Special thanks to Maldevinine from AO3 for beta reading this chapter.

Not too much action here, but I needed to tackle some plot important things before the story went any further. There should be more exciting stuff next chapter.

Let me know what you think!

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Lucifer stepped out of Heaven onto the sandy dunes of Earth. The darkness of the night had long since fallen, though that didn't detract from the light his halo and wings cast. He wouldn't have to worry about being spotted. The only humans he'd have to watch out for were hidden away in their homes, knowing this would be a terrible night.

Before him stretched a grand city, a place the humans referred to as The Land of Goshen. It was all Egypt to him, as if he could care what the humans called their living spaces. Despite that he had to admit it was an interesting sight. Seeing the square pristine building of the upper districts compared to the poorly made, tightly compacted mud homes of the slaves and lower class Egyptians. The palace was a sight to behold, grand pillars holding the massive stone architraves laying across each one. Each structure was dimly illuminated by torches lining the city streets. Nothing could compare to the crystal clear night sky above it though, littered with millions of stars and a massive bright moon.

"You should try seeing the place when it's daytime." A familiar voice said from behind.

"I plan to." Lucifer answered back. "I heard God would unleash his final plague tonight. I just had to see if it's true."

"Curious about humanity for once?" Uriel stepped next to him, his pristine white wings matching Lucifer's. The angel had black flowing hair and a lean muscular body partially hidden by a glowing white robe. He smiled dangerously when Lucifer sighed.

"I just don't understand it." He shook his head. "God is cruel and unforgiving when dealing with humans, and I understand why. They lie and steal, commit murders and rape among other atrocities. We angels are superior in every way, yet he expects us to bow before his future form born as a man?"

"You're still on about that?" Uriel scoffed. "Honestly that pride of yours will be your downfall. I'm surprised you haven't protested already." Suddenly a darker skinned angel with short, pale green hair appeared in a mist before Uriel. He was a foot shorter than the archangel and far thinner in build.

"Archangel Uriel." Azrael, the Angel of Death, stated in a low voice with a slight bow. "It is time to begin."

"Very well." Uriel stepped forward and prepared for his flight through the city. He turned back to Lucifer with a far more serious expression. "You should make your decision soon my friend. Though God gave us free will it won't be long until he calls upon you for your potential betrayal." Lucifer nodded as the two disappeared in a cloud of swirling light and fog that covered the city. By morning the entire region would be a chorus of wailing mothers and fathers, the first born in every unmarked household killed. Another act of the cruel Lord these humans either worshiped or denied to their own detriment.

He bit his lip and inhaled deeply, that familiar bitterness welling in his gut. His mind was racing with that old order God had given. The Lord would incarnate as a human being, becoming known as the 'Son of God' and starting his transition to a loving deity.

Why?

Why would his Lord incarnate as a human? Why would Lucifer have to bow to a lowly human?! They were weak horrible creatures that were leagues beneath him, yet he'd have to yield to them!

A cold smooth sensation traveled across his foot. Lucifer glanced down seeing a large red snake with horns wrapping around his leg, the Angel's own pupils turning to reptilian slits-

The entire world around him turned briefly to static, alerting him to the fact that this wasn't reality. Right, he wasn't Archangel Lucifer anymore. He was a fallen angel using the name Jaune Arc. It was a weird memory, or a dream really. What could have caused the disturbance though? He supposed it didn't matter. It wouldn't be enough to wake him at this stage. Now would be a good time to contact Beacon's headmaster though, something he's been pushing off for far too long.

Jaune focused on the collective souls within Vale, finding the very grey one he was looking for. Stepping forward the world around him completely shifted into a fog filled forest and a rarely used path leading to a decrepit cabin. Around him were silently playing battles and Grimm attacks partially distorted. The rippling battles wasn't his priority though. He stepped inside, his wings passing through the doorframe like they were made of fog too. Inside he found an old man sitting in a rocking chair. Across from him sat a beautiful mortal woman with blonde hair and a baby in her arms. Jaune didn't recognise this woman. A deceased wife perhaps?

"You don't belong here." The old man turned to look at him directly. Jaune nodded puffing his wings and standing taller.

"Headmaster Ozpin. I've come to deliver a warning."

"Is that so?" The old man leaned back in his chair as the domestic setting faded away and the scene shifted to an odd looking castle. The interior was gothic in design, and the hall was lined with flowers and beautiful tapestries. The old man also changed into a darker skinned lad with curly black hair. He wielded a scepter that he rested both hands on. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I am simply a messenger." Jaune answered as he held his hands and wings erect and his eyes softly glowed. "A great calamity will soon befall Vale, and I fear your school is at the center of it." The man representing Ozpin seemed surprised, the scene quickly flashing to a huge dark chamber with two tanks near the wall. It swiftly shifted to a modernistic office before Jaune could get a good look. The man suddenly transformed into the Ozpin he was familiar with.

"What type of calamity?"

Jaune took a moment to try judging him, only to realise how strange his soul was. It was so grey, littered with far more marks then anyone could accumulate in one lifetime. He remembered it being very solid from seeing him speaking to the students on initiation day, but he didn't look too closely at the time. It was definitely the spirit of a human, but what made him so different?

Was… was he brought in by Uriel? Could he be a part of what's to come?

Jaune shook his head. He needed to try having faith in this man, but he would give only the bare minimum of information in case Uriel was involved. The angel took control of the dream, shifting the world to show the burning streets and a dark angel above the clock tower in his own visions.

"One that will leave Vale in flames." Jaune answered.

"Can you tell me when this will happen? How can it be stopped?"

"I… don't know exactly." Jaune answered hesitantly. "It could be a few weeks, or a few months from now. I am not strong enough to stop it from happening, but with your vigilance and preparation the damage could be minimised. Will you heed my warning?"

"I will… consider what you have told me." Ozpin turned around and looked out the large window in his office, the cityscape transforming to a peaceful countryside of wavy golden grasses. Jaune just nodded and left. Slowly he re-entered his own body thinking on this new discovery. He'd need to keep a closer eye on Ozpin. If his suspicions are right the man could be in league with Uriel, and his intervention could end up making things worse.

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The angel opened his eyes slowly, realising his head was on something warm and firm. A delicate hand was slowly stroking his cheek, but he could feel how tense they really were. Two silhouetted forms were also seated directly in front of him blocking the campfire. He shifted slightly only to hear a familiar voice gasping.

"Oh thank Oum!" His face was swiftly bombarded by a pair of arms and breasts. He only then realised his head was resting in Pyrrha's lap. The figures quickly turned revealing themselves to be Nora and Ren.

"You're alive!" Nora grabbed at his torso trying to pull him in a bear hug while Pyrrha kept him in place.

"How do you feel?" Pyrrha reluctantly released and questioned.

"Fine… why?" He looked between the three very confused. What happened while he was out?

"You got shot in the head." Ren stated bluntly.

"Seriously?" Jaune questioned. He brought his hand up feeling the flecks of dried blood in his hair and hoodie. That would explain that odd lapse in his dream earlier. But why was he shot?

"Do you know who shot me?" Jaune asked next finally forcing Nora off so he could sit properly. He was able to see over Ren's shoulder and his gut hit the floor. Across from him was Ruby, Weiss and Yang all watching with baited breath. Ruby didn't waste any time in tackling him in a barrage of rose petals.

"I thought you were dead." She sniffled trying to fight back tears. Weiss only looked off to the side biting her lip. It was clear the heiress was wary of him now, and after seeing him heal from a head shot he couldn't blame her.

"Uh… guys?" Jaune questioned with his voice cracking pathetically. "W-Why are they here?"

"They were worried and tracked us down." Pyrrha sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know they would come."

"D-did you… tell them anything?"

"No." Weiss answered much to his surprise. "As much as we wanted answers they insisted that you should be awake for it." Jaune sighed a bit in relief. He's glad his teammates were so tight lipped.

"I'm sorry my partner shot you." Yang added awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. He finally picked up on shallow breathing, looking farther back to see Blake tied to a tree with her own weapon. She was struggling and looking at him fearfully.

"Don't listen to him!" Blake cried towards her teammates.

Oh. Oh no.

Pyrrha answered this time ignoring Blake. "She kind of shot you before Yang and Ruby could stop her. She wouldn't calm down so…"

"Pyrrha went completely mad and beat the crap out of her!" Nora answered with more enthusiasm than she should have. "I've never seen P-money so angry!"

"Sorry about that. I was right here and I couldn't..." Pyrrha shut her eyes tight fighting back tears. "She tried to kill you, and everyone else was so low on aura. If Ren or Nora took the bullet instead…" Jaune decided to stand at that point, walking over to the cat Faunus and bending down to her eye level. Blake just hissed and tried to scoot away.

"I've never had the chance to ask a Faunus this directly, so maybe you could help." Blake remained quiet but her breathing was shallow and rapid. "You're not the first Faunus to attack me on sight. What is it about me that scares you?" Blake took a moment to answer, finally working up her resolve enough to speak.

"Monster!" She snarled. "The others may not sense it but I can. That dark energy You were oozing, only for it to vanish suddenly. It's back and now I know what I sensed was real. You're a snake that tricked my friends into following you!" His eyes widened at the word snake, a familiar horned serpent flashing in his mind. "I don't know what you plan to do with them, but you must be stopped!"

"... you can unload as many bullets into me as you wish. Just never endanger my teammates like that again." He slowly stood up and made his way back to the campfire, Blake's spiteful gaze strong enough to make his back burn. "Which bag has the books in it?" Pyrrha and Nora both pointed to their own backpacks. He quickly grabbed them and walked off behind one of the ruin walls.

"Hey!" Weiss shouted making him turn. "We've been waiting three hours for you to wake up! I want to know what's going on." Jaune considered her statement carefully, finally looking down to his teammates.

"Tell them what I told you three the morning you discovered my secret. Nothing more." He walked off much to Weiss' annoyance but he couldn't face them right now. That snake comment was still ringing through his mind and he needed time to think. Why would Blake call him that? What about his powers gave off such horrible energy?

'You already know the answer.' The horned snake appeared right in his path. 'She can see what you refuse to. Why do you deny yourself our memories? Why do you deny yourself our POWER?' He summoned five swords and stabbed the snake repeatedly until it evaporated. Jaune didn't know what the serpent was talking about. He didn't want to know. There were more important things to worry about currently. Finding a nicely hidden enclosed section of wall Jaune finally took a seat.

He pulled a book from Nora's backpack and began running his hand along the spine. His eyes and wings softly glowed as the words travelled through his fingers and embedded into his mind. The first was a book on fairy tales, the most distinct story regarding two brother gods. One was the creator of life and the other destruction and the Grimm. The two together created humanity, but that seems to be where any mention of them ends. So the people of Remnant are polytheistic? None of the humans he's associated with seem religious though. In fact, none of his teammates ever bothered mentioning religious beliefs.

He took a second book and scanned that one too. This one spoke of the history of religion in Remnant. It seams they were once a religious people but have more recently turned away from the old beliefs. There is more than that though. The religion of the two brothers branched into a second group that worshipped a powerful man and woman pair. There was also a group of nature worshippers, and a darker group referred to as the Black Cult. Only negative things are spoken of the cult here, primarily their worship of the Grimm and dark rituals.

"Hey Jaune." The angel turned to see Ruby standing behind him. "Mind if I join you?" Jaune inclined his head slightly in surprise. He assumed after witnessing the head shot he survived and the large wings Ruby would prefer staying with the rest of her team. Apparently he was mistaken.

"If you want." Jaune shrugged. Ruby took a seat on a nearby rock using her scroll as a flashlight. She was mostly eyeing his wings clearly trying to word a question before something else distracted her.

"So… what's with all the books?"

"Research." Jaune answered flatly.

"Don't you need light to read?" The younger questioned. Jaune just demonstrated by running his hand up another book and letting her watch the process.

"If I wanted to take my time, then yes." Ruby's eyes began sparkling with wonder.

"That's so cool!" She squealed. "Is that your semblance?!"

"No, just one of my powers." He fluttered his wings lightly.

"So… Pyrrha said you're an angel?"

"That's right." Jaune sighed as his wings subconsciously dropped a bit. "This is a disaster…"

"Why?" Ruby asked perplexed.

"You weren't supposed to find out." Jaune answered. "No one was supposed to find out. Now everyone knows and Blake wants me dead."

"I'm sure she'll get over it." Ruby tried to reassure, but the blonde just shook his head.

"Sadly it's more complicated than that. Animals have a similar reaction to me, and I fear all Faunus would respond that way." That horned snake briefly appeared over Ruby's shoulder before vanishing again. "Can I ask you something?" He said trying to change the subject.

"What's up?"

"What do you know of the Black Cult?" Ruby tilted her head questioningly.

"I've heard of them. Just a few crazy zealots that worship Grimm and kill animals as part of their rituals. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, That might explain a few things." Jaune pondered remembering his teammates' reactions to his ram sacrifice. "What about your beliefs Ruby?"

"I… don't really have any." She admitted. "I've never thought about it before. My dad isn't religious either so it was never brought up. Maybe there is something out there? I just don't know."

"I see. Thank you Ruby."

"Any time!" She said with a thumbs up. "But I wanted to ask why you decided to sit by yourself?" Jaune looked at her much like he did Pyrrha not long ago.

"You saw me survive and heal from a bullet wound to the head, your own teammate accusing me of being a vile monster, found out I've lied to you since we met, and you're asking my that?" The angel let out a small chuckle. "Why do you still insist on being friends? I figured you would hate me."

"Please!" Ruby waved him off. "I've befriended weirder things this semester." Jaune just tilted his head questioningly. She's reacting the same way his teammates did. How could these humans be so accepting?

"Excuse me." Ruby and Jaune glanced up seeing Pyrrha popping in from behind the wall. She was staring at him with a mix of guilt and worry, as if he'd keel over dead at any second. "Could I get my toothbrush please?"

"Of course. Sorry about that." Jaune took the rest of the books and returned the bag. He finally noticed the blood on Pyrrha's gloves and breastplate. His own dried blood. The poor girl already looked too shaken to be wearing soiled clothing.

"Did you bring a change of clothes?" Jaune questioned. Pyrrha shook her head.

"I figured I wouldn't need one, plus I had several books to make room for." The angel couldn't help but feel oddly guilty, especially since he requested they bring the extra weight. He did have something she could use though.

"Hold on a second." He ran to his own travel bag and dug through it for a spare sweatshirt. He swiftly pulled out a blue hoodie with X-Ray and Vav posed heroically on the front. "Here." Jaune tossed it to her. She quickly noticed the lack of wing slits and looked back up worriedly.

"Won't you need this when we return?" She questioned. Pyrrha already knew he'd have to clip his wings before heading back, but he'd make do.

"Don't worry about it." He waved her off. "I'll just keep the backpack on until we make it to the dorm." And people wouldn't be questioning why she had blood stains everywhere. His current black hoodie already hid the blood splotches it held pretty well, so as long as no one went uncomfortably close he should be fine. She started blushing before regaining some form of composure.

"T-thank you Jaune. I'll… I'll just get changed then." She rushed off behind one of the ruin walls leaving the blonde to wonder what just happened. He returned to Ruby and the book pile only to see her with a smug grin.

"What?"

"You like her!" Ruby teased.

"Why would you say that?" Jaune asked mortified. She just cackled uncontrollably when his face flushed at the accusation. He eventually rolled his eyes and went back to his books, a new thought forming in his head.

Pyrrha was an attractive mortal. She is kind and strong, always putting others before herself. Though she has certainly been behaving oddly around him recently. The angel couldn't deny the pleasant feeling being with her produced either. Perhaps he did have feelings for her? Still, he couldn't risk being in a relationship with a human. Jaune knew what the consequences would be, he's seen it before back on Earth. Nephilim, the giant horrendous offspring of humans and angels, wasn't something he'd willingly bring to Remnant. He definitely wouldn't put Pyrrha through that either. She would be better off finding another human companion. Anyone but him really. Still, despite wanting to be responsible he couldn't help but be… tempted by the idea.

"So, Nora said that your team attack name was based on a story from your world." Jaune looked up seeing how genuinely curious she was.

"Yes, the story of Noah and the great flood. I'm sure she already told you all the details."

"She did, but…" Ruby poked her two index fingers together nervously. "Could you tell me more stories? I want to know if they are anything like our fairy tales."

"Well, if that's the case there is the one of David and Goliath. It's about a young boy nobody believed in facing a giant to save his home. The story of Moses is a long riveting yet sad one. There is also Joseph the dream interpreter."

"Can you tell us all of them?"

"You want to hear them all?" Jaune asked to his confusion. She nodded excitedly.

"I know Weiss and Yang would love to hear them too." Jaune smiled slightly at her eagerness. He packed the books away in his own backpack for the time being. There would be time to finish reading them after the others fell asleep. For now he'd educate his friends in the stories of his home world.