Out of this World

by PageStatic

Team RWBY finds themselves in another dimension! They stay when they find out home is easy to get to and watching other universes? seems like it could be fun. Mostly Jaune-Centric with a few other character universes. Might be a harem but will build to Lancaster first.

2. The Theater - Professor Arc

Hey Folks! Chapter 2 is done and Chapters 3, 4, and 5 all have a set story to react to. They may take a little longer to get out then this one but I have another story I'll talk about at the end. Once I'm done with those stories I will take some Suggestions, Don't be surprised if your story is not chosen though. Characters who get involved will not be Chosen from suggestions. I am adding characters in ways I feel they fit and ones I feel I can write.

Again, I ain't asking for permission but STRONGLY suggest checking out the material I am using for reactions. I love these stories and honestly? Most of the stories they write, not just the ones I'm using. I have gotten a comment or two asking for no everyone loves Jaune and a few who want at least Pyrrha and RWBY. As of This very moment Only Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang are going to fall for the poor sap. I might add Blake and Weiss later on but even Yang may take a while. I don't want to force her to be into him. As of this chapter she only sees him as attractive and not as the kind of guy she would date. Though she isn't repulsed by the idea soooo...

Another story! It's also a reaction fic set with team STRQ reacting to the canon series. They have the same personalities you will see in this story if they appear! Already have 3 chapters done so excited to post that. I will try and post twice a week but my Muse comes and goes. It will flit between this and the other story a STRQ future.

Responding to a few comments! I see people do this and always love it so here we go!

X3runner - I want this scene eventually, we make it to chapter 5-6 we may be getting it!

Ak-Jaidyn - Totally! It won't be for a while but I loved silver! So reacting to it is a plus in my book!

Random Guest - Yes, You are in for a surprise! Check the Preview of this chapter!

Titanmaster 117 - Thank you so freaking much for constructive criticism! Love that shit, and I understand where you are coming from with authors and asking but I am just a humble writer who does this for fun, there won't ever be a Patr-eon, it will always just be a crazy guy writing. I get if that turns you away though, If needed you can go shout at the authors that im stealing their stuff! P.S promise i'm not being sarcastic, im dead serious.

OKAY LAST ONE

MrRayney - Thank you for the friendly words. Lancaster is my favorite ship of all time. Ever. If White knight is what you are after, Ill think extra hard on adding it into the later chapters just for you! Seriously hope you stick around!

Promise the authors notes won't get this long again. Pinky Swear.

Story - Professor Arc Ch 42 by Coeur Al'Aran

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Sitting Between her mother and Jaune, Ruby bounced happily. Her mom was back! It wouldn't be forever but she was happy to get to spend time with her, and have a goodbye this time unlike ten years ago. "So what are we watching this time!? Hope it's not anymore…" she looks up innocently at Jaune "Filth" She can see Jaune gulp and tug at his collar nervously.

Static leaned back and flicked the screen on "Nope, Jaune had his false transcr-…" He looked up at Jaune as he . His head hung as the entire group looked at him, with expressions ranging from acceptance to fury. Weiss almost exploded out of her chair.

"You faked your transcripts!? I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE IN COMBAT CLASSES!" Weiss shouted, jabbing him with a finger. "I should go to Ozpin about this! You have put us in danger! We rely on you and you can't even fight!"

"Please Weiss, Im sorry, I-I just," Jaune pleads with the Ice Queen "I've always wanted to be a hero! Like my family." before a polite cough came from Static.

Holding up a hand to calm everyone "I am sorry to say Ms. Schnee that going to Ozpin would do nothing for you, transcripts have no meaning." Static flipped through a book that had appeared in his hand "Jaune has passed the entrance exam which is the only requirement for enrollment."

"W-What? That is impossible! Why would they even need them then?" Weiss asks, anger still visible.

"They are only a Requirement to get into the exam itself," Static said, shrugging.

Jaune sagged "Does that mean I let Cardin push me around for nothing?" When their host nodded, he groaned, putting his face in his hands. Weiss sat back in her seat, still upset but willing to let it go now that she knew the school wouldn't do anything.

Reaching over and tapping Jaune on the shoulder, Summer got his attention "Nice." She flashed him a smile when he peeked at her through his hands.

"Alright ya, Jaunes forged transcripts were too good, got him a job instead of a scholarship. Now he's pretty much a TA, who moons as a counselor. Most of the school at this point thinks of him as an amazing hunter and teacher."

Ruby smiled at that and elbows Jaune "Eh Jaune, you make a good teacher it seems." The little snort he did was too cute for her to ignore as she buried her head into his arm.

"Oh by the way Yang and Ruby have a crush on Teach, most of your friend group has hero-worship, and Velvet is JNPR's fourth." Static Smiled at the sudden whiplash Yang gets from looking at him to the screen. That would never get old.

The reaction to his words was around the level he'd expected. Juniper recoiled back in shock at his dismissal, while his sisters exchanged worried and confused looks between one another. Nicholas Arc, however, simply crossed his arms. Clearly, he had somehow realized that would be his response. "No?" Juniper repeated as she slowly regained control of herself, "What do you mean no? I don't think you're in a position to say no, young man!"

He shook his head in amusement, a small chuckle slipping from his lips as he crossed his arms and watched them. "Young man? It's been a while since anyone called me that. Anyway, I think you'll find I'm not in a position to say yes, either. I have to stay as a professor of Beacon."

"They can find somebody else to fill it," Juniper said, "Or did you think you could just keep lying about this forever? Did you think no one would ever find out?"

"I might have done, once," he admitted. "But no, I don't expect this lie to last. What's your point?"

Reaching back and slugging Jaune in the shoulder, Yang smirked at him "Damn Vomit-boy, that's some balls."

Jaune laughed and rubbed his arm "I guess being a teacher helps my confidence, or the idea of leaving you all behind would be too much for me to just give in." He hums to himself happily about how cool he is or can become as long as he sticks with his training with Pyrrha. Not noticing the blushing from Ruby and Pyrrha, with a surprised blush from Yang.

Weiss simply scoffed How can that dunce sound so smooth when he stops trying?''

Looking at her daughter blushing Summer was squealing to herself "OHHH my baby girl found a boy! Get him, Ruby! Don't let some long-haired vixen steal your man… RAVEN" Her smile turning to a frown as she remembered how Raven knew she liked Tai and went after him just to spite her.

"…"

"I think mom's point," Sapphire stepped in when it was clear their mother had run out of words. "Is that when this lie runs out, you'll be in deep trouble. The kind of trouble that an apology isn't going to fix."

His eyebrow rose as he looked towards each of his sisters. "And you think I don't realize that?"

"She's talking about prison, you fucking idiot," Hazel snapped. "Not some slap on the wrist."

He laughed. "Prison? You haven't been keeping up with what's going on here, have you? Vale has been attacked by terrorists, there were over fifty civilian casualties last month alone. Prison would be an easy alternative to what General Ironwood would put any suspects through."

That shut them up, though maybe not in the way he would have wanted. His mother was lost for words, shaking her head in fear – but Nicholas stepped forward. "I heard about the breach," he said. "Did they send you down to fight against the Grimm?"

"No!" Juniper gasped, "They couldn't have… you're safe and healthy, they couldn't have made you face them."

Perhaps it was cruel but he couldn't stop his lips twisting into a wide smile as he prepared to drop the bomb on them. It was all the sweeter for the relief his mother wore, not to mention the dismissive looks of his sisters. "They didn't send me down to fight," he said and watched as they all relaxed. "But only because I was on a mission at the time in a nearby village."

Nicholas flinched, catching the implication long before anyone else did.

"I was hunting down a serial killer."

Jaune's laugh rang through the theater, with his friends looking at him like he was crazy "That was mean of other me, I wouldn't do it, but I've thought of it for when I have to face my parents again. They always thought so little of me wanting to be a huntsman. It would be nice to drop a bomb that I can do it."

Eyes looking into Jaune's, Pyrrha put on her best smile for her partner "You have been a wonderful huntsman-in-training and your parents will be proud when you show them, I guarantee it."

He one-armed hugged Pyrrha "Thanks, partner." Jaune felt her melt into his arm, a content smile on her face before feeling his other arm move. Looking over he saw a pouting Ruby putting his arm on her head. Chuckling he rubbed her head, having her lean into his hand content as well.

"Jaune!" His mother gasped in horror while his sisters could only stare.

"What?" he shrugged nonchalantly, "It's a normal thing for a Huntsman to be doing. Sometimes the biggest monsters wear human skin. They're harder to track down than Grimm, but easier to actually fight. Well, sometimes." There were always people like Roman and Neo, who were both difficult to find and face.

"You're not a huntsman," Juniper seethed. "And they shouldn't be sending a seventeen-year-old out to face people or Grimm. For the love of God, Jaune – this is exactly why you need to get out of this. You need to get out before something goes wrong!"

Before something went wrong? He almost snorted but kept it back. Things had already gone wrong, not only with them but with Cinder and Roman – whatever their plan was. He couldn't tell his family that, however. It would only make them pull all the harder. "I have responsibilities here. People are counting on me. As for being a huntsman? Well, I think you'll find in every way that matters, I already am one."

"Im proud of other me, I hope I can act the same when it happens in our universe," Jaune said, looking somber. He leaned into his two friends close enough to hold for support.

"Every way…?" Juniper's eyes narrowed.

"My official records say I am," he shrugged, "My actions say I am, my job says I am… everyone around me considers me one. At this point, what else is left?"

"Maybe ability," Sapphire sighed. "Don't forget that you went to a normal school little brother."

"And you weren't exactly top of the class," Jade pointed out.

"How could anyone think you were a huntsman anyway?" Amber asked. "You were like… the most bullied kid in school. Even I had to stop some of them… and I'm three years younger than you!"

"Having a first-year girl fight your battles?" Coral giggled into her hand, "How very manly."

"Dad tried to spar with you once…" Sable said. "Didn't you trip up and knock yourself out?"

The memories went on and on, each of them giving a reason as to why he was weak, why he was uncertain, shy or unconfident. "You're our Jaune," his mother said at last, as though that somehow explained everything. "You can tell people what you want… but you're still Jaune Arc."

And Jaune Arc was weak… he was flighty and afraid, unconfident and filled with doubt. He was the kind of man who waited until he was seventeen before deciding he wanted to be a huntsman. He was the kind of idiot who somehow thought sneaking into a school for trained fighters would go well… without his aura or even a shred of an idea of what being a huntsman was all about.

He was the kind of fool who got taken advantage of by criminals…

No one made fun of him this time, none of team RWBY, not his friend's mother, and especially not his partner. He snarled, pissed at his sisters for treating him that way, pissed at his mother and father for not helping him become a better person as parents should. But most of all… He was pissed at himself. He could admit it, he did nothing to help himself, He didn't train himself in secret or try and learn sword techniques from books in his small-town library. Jaune had given up, read more stories that made him want to be a huntsman but found that it was too hard without a trainer and just not trained.

Jaune was startled back when he looked up and saw Weiss standing in front of him. She looked down at him with contempt on her face. Ice Queen leaning down till her nose was almost touching his, she looked into his eyes for just a moment before hugging him. His body stiffened before hearing her voice in his ear. "I forgive you." Whispering softly "I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You deserve to be here, just like us." She removed herself from the hug, turned on a dime and sat back in her seat.

Tears flowed down his cheeks, He choked back a sob as it hit him like a bullhead. He had changed someone's opinion on him. Jaune Arc had made Weiss Schnee acknowledge that he could be a huntsman. He could do it, he could. He pulled Ruby and Pyrrha into him and sobbed quietly but openly "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Cleaning himself up Jaune asked Static to start it back up.

His teeth ground together as he swallowed his frustration and opened his dark, blue eyes. "Not anymore," he whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not that person anymore."

"It doesn't matter." Juniper snapped, hands on hips. "You don't stop being a person just because you tell everyone otherwise, Jaune. Actions speak louder than words and right now all I'm seeing is a young man in over his head. You're coming home with us and that's final."

And that was it, wasn't it? A deep pit opened up in his stomach as he looked into their faces, able to see not only the clear determination in them, but also the doubt. They didn't think him capable of anything he'd done. Why should they? He'd always been weak and pathetic before. But this time it was different. People were relying on him, whether they knew it or not. "You already have my answer," Jaune said. "I'm not coming home."

"Then we'll bring you home."

"And when my colleagues come looking for me?"

Juniper blinked. She obviously hadn't thought that far. "Then we'll tell them the truth," she said, "We'll explain what happened."

"And I'd be arrested for endangering the students and running away. General Ironwood would have me in Atlas the following day." Jaune locked his eyes onto his mother's, just to make sure she understood. "You would never see me again."

Static nods along "You absolutely would have, your parents would have your entire family arrested, with you probably being for life."

The blood in his cheeks drained as he paled at what his other self had gotten himself into.

His sisters looked worried, exchanging looks between each other as his mother shook her head angrily. "Then we could move," she said, "We could get a house elsewhere. It's not like people keep good records outside the cities."

"And is that fair to the girls? They've made friends and a life in Ansel. You can't make them move just for me."

"We'll figure something out!"

It didn't bring him any pleasure to shake his head. In fact, he felt like the lowest scum for making them worry. "It won't matter," he said with a little sigh. "Because I would just come back anyway. I have responsibilities here."

Blake was impressed by Jaune's conviction, She turned to Static "Why would he come back if he knew what would happen if he was caught?"

Looking into space for a moment Static replied "You all, he loves you all dearly," Blake turned away guilty that she had so rarely talked to their Jaune. She promised herself she would try and find time to talk to him more. He seemed like a good friend if she gave him a chance.

Juniper growled and shook her head, gripping her hair with both hands. "Why are you making this so difficult?" she growled.

"I'm not trying to. I'm just telling you how I feel. I'm seventeen now," he almost said twenty but knew that would be a bad idea. "Why can't you trust me to make my own decisions?"

"When the decisions you've made are like this?" she asked, throwing one hand to the side. "You must be joking. It would be one thing if you'd gotten a less dangerous job… I'd have told you off for lying and told you to tell the truth, but being a huntsman?" She took a deep breath, though it seemed to do nothing for her anger. No, not anger… he knew her better than that. She was worried about him. "If something goes wrong you're not going to lose a business some profit," she whispered, "You're going to die."

She didn't even know the half of it. The possibility of it scared him… of course it did. It was enough to cause him nightmares, to have him clutch onto whatever happiness he could get. If someone had asked him a year ago, he would have said fleeing was the only choice.

A lot had changed in less than a single year.

Weiss nodded, speaking to Yang and Blake "A lot can certainly change in a year," She pulled her two friends in for a hug "Before I was stuck in a cold lifeless mansion, and now I have a new family." She smiled a warm smile before feeling Ruby latch onto her back squealing.

"We love you too bestie!"

"...You too bestie," Weiss whispered, "But if you tell anyone I said that I will deny it vehemently."

What was obvious, however, was the fact he wasn't going to change her mind. She saw him as a child, as the person he'd once been. His entire family did. He supposed he couldn't blame them… he hadn't left them with the best impression. I can't change that, not now. The only thing I can do… is do what I've always done.

"Would it be different if I actually was a huntsman?" he asked.

Juniper looked surprised but quickly recovered. "Of course it would be," she tried to sound soothing, "Jaune, I'm not against you wanting to be something more than you are, but this is too much. I won't sit by while my son risks his life."

Summer smiled at the boy to her daughter's side "You are certainly confident, you must have trained hard to catch up in such a quick amount of time." Jaune shrugged bashfully, rubbing the back of his head.

"I like to think I try my hardest when I believe in something."

He turned to his father, who had been silent in the exchange so far.

"It would change things," the older man agreed. "I'm sorry son, but there's a vast difference between a civilian and what you are claiming to be. Even had I two or three years, I couldn't train you to reach that level. It's best if you came home with us. If needs be… I'll defend us from any threat."

Defend them from Beacon and even General Ironwood. Jaune wanted to laugh but could only shake his head and smile. His father would too. He would put everything on the line like that at the drop of a hat. In a way, Nicholas Arc was selfish beyond measure… but only when it came to protecting that which he loved. Was it any surprise he'd ended up no different?

"Then how about a deal?" Jaune suggested.

"What kind of deal…?" Juniper asked.

"A generous one, I'm sure. You want me to come home because you're worried about me. I want to stay here. Force the issue and I'll probably be arrested long before we could get back to Ansel."

Shaking her head Blake said, "It's sad your family can't understand why you can't just run."

His mother crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What it comes down to is my ability, right? Well, personally I think I've gotten a lot better in my time here."

"Pride comes before a fall, son," Nicholas warned.

Jaune hid the amusement he felt and forced a self-satisfied smile onto his face. It wasn't an expression he was used to, but he closed his eyes and thought of how Roman might look. It was probably a far cry from how narcissistic his old friend was, but if it was even a tenth of the way there then he must have looked smug indeed. "Is it really pride if it's true?" he asked. "I think I'm as good as a huntsman."

"Pft…" Hazel laughed, "Yeah, right."

"Jaune… I think that's a bit much," Lavender said as she fidgeted with her hands. "I'm sure you've improved, but so far?"

"Let's hear his deal first," Juniper shushed her daughters with a stern look. "We can discuss his inflated ego later."

"It's simple really," Jaune grinned. "I challenge Nicholas Arc to trial by combat."

The man in question had never looked so surprised.

"We all know dad would be strong enough to hold this position, so I'll prove my strength by beating him in a duel. If you win, I go home with you – no complaints at all. If I win, however, then you have to keep my secret."

"Damn Lover Boy, gonna try and beat a fully trained hunter with less than a year of training? Knowing you though, you got this." Yang smiled at Jaune who was smiling back, happy at people genuinely believing in him.

Ruby puffed up her chest, pride in her Jaune "You are flipping right Yang! Jaune has this!" Pyrrha nodded along, agreeing with Ruby.

"Isn't that a bit much…" Nicholas said. "Son, I have over twenty years on you."

Something he was acutely aware of… the mere thought of fighting his father had his legs shaking, but he hid it with the same strength he hid all his fear. Instead, he forced a Roman-esque grin onto his face. "I'm sure I can take you," he said.

"Well, far be it for us to burst Jaune's bubble," Juniper smiled and held a hand in front of her husband. "If our son thinks he's become so strong, it would be rude to stop him from proving it, no?"

"Juniper…"

"Just to be clear," she ignored Nicholas and continued, "When Nicky wins, you promise to come home without complaint?"

"I do."

"I don't"

His mother and father shared a quick look, some hidden message exchanged between them despite the lack of spoken words. When she turned back to him she was smiling, however. "Then we have a deal."

Jaune didn't know whether to feel relieved or frightened. Instead, he tried to remember everything he'd learned and held his hand out. "We have a deal," he agreed.

The journey back to Beacon was one filled with stiff silence. Although a duel had been agreed between them, there was no way it could take place in a busy terminal in broad daylight. Knowing Vale more than they did, he'd been able to convince his mother that it should take place in Beacon at night, in one of the private training facilities. That helped to put it off but raised a much more terrifying prospect, keeping them silent until that time. "You have to act normal until tonight," he repeated, for what felt like the twentieth time.

Jaune snorted at his demand for his parents "My parents might listen but good luck with my sister's, they hate me being independent, i'm going to always be their baby brother."

"We know," his mother sighed. "As much as it's wrong we'll keep your little secret… at least until tonight."

He sighed at the clear disappointment in her voice. I can't blame her for it. She's just worried about me… not to mention ashamed of what I've done. Right now, I'm lucky she doesn't scream my lies out to everyone nearby. Even then, she only doesn't because she's afraid of what will happen if she does.

"Is it weird that you get to call Bullheads at will?" Sable asked as they all stepped off the vehicle. "I mean, they just put down whatever it was they were doing to act as a glorified taxi for you."

Everyone gawked at that "Professors can just call bullheads?! For like anything?" Ruby yelled before shaking Jaune by the shoulders "You have to become a professor! We need free bullhead rides!" Jaune did not respond, he was trying not to throw up.

Summer gently pried Ruby off the Knight "Let go of the boy Ruby, I don't think he's gonna become a professor in our universe."

Looking at her green-faced friend she realized he almost threw up "Hehe whoops, sorry about that Jaune."

"Well, I am a professor here," he said. "It's what they're paid to do."

"Still nearly threw up," Hazel grinned, "Some things never change."

Erk… okay, he was working on that one, but his treacherous stomach seemed more resistant to change than his skillset. "I'll get you all set up in some rooms for the day," he said, completely ignoring her comment. "If anyone asks you're here to visit the Vytal Festival and as the family of a professor are getting room and board. There's plenty of important guests visiting so I doubt it will seem out of place."

"Sounds reasonable," Juniper shrugged. "You've become quite adept at lying, it seems."

"I must be quite good…" Jaune sighed a little sad he had to lie in every universe to get any respect as a hunter. He perked up remembering that his friends cared for him and had his back now. His new family. Still loved his old family as well though… just had to win them over as well to the new lifestyle.

That hurt… more than he cared to admit. The truth usually does. Jaune swallowed and pushed on. "You've got my scroll details if you need anything, but keep in mind I might be busy in lessons during the day time. Those will come to an end when the Festival starts so it won't matter."

"It won't matter after dad beats you, either," Amber pointed out.

If he beats me. Which he would… or should. He couldn't be allowed to, however. "Oh," he said, slamming a fist into his palm as though he'd just remembered something. He hadn't, but he could see Team RVNN approaching and knew it would be a good time to fit it in while leaving himself unable to answer any subsequent questions. "Just so you know, I've kind of adopted a little girl as the eighth Arc sister. She's mute and a little shy but if anyone asks, Noah Arc is definitely a thing."

"Wait, wha-?"

"Professor Arc!" Nora cut his mother off, as he'd known she would. The loud bomber waved dramatically, despite there being less than six metres distance between them. "Heyyyyy!"

Pyrrha gasped "It's us! Oh, I wonder how different we are without Jaune as our leader."

Jaune laughed and waved in return, "Hello, Miss Valkyrie."

"Good morning professor Arc," Pyrrha's greeting was much politer, though the smile on her face was no less radiant. The redhead bowed slightly and opened her mouth to go on, only to notice the rather large crowd behind him. "Oh," she flushed a little, "Are we interrupting something?"

Interrupting? Yes. Was that a bad thing? Hell, no. "Not at all. I was just showing my family around Beacon."

Pyrrha's eyes widened, behind her, Velvet and Ren looking just as surprised. "Your family?" she asked. "Ah… Welcome to Beacon. My name is Pyrrha Nikos and this is our team, Team-"

"Pyrrha Nikos?" Amber asked with wide eyes, "The Pyrrha Nikos?"

"I… well, yes…"

Grimacing at the fan worship she turned to Jaune "Are your sister's fans in our universe as well?"

With a thinking face on Jaune thought about it "I think my youngest Blu, she's the one who got me into Pumpkin Pete, she would watch tournament stuff and be excited. So probably her."

"You didn't tell me you knew Pyrrha Nikos!" Amber gasped as she turned towards Jaune. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

Jaune sighed and looked towards Pyrrha. It was hard not to notice how awkward she looked at the introduction. "Does it matter? Pyrrha's just another student," he said, "She's part of Team Raven, which she was trying to introduce you to."

Smiling at the response Pyrrha leaned in and laid her head on Jaune's shoulder "You are the best partner I could ask for."

Amber had the decency to flush, and his mother to level a stern glare on her daughter for having interrupted.

"This is their leader, Ren, his partner Nora and Pyrrha's partner Velvet." He turned back to his family, holdings his hand out. "In order, my mother and father, Juniper and Nicholas Arc. The eldest, Sapphire, the twins Sable and Coral, the terrible twosome Hazel and Jade, little Lavender and the youngest, Amber."

Jaune smiled at the family "You know, some have different names, but they all look the same. It's nice to see my family all together like this."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lavender said nervously. The others expressed their own greetings, all of which felt a little stilted.

"So, you are some of my son's students?" Juniper asked. "I hope you are learning a lot."

"We are," Pyrrha promised, "Professor Arc is a fantastic teacher and we're all proud to study under him."

"I am quite surprised to see Arc as a teacher everyone looks up to," Weiss said, having a complex expression, "I know The Archivist said so but… seeing it is odd."

Ruby glared at Weiss "Jaune would make a great teacher, working himself from the bottom would help him teach better." She stuck her tongue at her friend.

Weiss huffed at her childish leader "I never said he couldn't, it's just something I would not expect after knowing him as a student."

His mother looked bemused at his student's earnest praise, but not nearly as bad as his sisters. Hazel and Jade exchanged confused looks and a shrug, while Amber appeared mortified to hear her idol compliment her idiot big brother.

"Jaune!" The words were called across the hallway as a tall figure made her way over. The four members of Team RVNN stiffened, but not quite as much as he did. "There you are," Glynda sighed as she approached. "James is asking about the use of his flagship an-" She paused, her emerald eyes scanning over the people behind him with a critical eye. She frowned at seeing the teenagers not in uniform, only for the expression to fade a little when she noticed the adults with them. "Jaune," Glynda asked, "Who are those people behind you?"

"Oh these? This is my family. Hey everyone, this is Glynda Goodwitch, she's my colleague and superior at Beacon."

Glynda's eyes widened, her glasses slipping for a moment as she stared at the nine people arranged behind him. "Y-Your parents?"

"I wonder why she seems surprised, shouldn't he have told the other staff?" Blake frowned.

Hm? She sounded a little nervous. Jaune turned to face her with a worried frown. "Are you okay Glynda?" he asked. He wanted nothing more than to step closer, but she'd asked him to keep their relationship quiet for now. "You look a little pale."

"Probably from having to work with you…" Coral muttered.

"Coral," Juniper hissed. "I'm sorry for her. My name's Juniper. I hope my son hasn't given you any trouble working underneath you."

"U-Underneath…?"

"Sometimes he can be stubborn too. He can be very hard to deal with."

"Hard…" Glynda shook her head. "Mr. Arc, can I have a word with you?"

Yang snorted "She seems to be latching onto some interesting words there, is our Ms. Goodwitch so dirty?" The faces her friends made had her laughing.

Uh-oh, it was never a good sign when she fell back to referring to him so impersonally. Most people might have suspected it meant she was angry… maybe it was working with her for so long, but it seemed obvious to him that she was bothered by something. She did look a little paler than usual. "Sure?" he shrugged.

Her glasses seemed to slip a little further, "In private," she practically hissed.

Okay, definitely something serious. Jaune laughed nervously and turned to the rest of the people there. "Can you guys excuse us for a second? Team RVNN, I know it's a lot to ask but could you take my family to the cafeteria and get some food for them?"

"Of course," Pyrrha smiled, "It would be our pleasure."

Ren chuckled but nodded too. "I don't think it's too much to ask considering what you did for us in Misenwood."

"I'd rather deal with your family than that," Velvet agreed.

Nodding along to the agreements Pyrrha said "Spending time with your family certainly seems more fun than fighting a serial killer…" She shuddered at someone who would kill so many innocent people.

Heh… they really were good students. Strange to think that after all the drama they'd given him early on. He felt Glynda's hand tighten into a fist on the fabric of his coat. "Sorry guys," he said, "I'll make it up to you all later. Make sure to be good for my students, okay girls?"

"They will be," Juniper promised, sharing a little, threatening look with her daughters.

Jaune would have said something more, but for the insistent tugging from his colleague. "If we can, Jaune…" Glynda said, in a voice far more high-pitched than he was used to hearing.

/-/

Pyrrha watched a little nervously as Miss Goodwitch pretty much dragged the professor away. She hoped he wasn't in trouble, but never having seen or heard of the stern woman acting like that, had no idea what was in store for him. And now I agreed to show his family around too… what am I supposed to do?

"Who was that?" One of his sisters, the middle ones, she thought, asked.

"That was Miss Goodwitch," Pyrrha explained. "She's one of the most superior teachers here, I think she answers only to the headmaster himself."

"Why did she drag him off like that?"

"Jaune's in trouble," one of the other sisters crooned.

All three of the Xiao-Long-Rose family crooned along "Jaune's in trouble! Jaune's in trouble!" They giggled at the silliness with Jaune smiling at the two having fun. He was happy to see them happy with their mother. Even if he was the butt of the joke.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Pyrrha rushed to assure them, "There's a lot going on at the moment with the Vytal Festival. Miss Goodwitch probably just wanted to speak with him about that."

"What exactly is my son doing for the festival?" the professor's mother asked.

It felt strange to be addressed like that from the man's own mother, especially when she looked to be around the age of her own. Of course, sometimes it was hard to remember that he was close to their age. The difference between them was just that great.

"So great indeed," Weiss said sarcastically. Most of the group snickered except Pyrrha who shot a glare at her. Not noticing she went back to watching.

"The professor is arranging the opening ceremony," Ren answered for her, taking some of the pressure away. She sent him a grateful nod which he returned with a small smile. "Beyond that, I believe he is also going to be one of the commentators for the show."

"Big brother commentating?" the youngest of the girls asked. She was about Ruby's height, and maybe close to her age too. "Pft, I can't imagine him trying to talk to so many people at once."

"He would fall to pieces," one of the others agreed, "He could never even talk to a single girl without nearly dying of embarrassment."

"Or making us," a third said, causing some of the others to laugh.

"That was rather mean of them," Blake said, frowning at the frozen image of Jaune's sisters insulting him "Do they treat you like that as well?" She asked, turning to him.

He frowned and looked away from her gaze "Sometimes? It's usually a joke though, they don't mean it most of the time." that got most of his friends to look at him worried.

"Jaune, you shouldn't take that from them, it's not a joke." Ruby said hugging his side and looking up at him "You are just as important, they don't get to treat you like that."

Laughing nervously to himself "C'mon guys, it's fine, and it doesn't matter anyway since im away from home and not going back for a while." that settled most of the group except Ruby who was still a little worried about his self-worth.

Pyrrha had to fight back an ugly sensation, one she wasn't used to feeling that burrowed deep inside her gut. Her hands clenched into fists as she stared at them. "Professor Arc is more than good enough for such a role," she said, in words that sounded like chipped ice. "I believe he will do splendidly."

His parents didn't say anything, but then they had not insulted him so, either. His sisters, however, looked stunned at her words. That, or the emotion behind them.

Good.

"Damn P-Money did not expect you to be the vindictive type." Yang whistled, impressed at her friend for standing up for Jaune so brazenly.

Pyrrha wrung her hands while blushing "I just don't enjoy people mocking my partner." She frowned at the thought "He does not deserve it."

"It's not like he hasn't done it before," her partner joined in, sharing a brief nod with her. "He handled the main speech for when all the transfer students arrived, plus he was on TV yesterday."

A satisfied feeling swam through her as she watched the entire team come to the defense of their professor, not that he needed it. He didn't deserve it, either, with all the things he had done. How his sisters could look so doubtful, about their own brother, no less? She shook her head and forced a polite smile onto her face. It was one she'd used numerous times for varied press events and meeting fans. "Shall we head to the cafeteria then?" she asked, "You must be quite hungry."

"Yes, please," his mother smiled. "And I'm sorry for my daughters… they often speak their minds without thinking. Well, apart from Lavender."

"Your mom seems to really care for you." Summer said watching the screen sad that she never had the chance to see her children off to beacon.

Jaune shrugged and scratched his cheek embarrassed "It's always been like that, to me it's just her acting like mom."

"Mom…" the palest of the girls whined. If anything, Pyrrha thought she looked sickly.

The journey to the cafeteria gave her the time she needed to calm down. Whatever was between Jaune and his family was no business of hers and she didn't know the full picture either. Her image of Jaune was as the brave professor who had helped her so many times. They saw him as family… perhaps it was just the friendly ribbing Yang and Ruby shot back and forth so many times.

And speaking of those two, the moment they entered the large room, it didn't take long for them to be waved over to some empty seats. "Whoah," Yang said as she leaned back and regarded the group, "Your team grew while we weren't looking. Did Ren and Nora finally get together?"

Looking between the Yang on the screen and the one in the theater Blake's face went pale "Oh gods there's two of them." Everyone laughed at that except Yang who looked kinda offended.

"We're already together," Nora said, either not getting the blonde's meaning or choosing to play along. You could never tell with her. "But these aren't ours. These are Jaunie's."

"This is Professor Arc's family," Pyrrha explained for the confused team. She did the quick rounds of names, repeating them much as he had to her. Thankfully a history of meeting wealthy sponsors and being expected to remember their names came in useful.

"First Noah and now the whole family?" Yang whistled. "Speaking of, where is Noah?"

"Noah?" The expression on the older woman's face was difficult to discern. "Oh, my eighth daughter is likely around somewhere… I'll have to remind my dear son to bring her out. She must be very lonely on her own." For some reason, there seemed to be a pulsing vein on the woman's forehead. It was gone a moment later when her husband leaned in to whisper something. "Sorry about that," she laughed, "So, you're all more of my son's wonderful students?"

"We are!" Ruby cheered as she stood up and held a hand out before her. Jaune's father shook it, which made for a rather odd scene when the small girl's hand was dwarfed in his. "My name's Ruby, Ruby Rose. I'm the leader of Team RWBY."

"TEAM RWBY REPRESENT!" Ruby bounced in her chair, with a fist pump. She got pushed back into her seat by her mom who she gave a sheepish look too.

"You are quite young for that role," Nicholas Arc intoned.

"She's doing well," her partner stepped in, "Despite my early concerns. My name is Weiss Schnee and it is an honour to meet the people who raised our esteemed professor. I hope to one day be capable of his strength and skill."

"And now we are besties for the resties!"

"Well that might not take long," one of the sisters mumbled.

Pyrrha caught it – and from the sudden frown on Blake's face, it seemed like she had too. This went beyond teasing, surely. "Blake Belladonna," she said, stepping forward but not offering a hand. "I owe my life to your brother, not to mention my continued place here at Beacon."

That shut the girl up.

"Your life?" Jaune's mother asked as she bit her lip. The woman looked worried. "Do you mind my asking how that came about?"

"He saved me from the White Fang," Blake said simply, "And fought one on one against Roman Torchwick, right when the man was about to kill me." She didn't say anything about the expulsion, though Pyrrha and her team knew the full story. Blake didn't smile, but she did pull something close to a satisfied smirk, "He was able to fight off a criminal few others have faced and survived against."

"Roman Torchwick?" the eldest of his sisters gasped, "But he's… he's one of the most dangerous people out there."

The whole theater blinked at that before looking at the Archivist who knew more about what had happened. Static looked back surprised "Oh, you wanna know about that? Torchwick did his transcripts in this universe so he let Jaune go with a beating so he would still look good as a professor."

"You worked with Torchwick? That jerk?" Ruby pouted up at him while he sweated.

"I didn't do it in our universe! Other me needed to get in though, still my dream to be a huntsman after all." Jaune said trying to soothe over his best friend. She pouted harder before making an im watching you motion.

"Well the Prof's more dangerous," Yang grinned, "The name's Yang, Yang Xiao-Long – though maybe one day it'll be something a little closer to home. By the way," she turned to the tall man, "You're the prof's dad, right?"

"I am," Nicholas Arc nodded.

"And he's not adopted, right?"

"He is my son."

Yang giggled and rubbed her hands together, "Aw yeah… the future looks good."

"Gotta agree, you would look good with a beard Lover Boy, Throw out his razors when we get back Pyrrha," Yang said looking his dad up and down and then looking back at him.

Summer admonished her oldest "Yang don't talk about your friend like a piece of meat." She agreed, mostly because he looked a lot like Tai, But it wasn't something you should say!

"Sorry mom," Yang said, still looking.

"Oh my god, Yang… please stop…" Ruby's face fell into her hands, while even Pyrrha's cheeks went red. How bold. Fortunately, it seemed the people in question didn't quite catch her meaning. "S-So, you're all here to watch the tournament?" The red-faced fifteen-year-old fought desperately to bring the conversation back to safer grounds.

"Something like that," Juniper said, "Mostly, we're here to catch up with our son… the last time we saw him, he was seventeen." The woman's expression darkened, "It certainly seems like those three years vanished in the blink of an eye."

"June," Nicholas touched her arm with one hand before turning to them. "You are all first years, then?" he asked. They all nodded, though Velvet could have shaken her head to the latter. "And you all intend to become huntresses and huntsmen?"

"That's why we're here," Yang nodded to the sword Pyrrha had spied hanging at the man's waist. It looked well-worn and used. More than that, it never got in the way of the man's legs as he moved, a clear sign of experience. "You're one too, right?"

"I am."

"That's so cool," Ruby gushed, "So you must have been the one to teach him all he knows. How did you make him so strong!?"

The man's expression was complex, a mixture of surprise and doubt, of pride warring with despair and disappointment. "I didn't train him," he said, "Any and all skill he has is self-taught… or training by another."

"thanks for nothing dad," Jaune said, still a tiny bit bitter about his childhood. It's fine though. Everything is fine.

But why would Jaune's own father not have taken a hand to training his son? It was a question Pyrrha was sure they all had, but something about the man's voice made it clear they weren't to ask.

"Well, you must be proud regardless," Weiss attempted to rescue the situation, "Youngest professor in Beacon's history, not to mention the strongest huntsman of our generation."

"Those are quite the titles that have fallen upon my son."

"He earned them," Blake said, her arms crossed. Her yellow eyes seemed to spark, as though daring anyone to challenge her. If they did, they'd soon find the Champion of Mistral standing beside her.

"I can see you're all quite fond of my son," the man laughed, though not cruelly. "I seem to remember I was not quite so fond of my own teachers at your age. Then again, they were all quite a bit older than me."

"He's right, we aren't really that fond of any of our teacher's are we?" Jaune said, trying to think of any of his teachers he liked. He didn't hate any, but he was mostly neutral to them. Maybe when they got back they could make a start at getting to know one or two.

"Oh, oh," Ruby gushed, "Jaune is the coolest teacher ever! He helped with homework, he isn't mean, he offers free counseling-"

"Counselling?" one of his sisters piped up.

"Oh, he's the student counselor too," Blake's smirk widened. "Did you not know?"

"Your claws are showing Blakey," Yang whispered in a voice only audible to those nearby. "I think I should feel threatened but I kind of like it… since when were you the prof's bodyguard? Rawr…"

Yang looked to her partner with a grin "Damn Kitty, you really standing up for the professor arent you? You the teacher's pet?"

Blake's face couldn't turn redder, being the same shade as Ruby's cloak "I am just standing up for a Professor who has helped me, you heard what other me said." That didn't stop Yang from teasing her for the next five minutes.

Blake's eyes narrowed as she glared at her teasing partner.

"Regardless," Weiss tried again, "The professor's position here has been secured in the minds of every student. He's easily the most trusted and respected teacher here, perhaps because of his age."

"And the fact he trounced her sister," Yang grinned and jerked a thumb towards Weiss, who predictably began to splutter.

"It wasn't a trouncing," she gasped, "Winter was… she was taking it easy on someone she greatly respects, that is all."

"He beat my sister?!" Weiss gasped, almost jumping out of her chair in surprise. A few chuckles came out at her silly display before she righted herself, dusting off her dress.

"Eh, beat is a strong word, more like cheated by having someone else who can change appearances fight for him... So he did nothing, but he looked great doing it."

"You have a sister?" the rest of Team RBY asked, wondering why their Ice queen never told them she was an Ice Princess.

"Uh-huh…"

"And she didn't even use some of her abilities, no doubt for fear of harming the audience. Really, I'm sure the fight would have been far more even if she could have gone all-out."

Yang leaned forward with a shit-eating expression on her face. "You mean instead of the ending where he smashes her face into the concrete until she goes unconscious."

Weiss snarled.

"You know," the blonde couldn't resist poking a little further, "That video is saved to my scroll. Heh… I think it's saved to my uncle's eyelids. He watches it at least twenty times a day."

Ruby asked "Can we have that video?" begging Static for a piece of that sweet sweet blackmail.

"Sure, but you'll only get it when I send you back, can't have you all stopping and pausing the viewings for that long."

"Perhaps you'd like to see a Schnee pound a different blonde's face into the ground," Weiss seethed, rising from her seat as her hand gripped Myrtenaster. "It can be easily arranged."

"Girl, there isn't enough lien in the Schnee coffers to make me throw a fight to you."

To any civilian the scene might have seemed shocking, and Pyrrha could see Juniper Arc look worried. To them, however, not to mention everyone else in the cafeteria, it wasn't even worth raising an eyebrow at. A few people behind them shifted away, just in case the melee started right next to them, but otherwise, they didn't even stop eating. The impending spar was interrupted, however, as Amber Arc, Jaune's youngest sister stood up.

"That doesn't make sense!" the fourteen or fifteen-year-old shouted. "Big brother isn't cool, he isn't smart or strong. He's a useless dork and a-"

"And there she goes." Jaune sighed expecting this already.

"Amber Arc," his mother snapped. The little girl went silent but crossed her arms petulantly, clearly unwilling to apologize. "I'm sorry for her," Juniper said, "For all of them. They've never had the best impression of their brother… no matter how hard I've tried to change it."

"He's not useless," Ruby said. It wasn't what she said, nor how she said it – but the way she looked, staring at the girl who had spoken with such bile, such disappointment, that it robbed even Pyrrha of breath. The hooded girl stepped around the table and paced slowly toward the girl until they were standing almost nose to nose. "He's not useless," she repeated, "No matter what you, and no matter what his other sisters think."

"Ya! He's not useless." Ruby said, leaning into her friend. "Jaune is awesome!"

Pyrrha agreed "Quite."

"He is pretty cool."

"...He's alright."

"No comment."

"He looks like a good friend." summer said trying to add her input. She had been feeling a little left out, but the subject matter didn't have much to do with her at the moment.

Jaune sniffled a little at all the people that were there for him. He felt so lucky to have friends like these. "Thanks girls, you all are the best." When he went to leave the hug with Ruby and Pyrrha, he realized they wouldn't let go. "Girls I kinda need my arms." Shaking her head, ruby cried out two words that would lead him to pain.

"GROUP HUG!" he found himself tackled and buried under three girls with Blake coming up and laying on top of the pile with an amused smile and rolling her eyes. Weiss stood on the side looking unamused until ruby dove from the pile and yanked her in. Then it was lots of screaming and hugs.

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. It seemed she and Blake hadn't been the only ones to notice the sister's treatment of their brother. In fact, now that she looked around – it was to see that every one of them was watched but did not interfere. Hmph, it was silly of her to think no one cared. She'd almost forgotten who she was friends with.

"Jaune saved my teammate's life," Ruby whispered.

"I would have died twice now, were it not for him," Velvet agreed. It felt like it had been a while since the angry bunny had returned, but now her sharp eyes were back in full force, and perhaps most pleasantly – not aimed at her.

"He saved our lives," Ren said, getting an answering nod from Nora.

"And my own," Pyrrha was proud to chip in.

"Even for those he hasn't directly saved, he's helped in other ways," Yang leaned her face on the palm of one hand. She looked inordinately proud of Ruby's aggressive stance. "If you wanted to come somewhere and talk badly about him, you chose a really poor place."

"High Five!" Jaune says, getting one from yang and ruby. He was definitely gonna live up to his other-self. Even if it killed him.

Coco and Team CFVY would have agreed, had they been close. In their place, it seemed like Team CRDL were stepping up, the four young men sat cross-armed nearby, frowning at the Arc family. Pyrrha thought the hall around them had gone unusually quiet too, as though others were waiting to hear what was said.

"Say sorry, Amber," Juniper Arc whispered.

The young girl crossed her arms. "You don't know him like we do," she said.

"And you," Ruby responded easily, "Don't know him as we do. Considering that you are supposed to be his family… I'd say that's far worse. It was nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs Arc. I hope you'll excuse me, but I need some fresh air."

"I'll come with you," Weiss said, all traces of competition with Yang gone as she nodded stiffly to Jaune's parents but otherwise ignored his sisters entirely.

"A spar sounds like a good way to clear this mood," Yang agreed, "Blake, you-" The Faunus was already standing next to Weiss and Ruby. "Heh, guess that's why you're my partner. See you later, future in-laws. Hopefully next time you'll actually pay some attention to what your brother actually does."

The sound of the bench scraping back and their retreating footsteps was all that could be heard for the longest time. Eventually, the silence was broken by a long sigh. "Amber," Jaune's mother shook her head. "And the rest of you too… how many times have I told you?"

Pyrrha was happy to see that his mother seemed to care. "It's good to see her stand up for you Jaune."

"Mom always wanted me to be more independent. If dad hadn't put the blanket ban on huntsmen training, she would have gotten someone to train me."

"You can't blame us!" One of the ruder twins snorted. "Look at this shit…"

"I'm sorry," Juniper Arc said as she turned to Pyrrha once more. "We don't want to cause any more of a scene… is there somewhere we can wait for Jaune?"

"The guest quarters?" Velvet whispered. Pyrrha shrugged in response and rose to her feet, beckoning for them to follow. Honestly, the sooner she could be rid of them the better.

Pyrrha Nikos didn't think she had despised anyone quite so much.

/-/

Glynda's pace slowly began to accelerate as she tugged him down a nearby corridor. Students who had the misfortune to stand in their way quickly found reason to be somewhere else, especially when they saw the expression on her face. Because really, if something could rattle Miss Goodwitch, did you really want to stick around and see what it was? By the time they found an abandoned classroom they were almost at full sprint. The older woman pulled open the door and threw him inside, stepped in and slammed it shut behind her.

Her panic was infectious and for a moment he wondered if an enemy was near, "What's wrong?" he asked as his hand fell to Crocea Mors on his hip. "Has something happened?" Cinder, Roman – had Ozpin done something stupid again?

"Cinder? She was used next to Torchwick, is she a villain we should know about?" Weiss asked "And why would he say that about Ozpin, he seemed like a perfectly competent headmaster."

Static lets out a breath at the question about Cinder "Cinder is a tough question to ask about Ms. Schnee And one I can not speak about. Let us leave it at she is a villain-" Static grunted in pain, agony wracking his body as cause and effect begin to change the timeline. The group looks at him scared that something is wrong. "Apologies, I spoke of future events, and in doing so changed what is supposed to happen. I broke the rules and the timeline was punishing me."

Jaune helped him off the floor "You're ok though right? You aren't gonna die from letting that slip?"

"Thank you, Mr. Arc, but no, I will live. Too much of it maybe but since I have already slipped up I may as well tell you what you need to know. Cinder Fall will sneak into your school soon and she is a villain which is all I am able to tell you without breaking anything else."

Everyone got settled back in their chairs while thinking through the new information provided "Okay guys, all in favor of stopping this Cinder persons nefarious plan say aye."

"Aye!" The entire group yells, including Summer, which is odd because she's not going back with them.

Her hands hovered before her face as she stared at him. It was like she didn't know what to do with them. "Parents?" she hissed, not at all like the calm woman he knew. "Why are your parents here!?"

"I didn't plan for it," he said, "They invited themselves."

"Don't you think it's too soon for this?"

Oh, he certainly did. If he'd had his way, then they wouldn't have found out for at least another thirty years. But the Blake was out of the bag and now he had to deal with the consequences. "It's fine," he sighed, "I'll handle them."

"That's racist! Just cause im a ca-" Blake ranted before falling into a purring mess when yang started scratching her behind the ears. "I-I willlll destroy you, Yang… Later."

"What am I supposed to do?" Glynda's hands left him and the woman took a step back. "Should I introduce myself?"

"What?"

The blonde woman stalked from one side of the classroom to the other. Normally so calm, so collected and cool, it was all he could do to stare as her hands fidgeted and her hair swished back and forth. "The age difference… but if I don't, then that makes me a coward. How would they ever accept me if I hid away? Am I ashamed? Jaune, should we be ashamed?"

"What?"

"You're right… of course we shouldn't," she shook her head. "We're both adults here and more than old enough to make our own decisions, correct?"

"Yes?"

"Good." Glynda nodded and took a deep breath, seeming to calm down. She took a moment to push her glasses further up her nose and correct the loose strands of hair that ruined her otherwise perfect visage. "Still… I can't help but wish you'd warned me they were coming so I might prepare."

The confusion was too much, with a raised eyebrow he sighed. "Prepare for what?" he asked, "I think I'm missing something here."

"Us," she said, "You and I, together, meeting your parents. I know I said we're together, especially after what we did, but don't you think it's a little too soon to be introducing me to your parents?"

"MS GOODWITCH AND JAUNE ARE DATING?!" All the girls into Jaune screamed at the same time. Which ones? I'll never tell.

Oh gods, she thought- "Wait, no, that's not wha-"

"It's not that I'm not serious about this either… and of course, eventually, it would have to happen but I always thought it would be after I had a few weeks to mentally prepare myself." She started to pace once more, though this time her expression was clearer. "How am I supposed to explain the age difference? I always knew it was there but seeing your mother… she doesn't look a day over fifty."

"She's forty-two…"

He knew the words were a mistake as soon as he said them. Glynda froze, her eyes going wide once more as she stared at him.

"F-Forty-two?" she gasped. "I'm thirty-three… I'm closer to your mother's age than your own."

That… didn't bother him as much as it should have. He'd always kind of guessed it, deep inside. Glynda had an ageless beauty but the way she carried herself made it clear she was older than his sisters, and Sapphire was twenty-five herself. "Does it matter?"

"Does it matter? I'm thirteen years older than you!"

Sixteen in truth… heh, almost seventeen. She was almost twice his age. "I don't care. Do you think I somehow didn't know you were older than me? So what if you're older than me, it doesn't mean anything."

Ruby flinched at that "Wow she is way too old for you Jaune, or I guess you're too young for her?" Ruby put on a thoughtful expression, having to think about it while Jaune just facepalmed and went back to watching.

"Maybe not to you," she sighed and looked away, "But how am I to explain this to your parents?"

So much trouble, all of it caused by him. He sighed and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her a little closer to him. In truth, it was the first time they'd been so close since… well, it didn't matter. She had as good as said they were together, so wasn't this what couples did?

Her lips were soft and warm against his, more so than he could have ever imagined. They'd slept together so it would have made sense if a small kiss didn't invoke such intense feelings, yet somehow it did. He felt fire rage through him and his heart hammer against his chest as his arms tightened on her.

And she leaned into him at the same time, her own hands coming to rest on his shoulders.

Her eyes were wide as they parted, and with her red cheeks and parted lips it was difficult to restrain leaning back in again. "What was that for?" she asked.

"I… don't know?"

There had been a reason somewhere, but it felt like he'd gotten distracted and dropped it. The woman in his arms leaned her head against his chest and started to laugh.

"There was a reason," he protested, "I can't quite remember what it was but I'm fairly sure it was because I wanted to."

"Aw that was cute," Yang said pointing at the kiss "Weird but cute."

"That… seems like a good reason."

"Look, Glynda… about my parents. I haven't told them anything about you, they don't even know." She looked up at him in surprise but he pushed on. "I'm not ashamed, not about you, our age difference or anything. It's just that you asked for us to be kept private and so I did."

"They don't know?"

"Not at all," he grinned, "You don't have to go through the whole `meet the parents` thing, so don't worry about it."

Glynda sighed and nodded. Her body seemed to go still in his arms, before after a moment's pause she calmly disentangled herself and stepped away. He missed her warmth immediately. "I'm sorry," she said, "That display was more than a little immature of me, I hope you'll forget all about it."

Forget about seeing her look so vulnerable and cute, of standing in his arms and leaning against him like that? Heh… fat chance.

"I think I've said it before but this… us… it's new to me. Place me in front of a hundred Grimm and I shall be fine, but the thought of meeting your parents so suddenly is a battle I'd rather avoid for now." She paused and looked towards him, "Just to be sure, you are… okay… with me not telling them that we are together?"

"It is rather sweet to see this more sensitive side of Goodwitch." Weiss said smiling "She does so much for us that she really deserves some happiness."

He smiled, "I'm fine with it," he said. Honestly, it was probably easier this way. The fewer shocks he gave them, the less chance they'd have of blurting out the truth. Besides… if things went poorly… no, they wouldn't.

They couldn't.

"Then for today I suppose discretion is the better part of valor," Glynda nodded and corrected her glasses once more. "Shall we return to your family before the students scar them?"

"I'm more worried Peter might find them."

Summer blanched when she heard that "Peter? Peter Port?" Her daughter nodded "How did that blowhard get a teaching degree? I had class with him, he would always talk about his grandfather." She shuddered at the thought of hearing another Port story.

Finishing something in her notebook Blake responded "He does the same thing now as well, except more stories about himself." She thought for a moment "And the gold bust of himself, he's a bit out there."

Summer decided right there that she would send a note back to tell him to knock it off or she would haunt him. She'll do it too!

Peter had not, thankfully, come across his parents – but by the time they arrived back at the cafeteria, it was to find that his family had already moved on. His first instinct was to panic, but there was a message on his scroll from Blake detailing how she had led his parents to his office and the sisters to the guest wing of the Academy.

"There are rooms set up for visiting guests," Glynda said, "The staff there will arrange for them. I can have another arranged for your parents as we walk."

"It would be great if you could," he nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Glynda's hand on his sleeve stopped him. "If I may," she sounded uncertain, though not quite as much as earlier. "Would it be okay if I came with you? I'd appreciate the chance to get to know them a little more before we have to explain anything more to them."

So basically, she wanted to take advantage of the fact they didn't know who she was to get an idea of what they were like. I should find that deceitful… is it a bad sign that I can only feel proud? "Sure," he shrugged, "I'm okay with it."

Slaps rained on Jaune from Ruby and Pyrrha "Bad Jaune, no being proud of good lying, bad!" He held up his hands to placate them.

"Promise, no liking the lying for me." They took that in stride and stopped lightly tapping him on the back of the head. These girls were crazy.

If anything, it would stop his parents from instantly jumping to the interrogation stage. In fact, having Glynda with him basically meant they couldn't ask him any difficult questions or guilt trip him at all. Not exactly a bad deal.

I hope my sisters aren't causing any trouble, he sighed as the two made their way to his office. Glynda spoke into her scroll for much of the trek, and he could hear her ensure his family had ample accommodation for as long as they needed it. Hopefully that length of time would be longer than just a single night…

His parents jumped as they entered the room. His mother instantly looked guilty as she closed one of his kitchen cupboards. Nicholas, on the other hand, simply closed a book from his shelf with a soft clap and placed it back.

"Sorry about leaving you both," he laughed and stepped into the room. "Can I get you a drink?"

"It looks like you've had more than enough," Juniper said, indicating the almost empty bottle of booze on the kitchen side. "I don't remember you drinking before…"

Oops, Jaune laughed as he pushed over and tossed it into the bin. It was the same bottle he'd been drowning his sorrows in the night before, back when Blake had brought him away from the brink. It was probably a lucky break she hadn't opened the cupboard stacked with booze.

Or the freezer stacked with ice-cream. What image would that show?

"I drank it over a few weeks," he blatantly lied. "Anyway, water, juice, tea?"

"Water, please," Nicholas said as he accepted a glass, the others taking their own. "This is quite a nice office you have. I believe one of your students mentioned you're a counselor now as well?"

"An idea from the Headmaster and myself," Glynda said, "The students here are often ill at ease talking to people much older than themselves. Jaune is much more approachable to them and has helped many people cope with their problems."

"Do you think we should bring up the idea to Headmaster Ozpin?" Weiss asked, already liking the idea of having someone their age to talk to about issues.

Pyrrha spoke up "It is a wonderful idea. I can bring it up whenever we return."

He struggled to fight back a proud smile at that. Honestly, he hadn't realized Ozpin and Glynda had noticed. "It's nothing," he laughed, "Most of them help themselves. They just need someone to talk to."

"What kinds of things?" Juniper asked. She sounded almost subdued.

"Bullying, relationship problems, confidence, making friends… I've had just about everything you can imagine," he said. Along with a few things they probably couldn't imagine, such as ex-terrorists and criminal masterminds. "My door is open to just about anyone, and plenty of people make use of that."

"Some perhaps who should not," Glynda frowned.

He had the oddest suspicion she was referring to Yang there.

"When did you learn how to counsel people?" his mother asked.

"Trial by fire, mostly."

Jaune shook his head "I can only guess most Jaune's learn by trial by fire."

"Yup."

"We didn't expect Jaune to be proficient straight away," Glynda filled in, "Really, it was more of an experiment on our end than anything else, though we're pleased to see it worked out well. Beacon wouldn't be the same without your son's efforts."

Juniper Arc flinched and looked away, hiding the action in sipping some juice. "I see…" she said. "The students here seem to have a very high opinion of you." His mother sighed, "A very high opinion of you…"

"Your son deserves it."

"They're not the only one to think so, it seems," Juniper looked towards the other woman in the room. "You're the deputy headmistress, right?"

"Of sorts, yes…"

"And you know my son well?"

"I…" Glynda paused to take a sip of her tea. To anyone else the action might have looked natural, but he knew she was calming herself down. "You could say that."

"Do you work together a lot?"

"We have. Jaune helped in one of my earliest lessons by defeating a student whose arrogance had overcome his sense."

Jaune didn't fail to note how surprised his father looked. In a way, it made him happy, especially when his old man turned to regard him with an interested expression. On the other hand, it would have probably been better if Nicholas still considered him no threat whatsoever. "Cardin got a lot better though," he added.

"Wait wait wait, I beat Cardin?" Jaune said "Cardin Winchester? The guy who bullies me constantly?"

"It wasn't very coordinated but ya, kicked his ass, and hey most people thought you acting like an idiot was messing with him. So everyone thought you were even cooler."

Jaune ran a hand through his hair "I can't believe how nice other me is, but not getting bullied must help me see him in a different light." With a sigh, he put a hand in his lap "Still cool I beat him though."

Yang piped up "When we get back Jauney, team RWBY and the rest of JNPR are gonna whip you into shape, you hear me? We're gonna see you kick Cardin's ass in our universe as well."

He smiled at that before rubbing at the top of Yang's head like he does Ruby "Thanks yang, I will definitely take you up on that." He didn't notice the blush on her face but when he leaned back into his seat he did see Yang slap her face twice.

Bad yang bad, no thinking of Jaune like that. She hadn't even gotten angry at him for touching her hair. But he had been gentle so it was fine, right?

"He did. He is coming along very nicely now, especially after you calmed some of his more racist tendencies. Mr. Winchester had issues with the Faunus population," Glynda added when she saw his mother's confused expression. "Jaune was quick to set him right on that front."

"Good," his mother said. "Well, I mean… so long as no one was hurt."

Hm well, he'd been hurt, Velvet had been hurt… Cardin had nearly died and Neo had stepped in to save his life at the last moment.

"It all went according to plan," Jaune shrugged.

Not his, obviously, but someones… maybe… if all went wrong, he could just claim divine providence.

"Someone's plan, who's? Some people somewhere who had some idea probably." Blake said nodding sagely.

"Well," Nicholas said, "It sounds like you've been making waves, son. Certainly, your students were very quick to come to your defense. I've seen teammates less inclined to protect one another."

"That doesn't change anything," his mother muttered.

Jaune winced. He'd known it wouldn't… not in their eyes.

"Much in Beacon has changed since he arrived," Glynda agreed. "I've worked here for so long, but this is the first time I can ever recall the school operating so well. I…" she paused and glanced towards him.

Was she waiting for something? He shrugged back, trying to discern what she meant.

Glynda sighed and closed her eyes. "He is a valuable member of the faculty," she said. "He has… he is…"

"Is something wrong?" Juniper asked.

"Not wrong… just difficult." Glynda looked to him again, but this time there was steel in her eyes, as though she had finally realized and reaffirmed something within herself. "There is something I feel I must admit to you both."

Summer stared wistfully at Glynda about to come clean to her boyfriend's parents. "Takes a lot of guts to come clean like that, Glynda deserves it though, she was always so uptight and unhappy back in school."

Ruby and Yang looked at their mom "What was it like coming clean to Dad's parents?"

"Oh your grandfather hated me, I was the poor orphan friend who led his dear son astray." Summer chuckled at that "But after… after Raven left, and me and your father got together, he begrudgingly gave us his blessing. Said I couldn't be any worse then the bird." the kids smiled at the bittersweet ending to the tale.

Jaune's eyes widened as a flash of panic shot through him. Wait, wait, wait – hadn't they said they were going to keep this a secret? Hadn't that been the plan? "Glynda," he gasped, "I really think we sh-"

"Juniper and Nicholas Arc," the older woman stated firmly. "I understand that there is a significant age difference between your son and I, but I wanted you to know." He scrunched his eyes shut and prepared for the bomb to go off. "I am dating your son."

"Pfffttttttttttttt!"

Everyone laughed at that, even the Archivist.

The sound was akin to an outboard motor on a boat, and as his eyes cracked open it was to see the shocked face of Glynda – of his girlfriend – with juice dripping down her face. Orange liquid clung to strands of hair across her pale skin, smeared also across her glasses and the top of her shirt, which had already started to go slightly see-through. Behind soaked glasses, green eyes blinked owlishly.

His mother, on the other hand, looked no less mortified – bent forward with one fist before her mouth, orange juice dripping from her lips.

"Well," Jaune laughed, "This is awkward…"

A fresh change of clothes for Glynda didn't make it any less awkward. If anything, the fact that she now wore one of his white button-down shirts made it all the worse. It was a little large and loose on her, which only worked to remind everyone that it was not her own. The intimacy of wearing his clothing also made the current situation seem more real. They were dating and this was a thing.

In a terribly unhelpful way, it was also incredibly sexy. So not the time libido, please…

"I'm so sorry about that," Juniper gasped, head bowed as she apologized to Glynda, who even now was using a small towel to dry her hair.

"It's okay. I suppose I caught you by surprise."

"You could say that," Nicholas frowned. "I'm sorry to say our son didn't mention you."

"Of course he didn't! Who's going to tell their parent's that they're dating a thirty-three year old women at seventeen!" Yang said surprised how dumb some people could act.

"That was by my request," Glynda said, completely misunderstanding what they meant. "We have only… we've been together for a relatively short time. I didn't want the knowledge to cause problems with the student body."

"And how long have you been together?" his mother asked, finally regaining her senses and giving him a rather upset look.

Hey, it wasn't his fault she'd spat her drink all over his first girlfriend.

"Only for a week or so," Glynda said, "Though I suppose that was due mostly to my own cowardice in not asking him sooner."

"Wait, you asked my son?"

"I did," Glynda coughed and looked away from them all. "We did dance together at the school ball, but I'd had some feelings for him before that. For a while, I sought to ignore it… the difference between our ages felt too great, but…" she shrugged. "I could not ignore it indefinitely."

"And if you don't mind me asking… how old are you?"

"I am thirty-three."

"Wow, I just realized, She's so young. I thought she would be forty if she went to school with you Mom," Yang said.

"She might have just not gone to school with us in this universe. if it has been ten years since I was supposed to die." Summer said frowning. She totally didn't have one of her good friends in that universe, which is a bummer.

Jaune winced as he saw his mother's eyes widen and then swing to him. "I knew," he said. "I'm totally okay with it."

"Right… well…" Juniper laughed. It sounded hollow. "That's fine then… don't mind me, dearie. I'm just surprised that my little boy is introducing his first girlfriend to me."

`And she's almost double his age` went unsaid, but he heard it nonetheless. Glynda did too, if the way she shuffled was any indication. Even his father didn't seem to know what to say or do. He settled for sitting down beside his wife and placing a hand on her arm.

It wasn't the reveal he'd been looking for… not by a long shot. But no matter how hard it was for him, it must have been worse for Glynda. He nudged her knee with his, smiling to show his support. "The age difference isn't a big deal anyway," he said, "Not since I regularly mark the exams of people closer to my age. I can't really look at my students in that way."

A fairly bold lie, since he'd done just that time and time again. Come to think of it, a student had taken his first kiss as well.

"It was Yang." everyone but Yang said, looking at her with amused expressions.

Yang looked aghast "How could you blame me for something so scandalous, so risque, so so…" She fell back with a hand over her eyes "Ok it totally sounds like me, but you guys could have not just up and said it!"

"I-I guess not," Juniper tried to smile and wave the issue away. It was weak-willed and didn't really do anything to convince him, Glynda or herself – but he appreciated the effort nonetheless. It showed that she tried to pretend like it was nothing. "So, the two of you… dating… how is that going?"

"Fairly well," Jaune said carefully. "We've been on one proper date, but we went to the dance together… it's not like we were strangers before either."

"Well that's good," his mother laughed, "Too many relationships fall apart because people don't get to know one another. And at least there's not going to be any grandchildren running around any time soon, right?"

To his horror, he couldn't quite keep his blush in check. Glynda coughed and glanced away also.

He heard the glass in his mother's hand creak dangerously. "Oh my," she laughed, "And I'm learning all kinds of things I wish I hadn't. Ha ha ha… Nicky please, take over for a moment?"

"Ah…" his father blinked and leaned forward, the three of them smiling as they steadfastly ignored how Juniper strode to the kitchen and had a quick glass of the alcohol he'd thrown aside earlier. "Well, for what it's worth I hope things go well for you both," Nicholas said, "Perhaps it would be best if your mother and I explained this to the girls, however?"

"Maybe it would be best if we just didn't," Jaune suggested.

Jaune noticed how much he agreed with Professor arc, which wasnt a surprise but dealing with his sisters and new news? No thank you.

His father blinked. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Let's go with that one."

"I'm back," Juniper smiled, all traces of any negative emotion gone as she sat down and took Glynda's hand across the table. He'd always known his mother's skills at lying were as good as his own – perhaps even better – but this took the cake. "I know it's early Glynda, but I just want you to welcome you to the family."

"A-Ah," Glynda wasn't so foolish as to not notice the sudden switch, "Thank you, Juniper. I know this must be quite the shock."

"Shock? Oh no, my little boy was always going to grow up eventually. And really, seventeen – thirty-three, they're fairly close, right?"

"Seventeen?"

"Uh oh."

Jaune's eyes widened but his mother beat him to it, "Oh sorry, I meant twenty… you know how it is, or maybe you will one day, sometimes it's hard to accept your children growing up." Jaune gulped as his mother's green eyes seemed to zero in on him. "Sometimes it feels like three years can pass in the blink of an eye."

Heh… yeah…

"Sweetie," Juniper turned to him, "While it's delightful to meet your girlfriend and all your students, wasn't there something we were going to be doing tonight?"

His mood fell like a lead weight, settling somewhere in his stomach as the gravity of the situation came crashing back. He swallowed his fear and smiled, "Yeah, sorry… I almost forgot. Glynda, is there a training ring my father and I could use tonight? Preferably one private from all the others. I… I'd rather not have a repeat of the Winter fiasco."

"The fight must be coming up, I hope I have a plan," Jaune said, frowning at the screen, hoping other him got through this, he deserved some happiness in his life.

Ruby's shoulder bumped him "You totally have this, you were always the smartest tactician out of our two teams. It's why we're always proud to say your our sister team!"

"Ruby, i'm a guy," Jaune said pointing out the logical fallacy.

"Nope, you're an honorary girl now, sister teams for life!" Ruby whooped. He just smiled and rolled his eyes.

If he lost… he didn't want to see the disappointment on their faces. He didn't want to face his own shame.

"A spar?" Glynda didn't notice his despair, maybe because she was too busy dealing with her own mortification. "I suppose there's my classroom. It's locked but you're free to use it. The code is 6631 and if you lock it behind you, no one can enter. You already know how to use all the equipment there."

The place where he'd fought his first battle in Beacon… somehow it seemed fitting that he would fight what was potentially his last there as well.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Awwww."

"If you have something to do, I won't hold you," Glynda said as she rose to her feet. "It was a pleasure to meet you both," she directed the latter to his parents, who nodded back. Juniper didn't quite meet Glynda's eyes, however. She knew full well her goal to bring him to safety would mean robbing this woman of her lover. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said as he led her to the door.

"Yeah," he chuckled bitterly, "Tomorrow."

As a last thought he leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"Another kiss you're not sure the reason for?"

It's a kiss to say goodbye… if I don't get the chance to in person.

"Yeah," he smiled and lied, like he always did, "I guess it is."

"Is that it!? We don't get to see the fight?!" Yang yelled, clearly upset that her action-packed emotional beatdown wasn't going to be shown.

Static stood up and stretched calling the short intermission "Sorry but no, it will be put for another showing, and if you like we can return later on down the line when my backlog is more cleared up."

"Fine fine, Cmon Kit-Kat, let's go get something to eat and chit-chat." She giggled at her own joke, missing that Jaune snorted, finding it funny as well. Blake groaned at the bad pun but followed along.

Ruby pulled Summer, Jaune, and Pyrrha to check out a side room she saw on the way to the bathroom with some cool weapons. With only Static and Weiss still sitting down it had gotten awkward fast.

"...So uh you dating Neptune in your world?" Weiss looked almost surprised by the question. But right as she was about to answer the screen had lit up, another portal appearing on it, then another beside it. "What the FUCK!? Who keeps letting people into my Archive?!"

Two figures shot out of there respected portals, Both turned into a groaning pile of clothes. Only a moment later the left one shot up, hand on his weapon and wild eyes scanning the area. When his eyes locked onto Weiss he calmed down immediately "Heya Ice Queen Jr., you seen your sis? No clue how I got here but If you're here, she's probably the reason I'm here."

Weiss was stunned by the brutish manners of this man "No Winter is not here, This man to my side owns this place and you were brought here against his will. Who are you anyway?"

Grabbing a flask off his hip and taking a swig, he belched "Names Qrow sweet cheeks, you said he doesn't know why we're here either?" Waving a hand at Static.

Static groaned "I know why you are here, I was just not the one to bring you here. The Great Divine has seen fit to drop people into my Domain for her amusement." Statics face paled "Shit, Mr. Branwen You may see someone here who-"

At that moment Ruby and even worse Summer walked back into the room. The chattering in the group of four continued for a minute before ruby noticed Qrow standing there, eyes glazed and empty. "UNCLE QROW!" She flew through the air and tackled him, smacking into him but not even moving him.

Summer stared back sad but resigned to what she would put TRQ through by dying. Qrow slowly walked up and rested a hand on her cheek. He ran his thumb across it to cheek seeing if she was real. "S-Sum?" Qrow's voice quavered.

She smiled at him "Course Birdbrain, who else?"

At that moment, Qrow felt like his world had brightened. He swooped in and locked lips with her. The entire room gasped, including Summer. He pulled back seconds later, stepping away. Watching summer bring a hand to her lips, taking a step back herself and frowning. "What the hell you dumb bird!"

Qrow chuckled "My biggest regret, never telling you I loved you. I knew you didn't like me like that," He shrugged "But if you're alive, even for a short time, I feel I should get it off my chest."

She stalked forward and slapped him on the shoulder "You shouldn't steal kisses from poor innocent maidens like me, we talked about this after that waitress!" She smiled up at him though. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You're right, I never did see you as anything more than a brother, but I'm glad to give you some kind of closure Qrow… I'm sorry I left, And i'm sorry I had to die on you all."

"Not your fault, it was Sa-" He looked at the kids before grimacing "You know who. Just glad to see you again, so tell me what we're doing here."

While Summer and Qrow talked the rest of the group helped the second person off the floor "Oh, Nora don't tackle me please." Lie Ren groaned holding his head.

"Sorry buddy, not Nora, Stuck with your fearless leader." Jaune grinned, happy to have a guy to talk to. They had only seen two of these things but it had been almost 8 hours. It was nice to see his teammate well as well. Maybe next time Nora would be brought and it could be a JNPR reunion.

"Let's get you settled in and tell you what's going on," Pyrrha said, rubbing his back as they led him to a seat and began to tell him what was happening.

---

Preview - Chapter 3

'Okay, he laughed at your pun. That's neat. Let's approach this new situation calmly and not freak out.'

She found herself being dragged off a dazed Jaune by a red-faced Pyrrha and Nora hopped up on some lightning dust from her 'emergency stash'.

Apparently she had rammed her tongue down his throat and attempted to defile him.

"WHAT THE FUCK YANG?!" Ruby screamed.