Authors Note: The Disclaimer was on Chapter 1. Also... gotta admit, I am surprised that, according to the polls, 75% of you guys want this to become a Jaune/Pyrrha/RWBY fic... was not expecting that kind of turnout. Results are not final yet, so vote while you still can!
Time: ?
Location: ?
All he could see was pure utter blackness... that was it.
The only thing he could remember, was walking to the movie theater with his grandparents to see a new, and rather interesting film, only for him to see a bright flash, and the feeling of a thousand sharp blades cutting into him. And that was it.
Now, he was here. Alone, confused, and more troubling, scared.
He didn't know how long he was here for, but Goddammit, he needed at least something or someone to talk to, or pull him out of this darkness before it drove him insane!
And that's when he saw it...a small flicker of light, just above him.
He noticed that he felt like he was in a lake, and the weight of water pushing down on him. However unlike water, whatever he was in felt like tar. But regardless, he needed to get out of here, and toward that light.
Along the wastelands of Drache, in a castle overlooking the ponds of black tar which spat out Grimm after Grimm of various shapes and sizes, their leader and queen, Salem, stood over a balcony as she stared up towards the fractured moon of Remnant. Her face holding a calm, almost content expression as she listened to the distant howls and screeches of the creatures of Grimm as they breath their first breaths through her domain.
'None fight for it, none may touch it, left in complete peace...' Salem mused, as she continued to gaze upon the celestial body up above. 'How I envy you...'
However her muses were interrupted, as she saw a brief flash of light from the corner of her eye. She glanced over in surprise, as she saw a bright light emerging from one of the tar pools that birthed her Grimm into the world. Curiosity replacing her emotionless face, and she was not alone as multiple Grimm amassed around the pool as the light slowly began to fade.
"Milady?" Salem turned as Doctor Watts stepped up next to her. "What is that?"
Salem turned back to the phenomenon before them, and as she looked at the light, she felt something...it took her a moment to realize what this was, and her eyes widened ever so slightly.
It was aura.
"I do not know..." she mused, cupping her chin, "But… let us find out."
"Of course," Watts nodded as Salem turned to leave, the doctor following close behind her as they made their trek down to the Grimm pools.
The Grimm Horde, which consisted of Ursas, Beowolves, and other species gathered around the pool where the light was, mere animalistic curiosity drawing them to it.
As one Beowolf got closer to the pool, it then erupted as something jumped out, speeding past the beowolf, as it took it's head off in the process, before landing on all fours in front of the large collection of Grimm, panting heavily.
The other Grimm bristled in tension as they looked at the newcomer. To any Human who saw what the Grimm were seeing, it looked to be a normal sized wolf, with black colored fur, and pieces of the white bone that give the grimm their terrifying appearance. Almost looking like a smaller version of a Beowulf, only not nearly as… intimidating.
The wolf-like Grimm then looked up at the gathering before it, before it's instincts kicked in. The fur on it's back stood on end, as it bared it's white teeth, it's yellow eyes, unlike it's brethren's mixed yellow and red, glaring at the other Grimm, daring them to approach it. One of the Beowolves, an Alpha, decided to to teach this newcomer a lesson as it howled in challenge and began to stalk toward it.
The wolf Grimm stayed where it was, as the more experienced Grimm moved forward, growling threateningly. The pure yellow eyes of the strange new grimm, glowed as it prepared to fight, only for the Alpha Beowolf to stop and turn it's head along with the rest of the Grimm, before they bowed and moved away, confusing the Wolf, but it did nothing as it kept it's guard up.
"Well… what have we here..." a voice said, and the Grimm turned and spotted two figures walking towards it. The voice that spoke up, was a short man with short black and grey hair, a mustache, and green eyes. He was wearing a blue overcoat with yellow linings, over a black undercoat, a black necktie, and a yellow dress shirt. Seeing the human had put the wolf on edge, as it glared at him.
"I've never seen a Grimm like this before," the man said as he eyed the new beast with an analytical eye, which made the Grimm Wolf uncomfortable, "Of course, the Beowolves don't count,"
The man proceeded to walk toward the wolf, only for it's instincts to flare up, it's fur bristled as it snarled, daring the man to come closer. The man wisely backed off, as a feminine chuckle was heard.
"And more spirited,"
The wolf turned to the second figure, and again it's instincts screamed danger at what it was seeing before it. The second figure looked like a human woman, but just by looking at her, the wolf knew that whatever humanity she had was long gone. Her skin was chalk white, as well her hair, with black veins going up her arms, and around her face. Her black blood red eyes were definitely a giveaway that this...creature, was definitely not a human, at least not anymore.
Salem, looked at the Grimm before her with absolute interest. She knew all the Grimm that had ever existed, of reasons obvious to herself. Yet this Grimm was not of her own knowledge or even creation. It looked more… natural, more like the common wolves found elsewhere in the world of Remnant, with only the bare minimum of Grimm-like features to reveal its true heritage. And clearly, it was intelligent, smart enough to recognize Watts as a potential threat. Usually such intelect only comes after a Grimm ascends to the rank of Alpha, never upon birth.
But most importantly… it had Aura. And with Aura, came a Soul - something that she knew that no Grimm has ever possessed… until now it seemed. If this creature of Grimm had her curiosity at first, it most certainly had her attention now.
Salem began to approach the Grimm, calmly walking towards it as it's growling increased ten-fold.
"Now, now," Salem said, as if chastising a child, waving her hand."There's no need for that here,"
It was clear the Wolf wasn't responding to her command, glaring at her - which did not truly surprise her. Older, more experienced Grimm could be a bit more… independent than their younger ilk, so a Grimm with a soul - with a sense of free will - would likely feel similar urges. With a wave of her hand, her eyes glowed with arcane power. And in sync with her eyes, the Grimm's own eyes began to glow a bright yellow in return.
The small Grimm seemed to shake his head for a few moments, as Salem reached her hand out towards it. "Come." She said, with a calm yet commanding tone. The beast slowly ceased its growling, as it knelt down onto its legs - its glowing eyes looking more… glazed than before.
"There now," she said, and she began stroking the soft dark fur on the wolf's head, "That's better,"
Now that she was close, the Grimm mistress could now feel the aura within the Grimm directly, and it truly was a… unique experience, to feel such power emanating from one of her creatures. But atop of that, he had a surplus of that Aura to be sure - such power she had only seen in a very… select few individuals.
The Grimm Queen smirked slightly, her mind filled from the possibilities that this new discovery could bring them. She gave Watts a look, who's still standing back, watching it all play out.
"Watts, have this one ready for examination," she ordered, "I have a feeling this young one could prove quite… beneficial to our cause."
"Of course, Milady Salem," Watts said, more than eager to find out what makes this Grimm tick.
However, what neither of them knew was the slight widening of the wolf's eyes when it heard Salem's name, and then...a series of memories flashed into his mind.
'S...Salem?...W...Watts?...OH HELL NO!'
"N...No...!"
Salem and Watts blinked at the sound of a guttural sounding voice and looked toward the source, in which they saw the Grimm Wolf shaking with exertion.
"I...will not...," both the Grimm Queen and the disgraced Atlesian Scientist's eyes widened in shock as they couldn't believe what they just witnessed or heard.
"Did It... Did it just...," Watts stammered unable to comprehend what just happened.
"It spoke...," Salem finished, her voice and face filled with shock and awe, as she watched as the wolf slowly but surely stood back up, as it fought her control over it.
"I will not...be...a pawn...in your twisted... game," It spoke again, letting out a deep growl. "I… Will… FIGHT!"
Suddenly there was a blast of Aura, sending shockwaves around them, catching everyone - even Salem - off guard, and the Grimm's glazed yellow eyes shattered, as two cobalt blue eyes replaced them - and immediately the Grimm spun around and leaped over the gathered Grimm, and began running as fast as it could.
The Grimm Horde responded immediately as they gave chase after the rogue Grimm, Nevermores taking flight and Beowolves dashing forward. But the small, nimble Grimm was fast, very fast as it dashed away as quickly as its legs could carry him.
Any Grimm that got in it's way, like the occasional Creep, Boarbatusk, or Beowolf, were easily dispatched, despite it's small size, as heads and limbs went flying, as the wolf, in a blur, just zipped right past them, and easily killed them.
After killing a large number of the interceptors, the wolf then gave a loud howl as it broke through the dark creatures' lines and escaped
Salem's eyes narrowed, as her Grimm chased after it. "Your orders, Milady?" Watts asked.
"Spare no expense getting that… thing back in our grasp." She demanded, "We will send whatever Grimm we must to reclaim it… before Ozpin finds it."
"It will be done," Watts nodded, "If it somehow escapes Drache, I'll be sure our allies will help hunt it down."
"See to it, Watts." Salem stated, as she regained her composure as she began strolling back towards her castle. "This is a chance we cannot afford to lose."
"Of course, your grace."
The Queen continued her walk back to her palace, all the while, her thoughts were on the rare occurrence of a Grimm actually rebelling against her.
In truth...it made her livid inside. She knew that once they brought that Grimm back, she'll do EVERYTHING in her power to make it obey her.
'I won't let you go that easily...my Dark Wolf.'
Meanwhile
Beacon Academy
The Dust Airship which carried the new students to Beacon Academy, began it's docking procedures. Once it docked, the loading ramp extended and the new students began offloading from the airship onto the platform.
"Are you okay now, Jaune?" Ruby asked as she and Yang helped the knight across the ramp.
"Ugh, somewhat...I still feel like hammered shi-ow!" he was suddenly flicked in the ear by Yang.
"Oi, my sister's still underaged for that." She said, "None of that language."
"Fine fine, sorry," Jaune sighed, as the group left the ship - alongside multiple other students, before everyone's gaze is directed upwards as Ruby and Yang both look wide-eyed at the sight of Beacon Academy ahead of them.
However while they looked up in awe, Jaune looked up and saw something else. A flash of dark skies, a massive dragon circling the tower, Grimm overrunning the school, Atlesian Paladins and Knights running amok... he shook his head for a moment, shaking off the thought. 'Keep it together, trooper.' he thought, taking a deep breath. 'That's not gonna happen this time...'
"Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff!" Ruby began to gush, pointing out all the weapons the other students were carrying with them. "And she's got a fire sword!"
She tried to follow after the said girl with said weapon, but Yang reached out, grabbed her by her hood and pulled her back.
"Ow ow ow!" Ruby whimpered as she watched the girl and the sword walk away.
"Easy there, little sister." Yang said, "They're just weapons,"
"But they're more than just weapons, they're a part of us!" Ruby said as she continued gushing, "Oh, they're so cool!"
"Why don't you gush over your own weapon?" Yang asked, "Aren't you proud of it?"
"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling out the aforementioned sniper/scythe. "I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."
"I sympathize with that," Jaune rose his hand, "Talking to people… never my strong suit… weapons though, well..." he gestured to himself and his myriad of weapons on his person.
"I've seen people who sometimes carry multiple weapons, because they're part of a set...," Yang as she looked at the assortment, "But you got enough to outfit a small army,"
"Well, when I started all I had was my sword and shield, Crocea Mors." Jaune said, gesturing to the sword and shield/sheath. "Its a family heirloom, from all the way back to the Great War. But as you could guess, times change, so… I change with them. I just don't want a single weapon because, well… its best to be prepared if I lost one. I mean..." he glanced at Ruby. "...no offense Ruby, but… say hypothetically you were in a fight where you either didn't have Crescent Rose, or it was knocked out of your grasp in battle?"
"I… erm… w-welll..." Ruby muttered, scratching her head sheepishly.
"See? Told you," Yang smirked, patting her on the back. "I'm trying to teach her how to fight hand-to-hand like me and dad, but… kinda of a work in progress still."
Ruby groaned at that, "And it's not fun. I lost count the amount of times I've been thrown on my backside," she said, as she rubbed her rear as if alleviating some pain.
"Hmmm..." Jaune mused, as he racked his brain on fighting styles - both from Remnant and from 'his' world. "What kind of fighting technique are you teaching her?"
"Huh?" Yang asked, "Ummm… well, my dad taught me boxing and kickboxing, so I've been trying to teach that to her… why?"
"Well, maybe Ruby needs to learn a different school of martial arts?" Jaune suggested, causing the girls to blink. "I mean, I love boxing as much as the next guy, but there are other fighting types out there… Vacuoan sword-hands, Mistralian Ikazuchiken, Atlesian CQC… " he shrugged "I actually learned how to fight the latter while I was at Trigger, I could try to give Ruby a few pointers between classes if its alright,"
"...huh..." Yang muttered, scratching the back of her head. "I… never really thought about that..." she glanced at Ruby. "You… wanna give it a go, Rubes?"
"I… I guess?" Ruby shrugged questioningly. "I mean… I might learn something from it I guess..."
Jaune smiled, "Trust me, Ruby, it's always best to find something that suits you," he said as Ruby smiled at that.
"Thanks, Jaune," said the red hooded girl, while Yang smiled at the scene, before looking in a random direction.
"Well guys, my friends just showed up, see ya later!" she said, as three other random people showed, and they and Yang ran in the direction of the academy, but not before running past the two and causing them to spin in place and get dizzy.
"Yang wait! What about our dorms!? Where are our dorms?! Do we have dorms!? ...I don't know what I'm doing!" as soon as she finished she and Jaune both fell back into a baggage cart, with Jaune hitting his head.
"Oooow!" he groaned as he massaged his head, "That… geez!"
"What are you doing?!"
'Oh god,' Jaune groaned, glancing up as the familiar form of Weiss Schnee stood before him and Ruby, looking utterly furious as she pointed at them.
"Uh, sorry!" Ruby began to apologize, but Weiss wasn't done.
"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" Weiss snapped, snatching a case of Dust from Ruby's grasp when she tried to collect them. "Give me that! This is Dust - mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"
'Pre-Volume 3 Weiss...' Jaune mentally groaned, 'Oh Joy...'
"What are you, brain-dead?" Weiss screeched, holding out a vial of red Dust and shutting the case "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"
"Yes Miss Ice Queen, we are very well aware of the properties of Dust and their variants." Jaune groaned, "Now stop sending dust particles everywhere before you start an incident."
"What are you talking about, you idiot?!" Weiss shouted, waving a jar of dust around, which flew into Ruby's face which was beginning to scrunch up. "And how dare you call me that! Do you even know who I am?"
"You're about to be exploded in a few seconds..." Jaune muttered, taking a step back, and pulling out his shield.
"Exploded?" Weiss asked, as Ruby breathed in. "What are you-?"
"ASCHU!"
*BOOM*
*ZAP*
*CCRRCCKKK*
Jaune lowered his shield, smirking as Weiss was covered in black soot, the jar in her hand going flying away. "For someone who talks a lot about Dust, you forget that in its literal dust form, it can make people sneeze." He said, "It doesn't take much to make Dust go boom, after all."
The reaction he got was Weiss growling in anger before turning to him, and pointing an accusing finger at his face.
"YOU! Be silent!" She snapped at Jaune before turning to Ruby, "And YOU! This is exactly what I'm talking about!"
Ruby poked both of her index fingers together nervously as she looked apologetically at the SDC Heiress.
"I'm really, really sorry," she whimpered.
"Ugh! You complete dolt!" Weiss yelled, and would've continued but Jaune stood between her and Ruby as he crossed his arms giving her a deep frown.
"Hey! I think that's enough. You made your point, okay Snow Sprite?" He said, and Weiss only got angrier.
"Didn't I tell you to be silent!?" she asked rhetorically.
"Yes, you did. I just didn't listen, because 1) I'm not of your False Schnee Dad's little army of goons, and 2) I just don't give a Rat Grimm's little butt," he stated, causing Weiss' eyes to widen in shock.
"I… Yo… w-wha…?!" Weiss sputters incomprehensibly, her face burning red. "D-Do you know who I am?!"
"Of course I do, Ice Princess," Jaune said.
"It's heiress, actually." Another voice chimed in, as Jaune had a faint smirk as his next favorite RWBY character came to the scene - Blake Belladonna, in her V1-3 outfit, holding the dropped canister of Dust. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
Weiss smirked smugly. "Finally some recognition."
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Blake finished off.
"Zing." Jaune mutter not-too-quietly as he helped Ruby back to her feet. Weiss meanwhile, was further shocked and angered by what Blake said.
"Wha...!? You...!? UGH!" she huffed angrily as she swiped the red dust vial from Blake and began storming off. Ruby not liking how it ended, and being the nice person that she was, called out to her.
"I promise I'll make this up to you!" she yelled, but the white haired girl didn't seem to hear her, causing the little Rose to sigh sadly. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day,"
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at Jaune who was smiling at her.
"It's okay Ruby, if what I heard about her father is anything to go by, her attitude is somewhat understandable," he said. "I'd be a snobby brat too if my father were some rich, greedy CEO shoving propaganda in my brain."
"I guess…" Ruby said, before she began to turn towards Blake "So, what's..." however the secret Faunus was already walking away from the pair, as Ruby sighed, falling to her knees again. "Welcome to Beacon, I guess..."
"Well, let's not let the very first day judge our entire experience," Jaune assured, helping Ruby back up to her feet. "Come on, let's see if we can find out where to go from here."
Ruby nodded and the two friends went off in search of where they needed to go.
Meanwhile
Location: Emerald Forest
He panted hard as he laid against a tree, tired from all the constant running he done since his escape from that dark hell, and away from that bitch. He didn't know how long he had been running… days? A Week? But dodging any Grimm that came after him made him ignore that part, deeming unimportant at the moment.
But there were questions going through his mind considering his... current predicament.
The single more… glaring issue is the fact that somehow… he was in the world of Remnant, in the world of RWBY. That alone was absurd - more absurd as he looks at his wolf-like form, which was very, very clearly that of a Grimm.
'What in the actual fuck is going on here?' He thought to himself. 'What… what the hell happened?!'
He then shut his eyes, as he tried to remember how. Only to howl in frustration.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME!?"
With that he collapsed on the ground as tears escaped from his eyes.
'What do I do' he thought, 'I...I can't just go to Ozpin, fuck that! He'll probably have Ironwood study me like a fucking lab rat! Who do I go to? Who can I trust?'
He then lifted his head as he looked around until his eyes landed on the emerald CCT tower of Beacon. Seeing that it was still standing, and the lack of Amity Coliseum anywhere in sight meant that the Fall hadn't happened yet.
'I can't just… walk over there...' He pondered, as he groaned. 'Any Huntsman would shoot me on sight, being a Grimm… gah...' the Wolf shook his head again. 'Of all the things to be in this world… why did I have to be a fucking GRIMM?!'
He then took deep breaths as he managed to calm himself down, while at the same time feeling weary from the long dash he had done from Salem's Castle in Drache, crossing the small channel between said Dragon continent and Sannus, through Vacuo, and southern Vale. Despite being a Grimm, he felt the same as he did when he was still a human.
'I'll...try to think on this tomorrow,' he finalized, 'I'm...too tired to even think straight right now,'
With that, he lowered his head, and closed his eyes as he fell asleep, but no dreams will come to him for the day, or the following night.
Unbeknownst to him, a single red light was blinking in a tree, as a lense zoomed in on him, watching as he slept.
"Seven sisters?!" Ruby asked with wide eyes, "You have seven sisters?!"
"Yeah, it's… very difficult." Jaune nodded with a chuckle, "Especially being the only boy in the family, excluding my dad of course."
"W-well yeah, but… geez..." The Red Sniper muttered, as the pair walked through Beacon towards the auditorium. "I've only had Yang, but… I could never imagine having six more on top of that!"
"Consider yourself lucky," Jaune sighed, "It gets… hectic very fast at home… don't even get me started on sibling rivalries, I'm talking stuff you'd only expect from T.V, alliances, betrayals… home was like a warzone at times..."
Ruby listened, and the more she heard from Jaune about the troubles of having multiple siblings, the more she was glad that Yang was her only sibling.
"Wow...I do not envy you in any way, shape, or form," she deadpanned.
"Huh! I didn't even got to the teasing yet!" Jaune said as he threw his arms up into the air, "I told them about a dream I had that ended badly in the end, and what was their reaction? Laughing like a pack of hyenas, and saying that even my dreams need saving!"
Ruby blinked at that, "Why would they say that? From what I saw last night, you're a total hotshot!" she questioned astonishedly, and Jaune sighed.
"Let's just say, before I entered Trigger Academy, I was...not what you see right now," he said, with a slightly miserable tone. "Skinny, barely a muscle on my bones… I would've been way out of my league if I was who I was back then."
"What changed?" Ruby asked.
"Commitment," Jaune informed with a smile, "I decided to… well, buckle down and get to it. I started training, taking a few odd jobs for cash to burn. If it wasn't on food and stuff, it was spent on modding up my gear, and building my weapons." He gestured to his sword and shield/sheath. "I love my family sword as much as the rest of my family, but I didn't want to fall into the same… pitfall a lot of other Huntsman and Huntresses fall into."
"What's that?"
"Dependency," He explained, "I mean, sure if I lost a weapon I could go hand-to-hand, but it can pay out big time to have a few spare side-arms on ya," he gestured to his Atlesian Revolvers. "That's why I keep these on me with my knives and all. One should always be prepared for whatever life throws at them… its kinda the mindset I had when I made Commando." He pulled out the aforementioned weapon. "It's an assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenade launcher, and can easily be modified to mount a shotgun attachment. Plus I've rigged up my weapons to fire off grappling cables with ease, so I can travel around quickly like last night."
Ruby's eyes were wide looking at Commando, practically sparkling. "Whooooaaaaaa..." she oogled the weapon. "So many weapons… in just… one… and you have more..."
"Yeah… I'd call Commando my greatest creation so far," He nodded, "Along with some… additions I made to my armor for modern combat… so what about your weapon?"
"Huh?" Ruby questioned as she stopped oogling Commando
"What about that rifle/scythe of yours?" Jaune asked, "I saw you use it during the robbery… you called it Crescent Rose?"
"Oh! Yeah!" Ruby nodded eagerly as she pulled out the aforementioned weapon, extending it fully. "I based it off of my Uncle Qrow's Scythe, but I designed mine more as a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle!"
"So it's also a gun," Jaune smirked, "Nice. So is it just the scythe and gun? Ever thought of adding a third function?"
"Like what?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"Well… why not a sword?" Jaune shrugged, "If you can fold it up the right way, put all the blades onto one side, it could make for a good swinging blade. That way it could be used for stabbing a Grimm just as much as it could slash e'm - combine that with the added weight and recoil, and it'd deal some serious damage."
Ruby seemed to process that thought for a moment, before once again her eyes widened. "Omygoshwhydidn'tIthinkofthat!" She shouted quickly, as the possibilities filled her mind.
Jaune laughed as he watched Ruby begin mentally kicking herself.
"Just now figured it out, eh?" he asked, only to get a slap on the arm.
"Quiet you!" Ruby reprimanded as she gave an angry pout, which to Jaune made her look like an adorable anime character.
"Okay, okay, sorry. Though before you go off making the modifications to your baby," he said, "Let's first get to the orientation before we're late,"
Ruby's eyes widened at that, "Oh right!" she said in realization, before she looked around, "Uuuhhh, where are we supposed to go again?"
"The directions I got before we got here said the amphitheater," he said, as he looked around for the said building that he remembered from the show back in his old life. "So… this way I think."
Finding the amphitheater wasn't difficult, as the pair followed the commotion as they entered a large auditorium-like structure, that reminded Jaune more of a cathedral than anything else.
"Hey! Ruby!" Both of them glanced up as Yang was waving towards them. "Come here! I saved you a spot!"
"Oh!" Ruby waved back, before glancing back at Jaune. "Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!"
"See ya, Ruby!" Jaune said, as Ruby went off to join her sister. He took a deep breath as he glanced around. "Well… here I am I guess…"
He then moved towards a bit to the front in order to get a good view of Ozpin. As he found a spot, he suddenly had a feeling of being watched, and raised his left arm as if to scratch his head, but in actuality, to use the mirror he placed in his gauntlet to look behind him, and his eyes widened slightly, as he spotted none other than Pyrrha Nikos, who was looking curiously at him.
'Oh boy...,' he thought, '...okay man, don't freak out. It's cool. It's not everyday you see a gorgeous looking Spartan girl who you know from a internet show, fell in love with the gullible idiot that was formerly you, who's gonna die in the next half year...oh crap, what am I thinking!?'
Jaune gulped in some air as he put his arm down, hoping she didn't notice. 'Just… be calm, be calm.' He repeated in his head. 'No need to worry right now, just… don't make a scene, don't do anything-'
"Hi there!"
"GAH!" Jaune shouted as a high-pitched and excited voice was right up next to his ear, causing him to leap five feet off the ground, whirling around at the source - only causing his eyes to widen further at the sight of the third member of Team JNPR, and the local expert of making big booms: Nora Valkyrie - with a big toothy grin.
"Hi! I'm Nora! What's your name!? Where are you from!? Oh, what does that weapon do!?" Nora started chatting away in her fast paced voice that every RWBY fan knows, as she zipped around to get a better look at Jaune and the Commando, the former who was looking rather uncomfortable.
"Uh...well, to answer the first, my name is Jaune," he said, "Second, I'm from a village in Northern Vale. And as for the third, the weapon's name is Commando, it's a three in one weapon, with attachments."
"OOOOOHHHH! Whatdoesitdo!? Whatdoesitdo!? Whatdoesitdo!?" Nora continued all the while getting in Jaune's face, which made knight back up uneasily. However, thankfully, he was saved.
"Nora!" a calm voice called out, and Jaune looked over and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the only person that can calm Nora down...Lie Ren.
'Cue from Pat's religion...Praise the LORD!' Jaune mentally screamed in joy.
"Ren! You're the one who told me to meet new people!" Nora whined.
"Not by getting up in their faces, Nora..." Ren groaned as he walked up to them, "Apologies, Nora's a bit… eccentric,"
"I uhh, noticed..." Jaune muttered, scratching his head sheepishly. "Well… regardless it's… nice to meet you both I guess… like I said, I'm Jaune."
"Lie Ren," The local Ninja introduced with a short bow, "And that's Nora Valkyrie,"
"Hi!" Nora repeated, her grin still ever present. "Sorry!"
"Its cool… just… surprised me is all," Jaune muttered, scratching his head slightly, before suddenly the intercom came to life - as all attention went to the front stage where Ozpin stood before the first years, along with Glynda by his side.
"I'll... keep this brief." Ozpin began, "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
Multiple students began to whisper among themselves. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly, watching as Ozpin stepped aside, Glynda taking his place.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight." She informed, "Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed. "
"Well… the headmaster seemed… weird." Nora voiced.
"He did seem kinda… off," Ren nodded.
"Like he wasn't even there," Jaune muttered to himself, and he knew why. 'I pity the poor guy who that damn wizard chose to be his body.'
He then sighed as he looked to his future teammates.
"So, where in the world are you guys from?"
The day went on, rather uneventfully as it eventually became night time as the first year students all settled down in the ballroom, provided with sleeping bags with everyone preparing for some sleep, and for whatever the next day would throw at them.
Ruby was lying down, already set in her own PJ's as she wrote in her journal, a small frown on her face, as she thought about… earlier. Before she could give it much more thought though, Yang crashes next to her, adorn in her own sleeping outfit.
"It's like a big slumber party!" She exclaimed with a grin.
Ruby sighed slightly, not bothering to look up from her pages "Don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." She muttered.
"I know I do," Yang said, making a purring noise, while glancing up at the collection of men who were horsing around and/or flexing before bed. Though one in particular caught her eye as she smirked. "Rubes, look."
Ruby sighed, glancing up… and her face turned a few shades darker as Jaune Arc walked inside - wearing a set of black PJ pants, and a white muscle shirt that was just tight enough to show off his well-developed six pack, and the extra muscle to boot. Sure he wasn't a bodybuilder, but still… them abs…
He paused in his walk for a moment, as he glanced over at where Yang and Ruby were - and when he did, Ruby immediately darted her view back towards her journal. "It isn't nice to stare…" she muttered to herself.
Yang's smirk widened slightly, but her attention went to what her sister was writing. "What's that?"
"A letter to the gang back at Signal." Ruby smiled, "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."
"Aw, that's so cuuute," Yang teased, before a pillow was tossed into her face.
"Shut up!" Ruby frowned. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"
"Well, there's Jaune," Yang said, still smirking. "He's pretty nice, so there! Plus one friend!" She then leaned forward a bit "But maybe… he's a bit… more?"
"Stop it!" Ruby shouted, throwing another pillow at Yang, her face red once more. "B-besides, Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero…"
"I doubt the term negative friend even exists, Ruby," Ruby's eyes widen before her head snapped in the direction of the source of the familiar voice as Jaune knelt down next to her. A light flush lit up her cheeks as she saw how close he was.
"Oh! H-Hey Jaune! How was the rest of the day for you?" she said stammering a little.
Jaune, a little confused at the slight stammer in Ruby's voice, just gave a slight shrug.
"Oh, not too bad," Jaune said, "Made a couple new friends... though, one of them could be a little bit eccentric, the other was rather stoic, but… nice people. Pretty sure you'd get along with them."
"Ugh… even you're having better luck than me…" Ruby groaned, flipping over to cover her eyes.
"Oh come on, Ruby - its just one day, and ya haven't even made teams yet." Jaune smiled, "Don't let one bad apple ruin a whole forest of possibilities - you are literally surrounded by potential friends - you just haven't met them yet is all!"
"Exactly!" Yang pointed at Jaune nodding "Couldn't of said it better myself!"
The sound of a match lighting up, and the glow of candle light caught their attention as they looked over, and saw none other than Blake as she was reading her book, dressed in her black kimono pajamas. Ruby blinked in recognition as she saw her.
"That girl...," she said, which Yang turned to look at her.
"You know her?" she asked.
"Not really... she saw what happened and helped me and Jaune out," Ruby answered, and sighed a little, "We never got a chance to thank her."
Yang then smirked again.
"Well, this is your guys chance!," she said and stood, causing both of them to blink.
"Wait, what?" Jaune said, before being grabbed by the arm, along with Ruby, by the blonde as she pulled them along.
"N-No! Wait! What are you doing!?" Ruby squeaked in protest, but Yang wasn't having it as her grip was ironclad strong.
"OW! YANG! MY ARM IS NOT MADE OF IRON YOU KNOW!" Jaune added his own protest as he and Ruby were helplessly dragged before the Cat Faunus in hiding.
The aforementioned woman heard the commotion as she peaked her eyes over her book to watch as a blond-haired beauty dragged a young girl and a man towards her. "Hel-looooo!" the lead said in a sing-song voice, "I believe you three may know each other? "
Blake rose an eyebrow as she looked at the two, before blinking "Aren't you the girl that exploded?" She questioned Ruby, before glancing at Jaune "And you're the guy who talked down Weiss Schnee?"
"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." Ruby began to say before smiling embarrassingly, "Actually, you can just call me Ruby."
"Jaune Arc, Nice to meet you miss…?" Jaune asked.
"Blake." She said, looking a bit irritated.
"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!" Yang smiled "I like your bow!"
"Thanks..."
Jaune glanced at the book cover "Ah, Jekyll and Hyde," he said, causing Blake to blink. "Can't beat the classics, right?"
"You… read this book?" She asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, I do a lot of reading in my spare time." Jaune admitted as he sat down. "Well, when I'm not training, customizing my gear, or just doing other things. I've always liked those older fairy tales and fantasy books, especially the ones that talk about science gone crazy like that and Frankenstein - ever read that one?"
"Y-Yeah," Blake nodded, looking a bit more invested in the conversation now. "I… read it all the time when I was younger, what about Phantom of the Opera?"
"Read it, and my family went to an actual showing of the musical a while back," Jaune said, "Granted I was too young to really appreciate it, but reading the book helped me understand it a bit better… always kinda wondered what it'd be like to be in one of those big musicals..."
"You like musicals?" Yang asked with a brief snort, as he simply shrugged.
"I'm a sap for music in all its forms," he defended, "Seriously, at least half the stuff in my scroll is dedicated to music alone."
"Wow, and I thought I was the only one," said Ruby, "What tunes do you have?"
"Well, let's see-," Jaune was about to start, when an unwanted interruption occurred.
"Hey you!"
Jaune mentally groaned at that. "Oh fuck...forgot this part," he thought as Weiss angrily stomped toward them.
"A lot of us are trying to sleep, thank you very mu-!" she was about to finish before realizing who it was she was chewing out.
"Oh no! Not you again!" Both her and Yang shouted at the same time.
"Shh! Guys, she's right! Everyone's trying to sleep." Ruby said quietly, trying to act as the voice of reason.
"Oh, now you're on my side!"
"I was always on your side! "
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"
"She's a hazard to my health!"
Jaune simply sat next to Blake, who rolled her eyes at the sight "Well, this will be a particularly interesting relationship here," He said.
"Hm… maybe." Blake mused, as she closed her book, leaning over to her candle light, and blowing it out.
Author's Note: If anyone is wishing to have OC's in this story, then now is your chance! I need OC's for a cyber warfare/Technology-based team called Team DGIT that will be appearing soon, so if any of you have character ideas, hit me with them and I'll see if they'll work together!
