The Bullhead was about halfway to Beacon, and yet already practically everyone was planted to the windows, looking at Beacon.
I was not among those, given how I've been here a few times, to say the least. Though, because of that, I managed to find Jaune, or Vomit Boy as would become his nickname for a short while.
And seeing him now, I'm surprised it didn't stick longer. This was a short trip, around 10 minutes since the ship was playing the introductory video and flying slow to show Beacon off to all the new students.
Despite that, I wouldn't be surprised if the trashcan was nearly full. I'm honestly surprised no one here figured out he didn't have Aura, since Aura counteracts or reduced most relatively minor things like that. Even down to extending the time you can hold your breath to at least double normal, without even any training.
Thinking back... How did Jaune even survive initiation? Near the end of our first year, or rather near the Festival which ended it, Nora had blurted out his little problem. Weiss nearnearlly had a heart attack, but after that passed it turned out well. During that was when we learned Pyrrha had unlocked his Aura in the forest, so that implies he did manage to landland somehow.
Should... Should I even be thinking about this? If I do as I did before, run through the forest on a rush to find Yang, I wouldn't even run into him, but what if I change something, causing him to die? Jaune, while not the best fighter, was invaluable in the attack on Salem. I'd have to die to try and save him, likely through suicide since I'd have already survived initiation before I likely knew.
And then... What about my power? Some time travel has the traveller leaving their world behind, moving to another. Am I leaving behind a world without a Ruby every time I reset? And if I take my own life... Would I even come back? IT he only times I know I reset are when someone else kills me. More specifically, Roman Torchwick, though I doubt he has a key role in my looping ability. If I kill myself, could that break it somehow? How could I know without trying? But if I try and it doesn't work, then...
"Hey, I know I'm one to talk at the moment, but are you feeling okay?" I hear someone say.
Looking to the seat beside me, I see Jaune sitting beside me, on the end seat closest to the trashcan, which he's scooted closer.
"I-" There's so much I want to say. Warnings, advice, the truth, maybe he'd believe me. Jaune always did seem like he'd believe if someone said they came from the future. I...
"I'm fine, just a little nervous is all."
"Well I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, you have a... Big red and black box. What is it?"
"While I can't show you it now, since it's like to cause a hole in the plane, I'd like to show it to you later" I reply. "Though, I suppose I can show you this much." I finish, tilting Cresent Rose and pressing a button to where a scope pops out of the top.
After the fall, Jaune did start expressing interest about advanced weapons. Though he only ever made a simple handcannon, designed by me, I think he was going to make his own mechashift weapon, if it wasn't for lack of time, supplies, tools, and a surplus of world saving. He always did hate not having a ranged option, and a handcannon was as much as we could make, given the situation.
I'm taken out of my inner ramblings by just feeling Yang's smirk behind me. It's a sister thing.
"Oh, showing your bits to a boy already? Should I be worried or can I join in?"
"Yaaaang, he just asked me about my weapon." I reply, throwing a weak punch at her stomache.
"I know Rubes. I just came to tell you that we landed. Most of the ship is off already, and I'm off to join some friends, so... See ya, and don't 'attack' anyone with your 'weapon' Rubes, or we're going to have some words."
An eye brow wiggle and what I swear was a dust cloud in the outline of her, Yang ran off before I could reply.
"Sorry about her, she's my sister and can be a bit... Intense." I say, turning around to Jaune, who seems to have tried his best to ignore the implications of what Yang said. I'm not sure if he succeeded for not. "Should we go?"
A moment later, we get off the ramp into a practically empty loading zone, just a large square of path.
"Well, where do we go?" Jaune asked.
"The video on the Bullhead said the Main hall, but didn't have instructions." I reply, beginning to walk down the path, looking for some form of 'you are here ' map.
The video actually said nothing about the main hall. I had just remembered it. I actually don't remember where I was told we met in the main hall though. And unfortunately, it's surprisingly difficult to remember the path to a building that was used twice, in a complex I thought I'd never see again.
As I got lost in thought, I also lost where I was walking. However, I quickly found where my chosen path had led me.
Right into an oddly familiar set of cases.
I fall into them, knocking them and sending the cases skittering across the path, before I look at the person standing there.
It's Weiss, but before I let myself be happy, I remember how this situation played out the first time.
After a bit of shouting while I think how to defuse the situation without an explosion this time.
However, before I know it, Weiss is shaking a vial of bright glowing Red Dust. A high quality Burn, likely to create a large explosion.
Unable to talk, as I'm sniffling and about to sneeze, I breath in a lot of the dust, more than I probably did the first time, and then the defense comes.
I have a flash of vision, everything appearing red, the edges of an explosion just at the bottom of my vision, a terrible burning pain in my whole face, and a terrified look on Weiss' face, before I'm fading again.
"See ya, and don't 'attack' anyone with your 'weapon' Rubes, or we're going to have some words."
So, as it turns out, even Aura can't protect you from highly explosive Dust lining the inside of your nose while you sneeze. Who knew?
A/N
So here's that promised chapter (and tiny fixes to previous chapters.) that marks the start of a new age of fan fiction writing for me. Like the renaissance, but with less naked people. Though that isn't exactly hard to achieve.