I'm back! Sorry for the delay, I had some trouble with... well, life in general. I've finished high school, took the MET exam, went to my great grandmother's birthday (95 years and still with her mind as sharp as a knife), spent a lot of ocious time catching up with my favorite series. Yeah... life has been busy, but I'm not in a position to complain.

I'm with more free time now, so much time that I'm already planing other fanfictions. My next project will be released soon, and I just can't wait!

Also, happy thanksgiving! It is a little late, but... better now than never.

Beta: Hedgehog of Time.


Author's POV

Time skip: 6 and a half years later. Beacon's enrollment period.

Jaune was surrounded. A unknown sword met his own, followed closely by other two. He blocked the one aiming at his ribs with his shield and ducked under the other one, the blade missing his head by a few inches. Jaune managed to get a good angle and switched his shield to it's gun form. After a perfect shot, one of his assailants fell down. He traded a few blows with the other two, who were quickly over matched by his superior speed and strength. A headless foe fell to the ground followed by the other one, who was stabbed in the chest.

"Excellent." The lights were turned on. Katherine Beauregard stepped out from the shadows using her civilian clothes. Her hair was braided in a single silver braid on the back of her head, shining against the simple black dress that fell to her knees. She wasn't wearing the characteristic diadem. She walked towards Jaune, ignoring the destroyed training robots in the ground. "You should have no problem applying to Beacon."

"Are you sure, Grams?" Jaune scratched the back of his head. His golden hair was cut short in a way that enhanced his facial features, his cerulean eyes showed confidence, but a little bit of reluctance. "You did wonders with my training, but I don't think that they will send only training robots for me to face."

"John." The name became easier to pronounce after all those years. "What bothers you? You aced your History and Grimm studies test, as well as Dust Manipulation. There's only the Combat test left."

"I know. I think I'm just nervous." He shrugged, making his armor shoulder plates make metals noises. His combat outfit included his armored shoulder plates, from where a purple ravaged cloak fell into his back. He wore a light purplish gray cotton sleeveless shirt and black pants. Finger-less gloves matched his belt, and his arm protectors shined brightly. Katherine raised an eyebrow. "You know that mom will be there today, I want to make her proud."

"I would be surprised if you weren't nervous." She walked around him, analyzing his reactions. "Well then, if you think that you're not ready yet I can do one more test." She got his interest. "Fight me."

"What?!" He exclaimed. "Grandma, I can't!"

"Because you think that I'm not on your level or because you're afraid?" Katherine asked, stopping behind him.

"Both. You're clearly way tougher than I am." Katherine let out a short laugh. Jaune turned around to face her. "That's not funny!"

"Yes it is." Katherine said. "I guess, to make things fair, I won't use my semblance. Wait for me to get ready." Jaune watched as his Grandmother left the room. There was no way to make her change her mind. Perhaps next time he would learn how to be quiet. After a sigh, he started to grab the robot parts and piled them on the corner of the room. He grabbed his sword, Aurum Mortem, and his round shield. Sometimes he got lost starting at the symbol of the sword's pummel: A pair of crescent moons. He didn't notice when Katherine entered the room, now wearing her combat attire. She wore black pants, a corset and a cloak with the same colour, the cloak had a hood and silver details on it's edges. The diadem now rested on her head, the ice dust crystal was replaced. She also had a pouch on her back with other crystals, refined to fit perfectly into her diadem. "Get into your stance."

"Are you sure Gran..." He was interrupted by a series of ice projectiles, but was able to duck and block with his shield. He didn't have time to recover, Katherine rushed at him with her dagger in hand. He knew he wouldn't be able to block, so he used his semblance and created a living wall in front of him. The bulky humanoid creature took the hit and stood unharmed. The creature raised his fists against Katherine, who jumped back and quickly grabbed a white crystal from her back. She switched the crystals, quickly firing a lightning bolt towards the Golem who ran towards her. A massive hole was made in the middle of the living rock, crumbling it to dust. The creature looked back at Jaune before fading away, the blonde giving it a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Theodore, you'll get her next time." Katherine never found out why gave that name to a giant piece of stone. Jaune's Golems were unique. They had something like of a conscience and had their own independent thoughts. Almost like Alpha Grimm, they had enough conscience to be controlled by Telepathy, but were immune to any kind of orders that didn't come from their master.

"Remember me to apologize to Teddy later." She told Jaune, who grinned.

"You know he can't hold a grudge." Jaune raised his shield, a compartment opened to reveal the edge of a gun. He fired some shots that almost hit Katherine, who simply dodged at the last second, or cut the bullets in half with a swift movement. Jaune dodged a lightning bolt and rushed forward with his sword ready. Katherine ducked beneath the slash and hit Jaune in the face with the dagger's pummel. The boy staggered back, trying to defend himself from the following attacks, that aimed at his chest and ribs. He blocked the best he could, but was clearly outmatched and fell to the ground, his aura still in green, but he was disarmed and with a blade pressing against his neck. "I yield." He no longer felt the blade's pressure and got up.

"You did reasonably well against me." She said, helping him to get up.

"I didn't have a chance." Katherine rolled her eyes, hitting the back of his head with a solid slap. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You had a chance. Tell me what you learned."

"I need to be careful with my surroundings, especially when fighting people who are faster than I am. I should've taken off my armor to release weight and opted for another strategy." She nodded and made a sign for him to keep going. "I spent too much time defending when I should have attacked?"

"Is that a question or an affirmation?" Jaune was about to answer, but she kept talking. "It doesn't matter, it's right. Do you know why did you didn't exploited the opportunities I gave you?" He shook his head. "It's because, John, you were afraid to hurt me."

"But I..."

"You were afraid to hurt me and left yourself open. There's something I've learned after all those years of being a huntress: How to ignore emotions during battle. It doesn't matter who you're fighting, your opponent will be trying to hurt you. If there was a spy among your friends, someone who you trusted with your life. You'll be reluctant to attack him, to hurt him?" Katherine sighed at his lack of words. "I understand that it may sound ruthless, but that's something you may face. If your worst enemy had the ability to disguise himself as your friend, and try to kill you, would you hold back? Knowing that it may cost your life?" Jaune looked at her, trying to give a proper answer, but nothing came out from his mouth. "I'm not saying that you should trust no one, but remember: on the battlefield, everyone can be an enemy." Jaune nodded and Katherine flashed a smile. "Good, now go take a shower, your mother is coming for lunch."

"Right. Thank you for the advice, Grams." Katherine watched as he left the room, her smile disappearing. It was almost time to tell him the truth. To make things worse, Glynda would have already left for Beacon. This was never supposed to be easy.

Easy...

Jaune never thought he would be so easily defeated. He expected to put up a better fight, but after his grandma's words, things made a lot more sense. He doubted himself know, wondering if he would be able to do whenever it takes to stay alive. Would he be able to kill? To leave someone to die? He honestly didn't knew. He stepped out from the shower and dresses in hiss civil clothes, dark black jeans, sneakers and a blue long sleeved shirt with a grey hood. He went to the dining room, beaming a smile to his mother, who were already sitting at the table. He kissed her head and sat next to her. His grandma entered the room carrying a tray with cooked meat.

"So, are you ready for tomorrow?" Glynda asked him after everyone had food on their plates.

"Grams says so. According to her, I shouldn't be worried since I aced the other tests." He sipped from his glass of water.

"And you shouldn't." Katherine pointed out. "They've got nothing on you. Plus, your theory exams were great. All you have to do is to not fail the test."

"Since I won't be the one judging your performance for obvious reasons, I can give you some final pointers before tomorrow." Glynda said. Jaune looked at her curiously.

"Who'll be judging me then?" Glynda sighed.

"Starting with your patience." Katherine suppressed a laugh. "Tara Copperhead. Combat instructor for the third and fourth years. We studied at Atlas Academy in the same year."

"You never speak of your time at Atlas Academy. Was she on your team?" He asked while Glynda looked at Katherine, who made a sign for her not to push on.

"No, she wasn't." She cleaned her throat. "Well, the food was delicious, but I'm afraid that I'll have to leave before dessert. Duty calls."

"Will you be there tomorrow?" Jaune asked her, slightly disappointed.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, besides, I'll be evaluating other students there as well." She got up and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow." Jaune nodded and forced a smile. Katherine watched as Glynda went out with a sad face.

"You know she's just busy." She said, grabbing Jaune's hand from across the table. "This time of the year is one of the worst."

"I know. It's just... she never talks about her past. Every time I ask something she just changes the subject. You don't help me either. The only thing I know is that she and my dad were on the same team together. You told me that he died during a Grimm attack a ten years after my mother had me and we had to move from Atlas." He sighed. "I... Is it wrong that I want to have some answers?"

"No, it isn't. But I ensure you that they'll be answered someday." Katherine said, getting up. "But enough with this, the dessert is almost ready. Would you please help me to do the dishes while we wait?"

"You wash, I dry?" He asked with a grin.

"Obviously." He got up, grabbing the dishes from the table. Tomorrow would be an interesting day, he couldn't wait to get at Beacon.

Beacon...

Jaune was waiting for his turn, looking at the arena where two hunters in training fought. His mother was judging the fight, a stern look on her face. Jaune was so focused on the fight that he didn't even notice some black haired girl sitting by his side.

"Nervous?" She asked, calling him out of his trance. He looked at the girl's amber eyes and smiled.

"Hey Blake, I didn't even notice your arrival." Blake rolled her eyes, focusing on the fight. "Ready for being in second place again today?" The girl frowned.

"You're ahead of me by a single point." Jaune shrugged.

"I'm still ahead." Blake hit him on his arm playfully. Their odd friendship had developed by a healthy competition since both of them were top of the group. "It seems like the orange haired brute got the advantage." He pointed out, as the mace wielder hit the smaller boy, dropping his aura to the red.

"The match goes for Cardin Winchester." Glynda said. "Please leave the arena."

"Our next match will be... Jonathan Beauregard and Blake Belladonna." A woman in her late forties with light brown hair and olive eyes spoke. Jaune recognized her as Tara Copperhead, the teacher his mother told him about. She wore a brown leather jacket over a green shirt, leather pants of the same color and black boots. Golden wristbands were attached to her wrist. Jaune smirked at Blake. "Please enter the arena."

"Ready to solve this once and for all?" Blake rolled her eyes but smirked back. After a couple moments, they reached their positions at the arena. "Good luck." Jaune said, readying his weapons. Blake nodded silently at him, getting ready as well.

"Begin!" Professor Copperhead exclaimed. Blake rushed towards Jaune with her katana in hands. Jaune blocked her sword with his own, impressed by her speed. He tried to bash her with his shield, getting a solid hit. Or at least what should've been a solid hit, since "Blake" disappeared upon his contact, appearing right behind him. Jaune couldn't hide his surprise and ended up being hit.

"So that's her semblance..." He muttered to himself. Some kind of shadow clones, maybe? Well, he could ask her about it later, since right now she was aiming at him with a pistol/sword. Jaune blocked her shots successfully, looking at his side just in time to see the pistol's blade coming towards him. He ducked down, avoiding the first hit. But them Blake kept spinning that whip-like pistol sword combo towards him. Jaune automatically used his semblance, summoning Theodore. The golem listened to his mental commands, grabbing Blake's weapon with a single hand and pulling it towards him. Blake, who was impressed by his ability, was pulled into the stone giant, avoiding a punch with a shadow clone. Jaune quickly started to attack her, getting a few successive hits with Teddy's help before Blake jumped and started to spin around the golem, who was still holding the other edge of her whip. She used the golem as a anchoring point, spinning and hitting Jaune with her scabbard while simultaneously wrapping Theodore. The golem grumbled while falling to the ground with an audible crash. "You did well, Teddy."

"Teddy? Like Theodore?" Blake asked while retrieving her weapon and readying herself for an attack. "Why would you name him Theodore?" She asked while blocking a slash from his sword.

"It suited him. And he likes his name a lot, thank you very much."Blake ducked a slash while trying to hit Jaune on his back. He blocked with his shield, firing a shot from the secret compartment at the same time. His arm recoiled back from the shot, but so did Blake. Jaune whirled and exploited the momentum to use his sword in a crescent arc, getting a solid hit on Blake. The girl stumbled back, panting.

"Not bad at all. I wasn't expecting that hidden gun." She glanced at her aura levels, his was higher than hers. She was genuinely surprised by his aura levels. He had been hit more than she was, but his aura was on yellow while hers was quickly dropping to orange. The fight was taking a lot more time than the other ones, which was expected from the top two contestants. He grinned at her, while taking off his shoulder plates.

"Welcome to Remnant, where everything is also a gun." Blake rolled her eyes, firing a few shots of Gambol Shroud. Jaune ducked them effortlessly, with such precise and graceful moves that wouldn't be possible with his heavy shoulder plates. Taking off weight increased his speed. Blake couldn't help but to wonder what kind of training he was exposed to. He moved with the agility and precision of a dancer. Jaune fought back with his own shots, which Blake dodged using her speed and semblance. She used her semblance to sprint in a series of after images, confusing Jaune and giving her the opportunity to hit him. Jaune ducked at the last second, as she expected him to do. Blake ducked below him, after creating a shadow clone to take the hit. Jaune winced in pain with her following slash, pressing his hand on his ribs while getting some space between him and Blake. And then he heard a voice, but he couldn't understand. His eyes turned completely white and the words started to make sense. "Ore... Lapidibus." He said.

The debris from Theodore's body raised from the ground, surrounding Jaune with sharp stones. Jaune unconsciously pointed them towards Blake, the rocks followed her with high speeds. The black haired girl did her best to avoid them, but they tracked her down as missiles, ignoring her shadow clones and going for her instead. She looked at Jaune, his usually warm face was cold and focused and his eyes were pure white. Maybe if she could disrupt his concentration, the rocks would stop following her. Blake supposed his semblance was Geokinesis due to his affinity with the element. She aimed a precise shot, which would've hit if it weren't for a rock to get in the way. Every shot was blocked in a similar way. After two minutes, the buzzer indicated the end of the match. The stones instantly fell to the ground, crumbling into dust. Jaune's eyes turned back to the usual blue. He shook his head, a small headache starting to show up. He walked towards Blake and offered her a hand.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" He asked with actual concern since he had never been able to do that before.

"I'm fine, John." She took his hand, getting up and dusting herself. "I wasn't expecting your semblance to be Geokinesis. At first, I thought it was Summoning." Jaune scratched the back of his head, equally confused.

"Yeah... Well, I wasn't expecting those shadow clones of yours as well. You were great." He said. Professor Copperhead, who was having a conversation with a confused Glynda, walked towards them.

"Well fought, the match goes for Jonathan Beauregard." She glanced at Jaune with curiosity. "Both combatants please leave the arena." Jaune grabbed his shoulder plates from the ground and turned towards the exit.

"Wanna grab some food?" Jaune asked Blake as they left. She shrugged, but her stomach betrayed her by doing grumbling sounds. Jaune couldn't hold back his laugh as Blake hit him on his arm.

Back...

Jaune was back at home after having lunch with Blake at Vale. They didn't talked much since both were starving after their match, but he still had a pleasant time. He was confident that both of them would pass the entrance exams, so it was good to have a friend there. Jaune searched for his grandmother, but she weren't home. He searched for notes or messages but couldn't find a thing. He thought to himself that she should have gone to the market. She usually did on Thursdays. After coming up with a logical reason for her disappearance, he went to the bathroom for a relaxing bath.

Jaune couldn't help but wonder what kind of power took over him during his match against Blake. He hadn't felt that much power since... Since he learned how to control his semblance. Maybe it was evolving into a more powerful form. Like Blake said, it may be allowing him to use Geokinesis. The words were still fresh in his head. Ore Lapidibus... Ore... Stone... Stone... Edge. Stone Edge. The words made sense to him. They felt natural. He reflected on it for a couple minutes, and then someone broke the silence.

"John! I'm home!" He heard his grandmother calling from the living room. "How was your test?!"

"I'll tell you everything in a moment!" He got up from the bathtub and wrapped a towel around his waist. He changed into civilian clothes and went to the living room, where his grandma was expecting him.

"So...?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"I won." He sighed. Katherine just raised an eyebrow and clapped her hands sarcastically.

"I told you not to worry." She went over to him and gave him a hug. "Now, tell me everything." Jaune sat down next to her and told her exactly what happened during the match. Katherine couldn't hold back her curiosity about Jaune's apparent new power. "Perhaps you're expanding the limits of your semblance." Jaune nodded. "Now, tell me about this Blake girl..."

"Grams!" Katherine laughed at Jaune's obvious blush.

"I'm just kidding." Her smile faltered for a moment, but only for a moment. The moment that she remembered that he was supposed to know the truth today. It wouldn't be easy, nor fair to interrupt that moment. She wouldn't deny him one last happy memory.

Memory...

The memories flooded his brain in a rush. He couldn't believe. He... He had sisters, six elder sisters. He had a twin sister that died during his mother's labor. He had parents. He was a prince. The usurper now stood as the King of his nation. His father's nation. Did it matter now? The past six, seven years? He honestly didn't knew. He saw flashes and flashes of the last few years. He remembered it, more than once...

"John! You'll get late to your ballet class!" Katherine said, getting inside of his room. She froze immediately when she saw him holding his father's sword. "J-John. Where did you found that?"

"It's my father's weapon, isn't it?" He didn't wait for her answer. "I just... know. I... My head hurts."

"Perhaps you shouldn't go today then." She took the sword from him.

"No, it's okay. Jane told me once that ballet classes help with speed and evasion." His eyes widened from what he said. "I... Who is Ja-"

The last thing he remembered was a light blue beam of light but then was more.

"Katherine, are you sure his mental wards are stable?" Glynda asked the elder woman. A fourteen-year-old Jaune was eavesdropping their conversation.

"After that accident two years ago, I make sure that they're always reinforced." Katherine reassured Glynda, making sure that she wasn't speaking too loudly. Jaune was trying his best to hear the conversation without giving in his position.

"Does it have any dangerous consequences to his brain? It'll affect him in any way?" Glynda asked.

"Only if done frequently. I started to do this check up once a year, or when he shows any signs of remembering the Arc tragedy. If done right and sporadically, it shouldn't have any sequels. A minor migraine during the day after, but nothing more." Glynda looked more relieved.

"If you're sure. I just want to be sure that he'll be safe. We won't be able to let him in the dark forever."

"I know. But it's the only choice we have until he's ready."

Ready...

Jaune's POV

Do you know how it feels to not be able to feel your heart pulsing and knowing that it is, otherwise you wouldn't be alive? To feel that pain in your heart that lasts a second, but it feels like eternity to fade away? And then there's that urge to scream for a moment, only for a moment, but you can't because you're so distracted by your own pain that your body fails you. Do you know how it feel?

You know, I never expected memories to be so... fluid. Memories are like a stream of water. Then, a big boulder blocks their path. And you simply forget. But again, memories are fluid. They slowly flow around the boulder, pushing their way into your mind, urging to show themselves. And them another rock blocks the way. And another, and another. They get to a point where they're trapped, not being able to get out. They start to accumulate like water on a barrage. But suddenly the barrage breaks and everything goes down at once.

I am Jaune Arc. I am Jonathan Beauregard. My family is a lie. The past six and a half years of my life were a lie. I am a lie? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What do I want to do now? Do I want to go to Beacon? I guess I do. It would be what my family would've wanted. All of my sisters were heroes, and they died as heroes. Is it worth it? To protect a world that is faded to end? I guess I'm just being a hypocrite. If we're going to die, why do get up in the morning? It's the same principle.

Why do we get up? Why do we delay the inevitable? Because we want to survive? Because we have a goal? It's not about why you do it. It's all about the people who make you do it. The people who you'll die to protect. Love makes people capable of anything, but it makes them reckless. My family died for me because they loved me. But again, I'm being a hypocrite since I'd probably do the same. Love is a anchor, keeps you on the ground. Throw it in the air and it will only drag you down.

I know myself. Jaune or John, I know that Gra... Katherine is my family, so is Glynda. I'll forgive them someday. I know that I will. Because I love them and because I know that they did what they thought it would keep me safe. I'll forgive them, but I won't forget.

Forget...

Author's POV

With everything that happened, Katherine forgot to deliver Jaune his letter from Beacon. He hadn't talked to her during the past week. He wasn't attending meals with her and she could see that he was missing sleep. She knocked on his dorm once, then twice. He didn't answered, so she just passed the envelope below the door. He would talk to her when he feels ready. He felt betrayed. It was only fair.

He ignored the letter at first, but his curiosity got over him. He opened it fast and wasn't surprised when he got accepted. Instead, relief filled his body. He passed.

He smiled to himself. It was good to know that all his training had been worth it after all. He would go to Beacon. He needed some time away from his "family". Being a hunter was something that he decided to be on the night that his family was killed. He would die before letting it happen again. He would leave tomorrow.

Leave...

Katherine watched as Jaune walked by the living room. His belongings were packed in a big backpack. He turned around to leave but stopped in front of the door.

"I know that you did what you thought it was for the best. I can understand that." His voice was emotionless and low. "So I'll forgive you." Katherine got up from the couch and walked towards him. He still didn't looked at her. "But it'll take a long time for me to trust you again." She seemed satisfied with his choice and gave him a hug. He returned it with less enthusiasm.

"Be safe." She whispered into his ear.

"You too." He waited for her to release him and walked by the door. Beacon was a long way to go. At least he remembered to get his motion sickness pills.


Aaaand cut. Welcome to "Choosing Pokemon Moves, translating them to latin and using them as Spells." I prefered this Spellcaster Jaune instead of the Avatar Jaune. It gives him more variety while also making him look somewhat less OP. I hope you guys have liked it, I'll do my best to follow a schedule now that I've finished high school.

Next chapter: December 10th.