry about 10 troops, with two pilots up front. The twin engines roared outside, louder than Atlasian Bullheads but faster. This model had been built for private militias, PMCs, and military export-So it did have armor and weapons. The gunner in the port door manned a 50 cal Dust cannon: A single round of which was enough to go right through an Ursa's head.

Flying as escort were a few other Fireflies, and the lighter Tigertail transports that were also serving as light attack and scouts. All were slim, even with their twin engines, and darted about like dragonflies in the light of the broken moon.

Rufus' Firefly headed for the old runway. The cracks in the asphalt were obvious even from this distance, as the utility transport landed a bit unsteadily. It settled, and the moment the khaki uniformed crewman (with a colorful Vacuaon balaclava under his goggles) undid his harness, he stepped out onto the tarmac. His aide, Platina, struggled a bit with her harness but stepped out onto the tarmac with ease after. She'd been sensible enough not to wear heels, and kept her dark hair in a tight bun under a bonnet that clashed with her gray pantsuit.

Lights had been set up everywhere, powered by Dust generators. More men in khaki uniforms and balaclavas managed the aircraft, tending them like the ancient cavalry would have tended their horses.

A green clad man with a scarlet tactical vest and a nearly trimmed beard came out, holding a red beret down on his head against the engine wash. He grinned brightly, bowing as his twin dagger-revolvers rattled from his belt.

"Councilman Winchester! Come, come!"

"Thank you, Sergeant Scarlet," Winchester greeted, reading the stripes on the man's shoulder. Scarlet turned and led Winchester and Platina off towards the largest building, right in the center of Celliwig proper. Trees that had shadowed the paved paths around the base were overgrown, now looking very ominous. Weeds dominated the flower beds.The windows were broken in most of the buildings, even those lit up with lights. The stink of Grimm residue permeated the air, and numerous claw marks, craters, and holes were left in everything, left by the Grimm that had taken over when men abandoned the base.

Scarlet led them into the old headquarters. A three story building, built in white and green brick with armored shutters. Numeroussoldiers, clad in nothing common save for green fatigues, carried out trashbags, swept away debris, or stood guard as Scarlet led them up the stairs. The walls were dirty, trash littered the halls. The doors were largely torn up or smashed.

Save for the double doors that guarded the office of the base commander, along with two more green clad troops. They opened the doors, nodding respectfully to Scarlet. He grinned back roguishly, and led them into the office.

The carpet was moldy. The windows were broken. The walls were disgusting, and the foul scent of mold permeated everything. There was a desk, but it had been smashed in half. The windows were fairly large.

In front of these windows stood two men. One was a dirty blond, with tanned skin and a neatly trimmed beard that ended in a point from his chin, with keen blue eyes and an aristocrat's nose. He was slim but built out of muscle, like a lean, hardy fox in his green clothing. Atop his head was a green bycocket, with a bright red feather sticking out of it. It was at odds with his modern tactical gear and compound bow, yet Rufus could not imagine the man without it.

The other was also in green tactical gear, with thinning, curly brown hair and deeply tanned skin. He had bat ears on his head, which twitched slightly. His eyes were covered in dark sunglasses.

Scarlet closed the door, but kept watch on the two guests from behind. His smile was still roguish, but there was a watchful glint in his eyes.

"Rufus Winchester, as I live and breathe!" The man in the bycocket greeted. "Been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"Captain Robert Loxley," Winchester greeted him with a cautious smile. "It has."

Robert shook his head. He looked around the base commander's office, his brows raised.

"You have any pleasant memories of this place? I did… Once."

Rufus Winchester was not fond of small talk. So he did what he did best.

"What General Prince did to you is unforgivable," Rufus said unequivocally. "He paid the price for his crimes."

Robert's smile fell and he became serious. A far more frightening expression on his fox-like face.

"He did," Robert said quietly, "But not soon enough."

Rufus sighed. That General Prince had the VDF start extorting and exploiting smaller towns during the Faunus Revolution was bad enough. That scandal alone was a dark chapter in Vale's history. When Robert had gone rogue when Prince had ordered him to massacre a village of Faunus that hadn't paid up, Robert had been court martialed and nearly executed.

His troops had rescued him, with the help of Robert's future wife, Marian Maid. They had married, and been exonerated thanks in no small part to Winchester and Ozpin's efforts, but… Robert's bitterness had carried him far from Vale proper.

"No," he admitted, "Not soon enough. The VDF paid the price for it, too."

"And now, you want me to re-establish it," Robert said, not so much a question. Rufus nodded.

"I do. I have the papers here, signed by Council Chairman Browning this morning." He held out his hand, and Platina opened her briefcase and passed the papers to him. He held them out to Robert, who took them and looked them over. He raised an eyebrow.

"General?"

"Yes," Rufus said with a nod. "You would follow the Uniform Code of Justice. You would make the VDF more than… Than what it became. Restore its honor. Defend your people… Our people."

Robert breathed out a long sigh through his nostrils.

"Blinken?"

"As usual, he speaks the truth, Master Rob," Blinken said.

"You've seen what we're up against," Rufus further pressed, "What we're trying to accomplish."

Rob stared at the papers. He looked back up at Winchester.

"Responsibility, hm?"

Cardin chuckled.

"That is the price paid for success," he said, "For all of us."

Rob nodded slowly. He looked over at Blinken.

"Blinken? How are things going with the base clean up?"

Blinken hummed and turned towards the window.

"Little John's company is dealing with some Vermin and Beowulves… Ali Baba is-"

The doors opened, and a younger dark skinned man in a red turban, flight goggles, khaki fatigues, and very white boots entered.

"Yo Rob… Rob! Man, these new birds? Kick so much ass! So much better than those damn Atlasian buckets!" Ali laughed. "HA! Ahmed just got a King Taijitu with one of the new Tigertails-Oh." He coughed when he noticed Rufus and Platina. "Sorry. I'm a little new to protocol, Councilman-"

"It's fine, Ali," Rob chuckled, "He's never much cared for protocol."

"Much to his staff's endless despair," Platina sighed.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't speak about me as though I'm not here," Rufus grumbled. Rob chuckled, as Platina remained her usual impassive self.

"Is it not you who believes in as unobtrusive of government as possible?" Rob asked.

"Yes, and meeting you all again is making me reconsider that," Rufus sighed. He shook his head. "Regardless, Rob… Ali… Even Jim. You're all needed. Vale… Vale needs you."

He sucked in a deep breath.

"And if you want my selfish motives? My boy just entered Beacon, and my daughter is going out on ever more dangerous missions."

"And you're gonna make a shitton of money selling us guns," Blinken pointed out. Rufus shrugged.

"Yup."

Ali chuckled. Rob snickered. Scarlet hummed. Platina clearly resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Well… I guess I can appreciate that kind of honesty," Ali said. "That might have saved a lot of trouble… For all of us."

A grim mood fell over the office. Then, Rob laughed.

"Well… Marian has grown tired of the nomadic lifestyle, no matter how luxurious I may make it. And, well…" He shrugged. "We ran across a young man. Idealistic. Foolish. Brave."

Rufus snorted.

"We all were like that, once," he said.

"And yet, here we are," Rob said.

The green clad man looked over the papers, stroking his beard as the lights fell over his shadowed face in a dramatic way…

Ali laughed, and shook his head.

"Come on, Rob. Just sign it! You know you wanna go around as General!"

Rob huffed.

"For that crack, you'll be a Major."

"What?!" Ali cried. "Major? Come on man, Captain! Captain sounds so much better!"

"It's Major, sorry, them's the rules," Rob chuckled. Ali pouted.

"Why did I have to become an exchange student here?"

"Hot Valean women was your original motivation, as I recall," Rob deadpanned. Ali smirked wryly.

"Oh yeah. Guess that's on me."

"Besides," Rob said, as he signed the papers, "This way, Jim won't be able to lord his new 'Admiral' title over us."

"He does love to do that, Master Rob," Blinken observed with a chuckle. Rob handed the papers to Rufus, who handed them to Platina. She tucked the papers away in her briefcase. Rufus extended his hand.

"Welcome to the Valean Defense Force, General Loxley," he said.

Rob stared for a moment longer before he reached out and shook Rufus's hand.

"It's nice to be home," Rob said softly, looking around the dilapidated office, "Home at last."

- - -

Yes, Blinken and Ali are based on Blinken and Achoo from "Robin Hood: Men in Tights". I realized there was a lot of excessive stuff originally, but I realized that these characters are meant to be fun side characters, though with their own backstories. More of which you will see but only as it relates to the main story.

That said... The world of RWBY is full of much potential. And I hope you will enjoy it. And take inspiration from it.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The Just Right Cafe was easy enough to spot, during the day or night. The old fashioned neon signs saw to that, guiding Blake in like she was a moth heading for flames. She dropped down from the rooftops in front of the door, and strode in.

"Perrito? Goldie?" She called out. She found them soon enough: Perrito was sitting at a table in the back, his head in his hands. Goldie was sitting next to him, holding him tightly. She looked up, relief on her face.

"Kitty! Hey," she said, "You didn't have to come-"

"I-I did," Blake said quietly. She walked up to Perrito, yanking a chair up to sit across from him. "What-What happened to Tukson?"

Perrito let out a long, low sigh. He slowly sat up, tears still running down his cheeks from his large eyes. He shook his head slowly.

"He… The police called us," he said, "Said they found him in his bookshop. I was just about to go over, see him, when we got the call." He closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath to regain his calm.

"He was killed," he said softly, "It was… Brutal. Beaten to death…"

Blake shook in horror, holding her hands up to her mouth.

"Oh… Oh Gods, I…"

Perrito sniffled again.

"If I'd been there, I-I might have-"

"Died too," Goldie stated, firm but quiet, "You know that, sweetie."

"The White Fang's tried to take us out before," Perrito countered. Goldie shook her head rapidly.

"To shut us up with intimidation and violence, yeah. But murder? They kept away from it, for the most part… Until now."

"Until now," Blake whispered, tears beading at the corners of her eyes.

Goldie looked up at her, and scowled.

"Now don't you go blaming yourself for this, Kitty," Goldie barked. "It wasn't your fault!"

"I'm-I'm a traitor to the White Fang," Blake whispered, "I-I could have… If they're escalating like this, my leaving-"

"Don't you dare!" Goldie growled, but Perrito held up a hand to his wife. He shook his head, and looked intently into Blake's eyes.

"Didn't make them murder Tukson," Perrito said, as calmly as he could manage. "Right now… Right now I want to blame myself. I'm making a good argument. I do that, I make good arguments for why I should blame myself. It would be nice, in a way, if everything bad that happened to the people I love was my fault, cause that… That would mean I could fix it."

He shook his head slowly.

"But it's not true. I'm not at fault. The bad things do happen… But they're not my fault unless I do them," he stated, "And it's the same with you."

Blake rapidly shook her head, her blood boiling in her veins.

"I-I can't just let this go unanswered-!"

"I know," Perrito said, "I know… It won't."

"Count on it," Goldie growled.

Blake nodded her head slowly, even as her fingernails dug into her knees. This… This wasn't going to go unanswered.

She would deal with this… She would…!

A loud boom rang out, barely muffled by the cafe glass or walls. Perrito and Blake turned to the windows, and saw a red glow coming from behind several buildings. A pillar of smoke began to rise into the air, as sirens began to scream in the distance.

"That's in the direction of the Emerald Manse," Goldie muttered, "What's going on-?"

"I don't know," Blake said firmly, "But I'm going to find out."

- - -

Jaune stared at the shot glasses, trying to count them up. Usually, math wasn't a big issue to him, but Yang was leaning against him and whispering things.

"Haaa… Knew you were a lightweight," she snickered, her warm breath tickling his ear. Jaune snickered.

"There are… Twelve shot glasses," he said at last. He looked to the bartender, a nervous looking young man with white hair, "Right?"

"Er, yeah, right sir," he said. "You're tied."

"Tied?!" Yang growled, glaring at her pile of shot glasses right next to Jaune's, "Seriously?! You gotta be cheating!"

"I've been here the whole time!" Jaune laughed, pressing his head against hers affectionately.

"Bet you're using a… A medical technique," Yang mumbled against his ear, while pressing herself against his side, "Some medical… Bullshit!"

"Why would I do that?" Jaune asked. Yang smirked and pursed her lips. She blew into his ear, making him squeak and blush.

"I can think of a few reasons~," Yang murmured sensually. Jaune gulped.

"Y-Yang, hang on, we gotta-"

"Maybe I'll just let them have their turns too," Yang snickered, "Would you like that, Stud?"

"I-!"

"Well. Well. Well."

Yang groaned loudly and looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in annoyance. Jaune turned as well and stared at the twin, black haired, green eyed women in Mistralian clothing who stood there. Both were very beautiful, and both looked very annoyed.

"Why don't you go away?" Yang moaned. "I'm not causing any trouble!"

"Uh, hey, I'm Jaune," Jaune said, as politely as he could, "And you are?"

"Melanie," the twin on the left said.

"Militia," the twin on the right returned.

"The Malachite Twins," they said together. Melanie raised an eyebrow at Jaune.

"How'd you land a boytoy, Blondie?"

"We thought you were an angry lesbian, with how much of a brute you are," Militia stated.

Yang was about to get up and start throwing punches, but Jaune wrapped his arm around her waist tightly and held her against himself.

"We're here to have fun, not get in a fight," Jaune stated, firm, calm, but implacable. The twins smirked. Melanie reached out to rest a hand on Jaune's shoulder, caressing it. That made Yang growl.

"Oh? Sure you wouldn't rather have fun with us?" Melanie asked sweetly. Militia also reached out, caressing Jaune's cheek.

"We'd be a lot more fun than her~," she crooned.

Yang's eyes flashed red. Jaune glared.

"I suggest you back off," Jaune stated, still calm but deadly, "I promised we wouldn't wreck the place… But if you're going to provoke us, it'll be on you, not us."

The twins glanced at each other, before they pulled back. Melanie shivered, smirking saucily at him. Yang growled again, but Jaune kept a tight hold on her.

"Shame… I happen to like hard men like you," she said.

"I find them boring," Militia huffed, "They're never any fun."

"Yeah, good point," Melanie admitted with a shrug, "They can't loosen up and enjoy themselves."

Militia sniffed.

"I bet he can't even dance worth a damn."

Jaune twitched. His eyes glowed briefly. Yang looked over at him, now wearing a concerned expression.

"Jaune?"

"Excuse me," Jaune said, slow and deceptively calm, "Did you imply… That I can't dance?"

The twins smirked in unison.

"No, we're saying you can't dance," Militia stated, "Neither can your bimbo girlfriend."

"Not without wrecking up the place, like the wild sow she is," Melanie sniped nastily.

Jaune took a slow, deep breath, even as Yang's eyes burned red. He then let it out, and smirked in a way that made all three women stare intently.

"Dance floor. Two minutes," Jaune ordered. "Yang? Meet me there, please."

"Sure thing," Yang said with a nod, hiding her confusion.

Jaune got up and walked to the DJ booth. It was being manned by a mole faunus man, with thick dark sunglasses as he used his claws to manage the turntables. He handed him some Lien, and made a musical selection. The DJ grunted, but nodded as he pulled out the requested disk and placed it on the turntable.

Jaune turned and walked to the dance floor, the club patrons already on it parting for him like frightened geese. The Malachite Twins were waiting, facing down Yang, in a circle formed by the other club goers. Jaune went and stood alongside Yang, giving her a confident smile.

The DJ started the song, which opened up with a slow bass line. It soon expanded into a hot beat and a dramatic singer.

"Ladies first," Jaune said. The twins smirked, and began to dance in unison, stepping back and forth like they were of one mind. The crowd hooted and cheered appreciatively, as the two ended with perfectly synchronized spins and kicks.

We donʼt shy away from no fight
So donʼt push us now cos baby maybe
We bite
Back it up!
Back it up!
You seem to have quite the bone to pick with all of us
A chip on your shoulder big as a rhinoceros…

Jaune took Yang's hand. He smiled warmly at her, and his Aura flared for a moment. Her red eyes went back to lilac, as she shot back a warm grin. He took her in his arms as the song had a brief bridge before the chorus.

On a crusade~
Get stuck so
Make lemonade~

"Our turn," He murmured, and off they went!

Time to shine in the dark
Tonight Iʼll be the light
Iʼm crusading
Donʼt you even worry
Time for spells in the dark
Tonight, Iʼll bring the fight
I been saving
Donʼt you even worry~!

Jaune led Yang through an aggressive tango, before they switched to open swing dancing with some hip hop jamming. They ended the chorus with Jaune putting Yang into a dramatic dip, before yanking her up to spin her like a top. She came out of it and finished by spinning herself into his embrace, her back to his front as he held her tightly. She smirked at the twins, who fumed as the crowd cheered.

"Damn… It's like you can read my mind," Jaune whispered. Yang smirked back over her shoulder, pushing back against him.

"I'm pretty good at reading body language," she cooed, "And I like what I'm seeing."

She wiggled her eyebrows meaningfully, as Jaune bit back a snort of laughter. They resumed dancing, barely paying any attention to Militia or Melanie. He was getting lost in the music, and in the girl in his arms, as everything else fell away.

- - -

Ren would admit, under a lot of duress, that watching Jaune and the soap opera that was his life could be very entertaining. Certainly more fun than dealing with his own issues with Nora.

Yes, he did care for her deeply. Yet… No. Don't focus on that. Distract yourself, distract yourself.

Even while Nora was excitedly bouncing up and down in the chair of their table at the club, grinning through her fake mustache as she watched Jaune and Yang dance on the floor below.

Pyrrha, in her hoodie and sunglasses, was bending and unbending the silverware as she fretted over the blond pair dancing below. Ruby was chewing on a napkin with a bright blush, as Weiss glared down at the two.

"Do-Do we really need to keep watching this-this nonsense? You all decided to date such a-a playboy!"

"He's just… Such a good dancer," Pyrrha murmured. "I suspected it based on his footwork, but… Wow…" She grinned goofily.

"Geez," Ruby mumbled. She looked over at Weiss. "Weiss, you gotta teach me dancing! I-I don't want to step on Jaune's toes on our date!"

Weiss flushed.

"Certainly not! Besides, that's less like dancing and more like…" She made a face, red as it was already, "M-mating!"

"So jelly," Nora taunted.

"I AM NOT!"

"Shhh," Pyrrha hissed, "Don't! We're watching them covertly, don't blow it!"

"Yeah!" Nora said, her fake mustache bouncing, "We're supposed to be incognito!"

"Ugh," Weiss groaned, "Don't we have anything better to do than spy on Arc and Yang? The lout can dance well, so what? He's just using it to manipulate you all into a harem!"

"You think?" Ruby asked, sounding a bit hopeful. Pyrrha flushed deeply, and rapidly shook her head.

"No! No, come on Weiss, he's not like that," Pyrrha said, a fierce glint in her eyes.

"He's carrying on with multiple women at the same time!" Weiss protested.

"But we all know about it and we're okay with it," Pyrrha said with a nod, "As long as he chooses one at the end. We… We will abide by his decision."

"Just one?" Ruby mumbled. Weiss glanced at her in disbelief. Ruby blushed.

"What?"

"Why me?" Weiss sighed. "I'm just glad I have a true gentleman as a boyfriend. Not some lecherous lout like Arc."

"And why aren't you out with him?" Ruby asked. Weiss flushed.

"He-He had to train with his team! He's diligent! We're going out next week!"

Nora snorted. Weiss glared over at her.

"What?" The heiress demanded. Ren rested a hand on Nora's shoulder. He shook his head.

"Nothing," Ren stated calmly. "As to your earlier question, Weiss… No. No, we do not have anything better to do on a Friday night."

"That's pretty sad," Nora said with a nod. She grinned. "But still a lot of fun!"

The energetic pop song soon ended. The next song began to play, announcing itself with a harsh three chords, played on guitar and accompanied by what sounded like a Vacuoan sitar. Pyrrha frowned as she watched the dance floor.

"Hmm," Nora mumbled, "This song is kinda dark and ominous."

"It is a modern arrangement of a classic," Weiss sniffed, "Why it would be playing in a rundown gin joint like this is… Curious…"

Their Scrolls all went off at the same time. Ruby pulled hers out first. Her eyes widened.

"It's Blake! I wondered where she went," she said, "There's a fire nearby! We should go help!"

Pyrrha didn't even hesitate, though her eyes lingered on Jaune and Yang.

"Right. Let's go," she said, leading them towards the exit. Ren allowed himself to be led along, eyes forward as Nora held his hand.

Jaune could take care of himself. They had work to do.

- - -

"Jaune?" Yang asked. He had frozen in place as the song washed over the crowd. The Malachite Twins ceased their dancing too, Militia making a face.

"You gonna keep going or what?" Militia demanded. Jaune remained unresponsive, just staring out into space.

There must be some way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief…

Yang grabbed Jaune's shoulder. He started, flinching away, his hand reaching for a sword that was not there. She stared into his eyes: They were wide and wild, as he looked around like a caged animal. Her Scroll was buzzing, but she didn't pay it any mind compared to the potentially dangerous situation right in front of her.

Yang held out her hands, not touching him, as the other club goers began to back away from them.

"Hey," she said softly, "Hey, Jaune? It's me. It's Yang. I'm here. I'm right here. What is it?"

"I…"

Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line
Know what any of it is worth…

Jaune shook, his Aura flaring around him. There was a cry of fright as the other dancers began to move away. Yang's eyes widened as Jaune's gaze became determined, his eyes began to blaze.

"No reason to get excited"
The thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke…"

Shit…!

She grabbed Jaune and bodily pulled him away, through the startled crowd, past the nervous bouncers, and out into the night. The song was muffled, and outside in the cool night air, Jaune began to calm down. Yang hugged him tightly as he did, and he held on almost desperately as he took deep breaths.

"Hey," Yang murmured, "Hey… You with me? You all right?"

"Y-Yeah," Jaune managed shakily, "Yeah… Yeah, I-I'm… I'm okay…"

He sucked in more deep breaths, as Yang held him tightly. He slowly relaxed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay," Yang said softly, "It's okay… What was that?"

Jaune looked to the side.

"I uh… I don't…"

Yang glared at him. This close together, he couldn't look away easily. And Yang wasn't about to let him.

"Jaune," she said, firm and strong, "You've got a lot of shit in your background. I figured that out, all right? We're all pretty messed up, honestly. Hell, Ruby is probably the best adjusted, which is saying something given I helped raise her."

"You're being too hard on yourself-" Jaune tried, but Yang interrupted.

"But you were ten seconds away from violence over a song," she said firmly. "Might be nice to know why? So maybe someone can help you?"

Jaune stared at Yang with a blank expression. He let out a soft sigh.

"So… Blake didn't tell you," he said quietly. Yang blinked.

"Tell me what?"

Jaune shook his head.

"It's… Complicated," he said.

Yang dragged him over to a surprisingly nice bench, and sat them both down under a streetlight. She looked intently at him.

"I'm fine with complicated," she said softly.

Jaune shut his eyes again. He shook his head again, before opening them again.

"A week on my journey out to Beacon… I came across an inn," he said, "I was going to ask to stay in the stable or something if I could work for it. A girl with dark skin, white shimmering hair, and blue eyes was being manhandled by some thugs."

"Help! Help me!" She screamed, as the five greasy brutes pawed her right there in the middle of the dining area. No one else stood up to intervene. The waitress kept her eyes down. The innkeeper busied himself with his ledger.

Jaune stood up, and rested his hand on Crocea Mors' hilt.

"Hey! Back off!" Jaune snarled. The gangsters laughed mockingly, the leader pulling out a shortsword.

"Or what, brat? You gonna stop us?"

Jaune nodded.

"I will," he growled.

The thugs charged. Two minutes later, they were all down on the floor, groaning or unconscious. Jaune rubbed his knuckles. He hadn't needed to draw his weapons at all.

The girl in a purple dress beamed, tears at the corners of her eyes. She ran up and hugged Jaune, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" She cried.

"Nothing to it, miss," Jaune said with a grin, "It's what a Huntsman should do!"

"Oh? You're a Huntsman?" She asked. She sat him down, as the thugs, very chastened, slunk out as quickly as they could. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah! Well, sort of. I'm going to go to Beacon to become one!"

"All that way on foot?" The girl winced, and shook her head as the waitress came up and placed some food on the table, "That's very difficult. You must be very strong!"

Jaune flushed modestly, as he dug into the food. The waitress still didn't look his way, shuffling off. She flinched when the girl looked her way, but otherwise did nothing.

"I'm uh… I'm all right," he said. "My name is Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!"

The girl giggled.

"We sure do!" She said with a nod. "My name is Iridescent and-Ooh! Turn it up!" She called out to the waitress, who was wandering by the jukebox, "I love this song!"

The waitress nodded, flinching again. Jaune thought that was a little weird, but the music filled the air and Iridescent filled his view with her dazzling smile.

"Jaune. I know it might be a lot to ask… You already endangered yourself for me, but, well…" She looked down out of shame. Jaune frowned.

"What?"

She reached out, hesitating.

"My family owes a local mobster money, those thugs work for him," she said, "A LOT of money. We'll never be safe unless he's dealt with… Oh, I'm so sorry!" She shook her head, holding her hand up to her mouth as she nervously bit on her knuckles, "You-You've done so much already and I-!"

"Hey, hey," Jaune said, reaching out to take her hand, "It's all right. Look… My ancestors were all great heroes. I want to be a great hero, too. What kind of hero wouldn't help out those in need?"

Iridescent looked up, tears in her eyes as she stared in shock.

"You… You will?" She whispered.

Jaune nodded. She grinned, and leaned over to kiss him on the lips. His entire body went warm and fuzzy.

"Mmm… Thank you Jaune!" Iridescent giggled. "Oh… I can't believe this! I'm the luckiest girl in the world! And while my favorite song is playing, too." She sighed happily as the music reached a loud crescendo behind them.

"It's like… It was meant to be… 'All along the watchtower~...'"

Jaune shook his head, scoffing.

"She… She lured me in, put aura suppressing cuffs on me, and… And made me fight death matches against Grimm," Jaune went on, quiet and bitter. "I only escaped because my fellow prisoner, Gato… He trained me. He was my only friend there, my mentor. He taught me how to actually fight, and to never give up. He taught me that Aura technique, Golden Lion's Roar. I had to…"

He paused.

"I had to use it… And when I used it, I-I… I killed people. A lot of people. The mob boss Iridesdent worked for, his henchmen… And after that? We ran. We just… We ran. We got to a cliff overlooking a river. Grimm surrounded us. I was… I was going to fight them off with Gato… He just told me to live my life. To live it well… Then knocked me into the river below."

He looked up at the sky, staring at the stars that still shone through the light pollution.

"... I can't stop thinking it should have been me," Jaune said, "That I should have died. I was such an idiot. Wanting to be a hero… I fell for such a stupid trick, and… And it got Gato killed."

He bowed his head.

"I'm no hero," he muttered bitterly, "I'm not much of a Huntsman. I don't even know why you like me. I-I don't like me…"

He looked up. Yang looked furious, her eyes burning red. He winced, already anticipating a punch as she raised her arms…

And hugged him tightly.

"Then why are you here?" Yang asked softly. "Why didn't you give up? Go home?"

Jaune shut his eyes again.

"... Because... It's still my dream," he muttered. "My stupid, idiotic dream. To... To be a hero. To help people."

"And have you helped people?" Yang pressed.

Jaune slowly nodded.

"Yeah... But-"

"You got tricked," Yang stated, "You got your ass beat. You got humiliated. You had to kill to survive. And your mentor sacrificed himself for you so you'd live. That… That's enough to fuck anyone up."

She looked into his eyes, holding back her own tears.

"That doesn't make you a bad person," she stated, "Just… One who has gone through a lot of shit. That's not weird here, is it? I mean..."

Yang let out a sad little laugh.

"Would sane people want to get a job to fight the Grimm? Would they?"

Jaune stared back at her. She bit her lower lip.

"I... I don't know," Jaune admitted. "I wouldn't know."

"Neither would I," she said. She caressed his cheek.

"Look. We want to help you through that… Because we all care about you. We can't help you with what you don't want to share, and, hell, I get... I get not wanting to share that. There's plenty I don't want to share, but, I mean… Blake heard this. What did she say?"

"That… That I should stop beating myself up over it, and do what Gato said," Jaune managed in a tight voice. Yang nodded.

"That's why we're friends, despite everything. I know… I know she did a hell of a lot of bad stuff. Stuff she can't talk about. We've all got our shit… But it doesn't mean you're not worthy of forgiveness, all right? Or anything else. If you're willing to work to get better… And if you're willing to let other people in."

She leaned in and kissed him. Unlike the previous pecks, this was much warmer, almost electrifying. Jaune leaned in, kissing her back.

Ohhh… Geez, geez… What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do…? Ruby, Pyrrha, please forgive me, I'm holding back so hard but he's just…!

Their Scrolls rang. They broke the kiss, panting. Yang recovered first, pulling out her Scroll and opening it.

"Blake? Your timing needs some work-"

"The Emerald Manse building is on fire, get down here," Blake stated loudly. Yang grimaced, but nodded.

"We'll be right there," she said. Jaune got up and nodded back.

"I know the way."

"Then you can navigate," Yang said. She ran over to Bumblebee, and hopped on. She pulled on her helmet. "Hop on!"

With no hesitation, Jaune did so, yanking on Ruby's helmet before wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She sighed softly at the feel of his warm, strong body against hers.

"Hold on tight," she said.

"Definitely," he said, and her heart fluttered.

Geez… Gotta be the good sport… Gotta be fair… Gotta be fair…!

- - -

Yang drove them through traffic into Old Vale, following Jaune's directions. They flew past the Just Right Cafe, and the old City Park to where smoke was billowing up into the night. Holographic cordons surrounded the area, keeping the curious crowds at bay. Yang spotted Ruby, Blake, Ren, Nora, Weiss, and Pyrrha behind one such cordon, near a news van.

All of them looked very serious. Weiss was a bit distressed, gritting her teeth. Yang frowned-What would have caused that? She looked at the building.

The Emerald Manse was smoldering, but the flames were nearly all gone as firefighters sprayed it with water from their trucks and from a few small airships.

"Anyone hurt?" Jaune asked, as they dismounted Bumblebee and walked up to their friends. Blake shook her head.

"No, no one was in the building when it exploded," she said, "I checked first and got out. Nobody saw me."

"Ninja Kitty to the rescue," Nora said with a nod.

"Then why do you all look so grim?" Yang asked, "I mean, aside from the white masks?"

Blake slowly held up her Scroll. Grainy security camera footage played, showing a boring looking government office.

"I managed to get into the security cameras before the firefighters showed up," Blake said quietly.

Yang sucked in a breath as members of the White Fang broke into the office, and began tearing the place apart for records. Computers, file cabinets-Everything was ransacked.

"White Fang?" She murmured. "Why are they robbing a government records building?"

"I don't know," Blake said grimly, "But they also murdered a former member this week. Someone we knew personally. We need to-"

"We need to turn this over to the police, and let them handle it," Jaune said firmly. Blake glared.

"Jaune, they-!"

"This is what we got in trouble over last time," Jaune said, "And while we did stop the bad guy, the cops or actual Hunters would have done a much better job! We can't go and play vigilante on-"

He froze. Yang looked at his face. That same expression in the club came over him, only angrier. Yang looked back at Blake's Scroll screen.

A woman, curvy and beautiful, practically strutted into the office. Long, white hair that shimmered. Blue eyes. Dark skin. Dressed in a purple suit. She boredly walked between two White Fang members, to a wall safe. She reached out and yanked it out of the wall, tossing the wrecked door aside. She then walked away, towards the camera, leaving the White Fang members to rummage through it.

She adjusted her hair… And smiled. She winked, then blew a kiss to the camera.

"Who is that? She's not one of Roman's enforcers, is she?" Weiss asked.

Jaune was silent.

Blake sucked in a breath.

"Listen Jaune. We need to do this. I'll turn over the evidence to the cops if I have to, but I won't stop until Tukson gets justice! If I have to do it on my own-!"

"Okay."

All eyes turned to Jaune. Blake herself looked a bit shocked, which normally Yang would want to get a photo of for teasing material later.

Now though… The intense look on Jaune's face did nothing to set her at ease.

"Okay," he said, "We'll send it in to the cops, anonymously. Then after?"

His eyes narrowed.

"We're going after them… And taking them down."

Well, Yang thought to herself, as Blake nodded back and the rest of their teammates looked deeply concerned…

Shit.

- - -

Music selections for this chapter:

"Lemonade" by Hiroyki Sawano:


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[AndrewJTalon]

Ozpin had considered setting aside a standard meeting room for high level discussions and meetings, several times. Yet he had learned over the centuries of human psychology when it came to their surroundings. To invite others into his domain engendered a sense of trust in those he called. It made it clear he was bringing them into his space, his home turf, and thus who was in charge. It allowed him an instant boost to his authority that could be very helpful in maintaining unity between fractious, sometimes hostile allies.

It also gave him the perfect excuse to skip more paperwork, and Ozpin was still human enough to appreciate breaks from the tedious exercise of bureaucracy.

Ironwood, Rufus Winchester, Silverhand, and now General Robert Loxley were gathered in his office around his desk, as a holographic display slowly turned around above them. Glynda was at his side, as ever, while Winter stood with Ironwood. Winchester's own aide, Platina, was with him, while Robert had brought his bat Faunus aide Blinken, and Silverhand had brought his yeoman, Smiegel. The four aides all stood, while their superiors sat.

Loxley had added General's stars to his uniform, a green set of fatigues that were based off Atlasian fashion. Along with a nametag he also wore patches and pins bearing the old symbols of the original Valean Defense Force: An eagle with its wings spread, holding twin axes crossed in front of it in a wreathed circle. Otherwise, he had changed nothing else about his uniform, including his infamous hat with a feather.

Silverhand had taken Admiral's bars from the old Valean Defense Navy, and similar patches on his clothing. The same eagle with crossed axes, but in blue and silver rather than red and gold. He wore a similar style of fatigues, just in dull blue, with a similar nametag.

Otherwise, he still wore his hat, long coat, and musketeer-style boots. And a red sash under his belt. He supposed he could hardly blame both men, though their fashion mixes were annoying Ironwood and Glynda a bit. A fact they probably were well aware of, given their occasional smirks.

Their aides at least wore the proper uniforms. Winter Schnee, professional as ever, led the briefing as she brought up holographic images of a burned out building on the edge of the Old Vale City Park.

"The Emerald Manse, once the in city residence of the Warrior King of Vale," Winter began, "Was robbed last night by what appear to have been White Fang terrorists. They were led by this woman."

Several holographic stills from the security footage appeared, showing a white haired woman with dark skin while wearing a purple suit blowing a kiss at the camera.

"Identity of the woman is confirmed," Winter said, "A Valean criminal known as 'Iridescent'. Wanted for human trafficking, aggravated assault, murder, and a litany of other crimes. Her prints match that of Iris Viola, a former resident of the North West Sanus province."

More photos appeared, including a few mug shots. Ozpin leaned forward, studying the images.

"She has-Forgive me," Winter corrected herself, "Had been working for the Stanistar Mob. But, since their leadership was all wiped out last year, she's reportedly been running the show."

"Another prominent human criminal working with the White Fang?" Ironwood asked with a scowl. Loxley hummed.

"It would take a lot of money and brute force to make White Fang work together with humans," he said, "Yet we've seen that at least twice now."

Ozpin looked over at Silverhand.

"Jim, you worked with Roman Torchwick on a few jobs, is that correct?" Ozpin asked. Glynda and Ironwood both scowled heavily at the pirate turned privateer. Silverhand waited until Smiegel handed him a bottle of rum, which he sipped briefly before answering.

"We did a few airship jobs together, yes," Silverhand said. He shrugged. "He was a greedy son of a bitch and very melodramatic."

Glynda was too dignified to snort at that. Robert wasn't. Rufus just remained surprisingly stoic.

"However, he agreed to my rule of not harming civilians, so we got on pretty well," Silverhand continued. He shook his head. "His downward spiral over this past year has been… Frankly astonishing. He's stealing all the Dust he can lay hands on and using the White Fang and a few other gangs as muscle."

"You think he finally went full criminal?" Ironwood asked, eyes narrowed. Winchester, Silverhand, and Loxley's eyes met in a mutual show of Valean exasperation at Atlasian obliviousness. Their aides had a very similar expression, but hid it better.

Ozpin did his best not to share in it, but damn, was it hard.

"He already was, but he kept to the old code," Silverhand said. "This? This implies some force entered the Underworld, seized control, and is brute forcing them into compliance. After all, Roman's reputation is shot. He can't make alliances with other criminals anymore. I wouldn't touch him… I mean, I wouldn't have touched him since I am now a legitimate member of the military!" He smiled charmingly at all assembled.

Ironwood glared death. Smiegel looked benignly resigned.

"Smooth," Robert deadpanned.

Rufus turned to Ozpin with a grave frown.

"Why does this attack in particular have you so concerned, Ozpin? So Roman and whoever's pulling his strings have hired more help and escalated their terrorism. We're increasing the police force, and the Council is going along with the military plans."

"For now," Glynda observed, "Councilwoman Glocken believes you're trying to mount a coup."

Ironwood looked over at Rufus with a steely glance. Rufus snorted.

"She says that every time I so much as get up for coffee," he stated, "So far the public seems in favor of re-establishing the VDF. We're authorizing press tours to Fort Celliwigg, on top of the PR visits with the Atlasian Fleet." He looked over at Silverhand with a scowl.

"This would go a lot easier if you'd let them visit Jolly Roger, too."

"My Lady is currently in drydock undergoing extensive repairs and upgrades," Silverhand stated, pointing out the window at the form of the battleship in the distance. A Gravity Dust enabled drydock had been floated up to the massive battleship, and workers were all over its structure like ants on a pile of sugar.

He shook his head.

"I can't let her be seen until she's at her best," Silverhand said, "It's her vanity, you see."

Ironwood again looked over at Ozpin, a faint look that Ozpin was familiar with thanks to their many years of friendship.

It simply said "Really?"

Robert met Ozpin's eyes with a knowing smirk. Rufus held back from rolling his eyes. He imagined Glynda was doing the same.

"Though I can certainly allow visitors to the destroyers and other small air ships we're getting out of mothballs," Silverhand said cheerfully.

Rufus shook his head.

"Point is, Ozpin, if you've gathered us here over this incident, it must be something important."

"It is," Ozpin said with a nod. "The Emerald Manse is just a government records building now. However, it also hosts one of the major server hubs for the CCT Network in Vale. In particular, one that services the city's defense, utility, and closed caption television monitoring networks."

He nodded to Glynda, who tapped a button and brought up several computer files and pictures of the crime scene. Ozpin steepled his hands together and leaned forward.

"The servers were completely destroyed," he said, "Completely. Every bit of data was destroyed, and the remote monitoring links were disabled while the main connections were still online. Whatever they did, they did it and covered it up completely."

Ozpin sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

"Which means, the worst case scenario is that whoever is behind this may soon have complete access to the city's defenses and infrastructure."

Even Silverhand lost his jovial tone at this revelation. Though he had Smiegel get them more rum.

Under the circumstances, Ozpin couldn't blame him.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A change had come over Jaune over the past few days. One that Pyrrha wasn't sure she entirely liked.

There was a very small, very petty part of her that was glad his date with Yang had not ended well. Oh, they were a bit closer-It was hard not to see that, with how easily Yang would touch him. However, Jaune was a little too focused on other things right now.

On one hand, him being far more serious and focused was… Was kind of hot, she was going to be honest. Okay, very hot.

On the other…

"Mister Arc, you will be fighting Mister Thrush," Glynda Goodwitch stated, her green eyes locked right onto Jaune. He stood up and headed to the locker room, not saying a word or looking at anyone. Russel Thrush followed, rolling his wrists as part of a warm up.

"This is gonna be good," Yang said with a grin.

A few minutes later, both young men emerged into their fighting gear and headed into the ring. They turned to face each other.

Russel Thrush smirked, spinning his twin revolver daggers as his green mohawk shook a bit from him rolling his head to stretch.

Pyrrha focused intently on Jaune's face: He was blank. Far too blank.

"Get him, Jaune!" Yang shouted encouragingly.

"Break his legs!" Nora shouted.

"Kick his ass, Russel!" Cardin shouted from the other side of the Combat Class. Glynda's expression remained hard as she looked between the combatants.

"The match goes until one fighter's Aura is in the red or forfeit," Goodwitch stated in a bland tone, like she did for every match, "Begin!"

Russel spun his twin dagger revolvers, and then knocked them together with a loud, metallic clang to intimidate Jaune. Jaune didn't seem to register it, not even moving.

"Come on Arc!" Russel sneered, "Not even gonna draw your sword?"

"No," Jaune stated. Russel actually gaped in disbelief. Pyrrha could not blame him-Her jaw dropped too. Plenty of other students gasped.

"Wha-Are you having me on, Arc?! Why not?!" Russel growled.

Jaune stared at Russel, his normally warm gaze now cold and hard like steel.

It made Pyrrha shiver, and not in a good way.

Well… Not entirely good.

"Because I don't want to accidentally kill you," Jaune stated, without any inflection whatsoever. He may as well have been talking about the weather.

Russel growled, and flipped to his Fire Dust chamber.

"Don't you fuck with me!" He roared, pulling the trigger and unleashing a blast of flames right into Jaune's face. Ruby cried out as Jaune was engulfed. Even Russel's cocky smile twitched as he saw Jaune hadn't even tried to dodge.

His smile got twitchier when Jaune calmly walked out of the smoke towards him, a little dirty and soot covered, but none the worse for wear.

"Do you have a death wish or somethin', Arc?!" Russel demanded. He fired another Fire Dust blast, higher intensity. Jaune's Aura dipped a few points, but he kept marching through the smoke without so much as a flinch.

Russel trembled, his smirk now looking a bit desperate. Sweat beaded on his forehead as Jaune continued to advance like a slasher in a horror film.

"DAMNIT WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING DEAL?!" Russel bellowed, lifting up both his dagger revolvers and firing multiple rounds of Fire Dust at Jaune. Through every blast, Jaune just walked through. His Aura kept going down, getting into the yellows, and still he closed in without any hesitation. Pyrrha's mouth had gone dry. She could hear Blake's disbelieving hiss, Ruby's whimper, Yang's heavy breathing, and Weiss's horrified mumbling.

She could see Jaune's cousin Mint staring, enraptured, at the spectacle. While her teammate Cinder's face was almost unreadable.

Looking very desperate, Russel emptied the chambers in one last massive blast, completely enveloping Jaune in the smoke. He pulled his triggers again… And got only clicks. He glanced down at his weapons in shock, and looked up at the smoke…

Just in time for Jaune's armored fist to burst out of the smoke and grasp his throat.

"HURK!"

Jaune emerged entirely from the smoke, his expression completely unchanged. He pulled his other fist back, burning with Aura, and then slammed it into Russel's face hard enough to knock a tooth out. Pyrrha watched it fly through the air.

Again, and again, and again, Jaune punched Russel over and over and over. He then lifted him right up over his head, and threw him out of the ring.

"AAAHHH-URK!"

He hit the wall and slumped to the ground. A few students immediately checked on him, though his Aura graph on the main screen revealed he was alive-Albeit unconscious.

"... Winner, Jaune Arc," Glynda Goodwitch managed, gamely hiding her shock. Jaune nodded, breathing a bit harder but his Aura was healing him quickly.

"Any comments on my performance, Professor?" He asked.

Goodwitch paused for a moment.

"...That was very reckless. You're lucky that Mister Thrush was too intimidated to change tactics! That won't save you if you try this in the field!" Goodwitch decided. Jaune nodded slowly.

"Okay." He turned and hopped over the railing into the silent classroom. He walked into the locker room to change. Whispered conversations and murmurs erupted once he was gone, all about the same subject: Jaune's behavior.

"What the-What was that?" Ruby muttered in horror.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Pyrrha vowed.

- - -

Jaune entered the lunch room. As was typical lately, he caught a lot of looks and snippets of conversation about him. He shook his head and ignored it.

He had a lot more important things to worry about right now.

Still, he supposed he would have to explain himself, judging from the looks he got as he sat down with his team at their usual table. Pyrrha was on one side of him, and Yang the other. Ruby was across from him, all three looking very concerned.

Even Ren was uncomfortable. Nora frowned deeply. Weiss was looking around him, not at him, while Blake gave him a guilty look.

"... I might have gone a little overboard," he decided.

"Ya think?" Yang insisted.

"I mean… That was actually kind of cool," Nora said, "How you just walked through every blast like the Exterminator! But it was also a little scary!"

Jaune sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry," he said quietly, "I was… I'm not in a good mood."

"We noticed," Ren deadpanned. Pyrrha took his hand.

"You kind of… You've been worrying us, Jaune," she said frankly. "This whole week you've been… Different."

"Cray cray," Nora pronounced. "I mean, you broke three training robots!"

"You're supposed to break them," Jaune said, a bit defensively.

"Not like that," Nora shuddered. "I mean, not unless they did something to really piss you off, like burn your pancakes!"

"It's a little scary," Ruby said.

Jaune shook his head.

"I'm fine. Really," he said.

"You haven't been the same since you saw the picture of that blonde chick," Yang stated bluntly.

Jaune winced a little, but nodded.

"Yeah… Just… A lot on my mind over her and… The other issue," he said, looking significantly over at Blake. "Speaking of, any news?"

Blake hesitated, but nodded.

"Some," she said in a low tone, "There are rumors of a big White Fang recruitment rally this Friday."

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do any more vigilante stuff?" Weiss asked flatly. "You said this yourself, Arc."

Jaune slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I did."

"Didn't you get the same lecture, Blake?" Weiss added, glaring at the secret cat faunus.

"Yes," Blake nodded, "But it… I mean-"

"We're just going to do recon," Jaune stated. "They know Blake is here. They know who she is. And they know we've been interfering. That makes us targets."

"Exactly," Blake said with a nod.

"That doesn't mean we go and get involved!" Weiss said, exasperated, "We're not vigilantes!"

"They killed a friend of ours, Weiss," Jaune stated, cold and hard, "We can't exactly ignore it, can we?"

That gave Weiss pause. The platinum blonde worried her lip before nodding.

"I-I know… I understand that," Weiss said, "But it's still not our job."

"You don't have to participate if you don't want to," Jaune said authoritatively. "None of you do." He looked at Ruby. "I'm not going to order anyone around-"

"N-No, I understand, and-and same goes for me," Ruby managed, a bit nervously, "And I do want to help Blake. I've fought Roman Torchwick before, after all. I-I can be a big help."

Yang shrugged.

"Heck, I'm fine with hurting these assholes," she stated. She smirked. "I've got a juvenile record anyway, what's a few more charges?"

"I'm not opposed to aiding in justice," Ren said, "But it would be good to approach this with clear objectives in mind. I would say that assisting the police should be our main priority, not vengeance."

"Yeah!" Nora declared, throwing a fist into the air.

Jaune stared intensely into the air at that. Pyrrha frowned.

"Jaune?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah," he managed with a nod, "Sure."

Yang caught this too. She and Pyrrha exchanged some concerned looks. Ruby frowned deeply.

"Well," Weiss decided, "I-I don't think I can participate. I have a date this Friday."

"That's fine," Jaune said with a nod. He looked at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha? You don't have to-"

"Let me think about it," she said softly. Jaune stared at her, and then slowly nodded.

"Okay."

He turned back to his food. He didn't like making his friends feel like this, but… In all honesty? There was a part of him that insisted it didn't matter.

Not as long as Iridescent was still out there.

- - -

The rest of the meal was fairly subdued. Jaune got up, put his tray away for the dishwasher, and headed off to do some training during his free period.

He was just about done with changing back into his armor, and had emerged in the training area, when he paused and looked over.

Pyrrha was waiting for him, in her armor and looking very determined.

"Pyrrha?" He asked.

"Jaune," she greeted. She walked up to him. "I… I've been thinking about it."

"Okay," he replied. She sucked in a deep breath, and crossed her arms under her chest.

"I'm willing to go and help you," she said quietly, "I'm your partner. I will always back you up if you're going into danger."

Jaune smiled a bit. That did put his mind more at ease.

"Thank you Pyrrha, I really-"

"But," Pyrrha stated, "O-Only if you… If you tell me what you intend to do with this Iridescent girl."

Jaune froze. He turned his head away.

"I don't know the full story," she said, "Only what you told all of us. You just told us she was a criminal you were familiar with…"

She sucked in a breath.

"But I know there's more to it. Yang knows the story. I can tell. But I want to know it too. I think… I think we all deserve to know."

"Know what?" Jaune spat, anger and bitterness welling up inside of him like lava in a volcano.

Pyrrha met his gaze evenly.

"Know if…" She hesitated for a moment, "If you're planning to kill her."

Dead silence fell. Jaune felt numb all over. He couldn't look at Pyrrha all of a sudden, his eyes locking onto the floor.

"Are you planning to kill her?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

"... If I was," Jaune asked carefully, still not meeting her eyes, "What would you do about it?"

Pyrrha stared intently at him, silent. She spoke again, still quiet.

"I would ask… I would ask if that's really what you want," she said, "If that's what you want to do."

His hand formed a fist as he slammed it against his thigh in a sudden burst of anger.

"Yes, it is," he growled.

He told her everything. With Yang, his shame was the strongest emotion and that had guided what he had focused on. With Pyrrha, all that came out was anger. Every memory of Iridescent and the pain she put him and Gato through.

Her mocking laughter and smirks at Gato and him every time they fought desperately for their lives. Her leers as she mocked him from behind bars, asking how long he would last with just an old man to help him. How she had become lustful over him becoming a killer…

Jaune's fists clenched as he shook.

"She needs to die," he snarled, "She needs to die at my hand. For everything she did. Everything she's doing. For Gato."

Pyrrha stepped forward carefully, as smooth and graceful as ever. She took his hands in hers. He looked up at her, his anger stilled as worry flooded him.

Her gaze was full of compassion.

"Jaune," she said softly, "I understand your feelings. If someone… If someone took someone precious from me? I would kill them."

Jaune blinked. Her tone was… Sad, but firm.

"You-?"

"I have never killed," Pyrrha said, still calm and serious, "But in Argus, our culture… I was brought up to be a warrior. To stay calm and focused, and accept that in a serious fight, it would be to the death. I… I've made peace with that. I don't look forward to it. Sometimes I wish I had just stayed as a tournament fighter, where there are safeguards, but…"

She shook her head slowly.

"Then I wouldn't get to protect people. Help people. Meet… Meet wonderful people, like you, Nora, Ren, Ruby…" She flushed a bit.

Jaune nodded slowly.

"I-I see…"

"But if you want her dead, Jaune," Pyrrha stated, firm and sad, "I will do that with you. For you. Just... Say the word."

He stared at her intensely. His rage, already burning in his mind, pushed for acceptance.

You've seen how incredible a fighter she is! You know how much she cares you! He thought, his blood singing in his fury, She would do it with me, she would do it for me!

She would do anything for me, she'd be mine.

He stared into her eyes. His hands rested on hers. He opened his mouth.

Just say the word, Jaune. Just say it and… And she would… She would…

A wave of horror and revulsion washed over Jaune. He fell back, putting a hand over his mouth.

"Jaune?"

Jaune couldn't look at her.

"Pyrrha, I…" He looked at her and swallowed. "Thanks... I-I mean that."

"I'm just worried," Pyrrha said quietly, "That if you choose to go down this path, to deliberately kill her… That you might… Might lose something important. And so will I."

She hesitated, then reached out and rested a hand against his chest, over his pounding heart. His heartbeat slowed, and he calmed down.

"Something that I love about you, dearly," she added, and despite himself he blushed.

"Thanks," he murmured.

She looked him in the eyes.

"If you're sure about this," she said, "If you're sure about going after her, and ending her life? I will support you. I will fight alongside you. I will do everything I can to help you, Jaune."

She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. He glanced up into her eyes.

"And I will do everything I can to help you stay you, Jaune. I just… I don't want to lose you, Jaune. Not your life, and not who you are."

Pyrrha smiled softly.

"You've worked so hard to help me be… Be someone I like. To not be crazy, to not be alone. I-I want to do the same for you."

Jaune licked his lips, even as his emotions roiled inside of him. He looked away to the side.

"I…"

"Do you want to go through with this?" She asked quietly.

Jaune stared intently at the wall.

"... I'm not sure," he admitted.

Pyrrha slowly nodded.

"Then maybe you should talk to everyone else about this, first," she said. "You know my answer. Maybe… Maybe you should know everyone else's. When they know the full story."

Jaune sucked in a breath through his nostrils, and let it out as a long, slow sigh.

"Yeah… Maybe I should."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune didn't visit Old Vale as often as he would like, but he still found time whenever he could. Today, he'd been asked to meet Miss Kitty at the Berdea Coastal Park. He spotted her at the entrance. She greeted him warmly with a hug, and then had him escort her out into the park proper. They came to a stop over a marsh, which directly faced a large rocky hill jutting out of the coastal waterways and wetlands.

"So uh, what did you want me for, Miss Kitty?" Jaune asked. Kitty smiled.

"I want to see Golden Lion's Roar," she said. She stepped back away from Jaune. "Use it on that rocky hill."

Jaune winced.

"Er... Are you sure?" He asked. "Mine's... I'm still working on controlling it."

"Well, you can't learn to control it without using it, correct?" She asked. She nodded over at the rocks. "Go ahead."

Jaune sighed, and nodded. He turned, and drew Crocea Mors.

"How powerful do you want it?" Jaune asked.

"As powerful as you can manage," Kitty said. Jaune grasped his sword in both hands, and focused.

"Okay..."

The sword began to burn with Aura, crackling with the repressed energy. Jaune hefted the sword up, and swung!

A massive crescent of golden yellow Aura lashed out with a boom like thunder. It struck the rocky hill, and exploded, sending a massive amount of debris up high into the air.

Jaune looked over at Kitty, taking deep breaths.

"How is that?"

Kitty smiled.

"Very good! It's a little sloppy, but to get this far with the technique after, what, only a year? That's very impressive!"

"Was... How good could Gato be with it?" He asked. Kitty laughed softly.

"Oh Jaune... He was an artist with it. In his prime? He could strike with thrusts, slashes, and all manner of attacks! He could cut down entire armies of Grimm with a thousand Golden Lion's Roars in seconds!"

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Woah... Really?"

"Yes," Kitty said with a nod. She beamed. "I don't think you'll be quite the same kind of fighter. You take too much after your father."

Jaune flushed.

"You... You knew my father?"

"Only by reputation," Kitty said, "But he was a fearsome, powerful fighter. Gato and myself? We were much more about precision than power. Your father was all about power, but he used it well."

"Oh," Jaune murmured. He looked a little down. Kitty frowned.

"Mm? What is it, Jaune?"

"Just... Gato was a precision fighter, and he taught a brawler like me," Jaune sighed. "I mean... I can blow things up real good. Blast apart things, slice them apart... But..." He squeezed his sword hilt tightly.

He felt her hand over his. He looked up to her smiling face.

"You won't be like Gato or your father, Jaune," she said, "And that's all right... As long as you're a hero. A hero they can be proud of. And you're on your way to being that."

Jaune flushed a bit.

"You think so?"

"I know so," Kitty said with a nod, as police sirens filled the air. "Now, let's run before we have to answer any awkward questions from the cops!"

Jaune nodded quickly as they began to run.

"Yes ma'am, right behind you!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It was an hour later that Jaune staggered out of the locker room. He was showered, cleaned… And groaning softly. He felt a familiar arm wrap around his shoulders. He looked over to see Yang there, grinning.

"Hey there Stud. How are you?"

"Urgh," Jaune moaned, "Alive, I think."

Yang snickered a bit.

"Training with Pyrrha, huh?"

"Told her not to hold back," Jaune said honestly.

"Mistake?"

"Maybe a little," Jaune groaned. Yang grinned, and put her lips dangerously close to his ear.

"Want me to rub you down with that lotion of yours~?"

Jaune managed not to sputter or blush. He just took a deep breath through his nostrils, and let it out as a long sigh.

"Pyrrha already offered, and to go into the shower with me," he said. Yang scowled. He shook his head as rapidly as he could. "I didn't let her!"

"Good, but we're gonna need to have another chat about what's fair," she grumbled. Jaune tried to shrug as his shoulders got the message a bit late.

"I wouldn't be talking, all the flirting you do," he pointed out. Yang giggled.

"Well, I need to keep you on your toes! Without carrying you. That's Pyrrha's job on your team, right?"

"Funny," Jaune muttered. She led him to the library, passing under the large, elaborate glass dome, the tall rich oak wood bookshelves and the ever vigilant Head Librarian Miss Mombi. Yang set him down in a chair at a study desk, and took the seat right next to him.

"Help a gal study?" She asked. Jaune nodded, and pulled out his own textbooks. "When's your next class?"

"Not for another hour," Jaune admitted, "Assistant Professor Ragora sent us a Scroll text that she was canceling out the Weapon Maintenance class."

"How convenient," Yang chuckled. Jaune stared at her.

"Is it?"

"Well, lets us study and… Talk," she said quietly. She stared intently at him. "About Iridescent."

Jaune grit his teeth, and managed a slow nod.

"Yeah," he mumbled. Yang stared at him with a carefully neutral expression.

"You want to kill her, don't you?"

"I…" Jaune managed a nod. "Should I not? Are you going to tell me I shouldn't?"

Yang slowly shook her head, leaning her cheek against her fist as she rested her elbow on the desk.

"If someone had done all that to me or someone I loved? Yeah. I'd want them dead."

Jaune stared at her. She slowly shook her head.

"Dad and Uncle Qrow told me a lot of horror stories about what the Huntress life is really like," she admitted. She glanced down at the table. "There are a lot of unhappy endings. A lot of things going wrong. A lot of…"

Her fists clench.

"Frankly fucking evil people out there, who will use Grimm attacks to get what they want from helpless people where there's no one to protect them," she ground out, her eyes flashing red for a moment. She looked up at Jaune and shook her head. She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"So, you wanna ice this bitch? I'm down for it. I will be right there alongside you, Jaune."

"Have… Have you-?" Jaune tried, but he faltered. Yang slowly shook her head.

"No. I've gotten in a lot of brawls. Never killed anyone." She sighed. "It's not like I'm eager to do it. I'm not a psycho."

"Never said you were," Jaune said dryly, "And I can't exactly talk what with my issues."

Yang gave a small, tight smile at that. She squeezed his shoulder again.

"The thing is… Between someone who was just minding their own business? Taking care of their family? Just living their life without causing any trouble? And some evil bitch robbing, enslaving, and killing people just for money? I think the world is a lot better off with the latter dead than alive. You though… You're struggling with that."

"Yeah," Jaune admitted, looking down at the textbook and seeing nothing. "I don't think I should, but… I still am."

"That's because you're not happy you killed those men," Yang said quietly, "Which is good, because you're not crazy."

"What do you think I should do?" Jaune asked. Yang shook her head.

"That's your decision to make, not mine," she said softly, "If I have to put her down? … I'll do it. If I can just knock her out and turn her over to the cops? I'll do that too. Whatever you want to do? I'll be there with you. But you have to decide that, not me."

Jaune slowly nodded

"Thanks Yang," he murmured. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"Whatever you decide, I'll be here for you," she said, "Promise."

He smiled. They studied for a bit longer, Yang telling him some incredibly terrible jokes that all made him laugh and groan. Her touches lingered a lot longer than usual, but Jaune was so sore any warm touch was welcome.

He just prayed it wouldn't lead to Ruby, Pyrrha, Neo or Weiss eviscerating him. Neo was the sure bet, but Ruby had been a lot quieter lately so he didn't know what she was up to.

He really should give her more attention. She was his first friend here, after all. And he had promised to give her a wonderful date.

"Hey Jaune!"

Speak of the devil, and she would appear in a burst of rose blossoms right on his lap.

"URK! H-Hey Ruby," Jaune managed with a wince.

"How are you-?!"

"Shhhh!" Mombi hissed at them, a finger to her lips. Her hair had turned bright red.. She glared at them from her imposing desk. All three settled down, Ruby shifting out of Jaune's lap into a side chair with an innocent smile.
Mombi's glare continued for a bit longer, before she slowly went back to her computer. Her hair shifted back into black.

Yang winced.

"Eesh. She's got a real flare, huh? What kind of Semblance lets you change your hair?" She muttered.

"That's probably why she's a librarian," Jaune muttered back.

"I think her real Semblance is just her glare," Ruby added. She beamed at Jaune. "How are you doing?"

"Sore as hell," Jaune sighed. Ruby winced.

"Ooh… Training with Pyrrha, huh?"

"Yup," Jaune sighed, "It's always rough after."

Ruby nodded happily. "Yeah! I was sore in places I didn't know I had!" She looked over at Yang. "Uh, so… Could I get some time with Jaune?"

Yang chuckled, and reached over Jaune to ruffle her hair. She scowled up at her, as Jaune blushed.

"See you at the next class," she said. She kissed his lips gently, before she gathered her books and headed off with a sway to her hips. Jaune was too sore and tired to not look away… Which led to Ruby grabbing his forearm, pinching it, and twisting it hard.

"OW!" Jaune yelped. Ruby scowled deeply at him.

"You should ogle me too!" She protested.

"Not until you're legal," Jaune sighed. He shook his head. "You okay?"

"I uh…" She worked her jaw a bit. "I'm just… I'm a little worried. About the White Fang stuff, and well…" Ruby shyly looked up at him.

"You."

Jaune let out a long sigh.

"How much do you know about Iridescent?" He asked.

"I asked Blake and Yang," Ruby admitted. She winced at him. "I'm sorry. I just really wanted to… I mean, you were being so… Scary and angry and I didn't know how to ask you-"

Jaune held up a hand. He glanced back over his shoulder: Head Librarian Mombi was scowling their way again. Ruby covered her mouth and nodded. He sighed and leaned in close to her, his voice low.

"I… Yeah, I was acting weird," he said, "You know why I don't want it getting around, right? Especially not to you?"

"Why?" Ruby asked.

Jaune worked his jaw.

"... I've killed people, Ruby," Jaune murmured. "That's why."

Ruby nodded.

"I know."

"Doesn't that… Bother you?" He asked.

Ruby sighed, and shook her head.

"A little, yeah," she said. "I'm not… I don't think you're evil or anything. It's a lot, but…" She shook her head slowly. She reached out to squeeze his hand.

"Why did you decide to be a Huntsman?" She asked.

Jaune thought about it for a moment.

"Because I wanted to be a hero, like my parents, my grandparents, and my ancestors," Jaune said. He looked into her silver eyes. "You?"

"My mom," Ruby said, with a small, proud smile, "My dad gave me her journals. I've… I've been reading a lot. Getting to know her." She shrugged.

"Growing up, all the stories my dad and uncle told me about her? I put together a picture of a superhero in my head. Like out of Xray and Vav, you know?"

Jaune nodded slowly, though he hadn't read a lot of that comic in a while.

"And now?" Jaune asked. He squeezed her hand, noting how much smaller and paler it was than his. The way she handled her scythe was incredible. It was hard to remember how strong she was at the moment though, with how small she seemed right now.

Ruby sucked in a deep breath.

"There's… A lot I didn't know about her. Hearing Uncle Qrow's horror stories? I just didn't really get it. How could anyone like my mom feel… Feel scared, or helpless, or enraged? After Forever Fall, I…" She bit her lower lip.

"I feel a lot better, in some ways," she said, "Because I know she also felt scared, and angry, and helpless. And… Other things."

She looked at Jaune intently.

"She still tried to be a hero. To-To be the best she could be as a person, despite everything she went through," she said, "Just like my Dad and my uncle. Despite everything. That's what I want to do. What I want to be."

Jaune slowly nodded. Ruby sucked in a breath.

"Do you still want to be a hero?" She asked.

Jaune was still. He shut his eyes.

"Of course I do," he admitted. "But this woman…"

"I… I'm not saying you have to make friends or anything," Ruby said quickly. "I-I'm not stupid. Roman Torchwick could have killed me. I know. I just…" She closed her eyes tightly.

"I just want you to find another way," she murmured. Ruby shrugged, a small, awkward little smile on her face.

"If… If we can find another way… I would like that," she said, "If there's no other way to stop her… But if there is… Can we find it? Please?"

Jaune stared at her for a long silent moment. He sucked in another breath, as his ribs seemed to creak. He closed his eyes and managed a slow nod.

"I can't promise anything," he said.

"I know," Ruby managed softly.

Jaune sighed quietly. He nodded briefly.

"I'll try."

"Thank you," Ruby said, a wide smile appearing on her face.

Jaune rubbed her hair affectionately with his hand. She scowled.

"Stop that."

"I will when you're legal," Jaune stated. He smiled. "Maybe."

"Hmph," Ruby grumbled. She did look a lot less stressed though. Jaune managed a small smile at her. Ruby managed it back.

She then bit her lower lip.

"There's…" She shook her head again. Jaune frowned.

"Ruby?"

"Something… I can't tell you," she said quietly, "I-I just want to-I can't-!"

Jaune smiled softly, and pulled her into a hug. He patted her on her back, and let her relax against him.

"I won't pry, all right? You can tell me when you want to. I mean it."

Ruby sagged in relief, and beamed up at him.

"Thank you," she said.

Jaune then smirked.

"I don't pry into people's backgrounds, unlike you."

Ruby scowled back at him.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do as a leader though?" She asked.

"No! Yes… Maybe?" Jaune shook his head. He sighed, and patted her on the back. "I was trying to make you laugh."

"Didn't work."

Jaune rolled his eyes and sighed, looking incredibly put upon.

"Yeah, I'm aware."

She giggled. Jaune smirked a bit. Ruby huffed.

"That wasn't a full laugh. Still didn't work."

"I wasn't trying…" Jaune sighed heavily. He shook his head. "Fine. I'm not the comedian, I'm the leader."

"A leader," Ruby pointed out. Jaune smiled and nodded, ruffling her hair again.

"A leader, yeah."

All good things had to come to an end, and the late afternoon classes were soon to start. Ruby and Jaune ran into Blake outside the library, who was waiting for them. They walked together towards Professor Oobleck's history class. Blake let Ruby get ahead a bit, before the looked over at Jaune.

"I've got some intel," she murmured, and Jaune tensed, "We know where they're holding the rally this weekend. Something big."

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Got it," he said. Blake sucked in a breath.

"We need to break it up, and get the cops there," she said softly. Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"That's a little different, for you."

"After last time? I can see the benefits of back up," she murmured. Jaune nodded. "Sun is also going to help. We'll work out the plans after class."

She paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry I told Ruby-"

"It's fine," Jaune sighed. He looked at Blake. "You have concerns too?"

Blake was silent for a moment.

"Just that… I've seen what a desire for revenge can do to people-"

"Justice," Jaune insisted, gritting his teeth a bit. Blake stared at him for a moment as they walked the hallways, more students appearing as they got closer to their destination. They walked up to the door to the classroom before Blake stopped and turned around to look at him.

"I know people who have forgotten the difference," she said softly, "Please Jaune… Don't be one of those people."

He stared at her in silence. She turned and walked into the classroom, leaving Jaune standing outside alone. It didn't last long. He felt a familiar hand rest on his shoulder. He looked back, and saw Nora smiling at him. Ren stood alongside her.

"I-"

"Wherever you go or decide, we'll follow," Ren said. Nora grinned.

"Yeah! We get it! You don't have to talk a whole lot about it!"

Jaune couldn't help but smile a little. Nora grinned, patted his shoulder, and skipped into the classroom. Ren nodded to him, and headed in.

Weiss and Pyrrha approached. Pyrrha gave him a tight smile. Jaune returned it. He looked over at Weiss, who sniffed.

"Hey Schnee. You got anything to say?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Whatever you and the rest of these lunatics who are our friends want to do, Arc, do it. I'll be on a date with Neptune," she stated. Jaune nodded, smirking a bit.

"I guess that's about all I expected."

Weiss huffed. Pyrha went on ahead, smiling comfortingly at Jaune as she headed in. Jaune turned to head in at last, but Weiss took a hold of his wrist. He glanced back at her. Weiss shook her head, looking… Pensive.

"Just… My uncle said that revenge is a sucker's game. I didn't really understand it until…" She sniffed. "Just… Don't get caught up in it. It's not worth it. Not in the long run."

Jaune blinked several times. Weiss let him go, and headed into the classroom. The bell rang, and he sighed.

"Well… That was unexpected," he muttered, as he walked in and headed for his usual seat.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Glynda Goodwitch looked around the weekend class she had called from the stage in the auditorium. She shook her head with a feeling of nostalgia.

Mostly girls, as expected, she thought, Boys will be boys.

"Welcome to Dance Class," she greeted, in her usual prim and proper tone, "Now, you are representing your schools. You should strive for excellence in all you do, and that includes dance."

It was a bit of a secret, but Glynda Goodwitch loved to dance. Synchronizing body, music, and soul appealed to her sense of order. It was also relaxing, in a far healthier way than drinking alcohol or destroying parts of the Emerald Forest.

Not that she begrudged her fellow teachers their vices.

"Now," Glynda stated, "We will start off with a demonstration. Do I have a volunteer?"

"Yes you do, Professor!" Miss Xiao-Long cheered. She shoved a familiar tall blond forward. "Go for it, Stud!"

"URK!" Jaune Arc looked up to Glynda on the stage. He shakily lifted up his right hand.

"Uh, if it's all right, ma'am?" He asked.

Glynda held back a smirk.

"Come forward, Mister Arc. I won't bite," she said. Arc blushed-Yes, that's where his thoughts went. Despite her strict personality and love of order... Embarrassing teenaged boys was part and parcel of being the "hot" teacher. And she had to find amusement where she could.

Jaune approached her slowly, as though she might lash out at him if he so much as twitched wrong.

"Have you danced before, Mister Arc?" She asked. She distantly recalled Isabel saying she made her daughters attend dance classes. Jaune nodded.

"A few times, yeah. Some basic lessons, but I wasn't very good."

"Nothing wrong with that," Glynda said, a touch more gently, "We will start off with a waltz. You know how to do that, Mister Arc?"

"Er... I think so," Jaune said. Glynda reached out and took hold of his wrists. She placed one on the small of her back, and the other in her hand. She held back a smirk at his red face.

"Then let's give it a try," she said. She nodded to a music player with speakers nearby, and her Semblance activated it. A classic waltz began to play, and Glynda checked Jaune's feet briefly. She nodded again.

"Good. Now, the man will lead," she stated. "You know how to lead, correct Mister Arc?"

"Yes ma'am," Jaune said with a nod. He gently pressed against her, and she stepped back. He stepped forward with her, a bit clumsily but serviceable enough.

"One two three, one two three, one two three," she counted off, as they danced around the stage slowly, keeping in time with the music.

"Keep aware of your surroundings," Glynda lectured, "Don't run into other dancers, or a wall."

"Yes ma'am!"

The song came to an end, and they stopped in the center. Glynda gave Jaune the barest of smiles.

"Not bad," she said.

"Hmm... Think we could try something a bit faster?" Jaune asked. Glynda raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?"

"FOXTROT!" Xiao-Long shouted. Jaune sighed, and shrugged. He still looked a bit hapless... But there was a strange glint in his eyes for just a moment.

"A foxtrot might be nice," Jaune said, "I've done that once or twice."

Glynda smirked inwardly. He was asking to do something fast, hm? Well, he'd probably step all over his feet, but if he was asking...

"It's a fast and more advanced step, but all right," Glynda said with a nod. She waved her crop, and the music became faster and jazzier. She took his hand and put the other around her waist.

"Now, start off like this... Bit faster..."

He let her lead as she stepped more quickly with him across the stage. He hummed, and smiled.

"So, like this?"

His grip became tighter. His stance more confident. He stepped with confidence to the music, firmly in control. Glynda found herself struggling a bit to keep up, but her muscle memory from hundreds of lessons kicked in and she matched his pace and energy. He swung her about in perfect harmony, and she even leaped with him a few times.

He then let her spin away from him, and the music carried her in a whirlwind away. He caught up to her and dipped her dramatically, just as the music came to an end.

She was left panting, staring up into his eyes as he held her in his strong arms. He grinned at her.

"So... How'd I do, Professor?" He asked.

Cheeky boy, she thought to herself. Deliberately hiding his skill to, what? Prank her? That explained Xiao-Long's interjection.

Well... Two could play at this game.

"Not bad," she said, as she got her heart rate under control. Jaune pulled her back up. He made to pull away, but Glynda yanked him back into her arms.

"Let's see how you fare with some more advanced dances, Mister Arc," she practically purred. It had been a while since she cut loose. And knocking this cheeky little prankster down a peg or two would be fun.

Jaune grinned back, that glint now fully revealed in his eyes.

"Sounds good to me, Professor."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Meanwhile in Atlas…

Isabel shivered a bit and pulled her large blue parka closer around herself. The walk from the airship port across the Schnee Manor grounds was, in her opinion, far too long. Like the owner wanted to ensure that visitors would feel humbled if they dared to come to his home by the air.

The gray and blue arches of the huge manor were as familiar as ever, with the four pure white towers to break up the structure of the mansion. They cut up and provided stark contrast against the clear blue sky: A rare sight in Solitas.

Yet it was still too damn cold for her.

Qrow walked alongside her, dressed in his own white and black winter coat. He smirked a bit at her as they walked up the driveway to the main entrance of the manor, the slight wind waving his hair. She scowled back.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Can't you adjust your body form to make yourself warmer?" He asked.

"I did," Isabel sighed, and she adjusted her coat again, "It never seems to work as well as I'd like."

"I did wonder why you looked shorter and thicker," he mused, his eyes raking up and down her body. She kept herself from blushing with her Semblance and sniffed.

"Didn't know you were into the matronly form," she stated, slightly annoyed.

"I can appreciate a woman who has brought a lot of life into the world," he chuckled. She scowled at him.

"Stop flirting!"

"Do you not like it?"

"It's not appropriate right now!" She hissed.

"That's the best time!" Qrow countered.

Isabel lost control of her flush.

Damnit… Why does he have to remind me so much of Nick…?

She shook her head and managed her hormones.

Focus damnit. You have a job to do.

They made it to the stately double doors of the manor. Isabel lifted her hand to hit the doorbell, but the doors smoothly opened before she could put a glove on the button. A kindly looking middle-aged man, short, heavy set, with receding brown hair and a bushy mustache greeted them in a well-tailored blue and white suit.

"Doctor Arc, what a pleasure it is to see you again," the butler greeted, his Albion accent quite thick but pleasant. Isabel beamed at him and reached out to shake his hand.

"Klein, it's wonderful to see you again," she said.

"Please, come in, let me take your coats," he said. They both stepped into the huge main entrance hall, with a blue and white patterned marble floor, and a white marble staircase that led to the arch-dominated upper floors. Two Geist Knight statues stood guard on either flank of the grand staircase, silent and pristine. Qrow still gave them a wary look as Klein took their coats and handed them off to a robot, who floated away.

Isabel had opted for a simple green business jacket, white blouse, and long green skirt with heels and matching purse. It was professional, but something she could still fight in. Qrow had made no effort at all, and still wore his usual clothing. Something Klein raised a very meaningful eyebrow at.

Isabel nodded to Qrow, "This is Qrow Branwen, my partner on this visit."

Klein gave Qrow the once over, his mustache rustling a bit. Qrow gave him a jaunty grin and salute.

"How's it hangin', Jeeves?"

Isabel twitched. Klein shook his head.

"A gentleman does not share such information in front of a lady, sir," he stated.

Isabel's lip twitched. Qrow just grinned.

"I think I might like you, Jeeves."

"My heart simply leaps for joy at the possibility, Mister Branwen," Klein deadpanned.

Without skipping a beat, the butler looked back over to Isabel with a polite smile.

"Mistress Willow will meet with you in the parlor, Doctor Isabel."

"Thank you, Klein," Isabel nodded. Klein turned and led them smartly to the right, towards the east wing of the massive house. Isabel and Qrow followed, through the expansive hallway.

The butler brought them to a stately room, covered in bookshelves filled with rare tomes and data disks. Comfortable-looking furniture that Isabel was sure was more expensive than all of Arcadia's grounds rested in front of a roaring fireplace. Klein gestured for them to sit in the high-backed chairs, and they settled in.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? I believe Doctor Isabel prefers a South Vacoan mocha with sugar and milk?"

"That would be lovely, thank you, Klein," Isabel said with a nod and a smile. The butler departed, shutting the door behind him. Qrow sighed, leaning back and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"Off," Isabel hissed. Qrow scowled.

"I'll take 'em off when she gets here."

"She'll see the scuff marks!"

"Fine," Qrow muttered, pulling his feet back and sulking like a child. He flared his Aura… Then sat up straight.

"There. The surveillance devices all had a very unlucky failure in their power systems," Qrow stated with a smirk, "Should last for five minutes. Such a shame."

"Indeed," Isabel deadpanned.

"You're sure you want to go through with this?" Qrow asked. "I mean… Your pretense for coming here is a little thin."

Isabel sighed softly. She opened up her purse and produced her computer tablet and notebooks.

"It is," she admitted, "But it is something I as a responsible family doctor should bring to the attention of my patients." She licked her lips. "Connecting it to Merlot is a bit trickier, but it should work."

"Still," Qrow said quietly, "You might be sacrificing your trust with the Schnees. That could be a huge blow to you."

Isabel nodded slowly.

"I know," she said, "But to stop Nick's killer? It will be worth it."

"Just be careful with that attitude," Qrow warned her quietly, "My boss may be on the side of the angels, but that doesn't make him one."

Isabel nodded again.

"I know," she murmured. She sighed and shut her eyes. "But we're in a little too deep to back out now."

The door opened. Isabel stood up, and Qrow followed only a little more slowly. Klein stepped in, looking apologetic.

"Mistress Willow is not feeling well at the moment," he said, "But Master Whitley has agreed to appear in her stead."

Isabel's eyes narrowed. She looked over and behind Klein to Whitley. The fifteen-year-old boy resembled his mother with his pointed chin and blue eyes, but his father's influence was shown in his hair, his nose, and his scowl.

"Whitley, it's very nice to see you again," she greeted him. Whitley nodded in a perfunctory way.

"Same, Doctor Arc," he returned. Isabel glanced at Klein.

"It is very important we see Willow. May I see to her?" She glanced at Whitley. "No offense, but I feel she should be told firsthand."

Whitley snorted. He stalked into the parlor and pulled out a holobook.

"Doesn't matter to me," he stated, his tone so cold that Isabel half expected mist to form in front of his mouth.

"I'll see to her then," Isabel said. "Klein? If you would?"

"Certainly, Doctor," Klein nodded, leading her out. She glanced back over her shoulder and smiled warmly at Whitley.

"We'll be right back. I hope to have some time to hear about how you're doing in your studies, Whitley. Last I heard, you were accepted into an advanced engineering training course?"

Whitley gave the smallest of smiles and nodded.

"Yes, Doctor."

"Good work," Isabel said with genuine pride. She couldn't help her instincts to mother the Schnee children whenever she had visited. Gods knew that Willow wasn't giving them much in that department.

She looked over at Qrow.

"Behave," she stated. Qrow smirked and shrugged, leaning against one of the chairs.

"Hey, it's me!"

Isabel held back a smirk. Damnit, this would be so much easier if he wasn't so damn charming…!

"Lead on, Klein."

"Of course, Doctor."

- - -

Klein shut the door behind himself and Isabel. Qrow looked back over at Whitley.

He gave the teenager a once-over. He was thin but fairly fit, even though he probably didn't do anything more strenuous for exercise than jogging, golfing, or horse riding. His scowl was fairly familiar though. He'd worn something similar as a teenager.

Then again, he'd had plenty to complain about. A hell of a lot more than this kid.

And yet…

"So," Whitley began, "What are you two really here for?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow and adopted the most innocent 'who me?' expression he had.

"Don't know what you're talking about," he said, "I'm just her partner, her bodyguard-"

"Isabel Arc gets back into Hunting after an absence of almost ten years," Whitley began, holding up a holopad to show off a news article from Rotomagus of Isabel and Qrow by Nick's old motorcycle, Guivre, "And a new Grimm species is discovered. Slain by the two of you. One that displayed nearly human intellect and reasoning skills. She's also working with you, Qrow Branwen. Infamous as Headmaster Ozpin's 'fixer', who is registered as a professor at Beacon, but has never taught any classes."

He lowered the holopad with a scowl. Qrow nodded slowly.

Okay. The kid was bright, he'd give him that.

"Got a lot of interest in her," Qrow said, "Nursing a crush on her? I don't blame you, kid, she's basically the MILF and sexy doctor fetishes incarnate."

Whitley's face burned bright red, and he shook his head rapidly.

"N-No! No! I'm just-It's just really suspicious for her to take up with you and then call a meeting with my mother! You-You ruffian!"

Qrow chuckled.

"Gonna have to do a lot better than that to ruffle my feathers, kid," Qrow stated with a smirk, "Jealous your fantasy crush has been hanging out with me?"

Whitley practically growled, and clutched at the holopad tightly.

"No! I just-What do you really want?!"

"To give you important news on your health," Qrow said dryly, "I figure you'd be interested in that."

"What kind of important news?" Whitley asked suspiciously.

"Well, I'm guessing your blood pressure, based on how you're reacting," Qrow said with a cheeky grin.

- - -

The gardens of the Schnee Manor were elaborate and decadent, even by the standards of many of Isabel's other rich patients. Dust generators maintained a warm, temperate climate at all times. Exotic animals like tigers, lions, and bears were kept in caged enclosures. A flock of beautiful cranes hunted for fish in an artificial pond. And flowers of every description from across Remnant flourished, tended by human and robot hands.

Reclining on a sofa like a queen of old was Willow Schnee. She was in a fur coat, several wine bottles lying around her, as she giggled and sang nonsense tunes under her breath as Isabel and Klein approached.

"Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann
Und mir steckt's… auch im Blut…"

Willow giggled, and looked up at Isabel. Klein stood a respectful distance away, but still at the side of his employer.

"Hello Ishabel!" She greeted happily. "You… We… We had a meeting today, ja?"

"Yes," Isabel said calmly. Willow nodded, and held up a bottle happily.

"That song… My father taught me… Taught me it! We would sing it while mining!" She giggled again. "So did Warden… He was terrible… So terrible…" She sniffled, before lifting the bottle back up to her lips.

Isabel reached out and grasped the bottle. Willow looked over into her eyes, and scowled.

"Willow," Isabel began calmly, "We had a meeting."

"And I'm sick," Willow retorted childishly, "Soos… No meetings! No work! No work at-at all! Haven't… Haven't worked in a while, anywayyyy… More used to that than… Than anything…!"

Isabel sighed. She reached into her purse, and pulled out one of her fighting gloves. She slipped it on, then slammed a canister of Healing Dust into the receptacle on the back of her palm.

"Oh no," Willow muttered, scooting back, "N-Not again-!"

"Yes, again," Isabel stated firmly. She pressed her hand against Willow's lower belly, and activated the Healing Dust. It glowed bright white/yellow, and Willow sat up straight. She tried to grab Isabel's wrist, to make her move, but it did nothing against her monstrous strength.

"And… There," Isabel said with a nod. Willow's hands went up to her mouth. She covered it as she gagged. Klein helpfully held out a bucket, and the elegant older woman grabbed for it and shoved her face into it with desperation filled speed.

"HWROOGH! HWRAARRK!"

"Fascinating," Klein observed, as calm and collected as ever, "You sped up the processing of the alcohol in her system-"

"But reversed the flow," Isabel said with a nod, as Willow continued to retch, "The alternative was her making a worse mess. It's much trickier, but she'll appreciate the lack of damage to her clothing."

Willow, panting hard, turned from the bucket with an almost murderous scowl. Klein took the bucket from his mistress, and replaced it with a bottled water. Willow drank the water, gulping it all down desperately. She lowered the empty bottle and glared daggers at the nonplussed Isabel.

"Did you… Really… Have to do that?" Willow asked.

"You gave me a wide latitude in our contract for how I was to do my duties," Isabel said wryly. Willow groaned, scooting to the edge of her couch to put her head down nearly between her knees.

"Why did I do that?" She moaned.

"You were drunk," Isabel said flatly.

Willow sighed.

"I suppose that would explain it," she mumbled. "If only you could solve the reasons for that…"

Isabel sighed softly. She maintained strict doctor-patient confidentiality with all her clients. She did what she could for Willow's children. It pained her greatly to see how Jacques treated his own flesh and blood, and how Willow retreated into alcoholism to deal with it.

The simple truth was…

"I'm sorry. I can't fix those for you," she said.

Willow was silent, staring at the ground.

Isabel opened her mouth to say more, but Willow slowly shook her head.

"I know," she murmured softly. She very slowly got up to her feet, not looking in Isabel's direction. "I suppose… I suppose we should have that meeting now?"

Ah, yes. She'd left Qrow alone with a teenaged boy. No way that could go wrong.

"It would be nice," Isabel nodded.

Klein led them both back to the parlor. The butler opened the door for both of them, and Isabel tensed.

Rather than Whitley suffering a bloody nose or being trapped in a headlock… He and Qrow were looking over a Scroll with great interest.

"Yeah, see," Qrow pointed out, "My niece built this upgrade for me."

"Wow," Whitley said with an honest to the Gods smile, "Really? That's incredible! The bearing system is inspired-Ah, uh, hello Mother," Whitley immediately went back to his usual cool expression, and stepped away from Qrow. Qrow gave Isabel a smug smile, before he turned and nodded to Willow.

"Mrs. Schnee, it's a pleasure," Qrow said, "Just sharing my niece's engineering work with your son."

A faint, tired smile emerged on Willow's face.

"That's wonderful to hear," she said softly. Whitley's expression tightened, and he kept his eyes on his Scroll. Willow frowned. Isabel shook her head.

"Anyway," Isabel said, "Just so we don't take any more of your time…"

They sat down in the parlor chairs. Whitley stayed by the bookshelves, away from his mother. Klein served them hot drinks, which were perfect, of course. Isabel then pulled out her papers and handed them to Willow. The Schnee matriarch examined them carefully as Isabel delivered their spiel.

"I've identified a faint possibility for Solitas Heritage Disease from Jacques' side of the family," Isabel explained, "The odds are very low, but these can lead to autoimmune polyglandular syndrome. The ailments this cause can include, but are not limited to: Autoimmune hepatitis, hypogonadism, vitiligo, alopecia, malabsorption, pernicious anemia, cataracts, and cerebellar ataxia."

Willow nodded slowly.

"What would be the best approach to deal with this issue?" Willow asked.

Isabel smiled genuinely. She was, after all, giving some good news. She loved when she could do that for a patient.

"Standard genome editing should handle it. However, there are cases where full genetic transfer therapy has been required. I can do some labs to figure out the risk factors. And a genetic screening with their future partners or spouses would help determine how to handle it for your children."

Willow nodded slowly.

"That's very good," Willow said, "And I greatly appreciate it, Isabel. Believe me, I do. I just fail to see why we had to meet face to face like this."

"Told you," Whitley muttered. Qrow and Isabel glanced at the teenager, and then back at one another. Qrow flared his Aura, and nodded to Isabel. The doctor let out a soft sigh.

"We were hoping," Isabel said, "You could provide us with information on the grants you gave to one Doctor Merlot ten years ago."

Willow froze as she brought her tea cup to her mouth. She slowly lowered it, and shook her head with a tight expression around her eyes.

"That's… That was a fiasco, Isabel," Willow said softly. "I'm not sure I can talk about that-"

"Your recording devices are disabled in this room, Willow, and will be for the next five minutes," Isabel stated. Whitley gaped in shock.

"Wha-How did you-?!"

"Trust us on that," Qrow stated, "You can be as open with us as you want."

"Why?" Willow asked, eyes wide, "Does this have to do with that Grimm in Vale?"

"It might," Isabel said with a slow nod, "We're investigating all options. It…" She hesitated, and looked over at Qrow. Qrow slowly nodded. She looked back at Willow.

"It had human DNA grafted into it," Isabel said softly.

Willow gaped in horror. Whitley was not much better. Isabel looked between them, and clamped down on her emotions with her Semblance.

"We won't use any of the information you give us against you," Isabel stated, "This isn't for blackmail or personal advantage. This Grimm… It killed my husband. It was created using methods similar to those Doctor Merlot proposed. If we can find a link, maybe find where this thing was created… We could prevent anyone else from getting killed."

She looked intently into Willow's eyes.

"You know me, Willow. You've trusted me with your children for the last ten years," she said softly, "Please. Trust me now."

Willow was silent for a time. She stared into her tea cup, stirring it occasionally. Qrow held back an awkward cough. Whitley was staring, captivated. It might have been best to ask him to leave first, but… Ugh, damnit. She really was out of practice…

"If you want Whitley to leave-"

"No," Willow said quietly, "He should stay. He's being groomed to take over for Jacques. This is… He should know about this."

Isabel let out the breath she had been holding. Whitley walked over, and sat down in a chair adjacent to the coffee table, looking intrigued.

"I'll tell you what I can," Willow said quietly, "And hand over what financial records we still have. Most of them were boxed, due to the closure of the project and… Other things."

Qrow leaned forward a little.

"What happened?" Qrow asked.

Willow bit her lower lip, and accepted a biscuit from Klein. She ate it and swallowed before she continued.

"At first, everything was promising," she said, "The ability to control Grimm? To domesticate it? Can you imagine the possibilities? Jacques agreed it could change everything. So we gave our highest levels of funding to Merlot. We were assured by the Council and military they would match our funding."

She sucked in a deep breath.

"At first, everything went well," she said, "Progress was slow, but the processes Merlot pioneered actually got us into biotech. We own a number of the patents still. I saw Grimm obey simple commands in heavily reinforced labs. It all looked promising."

Willow looked off into the distance for a moment, before looking back at her guests.

"Then… Merlot became erratic. Cagey. Almost paranoid. He asked for human volunteers who kept vanishing. Funding went missing without any explanation. Finally, one of his assistants got out and reported that Merlot was engaging in human and faunus experimentation. Without written consent. Jacques had his security squad go in to investigate…"

She trembled.

"They… I didn't see it myself, but the results were…" She shut her eyes tightly.

"We traced some of the funding to places in Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and even Menagerie," she said, "And Doctor Merlot was long gone. The Council terminated the projects, as did the military. It was classified, top secret. That… That was that."

She looked to Klein.

"Will you retrieve the records, Klein? They should be in the storage closet of the library," she said.

"Of course, Mistress Willow," Klein said with a bow. He turned and headed out, shutting the door behind him. Willow sighed.

"It was… Well. It's probably a mark of how horrible the entire situation was that even Jacques was disgusted by it," she said softly. "I thought it was a sign he still had a heart…"

She snorted.

"In truth, it was just that he saw how bad this would be for us. Even worse than the labor scandals, the Schnee Plan… All of it."

Whitley's eyes were still wide in horror. Willow looked over at Whitley with a grim expression.

"You're going to have a lot of work ahead of you as heir," she said, "I'm so, so sorry, Whitley."

"I…" Whitley shook his head. "I guess so, Mother."

The tension in the air was so thick, Isabel nearly jumped when Klein returned with a small, hand-sized box of record disks. He handed them to her, and she took them with a grateful nod.

"Sure you can get away with giving us these?" Qrow asked.

Willow shrugged.

"I trust Isabel," she said, "And you… I suppose. I can only imagine what it would be like if Weiss or Winter ran into one of those… Things." She shuddered.

"We'll keep it to ourselves, I promise," Isabel said firmly. Willow nodded.

"Thank you…"

"Listening devices are coming back online," Qrow warned. Isabel opened the records box and shoved the disks into her purse. Qrow took the box and handed it to Klein, who discreetly hid it behind a potted plant. Willow nodded and smiled.

"Thank you for stopping by, Isabel," she said, "It's always nice to be visited by someone who cares for my family so much."

"It's always a pleasure for me, as well," Isabel said, smiling back. She beamed over at Whitley. "I'm very glad to hear about your progress in Engineering, Whitley. You should be very proud."

"Thank you," Whitley said, nodding quickly. He looked over at Qrow. "Can I get more samples of your niece's engineering?"

"Maybe when she's legal. You like 'em older, right kid?" Qrow said with a smirk and wink. Whitley didn't have to feign his blush.

"I-No-I'm not-!"

Willow hid a small laugh behind her hand.

"I may have to meet her some day," Willow chuckled. She sighed. "Well… It has been a wonderful time, but I have much to do. And I'm sure you do, as well."

"Of course," Isabel said, "Please get the labs to me as soon as you can. We'll sort this all out, Willow. I promise."

Willow stared at her and nodded slowly.

"I know," she said, "I believe you. Klein?"

"Yes ma'am," Klein nodded, opening the door for them. Isabel and Qrow headed out, and Qrow waved goodbye after. Willow managed one back, as Whitley frowned deeply.

"Good luck," Willow said.

Isabel nodded back.

"To us all," she said softly, as the door slid shut.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Professor Oobleck's class was always distracting. Jaune was usually glad for that: The man talked so fast and seemed nearly omniscient about anything his students were doing.

Yet even he wasn't enough to banish Jaune's dark thoughts. So while he did take notes and responded as best he could, he still brooded.

Gato…

When the bell rang, he got up and headed for the door, ahead of everyone else. He saw Pyrrha stare at him, and shook his head. She slowly nodded, but still looked concerned. Well, fine.

They'd all said their piece. He didn't want to hear any more, to be honest.

He headed out, and wandered around the campus grounds with no real destination in mind. He found a bench near the Bullhead port, and sat down to stare out at Vale proper. The sun was beginning to set, orange and purple light beginning to paint the sky overhead.

He was used to the Gato voice saying something, anything. Even something snarky would be welcome. Yet it had been silent this whole time. Jaune didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Even with his friends' encouragement and counsel? He still felt so alone...

"Um… H-Hello, Jaune!"

Jaune looked over. He blinked in recognition as May Zedong stood nearby, looking awkward.

"Oh, hey May," he said. He frowned. "Ah, sorry I haven't tried to catch up to you. It's been… A crazy busy week-"

"O-Oh, no, th-that's fine!" May said quickly, waving her hands around in a rather adorable fashion, "I-I've been busy too! I-I just didn't want to bother you, but uh…" She frowned deeply.

"Are… Are you all right?" She asked.

Jaune sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils, and let it out through the same way. He shrugged.

"... Don't know," he admitted. He stared at her. "You can sit down if you'd like."

"O-Oh, thank you," May agreed. She nervously perched on the other side of the bench, far from him. He stared at her, then looked away. He was probably just making her nervous.

May wrang her hands. She giggled nervously.

"Y-Yeah… I'm uh… I'm swamped, too," she admitted. "I-I have to manage my team."

Jaune looked over at her in curiosity.

"Isn't your team 'BRNZ'? Wouldn't that make-?"

"Brawnz the leader?" May let out an exasperated sigh. "In theory, yes. In practice? They're all…" She winced. Jaune hummed.

"Idiots?" He ventured. May flushed, and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. She sighed. "They keep anything from getting close to me while I shoot. That's… About as good a strategy I can get across to them. I have to clean up after them, look after them…" She rolled her eyes. "I have to cook for them when we're out in the field, too."

Jaune winced.

"Sorry," he said. "Feels like you're a babysitter instead of a leader, huh?"

May nodded eagerly.

"Yes! Exactly!" She sighed, though she had a small, fond smile on her face. "But… They are there for me when it counts. It's those… Those times that really justify everything."

Jaune smiled back.

"Yeah," he said.

"It's been a long time," May said, "I uh… I heard about your dad." She winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's… It's fine," Jaune said quietly. "Thanks."

She beamed shyly.

"You uh… We've both gone through a lot of changes, huh?" She asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Plenty," he said.

"Things seemed… A lot simpler, back then," May murmured, almost wistfully. Jaune smiled.

"Yeah…"

"I-I know it's been a while and-and we're-we were friends as kids but um…" She looked away shyly, and then back at Jaune, "It-It would be nice… To be friends again, r-right?"

Jaune smiled softly. He reached out and patted her hand.

"It sure would," he said.

May turned bright red. He almost laughed out loud at that. She was still the same old May, still so shy she tried to hide in plain sight. He supposed that made her a good sniper, but…

"G-Good," May said with a nod. "Um… This weird girl called 'Mint' asked me to give you this?" She held out a folded piece of paper. "Well, I mean, she can't talk, so she just asked…" She winced. "Very uh, aggressively…"

Jaune smiled in understanding. He took the folded up note, and patted May's hand again.

"Yeah, she uh… She can be," Jaune said. "Don't take it personally. She's a little…"

"Overprotective?" May asked. Jaune paused, then nodded.

"Sure, let's go with that," he said. He opened the note. His eyes widened a bit.

Iri will be at the White Fang Rally tonight. Backstage. Have fun. ~<3

Well. It didn't take a genius to know how Neo felt about Iridescent, and what Jaune should do about her.

His fists clenched. So hard May reached out to rest a hand on his.

"Jaune? Are-Are you all right?" She asked.

Jaune turned to May, a deadly glare on his face. She recoiled. He winced, then schooled his features into a tense smile.

"Just fine," he said. He reached out and patted her shoulder. "I've… I've got to go. I'll see you later."

"S-Sure!" May managed, smiling nervously. Jaune got up and headed off, back to the dorms.

When he entered, he moved through the hallways with purpose, up the stairs towards the familiar doors. He opened up the door to the common room. Everyone else in RWBY and JNPR (along with Neptune and Sun) were waiting. Everyone looked up at him.

"We have a location?" He asked. Blake nodded.

"We do," she said, "Schwartz just sent it. We were just about to start planning things out."

Jaune looked around. Ruby was staring at him intently, a worried smile on her face as she stood on Blake's left side at the table. Yang and Pyrrha sat together. Pyrrha stared intently at him, her face blank, while Yang frowned in concern. Neptune was sitting with Weiss. The blue haired young man spared a glare at him, before he went back to cooing over Weiss. The platinum blonde beauty gave him a brief look, then looked back at her boyfriend.

Nora was bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement, grinning broadly, while Ren sat stoically as ever. Sun just gave him a grin, though he did step a bit closer to Blake. Blake for her part just looked very serious.

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Just so you all know," he said, "If anyone doesn't want to join us, say so now."

"We said so before!" Neptune protested. Weiss nodded.

"But we will be nearby, in case you need back up," she said firmly.

Jaune looked around. Nobody else said anything. Yang smiled grimly and slammed her fists together. Pyrrha smiled gently, but with steel in her eyes. Ren and Nora held hands.

He let out a small sigh.

"Right. Let's get to work," he ordered.

Gato… One way or another… I'll get justice for you.

- - -

Sorry it's a bit short. These sections will be combined properly in AO3 and on FF.net.