Chapter 4 – Warning
AN
Ah, chapter 4 already, and this is the point that I start (very gradually) working an AU plot into the story. This storyline will really only start to become more developed in later follow-ons to this story, but the ground work it being laid here. Oh, I also tackle the infamous season 2 food fight here, but I come at it from a slightly different direction.
Mega thanks to my wonderful beta, Arnel.
"Jaune, could you come and give me a hand with lunch, please?"
The young knight in question sighed. Since the fight yesterday, his mother had been tasking him with all sorts of menial chores in punishment for him recklessly leading his team into battle without his parents' approval. The fact that they had cut a Death Stalker to ribbons with comparatively little efforts didn't seem to make much of an impression on Symphony Arc, unfortunately.
With his father smirking at him, and the rest of his team looking on sympathetically, Jaune rose from his seat and headed towards the kitchen. At least helping make lunch wouldn't be too much of a chore. He'd helped out enough times preparing food for their big family over the years, certainly. Besides, this was his last full day at home, as in the morning Team JNPR would be catching the bus back to school.
"Ah, there you are," his mother noted briskly as he entered the kitchen. "Those potatoes need peeling, and after you've finished that start on the carrots and onions."
"Yes, Mom," Jaune agreed meekly, fetching a peeler from a drawer and starting work on the small mountain of potatoes in front of him. His was a large family, and feeding all of them had always been a labour intensive task. Normally, however, at least one of his sisters was instructed to help.
"I was very impressed with the way you and your team fought yesterday."
Jaune blinked. He hadn't been expecting praise from his mother, who'd seemed too angry that her instructions had been ignored than to offer any comment on his abilities.
"Umm, thanks, Mom," he replied, before turning his attention back to his half-peeled spud.
"I think I was taken a little by surprise at how much you've grown in such a short time," Sy continued. "When you left for Beacon, I guess I still just saw my dear little boy, but yesterday, I saw an accomplished young Huntsman in training, and one capable of leading a team of skilful warriors, too. That school is doing you good, I think."
"You always did seem a bit reluctant to let me go there," Jaune pointed out. "I told you how Professor Goodwitch has been helping me control my Semblance, right? She's really been a big help to me. Besides, if I hadn't I would never have met Pyrrha, Ren and Nora. I really can't imagine life without those guys now."
"Your fellow team members will always be dear to you," Sy agreed. "I dearly miss all my old team. I really don't see them nearly enough. Regardless, none of that has anything to do with the real reason I didn't want you to go there."
"Really? Then why didn't you want me to go?" Jaune asked, intrigued. His mother had never mentioned any of this before.
Sy Arc put down the knife she'd been using to cut up strips of beef for their stew and turned to look at him. She stared at him thoughtfully as she wiped her hands on a small towel.
"This is a talk I really wasn't expecting to have with you so soon," she admitted. "Jaune, ever since we… lost your sisters… you've been a driven young man. The amount of time you spent training with your father and your sisters, almost to the detriment of everything else, well, it impressed me, I must say. I've always known that one day you'll be a great warrior, but it looks like that day is going to be here much sooner than I had anticipated."
Jaune just nodded, not quite knowing how to respond to this praise.
"I'll be truthful. The idea that you're coming into your full powers sooner rather than later fills me with misgivings. Jaune, my darling, I can see you've changed so much in just the short time you've been away. Oh, I don't mean physically, although I do think you're in even better shape now then you were before, but I mean you've grown as a person. I was surprised and delighted to hear that you were made a team leader, and I can see that has been a wonderful experience for you. You've matured and I think you're becoming a more rounded person, too. Certainly, the way you interact with your team warms my heart. You always had so few friends growing up."
"No one at school understood me. They never appreciated what I'd been through and what drove me," Jaune explained softly. He'd always felt like an outsider in school, and most of his fellow pupils had thought he was weird.
His mother nodded in sympathy.
"I know, darling, and perhaps I never fully understood how lonely it must have been for you. You always had your family around you, but seeing how you act around your new friends I can begin to comprehend what you missed. But still, being a team leader brings its own responsibilities and pressures. Your team might be your friends, but sometimes you might have to give them orders which they might not appreciate. That is the burden of command."
"Yeah, I get that," Jaune agreed. "Fortunately, I haven't had to do too much of that stuff. The guys are all so great that I don't need to order them about. Apart from ordering Nora not to steal from the school kitchens, of course."
Sy laughed softly. "Yes, she does have an appetite that one, doesn't she? I genuinely hope that being a team leader never puts a strain on your relationship with any of those three, and I doubt it will. They are all good people, and just from the little I've talked to them I can understand their motivations to become Hunters. They all have pure hearts and a desire to help others."
"Yeah, they do," he agreed, suddenly feeling extremely proud of his team.
"Things are not always that simple, however," Sy warned. "If you should rise to command more than just your team, you will find that you will start needing to consider other factors and points of view. The more people under you, the more complications there will be."
"I doubt I'll ever lead more than just me team," Jaune snorted.
"Maybe, and maybe not. But I'm going to give you some advice now and I want you to think about it seriously. The next time I see you I'm going to ask you about it."
"Homework?" Jaune groaned.
"In a way, but think of it more as an observational exercise. You see, son, I firmly believe that nothing happens in this world without a reason. Things don't just happen, and invariably there is someone with an agenda pushing for them to occur. Those people, those who make things happen in this world, will all have beliefs that motivate them."
"Okay, I can see the logic in that," Jaune agreed. "Great people often do great deeds, right?"
"Indeed, and it might also be said that terrible people can perform terrible deeds, but I guarantee that if you analyse those peoples' actions, you will find something that motivated them in the first place. Fools talk about good and evil, but that's gibberish. No one is truly evil, just as no one is truly good. We all have hundreds of emotions and ideas pulling us in all directions, and when these things become strong enough they will motivate us to act."
"Right," Jaune drawled, not quite seeing the point his mother was making.
"Just remember, everyone is different and we all have our own motivations. You might praise some noble hero for performing some great deed, but I'll bet that if you could look into that person's head you would find influences that you weren't expecting. We all have things that drive us, and everyone puts a slightly different emphasis on what is important."
"So, what are you saying? Why is this so important for me to know?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
"You talked about great people performing great deeds. What I want you to think about is what exactly motivated these great people to such lengths. Try and think what might have been going through their heads when they decided to do whatever it is they did. Think about the responsibilities these folks might have, and what pressures they might be under. Consider what information they might have at their disposal, and what the motivations of the people who provided that information might have had themselves. Think about what repercussions these leaders might be concerned about for performing this act or taking some alternative action. Think about all those things."
"Mom, that's… just too much," Jaune protested. "How can you ever know what another person is thinking?"
"You can't, not completely," his mother agreed, "but I'll tell you that the great leaders of this world are the ones who can predict what their opposite numbers are thinking with a degree of accuracy. They'll take all the information they can gather, analyse it, perhaps use their own instincts when considering it all, and once they've done all that, they will act on it."
"So, you're saying that to become a great leader I have to start trying to predict what my opponents might do?"
"Oh, always. That's always a good thing to do," Sy agreed, "but remember, we're now getting into the territory of first causes and greater goods. Once you get to a certain level, individual pieces on the chess board become irrelevant, and the player must consider all the factors involved in the game. Chances are, these 'great leaders' will have significantly different motivations than the average person, and be party to more information than will ever be known to the general public. These people will have an aim or goal they believe must be achieved, and if they believe that target is so vital that nothing can stand in the way of achieving it, they will take any action they feel is justified."
"Mom, why does this feel like you're giving me some sort of warning?" Jaune asked warily.
"Because I am. Remember, Professor Ozpin is an extremely powerful and influential man. It's probably impossible to know exactly what motivates him, and so you should always be aware than you won't know exactly what his agenda is. Never accept anything a man in his position says without giving it careful thought."
"You… you don't trust the headmaster?" Jaune gasped.
"I don't trust anyone with that much power," Sy corrected, "especially someone with as mysterious a past as he has. Your father was convinced that the training you would get at Beacon, especially with regard to your Semblance, outweighed any risks, but personally, I'm concerned that Ozpin seems to have taken such an active interest in you. I'm sure that his aims and goals are pure, but I'm not convinced that the methods used to achieve these goals will always be to the average person's advantage or, more importantly, yours."
"I'm sure Ozpin would never do anything to hurt someone. He's a good man," Jaune protested.
"I'm sure he is. However, if he tells you something, or asks you to perform some task, always ask yourself; 'what is his motivation for asking this'. It's only good sense, Jaune. Don't become a pawn in someone else's game."
Silence fell as Jaune looked at his mother with a shocked expression on his face. She said nothing, but walked over to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, before walking back to the counter and continuing to prepare lunch.
Jaune slowly started peeling potatoes again, feeling like he'd just been punched in the stomach.
"Are you alright, Jaune?"
Jaune looked up straight into the bright green eyes of Pyrrha. She was staring at him with a worried expression on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her.
"Are you sad to be heading back to Beacon?"
"That's… not really it."
They were currently on the bus that was taking them to the airship station, having departed the Arc household that morning. It had been with mixed feelings that Jaune took his leave of his family, and his mother's words from the previous day were still playing in his head.
"Your family are quite wonderful," Pyrrha continued. "Your father was very sweet, and your mother so kind. It's a shame we didn't get to meet all your other sisters, though. Adele and Rose both very interesting, in their own ways."
"Oh, that's the Arc family in a nutshell. We're all unique," Jaune mumbled.
Pyrrha laughed. "You are, indeed. I can understand if you're upset to be leaving them."
"Nah, I mean, it was great to see them, and all, but I went to Beacon to become the best Hunter that I can, and I still need to do that. No, it's just something that Mom said to me yesterday that got me a little unsettled," he admitted.
"What did she say?"
Jaune looked back at Pyrrha for a moment. Did he tell her what his mother had said? It was, after all, not the sort of thing he should really spread about. No, Pyrrha was his partner and he trusted her with his life. There was no reason not to tell her about this.
"Mom gave me a sort of warning," Jaune began to explain. "Basically, I think she was trying to tell me not to take everything Professor Ozpin says at face value."
"The headmaster? Why ever not?" Pyrrha demanded.
"I think she distrusts anyone with as much power and influence as he has. While Mom said she doesn't think he's a bad man, the Professor has a lot of responsibilities and duties, and that he'll always put those above the wellbeing of any individual if he's forced to. I guess she was trying to remind me that he's not just the headmaster of a combat school, but an important and influential man."
"I… see," Pyrrha acknowledged slowly. "I think I understand what she means, although I suppose I see it from a very different point of view. I come from Mistral, and we almost expect our leaders to be at least partially corrupt. Bribes and favours are almost expected to be given to get anything done in our kingdom. It's just the way things are. One of the reasons I came to Beacon rather than attend Haven was because I was concerned that school might try and manipulate my fame in some way. I think that coming from that background makes me a little wary of any person in power, anyway."
"Wow, really? I thought Vacuo was the lawless kingdom," Jaune commented.
"Well, Mistral's not exactly lawless, we just have a certain way of doing things that isn't always completely honest," she explained. "As for Professor Ozpin, I believe he is a good man, but as your mother says, he has other roles and responsibilities. Generally, I would say I trust him, but not blindly. There's very few people I unconditionally trust, Jaune, and most of them are sitting with me on this bus."
Jaune glanced over his shoulder at Nora and Ren who were in the seats behind them. Neither of them were paying any attention to the ongoing conversation. Indeed, Nora looked like she was asleep, with her head resting on Ren's shoulder while he tried to read a book.
"I feel the same, although I trust my family implicitly. If Mom tells me to do something, I admit I'm probably going to do it."
"You're a good boy," Pyrrha noted with a smile and a gentle pat on his head.
"Laugh if you will," Jaune snorted, "but you've never seen my mom angry. Trust me, if you had, you'd being doing exactly what she tells you to do, too."
"Probably," Pyrrha admitted, still grinning at him. "Still, I don't suppose this will be much of an issue, anyway. I mean, it's not like we have that much direct contact with the headmaster. Even your additional training is done by Professor Goodwitch."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm worrying over nothing," Jaune agreed, feeling slightly better about the whole thing.
"Quite right. Now, we'll be at the airship station soon. Have you taken your airsickness pills?"
"Oh, crap," Jaune exclaimed, and began to rummage through his hand luggage.
It was at times like this that he really did appreciate his partner.
They arrived back at Beacon with no mishaps or dramas, and were soon settled back into their room with minimal disruption. The evening was spent quietly, with the group lounging around talking and listening to music, but otherwise doing very little.
It wasn't until breakfast the next morning that they encountered their near neighbours, Team RWBY. The two teams met on opposite sides of a large dining table and greeted each other warmly.
"Hey, so are you guys just back from visiting Jaune's folks?" Ruby enquired as soon as they had all settled down.
"Yeah, and we had an awesome time!" Nora exclaimed.
"We did indeed," Ren agreed. "Jaune's family were extremely hospitable and treated us as if we were their own kin."
"Did you meet any of Jaune's sisters? I'm kinda curious as to what his siblings would be like," Yang asked.
"Hey, you could just ask me," Jaune protested.
"Nah, that's no fun," Yang said dismissively. "I want to hear the gossip from a reliable source, like Nora."
"Nora's a reliable source?" Pyrrha gasped, rather stunned by the idea.
"Spill, Valkyrie," Yang insisted.
"Well, we only met two of his sisters, but Rose was pretty damn amazing. She's a Huntress who operates in Mistral, and she's pretty bad ass," Nora explained to the group.
"And the other one?" Weiss pushed.
"Oh, Adele. She's an artist, or something. I didn't much care for her," Nora sniffed.
"Adele took rather a shine to Ren, I'm afraid. That's what's got Nora so upset," Pyrrha added.
"No, it isn't!" Nora blurted, turning a bright shade of red. "I mean, she's only an artist. What sort of job is that?"
"I think it's a pretty important one," Jaune announced, determined to stand up for his sister. "Remember what happened back in the Great War when Mantle and Mistral banned all the arts in an effort to suppress emotions? All they did was make everyone miserable and what did that do? Attract more Grimm, of course. That arts – music, films, theatre, and yes, painting – that stuff is all meant to bring you positive emotions, stuff that stirs your soul. Those idiots back then forgot that although negativity attracts Grimm, positivity repeals them. They should have been encouraging the arts, not suppressing them. You could say that Adele is just fighting the Grimm in her own way, just with a paint brush rather than a gun or a sword."
"Her work is certainly interesting," Ren added.
"Yes, Adele took Ren to her room to show him her etchings," Pyrrha revealed mischievously.
"It was all totally innocent! I just enjoyed looking at her work," Ren said quickly, glancing at an increasingly angry-looking Nora.
"You were certainly in there long enough," Jaune pointed out with disapproval in his voice.
"I… err…. there were a lot of pieces to look at. She's quite a prolific artist," Ren insisted as Nora began to reach for her hammer.
"So, what else did you guys do, Nora?" Blake asked, evidently trying to prevent a bloodbath.
"Oh, well, we ate at this great diner that Jaune hangs out in when he's back home. That place was fantastic, and the owner actually gave me free desert because he liked me so much," Nora said enthusiastically, her anger gone in an instant. "Yeah, and Jaune's dad does a great barbeque! Man, that stuff was yummy. We sat around a huge bonfire drinking beer and stuffing ourselves with huge burgers and tangy chicken wings. We have to go back soon, Jaune!"
"Well, I guess I know what you guys got up to over the break. You might want to hit the salad option at lunchtime. I mean, you don't want to start getting all flabby now, do ya?" Yang said, smirking.
"Wanna see who can bench press the heaviest weights or do more push ups?" Nora challenged with a growl.
"Ah… on second thought, all that fresh air and country cookin' has been good for you all. You're looking great," Yang announced, backpedalling furiously.
"So, what have you four been up to?" Pyrrha enquired before lowering her voice. "Have you been hunting for that Torchwick person, or searching for White Fang hideouts?"
"We've slept most," Weiss revealed.
"Yeah, we were beat. Some downtime was really great," Ruby agreed.
"We're going to be getting back to it real soon, though," Blake insisted, scowling at her teammates.
"Yeah, yeah, don't sweat it, Blake. You needed the rest, too. Just admit it," Yang insisted.
"Maybe, but we've had all the downtime we need. It's time to start hunting for Torchwick again," the Faunus insisted.
"Yes, and Sun and his friend Neptune are going to help, too," Weiss added.
"Yeah, and aren't you pleased about that," Yang teased her friend.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the heiress snapped, folding her arms and sticking her nose in the air.
"I almost feel sorry for this Neptune guy. Perhaps we should warn him?" Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, who just giggled.
"I heard that, Jaune Arc! And just why exactly does Neptune need to be warned?" Weiss demanded in an angry tone.
"Err, 'cos you come over as a little overbearing?" Jaune replied meekly.
"You do, actually," Yang agreed. "I mean, that poor guy is going to be under your heel from day one."
"You're bound to want to mould him into your perfect image of what a man should be," Blake added. "You'll be looking for things to change and correct as soon as you start getting to know him."
"He'll be a different person within months if you get your claws into him," Yang confirmed.
"You can be a bit pushy," Ruby noted.
"Oh, Gods, yes! I bet that within a week Weiss will have him dressed completely differently, he won't be able to hang with his friends anymore, and he'll be speaking with perfect intonation and grammar. Hey, we really should warn the guy!" Nora cried.
"Will you all shut up!" Weiss raged. "I would never do that!"
Seven pairs of eyes stared at the white-haired girl in disbelief.
"Well… I might try and smarten him up, a bit. What's wrong with trying to encourage your boyfriend to improve? Not that he's my boyfriend, or that I have any designs on that happening. Not at all," Weiss spluttered.
"I think if you enter a relationship immediately thinking that you have to change things about your partner, then maybe your reasons for being in that relationship are wrong," Pyrrha suggested. "There's absolutely nothing wrong for wanting that person to improve themselves, but only if that's what they want, too. You can't just impose your ideas on what makes a perfect boyfriend on them and expect them to be happy."
"I couldn't have said it better," Jaune agreed.
"Oh, you would say that, Pyrrha. You were head over heels for Jaune the second you laid eyes on him, despite his numerous personality defects and questionable habits," Weiss snapped.
"Hey!" Jaune protested.
Pyrrha rose slowly from her seat, her green eyes positively glowing with anger.
"What did you say, Schnee? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" the tall red-head demanded.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Arc is nice enough, but you've been working away at him from the moment you met him, trying to ensnare him with your womanly wiles and your over-sized chest! Don't start having a go at me when you're doing the exact same thing yourself!" Weiss raged.
"Why you…" Pyrrha growled, reaching for her weapon.
"I got this!" Nora cried.
A second later, a pie, probably of the banana cream variety, came sailing through the air and hit Weiss square in the face. For a moment, the whole cafeteria, who had heard the raised voices and had stopped eating to observe what was going on, let out a collective gasp. Silence descended for the moment, as it seemed everyone was too afraid to move.
"Food fight!" Yang suddenly bellowed, throwing her omelette at Nora.
In the blink of an eye, the whole room shifted from a scene of tranquillity, to all-out war, as foodstuffs started being thrown in all directions. Some of the smarter pupils instantly began to run towards the exits, while others just started using whatever was on their plates as weapons.
Jaune glanced at Pyrrha, who was still standing transfixed, her hand half-way towards her weapon. She returned his look with bewilderment plastered all over her face.
"Come on, this was inevitable," he said with a shrug. A moment later, a tomato exploded against the side of his head, covering him in red mush. He looked up at Pyrrha again with a resigned expression. "Shall we?"
A smile slowly began to form. "Let's," she agreed.
The two of them began to grab whatever foodstuffs they could get their hands on and started to throw them at Team RWBY with deadly accuracy. And if they concentrated their fire at a certain small girl dressed in white, no one could really blame them.
"Shameful! All of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"
Jaune hunkered down and tried to crawl inside his armour. Anywhere that was out of the intense glare of Glenda Goodwitch would have been desirable at that exact moment.
"Now, now, Glenda, let's not blow this out of proportion. After all, you've already repaired all the damage to the school with no noticeable effect, haven't you?" Ozpin pointed out, for some reason willing to defend his food-throwing pupils in the face of his deputy head's wrath.
"That is beside the point," the woman in question raged. "They are training to be professional warriors that the world will rely on to defend them. They are not supposed to act like a bunch of teething toddlers throwing their food around."
"Glenda, I really don't think…" the headmaster began.
"And you!" Goodwitch snapped, pointing an accusing finger directly at Jaune. "I expected better of you! You're a team leader and have aspirations to become a knight. Do you really think this sort of behaviour is acceptable? Well, what have you got to say for yourself?"
"Err… sorry?" Jaune mumbled, deeply unhappy to have been singled out.
"All the time and effort I have put into turning you into a great warrior, and this is how I'm rewarded. I might have expected this from some of the others involved in this… incident," Goodwitch growled, casting an evil glance at both Yang and Nora, before rounding on Jaune again. "But you! You, at least, I would have thought would have more common sense than to involve themselves in this childishness. Do we have to rethink your position as team leader?"
"Glenda, I really do think you're overreacting to this," Ozpin insisted, having finally managed to get a word in edgeways. "Remember, they are just teenagers, and they will occasionally act like it, not unreasonably. Besides, I could name numerous experienced and highly qualified Huntsmen who would have joyously joined in this altercation if they had come upon it. I'm sure you could add a few names, too."
For some reason, after hearing this Goodwitch glared angrily at Ruby and Yang, who both hid behind their rather sickly grins.
"While that is true, headmaster, and I do acknowledge that trainee Huntsmen occasionally have to blow off a little steam, the fact remains that a small mountain of food has been wasted. That all costs money, in case you'd forgotten. I wonder if you'll still be maintaining this cavalier attitude when it comes time to balance the school's books?"
"I'm more than willing to pay for my team's share of the damages," Weiss declared, leaping to her feet.
"And I for mine!" Pyrrha added quickly.
"While I'm gratified that you should make the offer, I feel that you and your teams wouldn't learn the error of your ways if I permitted such a thing to happen," Goodwitch replied, her arms folded across her chest and her mouth set into a hard line. "No, instead I think both teams will work off the cost of the food you ruined. Starting from tomorrow, I will be drawing up a schedule of work duties for you, including such tasks as clearing the school grounds, working in the kitchens, and maintaining the gardens. As I recall, it's been some time since the fountain out front has been drained and cleaned. That sounds like a suitable task for you all, seeing how you seem to have a liking for getting messy."
"Yes, professor," they all replied glumly. Weiss, in particular, seemed horrified by the idea of getting her hands dirty.
"That seems like a suitable resolution to the situation," the headmaster agreed, traitorously. "Oh, and while I have you here, can I ask that both Miss Nikos and Mister Arc come to my office in, say, half an hour? There is a matter I'd like to discuss with both of you."
"Ooh, been caught doing something you shouldn't ought to be doing?" Yang teased.
Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other in confusion. He had absolutely no idea why they had both been summoned to the headmaster's office, but coming so soon after his mother's warning lecture, it wasn't a welcome occurrence.
Deep in his gut, Jaune got the feeling that something was about to happen that he wasn't going to like.
