The Amazing Jaune Arc

by Brotherhoof12

Jaune always wanted to be a hero, that's why he enrolled into Beacon hoping it will give him the chance to do so. What he got was a rejection letter for his troubles. Now living in Vale with no direction Jaune asks himself if he will ever have the chance to be what he dreamed to be. Turns out his question was answered with a spider bite.

47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: Brotherhoof12 does not own RWBY or the Spider-Man franchise.

---

(Chapter 47: Vytal Festival)

The second day of the Vytal Festival was drawing to a close. As the sun edged closer and closer to the horizon, the people of Vale and other kingdoms began departing Beacon's courtyard to prepare for tomorrow. But one Huntsman, whose nieces were Beacon students, decided to use what little daylight remained to introduce them to two significant people.

Fortunately, there was a stand that had yet to clear their tables. Qrow Branwen, along with his niece Yang and his former lover, Miranda, sat at one such table. Ruby and Sofia, his daughter, were seated at another table.

To say Yang Xiao-Long and Ruby Rose were shocked to discover they had a cousin would be an understatement. Both girls were staring at the mother and daughter with slack-jawed and wide-eyed faces.

"So!" Qrow clapped his hands, drawing the attention of all four females. "I think staring at Miranda and Sofia isn't gonna get the ball rolling."

"Can you blame us?" Yang spoke, still shocked from learning Qrow had a daughter. "Weiss and I won our match, so I was expecting a congratulatory dinner... but then you dropped this bombshell."

A server came by and poured a few glasses of water for the quartette before quickly going on her way, not wanting to get caught in this personal matter.

"Yang," Qrow took a drink from his glass, the cold and soothing water relaxing his dry throat. "I know this is…."

"Qrow," Miranda interrupted him. "I think I should be the one to explain the rest. I was the one that decided to start all this after all."

Qrow nodded and allowed her to explain.

"Your uncle and I were together, and Sofia is indeed our daughter. But I want you both to know he didn't abandon me." She explained, keeping her eyes on Yang, whose stern gaze began to wilt. "We met when he and a group of huntsmen came to my village to take care of a Grimm Pack. They stayed at my family's inn, which I had inherited after my parents died. We started dating soon after, one thing led to another, and suddenly I was pregnant. When I saw that positive test, my mind was running a mile a minute, and I was scared that Qrow would leave me if he found out."

Yang averted her gaze when Miranda's voice cracked and her eyes teared up. She looked over to a nearby table and noticed Ruby and Sofia sitting there. Ruby had sensed the coming tension and so brought the twelve-year-old over to the other table. The young reaper was currently using her semblance to entertain the preteen by creating rose petals that floated around them.

Watching the two girls brought a smile to the blonde's face, recalling moments from her childhood when she took would cheer up Ruby.

She wasn't alone, for Qrow and Miranda looked on as their daughter played happily with her newfound cousin.

"I know this sounds clichéd," Miranda began, having calmed her emotions. "But I always regretted never telling Qrow about my pregnancy and denying him the chance to be a father. I was just... scared. I was barely into my twenties, trying to run an inn, and the father of my child was a huntsman. We both had different plans, and we couldn't give them up. So I called it quits once the mission ended."

Miranda looked down at the table.

"A few months after Sofia was born, I moved to Vale. It wasn't long after that I learned the Grimm destroyed my village." She looked at Qrow. "I can't imagine how you must've felt when you heard the news."

Qrow kept silent as he took his former lover's hand in his.

Miranda looked at Yang, "None of this is Qrow's fault. It's all mine. I'm the one who deserves your anger."

As she gazed at the woman who could have been her aunt, Yang thought that it would be easy to blame Miranda. She knew Qrow was not the type to abandon family, especially if it was his own. She did sympathize with her, as the woman's story was somewhat similar to her mother's, save for the fact that she did out of reasons she understood.

Yang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled. She opened her eyes and saw Miranda's calm expression, her shaking hands gripping her glass, showing just how nervous she indeed was.

"You know," Yang's voice was soft and slow. "I wanted to become a huntress partly because I wanted to look for my mother."

Qrow sat up straight, surprised by how calm Yang was talking about her mother. But what surprised him was what she said next.

"I wanted to ask her why she left and if there was a chance for her to come back and fix what she left broken."

Yang reached out and took Miranda's hands and squeezed them.

"I know that won't happen so soon, but that's ok, I can wait a little longer. It just gives Ruby and me more time to know our cousin."

Miranda smiled at the girl who would have been her niece.

Throughout dinner, they celebrated the newest additions to a rather unorthodox family.

---

Jaune stirred from slumber, his eyes blasted by rays of the morning sun. He sat up, stretched his arms, and yawned. It was now the third day of the Vytal Tournament, meaning he had little time to spare. He quickly took a shower and got dressed, leaving his borrowed dorm room just as quickly.

As he walked through the hallways, he heard from one of his spiders that someone was silently approaching him from behind. As his spider-sense hadn't tingled, he recognized that he wasn't in danger. But there was only one person he knew of that can sneak up on him like this.

"Jaune," He turned to see Blake standing behind him. "Do you have a moment?"

'It's only the third day of the tournament, and Blake finally decides to ask me something?'

"Sure, I've got some time to spare. Lead the way." If Blake was surprised by how casual he was acting, she didn't show it.

'But when you have a power that allows you to sense hostile intentions, feel the vibrations under your very feet, and talk to spiders, you tend not to get rattled much.' Jaune thought to himself, glad to have gotten one over on Blake for once.

The two teens walked out to one of Beacon's gardens. After finding a spot near a tree, the two stood there. Blake crossed her arms and leaned against the tree.

"The team decided to let Yang compete in today's rounds." Blake chose to talk about her team rather than start with Spider-Man. After all the time she's spent with him, Blake felt that it'd be rude to treat him as an acquaintance rather than a friend. "Yang is with Ruby and their uncle right now, along with some woman and kid. I saw them last night too, but it must've been a private thing, so I kept out. Weiss is having tea with her sister, obviously for some sisterly bonding time."

"And that leaves you without much to do," Jaune concluded, with Blake nodding in affirmation. "Before you ask, our friend didn't attack the councilman during the Breach. The White Fang set him up."

"Tch," The brunette scowled irritably, "Those idiots! They were behind the Breach, after all. I usually don't trust the media, considering how untrustworthy they can get. But I'd be an idiot if I tried defending a group that's resorted to murder to accomplish their goals."

The Huntress turned quiet, adopting an expression that was both anxious and fearful.

"Blake?" Jaune didn't like the look on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Blake let out a slow breath. "I just- I just needed a moment."

Jaune watched Blake reined in her emotions, her usual calm and stoic demeanor returning.

"Did Spider-Man encounter a faunus with bull horns? He has red hair and uses a katana."

'Adam,' Jaune instinctively touched the wound left by Adam's sword. 'I forgot he said that Blake was his old student. Is she worried that he might find her here in Vale? Considering what's going on, that's a very high possibility.'

"Yes," Jaune answered, and Blake seemed even more nervous. "Adam fought Spider-Man. He was also the one who kidnapped the councilmen, and I'm sure he was the one who ordered his goons to hurt the councilmen too."

"Adam is here after all." Jaune could see Blake slightly shaking from the news that her old mentor is now in Vale. "I, I knew that he was already too far off to save, but I didn't know he would go to such lengths already! I can only be thankful that Spider-Man and everyone else stopped his madness."

"Speaking about madness," Jaune decided now was a good time than any to ask his questions about her. "Adam had a fascinating talk with Spider-Man, and it involved your family. You know, the chieftain of Menagerie, Ghira Bellodonna."

Blake's cat ears twitched behind the bow tie she was wearing.

"So tell me, princess," Blake's bow on top of her head drooped forward. "Do you mind telling me why Adam thinks he can overthrow humanity by using some space rock called 'Vibranium'?"

Blake was already down at the dumps when Jaune called her out on her true identity. And now she looked devastated at how her family secret is now known to an outsider thanks to Adam.

"Come on, Blake," Jaune sighed. "And don't even think that hiding your cat ears with a ribbon works. You do know the internet exists, right? Anyone would put the dots together on who you are, especially with how you didn't even change your name!"

She flinched at Jaune's outburst, and she felt that she had nothing to defend herself against his logic.

"Your right," Blake could only admit her mistakes and move on. "I should have changed my name before coming to Beacon. But I was all by myself when I decided to run away from the White Fang, from Adam. I can only count myself lucky that Beacon accepted my team and me."

"So," Jaune looked around to make sure no one else was about, but he knew his spiders would let him know. He just did it to fool Blake into thinking he was extra cautious. "You told your team who you are?"

"Yes," Blake answered and removed her bow to let her ears finally get some blood circulated into them. "It was during our mission with Professor Oobleck in Mt Glenn. Weiss was already expecting who I was at the beginning of our team being formed. Yang and Ruby were surprised to know that they had two 'princesses' on their team."

"And the vibranium? Did you tell them about that too?"

"No." Blake glared at the ground, her hands balling into fists. "Never. After what happened to Adam, I swore to never talk about my family's secret. You and Spider-Man should already know how dangerous it can be in the wrong hands. And I don't have the right to talk about it after I ran away from my home."

"But Adam knows about it, and he said that there is more. How much more is your family hoarding?" Jaune pressed further in trying to understand the importance of the secret metal.

The young spider waited as Blake seemed to have an inner debate about how to answer his question. And just when Jaune was about to rescind his question, Blake spoke up.

"They told us that we would receive land after we partook in the great war. Many of us were overjoyed. Yet it was revealed they would only give us Menageire that joy turned into betrayal."

Blake raised her right hand that held her ribbon to Jaune.

"It was mainly sand in Menagerie and with so few places that can be considered hospitable and how dense the population of Faunus.

We gave in to infighting to see who would control our little 'kingdom' and that only led to more fighting amongst my kind. I'm sure the people who made the idea to give us that dirt patch loved the sight of us fighting our own. The sad part was that it did make us look like animals fighting each other in our new, small cage we call home today."

The next thing Blake did was toss her ribbon to Jaune. When he caught it, he felt that the ribbon oddly felt metallic.

"My great-great-grandfather was one of the few who tried to stop our people from fighting. And time after time, he would always be beaten down for trying. That didn't stop him from trying again and again in finding a way to make everyone stop killing each other. That's when he found a secret underground cave that held a resource not yet known to Remnant."

"Vibranium." Jaune used both his hands to grasp the ribbon and pulled on each end. To Blake, it just looked like Jaune was just examing the ribbon she handed to him.

However, Jaune was attempting to break the thing only to fail as it stayed the same with no indication of it straining.

'I'm making sure I'm using enough strength to break steel chains, but this ribbon still looks the same with no signs of breaking!'

While Jaune continued his actions, Blake decided to do the same and explain more of her family heritage.

"My great-great-grandfather used the vibranium to make himself unbeatable. He defeated every opponent, and soon the people followed under his leadership. It wasn't just the metal, though. He found several tapestries too. Images of the true size of Maneagrie before the Faunus arrived. As well as a statue of a large panther that is now my family's symbol."

"True size? You mean Maneagrie was once larger than it is now?" Jaune asked her. After confirming that he couldn't break the fabric, Jaune returned the ribbon to Blake, who tied it over her ears to make it look like a bow.

"Yes, we don't know what happened, but my family believes that the other half of Menagerie is still out there. The text that was on the walls of the cave is said to help find the lost half. Only the head of my family knows such knowledge, and my father was about to tell me the secrets too as a way for me to get ready to lead Meanegire."

"Only you didn't because you stayed with the White Fang."

"Yes, it was when my family walked away from the White Fang. Its once peaceful nature changed to violence, and at the time, I thought that we needed such actions to change Remant."

"Then why didn't you help Adam get more vibranium from your dad? Or even in the Faunus wars? You guys could have not just won, but maybe even grab more land."

"I thought so too!" Blake shouted in rage, but to Jaune, it sounded like it was aimed at herself and not him. "I thought that too! What if we used the metal my great-great-grandfather used? There would have been fewer casualties on our side. Maybe we could even use it to show we are equal to humans. I still think that sometimes. Yet, after seeing what the White Fang and Adam become. I realized that the conflict would never end. Maybe that's why my father wants to keep the metal locked and hidden away. The metal was only to unite my people together in peace, not used as a weapon to incite violence to the rest of Remnant."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Jaune couldn't help but speak the exact wise words Uncle Ben told him before he lost his life. "You great-great-grandfather knew when to use violence and when to not. Your great-great-grandfather, your father, and now you, Blake, know the weight of responsibility. I'm not going to pry about family, and lord knows I have my fair share of family problems too. But I thank you for telling me all this, and I'll be sure to let Spider-Man know too."

Blake shook her head.

"I should be the one to thank you. It feels nice to let someone else listen to my story and to understand just a bit about my plight." Blake then suddenly let out a chuckle. "You know, a while ago, I thought you were Spider-Man. From how you acted at school and how you are gone and then Spider-man shows up. It sounds stupid now that I say it out loud, am I right?"

"Yes," Jaune said in a straight face. "It is amusing, Blake. Can I ask how you changed your thoughts about me being Spider-Man?"

"You were held hostage by the White Fang when they decided to try and openly attack a councilman. I know this cause I watched past news after I came back from the field mission. They said that a bystander helped other people escape the fight. They described that he was young and blonde, and I thought of you."

"Ah, well," Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Yes, I was that bystander." He answered as there was no reason not to deny it.

'Who knew that having a Spider-man from a different dimension would come in handy. Thanks, Rito!'

"And to be perfectly honest," Blake looked to her side in a shy manner. "I also called your Aunt, too, and she told me it was you."

"Hold up," Jaune raised a hand in front of him. "When and why do you have my Aunt's number?"

"It was when I visited, remember? I didn't even ask, and she just gave me her number as soon as I told her I know you." Blake made a slight shrug and tilted her head at the same time. "She even called me to congratulate my team's victory too."

"Did she say anything else?"

Blake started to laugh. Gone was her sad appearance that looked like the weight of the world weighed on her shoulders. In her place was just a teenager laughing her cares away that gave Blake a much better appearance.

"Blake?" Jaune asked and was denied an answer by Blake, who just turned away from him. "Blake? What else did Aunt May say?"

"See you later, Jaune." With a new bounce to her step, Blake walked away before stealing a glance at him over her shoulder. "I hope you enjoy the rest of today."

"Blake! Come on, Blake!" His call to her fell to deaf ears, and he did plan to follow her. "Hm?" Only to hear his scroll blaring out its ring tone to notify Jaune someone is calling him.

Pulling out his scroll from his pants pocket, Jaune saw the caller id to be 'Whitley' and answered the call.

"Morning, Whitley!" Jaune said and stayed quiet to listen to what his friend had to say. "Your friends from Atlas? They're at the front waiting for you, but why-" Jaune stayed quiet again to listen. "Oh, I see, ok, I'll head over and meet them. See ya' later, Whitley."

Hanging up the scroll, Jaune's plan on breakfast would be out of the picture today as he was now about to meet Whitely's friends from Atlas.

"I wonder who's Whitley's friends can be in person. If they're like Whitely, then I'm sure I can handle a normal conversation or two."

---

If there is one word Jaune can use to describe Whitley's friends, it would have to be strange.

All the things he knew about Flynt Coal and Neon Katt he heard from Whitley, whom he had expected to be present during this little foray into the festival.

'Kind of wish Whitley was here, though. Jaune thought as he walked with the two Atlesian students. 'I guess he's with his sisters. I wonder what they're there discussing. I hope it's nothing too serious. But considering how Whitley was acting, I doubt it.'

Jaune was about to ask the duo where they were heading, only to stop, with Flynt turning to address him.

"Neon and I saw a small band playing in this part of the festival. You wanna join us, Jaune?" Flint asked.

"Uh, sure, yeah," Jaune liked to think he was pretty confident when speaking to his friends; But when it came to strangers, not so much. 'Whitley only introduced them to me not an hour ago, before leaving. In all that time, I didn't know what to say.'

Now, he was sure they were on the level, considering Whitley vouched for them, but the blonde spider still felt the need to be careful around them.

'I know Whitley didn't tell them I'm Spider-Man. Just like how he didn't tell T'Challa.' Jaune nodded his head, following after them. 'Maybe I'm a little too on edge. But given what V.I.C. told us, I think I have every right to be.'

The trio teens made their way through the small crowd before finally reaching the small band.

As it turned out, Jaune had been acting too guarded as he watched Flint and Neon talk casually with the band. This group wasn't as popular as the one performing on stage, as they were only playing for fun. Jaune thought it was pretty interesting that a group of people would perform just for the fun of it, not for money.

What was more interesting was that this particular band's preferred genre was jazz. The leader of the jazz group looked over at Flynt, whose face lit up in pure joy as he talked with musicians. But then the huntsman-in-training asked if he could play with them. He wondered if Neon can join too, as he claimed she was quite the drummer.

Seeing no harm in such a request, the band allowed them to join in, with Neon replacing their drummer.

Jaune had never claimed to be a fan of jazz. When Flynt has asked if he had ever heard of "Free Jazz," the Arc did not attempt to hide his ignorance on the topic. Flynt smiled, informing him that he was about to receive his first lesson on the musical genre. After joining the band, Neon and Flynt began playing their instruments. Jaune listened as the air became saturated with a disjointed and irregular tempo that was somehow enjoyable to hear.

'I expected them to be good, but not this good!' Jaune thought in amazement as he watched Flint play his weaponized trumpet, Argent Blare, to a small audience that was slowly growing larger. The young man performed with all the confidence and swagger of a professional musician, demonstrating his skill with the instrument.

Neon showed great talent with the drumsticks, exciting the crowd as she kept up the beat. Her quick change in tempo and rapid beats made her look like she was banging the drum. Yet, it somehow made the music more pleasant.

'Man, do all the academies have such weird students?' Now, Jaune wasn't using the word "weird" as an insult. No, it was more of an observation on the eccentric personalities that make up Beacon's eclectic and diverse student body. Sure, his school had its fair share of notable characters, but they paled in comparison to these teenaged warriors.

And he was glad to have met them.

'Maybe I was a bit too awkward. I should be a bit more open to Whitley's friends.' The blonde thought to himself.

The impromptu jam session ended with one final loud note, prompting rounds of applause from the audience. The band thanked the audience for their time, which drove the crowd wilder with joy. They promptly thanked Flynt and Neon for playing them, which the two student hunters reciprocated. The two Atlesian teens made their way over to Jaune, intent on continuing their sightseeing tour of the festival. Jaune now walked beside them, rather than from behind as he did earlier.

"That was incredible! I never thought I'd like jazz, but you've convinced me! How long have you two been practicing?" Jaune asked the two teens.

Neon chuckled at the question and replied, "Flynt's been playing trumpet since elementary school. It helped that his mother plays trumpet for the Atlas Orchestra. I got into drums when we started Globe academy. But you should listen to Whitley play the piano sometime! I mean, he's a natural! There was this one time when he and I did Groovy Duel together, and it sounded like we've been playing together for a long time, and it was only the first time we did so!"

As Jaune listened to her story, he felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket.

He took it out and saw the caller ID. "Sorry, Neon, I've got to take this. Hold on."

He pressed call and held the scroll to his ear, "Hello?"

"Jaune," He winced as the voice of one Harry Osborn shouted into his ear. "Where are you!? We've been trying to find you, but we keep getting distracted by some of these stands! They're selling some cool stuff!"

"Hey, Harry!" Jaune was ecstatic to hear that his best friend was at the festival. "I'm somewhere in the middle, and I'll try and... Wait; hold up, did you say 'we'? Who else is with you?"

"Gwen, MJ, and Brock are with me too!" Harry answered. "My dad said that I could bring my friends to the festival and I decided to ask them, and they were all free for today! Anyway, we're all here now, but we don't know where you are."

Jaune looked between Whitley's friends and his scroll when suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

"Hey, Flynt, Neon, can I ask you two something? Some of my friends are at the festival, and I wondered if you'd like to meet them. What do you say?" He asked, hoping that the two would accept his proposal. The Atlesian students shared a look and smiled, putting Jaune's fears to rest.

"I'm down. Let's make a party out of it." Flint replied with a nod.

"Yeah, it's no problem! The more, the merrier!" Neon cheered as she got in Jaune's face. "So, where can we meet them?"

"Right," Jaune leaned away from the excitable cat girl, returned the scroll to his ear, and spoke into it. "How about we meet at a noodle shop? Oh, which one? I know this one food stall owned by an older man who's surprisingly spry for his age. Ok, uh-huh, all right, see you there!"

He ended the call and addressed his newest acquaintances. "We're closer to the shop than they are. When they're near, I'll give Harry a call and lead them to us. So, how do you guys feel about some ramen noodles?"

Neon and Flynt grinned at the question, which was all the answer the Arc needed.

---

Jaune Arc was jacked. That was Neon's first impression of the young man.

She had never really been into the whole weightlifting thing, but even she had to admit it was difficult not to blush around Jaune.

When Whitley had told them he had a friend in Vale who knew Spider-Man, Neon was understandably excited to hear this news. To be friends with a real-life superhero was one of the most extraordinary things to ever happen to her, but to meet another would be amazing. The instant she met Jaune, though, she started to suspect that the Schnee may have been withholding some information from her and Flynt.

She quickly glanced at the blonde, taking note of the muscles that strained against his clothing. 'With how buff he is, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say Jaune might be Spider-Man.'

Neon remembered what Whitley had told her about Spider-Man. Before that, she had this idea that the spider hero was this larger-than-life type of person. Imagine her surprise when her vigilante friend, Whitley, had told her that Spider-Man was surprisingly a very humble and down-to-earth kind of guy. She also thought it hilarious that a guy who can swing on a web can get motion sickness while being carried by Iron Man.

Suddenly, she recalled when she first Jaune. 'Now that I think about it, Jaune did look pretty pale when he got off that bullhead. With that bod and motion sickness, there's a good chance he is Spider-Man!'

With that realization, she pouted. 'Hmph... Whitley's got some explaining to do!'

Her inner musings were forgotten when the ginger-haired Faunus came across two familiar faces.

"Oh, my god," Neon ran over and hugged the new arrivals. "Ceil! Penny! I'm so happy to see you guys here! I thought you guys were going to be with Rhodey and the Doc for the rest of the day."

Neon took great care not to mention that Penny, being a cyborg, had been undergoing some much-needed tests in preparation for today's matches.

"My uncle and Dr. Polendina said we could enjoy the festival," Ciel spoke succinctly.

As Neon expected, the beret-wearing girl looked at her watch. "I planned to eat for an hour before waiting thirty minutes for my stomach to process the food. I let Penny decide on our cuisine, and she chose this noodle shop. It took us about twenty minutes to get here, which was five minutes ahead of schedule."

"Ah, I see... Well, at least you got an extra five minutes out of it." Neon said with an unsure smile, somewhat disturbed by her friend's overtly excessive scheduling.

Penny spoke to Neon, "I had chosen this stand because that gentleman over there," she pointed to a balding elder operating the shop, "is working here. He looks familiar too, my database-"

Ciel nudged her elbow into the secret cyborg's side.

"Er, I mean... my brain, specifically the hippocampus, which is very much organic-Hic!" Penny hiccupped before continuing, "Remembers him running multiple businesses across Vale; I was quite surprised to learn that he was running a food stand at the festival."

Neon looked past Penny and saw the old man serving a bowl of ramen. Now that she recalled, she saw him running the Dust Till Dawn shop. She also saw him driving a delivery truck on a few occasions. She was pretty sure that he also ran a convenience store.

'Huh, I think I see what she means. Either the geezer has a dozen identical brothers, or he's just a great multitasker.' Neon couldn't help but wonder.

Neon shook her head and shoved that idea out of her head. She was about to ask the two about their later plans when Jaune called out to a group of people.

"Harry! You guys! Over here!" Jaune waved his hands over his head.

Neon watched as four people walked toward Jaune. She, along with Ciel and Penny, joined up with Jaune and Flynt to greet these newcomers.

"Everybody," Jaune waved his friends over. "I want you to meet Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and Eddie Brock!"

Neon looked the first girl, Gwen Stacy, over. She was pretty, with tanned skin and brown hair tied into a ponytail, with tired-looking amethyst eyes. She seemed like the easily stressed type. Maybe she works with kids?

'Ok, she's a little easy on the eyes, but this other girl….' Neon assessed before turning her gaze on the second girl, whom Jaune introduced as Mary Jane Watson.

Gwen was pretty, but Mary Jane was beautiful! She had a full hourglass figure, beautiful, unblemished skin, vibrant and luscious scarlet hair, and enticing emerald green eyes that shone with joy and mischief. Neon had a feeling she was going to get along with this girl.

'But, seriously, this girl looks just like Pyrrha Nikos, if she were a model!' She thought, both impressed and somewhat jealous.

"Hey, the name's Harry. It's nice to meet you," Greeted the hazel-eyed boy with Auburn hair.

Despite his clothing, consisting of jeans, a button shirt, and vest, Neon could see that the boy was quite fit, somewhat lean yet toned. He had a very approachable and friendly demeanor.

'This guy is pretty fit.' Neon had to admit; she rarely saw civilians that were this physically fit. 'He has to be some kind of athlete. But the guy next to him? WOOF!'

Neon had said she wasn't into the bodybuilding thing, but this last boy made her reconsider her stance. Eddie looked quite similar to Jaune, having blonde hair and blue eyes. That's where the similarities ended. Unlike Jaune, who was quite muscular in his own right, Eddie looked to be sculpted by none other than God himself! He was tall, with a chiseled jaw, a barreled chest, and solid and strapping arms. He seemed very confident yet quite laidback.

If Neon had to rate the physiques of Jaune and his two male friends, the final scorecard would look like this: Harry, coming in at third, with Jaune taking second, and finally Eddie placing first.

'If I thought Jaune's body could make him Spider-Man, then this Brock guy can pass for a huntsman! Heck, if Jaune hadn't told us he only had seven sisters, I would have mistaken them for brothers!' She thought in wonder.

She sat between Mary Jane and Jaune. She saw the boys had taken to sitting on the right, with the girls taking the left side of the shop, with her seat serving as the border.

She watched as the old coot handed them their menus, followed by him pulling up a pen and notepad.

'Ok, now I'm getting some serious déjà vu watching this guy.' Neon thought before giving her order. She chose to have a simple bowl of spicy miso ramen with chili-roasted salmon.

The other teens gave their respective orders, with the old man writing them down. Except for Penny, as she had asked for a glass of water, the cyborg was unable to digest food. He quickly retreated to the back to prepare their meals. As they waited, the nine teens began conversing amongst themselves.

"So, Neon," Mary Jane addressed the cat girl. "I saw your fight against the Schnee girl and her teammate. You guys were pretty good with how you were dodging almost every attack."

Being the type to enjoy praise, Neon replied in her typical upbeat tone.

"Thanks for the compliment, Mary Jane! I always make sure I never miss a beat when it comes to training! And to be honest, it was kind of easy to rile Blondie up with some pregame trash talk."

'Whitley did say that when he first met Yang, she seemed like a hothead to him' She recalled the blonde brawler's hair igniting in flames from rage. 'He didn't know just how literal he was with that assumption.'

"In my opinion, I thought Flint and I had a good strategy going. You know, with me gaining Yang's attention while he takes her down."

"Hmph!" Flint grunted, gaining the conversationalist's attention. "And it would have worked too. I should have taken Princess out before she tackled me into a geyser!"

Neon couldn't help but involuntarily flinch at Flynt's tone. She wanted to reassure him that it hadn't been his fault, but at the same time, she agreed with his self-scathing assessment.

'It was just a tournament, and the environment wasn't going to kill us. Flynt really should've taken Weiss out first when he had the chance.' She grimaced at how insensitive her thoughts sounded, but Flynt appreciated it when his friends were honest with him.

"Is there a reason why you didn't, Flint?" Jaune asked, now causing everyone to stare at the fedora-wearing teen.

Neon saw that Flynt was now getting quite uncomfortable, either from all the eyes on him or unable to explain his decision.

Flint sighed in defeat. "You know, looking back on it now, I made a mistake even a rookie wouldn't have made. I assumed since her aura was so low that she'd just lay low and stop fighting. How was I supposed to know she was gonna push us both into a volcanic geyser?"

"Technically, that wasn't lava. The lava was a hard-light construct, if I remember right. But it was just for show, not the real thing. Even if your aura had protected you guys, I doubt it'd have last long if it were real lava." Jaune pointed out.

"That's true, Jaune, but you got to admit watching them makes our football matches lame by comparison," Harry said glumly. "Who'd want to watch a bunch of guys tackling each other for a ball when they can watch people shoot fire and ice at each other instead?"

Just as the heir spoke, the old stand owner returned with their orders.

"Wow! This looks good!" Neon lifted the bowl and was shocked by its size. "And this bowl is massive! Does he think we can eat all of these noodles?"

"You guys can." Gwen glared enviously at the Huntress. "I eat a quarter of this, and I'll be paying for it later!"

"Meh," Neon shrugged as she dug into her food. "I like to think that thanks to our school's training and aura, I can keep my figure the way it is."

"I don't think aura protects us from gaining weight, Neon," Flint smirked as he looked at Harry and Jaune, the latter of whom nearly finished with his bowls. Flynt seemed much calmer, most likely because he no longer had to talk about his match.

Still, he can't help but marvel at quickly Jaune went through his meal. Everyone was staring at the blonde.

"Hmm...?" Jaune saw that everyone's attention was now on him.

"What, I missed breakfast," Jaune told them.

He wasn't lying either, as he had indeed missed breakfast on account of a certain curious cat girl.

After another couple of minutes of eating and talking amongst each other, Ciel and Penny had to leave and get ready for Penny's match today, leaving only seven teens sitting at the noodle shop.

Their eating became secondary when the old shop owner turned on the TV.

"I wonder who will be the first to fight?" Asked Harry as everyone else had the same question too.

"We're about to find out." Said Eddie as everyone sat in silence and waited to see who will be fighting.

The TV shifted its sights on one end of the arena that had Yang raising her arms in the air, causing people within Amity to cheer louder.

"She seems to be the crowd favorite." Neon commented.

"Can you blame them? She's been practically steamrolling the competition since day one." Said MJ.

"Yeah, that is true," Jaune continued to watch and see who Yang was fighting. "But I wonder if Pyhrra might be the only one who can beat her."

"Don't count Atlas out just yet, Jaune," Flint said to him. "Penny ain't no slouch either."

Just as Jaune was about to speak, his attention turned back to the TV when he saw Yang fighting someone he knows.

"Mercury?" Jaune said out loud in both confusion and apprehension.

"You know the guy, Jaune?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," Jaune didn't look away as Yang and Mercury started to fight. "I know him, and I'm starting to think things are about to get real messy."

---

The match ended with Yang being the winner. Yet Jaune didn't cheer like everyone else as he started to get out of his chair when he began to see something strange.

It was out of nowhere, and everyone who was cheering soon gasped when Yang suddenly attacked Mercury on live television.

He could already hear his friends starting to ask questions out loud as to why she attacked him when the fight was over. Yet Jaune didn't listen nor even paid attention to them as he left them behind.

Neo and Flint looked to do the same, but when they saw me give them a pleading look, they immediately got the silent signal. The two from Atlas stayed to keep his friend preoccupied and gave Jaune some time before his friends realize he ghosted them.

'I knew something was up when I saw her fighting one of Cinder's sidekicks!' As Jaune headed his way to the dorms, he could already see that people who watched the fight were already making a massive deal about this.

People were shouting out curses and insults at Yang for being a 'Sore loser' for her actions. Others started to type on their scroll and message about it, which led to more negative feedback within the internet.

It was only minutes ago that Yang 'assaulted someone, and already people have garnered hate at not only her but at Beacon too.

'Was this part of their plan? To confuse Vale as to why a Beacon student would attack another student from a different kingdom? Are they trying to insight a war maybe?'

"Only one way to find out." Ignoring everyone around him, Jaune made his way to the dorms and stopped when he saw more guards than usual. "They had the police as guards already, and now Atlas soldiers? Guess they knew adding more security here would deter anyone from entering right now."

"Jaune!" Turning around, Jaune can see Whitley with an older woman who had the same white hair and eye color as him walking towards him. "It's good to see you here!"

"You too, Whitley." Jaune then looked at the woman who he can only guess could be his oldest sister, Winter. "Hey, I'm Jaune. Nice to meet you."

"Hello," Was Winter's only word to Jaune before separating herself from her little brother's side and headed to the soldiers guarding the front door.

"Does getting the cold shoulder run in the Family? or is it just her?" He asked Whitley.

"She's on the know about the situation." The young Schnee told him. "She told me that Ironwood is already inside. My other sister, Weiss, and her team are also in their room with some of the teachers."

Just as Whitley explained the details, Jaune began to talk too.

"I already told you that Emerald has a semblance that deals with illusions. I told Qrow too when I was Spider-Man, but I didn't know her semblance can go that far!"

"Yeah, well, we tend to forget out absolutely broken some semblances can sometimes be. But it doesn't matter, so long as we have enough proof to show that Yang isn't to blame." The white-haired boy then showed Jaune his scroll. "Which is why I have this baby to show them what happened."

Right after, Whitely said that Winter came back from talking to the soldiers.

"They'll allow us inside. Quickly now, we shouldn't delay any longer."

Following her orders, the three went inside the dorm and made their way to team RWBY. They can also see that within each floor, Atlas soldiers were making their rounds.

Just as they reached the room where the four lived, they could already hear several voices coming from said room.

"I can hear General Ironwood talking," Winter said. "It's not just him either. I believe I'm also hearing Qrow."

"Can we enter right now?" The blonde asked.

Winter would answer only for Whitley to knock on the door twice and then enter the door right after.

"Welp," Jaune shrugged. "That answers my question." And soon entered right after Whitley.

Entering the room, Jaune sees Ruby and Yang were sitting on her bed, and Blake and Weiss are sitting on a mattress on the opposite side. In the middle of them are General Ironwood, Qrow, Glynda, and Ozpin, all of whom were now staring right at the new arrivals.

"Winter?! Whitley?! And-" The General of the Atlas Military paused as he didn't know who the third guest was. "Specialist Schnee! Why did you bring two civilians here?!"

"Sir!" Winter stood in attention. "My brother wanted to shed more insight on what happened during Ms. Xiao Long's fight with Mr. Black. As for my brother's friend..."

"Jaune!" Ruby stood up, rushed at Jaune, and wrapped her arms around his chest. "I'm glad to see you!"

"I'm glad too, Ruby." He patted her back. "When I saw what happened, I immediately headed over to check up on you guys."

When Ruby heard that Jaune saw the match, she separated the hug and looked at Jaune with pleading eyes.

"Jaune! That fight, Yang, what she did is not-"

"Yang did no wrong." As if knowing this was the right time to say something, Whitley pulled out his scroll as if it had the answers everyone needed. "I decided to try out a new filter I added on my scroll. Didn't have anything worthwhile to try out except for the fight between Yang and fancy feet."

Suddenly, Whitley tossed his scroll to Ironwood, who caught it with his gloved hand. When he grabbed it, the General could see that the scroll had the recording of the fight playing. As Ironwood watched the video, Whitley continued to talk.

"So, I recorded the fight using my new filter. What kind do you ask? Nothing too much, just a filter that can scan heat signatures."

Everyone in the room had to take a second to process what Whitley said. No one expected the youngest Schnee to have something like inferred on his scroll. But to prove them wrong, the scroll indeed showed the General he was telling the truth.

The screen that displayed the fight soon changed as everyone within the recording into red humanoid shapes. Watching the entire video, Ironwood could see what really happened thanks to inferred. He can see that the video showed a different outcome compared to what was seen earlier at Amity. The most notable change is that Mercury was the aggressor and not Yang.

"I hope we interrupted some kind of misunderstanding you had thinking that Yang did something wrong." Said Whitley as he walked over to Yang to show his support.

They were still looking at the video of what actually happened and then to the young Schnee. The General of the Atlas Military only sighed before handing the scroll to Ozpin before speaking.

"You are correct about a misunderstanding, Mr. Schnee." Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon, started to speak. "But if you arrived a bit sooner, you three might have caught what we already told these young ladies."

Jaune and Whitley looked at each other as if conversing telepathically. On the first day of the festival, Jaune already told Whitley that he informed Beacon's staff about Cinder and her flunkies. Including that Emerald has a semblance that involves illusions.

But it looks like they worried over nothing as it seems like the adults were also on the same wavelength as them.

'Thank goodness they didn't straight up assume Yang attack unprovoked.' Just as Jaune thought of that, he looked at team RWBY, who still had looks of defeat on their faces. 'But why are they still sad? They should be happy that Yang is innocent.'

"We already know that in Mr. Black's team, there is a Ms. Sustrai who has a semblance that allows her to create illusions. And we wanted to explain to Ms. Xiao Long and her teammates that she is indeed innocent." Once Ozpin said this, Glynda stepped up to say everything else.

"However, due to how already the people and media are in a frenzy after seeing the accident. We feel as if we would only cause more problems if we allow Yang to proceed any further."

"So that's it?" Whitley again decided to speak his mind. "You're just going to let everyone think Yang attacked him when I just gave you proof that none of it happened?"

"Whitley!" Winter gave her little brother a stern glare at how rude he is to the adults. The same can't be said for Weiss as she looked conflicted at agreeing with her brother and agreeing with Winter.

"I think you forget that this is just a festival and nothing else." Qrow, who seemed less tired and more focused than usual, talked back to Whitley. "Huntsmen are taught to fight monsters. Not seek approval from faceless nobodies. So long as we know that she didn't do, Yang won't get punished for anything."

"And Emerald?" Jaune asked them.

"Currently in the hands of security." Said Ironwood, but to Jaune and Whitley, it was odd how quick he said that. "She and the rest of her team are being kept under watch for the duration of the festival. You all have nothing to worry about now."

'You say that, but I can't help but notice how there are so many Atlas soldiers running about the dorm.' Jaune thought to himself. It felt odd to see so many Atlas soldiers walking about that made the secret hero come to two conclusions. 'Either one of them escaped, and the General is ordering his men to find the escapee. Or even worse, they are just lying and are in the middle of cooming to the entire dorm to find them.'

"Now, I think we can all agree that these girls," The headmaster of the academy waved his hands at team RWBY. "Had enough trouble for today. I think it's about time we all leave and give them some space."

Interpreting this as his way of saying, 'You all should leave this room now.' Jaune, Whitley, and all of the adults left team RWBY's room and collectively walked to the entrance of the dorms. While they were walking, Jaune walked closer to Whitley and spoke in a whisper.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That they might have lied to our faces, and they dropped the ball on this?" Whitley whispered back. "Oh, I'm 100% sure they messed up somewhere. But thankfully enough, V.I.C isn't one to procrastinate... often. While we were busy talking to them, he's been monitoring the academy's cameras. It shouldn't take long for him to zero in on them."

"I hope it's soon, though." A memory of when he saw a future of Vale on fire came to the front of Jaune's mind. 'Otherwise, my premonition might come true.'

---

After their quiet walk leading them outside, the adults talked amongst themselves, leaving Jaune and Whitley a few feet away by themselves. Once they were done, Ironwood, Glynda, Ozpin, and Qrow walked away to deal with whatever problem they are hiding from them. As for Winter, she was told by the General to not let any civilians, including family, into secured areas as there will be consequences the next time she tries this.

Winter was then ordered to have the rest of the day to herself and think about her actions. Whitley, feeling responsible for her sister's issue, decides to tag along wither his older sister. And promised Jaune that Whitley will call him, leaving the blonde reporter all by himself.

"Should I call Harry and the rest of my friends to see what they want to do?" He said out loud to himself. Checking the time, it was already getting late, and he could already see how the sun is already reaching sunset. "Nah, I don't think I feel like it after what happened back at Ruby's dorm room. Maybe I should call her-"

A spider called out to Jaune and informed him that someone he knows seems to be in distress. That person was not his friends from high school but someone from Beacon. They would mostly keep an eye on him instinctively, but often the spider would assist in helping him keep tabs on his friends if there was a chance they are in danger. Don't get him wrong, Jaune's spider-sense will always be his go-to, but it can have limitations compared to having independent little creatures being your eyes and ears.

The spider that spotted one of his friends was Pyrrha Nikos, the leader of only two other students all by herself in a secluded section of the academy.

"She's by herself." Now, Jaune would admit that it was already a stretch to call her a friend as he only talked to her less compared to Ruby. Yet Jaune felt that it was odd that she was by herself when usually she would always have Ren and Nora with her. "Guess I know where I'm going to be for the rest of the day."

Making up his mind, Jaune was about to head to where Ms. Niko was only to stop when he caught something from the corner of his eye.

"And maybe I should bring something too. Wouldn't want to arrive empty-handed now, would I."

---

Alone with no one watching her, Pyrrha Nikos, known many as the 'Invincible Girl,' allowed herself to welcome to isolation for once. She thought that with Beacon, she could finally have her goals be reached, and in a sick twist of fate, it did, but not in the way she thought it would be.

Amber, the person she met today, was supposedly a powerful maiden that houses magic within her. Just thinking about it made the young Huntress feel crazy at thinking it was true.

'But it is true. Magic exists.' When the headmaster told her the whole story of who Amber is and her role as Maiden entails. Pyrrha knew that deep down that Beacon was the place for her to fulfill her goals, and she was right. 'But not the way I wanted it to be.'

A tired sigh left her lips, and as she looked at the ground, she saw someone's shadow getting closer to her. Looking up, she was greeted by the sight of... pink?

"Hey!" Jaune Arc greeted as he held out cotton candy to Pyrrha. "Why are you here all by your lonesome? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your fight?"

"It's currently on hold for a few more hours." She answered him. "With the... incident that happened involving Yang, the next set of fights will be on hold until further notice."

After she said that, she took the cotton candy and took a bite out of the sugar confection. She enjoyed the soft taste that melted in her mouth before looking back at Jaune, who stood there awkwardly.

"I," The blonde bot raised his other hand to reveal that he came with Kettel corn too. "Also bought this too. I didn't want to eat all this by myself and seeing as your by yourself, I..." Jaune suddenly turned around to have his back facing her. "Feel stupid to think this would work. I'm sure you were hoping your teammates would be the ones to find you and not me. Or maybe you just wanted time to yourself. Either way, I'll be going now. Please enjoy the cotton candy; you don't need to pay me back or anything. It was only just eight lien."

"Wait!" Maybe Jaune is correct that he wasn't the person she wanted to have a conversation with. But at the same time, Pyrrha knew that if her friends did show up and she told them about her situation, they might give her an answer she was afraid to get. "I-I would still like it if you stay awhile and listen."

Silently following her request, Jaune sat next to her, and for a few minutes, the two sat in quiet peace with only the sound of rustling leaves to fill the silence.

'Well, I wanted him to stay,' She took a glance at Jaune, who continued to stare straight forward. Not even once did he try to open the bag of kettle corn. 'But is it wise to let him know my dilemma? I may know him, but I do not have the same level of confidence in him compared to Ren and Nora.'

"No!" She spoke out all of a sudden.

"Excuse me?" Jaune finally turned to her and raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Did you say no? Oh! You didn't want the cotton candy, but the kettle corn! Is that it!"

She couldn't help but feel not just her cheeks turning red but her entire body too! What was once a moment of silent tension shattering into an embarrassing misunderstanding made the invisible girl feel like a fool!

'And yet... it's not so bad.' A smile graced her lips, and her body seemed less tense now. The sudden pressure she had around her seemed nonexistent, thanks to Jaune's unorthodox introduction and presence.

Right now, this small-time between them made her almost forget the heavy choice she has to make soon.

With the wind sending another gust at them, a golden brown leaf descended between them. The memory of Amber, stuck between life and death thanks to her attackers, made her smile vanish into a frown.

"Jaune." How she says, his name sent a calling sign for him to know that something was up. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"Destiny?" She didn't have to wait long for Jaune to answer. "No. I don't believe in destiny. But I guess it depends on how you view it."

"To me, when I think of destiny. I do not think of a predetermined fate you can't escape," A breeze came again to take away the autumn leaf in front of her. "But rather a final goal. Something you worked for your entire life."

"Oh!" Jaune's eyes widened at Pyrrha's own inter[retation of destiny. "That does sound far better than what I think of destiny. But my answer is still no. I don't believe in destiny," Jaune could see it in her eyes that she wanted to know why he thinks that. "Or maybe I just wish not to believe in its entirety."

"But what if, hypothetically, you believe in destiny? And what would you do if something came along that you never expected? Something that stands between you and your destiny?"

"I-" Jaune didn't get his answer as Pyrrha started to talk again, but Jaune felt like her questions seemed like she was talking to herself rather than him.

"Or what if suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?!" Her body started to tremble, and she could see that her calm and collected persona was beginning to crack.

Seeing her in such a state made Jaune think about what she said about one's destiny. Something she did not expect happened today that made her so shaken. And that something seems to be what's eating her confidence in making sound choices.

"To fulfill your destiny, but at the cost of who you were." He couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "I might not know what you're going through, Pyrrha. But what I do know is that the only thing I can do is share my own experience when it comes to this so-called 'destiny.' After all, I thought my destiny was to be a huntsman."

'Yes, the only right words I can say to her is the truth.' Funny how he always flinched on reflex when he thinks and talks about his reason for even being in Vale. Yet a calm wave seemed to wash over him as if he was dropping weight that he no longer needed to hold on anymore. 'Man, I guess it is true that the only thing making you unhappy are your own thoughts. Maybe I really shouldn't feel so bad that I didn't get into Beacon. It feels so long ago that I feel stupid for holding on to such a grudge.'

"I believed that I did my best to become a Huntsmen. Like my sisters, who also trained to be Huntresses. Yet looking back now, I can see that they worked far harder to reach that goal."

Pyrrha's shivering frame started to still as she was now fully paying attention to Jaune.

"It made me think maybe my final goal was unreachable. Even though I always got back up and tried again only to get knocked back down. I thought being a Hunstman was my destiny." Jaune smiled, but not out of bitterness, only acceptance. "But now I know that we don't have a 'final goal' more like multiple ones. You may have worked your entire life to reach it, but you have also to think that maybe it was never meant to be or that it changed to something you didn't expect."

"I," Jaune's words seemed to have worked as she was begging to get control of herself again. "I can see that, yes. I always knew that I wanted to be a huntress and to save people. But now it seems that it has just taken a different path that is beyond my expectation."

"And that change is something scary, right?" She nodded at his question. "You did say that whatever it is can instantly make your so-called 'destiny' real at the cost of who you are. Well, in my experience, that change wasn't a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"Long ago, I had something happen to me with the cost of who I once was, and if I had the choice," Jaune turned to her and made sure his bright sapphire eyes stared directly at her emerald-colored gaze. "I would walk away from it."

"Really?" She asked, but her tone was not only filled with curiosity but hope too.

"Yeah," Jaune means it too. He felt the cost was too much for someone like him. This power should be given to those who are more responsible and controlled. Not to a teenager who to busy having his head in the clouds thinking the world will provide him with things if he wished hard enough. "But the thing was I was thrust upon said boon while you seem to have a choice in accepting it or not."

"What?" She said, surprised that he said that. "How can you tell?"

"Come on, you're here and not with your friends gave me a hint that something was up. And clearly, that something is tearing you apart. So why accept a choice where it gives you such discomfort when it's optional?"

"I-" It made so much sense to Pyrrha of how simple Jaune's question was. "See your point."

Why would she choose an option to place her back into her old role at being called the 'Invincible Girl'?

That was why she decided to stop doing tournament fights and go full Huntress to escape the fame. But if she chose the Maiden route, it would feel like going back to her old self. Being watched over and pressured always to win and feel like she was superior to others when it wasn't her choice. She didn't want that when she joined Beacon, but now it seems like the pressure of being unique is coming back again in the form of becoming the next Fall Maiden.

"But they chose me thinking that I am the most suitable person."

"There. Right there, you said that you're the most suitable person. That means whoever gave you this choice had different candidates. Meaning, other people can go do it, and they just picked you cause they thought you were the right pick." Jaune then took a breath. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if you decline, they can just pick second best or third, fourth, and so on."

'Can it be that easy? To just decline?' She thought to herself. "I, I'm not sure if that is wise. Maybe I should accept it."

"Are you accepting it because others expect you to or accepting it for yourself?" Jaune was thankful he had so many supportive friends in Vale. He learned a valuable life lesson from them, and that was the importance of self-care. "Listen, as the end of the day. The only one who can make this decision is you. Don't let others weigh down your self-interest."

Getting up from his spot, Jaune stepped away from Pyrrha and looked back at her.

"It's ok to be selfish. You don't have to put yourself in a difficult spot cause you think you have to." Checking the time on his scroll, Jaune can see that their talk lasted far longer than he anticipated. "Hey, Pyrrha, I hate to sound rude, but did you get a message if you're still fighting or not?"

"Hm," Looking at her scroll, the young Huntress immediately got up to her feet and now had an alarmed look to her. "I forgot I had my scroll on silent! Nora and Ren have been calling me and sending text messages while we were talking! My match is still going to happen in an hour! I need to gurry and get the next shuttle ride to Amity!"

"Well, don't make me stop you," Jaune motioned with his right hand. "Go. Maybe a good fight will help clear your mind a bit."

"Yes," She said in agreement. "Maybe it will clear my head a bit. Thank you, Jaune. For talking to me about my dilemma."

Jaune lifted an open palm in front of him. "No need to thank me. You looked troubled, and I wanted to try and help you." He then smiled. "It's kind of something I'm prone to do."

---

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I HOPE YOU ARE EXCITED TO SEE OUR NEXT MATCH-UP! FOR WE HAVE PENNY POLENDINA FROM ATLAS ACADEMY! AGAINST PYRRHA NIKOS FROM BEACON ACADEMY!"

Cheers of excitement went even wilder after hearing Pyrrha's name. Seeing her enter the ring made the audience more pumped to see her fight.

She didn't focus on sounds of the masses chanting her name nor the thousands of cameras pointed at her.

The only thing she can focus on was the opponent in front of her.

"It's a pleasure to fight you, Ms. Nikos," Penny said with a smile on her face. "However, after witnessing your fights and learning about your history, I can truly say that you would be quite the challenge to beat."

"Many have said that I'm a challenge," She brandished her trusty sword and shield and assumed her fighting stance. "And no one has yet beaten me."

Doing the same, Penny levitated her blades in the air.

"Maybe, but after reading several extensive books regarding impossible odds to overcome, I found two things that can help me! One is that the main character always breaks their limit when facing a powerful foe. And the second is that friendship seems always to overcome any logical outcome! So I have the power of friendship and main protagonist powers on my side!"

Just when she finished her statement, the sound of the buzzer rang, and the two collided into each other with no hesitation.

Pyrrha's shield held firm holding off two of Penny's blades while the other two held off against Pyrrha's sword in a deadlock. That deadlock soon ended when one of Penny's floating swords shifted into a blaster pointed point-blank range at Pyrrha.

Quickly disengaging, the red-haired Huntress dodged the blast but did not stop moving as Penny began an attack from a distance. Firing barrages of controlled fire at Pyrrha with two tracking her movements to the other two firing at where she will be.

Seeing that dodging won't help, Pyrrha instead chose to charge right at Penny!

She focused on her shots to hit at the center of Pyrrha's shield to push her back. Penny was shocked to see her leap into the air and throw the shield at her! A simple duck to dodge the thrown shield proved adequate, and just when Penny was about to stand up, she felt something hitting her legs, making her fall on her back.

Penny wanted to get up, yet when she saw the descending form of Pyrrha falling right at her. The ginger had only the option of rolling to the side to avoid the downward stab from Pyrrha Nikos.

Thinking quickly, Penny commanded two of her sword to extended 5 feet, stabbed them into the ground, and used them to reel herself to get more distance.

She also used the other two for support by firing at Pyrrha to stop her from advancing. The two kept going after one another making the crowd continue to shout at seeing such a fight unfold in front of them.

Cameras flashed as they captured frame by frame of the fight while others record the whole thing. Not only that, but the large jumbo TVs gave everyone who was seating far at the back a better image of the entire brawl showing every move they make!

Everything was going great! But that was from the audience's perspective.

For Pyrrha, her's was going a little different from her perspective as she saw more than just four blades attacking her.

'So many!' Pyrrha dodged an incoming blade and soon backed away when hundreds of other blades started to rain down on her! 'How is she storing all these swords!?'

Constantly on the run and defending from the storm of swords, Pyrrha could see that no matter what she did, there seemed to be more and more!

It got to the point that when she dropped her guard from seeing so many blades in the air, Pyrrha didn't react fast enough when Penny attacked head-on.

"No!" Her emotions got the better of Pyrrha, and her semblance sent a large pulse pushing away all the blades and, oddly enough, Penny too.

Soon everyone who caught that started to mutter amongst each other at the odd phenomenon. They didn't see her counter, block, or even attack, just shout, and soon Penny was pushed back all of a sudden.

'My semblance!?' Pyrrha began to breathe rapidly at the mistake she committed. 'I used it without properly controlling it! And everything is being recorded, so everyone saw what I did!'

She didn't have enough time to think more about it as Penny started to attack again, but this time decided to attack from a long distance again.

Again, being forced to be on the defensive, Pyrrha continued to deflect, parry, and subtly use her semblance to move the swords away from her. Yet has she continued to do so, her eyes widened when she sees more and more blades appearing!

'This is too much! I have to use my semblance, but won't people find it odd that I was able to avoid all of these?' Her mind started to be invaded with other stray thoughts, and all of it revolved around her decision to become a Fall Maiden.

'To become a Maiden and fulfill my destiny,' A flash of Amber's comatose face came to the forefront of her mind. 'But at the cost of who I am. What should I do?! Fulfill my destiny or allow the power to be taken by the enemy!? Which should I choose!?'

Feet planted and body rigged. Pyrrha was currently having a mental breakdown and was unresponsive when Penny chose to attack via raining swords.

'What should I do!?' That question was the most asked in her head, and finally, her answer came when she remembered Jaune's words.

'It's ok to be selfish. You don't have to put yourself in a difficult spot cause you think you have to.'

"It's ok to be selfish," Pyrrha muttered to herself, still oblivious of the imminent danger she was still in. "I think... I think..."

The swords were just 5 seconds away from hitting her when suddenly Penny commanded her blades to halt. She no longer needs to attack as her opponent was no longer armed.

The sound of Pyrrha's weapons clattering to the floor was deafening as many did not expect the invincible girl to drop her weapons willingly. But what came next made things deathly quiet.

"I, Pyrrha Nikos, forfeit!" Those simple words seemed to not only cause everyone in the stadium to be quiet they also erased the many swords floating in the air too. It was as if Pyrrha's mind just imagined there were more swords due to how much pressure she has been getting all day.

And now, after deciding to lose the fight, Pyrrha had a sense of calm wash over her as she now finally understands what answer she has to make.

The buzzer rang, and the announcer begins to speak, but this time in a flabbergasted tone.

"L-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! YOUR WINNER! PENNY POLENDINA FROM ATLAS ACADEMY!"

Atlas Academy cheered to see Penny win. Still, for the rest of the audience, it was the opposite.

"BOOOO!"

"This sucks! Cheat! Cheat!"

"Go back to Atlas!"

"This match was rigged!"

"Rematch! Rematch! Rematch!"

Those who were not part of Atlas screamed with negative feedback at what they saw. No one liked how Pyrrha lost by not fighting and giving up, and they were even more so furious at how the announcer allowed for this to happen!

It seemed those from Atlas weren't helping settle down either, as most were taunting those from the other kingdoms. Those taunts soon turned violent as civilians began to start fighting amongst each other. Causing chaos as people were now beginning to resort to rioting and forgetting the whole point of the festival was for the four kingdoms to celebrate peace.

What made things go from bad to terrible was when the hard-lite dust that was only formed underneath the coliseum was now wholly covering all of Amity.

---

On the ground, everyone who wasn't in Amity could see the floating coliseum being encased in hard-lite, leaving everyone in confusion. Not only that, the feed that was being broadcasted was shut off and was replaced with a red screen that had a queen chess piece at the center.

What followed soon became the screams as people were now running in fear when the Atlas droids started to go haywire and attack people! The robots shot at everything from cars, buildings and even waved their guns in the air too! So far, that was the only thing the droids did as people ran away in fear with no one getting shot yet.

For the regular Atlas troopers, some attempted to fight back. Those who were piloting the finished product of Paladins also did their best. Only for the paladins to also get caught with whatever was affecting the other robots too!

Now, with the paladins no longer responding to their piolets and said piolets having no other choice but to eject. The Atlas military might seem to be losing its fighting force by the second and leaving Vale to fall into despair rapidly.

"AWOOOO!"

"RAAAH!"

"CAAAW"

And with the rise of despair gave the dinner bell for the grimm to once again descend upon Vale.

With death and chaos hanging thick in the air, only a particular pair watched on the sidelines. Marveling at how quickly Vale fallen once again as their huntsmen and huntresses continue to fail in performing their duties as protectors.

"Looks like things are still going as planned, Cinder." Mercury Black told her while making sure he records the carnage his boss caused. The recording on his scroll also allows TVs throughout the kingdom to watch the mayhem without being interrupted. Not just Vale either, but to the other domains its a sign that the three different kingdoms are not safe.

"Indeed it is," Cinder replied as she stared at the mayhem she brought to Vale. "I was honestly hoping for Ms. Nikos to kill the robot, but instead, we get to see the masses fight each other over petty squabbles."

"What's even more fortunate," Cinder looked up to see that Amity being swarmed by flying grimm. The giant avian monsters hopelessly trying to break the barrier only made Conder smile even wider as she can only imagine the panic the people trapped inside are feeling. "Was how easy it was to play upon Ozpin's confidence thinking he was two steps ahead of me. I really should be grateful for that woman I paid to be bait during the school dance and her planting the virus onto Qrow's scroll too. All that's left is with Roman taking control of the General's flagship can the final piece be revealed."

Yes, everything Cinder had planned is starting to unfold splendidly. Not even the Breach can compare to what was happening now! All that will be left of this kingdom will be ask and bones.

"I highly doubt even Spider-Man can save the day." Taking one last look at Vale while it was still standing. Cinder looked to Mercury and gave him an order. "Keep recording. I'll call Emerald to inform her to be at the exit point soon. Her ride should be there soon."

"Understood, Cinder."

Taking out her scroll, Cinder dialed Emerlad's number and heard the other side pick up.

"Emerald," She said. "Be sure to-"

Cinder moved her ear away from her scroll without warning when it started to blare out loud music!

"Aah!" Her good mood was turning to anger. Cinder was about to scream to Emerald what was going on over at Amity. Then suddenly she started to hear the same music coming from Meruray's scroll too! "What is happening!? Turn that off and keep recording!"

"I'm trying, but my scroll isn't responding!" He tried to close his scroll and even tried to turn it off! Yet nothing worked as it only continued to play rock!

"I CAN'T STAND IT! I KNOW YOU PLANNED IT~!"

"I'M GINNA SET IT STRAIGHT, THIS WATERGATE~!"

"I CAN'T STAND ROCKING WHEN I'M IN HERE-"

Having half a mind just to break the damn thing, Cinder and Mercury paused as they realized that the same music was starting to play around them. TVs that had the queen chest piece was replaced with pixelated cats barfing rainbows. Speakers that had a recorded message of Cinder's voice were cut off and replaced with rock and roll.

Even the robots that were supposed to be under the virus started to go against it!

One by one, her robots stopped attacking and remained unresponsive to any command.

The virus, created by one of the most brilliant minds in Atlas, was beaten by some cartoon cat.

And that blasted music was making her more and more insane with each annoying word!

Everything that was in Cinder's plan was being thwarted, no it was more than that.

It was.

It was.

"OH MY GOD, IT's A MIRAGE~!"

"I'M TELLN' Y'ALL, IT'S A SABOTAGE~!"

---

People screamed in fright as everything around them was being destroyed. But everyone started to hear jet trusters in the sky above Beacon making civilains look at the sky. Followed by metal impacting cement made those were within the vicinity see Iron Man land in a kneeling position.

"Seems like things are going according to plan, Spider-Man." Iron Man got up and assessed the situation. "The robots are deactivated, and it's gonna take a few to reboot them. For now, the Atlas soldiers who aren't tin cans are getting assistance from the police to get everyone to safety."

TWIP! TWIP!

Landing right next to Iron Man, the webhead had to put his hands over his head as he could feel his spider-sense going haywire over so much danger around him.

"And the walls surrounding Vale?" Spider-Man asked with clenched teeth. If Iron noticed Spider-Man's discomfort, he didn't say anything nor asked.

"Vale military is holding strong, and so are Atlas troops too. But the flying grimm is still a problem. Not to mention the biggest problem would be the ones responsible for all this."

"Cinder." Spider-Man balled his hands into fists. "We'll get to her later. For now, we need to try and turn this around somehow. As soon as we do that, then we'll handle Cinder."

"Don't worry," Iron Man patted Spider-Man's shoulder. "We already are! Just look over there!"

Following where Iron Man was pointing at some noodle shop, Spider-Man's eyes behind his mask widened as he saw himself and Iron Man on the TV!

"Whi- Iron Man! Are we being watched!? Why!?"

"Simple, we're playing the same game they are! If Cinder wants to try and record all the bad stuff just to make people think negatively. Then we'll do the opposite and have everyone know that we won't stand for this! Not just here either, Amity is also seeing us on their jumbo screen as we speak!"

Right after Iron Man said that, he gave something small to Spider-Man.

"An earpiece?" Spider-Man asked as he lifted the side of his mask to shove said communicator into his ear.

"In case we need to go cover more ground. But right now, it's also for us to talk to our other friends."

A small beep was heard from Spider-Man's ear, and soon the tiny communicator produced another voice.

"Iron Man! Spider-Man! Do you read me?!" Came the voice of Tchalla. "My guards and I are already getting the people away from the academy."

"Good to hear your voice Black Panther." Said Iron Man. He also made a hand gesture to Spider-Man to let him know that it was Tchalla's hero name. "We're at the center of the festival! Can you make it to where we are?"

"Indeed I can," He said. "I came across a few unique friends too. They say that they are friends with Spider-Man."

'My friends? It can't be Harry or Gwen since they don't know my secret identity. Does Black Panther mean...?'

"Ant-Man?"

They could hear the sounds of muffling from where Black Panther was, and soon a new voice entered the conversation.

"Spider-Man! Hey, nice hearing from you again! And seeing you too!" Scott Lang, known as Ant-Man, spoke through the communicator. "We see you from the TV. All the TVs! Everyone is watching you!"

More muffled sounds came, and a fifth voice spoke up.

"Sorry for him," Said the fifth voice that came from a woman. "He's just excited that he's about to do another team up again. I'm Wasp, by the way, and we'll follow your lead, Spider-Man."

"My lead?" Spider-Man said in shock.

"Who else but you?" Iron Man said to Spider-Man. "You live here in Vale, and you are the one who discovered about the Breach and Cinder. Who better to lead but you! Now come one! Say something iconic! To say something to rally everyone to arms! The whole kingdom is watching!"

"The whole..." Once more taking in everything around him. Spider-Man looked at the TV screens showing himself and Iron Man and then to the people who were still standing around them.

The people looked at them with not despair and fear as before from the robots and the grimm.

People were hurt.

Scared.

And yet in their eyes showed a spark of hope.

A hope that they will survive this as they stared at them.

At Spider-Man.

'At me. No, they're looking TO me.' It was funny. Jaune always wanted to have people stare at him with admiration. But seeing it on such a vast scale made him feel heavy. 'They think they'll the day is saved cause my friends and I are here. Well, in that case-'

"Ok, team!" Spider-Man raised his voice for everyone to hear.

'Let's give them something to hope for!'

"ASSEMBLE!"

---

Wow! This chapter has eaten a good portion of my time this month! But I got to say I liked it! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter too!

In the beginning, I wanted to show some more slice of life at least before I got to the action and I hope you guys liked what I have written!

Some stuff probably left you guys questioning how the team found out, but I plan to explain that in the next chapter!

I can explain is that I wanted to diverge some of the Vol 3 plots into my own making. A few is that I wished for Amity to have hard-lite, so Cinder can use it to encase the floating building in a way to trap not only Huntsmen and Huntresses. But to also trap civilians to cause panic among them and to use them as a floating bait for flying grimm.

Pyrrha was a character that I felt didn't get enough justice from me. Yet, I still hoped my portrayal of her was still good to read. I still wanted Jaune to find her as the Jaune in my story has a better understanding of what Pyrrha was asking. Since in the episode, the canon Jaune kind of made things worse for her.

My version against Penny and Pyrrha was also something I hope you guys liked. I know that some would argue the fight needed to further the plotline for Penny, but my friend, Nacoma23, feels that Penny's death was unneeded.

I mean, come on! RT kills her 3 times just to push further the plot that no one follows nowadays!

She died in Vol 3.

She was killed again when the relic of creation made an organic body leaveing her robot body to rust. I feel like that was an error considering he can't resurrect people and Penny's soul is her father's.

And now she died a third time via Jaune!

Either way, her death will not happen.

I know you guys have more questions regarding the end of this chapter. So, please just PM me or wait until the next chapter gets published where I finally show more of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Wasp!

Don't forget to fav, follow, and leave a review of what you thought about this chapter is!

And I would like to thank my beta, Grammarly, for making this chapter happen!

---

[Omake: I Penny Loves Bette Fish]

Today so far was yet another peaceful day at the Vytal Festival. Right now, both Whitley and Penny had the opportunity to look around to experience the attractions.

"So many delightful games to play," Penny says with stars in her eyes. Literally. Her optics were shaping her artificial pupils to make the shape of starts to display amazement. "What do you think we should start with, Whiley?"

"Huh?" The youngest Schnee wasn't paying attention to what was around him. Instead, Whitley was more focused on what was on his scroll. "Sorry, I just got a notification on something. What did you say, Penny?"

"I asked, what do you want to start with," Penny puffed out her cheeks to show him she was mad. 'I hope I am expressing the right facial expression. The girls I read in the books always do this to show their romantic interests after all.'

"Hmm," Moving his eyes to look for anything that wasn't a complete rip-off. Whitley's gaze stopped at one stall that seemed ok to try out. "How about that one?"

"Oh?" Penny and Whitley headed to one stall that had fish as prizes. "A betta fish stall? What a fascinating idea! Excuse me, sir? What are the objectives to win a Betta splendens?"

The owner of the fish stall, a tall, bald, and bored man, looked at her and sighed before answering.

"Just use these," He brought out three small balls in front of him. "Ping pong balls, aim into the fishbowl, and if one of them makes it in, you get a fish."

"I see! But will I get the needed food for them too? Or other essential equipment needed to keep the betta fish sustained?"

"No. Just the fish."

"Ok, then I'm-" Penny was stopped by Whitley, who decided to speak finally.

"I got this, Penny." He said to her. "I have a question, though, sir. Suppose I can get a ping pong ball in each fishbowl. Does that mean I can get multiple?"

"You can try, but most don't get even one."

"Well," Whitley pulled out some lien and gave it to the man. "Guess I have to change that."

One fish, two fish, and three fish! Whitley won 3 betta fish with only three ping pong balls without missing.

"Congrats, kid." The owner said with surprise in his voice. "You won 3 fish!"

Instead of just taking his winning, Whitley just gave the fish stall operator more lien.

"Who says I was finished?"

---

"And here's your fish, little buddy! Hope you enjoy the festival!" Whitley smiled as he gave the younger boy a bowl that held a fish inside.

"Thanks, mister!" Said the small boy before running to his parents. "Mom! Dad! I got a fish!"

And just as the kid left, another person stepped forward, and Whitley once again handed off a free pet fish away.

After winning all the pet fishes from the operator, Whitley had the idea to give them all away for free. This helps him get rid of said fish as he didn't want to explain to his sister why he had so much betta fish. It also helps the people save their own lein and not waste it trying to win said pet fishes.

As Whitley was giving away all the betta fish, Penny was right beside him, watching as he performed such a kind act.

"It was very thoughtful of you to give other people your prizes, Whitley."

The young Schnee handed a red betta fish to a couple. "Meh, I just thought that it would be a waste of lein if people tried to win a fish. It was simple math to know the right angle to ball would fall anyway. Plus, when you have the hand-eye coordination to build a state-of-the-art power suit, you not really wasting lien to try and ask for a re-throw."

"But this," Penny waved a hand at the fish. "You didn't have to give away all your betta fish."

He was handing off three betta fish that had the colors of green, blue, and white to three kids. Whitley turned to Penny and in his hands was the last Betta fish.

"Not all of them. Here," Whitley gave the last one to Penny. "This is for you."

"For me?" Penny placed bother her hands so Whitley can pass the fishbowl to her. "I-I don't know what to say, Whitley."

"Then just accept the fish," Whitley said as he dropped his arms to his sides. "And besides, you looked like you wanted one as soon as your eyes were on them. It's also your first time at a festival, so I thought maybe getting you a prize would make today more memorable."

She was lifting the bowl to have it at eye level. Penny stared at her new pet fish swim beautifully in the water. Suddenly, her eyes looked through the other side of the fishbowl and were now paying more attention to Whitley, who was also staring back.

Penny didn't know if he was looking at her new Bette fish or he was staring at her. But like what happened back in Atlas, a pain in her chest made it difficult for Penny to keep looking at Whitley.

Looking away, Penny held the bowl close to her chest and looked down at the fishbowl where she was only looking at her reflection, which showed her blushing face.

"Whitley?"

"Yes, Penny?"

"Thank you for giving me this."

"Anytime, Penny. Anytime."