So... finally got around to continuing it. Believe it or not, I actually do have a plan beyond "replace RWBY with JNPR". We'll see if I actually get there.

It's not quite a scene-for-scene replacement anymore; I've shuffled the end a bit. The plotting and scheming will have to wait for the next chapter.

Episode 2: Unwelcome At Beacon

"Ozpin!" General James Ironwood called as he stepped into the office. A tall, powerfully built man, his uniform was crisp and clean. A metal plate over one temple and an artificial arm belied his experience, and streaks of grey his age.

"Hello, General," the Headmaster greeted cordially.

"Please, drop the formalities. It's been too long." Noticing the severe woman standing by the door, he added, " And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh, James," Glynda swooned sarcastically. She snapped, "I'll be outside."

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," the General commented lightly after she had left.

Headmaster Ozpin handed his old friend a cup of coffee. "I presume you have heard the news?"

"I have," Ironwood replied as he added a shot from his flask to the mug. "Not exactly a good way to start the Vytal Festival, is it?"

"Certainly not," Ozpin said casually. "I don't suppose the circumstances are familiar to you?"

"No," the General replied after a moment of hesitation. "The Kingdom of Atlas gave up on that a long time ago."

Blue eyes met brown. "Did they really?"

"To the best of my knowledge," Ironwood wasn't lying. It was just that the best of his knowledge wasn't very good, something that he suspected the other man already knew.

The Headmaster continued sadly, "James, I saw potential in them I have not seen in a very long time. To lose them..."

"You know as well as I do that it happens," the General said bluntly.

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately," Ozpin echoed, regaining his composure. "I see you have brought your fleet with you. I don't suppose there is a reason for this?"

"I think you already know."

"We are in a time of peace," Ozpin pointed out. "Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true..." Ironwood paused. "Oz, do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

"I had hoped they would never have to," the Headmaster replied slowly, his voice carefully controlled.

"Hoped," Ironwood mused. He added critically, "It's always been your nature to act conservatively. Even now, when you've seen what can happen-"

"I am not naive," Ozpin replied calmly, but with an edge to his voice. "It is not the first time. It will not be the last."

"No, it won't be," the General told him. He stood to leave. "I'm being cautious. You should do the same."

Ozpin watched the General retreat out of the office. Just before he passed through the door, he called, "James."

Ironwood stopped and turned. "Yeah, Oz?"

"There will come a time where you must choose between what you believe to be right and what you are told is right. Choose carefully."

"So..." Jaune muttered, tapping his fingers on the table.

"So." Pyrrha agreed. She added after a pause, "They were always the ones to get things going, weren't they?"

"I can just imagine them playing that stupid board game," Jaune said quietly. "What was it called?"

"Remnant," Ren replied.

The blonde nodded. "Remnant."

Nora slid over beside them. "Ooh! I wonder if it's still around?"

"I wonder if she knew we knew," Pyrrha asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I wonder if Blake knew that we knew she was a faunus," she explained. "She had some relation to the White Fang and that bookstore owner. What else do we not know?"

"A lot,"

"Hey," a monkey faunus called, striding up to them. He wore his shirt loosely and open, showing off well-toned abs. A blue-haired human who looked like he absolutely did not want to be there followed half a pace behind.

"Hey," the leader of JNPR replied weakly.

"I, uh, I overheard you talking about Blake," the monkey faunus said quietly. "I was at the docks. I guess I was one of the last people to see them alive... that sounds really cliche, doesn't it?"

"Ruby didn't mention you," Jaune said, ignoring the bad attempt at humour.

"Huh? Did she leave a message or something?" Seeing their looks, he said, "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. I'm Sun, by the way. Sun Wukong."

"Neptune Vasilias," the blue-haired human introduced. His voice was smooth, but lacked any real enthusiasm.

"What happened at the docks, exactly?" Pyrrha asked gently.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Sun evaded.

Jaune shook his head. "What about your version of the story?"

"We waited, then we saw that human thief, Roman Torchwick, then Blake jumped in, then I jumped in, and then this weird girl showed up and started pulling airships out of the sky!"

"Wow! She pulled them out of the sky?" Nora exclaimed. "Was she using swords on wires?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess, why?"

"Did she have green eyes and bright orange hair?" Nora continued. Sun nodded. She jumped up. "That must be Penny!"

"Nora?"

"Yes, Ren-Ren?"

"Please try to be quieter."

"Okay, Ren-Ren!" she replied loudly.

Jaune turned to the faunus and pressed, "But why were you there in the first place?"

He shrugged. "Well, we heard about a Dust shipment coming in, and we figured that if they were going after Dust, that's where they would go."

"There's more to it than that," Ren prodded.

"Uh..."

"She's gone," Jaune snapped. "If you know something that could explain why, then you owe it to her to tell us what it is."

The monkey faunus sat down and took a deep breath. "Okay, Blake couldn't believe that the White Fang needed that much Dust. She wanted to prove that the White Fang wasn't behind those robberies."

"Which case were you trying to prove?" Ren asked. "That the White Fang were responsible, or that they were not?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes," Ren replied. "Ruby stated that Blake knew the White Fang was stealing Dust, but didn't know why. Yet you are telling me that she suspected, but did not know, and wished to prove that the White Fang was not stealing Dust."

"Okay, look, that's what she told me. I remember that," Sun replied defensively. "She thought that the White Fang was behind it, but wasn't sure. She wanted to make sure, okay?"

"Why?" Jaune asked, confused. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Was Blake Belladonna associated with the White Fang?" Ren asked bluntly.

Sun stood up and moved to leave, grabbing his friend by the arm. "Uh, we've got to go, bye now!"

Team JNPR wandered back to their dorms, their minds weighed down with questions. How much did they know? How much didn't they know? What really happened that night? What really happened to JNPR? Who was Sun? Who was Penny? Who was the bookstore owner? Why was-

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden deceleration, followed by a hard impact with the floor. "Ow..."

A dark-skinned girl with green hair and red eyes, wearing a uniform he didn't recognize stared down at him. A slightly older woman and a young man wearing the same uniforms, stood beside her. She offered a hand to help him up.

The blonde team leader didn't take it, instead scrambling to his feet. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, and I ran into you. Sorry!"

He passed by and continued down the hallway, embarrassed and still lost in thought.

"I apologize for the cold welcome," Pyrrha told the Haven students, lagging behind. "We lost four students recently. Some of us were quite close to the deceased."

"I'm very sorry for your loss," the older of the two replied. Her voice was polite, but had a strange creepy tone to it. She said nothing else, simply continuing down the hallway with the other two.

Nora voiced their thoughts, "Well, that was strange."