Some semblances are oft crafted by the soul of the person, yet some are shaped by the experiences of their owner. In that case it can be either a blessing or a curse and for one Jaune Arc, when captured by the White Fang, he learns his Discompose certainly seems like the latter.

Pain is Merely a Touch Away.

By

Hibiki

Imagine you could have the rights to RWBY, but for the rest of your life, you would have to clean up every mess or problem created by every Rooster Teeth 'Million Dollars, But..." challenge accepted. Would it be worth it? Not for me.

RWBY is created by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth.

Chapter Six: The Fight to the Relics

(-o0O0o-)

The tavern here on the Northeastern coast of Saunas was popular enough that even out here in the boonies, far from civil folk, the brand new atlas holo-screens were good enough to get a signal all the way from Vale for any who might want to ask for the station. One such individual was a grungy cape wearing old curmudgeon of a man who had been nursing a drink since the place opened for breakfast. The usual patrons had only just started coming in for the good smelling something coming form the kitchen area behind the bar. Most of them were use to the odd ball hunter coming in from Anima or Solitas, so no one paid him much mind. Few would have assumed he had recently arrived from Vale, having made sure his nieces were doing okay and Nickolas' brat didn't kill someone. As the murmur of the crowd began to rise the 'Breaking News' flashed onto the holo-screens as flashed the VNN logo then switching to a familiar studio.

"This is Lisa Lavender," The Lavender haired woman turned to her fellow reporter. He was an older man, bald with a silver streaked goatee and piercing green eyes behind glasses.

"And I am Walter White of the Vale News Network. Welcome to the morning news and this just in- information has broken from VPD sources that another vital shipment of Dust has been destroyed on the Anima central railway with nearly all hands on board the train presumed to have been murdered in cold blood. Lisa?" Walter turned back to Lisa who continued the newscast. The man sighed as it seemed the port town patrons had also turned into Lisa as well.

"This horrible act was believed to be carried out by the terrorist group, White Fang. Footage has leaked onto networks around the same time believed to be a message from the attack's perpetrator, high ranking member Adam Taurus. Taurus was previously believed to directing the Mistral division of the terror organization. Please be warned what we are about to show you is highly graphic and not suitable for younger audiences. Viewer discretion is advised."

The screen went black for a moment before it came up to blurry movement, the sounds of heavy breathing as someone ran with what seemed like a scroll recording. Voices of scared people and angry shouting grew closer as the scroll wielder reached their destination. Loud fumbling as the scroll was brought into focus showed to many in the tavern their first look at Adam. All but the owner of the drink still sitting at the bar, his red eyes watching the action in the reflection of his glass. The man's only action was the straighten up slightly. In the video, behind the bull faunas were the beaten and bruised train engineers. Men, women, some young, some old and eleven in all. The only thing similar beyond the SDC uniforms was the look of fear on their faces.

"People of Remnant, we are the White Fang. We fight for the justice that all Faunas deserve. The SDC and the Kingdoms of this world take granted the lives of Faunas, some even going as far to say that Faunas are worthless. I am here to prove them wrong. Today, I lost one of my men to a monster in human form and the traitor who set it upon us. With her death I warrant the end of ten humans in her honor." The eleven poor souls behind the murderer began screaming, fighting against their bindings as the truth of their fate came to light. The blood red blade came out as the man at the bar counter watched with muted horror as the screams and cries died out slowly, one at a time till only a single woman remained, around her the mutilated bodies of her friends and co-workers began to cool. The camera man moved forward as Adam did, towards the woman. Her shaking growing harder as the bull faunas keeled before her, trembling with such fright the drinking voyeur knew she had probably lost control of her bladder at least. The monster with red hair took firm hold of her by the jaw with a hand soiled with blood, forcing her head to freeze against her will. The fear in her eyes making him grip the glass so hard it cracked.

"N-no... please... n-no..." The poor woman's sobs as tears raced down was hard to deal with on top of it all, leaving some more salty patrons to spit on the ground in disgust watching what was going on but all was silent when Adam's firm tone came over the speakers again.

"You don't die today. You will be our messenger of warning. I give you and every human this promise. That for every Faunas killed, I kill ten humans in response. I will do what is necessary to show that we are worth more than you humans ever dare to think. Do not blame me for this." To everyone stunned silence the bull dipped his finger into the blood pooling around them all, then keeping his iron tight grip began to swiped his finger in one slow sweep across her brow. "For I too am only the messenger. Because the monster that justifies this warning bears this symbol. His death will be by my hand, I promise this." A second time the freshly inked digit tracked it's bloody mark over her brow leaving two rising blood arcs easy for all to see. The image froze, pulling back to the left corner of the screen to allow the two newscasters to be visible once more. Walter resumed the story.

"We apologize again for the graphic nature of the video just shown. If this video evidence is to be believed then this makes seven successful terror attacks lead by Adam Taurus since a failed assassination of the controversial Mistralian industry magnet Andre Nior. Reason stands that this symbol could be related to the huntsman who foiled his attack, one Nickolas Arc of Sanus who had been vacationing with his family onboard the same train. The symbol placed on the forehead of the currently unnamed survivor is nearly identical in style." Lisa took over once more as the drunkard asked for another refill, this time a double. The bartender obliged him, even going as far as to pour a fingers worth for himself to help wash the scene away. Tsk. Those damn VNN fools would drag everyone's spirit down with crap like that video shown throughout Sanus. The Grimm were bad enough without all this murder in the news crap.

"To attempt to confirm this, we at the VNN have been trying to contact the the Arc family, in light of the terrorist's near one hundred body count that has occurred since since the failed assassination. However, the solicitor in contract with the family cites they are under the VWPA and can not comment at this time; but through him they wished to convey their deepest sympathies to the victims of these vicious attacks and their families. A sentiment we at the VNN wish to share as well. But the fact remains, what is this monster that Adam Taurus speaks of and why only now has he come forward in announcing this proclamation?"

(-o0O0o-)

"RaAAH!" The twin arc moons of the Arc symbol shined greatly in the morning sun as the heater shield twisted back while the old blade of Crocea Mors sang true, cutting into the thick hide of the Ursa as Jaune maneuvered past it's flank, sadly missing the thick tendons that connected muscles to the beast's hind leg by a hair. The blackened vapor that was expelled from the wound and a roar of anger erupted from the both. The beast was slower moving around than the Arc, so before the beast could turn to face him again, the blade gave another blur of steel that this time caused the leg to crumple. It was times like this Jaune was glad he had decided not to wear the armor his father has suggested for him, Jaune preferring to keeping like it was with him and Blake during their trip across Anima. The lack of heavy plate allowed him speed he had grown use to in the months fighting with Blake. His wandering thoughts soon caught him unawares as the old bear proved it knew some tricks.

Because the Grimm was not done by any means and in a surprise move the monster rolled over, breaking some of it's armored back spikes in it's relentless need to destroy this wielder of soul. The shield shield gleamed once more as it blocked a fanatical swipe by the beast but Jaune held fast. The monster glared at it's enemy and roared. Jaune, fed up of fighting it, still more worried about his friend let the claw slip over the shield as he let go of the protective covering. A sickly blood like aura sprang up enveloping his exposed arm.

"I don't have time for you!" His pale, scarred hand grabbed the beast's limb, and the creature recoiled like it had been hit with tremendous force, it's red soulless eyes widening. The growls turned into whimpers then into a sound that haunted the battlefield for miles around. Grimm and huntsmen alike paused as the unforgettable wail echoed for several long seconds. "Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!" The beast ripped it's claw free, limping on it's weakened three limbs as it's muscles spasm out of control. Jaune picked up his shield, looking briefly to the huddled mass that was left of the horror to humanity, and continued to walk onward. "BLAKE!"

[BLAM!] A loud large caliber round ended the life of the beast beside him. He barely noticed.

"Jaune, are you okay?" The voice wasn't Blake's and therefore he ignored it. Knowing who it was, however, did make him lower his weapon. Slightly. "I'm very sorry about that. I saw you falling and I was worried about you. I didn't realize that Blake was going to try and help you as well."

"Blake, where are you!?" The figure shook her head at being shrugged off, then looked to the dissolving remains of the Ursa in his periphery.

"W-what did you do to this Ursa? I've never in all my encounters heard one make a noise so... grievous before."

The rattling of the leaves near him brought both of their weapons to the ready but his dropped moments later when a familiar bow was sighted.

"Jaune!"

"Blake!" She went right to him, the two of them checking the other over for wounds. "You okay?"

"I had to swing from a tree harder after the ribbon was cut so I ended up father away than I wanted, you?"

"The blade hit my aura pretty good, fought an Ursa, but otherwise okay." Blake nodded. As one they turned to the awkwardly standing Mistralian looking like she was a third wheel.

"I'm sorry, both of you. I was only trying to help." Blake looked nonplussed by the apology but Jaune being Jaune merely waved it off.

"No big deal, Pyrrha. Just be careful about my exposed side. My semblance isn't a nice one. It's what happened to the Ursa and if you touch me the same could happen to you." Pyrrha's sheepish look turned serious at the mention of the Ursa and then she shivered unknowingly at the thought of being hit by what had caused that terrible wail. Jaune's shoulders slumped slightly at the caught action, only enough for Blake to notice. She turned, keeping her blades at the ready and began walking northerly.

"Let's get to the relics. We need to pass this, Jaune." The two behind her nodded, moving after her.

The trio began walking forward, the sounds of gunfire and dust erupting around them.

(-o0O0o-)

"Lie Ren has matched with Nora Valkyrie. Poor boy, I can't imagine those two getting along." Glynda Goodwitch walked forwards, her scroll opened wide, showing several camera angles following students. "The last two unpaired are Miss Nikos and Miss Xiao Long."

"Hmm." Ozpin was watching a certain duo, only paying attention to his deputy headmistress not to seem completely inattentive. "Will we need Peter to nudge them towards each other?"

"Thankfully not. The three students are heading right for Miss Xiao Long. Not to mention Peter has reported that due to Mr. Arc's semblance, the three of them have remained relatively unopposed since his little show." Ozpin said nothing, lost in the haze that often Glynda wondered if she was speaking to someone they all couldn't hear. However her concerns soon brought her to voice her issues.

"Professor Ozpin... Sir. As we are alone I'll be frank. I feel it was a risk to bring Jaune Arc to Beacon. Especially so casually as the way you had that pair arrive. The risks in letting a boy with that powerful a semblance roam free are too great."

"Glynda, Mr. Arc's abilities and mindset is precisely why I had them come the way they did. I had an old friend watch them in the city ready to do whatever was necessary to keep Vale safe." As much as she was worried about the boy's abilities, she couldn't help but feel the answer to her question felt more ominous than she liked. Ozpin continued. "Despite everything that happened to him, Jaune Arc is at his core a good person. Honest. Like his father."

"So you based the lives of countless people on the judgment you knew of his father and your gut feeling?"

"No, I based it on knowing that when Nickolas promised that Jaune would not loose control, that he would swear on that fact with his life even, I knew I could trust the boy." Glynda looked beyond stunned by the headmaster's words. "You may scoff but I've known the Arcs for many generations, Glynda." He switched to view the three students. "So I know that I can trust when an Arc gives his word, it's as good as done."

(-o0O0o-)

"You MONSTERS!" Blake heard it before the others but soon enough all three knew Yang was on the other side of the brush in front of them. The familiar growl of Ursa put her on guard but the sounds of gun blasts brought them forward into a melee of chaos. Pyrrha was merely a hair faster, launching her Javelin into the back of the surviving Grimm moments prior to the kusari mode of Gambol shroud stabbing it. The creature from the triple assault was felled immediately showing Yang with red eyes and a frown on her face Jaune remembered from last night. Interestingly enough the moment she laid eyes on them the red faded into violet and her, as Jaune would come to know, trade mark grin erupted.

"I could have taken him." Blake could only smirk at the confidence. Was it just something blondes had in spades? Meanwhile, Pyrrha waved hello to her new partner.

(-o0O0o-)

The now quartet walked steadily through the underbrush, beyond the small talk and noises, they had since their introduction to Yang been Grimm free, to the stunned amazement of the two who had walked nearly the whole of Anima in constant attacks. It had the two of them on guard, still as talkative as before. Of course saying that is to say, not much at all, preferring to let Yang dictate the conversation. It all came to a head when they arrived by a cave, it's childish drawings belying the danger inside only an idiot wouldn't realize.

"DEATHSTALKER! DEATHSTALKER! RUN!" Screamed an idiot with a Mohawk as he came running out of a cave with three others in tow. The last one, a large red haired boy covered from the neck down in armor, slammed into Blake knocking her over in his rush, not even appearing to slow to make sure she was okay in his haste. The reason of their swiftness came apparent not moments later. There was a rumble, the ground seemed to buckle and pebbles bounced from the localized earthquake. The trembling stopped momentarily. Then without warning the hillside shook as the cave entrance exploded outwards in flying stone. From it's shattered remains a beast easily twice the size of the opening had burst through. Jaune was there in an instant, shield blocking an attack to the recovering Belladonna who used her semblance to confuse the beast long enough for Jaune to physically grab hold of one of the pincers. Once again the man began focusing his semblance through the limb. The creature almost instantly acted as if it's interior was being crushed under it's dense armor, it's many other limbs flailing wildly. At least at first. Jaune's grip soon backfired as it dragged him off his feet to stare at him with it's red glowing eyes. Jaune swallowed as he realized it was studying him. That meant thinking. That meant one really OLD Grimm.

"It's sentient-UGG!" The claw flung him painfully into a tree the moment he announced, Blake was by him moments later as they engaged their weapons fully. While it was shrugging off Discompose, it still seemed to still be learning how to fight through the effect's of Jaune's semblance, a fact Blake took no chances in wasting. Quickly tugged on her partner's arm they tactically retreated to the others. Yang and Pyrrha, who had been hammering away with their ranged weapons to no avail, were quick as well on the uptake and began running for it. The Deathstalker slowly tapped it's many legs to the ground, pushing through the spikes of fire that each motion caused, and in some cases used it to fuel it's hatred, rising to it's squat but still frightening height. The creature reached out it's senses, looking for the panic it's prey had crafted once it took in and accepted the pain giver's power. There. With a quiet click of it's pincers it moved towards them, it's mistress would want the pain giver. It knew that much after all this time it had been lying in wait, thinking of ways to please it's queen.

(-o0O0o-)

"Yang!" Among the small crowd of people by what must have been the ruin, a familiar reaper and Schnee were waiting. Almost seemingly for the four who burst from the treeline at flank speed.

"Ruby!" Yang dashed away in an instant running to hug her little sister, as the others slowed to a walk, only to have a girl pop in between them with speed and stealth that even Blake had to admire.

"Nora!" The sisters recoiled in shock as this 'Nora' smiled at ruining the reunion.

"NORA!" The quiet boy to the right of them apparently had hit his limit on his friend and yelled, the girl quickly grabbed the chess piece from on top of her head and scampered off to her friend.

"Coming, Ren!" She announced chuckling warmly, Blake would have bet anything the girl enjoyed the little mischief she had done if only to get this 'Ren's attention.

"What are you idiots doing!?" Weiss all but screamed as she and the others noticed the large scorpion grim crashing through the forest determined to capture the wielder of soul that had caused it to feel such pain. "We don't have time to dawdle!" It was slow, the emerald forest being a better road block for the large Grimm than they could have asked for. But they were running out of forest between them and the beast.

"She's right! Lets get our relics and go!" Ruby called out to the assembled people.

"It's a good plan, if that Grimm could shrug off Jaune's semblance that easily then we don't want to quarrel with it unless we have to." Blake commented. "Jaune?"

"Run and live, kind of like that night in Kuroyuri, right?" Ren and Nora's eyes sharpened at hearing Jaune mention that villages name. "That's a plan I can get behind." He reached for the closest relic, a golden rook, while Ruby and her sister took matching knights. They had only glanced away a moment, but as they all began moving the beast was upon them once more. Running was no longer an option.

The students retaliated to the Grimm's presence with a show of such power that it nudged the beast back several feet, giving the group time to pull a defense. To Blake and Jaune's horror, it seemed singularly focused on him, as if it was ignoring the others to try catch him with it's appendages. Pyrrha took the lack of attention to showcase her skill once more of javelin throwing, this time with much better success. The Deathstalker reeled from the loss of an eye, giving Jaune a nice view of it''s softer underbelly.

"Blake! SS!" Blake looked alarmed but deftly threw him the bladed sheath that usually housed Gambol Shroud's katana as he threw her his shield. The girl caught it, opening it clumsily but steadfast, talking a pose Nickolas had taught her. Jaune on the other hand dove forward, his heavy shield no longer holding him back from his natural speed. Darting in the man sliced at anything within reach, and with a Grimm this large, there was much within reach. However the damage being done was not without it's own problems, and within moments of beginning the creature not only was responding, it couldn't continue to hold it's large weight with the damage sustained.

The multi-ton monster was certain to drop on him; but just the same, Blake and Jaune's teamwork was more certain. Once more a ribbon lanced around his arm but this time without Pyrrha's... help... the action worked as desired and he was pulled free moments from being crushed. It seemed while he was busy the others were just as productive, Yang and Ren were going to town on the stinger of the Deathstalker while Weiss was keeping the tail caught in ice. Ruby and Pyrrha, the latter having somehow retrieved her weapon, were keeping their distance, taking potshots at it's eyes. Jaune was going over their options when the tail finally crushed the ice; flinging the Schnee, boxer, and monk away with a fit of anger. Jaune noticed the tail's dangling piece first, nodding towards it to his partner who caught on immediately. Jaune's next glance to Nora had Blake take stock of the whole situation and get his plan.

"Right! Jaune!" Jaune nodded, taking a grip on the ribbon he let her pull hard, using a Shadow to increase her mass she swung the dark robed man with great force towards the ancient creature, the twin blades slicing through the weak tendons holding the stinger to it's tail allowing it to drop onto it's back. While that happened Blake had already started on the next phase of the plan. "Nora! Smash!" She toted the shield of Crocea Mors up, the hammer wielding girl getting the hint immediately and took to bounding off of it with obvious glee.

It was a moment of stunned bewilderment for Blake as struggled to keep on her feet from the bizarre and improvised action. It seemed in slow motion to her as she watched the Grimm realize it was doomed and she was the reason. The Grimm began reaching for her, to snap her in half, when it seemingly folded in on itself. Time resumed it's normal speed as Blake lowered the shield and observed the creature begin to dissipate, leaving Nora climbing down from it's remains as Jaune rose behind it, rubbing his left shoulder from a bad fall after his last attack. They all seemed to calm when a voice broke out over them all.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" The girl they had recently learned was name Nora announced... to half of the Emerald Forrest as Blake took back her sheath, Jaune slipping Crocea Mors back into it's own. "We were all RAWR and it was all like OH NO! And then you two did that nifty switching thing with perfect timing... It was amazing!"

"Just lots of practice, Nora. Blake and I have had each other's back for a while now." Blake didn't need to see his face to hear the smile in his words. Idiot, she thought fondly. Her goofball was too good at making her smile, unbeknownst to the faunas, Blake gave a warm sidelong glance his way. Nora caught the look and secretly smiled in understanding for a moment before returning to her normal mode as if she hadn't seen it at all.

"Wow, so you are like Ren and me!" The excitable red haired grenadier announced. "So is like what you guys were saying some sort of special code? Like SS means... Ooo Secret Service! Like you, Jaune Arc, are a secret spy! Here to keep the kingdom of Vale safe from evil baddies with the help of his partner Blake Belladonna!" Nora latched onto Ren's shoulder pulling him close while pointing between the two of them rapidly. "Can me and Ren be spies too? I'll be double 00Boop! Sexy and deadly!" Jaune and Blake blinked as they looked to one another in stunned silence while Nora took her pointer finger and blew on it like it was a smoking gun from a Spruce Willis film.

"Huh?" Jaune finally announced as he tried to understand the last bit. Ren sighed.

"Don't mind Nora. This is normal." Blake's bow drooped low at hearing this. Just what had she and Jaune gotten caught up in?

"Uh, people." Yang announced. She was pointing up and the rest of the group followed her finger to a large dark shadow in the sky. A shrill cry broke forth and the shadow seemed to splinter, descending towards them. Eyes widened as the the shadows became quills.

"Oh come on!" Jaune whined. Honestly no one could fault him for it.

(-o0O0o-)

Next Chapter: The Start of Something Good.

AN:

A funeral and some chaos ensued this weekend past. Been hard to find time to write. Not much to say other than outside of a ratty piece of cardboard with some scribbles about Adam's reasoning for his intense hatred of the Arcs and Jaune fighting the Ursa on it, today [Sunday] was the only day I had to work on this. [Update next Saturday] Well that and the hour or so I've had since then before today. Hope this one was okay, not as much action as I wanted to do but I need to work on those some more. Hopefully next week will be more on par and hopefully I can spend more time writing.

Omake:

The real meaning of SS Pt1: Anime

The Deathstalker slammed the younger girl away in a snapping of claws and mandibles. Jaune took note that the rest of the group was suffering badly and knew what he would have to do.

"Nora! Ren! Distract it for ten seconds okay? Blake! SS!" Blake looked alarmed but deftly threw him the bladed sheath that usually housed Gambol Shroud's katana as he threw her his shield. Blake jumped in the moment she expanded the shield to buy him enough time as the Arc worked on drawing out what he needed to end this confrontation. (SONG: SAO's Survive the Swordland) Jaune calmly stepped into the fray, catching the large scorpion's tail with both sword and bladed sheath. Jaune gritted his teeth at the weight and force of the appendage forcing him down, literally cracking the earth beneath his feet as it tried to crush him.

The heavily covered man took a deep breath before giving a cry, both blades igniting in a furious glow that threatened to blind the onlookers. "Starburst... STREAM!" Flinging the stinger from his path Jaune set forth a blur of sword swipes, taking hits he forced himself to ignore as the heavily clothed figure focused entirely of offense. It felt like the fury of his strikes, embellished by the yells from him forcing his body beyond it's limit and the Grimm screaming at the hundreds of cuts taking place; that the battle went on for hours. Yet only thirty seconds past before Jaune, low on Aura decided to finish it. With a dual bladed swing he cleaved the beast in twain, the fading monster obscuring the man as his two blades finally extinguished their luminescence. Jaune teetered for a moment, till his energy left him, as Blake rushed to catch him. She ended up on her knees, clutching his head in her lap as she helped him in any way she could.

"Wow! What what that!?" Ruby exclaimed, rushing forward with the rest of the people. "That looked like Kiri** from Sword Art O***ne!" The young girls voice seemingly censored for copyright reasons announced.

"It's Jaune's real semblance. He can mimic anything he's seen in games and anime." Blake's hand slipped his hood off, showing his blonde hair that she gently stroked. "He calls it SS, or Scene Steal."

Reviews:

Kreceir: Ah... Sun. I know people like him but I've mentioned similarly to another reviewer my complaints with Sun. Honestly, Black Sun bugs the shit out of me as well. We'll get there, eventually this story will have him pop up.

Priceless22: Thanks

Emberframe: Thanks

Eramis8: Honestly Ozpin IS a dick. I don't know if that's from a thousand lifetimes of failing to do what needed to be done, it sounds like there was a time where he didn't try. The story of the maidens seems to show that after years and years of nothing working he had given up, content to live alone and forgotten, seemingly at a loss at what to do with immortality. It took four young sisters to show him that life was worth living, that humanity was worth not giving up and letting Salem win. However it also feels like he has been wearing down. He even mentions that his power is waning. He is a man so stubborn it often seems like outside forces are the things that cause him to react and change. Look at the tract record we get from the canon. The maiden's tale, the two brothers, Amber, Ruby, Ironwood, Cinder, Lionheart. It took all of these people to cause him to react.

As for Pyrrha, I mentioned she seems like one trying to save people form harm, only this time Jaune has some training and also someone watching his back. In the end she really was a third wheel there.

: On purpose I'll let you know.

X3runner: I often feel like Pyrrha didn't mean to use it to pick Jaune, though it had the added effect of doing so. Pyrrha's destiny was to be a huntress, to save those in need. I think she felt Jaune was in trouble and acted without thinking. It fits her character to a T. Not to say she ISN'T a bit devious in certain things.

You hit my personal disinterest in Sun right on the head. He is a BAD team leader. So was the character he is based off of, but the fact remains he ISN'T a good leader and a bad teammate. He's a unrepentant thief, who can't lead a group worth a damn, who wanders off from his friends at the drop of a banana peal to chase some, pardon the pun here, pussy. I'm sure like Sun Wukong in the Journey myth there is a probably story plot point somewhere will be him growing as a person. That said, the boy band from Mistral outside of the interesting 'Neptune as a flawed character' part never really hit me. It's true what you say that a bully and racist jerk is a better leader/friend/person than a supposed good guy minority.

Ozpin is the easiest character to write to be honest. It's sort of like Maz Kanata from the force awakens. Except with less emotion. She said it best, "If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people." Ozpin has seen it all before. We don't know how many silver eyed warriors he has been around before, how many of Salem's pawns he has fought, how many attempts on the Relics, the maidens, friends lost, loved ones cut down or worse die around him. If he had families once in a while, we don't know. We've only seen the surface of Ozpin. We've seen a man who has accepted the guilt of a thousand lifetimes of regrets but cannot stop to reflect on them for fear of falling further behind his enemy.

Weiss is another easy character. She's stuck up, pompous but generally has her heart in the right spot. She just doesn't have the right tools to deal with people. Ruby is the breaker of these things, it's why those two just work good together. Of course if I could make a Jaune like the one from Not This Time Fate then I could probably write anything to make it work.

NinjaFang1331: Thanks.

Mo Eazy: Actually you are more right than you know, I had some ideas percolating in the back of my brain about Adam and his reasoning, mostly to deal with the reason for his actions we see in V5 with Sienna Khan. However they would also adequately explain his methodology in why he goes to the extreme he does with Jaune.

There sometimes it feels like Ozpin wasn't all there anymore, like he had let himself go too far, unlike what we see with Oscar who actively fights to retain some sense of himself, Ozpin (or whomever he was before the 'Ozpin' persona took over) molded far better and as such removed the mortal drive that makes a person yearn for certain things and usually keep a moral compass. It doesn't make me feel like canon Ozpin wouldn't just offer someone with some horrible semblance to be around people anyway.

As for the luck it's easy to see how one misstep could cause untold damage/injury. I mean if we notice that the timber in V4 that almost hit Ruby in Oniyuri would have killed her, her Aura had broken, she wasn't paying attention. Qrow's semblance would have let her be killed had he not intervened. Anyway still tweaking the over all, while trying to retain what I've already written while trying to fix the amount of disbelief required.

Tobi14: Thank you for your interest. You might be right. I've spent weeks going over the whole volume 4-5 haven section with Kali and Ghira, they flip back and forth where one scene it seems like they knew she was at Beacon, but then the next there are words that make it seem like they had no clue where Blake was. I blame the oft rushed writing of the CRWBY for that.

I hope that the intro into the chapter helps explain just what has happened with the Fang and the extremes they have gone from their peaceful roots now in Adam and his inner circle's presence, and yes, all hands on board the train in Forever Fall were killed without Blake there. I'll be honest about the whole idea of suicide bombing of the breach. It is my belief the WF troops were expecting to attack Vale to strike a blow to humans using Torchwick's plan. Had it gone as planned they would march through the city with massive atlas machines and weapons, letting Grimm do the dirty work then escape in the chaos. However RWBY and Oobleck put such a disruption into the plan just by merely forcing it to happen week(s?) early that many of those who didn't end up stuck in the tomb of Mountain Glenn, and more than likely eaten by Grimm, probably ended up captured or wounded. It took Adam personally taking over the Vale branch to keep them going at the end of Volume 2.

Weiss will probably be less inclined to listen true, but thankfully she isn't on Blake's team here. However things will be in motion that will make her more like her canon self soon.

Good catch. Kali already mentioned it but there are some glaring similarities between Jaune and Adam. I won't even begin to think about Adam's possible backstory, all I want to do is do a better justice to his supposed 'spite' based character arc than poor old RT did in volume 5.

BlackHawkSniper: I'm glad you are enjoying them so veraciously. I do apologize that everything seems to be moving at a snails pace and I have a feelings things will speed up as we move into weeks and months between things as we get into the meat of the original arc of the Monty/Beacon era. More padding is coming as I begin to fill the surrounding story in bits at a time and as these bits begin to effect the overall story more directly.