Jaune paused for a moment, hand running over the painted design, before he hauled the door open to reveal a room filled with weapons and armor. Blades of various sizes, from short dirks to large great swords hung on one wall, shields on another. Sets of armor sat on stands, ready to be pulled off and used at a moment's notice. Boxes of ammo had been stacked together and a large square shield laid on top in the back, forming a makeshift table on which sat a few piles of books. The final wall had a motley collection of various trick weapons in their smaller forms.

"It's beautiful," whispered Ruby as she stared at the various sharp and pointy implements of death with stars in her eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Jaune wondered why he'd never thought to do this earlier; he'd known she loved weapons from the first day here. Had his old friends really messed him up that much? Pushing that thought from his mind, he kicked aside a stray box of ammo.

"Sorry I can't exactly offer you a seat," he apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. "The armor stands take up a fair bit of room."

But Ruby wasn't listening. "What's that?" she demanded, pointing to an axe hanging on the back wall. "Is that the axe?"

"Yup. It expands out into a halberd or a great axe," answered Jaune, but Ruby was already looking at the next thing.

"And those?" The objects were a set of metal cylinders, the same as she'd seen him clip to his armor on the initiation day.

"Expandable lance-spears, with optional dust injection." And man had it taken time to get those right. They took too much effort to make to be expendable, but by the same token had a nasty tendency to explode if he didn't get them exactly right. Complicated weapon construction outside of simple shifting designs was never his strong point.

"Those?" This time she was hovering near a set of weapons in the back corner, with what looked like their exact duplicates on the opposite wall.

"That's a short sword that fans open into a circular shield, like the red and white one on the wall." Ruby could guess how the sections slide apart from the unusually thick sword into a round shield, and with a closer look, one set was clearly mecha-shift and the other wasn't.

"And that?" Jaune looked up in surprise from watching Ruby examine one of his lighter suits of armor, because it wasn't Ruby that asked the question; it was Weiss.

"Just a simple rapier, no frills." He should have guessed that would catch her eye. It was rather out of place compared to the theme of most of the rest of his weapons.

"But you know how to use it?" demanded Weiss, narrowing her eyes as he shrugged. Having a weapon you had no experience in using, especially one of that fine quality, made no sense. While it didn't hold a candle to her own blade, and had no outside features beyond a sharp blade, she could still tell it was especially fine, if simple, craftsmanship. And had seen use if the sweat stains and slight wear on the handle wrapping were any signs.

"Kinda?" Jaune walked over to simple rapier and picked it up, giving it a twirl, careful not to hit anyone or anything, before falling into a decent fencer's stance and running through a simple movement. Straightening back up, he gently set the weapon back in place.

"I'm not even close to the best at it, or anywhere near your level, but Indy made sure I at least knew how to handle one. I think it was revenge for calling his sword a frog-sticker that one time, since it gave him a reason to poke me with a sharp object every time he saw me. Though I did deserve it."

Pyrrha was rather surprised he'd annoy a teacher enough to want to stab him, she thought he took training too seriously for that. "Really? What did you do to him?"

"I had a crush on my sister's teammate, Buttercup, and I thought they were dating, so I did my best to annoy him. You know, 'ambushing' him, chasing him with my toy Crocea Mors, and calling him names."

He paused as Pyrrha let out a giggle, no doubt imagining a small Jaune harassing a much larger Hunter. "Turns out I was completely wrong, and Buttercup was dating a hunter from another team she met while on a mission to eliminate an infestation of Rous near the fire swamps of Mistral."

"Rous?" asked Yang from her seat on an ammo stack.

"Giant rat Grimm," answered Pyrrha before Jane could. "They are rarer on this side of the sea, but are common around Mistral. They can be devious, and have a nasty tendency to adapt to certain elements."

Jaune found himself nodding along with her explanation. The ones from the fire swamp were immune to fire, and would try to stage fights where gas was about to erupt. It made for an impressive story when Buttercup had told him how she'd met Wesley, enough so that he had no objections and had to concede defeat in his quest for her hand.

Weiss had been silent since she'd gotten her answer, busy staring at the rapier she'd picked up, particularly a signature carved into the area where the blade met the guard. "Hold on a second. Indy. Do you mean Indigo Montoya? World renowned fencer and duelist Indigo Montoya?"

Jaune just scratched his head. "I guess? He was always Indy to me, since I have a sister named Indigo. I think that's another reason he'd always stab me and call it teaching, since his team picked up the nickname from me."

"Ughh. I can't believe it, you trained with one of the best rapier wielders in the world, and you treat it like nothing! He's won in his weapon class for the past three world tournaments!" Gently putting the rapier back down, she threw up her hands in frustration and stomped off, muttering about the unfairness of the world.

"What was her problem?" asked Nora.

"At a guess? I bet he refused to train her." Yang gave a small shrug. "She's kinda uptight about that kind of stuff. But I bet you she'll be coming back later asking you if you can give her his contact information."

"Really?" Jaune brightened up at the thought; it would be a chance to chat with her some about something other than schoolwork. And he could sympathize with her regarding the training; one of his dad's old friends had turned down one of his training requests and he'd moped for days on missing the chance at seeing the man's shield work. Maybe Indy would trade some help with Weiss for some advice on catching his sister's attention. Not that he'd give much, Bianca decided who she liked for herself, and he knew at this point she was just waiting for Indigo to make the first move.

Then Jaune noticed Nora inspecting a small box marked with the high explosives symbol. He made a note to make sure nothing was missing from it later. She wouldn't steal anything, she'd just borrow it, and then return it four times as strong with a hair trigger. He liked his bombs just as they were, strong enough, and stable.

"So, you really made and trained with all of these?" asked Ruby as she carefully put down the lance she'd been examining.

"Yeah. That's why I was so frustrated this morning. All that, and I still have problems judging distance when I first use a new blade. I should be better." His hand went to his right arm, rubbing it as he remembered the training he'd undergone, both to use his left hand, and to judge distances. Frustration didn't describe the half of it; but he wasn't ready to talk about it now.

Pyrrha seemed to sense his discontent, and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Jaune, you'll get it in time." He wanted to brush it off, to shout that he'd already had put in plenty of time; that he shouldn't be making such rookie mistakes anymore, not after everything he'd gone through. The training had to be worth it, and if he couldn't pick up a new weapon and almost instantly know the difference, was it really?

Instead he gave a small nod, holding it in. She was his friend, his partner, and meant well, even if she'd misunderstood the source of his frustration. He had no right to snap at her. "Well, practice makes perfect. And speaking of, I need to get started with mine. Can't start slacking off now. We still good for team training later tonight?"

"You bet Jaune, cya then." With a running leap, Nora landed on Ren's back, legs wrapped around his waist. "Come on Ren, let's make like a sloth and leaf."

"Nora, that makes no sense." He walked out of the unit, heading for his own, Nora still attached to him while Pyrrha left in the other direction with a wave.

"And puns are my job," shouted Yang after them, ducking out afterwards. Blake had vanished some minutes before.

"Oh, hey Ruby, before you go, I had a question for you."

His fellow leader paused at the door, looking back. He tried not to show his nervousness, though his hands betrayed him with their constant fluttering as his fingers wrapped around each other in an endless dance. This was a big request for him, and hopefully a step in the right direction.

"Now that you've seen this, mind helping me with a project? I'll be upgrading my armor again soon, I have some major plans for it, and I'd love your help. Not that I don't trust the engineering department here, I'd just prefer someone I trust to look over everything. I'm not too good with the more fiddly electronic bits." He said it all in one breath, trying to get it out before he could change his mind and reconsider. Outside his dad and the weapon smiths he'd worked with, he'd never let anyone else work on his armor, let alone a classmate. But he did trust her, he wasn't lying about that, and he knew he needed the help to get it to the next stage.

She beamed at him from under her hood, standing a little taller at the praise. "I'd love to Jaune. Just let me know when. And maybe we can add a sniper rifle to that axe-halberd of yours. Or maybe an exploding rocket lance. Oh, maybe a gunblade!"

The nerves disappeared in a sudden rush of relieved laughter. But he noticed she seemed a bit put off by his merriment, seeming to shrink back slightly under her hood. So, he tried to explain, even though it meant revealing another one of his deeper secrets, one that the Signal kids never would have left him alone about if they'd known. He was sure Dove would have mentioned it earlier if he'd known. But for making her feel better it seemed a cheap cost.

"Not laughing at your Ruby, honest. Just happy you agreed. But, there's one small problem with your idea. Take a look around; what don't you see?" He gestured at the locker around them.

Obediently, Ruby paused in her dreams of the various stabby and shooty objects they could make, and ran an expert's eye over the room. There were a lot of simple weapons with no tricks, the kind Signal students learned to make before they could start on mecha-shift versions. Even if they looked to be slightly higher quality than normal, there wasn't anything odd about them. If he'd made as many as the locker had, it made sense the quality would improve.

And then there were the suits of armor, which were definitely better than anything she'd seen at Signal, more like mecha-shift weapons with the exhausting care they'd been made with. There was the one she'd seen him wear for training, another that looked to be all mail, and a third that seemed to be a mixture of plates and straps she didn't recognize the style for. All looked functional and had seen use judging by the small marks, dings and signs of repair.

And of course there were the mecha-shift weapons themselves. Decent quality, far inferior to anything she'd be able to make of course; when she'd looked at them earlier there were a few ways they could have been made more robust, or shift faster. But they served their purpose well enough she supposed.

Something was niggling in the back of her mind though. With all the shifting weapons, she didn't see any barrels. And the ammo... It was all types for shotguns, she'd seen her sister's stash often enough to recognize the shape. Which was what Durandal used. Which meant…

"You don't have any ranged weapons? Not besides Durandal, do you?" Which was odd, most hunters tended to at least have a backup pistol tucked somewhere...or maybe that was just her Uncle. He was a bit paranoid.

"Exactly. Ruby, I have a confession to make." He heaved a sigh, play acting as if he was about to tell a deep, dark secret weighing on him. Which, really he was, yet talking with her, it didn't seem so bad. Maybe there was hope yet.

Leaning in so his breath tickled her ear, where he whispered, "I'm a terrible shot."

"Really?" she breathed out, her eyes wide. It was an unthinkable thought, not to be good with guns.

He nodded, stepping back out of her space, somehow feeling lighter for having told her. "Really really. Can't shoot most things to save my life, quite literally in fact. And believe me, I tried."

He ran a hand through his hair, remembering. "My Dad tried. His teammates tried. I'm just a horrible shot."

Ruby shook her head in denial. "No, I refuse to believe that. You're an awesome fighter, and you can't shoot? What about pistols?" They could be fit into just about any weapon with a little creativity. She'd even hidden one in a teddy bear once.

"Missed completely." He mimed one with his hand before shaking it badly. "Either I shook too much or took way too much time to aim, and ended up missing anyway." That, or he forgot he was carrying a gun and ended up trying to block something with it. And forgetting to enforce a gun in a fight then blocking with it tended to end with a gun cut in half. Or exploding.

"Rifle?" she asked. It was the second most common gun type among hunters after all, and her own personal favorite. Plus there was plenty of variation to work with in that class.

Jaune gave a weak chuckle; that had been a failure of a day as well. "Literally couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Ended up hitting the next building over when I dialed the scope wrong."

Now she was getting desperate; there had to be something he'd tried. "What about rocket launchers?"

"With the way I laughed when my Dad handed it to me, he never even let me try." There was no way he'd tell her what actually happened. He'd done his best to repress it.

Ruby had the feeling there was more to that story then he was telling, but then suddenly the obvious answer hit her, pushing the thought aside.

"Shotgun!" she yelled triumphantly, knowing she had him. "I mean, you have one in Durandal, so you have to be able to use it." No one was stupid enough to build a weapon they couldn't use after all.

He gave a nod. "Only thing I was halfway decent at, and only with shot, not slugs. Also helps I generally only use it when the target's basically touching the muzzle."

"Wow...I mean...Just wow. No wonder you like the classics." She almost felt like she had to sit down at the thought of someone without a decent gun. Sure, Weiss, didn't exactly have a gun, but she had all that fancy Dust instead, which was just as cool. Especially when she stabbed something and it exploded. Then again, a shotgun shield was pretty awesome.

"Well, they get the job done. And they do fit my theme. Brand recognition's import you know. Plus I've fit some tricks into them." He paused, considering. "Though your rocket lance does sound good."

Ha! She'd get him to the gun side eventually. She just had to start with baby steps...and maybe something with a bit smaller range than a sniper rifle, like some more solid shot for his shield. "It's a deal then. We upgrade your armor, and I get to make you a rocket lance."

"You know, it sounds like I'm getting the better part of the deal here." He had to point it out. It had been a while since he had friends, but even he knew he was asking for a lot of time and effort from her, and it sounded like she wasn't getting much from it. He didn't like the thought of being in debt, not even to a friend.

Ruby gave him a smile and a look that clearly said she thought he was being stupid. "Well duh, that's because I haven't asked for my payment yet. This is merely...negotiating."

He decided to play along, bantering with her and the others seemed to come naturally when he let it. It was almost like hanging with his sisters or dad again. "And what will it take to hire the expert services of master engineer Ruby Rose?"

"Hmmm," she tapped her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "I'm thinking cookies. Homemade of course; top weapons designers like me always get the best. Chocolate chip is preferable, but I'm willing to settle for oatmeal and raisin, provided other payment is offered."

Jaune nodded. "Of course, of course. I'd expect nothing but to pay top lien for the best, so chocolate chip it will be, a baker's dozen at least. Will there be anything else, or have our negotiations concluded?"

"Yes, that's just my retainer. In addition I will also require a box of strawberries. I also expect your own expertise consulting for history. Ms. Schnee is starting to hassle me relating to the quality of my performance in that sector of my business."

Jaune gave a sad, slow shake of his head, as if bemoaning Weiss's ignorance. "Well, we simply can't be experts in everything, no matter what she would like us to believe. What would we negotiate over if that was the case?" he asked, hand held out like an actor in a play questioning the nature of life. "So, do we have an accord? I can have terms drawn up after I consult with my lawyers."

"I do believe you are an honorable man Mr. Jaune, surely two business people such as ourselves can simply shake on it for now?" asked Ruby, even as she held out her hand. "A gentleman's agreement, as it were." With great dignity and aplomb, they shook on it.

Jaune couldn't hold it any longer. "Snerk." A snort of laughter was cut off as he clamped down on it, but it was too late. Ruby met his eyes, and then they both broke down in giggles, the sounds of laughter filling the storage unit and echoing down the hallway.

When they'd finally recovered, wiping tears from their eyes, Jaune straightened up. "This Monday work?"

"Sure," agreed Ruby cheerfully. "We can figure out when you want to work on your armor then. But if you send me your ideas before, I can start to look them over. You know, see what we'll need and stuff."

"That works for me. Tutoring and cookies it is then. I'll get my dad's recipe before then." And he would. His Dad might claim all his recipes were secret, and have a nasty habit of giving him deliberately wrong ones, but he was pretty sure he'd fold if he told him it was for a girl. Especially if he sent a picture of her puppy dog eyes with his request. Then again, his Dad might be immune from his sisters' efforts.

After Ruby left, Jaune began to rummage around on his makeshift desk, looking for the lubricant. After a thorough cleaning it would be time to train with Durandal. Then maybe some axe work before dinner and the joint training.

"Jaune."

Startled, Jaune tripped over one of the ammo boxes as he dove for the nearest weapon, and almost ending up knocking over one of his armor stands. As common sense reasserted itself and reminded him that he wasn't about to be attacked in the middle of Beacon, he made a grab for it before it could topple but missed. Thankfully another set of hands steadied it from the other side, and Jaune found himself staring at Blake. "Nice job sneaking up on me."

There was a small smile on her face that quickly disappeared as she gave a one armed shrug, more a small twitch of her shoulder then anything. "Sorry. Force of habit."

He could only shake his head. "Don't apologize, I'd love to have a habit like that. Half the time I sound like a shopping cart if I don't remember to use aura." The armor stand which continued to faintly rattle illustrated his point perfectly. "So, what can I do for you?"

Her golden eyes locked on him as she took a deep breath, before asking rather bluntly, "Why did you help Velvet earlier?"

Jaune blinked. The name wasn't ringing a bell. "Who?"

A brief flash of irritation appeared on her face. "The Faunus girl from earlier?"

"Oh, her." He'd never gotten her name. Hopefully she was fine, she'd looked rather down when she left, but he felt trying to talk with her would have just made it worse. It did the other times. "Because it was the right thing to do."

Blake just continued to stare at him, making him feel like he needed to say more. "I can't save Remnant, but I can help with what I see."

"Then why not help earlier, like all the times in class when Cardin was being a jackass?"

He felt a spark of anger flare into life at her words. She didn't do anything, and then she wanted to know why he didn't do more? As he opened his mouth to respond he realized then that it hadn't been an accusation. Looking at her face, her eyes, it was clear that she just wanted to know why.

"Cause like my dad said, opinions are like assholes, everybody has one, and most of them stink. Just cause Cardin's an idiot doesn't mean I can break his legs every time he says something stupid; if that was true he'd never walk again."

He waited, but the joke fell flat. Seeing she wasn't even going to crack a grin, he finished, "I'd be as bad as him if I did that."

"But aren't you? You're the one that grabbed him first. You're the one that proposed the fight."

"Hey, he started it by grabbing Velvet!"

"And that makes it okay to beat him up?" That time her question really had been an accusation, and it made his reply sharper come sharper he'd intended.

"She needed help, and she clearly wasn't going to help herself, even if I bet she could have wiped the floor with them. Sometimes you need to use force to teach a lesson, and this time Cardin did something to deserve it. Don't get mad at me because I did something when no one else would."

Blake's eyes widened at his words, and he heard a hiss of indrawn breath before suddenly she was gone, leaving him alone in the storage unit.

Why had she confronted him like that? Shaking his head to try and clear it, Jaune started looking for the lubricant again. A good workout was just what he needed to clear his head. Then maybe he'd call Ms. Mauve and see what she made of it all.

Scholar's Note: Personal Weapons

Every semester without fail I have someone ask me about weapons. By now I could probably give this lecture in my sleep, and if my memory ever fails enough to need this lesson plan, do me a favor and place me in a collection with the artifacts I've found cause I'll be that old.

The better a weapon, the better a Hunter. The better the Hunter, the better the weapon. I'd pit my whip and pistol against any new-fangled mecha-shift weapon you can name that a trainee hunter would use, and I'd come out ahead 9 times out of 10. And you know why? Aura.

It's long been know the longer a person used a weapon, the better they get. But even in the cases where two people went through the exact same training, with the exact same weapon, they could tell if they got swapped. Crazy personal weapons are more than just a reflection of the ideal of the Color Revolution, though that certainly played a role in their rise.

The reason is once again aura. A hunter channels their aura through a weapon, making it a literal extension of their soul, and allowing it to defy physics, much like the Hunter themselves does. Blades become unnaturally sharp, armor becomes tougher, shields unbreakable. And the longer they use the same weapon, the better the feel they get with it. Cutting a tree becomes cutting stone becomes cutting steel, and less and less aura is needed for the same results.

That's why people can use crazy things like high-caliber sniper-scythes and gun-nun-chucks without hurting themselves. Cause with their aura flowing through the weapon, it might as well be a part of them. Incidentally that's also why specialized dust rounds can affect Semblance use.

Author's Note: well, there you go. The next chapter. On time even.

After this we start getting into Forever Fall. Yay!

As always, read and review please, it keeps me going and I like replying to them.

And thanks to College Fool for his help.