Disclaimer: Don't own a thing~Except my Pen name, you can't take that away from me -sniffle-
Before I start there were questions about what pairing this would end up being. Arkos? Lancaster? Whiterose? RubyXHarem (Actually this one…kukukuku)? Etc. It got both my assistant Rebuff and I curious so here I'll ask you, what pairing would YOU like to see?
(Also if you are reading this then there's a good chance I tweaked the first chapter (A LITTLE not a lot, to flesh out some things that dealt with the complaints a few of you had with Ruby's power. Again, nothing major, a small change really, but it's a change that will hopefully lead to a more…organic story.)
The Undying Will: HE. IS. BACK. Ladies and Gentlemen! The moment all of you (including me) have been waiting for! The return of The Man! The Myth! The Legend! The one and only RebukeX7!}
RebuffX7: Please don't inflate his ego anymore than it already is
RebukeX7: Never see a hater doing better than you, remember that Buffy
RebuffX7: Fuck you lol
Featured BGMs
Way Down We Go-Kaleo
Madoka Magica ED - "Magia" | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee (YouTube it)
Chapter 1: Season of Change
-Six months later: Arc Household-
BGM: Way Down We Go-Kaleo
"Sweet dreams, little one." Jaune whispered quietly as he kissed his youngest sister good night. He gave her a sad smile as he watched her snore quietly before he made his way stealthily out of his house. To his credit he made it a few feet out of his house before he felt the presence behind him.
"Gotta say brat, you're up a bit late aren't you?" A deep voice questioned making Jaune's lip twitch upwards slightly as he turned to face his father whom was leaning against the house.
"Couldn't get any sleep, going for a quick walk to clear my mind." Jaune lied smoothly making his father snort as he raised an eye-brow skeptically.
"A walk with the family sword, that metal from mistral you had us order you for your birthday, and camping equipment?" Jaune's father asked dryly. "Just how long of a walk were you planning on taking, eh?"
"Long." Jaune answered before tensing as his father straightened up and walked towards him.
"Settle down boy, I just wanna get a good look at ya." Jaune's father said calmly before giving his son a once-over. Nodding to himself, the Arc Patriarch wrapped a powerful arm around his son and gave him a strong embrace, "You better be safe out there, boy, you hear me?"
"Dad?" Jaune asked quietly, confused at the lack of conflict from his father.
"You've gotten stronger in the last year, strong enough to get a personal recommendation from one of Beacon's teachers." The Arc patriarch began as Jaune remembered the note Glynda had written for him shortly after arriving in the past. "I never asked any questions 'cause a man's gotta have his secrets and that's what you are now, a man." The Arc patriarch said before sighing. "Sometimes a man's gotta do what he's gotta do which is why I'm going to let you keep going, but just answer me this…why?" Jaune's father questioned with enough emotion to make Jaune's heart clench. "Why are you in such a hurry to leave your family? Did we not love you enough or something?"
"Don't, don't you ever think that." Jaune said with enough steel in voice to make his father pause. "It's because you loved me so much that I am leaving. I finally understand what's important to me and I need to make sure I protect it. A man needs a purpose, you taught me that."
"I suppose I did." Jaune's father said after a moment. "You finally found your path, huh? Fine but you better keep in touch, and don't tell your mother I saw you leave. I want to hear from you once every two weeks." Jaune's father said making him smirk.
"Gotcha…and…thanks for everything." Jaune said before pulling up his hood and continuing his trek, not once looking back as his father wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. Smiling to himself and nodding, the Arc patriarch turned around and went back into his house, shuddering slightly at the thought of the horrors that would happen the next morning when the Arc women would realize Jaune was gone.
-Meanwhile: Anima-
"So, we're meeting at that village a few miles east?" Nora questioned curiously making Ren nod.
"Jaune will meet us there, though it will take him a few months to make it. So, in the mean time we can help their Grimm problem. We need to upgrade our equipment and their Blacksmith is one of the best there is."
"A hidden gem is what he is!" Nora said with a laugh. "Do you remember how much stronger he made our weapons. Making him the Royal blacksmith was one of the best decisions Ru–" Nora stopped as her voice caught in her throat.
"Nora, you need to come to terms with what happened. She's not gone yet, she's given us a second chance." Ren said quietly as he comforted Nora and wrapped his arms around her.
"She didn't deserve to fall like that…anyone but her…killed in her own throne room." Nora said quietly, though the sheer hate in her words cut through the night air clearly. "What kind of Knight am I?"
"The strongest of us all." Ren answered honestly making Nora scoff as she looked away from him only for him to gently grab her chin and turn her back towards him so that he could stare into her eyes. "You are the strongest. It's why she wanted you with the people and not with her…you would prevent them from being hurt."
As much as it hurt Nora to admit, she knew he was right. Ruby was just too self-sacrificing for her own good.
"I can't…we can't lose her again." Nora said firmly as she shook her head. "Not again. And we will rebuild her throne. Salem's already divided the kingdoms they just can't see it, we need to make sure she is there to put them together again under a single banner."
"Agreed on everything." Ren said with a smile before gently pressing his lips to her's. "Now come on, we need to get to the village and await our Captain and his next orders."
-Meanwhile: Beacon-
[Jaune: I'm off.]
[Ren: As are we.]
[Nora: How should we kill time? Should Ren and I kill the Nuckelavee again?]
[Jaune: Only if you can handle it, if not, then retreat.}
[Glynda: Jaune is correct. Need I remind you that the Empress' blessing is not absolute. It only maximizes the potential of your CURRENT strength. You are stronger than you are normally but nowhere near as powerful as you were at your primes.]
[Jaune: Exactly. As of now, Glynda is the only one as strong if not stronger than she was before we came to this time because she is younger. You may hunt it, but leave if you cannot handle it, understood?]
[Ren: Understood.]
[Nora: Gotcha, cap!]
"So, it begins again." Glynda muttered as she placed her scroll on her desk before turning her chair around and staring out towards the Beacon. Its green glow reflected in her eyes. "You will not fall this time."
BGM: END
-Five Months Later: Vale: From Dust Till Dawn-
Now, Ruby was no stranger to finding herself in less than ideal situations. In fact, it seemed no matter what she did it ended up turning into some kind of an adventure or another.
This, however, is where she drew the line.
All she wanted was to buy Casey's new album, maybe sample a few songs before the purchase while also getting some dust for her baby, Crescent Rose.
A simple errand.
Yet here she was, in the middle of an armed robbery and drop-kicking criminals through windows.
She really hoped she didn't have to pay for that.
"You okay if I go after him?" Ruby asked the shop keep as she spotted the leader of the criminals running away. She didn't want the poor old man to think she was trying to run from the damage she had caused or anything so his brief "Uh-huh" was a relief for her. Using a combination of her semblance and her baby, it didn't take Ruby long to catch up with the flamboyant thief. "Hey!"
"Persistent…" Roman muttered before an airship appeared from behind the building. Climbing into it quickly, the thief turned to face his pursuer. "End of the line Red!" Roman called out before throwing a red dust crystal at Ruby and shooting at it.
*BOOOOOM!*
"Wooohoohoohoo!" Roman cheered before frowning as noticed something off when the dust settled. "Hm?" Roman's eye widened slightly when he saw the Glynda standing before Ruby. Said red-head, looked up at her savior in awe as she sent a barrage of purple blasts at the air ship with a simply flick of her wrist. Roman grunted as he felt his body being knocked around in the airship before he forced his way to the cock pit. "We've got a huntress!" Roman shouted making his partner frown slightly before she made her way to the back of the ship as Roman took control.
BGM: Madoka Magica ED - "Magia" | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee (YouTube it)
With a second flick of her wrist, Glynda conjured a dark storm cloud above the airship before swiping down and sending a barrage of hail slamming into to the airship.
"So far this is going just as it had originally, which means that SHE should be showing up right about…" Glynda's thoughts trailed off as she saw Cinder appear. "…Now."
What happened next would be burned into Ruby's memory for the rest of her life.
Why?
Because little did she know, she would be one of the few to ever witness…
…Glynda completely losing her shit.
The stoic woman thought she would be prepared to face her age-old enemy, and in a way, she was right. What she didn't take in consideration before deciding to reenact this whole event however…
…was that hatred runs deep.
Very Deep.
Cinder actually hesitated slightly in beginning her attack when she saw the look of pure unadulterated hate that had inexplicably appeared on Glynda's face. She herself had not been a stranger to such expressions before, but typically it had a reason. As far she knew the woman wasn't even aware that she had taken down the Fall Maiden as she hadn't even begun to use her power yet. Still, confusion aside, Cinder had a job to do and immediately began to make the ground beneath the Huntress explode in a fiery blaze.
*FABOOOOOM*
"H-huh?" Ruby looked up in surprise when she felt a lack of her exploding all over a roof top and look up at Glynda in surprise. Said Huntress was visibly gritting her teeth in anger as a purple barrier protected them both. Unnoticed by all, her green eyes flickered silver for the briefest of seconds as her entire body began to emit a bright purple glow.
*Clack*
Glynda's riding crop fell to the bottom of the barrier as both she and Ruby began to lift up into the air. The power Glynda emitted caused her hair to unravel and float menacingly behind her as the debris surrounded them. The way Glynda rose her free hands as they trembled with power sent a chill down Ruby's spine, especially when she noticed that the building she was on and a few up the surrounding ones simply began to break down into rubble which began to surround them.
*CLAP!*
Clapping her hands together, Glynda caught them all by surprise when the airship was quickly cocooned in three building's worth of rubble. Ruby's jaw went slack as she realized fairly quickly that Glynda had intended to crush the criminals to death. Glynda's glare hardened even further when she saw a bright flaming energy escaping from the cracks of the rubble. Cinder was now using the full force of her fragment of the fall maiden's power in an attempt to escape the enraged Goodwitch.
"Cover your ears!" Glynda ordered Ruby whom quickly did as she was told while Glynda continued to struggle for dominance. With a grunt, Glynda whipped both of her hands up into the air and sent the crushed airship into the sky and high above the city.
*FABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Ruby watched in awe as the debris simply floated harmlessly down to the ground and slowly began to reform into the buildings that they were composed of. While this happened, Glynda looked up at the warped metal that used to be an airship emotionlessly.
She was no fool.
In the moment of the explosion, Cinder and Roman had a brief moment of freedom from her power. A moment Cinder used to quickly make her escape with Roman.
"I failed again." Glynda thought angrily before she glanced down at the star-struck form of Ruby. "But that will be that last time." Glynda swore as the building they previously occupied rebuilt itself before she and Ruby landed back on the roof.
"You're a Huntress." Ruby said with proverbial stars in her eyes. "Can I have your autograph!?" Ruby asked only for Glynda to raise an eyebrow at her.
BGM: END
-Interrogation Room-
The look on Ruby's face when she suddenly found herself locked up was almost enough to distract Glynda from Cinder's escape. Almost being the keyword, once Ozpin had made his grand entrance, Glynda quietly left as she began to type on her scroll.
[Glynda: I failed, Cinder escaped.]
[Jaune: Is that so? Well that's fine, if it were going to be that easy I might be a bit disappointed.]
[Glynda: You're rather calm about this, Arc.]
[Jaune: Just means I get to take her down later. Besides I know you, you're probably beating yourself up over this so stop-Captain's orders. What's important is you kept Ruby alive, that sounds like a successful mission to me.]
Glynda snorted quietly to herself as she repressed her laughter, Jaune always knew how to get his comrades out of their funk.
[Nora: See Glynda? You succeeded! That means there was only one failure today!]
[Jaune: Drop. It.]
[Glynda: Do I even want to know?]
[Ren: It seems Jaune miscalculated his resources so for the first time in years, Jaune's armor is once more lacking grieves.]
[Nora: Hahaha!]
[Jaune: It's not that funny!]
Glynda, for one, was extremely surprised by this. Jaune was their tactician, he had led Ruby's armies through countless battles and achieved just as many victories. Mismanaging resources was something that Jaune simply did not do.
[Glynda: How?]
[Jaune: I was so used to being able to get so much more with far less money after Ruby fixed the economy that I forgot what prices actually were like in this time. I had enough for my upper armor and Ren and Nora had built up enough credit helping the village that I was able to pay off my weapon upgrade. Thanks again for the bailout.]
[Ren: No problem.]
[Nora: Yeah think nothing of it! Though you're not living this down for a while! XD]
[Glynda: Seems I will have to educate you on personal finance later.]
[Jaune: Nooooooo! No more lecturesssss!]
[Glynda: It's for your own good. Now. What is the plan? Ruby will be attending Beacon as expected.]
[Jaune: We need to be on our toes, we can't relax until after initiation. Teams RWBY and JNPR MUST happen.]
[Glynda: Really? None of you want to be closer to Ruby and keep an eye on her?]
[Jaune: No. We need to guide and help her, but not babysit her. She needs to come into her own as a leader on her own. Still, we also need to give her the skills necessary to rule without stunting her growth.]
[Glynda: That is simple, in the first week of class, I will offer her special lessons. In these lessons I will reteach her everything I did in the previous time-line in a safe environment.]
[Jaune: Of course and while you do that, we can reawaken that old rivalry of ours.]
[Glynda: Rivalry?]
[Nora: Yeah RWBY and JNPR had a good-natured rivalry before the fall, really helped each other grow as teams.]
[Jaune: Still we have the experience of full-fledged Huntsmen and the strength of fourth-years so we'll have to tone it down a notch. We'll be their best friends during down time and biggest rivals during class time. Understood?]
[Ren: Understood.]
[Nora: Yep!]
[Glynda: This is shaping up to be an interesting semester. I'll see you all at Initiation, get here safely.]
[Jaune: Of course.]
[Nora: Will do.]
[Ren: See you then.]
"Ms. Rose has accepted our offer." Ozpin said as he stepped out of the interrogation room with an empty tray.
"Hm, she will be a fine addition." Glynda mused as she pocketed her scroll.
"Oh? I must say, you have been opening up a bit more when it comes to this new class. First you personally request a student, now you're supporting this early admission?" Ozpin asked curiously.
"What can I say, perhaps this is the season of change?" Glynda mused as aloof as possible; inwardly smirking when she noticed how thrown off Ozpin was at that. "Yeah not so fun is it to be the brunt of some mysterious all-knowing attitude 24/7 you aloof son of a–"
Okay.
Oddly enough, it was Glynda who was arguably making the most of this second chance.
The chance to subtly troll Ozpin was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
She would love to say she was a bigger person and not be so petty.
But she wasn't.
Working for Ozpin did not help one's sanity.
"That's very…insightful of you." Ozpin said sounding slightly loss for words as Glynda stopped by a coffee machine and filled her own cup.
"You tell us so many legends Ozpin, recently I discovered that it may be time to make some new ones." Glynda said as she placed the cup to her lips.
*Sip*
"I see." Ozpin said as he mirrored her actions.
*Sip*
*Sip*
*Sip*
…
…
…
*…Sip*
The way Ozpin narrowed his eyes slightly at her made her feel warm and giddy on the inside, though she hid it well. Finally, after all these years, it was time for payback,
This would be fun.
-Beacon: Airship: Day of Orientation-
"I can't believe my baby sister is coming with me to Beacon, oh I'm so proud of you!" Yang could be heard gushing as she nearly hugged her baby sister to death.
"P-please stop…" Ruby groaned. A similar groaning could be heard on the opposite side of the airship as Nora did her best to support Jaune.
"Hello darkness my old friend…" Nora sung with a smirk as Jaune groaned even more. Motion sickness had always been a problem for him, even after Ruby's blessing. That said, he had learned to deal with it and his body eventually adjusted as much as it could through age. Now that he was back in his seventeen-year-old body, however…
…his condition seemed to resurge with a vengeance.
"Keep making jokes, you'll be wearing my lunch if you keep it up." Jaune threatened weakly making her stop her teasing at the thought.
"Just hold on a bit longer, a few more minutes and you will have successfully avoided the Vomit-boy stigma." Nora said making Jaune groan.
"Please don't say vomit." Jaune whimpered.
"If you want I still have some of my leftover juice." Ren offered politely as he moved his hair from his face. Like the other two, he had decided to wear his attire from back when they first made it to Haven all those years back…
…Mainly because it was all they could afford thanks to a certain Knight.
Jaune still wouldn't live that down.
"Ugh…"
"Not helping!" Nora said with a look of distasted at the very thought of Ren's…concoctions. She shuddered as she moved their leader away from the ninja much to his confusion. It was then that they felt a presence behind them, and once they turned around they all felt their hearts clench at the site before them.
"U-Uh…hello…" A nervous Pyrrha said as all three looked at her. "I couldn't help but overhear, but I might be able to help?"
"Oh?" Ren asked and when Pyrrha turned to him she noticed that he wasn't looking at her with any type of recognition, in fact none of them seemed to know who she was….well one was understandably preoccupied with something else but else.
"Yes, my Dad packed me some medicine though I'm never motion-sick, they always worry too much. You can have it if you'd like?" Pyrrha offered kindly as Jaune looked up at her as if she were some sort of angel, which made her tense as she saw that look before on some of her more…enthusiastic fans.
"I…I don't know who you are…but please and thank you, you're an angel." Jaune said weakly surprising her before she nodded and quickly got him some water and a couple of pills. To both their surprise and relief, Jaune was better within minutes. "It's official guys." Jaune began without preamble making his friends look at him in amusement while Pyrrha just tilted her head in confusion. "This one's mine." Jaune said as he wrapped an arm around the red-head. "Calling partner dibs, now."
"Huh!?" Pyrrha was confused as Nora and Ren did their best to not burst out laughing.
"Shhh, don't fight it…just let it happen." Jaune said knowingly as she looked at him shock.
"You sound like a bad after-school special." Ren pointed out as Nora giggled.
"Quit creeping our new friend out. You don't even know her name"
"F-friend?" Pyrrha asked in surprise. "But we just met…"
"Meh, mom always said, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune said before turning to face his newly obtained partner. "Names Jaune Arc–"
"Short sweet, rolls of the tongue–"
"–Lady's love it." Ren and Nora had both finished for him making him give them a dirty look even as Pyrrha, bless her soul, gave him a skeptical look.
"Do they?"
"They do when I don't have two people killing my vibe." Jaune said dryly. "This is Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie…and you are?"
"Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha answered as she stiffened waiting for her name to register.
"Huh, cool name." Jaune said as his friends nodded, shocking her as they didn't seem to know or even care about who she was. Either way worked for her as she gave them a true smile. "So I got my partner, you two have each other, now all we need to do is work on teams."
"Uh…but we're not partners." Pyrrha pointed out not unkindly, honestly she wouldn't mind but she had heard rumors that their team placements were pure chance.
"It's going to happen though." Jaune said matter-of-factly. "Besides we're already sash bros." Jaune pointed out confusing her before she looked down and realized that they were both, in fact, wearing red sashes. It was then that Pyrrha realized that she had found a kindred spirit with Jaune, people simply could not understand the greatness that was the sash. Pyrrha didn't even hesitate to give him a high-five when he raised his hand making both Ren and Nora chuckle.
"Don't fight him on this, when he gets set on something it ends up happening despite all reason." Ren said making Nora nod. It was then that they felt the ship land before Jaune released Pyrrha, who blinked in surprise as she had completely forgotten he was holding her.
"You two find out where we meet up, I'm going exploring a bit." Jaune said making Ren and Nora look at him knowingly before Nora linked her arms with Pyrrha.
"Come on Pyrrha, let's go find out where we are supposed to go." Nora said before Pyrrha blinked and found herself being literally dragged away by Nora as Ren followed them. Jaune watched them go before releasing a long sigh, the sheer amount of emotional restraint it took to stand through that whole encounter was unfathomable.
Still he had a mission to do.
And Knight Captain Arc never failed a mission.
Jaune once more found himself hardening his heart and keeping his emotions at bay when he saw Ruby leave the airship.
-Later with Ruby-
To say Ruby was having a bad day would be an understatement. First her sister had ditched her, then she had met the meanest girl she ever had in her life, and they were both almost blown off of the side of the cliff.
She had literally exploded.
If that wasn't an omen she didn't know what was…
…perhaps she should just go back home.
"Welcome to Beacon." Ruby muttered is she lay back down in the crater she had found herself in. It was then that shadow appeared over her. Opening her eyes, she blinked as Jaune stood over her and extended an arm towards her.
"Hey, I'm Jaune." Jaune said politely as she grabbed his armored hand a let him pull her to her feet.
"R-Ruby." Ruby introduced herself as she looked up at the knight in surprise.
"You okay? That looked a bit painful." Jaune said making Ruby laugh sheepishly as they began to walk away.
"It's fine, looked way worse than it was." Ruby reassured him making him nod. After a few moments of comfortable silence, neither not really knowing what to say, Ruby cut through the silence-quite literally-by pulling out her weapon and transforming it into its scythe form. "So, I've got this thing."
"Now that…that's a good scythe." Jaune said as he looked at the weapon that he personally saw become the thing of legends. The tales of Empress Rose and Crescent Rose were some of the more popular fables within the kingdom. Hell, just seeing it again made a small smile appear on Jaune's face. "You served her well old friend."
"–high-impact sniper rifle."
"Huh?" Jaune asked having honestly not heard what Ruby said.
"It's also a gun." Ruby said cheekily as after cocking her weapon as Jaune whistled in appreciation. "So, what do you got?"
"Me? I have my family's sword, Crocea Mors." Jaune said as he pulled his upgraded weapon from its sheathe. "Believe me when I say that this right here? This is a good blade." Jaune said proudly as he thought of the battles he had been in, to this day Jaune never once had to sharpen its blade-counting the previous timeline as well. It wasn't the flashiest weapon, even with his upgrade, but it got the job. "The sheathe also turns into a shield."
"Oooo~" Ruby said as she looked at the pristine weapons. "So, what do they do?"
"The sword never dulls and conducts aura easily and the shield has yet to meet its match. Believe me it has had over 80 years of punishment too." Jaune said as he saw stars in her eyes. "The best thing however? Is that thanks to me, now, when you put them together…they become…a sword." Jaune said dramatically. While anyone else would have found that to be rather anti-climatic and redundant, Ruby on the other hand felt as though her mind had been blown as Jaune put away his weapon.
"Swish, swish, stab?" Ruby asked making Jaune smirk.
"Swish, swish, stab." Jaune answered with a wink making her grin.
"And here I thought no one appreciated the classics anymore." Ruby said once they made it to the auditorium, Jaune actually knowing the route this time around. Ruby frowned when she scanned the room and couldn't immediately pick out her sister.
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing really…it's just, my sister ditched me to hang out with her friends and I can't exactly hang out with any of mine."
"You can't?" Jaune asked curiously and it was at that moment Ruby realized Jaune had never questioned her age. He just talked to her as if she were…normal.
"I got accepted two years early, so the few friends I did have are back at Signal." Ruby answered. "So now I'm stuck here with no friends."
"Hm, I'll be your friend." Jaune said making her look at him in surprise before she sighed sadly.
"Then I'm at zero because I'm sure I made a negative-friend too earlier."
"You mean an enemy?"
"That…that actually sounds worse." Ruby said but despite herself she couldn't help but laugh at how blunt Jaune was.
"Hm, well, let's get you back into the positives then." Jaune said with a grin, confusing Ruby before she released a squeak when he effortlessly picked her up and held her under his arm once he spotted his team. "Hey guys, look what I found!"
"W-what?" Ruby asked in surprised before Jaune suddenly set her back on her feet. She was disoriented for a bit before she found herself in front of Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora.
"Ooooh~ A chibi huntress~" Nora teased making Ren snort.
"Nora, you're shorter than her." Ren pointed out but was ultimately ignored.
"This is Ruby, she exploded earlier." Jaune said making Ruby blush as the other three vaguely recalled the loud boom they heard earlier. "She got accepted into Beacon a few years early so I figured we'd add her to the group. After all, mom always said–"
"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet?" Pyrrha finished for him with a smile. "You really like quoting her."
"Hey she's a smart woman, the day her advice stops working is the day I stop using it." Jaune said with a grin. "Ruby, this is Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and–"
"–Pyrrha Nikos." Ruby finished as she looked at the red-head with wide-eyes making Jaune inwardly curse. He had forgotten that though he was oblivious as all hell, that there would be no way Ruby wouldn't know who Pyrrha was. He held his breath as he saw her stiffen.
Fortunately Ruby noticed this too.
"Nice to meet you. Don't worry, I won't fan girl or anything." Ruby said as she had a brief moment of insight. The fact Pyrrha was so far away from Vale should had been proof enough. She, like Ruby, just wanted to be treated like normal. "I think you and I are the same about that, just wanting to be normal." Ruby said making Pyrrha's eyes widen and Jaune, Nora, and Ren all relaxed.
"Huh? Am I missing something?" Jaune asked as he continued his act of not knowing who Pyrrha was.
"Not at all." Ruby said with a grin which Pyrrha found herself mirroring. Yeah, she could definitely be friends with the younger huntress. After that the group dissolved into just general chatter for a bit, with Nora regaling tales of their adventures on the road.
"So there we were surrounded by fifty Beowolves–"
"It was thirty." Ren corrected only for Jaune to shake his head.
"Thirty-two and an Ursa." Jaune corrected making Ren pause.
"You're right." Ren said as Ruby and Pyrrha looked between the three of them as they tried to piece together this story.
"And with a mighty swing of my hammer, they all perished!" Nora said with a hearty laugh. Ruby and Pyrrha turned to Ren and Jaune for corrections, only to pale slightly when they didn't.
"Uh…Jaune…what actually happened?" Ruby asked making him turn to her.
"Huh? No, that actually happened." Jaune said making their jaws drop. "We were on a cliff and the force of her attack sent the whole thing falling down. We escaped, but the Grimm all fell into ocean or died on the rocks." Jaune answered making Ren nod and what scared Ruby and Pyrrha the most was that they could tell they were being completely honest.
For the first time, Pyrrha felt something akin to fear towards another huntress.
Ruby was in the same boat.
It was then that Ruby noticed a flash of gold and turned to find her sister walking away from a group of her friends.
"There she is!" Ruby said before turning to her new friends. "Sorry, but I finally found my sister, I'm going to talk with her for a bit." Ruby said making them nod. "See you later!" Ruby said with a grin as they all waved their goodbyes.
"She seemed nice!" Pyrrha said with a warm smile.
"Yeah, a shame Huntsmen teams seem to be limited to four or I'd add her to our team as well." Jaune mused and Pyrrha didn't even bother to try to explain that the teams were more than likely random. In a way, it was as if she didn't want to jinx it because at this point….
…she honestly hoped he was right.
She had come here hoping to escape her fame and gain true friends and it looked like she had done that, far faster than she had thought possible. It was with that thought that Pyrrha turned to face the stage with a smile as Ozpin made himself known while Glynda stood beside him. The teacher's eyes scanned the crowd and her eyes widened slightly when she saw that Pyrrha was standing with Jaune, Nora, and Ren. The Knight just gave her a wink, which made her roll her eyes before she continued to listen to Ozpin's speech. When it was her turn she gave them their instructions and dismissed them.
-That Night: With Ruby-
"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang shouted as she landed next to her sister whom was writing in her journal.
"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though." Ruby said making Yang smirk.
"I know I do–"
"NORRRAAAAA!" A thundering voice boomed with righteous fury, startling every student in the room. It was then that the sisters turned to find Nora running away through the room in her sleepwear, holding what looked like a blue onesie under her arm.
"Ren, help!" Nora shouted before dove and did a combat roll to get behind the ninja.
"What did you do?" Ren asked with a groan.
"Nora!" Jaune's voice boomed again as he entered the scene wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer-briefs that had his family's crest on the side. As Jaune stormed through the room, he paid no mind to the show he was giving the female population as he was intent on completing his mission to destroy Nora.
Let it be known that the first thing Jaune did when he returned was train his body. His body which was already surprisingly tone and muscular in the original time-line was even more so now. Let it also be known that Jaune's aura was still locked, a personal test he made for himself to see how long he'd last without it. What this meant, however, was that any damage he did receive was healed the hard way…with time, which meant he had a few scars littering his body as well.
Still, none of that mattered.
Today was the day he would kill Nora or die trying.
"No Jaune!" Nora said defiantly. "I'm doing god's work!"
"Do you have any idea how many box-tops you have in your hands!?"
"Too many." Nora said firmly. "Ren, help me out here."
"I'm staying out of this." Ren said firmly.
"Help or no more you know what." Nora said the last part with a small glare making Ren pause before he stood in front of Nora firmly.
"I'm sorry Jaune, it must be done." Ren said quietly as Jaune took a step back as if betrayed.
"Y-you Ren?" Jaune asked in disbelief as Ren looked hurt by the look of betrayal on his friend's face.
"I'm sorry, Jaune, I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice."
"We always have a choice, Ren."
"Yes, but some aren't worth making." Ren said resolutely.
"Don't make me go through you Ren."
"Do what you must, we all knew this day would come." Ren said as he raised his fists while Jaune did the same. "Don't blame me for what happens next." Ren said coldly as the two sized each other up. One was clearly bigger and physically superior while the other was faster and much nimbler.
The Tank vs. The Glass Cannon
It would be a fist fight of the ages.
The two charged each other and Ruby felt her jaw drop as she realized she was actually going to see two of her new friends come to blows over a hideous onesie.
"Arc! Lie! Valkyrie!" A cold voice boomed making the three pale as they shakily turned to find Glynda. Her mere presence made the temperature of the room plummet as she stared at them coldly. "Follow me." The three glanced at each other fearfully before following her instructions.
"Your friends are weird." Yang said after a moment of silence, turning to face her shocked sister. "Hot." Yang admitted. "But weird"
-With Glynda-
"You three are idiots." Glynda said incredulously as they stood in her office and watched as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I know I had told to find a way for us to meet without drawing suspicion…but really?"
"We need to have a team meeting about your fixation with pumpkin Pete." Nora said as she tossed him his onesie. "That anger felt…real."
"Never come between a man and his cereal." Jaune said firmly as Glynda sighed once more.
"Idiots. All of you." Glynda said incredulously. "Arc I get and Valkyrie is a lost cause, but really? You Ren?" Glynda asked sounding disappointed. "Were you seriously swayed that easily with sex."
"With all due respect, when was the last time you had any?" Ren asked bluntly, his expression never wavering making Glynda pause.
"Do I need to remind you all that at the moment I could crush all three of you at the same time?"
"Not at all, my point still stands though–"
"Ren, shut up before you get us killed." Jaune interrupted as he saw Glynda's power flare briefly. "So, what did you want to tell us?"
"First thing, good job with Ms. Nikos and Ruby. The faster you build your bond up with them the better off we'll be." Glynda said before tossing a key to Ren. "That is the copy of the master key. It will get you into any room in the school. You are entrusted with this because you are the least likely to be caught."
"Understood."
"That makes finding places to "tutor" Ruby easier." Jaune said making Glynda nod. "Good thinking."
"Thank you, now for the most urgent matter." Glynda began as she stared at all three of them. "Tomorrow, watch what you say and do in the forest. Particularly you, Arc." Glynda began. "MY recommendation for you has peaked Ozpin's interest in you more than usual. When you're in the forest we will have surveillance on you and will be watch you all's every move. Do not slip up. Even when you're not being watched, believe me, you are. Is that understood?"
"Yes." The three said in unison.
"Good. Now dismissed, knights." Glynda said making them nod before they left her office. Once they did, she released a sigh and turned around to stare out her window once more, sipping her coffee. She would be up all night continuing to make plans for Jaune to look over. Yet despite how tired she was she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face.
They would do this.
They would reclaim Rose's throne.
But first they had they had to turn her back into the leader she once was.
To be continued…
Read and Review~
And as Always
Stay Classy
~RebukeX7