Chapter 1: Falling

Author's Note: Italics are thoughts. I own none of it. Much of the dialogue is stolen from RWBY, volume 1.

Pain burned through him, as life leaked from him. It wasn't so bad. He'd hurt worse. Radiation poisoning, electrocution, beatings, cuts, gunshots, interrogations and interrogation drugs, oh, and, of course, Irina…

But it wasn't that which kept him standing, it was the certainty that he finally had the bastard. Well, that and the pillar he was leaning against. He brought the explosives out and smirked at his oldest friend and oldest enemy.

"What are you doing?" Arvin asked, hands moving to where a weapon was undoubtedly concealed. That was surprising. The former CIA officer had always thought manipulation was his best weapon, not that it had stopped him from putting bullets in Jack's chest to force his daughter to hand over the Rambaldi artifact.

The other man's immortality wasn't really a surprise. Arvin's constant denial that immortality was what he sought had made Jack certain that immortality was one step on the road of Arvin's obsessions. "You beat death Arvin, but you couldn't beat me," he said with a smirk, finger moving to blow the C4 and bring down the crypt atop them.

Arvin's hand moved too, but it would be too slow to bring out a gun. It would have been. If it had been a gun. "Wrong," Arvin whispered as he touched the Rambaldi device at the same moment Jack triggered his explosives.

The world vanished in a brilliant flash of white.

And then he was falling. And screaming. Jack forced himself to stop screaming and examine his surroundings. A forest was beneath him, but he was following a curved path, so he hadn't fallen from a plane, but appeared to have been hurled with great force. Automatically he twisted into the proper position and reached for the line to deploy his parachute.

Which, of course, he was not wearing. Shit. This is going to hurt. Those were not helpful thoughts, but the rest of his mind was busy trying to come up with a way out of falling and, when that failed, attempting to figure out what had happened. Jack did not believe in any afterlife. If he was wrong, always a possibility, (however remote, in his own opinion) then it still wasn't like any afterlife he'd ever heard of. The answer hit him like a flash, like the canopy of the vast forest beneath him was going to any moment, Rambaldi, that sick mother-

Just as he hit the canopy and prepared to attempt to slow his fall with smaller branches, a powerful force jerked him sideways, arresting his fall and slamming him somewhat more gently then he expected against the trunk of a tree, maybe fifteen feet in the air. When he got his breath back, he took a quick inventory. No injuries. His arms were wearing rather different material than the remnants of the uniform he'd been wearing. Brown gloves, red shirt. His body felt heavy, as if he were wearing the modern body armor, with the ceramic plates, and a weight pulled down left side. A quick touch of his hand identified it as a blade, sheathed, long enough to hit mid-calf. A sword? What the fuck?

It fit with the unbelievable fact that a scarlet spear was holding him to the tree by his collar. That was a truly incredible toss by someone he couldn't even see. And he was unarmed, except for a sword. And dangling helplessly from a tree.

There's a branch, if I swing back and forth, I can get a leg over it, then I just need to pull. It was harder than it should have been. Embarrassingly so. It was even more embarrassing that he had to wiggle the spear free to claim a second weapon. This body was weak. But, it lacked the twinges he was used to. Bruises were already forming on his back from the impact with the tree, but usually his knees and back would be whining at him already, but they were oddly silent. As was the forest at large.

A bush shuddered and Jack slid silently along the branch until he was out of view and pulled back the spear, taking careful aim. He was completely unprepared for a white-haired woman dressed all in white, including a puffy white skirt, with only a slender sword for protection. All white in the woods, how does she keep it clean?

His original thought that she was a woman (based on her white hair) faded away as a younger girl, Fuck me, it's Little Red Riding Hood! followed her out of the forest, "But we're supposed to be partners, Weiss, you heard what the headmaster said!" her tone was all too familiar to Jack. Sydney had used it a lot as a child. There were rules and rules needed to be followed, damnit!

The white haired girl, Weiss, bickered with her fellow about their partnership, whether their eyes had actually met and something about explosions that Jack didn't follow. His eyes and front-brain automatically analyzed the interaction, noting Weiss was clearly older and higher status, Arrogant, rich girl, but with the callouses of a fighter and the confidence of a champion. That scar around her eye didn't come from any accident either, not the way she flaunts it. Red, whose name had yet to be said, was arguing gamely, Prodigy, too young for her job, like that boy at Berlin Polytechnic, smart, but easily manipulated. If necessary, set them on each other and escape in the confusion. While his front-brain took care of that, his back-brain considered something else.

If I'm here, so is Sloan. None of my stuff came through, so his probably didn't either. Which means he'll need a way back from…wherever this is. For that he'll need another Rambaldi device. If one brought us here, there might be more around. If not…Sloan's the expert on Rambaldi, he might be able to recreate the device. No, his smile would have chilled the blood of anyone who knew him as Jack Bristow, I won't allow that to happen.

Before his mind could go further down that path, Red chose to argue that she was too useful, by demonstrating her weapon, and pulled a red device from the small of her back, only for it unfold into a giant scythe, which, the girl eagerly explained, was also a sniper rifle. Okay. So. Definitely not on Earth. Fucking Rambaldi.

Their quarrelling almost covered the sound of someone/something approaching from another angle. Jack considered the available cover and concluded it would prevent him from being seen from that angle as well. He twisted slightly to keep both groups in sight.

"Juane?" a female voice called as she slid through the brushes without a rustle.

Both of the other girls spun to face the noise, weapons coming down, the disagreement of a moment before gone, though they each tried to move into prime striking position and ended up jostling each other awkwardly. Then they recognized the speaker, "Pyrrha!" Weiss squealed, "I'm so glad you're the first person my eyes met!"

"HEY!" Red jumped up and down as Jack examined the newcomer. Tall, strong, wearing scarlet and with red hair, fortunately Weiss had given the girl a name, or he'd have been stuck with Red-2. Warrior. Strong. Had to be strong. Confident. Issues with socialization. Isolation, perhaps? Skilled. Dangerous. If necessary, strike from behind, without warning.

"Isn't Ruby your partner?" Pyrrha asked, confused.

"Well…"

"YES!"

Weiss tried to cover Ruby's mouth and the two degenerated into what Jack would have called a slap fight, if there had been any slapping involved.

"Have either of you seen Juane? I'm sure he came down somewhere over here," Pyrrha said, looking up at the tree.

Oh. So I'm John, am I? Well, could be worse. Considering some of the names SD6 and the CIA gave me…His lips quirked slightly, before he could force them flat again. Has been worse, in fact.

He considered his options. It did not take long. The spear clearly matched the girl's armor and she was looking for someone male who 'came down' in this area. It wasn't a 100%, but it was better odds than he often had to play. "Hello," he said, rising to be visible above the leaves.

"Juane!" Pyrrha crossed her arms and grinned up at him. Attracted to me. Possible manipulation point. "So, you have any spots left on your team?" The other two are supposed to be partners…because they met each other's eyes? Possible.

He lifted the spear, "Given that you saved my life, I think the question is if you have a spot on your team for me?"

Disappointment filled her eyes, though she didn't stop smiling. Odd reaction, didn't want to be in charge? "Sure thing."

"Oh, good, it's Vomit Boy," Weiss snapped, staring up at him, clearly disgruntled she hadn't known he was there. "Adding eavesdropping to your list of habits?"

Jack was surprised to feel himself growing angry. The words of this arrogant child didn't matter one bit to him, but his idiot (and he was beginning to expect, probably also adolescent) body didn't want to agree with that proposition. Still, he'd mastered his temper long ago. Usually. And so, he simply dropped the spear straight down. She didn't have to jump out of the way, it would have missed regardless. Probably.

The slide down the tree trunk made him grateful that this body came equipped with armor, as it clearly lacked either the callouses, or the muscle that would have protected his prior body.

"HEY!" she shrieked in his face as he hit the ground, "You could have hit me!" She's not speaking English. The lip movements aren't right. But I understand it. Some of this body's skills have survived. Excellent. Hopefully whatever combat abilities it possesses survived as well.

"Just one advantage of the high ground. And that was with you fully aware I was there, because I told you I was. Perhaps being quiet has its advantages?" he suggested, shooting both of the squabbling children a pointed, and communicative glare. She has silver eyes. That's weird. Not as weird as shapeshifting weapons, but weird.

Unfortunately, his appearance rather undercut the intimidation factor he was going for. Pyrrha flicked the spear and it shifted into a rifle. It was only with a massive effort that he kept from gaping at that impossible feat. I wonder if this sword does anything useful. No way to ask, I'll have to check when I'm alone. "We have a job to do, right?" she interjected as the other two began to wind up for further impressive screams. "And we don't need to attract any Grimm."

Grimm? Job? I could try to pretend I know what's going on. His eyes flickered over the others, noting that they clearly understood the warning. Grimm must be background knowledge, job is short term…and I just fell out of the sky, I have an excuse. It may also explain any personality changes. "Sorry, remind me what we're doing out here?" He slid a hand through too-long hair as if probing for a bump and winced as he found one. "I think I whacked my head pretty good."

"Why didn't your aura protect you?" Pyrrha asked, sliding her rifle back into spear form and slung it over her shoulder, under the shield hanging from her back.

I could feign knowledge, but if it's something that would protect me…and she's surprised, but not shocked. This is embarrassing, not cover-blowing. "Aura?"

"Don't you know what aura is?"

"No."

"For crying out loud, what sort of backwater are you from Vomit-Boy?" Weiss asked.

"Hey, be nice!" Ruby tried to interject, setting the two of them on each other.

Despite an embarrassing flush of the cheeks that he couldn't control, Stupid teenage body, Jack focused on Pyrrha, who ignored the byplay.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burden and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing someone was there?"

"I have believed I was being observed." Which is not the same as knowing.

"With practice, our aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals, except Grimm."

"Ah."

"By bearing your soul outward, you can protect yourself from harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits of aura."

"A power source."

"If you want to look at it that way."

She stepped closer. Too close. Instinct wanted to either gain distance or take her out. He controlled it ruthlessly. They clearly thought him either too good natured, or too inept to be a threat, there was little benefit to correcting that misconception at this juncture. Her hand rose to his cheek. It wasn't in the right place for either a choke-hold or a neck-break, but only by extreme effort did he prevent himself from taking action. There is an advantage here, or at least they believe there is. This is clearly something all of them believe in. I hope whatever Rambaldi's device did to bring me here doesn't effect this. Bit late to think of that now. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate," she said. Oh for fuck's sake! Seriously?

"Okay," he said, relatively certain the hoplite-like woman was unlike to strike him down in front of the other two, though they were bickering so thoroughly that they might not have noticed. Well, I'm definitely a teenager, he concluded as his voice cracked from the stress of the situation.

He let his eyes drift to what would appear to be closed, but would still provide a modicum of vision and focused on his other senses. If she moved, he would—

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." SHE IS FUCKING GLOWING! WHAT THE FUCK! "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." Her hand rose, but Jack was sufficiently surprised he didn't react. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." She bent over like she'd just run a marathon. SPEAR NEAR MY FACE! CRAZY PEOPLE ALL AROUND! CRAZY GLOWING PEOPLE!

"Are you all right?" he asked. Can you assist me in completing whatever our task is here so we can get out of this forest?

"I'm fine. I used my aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you know is your own," she stared at him and smiled. "You have a lot of it."

"So this will defend me?"

"Up to a point." Hmm…well, that might explain their behavior. They expect to be able to survive a first strike.

"While we accomplish whatever our task is, which you were going to remind me of?"

"Find the temple, get the artifacts, form teams for Beacon Academy, and become Huntsmen and Huntresses!" You want to be on the same team?" Ruby asked eagerly, words blending together as she dropped out of her fight with Weiss like it hadn't even been occurring.

"Do we have a location for this temple?" Jack asked Pyrrha, rather than attempt to interact with the pint-sized motor-mouth.

"Nope. Sorry."

"I didn't see any significant breaks in the canopy while…arriving."

"Neither did I," Pyrrha admitted. "Sorry." Excessive apologies. Easy to manipulate with accusations of misbehavior.

"Does anyone know the area?"

"Of the Emerald Forest? A Grimm infested land of nothing and nobody? No. We don't know the area!" Weiss said, with a mutter that sounded like an accusation that it sounded like the area a Vomit Boy might be from, but Jack chose not to hear that.

So we're in the middle of…Grimm (?) (enemy?) territory, with no idea of our location, our destination, or the local terrain. And I thought the CIA liked to withhold mission-critical information…

"Headmaster Ozpin said it was somewhere in the northern part of the forest," Ruby remembered.

"Which would be helpful if we knew which part of the forest we were currently in. And which way was north!" snapped Weiss.

Before their bickering could resume full force, Pyrrha interjected. "Well, the initiation is held at the same site every year. There should be some signs I—we can fo-"

The sound of a trio of shotgun blasts filled the air. "Yang!" Ruby shrieked and began sprinting in the direction of the sound. Pyrrha followed her, moving into a position to cover her right flank, rifle suddenly back in her hands. Fast. Very fast. Better to have allies than be alone. Especially allies that fast.

Without any visible hesitation, Jack moved to follow, regretting the fact that he lacked proper weapons (and any knowledge of what a 'Grimm' was). He could use a knife well enough, but a sword was not just an over-sized knife, he was fairly certain, and his combat training had not included fencing. A single semester of the sport back in college was the extent of his experience and he was fairly certain that flat open spaces to fight in weren't going to be common in the forest. Weiss followed more slowly. Fortunately, he could track her by the sound the very-definitively-not-outdoorsy girl made as she made her way through the overgrown forest. Still, having her at his back made his neck itch.

The shots continued, along with an impressively loud bellow of fury. This Yang must be…large. But by the time they arrived at the small clearing, the battle was over, a large black beast, with a white bone mask face lay dead. Definitely not on Earth, while Ruby was jumping up and down, hugging a blonde girl. Yang, presumably. Jack examined the fallen beast, noting the wound in its back, from a blade, not the shotgun which had permitted Ruby to identify Yang's involvement in this fracas (which he could not see on her apparently unarmed person). That presumably meant that the second woman in the clearing was responsible for the dead beast. Dark haired, with a pretty bow on her head, she hung back from the squealing girls, holding an ironic detachment from the entire scene, in fact.

Pyrrha also hung back, though her examination of the pair was more envious then detached. Weiss was still making her way out of the underbrush. It was embarrassing how out of breath his body was. That run couldn't have been more than half-a-mile. This body was pathetically out of shape. Something would need to be done about that. He used his gasping to hide his examination of the two new girls. Yang first, as she was the more active. Tall and blonde, she was clearly athletic and enthusiastic. Seen it before a hundred times with new recruits. She'll either grow into a hell of an operative, or die young. Or both, of course. Syd…Obviously close with Ruby. Can't be siblings, given the difference in appearance. Close friends, or maybe one's adopted? Or some weird wherever-this-is thing I cannot predict.

With that dispiriting thought he turned his attention to the other girl. Dressed in black and white, she wore a blade of her own, strapped to her back. Withdrawn. Detached. Concerned. Hiding something she believes is dire. Interesting. No visible shotguns, but with the collapsing, converting, changing weaponry they use, that is less than helpful. Still, possibility of a third party in the area.

He turned to Pyrrha as Weiss burst out of the undergrowth and began to glare at the squealing pair, "Aren't we supposed to be retrieving artifacts, not attracting every Grimm in the area to us?"

With a suddenness that shouldn't have surprised the father of a woman who was once a teenage girl, the full throng of girls turned on him instantly. The combined wattage of their glares would have melted him, if that were possible. Which it might be in this ridiculous world.

He ignored their glares. "So, I believe we were going to let Pyrrha try to find us a trail to the artifacts, unless someone else had a better idea?"

"They're this way," the girl with the bow said, indicating a direction which matched his perception of north.

"How do you know that?" Weiss asked, dubiously.

"I examined maps of the area before we were dropped here."

"I didn't even know we were coming here!" Ruby interjected, somewhere between praising the older girl for her preparation and complaining about her own lack of information.

"Well, that's what happens when you skip two grades and get added at the last minute," Yang said, throwing an armored arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you!"

Which Weiss took as an invitation to launch into an attack on Ruby's character and performance thus far, which prompted Yang to leap in in defense of Ruby. Before Jack's remaining, limited, patience could evaporate, he noticed that the black-furred beast which the others had killed was visibly decomposing, nay, disintegrating before his very eyes. It was only with a supreme effort that he didn't gape at that insanity. Fortunately, no one else noticed as Blake and Pyrrha had moved off to discuss which way they should go.

Wouldn't think you'd have to teach a forty year veteran of the Agency not to grandstand. But this definitely has been a learning experience.

Next time, Sloan, I won't pause to gloat.

Glynda Goodwitch watched on the scroll as Nora found Ren and approached Ozpin with the news as he stood on the cliff's edge staring out over the sea of green as if he could see his students without the aid of a scroll. Perhaps he could. Even after their decades working together, she was never sure of the extent of the Huntsman's abilities.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy, I can't imagine those two getting along." She'll wear the poor fellow out. Just teaching her is going to be wearing enough. "Still, things could always be worse. Mr. Winchester's pairing with Mr. Thrush is sure to cause problems, given their respective disciplinary records."

"Mm…" Ozpin made the noise he always did when he didn't want to actually respond.

"Despite my concerns, Mr. Arc seems to have proven your admission decision correct. I suppose he's just one of those trainees who doesn't concentrate unless they're in mortal danger." Maybe. I hate it when we get spies from other schools. I am getting that feel from him. Well, we'll just have to keep a close eye on him.

"Mm…" Ozpin took a sip of his drink and glanced down at his own scroll.

Weiss and Ruby almost tripped over each other as they each moved to draw a bead on the rumbling, approaching sound. The others managed to form a line with clear lines of fire. Except Jack, who had the good sense to take cover behind a nearby tree as he drew the blade hanging from his belt. Usually he'd have preferred to use just his hands rather than such an unfamiliar weapon, but making their way towards the temple, they'd run into a clutch of Grimm, large wolf-like creatures with sharp fangs and claws. Taking on something like that with his hands was begging to lose them and he didn't know enough about aura to know if it would protect him.

The engagement had demonstrated the impressive, if needlessly showy abilities of his comrades and the fact that everyone except him had ranged weapons. The rapier Weiss wielded was apparently capable of firing blasts of fire and ice. It would be nice to imagine his own blade did so as well, but it lacked the spinning selector Weiss used to control the weapon, Potential sabotage point, and even if it didn't, he lacked the knowledge of how to set it to 'Shoot fire' not 'Explode messily.' As a result, Jack was stuck being the first line of melee defense, as he had no ranged weapons. That meant placing himself ahead, but well clear of, their firing line.

Fortunately, the Grimm appeared focused on the fighters shooting at them, permitting him to casually stab them in the back. His minimal skill with the blade was up to that task. This time, whatever was coming had to be significantly larger, given the volume. That noise also separated itself into roars and distinctively female shouts of glee and excitement.

A massive creature, like someone had taken a half dozen bears and combined them, then stuck a bunch of spikes all over it, roared into view, shaking and waving its stubby arms about. A flash of pink and white was visible behind it as it tried to dislodge the girl on its back. "Hold fire!" Jack yelled automatically. "Friendly downrange!" For a given value of friendly.

At that point, the girl on its back brought a gigantic Warhammer down on its skull and hopped off. "Aw, look Ren, they're already friends! That's nice, but I've already got a best—" she looked around and moved so fast she almost seemed to vanish behind the mountain of slowly disintegrating Grimm, then reappeared dragging a vaguely Asian looking boy out, "friend! See!" she lifted him up with an impressive amount of ease and a disturbing lack of anything resembling sanity.

"Nora," the boy, Ren, said, in the voice of one who has said it many times and expects to say it many times more, "please put me down now. One ride a day is more than enough."

Nora put him down with a grin.

"Did you just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked. Jack wasn't entirely sure if her tone was impressed or incredulous. Personally he was choosing not to speak, as nothing he could say was going to be helpful.

"Yep! The trick is to hold on really tight!"

"That…doesn't sound like a trick," Weiss responded. Oh, thank god, everyone else recognizes she's insane too. This is not normal behavior. And they do have crazy people around at this…school. That may be useful as an excuse for my behavior, if necessary. Indeed, they'd already given him shit for the full minute he'd spent staring at the BROKEN moon, fully visible in the middle of the day.

That discussion went on for as long as Jack could stand, then he snapped and ordered them into a sensible formation, with Blake and Ren as their forward scouts, Pyrrha as their vanguard, Ruby and Weiss as flank guards, Jack as rearguard, while Nora and Yang acted as the heavies in the center. They made it to the temple without too much more bickering as he'd very carefully separated everyone who could potentially argue as best he'd could. Jack's temper was reaching its breaking point, fueled by teenage bickering and equally (and embarrassingly personal) teenage hormones, so it was a good thing that they agreed with a minimum of fussing over who should be in charge.

Fortunately, the fact that Jack was clearly the weakest fighter in the group made them more willing to take guidance from him. The rest of the trip to the clearing around the temple passed in what could be confused for peaceful contemplation only when compared to the discovery that the clearing was infested with a Nevermore. Which was the local's way of saying GIANT FUCKING RAVEN THAT CAN SHOOT FEATHERS AT YOU HARD ENOUGH TO CUT YOU IN HALF!

As Jack's perfectly reasonable suggestion that they wait until the thing went somewhere else to make its move was rejected as boring, the bickering over what to do resumed. Though, at least this time, it was occurring at a somewhat quieter volume. Jack took a moment to prepare his arguments.

Before they could come to a conclusion, Ruby broke for the temple, Jack wasn't in position to block her. Her weapon snapped into her hand as she raced forward towards the temple. SHIT! IDIOT! TEENAGER! BUT I REPEAT MYSELF!

"Covering fire!" he bellowed, cutting off Yang and, interestingly, Weiss from sprinting after the girl who'd broken cover. They obeyed the tone of authority automatically. SHIT I'M THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A GUN! He began to move forward, following the cheetah-fast girl. At least the beast is tracking her. The Nevermore flicked ten-foot-tall feathers at her, catching her cloak, though not her flesh and yanking her back off her feet. After a moment's thought, Jack bowled into her at full speed, ripping her cloak free and sending them sliding away, not coincidentally moving them off the path the circling back Nevermore anticipated. "Get the artifacts," he commanded, drawing his sword and slamming it against his shoulder plate while sprinting towards the treeline, carefully angling himself away from the Nevermore's flight-line.

Feathers slammed into the ground behind him, as he ducked into the tree line, never stopping his shrieking, clanging motions intended to draw the bird's attention (though seeing as how the fire of the throng of teenagers he'd left behind hadn't done it, he wasn't sure about its efficiency). It doesn't matter if it works, it just has to look reasonable. Neither victory nor the girl matter, but I cannot lose credibility with these people. Yet.

As he ducked behind a thick tree and took a breath, he paused his clanging to be impressed by the body's lung capacity, though the burning in his legs and side was embarrassing for so short a sprint. A careful peak out revealed Ruby turning from the temple towards him, then there was a blur and she was beside him. A quick glance reassured him she was okay. "Out of harm's way, we'll circle to you! Fall back into the trees," he yelled, wincing internally as his voice broke.

Ruby looked up at him, triumph in her eyes as she held up a quartet of chess pieces, two white rooks and two white knights. "Got 'em!"

Jack held out a hand, "May I have those, Ms…sorry, what was your last name?" Distract her with the question and get the 'artifacts'. Best I choose who gets the same ones given what they said about teams.

"It's Rose, Ruby Rose, but you can just call me Ruby, Juane," she said as she handed them over.

"Ms. Rose," his voice was smooth as ice. "why didn't you use that ability of yours to get the artifacts?"

"Umm…I didn't think of it."

"I see," Jack led them deeper into the forest in an arc towards where the other teenagers would be. "And you didn't wait for us to agree on a plan, because?"

"That was taking forever! Besides I knew I could do it." He could hear the grin in her voice, "And I was right. Mostly. Thanks for your help."

"Don't be. I didn't do it for you."

"Huh?"

"Let me tell you what I saw, Ms. Rose, I saw a girl who wanted to be seen to succeed, more than she wanted to succeed and no one sees a blur. I saw someone who endangered herself, the operation, and her comrades rather than take a moment to think. I did not take action to save that girl because she doesn't deserve saving."

Ruby's footsteps stopped behind him. He took two more steps to put more distance between them (not that it would matter if it came to violence) then turned to look at her. The girl's eyes were fixed on the ground and she was frozen. "I…I…I…didn't do that."

"I didn't say you did, Ms. Rose. I said that that was what I saw in your actions. Your motivations are your own. Perhaps you merely endangered us due to your carelessness, rather than your showboating."

"Why are you being like this, Juane?"

He forced emotion into his voice, picturing Syndey when she'd come to save him from torturous death at the hands of SD-6. "Because Ms. Rose, you have the ability to be tremendously powerful. The weapon you constructed is incredibly impressive, your combat skills are astounding, and that blurring ability of yours is beyond anything I've ever seen. You have the capacity to be amazing." An amazing asset. Hence all the effort to cast myself as the wise mentor figure. Hmmm…I wonder what abilities the others have. Perhaps they will be useful as more than just camouflage. "But only if you don't get yourself killed, or destroyed."

Silver eyes rose to meet his and her back straightened. "Thank you."

"Tell me, Ms. Rose, do you know the difference between the two states?"

"Huh?"

"Killed and destroyed?"

"No…" her eyes grew confused.

"You'd have been killed if that Nevermore had caught you. You'd have been destroyed if it killed one of us because of you. A word to the wise, Ms. Rose, your sanity," and reputation, "are as important to safeguard as your body. Now, let's get out of here."

"You can call me Ruby."

His voice was ice again. "When you earn it, Ms. Rose."

The rest of the walk passed in silence as Jack weighed his options. Nora and Ren-No. Don't do field work with the insane. Ruby and Weiss—powerful, but fractious. Yang and Blake—secretive and strong. The choice was obvious. He held onto one of the knights himself and tossed the other to Blake. Secrets were always dangerous and always powerful. A flick of his hand provided the rooks to Weiss and Ren.

"All right! Way to go baby-sis!" Bullshit! Yang said, trying to sweep her into the same enthusiasm that had marked their initial encounter, but Jack's conversation had grounded her too thoroughly for that. Yang's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she shrugged and decided to try to jolly her sister out of it. "Just a quick run back to the cliffs and we'll be good."

"Ooooo! We get to play again with the big birdie!" Nora squealed, hopping up and down. Now that's just unsettling what with that warhammer…

"Why would we do that, rather than circle around and approach the cliffs under the canopy?" Jack asked incredulously.

Yang, Weiss and Nora all gave him identical looks and the group devolved into further debate on the topic. Only by pointing out that they could come back and hunt Grimm without the rest of them if they wanted to, was Jack able to get them to leave. Ruby's unexpected support helped tip the balance as well.

Arvin Sloane stretched, surreptitiously touching each of the weapons he'd acquired over the last six hours. He'd landed in a good place, with an army almost within his grasp. Sure he wasn't 'in charge' of the army yet, but few people on Earth and no one on Remnant knew as well as he did how best to rule from behind the scenes. Still, both the people and the gear around him was…needlessly complex. That was an odd position for an acolyte of Rambaldi to take, but it was true nonetheless and it made him a bit uncomfortable.

The Rambaldi device itself had been a curiosity, one of the few he hadn't been able to figure out in more than thirty years of pursuing the prophet's designs and seeking to understand his genius. Triggering it had never been part of his plan, but Jack had forced his hand. Jack. Did you survive long enough to make the transition? What was the exact radius of effect again? Less than two hundred meters. I doubt anyone else was around, it would be Jack or no one. A slight smile moved his lips. As it should be. I do hope Jack made it through. This will be awfully dull if he's not here somewhere. Best to assume he is and start taking precautions and looking for him. His fingers drummed on the desk for just a moment, a nervous tic he stopped with an irritated thought. This body has instincts and habits of its own…as will his. This is going to be…interesting.

His fingers began to move again, investigating the technology of this world. He couldn't begin to look for what he needed until he knew how to cover his tracks. Still, time was not of the essence anymore. No one but Jack was hunting him and Jack had no more information about who Sloane was hiding inside than Sloane had about Jack's hiding body.

Author's Note: Okay, so things went a bit differently with Jack instead of Juane (or "John" as he still hasn't caught the distinction). Most of these flow from their very different characters. First, Pyrrha/Juane and Weiss/Ruby don't separate. It's never explained exactly why they do in the series (side note, I choose to believe Weiss saw Pyrrha coming before leaving Juane behind, as otherwise, leaving him helplessly dangling from a tree in Grimm-infested forests is either too cruel or too ruthless for the Weiss herein).

My theory is that once Pyrrha rescues Juane from the tree, he leads them off in a different direction, in order to prove he knows what he's doing and he wants to impress her/everyone. Jack is under no impression that he knows what he's doing (in this new world, at least) and will impress/disappoint/manipulate/use everyone as seems best to him. For the moment, safety in numbers seemed best.

As they weren't off waking a Deathstalker or hitching a ride on a Nevermore, they were nearby to hear Yang's fight and join up. As for Ren/Nora, they still hitched a ride on an Ursa, cause, well, NORA! but it was attracted to people as it ran aimlessly through the forest and this time the big cluster of people wasn't at the temple just yet.

Two other minor changes are that Weiss wants to stick around, but that's because this time around her moments of awesome, by which she demonstrates her worth to her team and her partner don't occur. She still needs to prove herself. Also, they go back under cover of trees because, awesome as it is, personally when I'm running from a flying monster, I don't run into large open spaces. Now, in the original structure, there's the excuse that the Deathstalker could probably just knock the trees down, but no Deathstalker, so the tree canopy is as good as a cloak of invisibility.

An internet cookie to anyone who successfully identifies whose body Sloane is in. I will not tell you who's right for a while, so feel free to keep guessing…

Next Chapter: Jack goes back to school. He's a sixty-two year old CIA officer, surrounded by teenagers. Hormones, he'll ignore 'em.

SPOILER:

Jack is not, regardless of his hormones, going to get involved with anyone on his team, or Ruby's. No matter his body, he's sixty-two years old and is not going to date a teenager. I'm not sure he's going to get involved with anyone (at least in a truly romantic rather than seduction as infiltration way), but definitely no one who's younger than his daughter.