Hello everyone, I'm sorry if I haven't been active at all lately. I was going through some personal issues, lack of motivation to do anything, a few burn outs particularly from college (having only one exam per subject where your entire semester's grade is riding on, containing the entire semester's worth of lessons was rather stressful) the need to prepare of my upcoming Internship semester (writing applications and looking for companies in the right field) and a few other things. I can't really claim to have been that busy though so the fact that I haven't been updating is not really caused by lack of time. Like I mentioned before, its more of a lack of motivation. I had no intention of dropping the stories but when I tried to write more the words just didnt seem to want to flow naturally. Every paragraph felt forced and unclean so I decided to take it slow. I would much rather release good (relatively good, or at least I hope they are decent) chapters rather than force myself to write shit just for the sake of updating. I've been getting motivation back lately and managed to finish this chapter to what I hope is a decent and passable degree. I hope you enjoy it and if it was not up to par please let me know. Any criticism is appreciated and any form of feedback is sure to get me back into the groove of writing. Thanks for the people reading my little story and sorry for those I disappointed and kept waiting.

Here are a few review shoutouts. I'm not sure if can keep doing this every chapter but considering my long period of inactivity I believe this is much deserved.

SweetieSpike - thanks for your concern. I appreciate it greatly. As a new writer I have not really felt the motivation to write brought upon by people who read what I write and go out of their way to ask me if I'm ok after my period of inactivity and finally having that really made my day. It means a lot.

Operator Blake – thanks, I'll do what I can to keep this story alive.

STARCRUSHER99 – as someone who leans more to the logical side of things, I try to explain stuff in a way that could make sense. I'm glad that it came across as such.

AndreiN00B – sorry about the missed edit and thanks for the kind words.

Enpassant – I'll try to develop their bond in a way that is believable. It shouldn't be too hard however since they are still classmates.

Cabbage cabrera – sorry for the grammar errors, I tried to make their talk with Ozpin believable. A few fics out there make Ozpin just be "Oh ok!" just like that, I didn't that that would be believable and I did what I thought was best.

Theycallmebeanz – I hope I can keep this story unique in its own right.

csad21/Drow79/ChaosRonin/duskrider/Trae/reader101/EzioIspirate - thanks for the kind words and the interest.

Headmaster Ozpin had another discussion with the pair prior to initiation to talk about some important details of their situation. Jaune and Weiss had brought up the idea of them leaving Beacon to hunt down their target and chop off the roots before they had a chance to dig themselves into the ground but the professor was against it. 'From what you two have told me, it seems that Beacon will become the final line of defense, the stronghold in this war. I believe you two are more needed here. The school is most likely going to be a prime target. The tower cannot fall.' he had said.

He was right of course. Beacon held the biggest concentration of warriors in Vale. It also housed some of the most skilled huntsman and huntresses of the modern generation. Both Jaune and Weiss now numbering amongst them. Not to mention Ozpin and the rest of the professors. But more importantly, it held some of the best and brightest young trainees, the next generation of Remnant's protectors. Needless to say, the academy would be a prime target for anyone hoping to throw the world into disarray and the pair could not argue.

It was also where one of the four Cross Continental Transmit Towers was built. Jaune remembered the first time the tower fell and broke communication between the kingdoms. The design of the towers did not allow the other three to operate once one tower went down so the fall of Beacon Tower messed up the network between the remaining kingdoms.

Jaune asked if Ozpin had called Qrow back to Vale but the headmaster decided to keep the veteran huntsman out in the field. This time line most certainly held alterations to the original with the changes the pair, and Salem, had made and are sure to make. Another valid point.

After finishing up their brief talk, the pair made their way to the elevator which would bring them down to the base of the tower. The main doors slid open as they walked out into the large courtyard connecting Beacon tower with all the other surrounding buildings and facilities.

Turning right, they made their way to the combat arena building. Pushing open the double doors, they passed several students as well as a few fellow initiates. They walked passed several doors leading to the few training rooms housed in this building to reach the very end of the hall where they were greeted by another set of double doors, these ones were smaller, gray in color and contained small windows in its upper half, leading them into the school's fairly large locker room.

Jaune and Weiss looked over the rows and columns of lockers arranged around the walls and moved to the designated rocket propelled storage unit assigned to them. The young knight lazily made his way to locker 636, knowing exactly where it was, having used the same unit for four years as a student at Beacon. Weiss needed a bit more time to look around given the eight year gap from when she last entered this room. The front panel hissed open after Jaune typed in the correct security code which was written on a piece of paper given to him by the Beacon staff. He mentally noted to change it later to the more comfortable sequence of digits he had assigned it in the previous time line. The opened door clicked as it reached its maximum opening angle and the young knight gazed at the sword and shield hanging from the back wall.

He had his old weapon with him yesterday when he woke up on the transport ship, but his mind was too preoccupied to really look at the old family heirloom of a blade. Most of the memories he had of the battles and wars were with his new, more modern pair of long swords, the dark bladed Arondight, and the much lighter colored Excalibur. He couldn't really forget about the old Arc blade though, it was where everything started after all. From Crocea Mors, to the Excalibur and Aegis, finally ditching the shield in favor of his semblance and adding Arondight to his arsenal. He remembered forging the blade Excalibur and the kite shield Aegis with Ruby in his third year and adding Arondight a few months after Ruby's incident as a way to keep her mind off things.

Crocea Mors was a good sword, no doubt about it, but it was never truly his. He raised his hand and let his finger glide over the polished surface. He stole the blade from his father's armory the night he left home. How foolish, a child with absolutely no formal training, trying to make a name for himself in the world of huntsmen and huntresses, completely absorbed in the magnificent stories of knights and heroes, Ignorant and driven by mere fairy tales. He really was foolish back then. Thinking back, it truly was a miracle that he made it this far. He'd decided that it would be for the best if he forged his new blades earlier, maybe even use it as an excuse to talk to Ruby. His seventeen year old body might need a bit more physical training to wield two heavy longswords one handed each but his was confident enough in his semblance to no longer truly need a shield. He'd send Crocea Mors back home, back to its true owner. It had served him well in the short 2 years he'd used it. He'll wield it for initiation, then he'll send it back, to where it belongs.

Reaching into the compartment, he closed his fingers around the blue leather wrapped around the hilt, its golden pommel peaking out above his thumb. He pulled out the blade and its shield and strapped it onto his belt. His Aegis was a lot heavier. He'd thought about attaching it to his back where he was more used to equipping his weapons, but that would be impractical given the sheath's ability to transform into a shield. The set clicked into place on his belt and the blond closed his locker's door.

Weiss managed to find her own storage compartment after a short while of pacing and pulled out Myrtenaster. Her favored rapier didn't change much nine years into the future. It matched her fighting style, specially forged just for her, therefore she did not feel any need to alter anything about the blade. She clipped the weapon to her waist and reached deeper into the metal box to grab the small pouch lying on one of the locker's shelves. She used to pouch to hold her dust rounds. She used to be extremely picky about what dust she used but the difficult trials she went through in the years past graduating opened her eyes to the need to be content with what one has and to make the most out of it. She pulled out a cartilage and gazed the bright and pure blue glow it was emitting. 'What a waste.' Second and third class dust worked just fine for combat use where specific heat levels or voltages were not necessary and the massive price difference just did not justify the performance gap between first grade and second grade dust. Granted, the lower one goes down the quality scale, the less effective the dust became and there is a point where the combat effectiveness of low grade dust and the unreliability of it could hinder huntsmen and huntresses in a life or death situation, the mid to mid-high tiers of quality were more than enough if destruction was the main goal where the absolute first grade dust was just overkill more used for industrial applications under carefully controlled environments. She returned the bullet back into her pouch just in time to see Jaune walk over, fully ready for initiation.

The pair could hear Yang and Ruby conversing about how the young reaper needed to break out of her shell… something about milk too, meanwhile, Pyrrha was standing in front of her locker alone. Weiss felt like the scene gave her a sense of wrongness. Whe glanced up to her partner to see him gazing at the redhead. She was certain that Pyrrha standing there alone looking rather lonely made him want to call out to her. In their original time-line, both Weiss and Jaune would be over there talking to her. The blonde's obliviousness to the champions identity a reason as to why he caught her attention. Jaune merely walked past her however, looking rather down as they made their way back out through the same set of doors.

"We'll get to talk to her eventually." The young Schnee said.

"That's actually what I'm afraid of." Weiss did not really have a response to that.

Professor Goodwitch's voice came out of the overhead speaker as she instructed the first years to make their way to the cliffs.

"For years you have trained to become warriors," Professor Ozpin started "and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

The first year initiates were placed on platforms on the edge of a cliff overlooking the forest beneath. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the first time he got launched into the air, how Pyrrha pinned him to a tree. Zero training and no aura, it was a miracle he survived that at all. Now though, Jaune was quite used to falling from high places. Getting into the middle of a packed battlefield with no place for dustplanes or bullheads to land brought about the necessity to be able to drop from far up without aid. Some cases did not even offer any form of breaking ones fall leaving him with nothing but his aura and his semblance to stop him from ending up as a large red blotch in the middle of the war zone.

The young knight glanced at the platform beneath his feet, the Beacon Sigil proudly marking the iron surface.

Ozpin had asked them both to serve as some form of mentors to the other talented first years in this batch and for that, he needed to gain their respect. The Beacon professors observed the initiation through cameras dotting all over the forest, but Ozpin made sure that the footage was kept from the public eye. There have been a few cases of initiates dying during initiation and as such, the files concerning the recording was not broadcast. The headmaster has assured them both that whatever they chose to reveal in the forest would be kept from prying eyes, all aside from the Beacon faculty as well as the people on site. Even so, Jaune had no intention of revealing all his skills just yet. He won't show them much, but he'd show them enough to get their attention.

Professor Goodwitch was explaining the rule on how each pair is decided, a rule he frankly didn't really understand, how was eye contact a logical means of deciding on who gets partnered up with whom and how well the pair could work together? He kept his thoughts to himself however, it did work out before. Ruby and Weiss was probably the biggest disaster of a pair but they worked through their differences and became a solid pair after only a single year.

Looking over the large expanse of forest beneath them, Jaune thought about what was to come. The plan was simple, meet up with Weiss before anyone else finds them. He'll be the first to admit that it's not exactly the most structured plan they ever came up with, but considering they have the skills and knowledge rivaling even the most experienced of huntsmen, it shouldn't really pose much of a problem. He did wonder about the other pair that would be joining them in their team. He really hoped to avoid Pyrrha. Ruby, Ren and Nora were also rather risky, he knew them too well. Sigh. He wondered if Weiss had the same thoughts running through her mind.

He glanced over to his left where the white haired girl in question was taking her position on her own platform. Her left foot forward, her center of gravity low, her stance solid. Ruby was beside her, her face torn between panic and desperation.

The two professors in front of them finished their explanation and the initiates were launched into the forest one by one.

Jaune felt the ticks of the gears whirring beneath his feet and the sudden rush of the wind as the spring-loaded platform underfoot released all its built up energy and shot him into the skies. He focused his gaze on the ground as he quickly gained altitude. The rushing wind was blowing against his eyes, but he long since got used to the feeling. He had learned the hard way not to close them while airborne. He slowly curled in on himself until he ended up looking like he was crouching in mid air, before he channeled his semblance through the soles of his feet. The young knight was about to erect a disk beneath his boots to increase the surface area and reduce his velocity when a white glyph suddenly materialized in front of him. He raised a brow at the familiar platform but stepped on it to slow his descent nonetheless. Two more platforms materialized, one directly in from of his current flight path, the other slightly to the left. He landed on the first and used to it angle himself to land on the second.

He smirked slightly as the next pair of glyphs materialized side by side. Stretching out his legs to absorb the remaining inertia he landed on the semi invisible surface right before a white streak perched herself on the twin platform beside him.

"Well that's one way to make sure we end up as partners." he commented as they continued their series of hops leading them to the ground below.

"Its practical, no risk of getting separated." The heiress replied as she landed on the soft grass of the Emerald Forest with a small thud.

The pair took a look around, trying to familiarize themselves with the area around them.

"The temple should be that way. I saw the ruins before we landed." Jaune said as he extended his arm to point at the direction in question.

"Alright, lets get to it then." the young Schnee replied as she took the lead, walking through the tree trunks and swatting away low hanging branches.

The sound of loose twigs crunching beneath there footwear was the only sound that traveled to their ears. It was eerily quiet but it didn't take long before the distant sound of gunfire echoed through the forest.

"You think Ruby would still want to get on that nevermore without you leading her in the wrong direction?" he asked teasingly as they made their way towards the sounds of battle.

"Hmpf you think we'll still have to deal with the deathstalker without you walking into its nest?" she shot back. At this, Jaune raised his eyebrows and looked as if he was struck by an epiphany.

"Maybe we should aggravate it on purpose." The blonde started making Weiss look at him strangely. "Hey, it'll make a statement if we take it down with just the two of us. It should be enough impress a group of first years." Jaune mentioned with a slight grin.

"You know, when you were labeled as 'The Grand Tactician', I am fairly certain it was not because of plans like these." the young Schnee comment off-handedly.

"Oh come on, what's the harm? Both of us can take down a grimm of that level by ourselves with ease." Jaune seemed far to happy with this plan if the heiress were to be asked. His started to march away from the ruins with a slight spring in his step. Weiss could only sigh and follow along.

Blake looked at the group of people gathered before the temple. First was her partner, Yang she said her name was, next was Yang's sister who somehow fell from the sky and her partner, the famous Pyhrra Nikos who dropped in after her. A little to their left was a very bubbly and far too energetic redhead whose name she overheard to be Nora who rode into the clearing on the back of a quite frankly terrified looking ursa, and her partner whose name Nora cheerfully called out to be Ren.

With her eyes trained onto her fellow initiates, Blake was rather startled when a blond and white haired pair dashed out from the forest into the clearing with a massive deathstalker on their tail. Her partner was standing beside her with a similarly startled expression. She recovered quickly however and she, along with everyone else on site, moved into their battle stances.

The blond boy turned on his heel as soon as they broke into the clearing and raised his shield. A warm whitish-gold glow surrounded his body and coated his shield as he bent his knees. The grimm continued its charge at its now stationary prey, closing the gap at an impressively fast pace courtesy of its eight powerful legs. The small group of her and her soon to be classmates were still too far away to assist the blonde who's distance to the massive scorpion was shrinking rapidly. All Blake could do was fill her lungs with air and attempt to should a 'watch out'.

What happened next however forced the words of warning she was about to yell out back down her throat and made all their jaws drop to the ground, metaphorically of course.

With a few more rapid and wide steps from its numerous limbs, the deathstalker was on him, slamming claws first into his shield. The loud thud that followed the impact made her bones rattle as the deathstalker instantly lost forward momentum and slammed its massive pincers onto the blonde's shield as if it were a solid wall. The lithe girl with him slid under the giant beasts belly and rapidly stabbed her rapier in and out its underside, like a needle on a sewing machine.

The pained screech coming from the grimm hurt her sensitive ears. The beast wound up its stinger and stabbed it down at the young knight in panic and pain. The young man simply spun out of the way allowing the stinger to stab into the ground where he was previously standing before continuing his spin, unsheathing his sword, and cutting through the limb that held the glowing point to the rest of its body in one fluid mostion. The steel blade cut through the black flesh and bone with ease.

The screeching grew louder as the stinger remained embedded in the ground and the stump it was previously connected to whipped wildly through the air spraying black grimm blood everywhere. The pair didn't even look the slightest bit fazed, as if this was merely a minor annoyance, as if they do this everyday.

The girl in white seemed to skate on the terrain, quickly moving out from under the creatures mass before leaping into the air.

Blake's eyes widened as she saw glyphs form under her feet to the side and above the now severely wounded foe. 'A Schnee!' she yelled internally, recognizing both the white hair and the trademark glyphs, not to mention the family sigil on the back of the young girls bolero jacket. She moved with such ease and grace as she landed on top of the boney white armor covering the deathstalker's back. Once again her rapier was raised and an icy blue glow coated the blade. She speared it through a large red eye, all the way down down to its base before large crystals of ice tore out of its head and through its body.

It took less than a minute before the massive deathstalker was taken down so effortlessly by the pair in front of her.

They sheathed their weapons and slowly turned toward their small group of spectators. The looks on their faces remaining completely neutral.

Their calm expressions slipped somewhat, however, once they saw the people gathered there. It was barely noticable, but with Blake's keen eyesight she caught the slight gulp, the slight twitch of their lips as if they were forcing the neutrality and nonchalance of their appearance.

This confused Blake even further. And somehow, they were giving her an uncomfortable vibe. 'This pair is dangerous' she mentally noted.

"He-Hey guys!" he mentally kicked himself for the slight stutter. "Are you guys going through initiation as well?" The group just stared at him. Again, another kick. They were here at the temple holding on to the relics they were tasked to collect, not to mention they all lined up at the launch pads. "uhh-".

"Hello everyone." Weiss spoke up, having had enough of her partner's hopelessness. Weiss curtsied before she continued. "I apologize for my partner's social skills, or should I say, lack thereof." she gazed pointedly at Jaune before returning her attention to the group before them. "My name is Weiss Schnee, I am pleased to make your acquaintances." she expectantly turned to her partner as she finished hoping he could follow along.

"Oh! Yeah, hello! Uh- I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc." he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck trying to show the friendliest smile he could muster. This was a lot more uncomfortable than he was expecting.

He could see Yang raise a brow at them. There was a brief moment of silence before she finally responded to their introduction.

"I'm Yang." and with that, everyone else started to introduce themselves as well.

It was an odd feeling for both Jaune and Weiss, watching their old friends alive and well, re-introducing themselves as strangers. Not finding any recognition in their eyes.

A loud screech caught everyone's attention as the giant nevermore circled them from above.

"Ruby, I think we made it angry." Pyrrha voiced out.

Jaune heard a sigh from beside him and looked over to see Weiss with her hand on her face. 'Some things never change.'

The fact that Ruby still somehow managed to aggravate the grimm was amusing him more than anything and a small smite crept up on his face.

The auditorium was filled with people from the new freshmen waiting sidestage to the more senior students occupying the main floor and upper deck seats. All students were require to attend the post initiation ceremony to welcome the new wave of Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training.

Weiss looked around and couldn't help the slight smile that tugged on her lips. It felt warm. The first initiation ceremony she attended was in Beacon where team RWBY was formed. Many years ago if her memory was to go by. The next ones were in Atlas where attendance was also mandatory. But Atlas, with its military integrated with both its government and its academy, was strict, organized, and professional. So much so that the atmosphere of any celebration held there seemed forced and impersonal. Where your outburst have to be measured, you cheers kept to yourself and whether you sat or stood was decided by the organized program. As suck, the heiress found the loud cheers were really welcoming.

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark," Ozpin Started, pulling the fencer's attention away from the crowd. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team CRDL, led by." a slight pause. "Cardin Winchester!" another round of applause.

Weiss watched the four CRDL members leave the stage before the members of Jaune's old team plus Ruby made their way up to the headmaster. The pictures of the previous team's members faded away to be replaced with portraits of Ruby, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha which prompted a louder cheer than the ones before it. Weiss could even make out Pyrrha's name out of the mix of voices. The crowd quieted down as the headmaster spoke up again.

"Ruby Rose, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, the four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team PLVR, led by." cue another pause. "Ruby Rose"

'Pulver...Pulvis...Dust, how appropriate.' the young Schnee pondered as her own new team took their turn to walk up to the professor.

"Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long," this time whistling was mixed in with the cheers. "the four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as, team ABYS. Led by Jaune Arc." the headmaster concluded.

Weiss turned to look at her partner to see him gazing at the screen displaying their team's portrait and name. His gaze was sharp and she could see the clear resolve in his deep blue eyes.

Loud thumps could be heard reverberating against the tall trees in the emerald forest. The blonde knight had been going at it for hours now, striking against the trunks as if they were imaginary foes. His sword and shield long discarded unto the soft grass, opting to make contact with the thick bark with his bare hands. His knuckles were bloody, skin tearing up quicker than his aura could mend it. The rest of his limbs didn't fair any better, cuts and gashes littering his arms and legs as he changed forms from closed fist to open palm. After performing a quick combination of hits, he changed styles again, attacking the trees with elbows and knees, lifting his foot and spinning his heel horizontally against the hard surface.

He wasn't using his aura to reinforce his body, he didn't want to. Pain was good. Pain kept his mind busy, kept it from thinking too much.

"Don't you think your overdoing it? You should stop." a worried voice called to him from between torn up tree trunks.

He didn't answer, just kept on going.

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

Once again, no response. His eyes trained at the next unsuspecting piece of living wood to meet its demise. He pulled back his arm, ready to once again smash his bloody hand into the rough and jagged bark before a black blur crossed his vision. His arm was promptly knocked aside as a small fist was jabbed into his gut.

Jaune felt the air rush out of his lungs as Ruby's knuckles dug further into his abdomen. His knees weakened but he kept himself standing upright, leaning some of his weight against his red and black clad teammate. His head right beside hers as she held them both up.

"What the hell was that?" he angrily managed to choke out in between coughs as he tried to suck air back into his lungs.

"I told you to stop." Her soft voice spoke into his ear which was pressed directly against her cheek.

After a few more seconds, he managed to regain his breathing and took a few steps away from the little reaper.

"What do you want?" he asked in a distant voice.

"I know it hurts. Ren was my teammate too. For four whole years, from our hunt for Cinder up to now, he's been with us. He's been the one to keep us in check, the calm voice of the team. The guy who kept both of us from rushing in head first to get ourselves killed." her voice was rising. "He wasn't the most outspoken person, but he cared for us. You're not the only one mourning his loss. It hurts for me too, and it hurts even more for Nora!" She was practically yelling at him now.

Jaune looked down unto the grass between his feet.

"But this," she continued, gesturing to the destruction around them. "this isn't healthy!"

"Who cares if-"

"I care!" she yelled before he could get out another word. "Ren would care! He wouldn't want this!"

"Ren is dead!" Ruby looked at him with a hard gaze. Jaunes own eyes widened slightly as he realized what he'd said before returning his gaze back to the grass covered forest floor, an angry scowl adorning his face.

Silence.

"Ruby I-"

"You're right. Ren is dead. But don't sully his memory." her reply came in a chilling voice. And the young knights gaze snapped up to meet hers.

"I would never-"

"You're trying to make it easier by burying yourself in whatever shit this is. You're trying to keep your mind from thinking of him." Her tone was even, but the underlying fury was clearly on display, shining through her silver eyes. "He deserves so much better than to be cast aside, treated as a painful memory better left forgotten. You of all people should understand, he was like your own brother!"

Jaune had no words to reply. He wasn't doing what Ruby was claiming was he? He would never forget Ren. His brother in arms. The man who understood him best. he.. he wasn't right?… right?

"It's alright to grieve, to cry. He was family." the little reaper continued. "What's not alright is for you to forget him." another pause "You haven't visited his grave yet, have you?"

Jaune didn't reply. She was right, he hadn't. How could he, the pain and the guilt were too fresh.

"You should go. Talk to him, pay your respects."

Jaune tilted his head back and closed his eyes. 'talk to him? Have a nice conversation with a gravestone? To a spirit watching from above? From some damn 'afterlife'?' The knight would have laughed if it weren't so damn painful. The young knight stopped believing in such silly things like life after death. Those were stories told be those who were too afraid to face the finality of death.

Sometimes he wished he could believe in such naive tales again. Might make the pain easier to bear.

"No matter what you might believe, I think it'll do you some good." and with that, she walked away, leaving him to stand in the middle of the forest alone.

Chapter end. Thanks for reading. Lemme know your thoughts!