Chapter three. Take it or leave it. I've made it so that at least by the middle of the week a chapter gets uploaded and another becomes a work in progress. The labour of my love, I suppose.

ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS QUESTION WILL AFFECT THE FUTURE OF THE STORY.

Should I upload 10,000-word chapters every two weeks?

Or

5000-word chapters every week?

Please, I'd like to hear your personal opinions. I don't really ask for reviews but in this instance, please do. I'd like to please the majority of my tiny audience, so there's that.

RWBY is property to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Hamon and Any character referenced in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is property to Hirohiko Araki and David Productions

"Well I'll be..." The very foundations of History as he knew it was being challenged. "There's two of you now! This- This is- Marvellous. Words cannot do justice to how I feel right now."

Dove's Hamon fizzed and burned brightly amidst Oobleck's empty classroom. Jaune had taught him how to control the extravagant technique's level of lighting, something he had come to find very useful. Seriously, the first time he had done so back at his fight with Cardin, he shone with the brilliance of a dying star's final waltz: he shone like a supernova. Not only did it blind his opponent, he had also sent Cardin completely far back into his mind, unresponsive to any prompt at attempting to wake up.

It was the best time of the day to many, the cool afternoon sky perfectly paralleling their suave, laid-back attitude to the entire ordeal. Hamon, a one-in-ten-trillion concept many weren't even aware of, right there and then. But the thing was that there were two of them. One would already turn the media's attention to them, but two? This wasn't coincidence. To many, that was fate. To the utmost religious people, that was destiny.

"Professor, we need help." Jaune said bluntly. "This breathing art, it's strong but it's wild. It's like an untrained dog with too much energy, ready to break anything with ease." It was Dove's turn to talk.

"I sent Cardin to the infirmary with just one shot. One. Shot. This thing has serious repercussions. It can go haywire and I've made my friends far too afraid to even approach me."

"Mr. Bronzewing, you must understand that this is something that requires additional help. I had decided to teach you of the Ripple because it was a small topic, a little course that was easy and would interest you for once."

"W- What do you mean, Doctor? We've always been-"

Oobleck interrupted Jaune's fib. "So untruthful, Mr. Arc. I've seen you sleep through my lessons, and so has Miss Rose. I'm often tired but never am I blind when needs be." Jaune chuckled red-handed, scratching the back of his head as he did so.

"Let's cut the crap, Professor," Dove blurted, making Jaune grimace and Oobleck agitated by the tiniest of proportions. "I need this. The moment I had learned that I can be as good as someone like Nikos with this, I've had my money on it. This is a gamble I cannot lose; I've put too much time into this despite it being only two days!"

"It's Doctor Oobleck, for goodness' sake!" Barthomelew drew himself closer to Dove. "Listen, I'm a teacher who loves his job but I have limits, unsurprisingy. You have to understand that I don't have the solutions to everything and that not everything can be consulted effectively."

"Please. You're Doctor frickin' Oobleck, the guy who knows everything on history. There has to be something, there has to be something. There should be a book, a reference, a- Anything!" Jaune pleaded.

"I'll see what I can do," Oobleck stated, "And mind your language, Mr. Bronzewing. You should know as much as everybody else that your choice of words can - and will - be taken into account for."

"Yeah yeah, sorry Professor. Just at least make the effort to find us some information on it; written scriptures, recordings, photos of engravings, anything." Dove requested for his demand to at least be heard by the expert at hand. Oobleck nodded and gave him a quick thumbs up and dismissed them from his lesson.

"That's quite the relationship you two boys have." Jaune and Dove, mid-trek, turned their heads around to face Barthomelew once again. "From a bitter relationship to a seemingly healthy one. It still surprises me with how things can change within the blink of an eye."

"I wouldn't say it as 'healthy', Professor. Sure, Jaune's a decent guy at face value, but that's that: I don't have a developed relationship yet with him. I have to know him properly if I want to consider him fully as a friend."

"I really cannot argue with that." Jaune voiced. "For a snob, that is!" He sniggered lightly after saying his little tease.

"Shut it, Arc!" Dove played along, a genuine smile gleaming off his face for once. It was after that did they fully exit the room. They had been greeted with an empty corridor, vacant with clean air. "I need to go back."

"To team CRDL?"

"That and the school infirmary. I haven't felt this guilty, well, ever, and I need to get rid of it."

"And coming to terms with Cardin and the others is gonna do it for you?" Jaune's assumption was met with Dove's confirmation, watching as he scooted off to the other side and to a nearby elevator. Their eyes met one last time, unwavering as it did. While his was squint, Dove and Jaune's ocean-blue irises spoke of the same, crystal clear message: it spoke of anticipation, eagerness and what the future had to offer.

"In a bit, Dove!" Jaune's voice echoed throughout the corridor's wide mouth. He was responded to by a sinple wave of his hands, watching as Dove dipped his entire body into the lift and disappeared from his vision. "Now, back to my dorm room I go."

The spiral of stairs, luckily enough, had been situated right beside Oobleck's classroom, making travel to his next stop easily performable. His palm brushed against the handrail, his shoes making the sweet, therapeutic clapping noise against the iron framing. The ascension ended in less than fifteen seconds, his team's room located just at the other side of the upper corridor. He walked casually and quietly, so as to not disturb the other lessons (may he be spared from Goodwitch's mercy just for that one exclusive moment) and soon found himself opening the door that belonged to his room.

"Hey guys, I'm just gonna be in Vale for-" Nothing. The room was quiet and empty. "Ah crap! It's lunch, they're probably in the dining hall right now!" Jaune berated himself, thinking the cause of his little mess-up as the results of an inconsistent, body-destroying sleep pattern. It was unhealthy, to be fair - six hours of sleep per night as usual, sometimes the unlucky five, but skipping an entire night's-worth, followed by almost eleven hours, which didn't really compensate for the last one and then waking up at two-thirty solely to stress your body with rigorous fights had a tab on his head that felt too great to pay.

"Wait, I should be telling then this after school and not at lunch." Another fluke. Jaune felt like facepalming and then wearing a paper cone that spelt 'DUNCE' on it. "I need to fix my sleeping schedule, I seriously do..." He navigated his way back down the stairs, descending as he did so.

-o-0-o-

Dove found each of his steps decrease with speed, becoming increasing heavily as his heels made contact with the floor each time. What was once a confident stride became a sluggish, nervous creep. He dreaded at the events that were to come. Nothing was going to run prettily, but it was his job as a member of a huntsman in-training team to make amends with his compatriots. Maybe he did feel bad for making the other three scared of him, maybe Jaune was finally allowing him to open up and expose his good values, but it was still a requirement for him to not abandon Cardin, Russel and Sky on bad terms. White, LED lights seeped through the corners of his vision and medical tools making quirky noises entered his ears.

Cardin lay numb and tongue-tied, his eyes half-opened and his mouth fixed permanently to leave his jaw wide. He didn't look stupid (though many would pounce at the opportunity to do so without any repercussions); it could be more or less described as someone in deep thought, contemplation, consideration. Though since it was Winchester, and the world was ending if he ever became smart, it looked like he had taken the grace to eventually stop thinking.

How should he approach this?

"Cardin." He said. "Cardin. Hey, Cardin!" No response. "Cardin you dimwit! Fuckin' answer me man-"

"I can hear you, dipshit!" Cardin responded, his voice increasing in volume with every said syllable as if it was controlled by a dial that had been turned up. "If this is about yesterday, forget it. I've made up my mind."

"About what?"

"You know what I mean! I'll stay away from Velvet if it means making you happy, dickhead," Cardin's choice of vocabulary did nothing to help the situation. Youths such as them use it all the time, after all.

"Fine, fine. Just came here to check you, ungrateful swine." Dove spoke sarcastically. Seriously, Cardin Winchester, the public enemy number one in Beacon's first-years, actually acting upon someone else's request? The world truly was going to implode after all. Dove turned his body to face the door, ready to leave.

"Huh, it actually got through to your head. Okay, I'm getting myself lunch-"

"What the fuck was that?" Winchester asked.

"What the fuck was what?"

"In our little duel yesterday. That electricity. Was that Dust or what?"

"Oh, that. That was my Semblance." The irony of how Jaune had lied to him about Hamon when he asked had got to him and he mentally chuckled at that. Now he was in that position of knowledge, choosing to lie instead of telling his compatriots of the full picture. My Semblance, ahah! What a slick lie!

"Alright, piss off now."

"Aye-aye, Cardin!" Dove mock-soluted at Cardin's demand, leaving the room finally.

"It's Captain to you, crackhead! Get it right!" His annoying voice echoed throughout the infirmary's corridor.

Alright, with Cardin out of his bucket list, Sky and Russel were the next two topics to tackle. Team CRDL, being the most frowned-upon team by their peers, had made locating them quite the breeze; they had nobody else to socialise with other than themselves so they would probably be either in their dorm room or at the table furthest to the most distant corner in the dining hall. He took the route to the place via elevator, wondering why so many people would waste their energy burning through the stairwell. Once the lift's doors opened up, he was introduced to Oobleck waiting patiently just two metres in front. He saw how Oobleck's arms were filled with folders, a clipboard and many sheets of laminated paper and had politely let the doctor inside.

"Did you find anything, Doctor?" Dove asked.

"So far, no." He saw the student's obvious initial reaction as one of disappointment and displeasure. "Now now, Bronzewing. It's because I simply haven't had the time to do so."

"Oh," Dove said. "Gotcha."

"I'm assuming you're going to the dining hall. Lunch, right?"

"Yep." He emphasised the 'p', making a popping sound as he did so.

"Having lunch with Jaune?"

"Nah, not yet at least. Besides, I don't know his friends too well and my reputation has tarnished the opportunity for me as a CRDL member to socialise with new people."

"Ah, if so, I'll assume you're going to find Sky and Russel," Oobleck said.

"Yeah, I have to settle things with them. That fight yesterday, they act like they've got a restraining order on me! What do they think I feel like when they treat me like that!" Dove expressed his issues.

"That definitely should be settled then. Make sure it is done properly and professionally like how a huntsman ot huntress deals with a horde of Grimm." Dove nodded his head and made way to the dinner hall.

"I'll come back around with Jaune when you've got anything useful." Each step made his words die harder.

-o-0-o-

"So... How's it going?" Awkward. Jaune's question was a poorly-executed one, one that felt as if he was talking to complete strangers.

"You know as much as we do that it's about team CRDL." Pyrrha bluntly retorted. "You're leaving us in the dark, or at least that's how I- We feel."

"Yeah... Y'know, he isn't that bad of a person once you get to know him. Trust me, my respect for him is genuine."

"That's something Cardin would force you to say with blackmail material." Ouch. Jaune internally winced at the memories of his little secret - what he was interested with was how the conversation was about Cardin.

"Oh, it's not Cardin I'm talking about. My opinions of him being a dick won't change, nor will the fact that I can't do much about it." Pyrrha's brow raised in interest. "I'm talking about Dove. He isn't such a bad guy once you get to know him."

"Dove, huh. Hmm... Oh, he's the one who actually can fight on his team. The one with light brown hair combed to the side, right?"

"Yeah, Dove Bronzwing's his full name I think," Jaune chewed on his croissant, "And the guy who kept you in check for, like, two seconds before getting swatted away by Cardin."

"So why are you hanging around with him so much now? He tolerates Cardin of all people! The Cardin that finds it funny to humiliate and shame you for kicks! Jaune, stop leaving us in the dark and tell us if anything troubling is going on-"

"I'm not leaving you in the dark!" Jaune's outburst had silenced many surrounding tables. "Look, he's been helping me with certain... things, but it doesn't mean much!" Pyrrha looked frustrated, something he had never seen before.

"Look, he had a fight yesterday with Cardin and he sent him to the infirmary. His friends want nothing to do with him for the time being and I'm the only person aside from them that he can talk to. From one guy to another, he'll have my help."

"Fine, I'll let him slide. For now. But the moment I see him doing something awful to you I-"

"Pyrrha, I don't always need your help. I don't always need the help of other people every day." Jaune sighed. "I need to show that I'm worth my weight, both to you and our other friends."

"Alright..." Pyrrha felt defeated even if she felt it unreasonable. She watched how Ren and Nora enjoyed the little skirmishes they always found themselves in, slipping into their own little pocket of the universe as they did so. She then glanced quickly at team RWBY, who conversed into one of their little conversations - more so Weiss arguing unnecessarily with Ruby, Blake reading her 'adult literature' book and Yang watching the little verbal bout, chuckling and giggling as she did so.

Pyrrha had long-since accepted the fact that she had a thing or two with Jaune (that was severely undermining how she felt for her leader) despite knowing his affection went completely towards the Schnee. She had to reluctantly give it to him at how, to some degree, they paid no attention to him. What ticked her off was how he thought of the cause; it wasn't because they thought of him as dead weight, it was because they prioritised some people over others. They barely knew Jaune, they didn't fully get to understand his situation, and she wanted them to understand it.

Before she even could realise him, Dove stood at Jaune's side. "I haven't found them yet."

"As in they're actively trying to avoid you?" Jaune queried.

"I think so. I... I- Er, need help finding them." He sheepishly demanded.

"Have you asked one of the teachers?"

"Yeah, Professor Port said that he's contacted their scrolls through an email or so. They haven't read it, he said."

"You've checked all the places they usually hang around at, right?"

"Yes."

"Don't you think you should leave them be as of now?" Jaune advised. "As in, let them stifle up the courage to talk to you instead of wasting energy trying to find that nook or cranny they've chosen to hide in?"

"You know as much as your friends know that, at their core, team CRDL consists of four cowards." Dove responded.

"Make that three. From what I've seen, you've been trying to consolidate your issue at hand instead of running away from it like Sky and Russel have been. You aren't a coward in my books."

"Maybe I should just let them be for now..." Dove concluded his little talk with Jaune. "Right, I'll see you soon."

"Yep, see ya." Jaune watched Dove become smaller and smaller as he left the dining hall. Lunch was over and Glynda's combat lesson was to commence shortly after.

-o-0-o-

"So did you find anything, Doctor?" Dove asked. He winced at the phantom pain at the side of his noggin, grimacing still at the faux-burn from his fight with Yang. She had such an enormous Aura pool and her Semblance was pesky to tackle head-on. He lost by a considerable amount but that didn't mean the fight was one-sided. His zoning capabilities work best with people that fight short-ranged like her, but Hallshott's revolver form could only achieve so much. Once she cut through the distance he had spent so long building, she danced like a butterfly and stung like a bee. Her Semblance, Burn, sent him soaring in the air.

"In theory, yes. Practically, no."

"What do you mean by that?" Jaune wondered.

"Hamon is a breathing technique, yes? So that means you should work on your breathing." Oobleck ordered.

"It's not that hard to breathe in battle, Professor. It's also very unlikely that we'll ever be fighting underwater, sir."

"When you put it that way, it makes your mindset look very rational. I don't blame you for thinking like that. But once I introduce to you what I want you both to do, the benefits will be clear as day. Also it's Doctor Oobleck, for Oum's sake."

"I don't get it still..." Dove pondered.

"Focus on breathing. The Ripple requires its user to breathe in order to function properly. Imagine how devastating it would be to get the wind knocked out of your lungs or if your enemies put too much pressure for you to handle. In the heat of battle, your opponents will never wait for you to charge up that power, I would assume." Barthomelew taught.

"So what do we do about it, then?" Jaune said. It was after that did their history teacher pull out of his pocket two breathing masks, appearing to have been made out of a metal substance and with little to no filter holes on it. It looked more like a torture contraption than it did training equipment. Oobleck then pulled out his Scroll which had another recording on Joseph, one that wasn't shown to the class ever.

The video was in black and white colour, the standard issue for the nineteen thirties at the time. On the recording was Joseph Joestar climbing a towering, daunting stone pillar that seemed to never stop ascending into the sky. At the base of the tower was a tall, beautiful and gorgeous lady that seemed to have been scolding Joseph. Her stature and build was on par with Goodwitch's own, possibly equal. In the middle of her chiding Joseph turned around, agitated as he did so. There was no audio, but they clearly saw the young and well-built man throw his hands around in an act of annoyance.

What made Dove and Jaune's pupils contract with shock, though, was what in Remnant was fixed onto his face. It was a near-replica of the metal breathing mask Oobleck had come in possession of. The video was in black and white, but it had been remastered to look as if it were a movie expertly made in such a colour palette. Joseph then breathed through the mask, activating another burst of Hamon before continuing to scale the massive pillar.

"As you can see, I've bought slightly modified versions of the mask. Joseph's version could be considered cruel and punishing; my research has stated that if he were to even breathe as if he wasn't channelling Hamon, he would begin to suffocate. Joseph was able to tolerate such a strenuous form of training because he had control over his Sendo for months - you boys have barely passed a week."

Jaune reached his hand out, eager to grab the mask. This was responded to by Oobleck drawing his hand - which held the two metal breathing masks - back and away from the blonde student's reach. "Hey! I was about to-"

"Jaune, this would be considered a very large safety hazard to your health. Not only does it put me at risk for being sacked but it could suffocate you. It can (i)suffocate you, Jaune, Dove." Oobleck's eyes gazed Jaune, then Dove. "If you want this to happen, I'll have to ask Miss Goodwitch. You'll need her approval for all of this."

"But-"

"Jaune, why do you want this to stay as some stupid secret? I don't see the practicality in it." Dove voiced. "Roght now your team thinks you're prioritising some stupid thug over them. Why don't you tell more teachers or your team, better yet?"

"I've said it numerous times, Dove. I want this to be a surprise-"

"Fuck that!" Flaring ocean eyes met a near-identical pair. "We won't get anywhere if we play your stupid game. You want to progress, right?"

"Of course I do! It's just-"

"If you're not going to, I will. I'll make sure of that."

"Decide by the end of the school week, you two." Oobleck finished.

"And Mr. Bronzewing, you really should think before you speak. The first-year teachers really don't like the language you've picked up."

"Sure." Dove answered with half his heart. Both students abruptly took their leave, Jaune feeling defeated. He didn't get the supposedly helpful masks after all.

-o-0-o-

"..." Jaune felt the worst. He was not taking the exposition of his little secret very well. Hell, he was lucky enough to have Dove at least not tell anyone else in Beacon, let alone his closest friends. The pit of concern in his stomach churned and twisted his insides, creating cold, excruciating despair as Goodwitch's killer silence would not cease to be. Jaune and Dove exchanged uncertain glances just before their combat teacher spoke. "Keeping this a secret isn't a good idea, Arc, Bronzewing. Keeping things a secret won't bring you up; real progress is made when under the hands of a professional such as myself. A student such as yourself should especially know that, am I correct, Jaune?"

"Ugh, I don't want to hear it, Dove!" Jaune complained grumpily, subject to Dove's triumphant and smug smirk.

"Told you so, simple as that,"

"Fine, I'll hand it to you. I haven't progressed much on my own too well, testing my Hamon on the Grimm being my only current exercise. But please, I don't want someone like Pyrrha hearing me-"

"Progress, Jaune. Progress. Must I have to burn it into your thick skull in order to get it across your mind? Shying away from your friends will have negative impacts on your relationships with them. How have you not realised that yet?!"

"Keep your voice at room volume, Bronzewing."

"Why can't I have what I want for a change? I want to show them that I can fight! I want to show them that Jaune Arc isn't some stupid clown associated to some of Remnant's biggest prodigies attending a school of high prestige! I've had enough of being last, being at the bottom! This means a lot to me Dove, and I hope, for someone who doesn't have to worry about underperforming, that gets to your mind."

"Mr. Arc, you are a huntsman in-training. The line of work in such a popular industry is a dirty one. We take it up to ourselves to carry out planet's burdens. We are defenders for the people, against the Grimm, and I want you to recognise that. We need as many people up to standards as possible and for persons of high potential such as you two, this is the only way. Many people take our work at a negative light, thinking that our duty is a glorified justification for fame and your mindset has just proven them right. They do not know the horrors of the real world and we have to make sure they are kept away from the worst of it." Glynda lectured. Memories of Ozpin's words slipped into her mind. Memories of how there was a ring leader to the Grim, how someone so vile, so malevolent would wish for the death of all of Remnant's inhabitants in the most degrading ways possible. The first time she had heard her name, she had never felt so burdened.

"Jaune, people need strong huntsmen more than ever."

"This isn't just about you, Jaune." Dove said. "This isn't about me, or Nikos, or Xiao-Long or even Winchester. This is about Remnant on a whole. I chose this job as a huntsman because I want to do something. Friends, family, people I've known have fallen because of our world's evils and I want them to know that I'm trying to prevent it from happening to anybody else. Jaune, the Ripple will be out ticket to becoming strong and capable huntsmen and we need it more than ever, for our same and for everyone else's."

"...Right, got it. If I'm gonna tell my friends, I'll tell it when I've got my Sendo up to standards. Until then not either me or you will utter a word. Deal?" Jaune offered - or demanded, more likely.

"You got yourself one," Dove retorted.

"We'll be going to Forever Fall tomorrow. It'll be a group activity, specifically a team-oriented one." Glynda said.

"Russel and Sky, they keep running away from me. Cardin's still out the picture and without a team, how am I supposed to work?" He asked dryly.

"I'll formally send the two an email. They have to pick up otherwise they'll be showing bad etiquette." Jaune audibly swallowed a large cluster of saliva down his throat. Anything related to Professor Goodwitch would fail to fall short of terrifying.

"Heh... Nobody misses an email from you, Miss." Jaune chuckled nervously. Dove clearly got the memo, their combat teacher sometimes being scarier than the Grimm.

"A good teacher is a respected one. I make sure that always is maintained with me, on and off duty." Goodwitch pulled her Scroll out of her pocket, reading the time. "You two best be off now. The school day's just finished and my paperwork is stacking up by the second."

"Gotcha, teach!" Jaune abruptly left the room.

"Children..." Dove left the room too, hearing Glynda's verbal display of irritation.

"Oh my Oum, why is this pissing me off!" Dove's hands flailed furiously in the air just before his fingers pulled the bags of his eyes. The capillaries within them bulged with annoyance and his fingers twitched. A lot. "Jaune, couldn't we have done this on the weekend?"

" I made tons of canisters of coffee to make up for any lost energy. It's Oobleck's secret blend so I fail to see how it won't keep us awake. " Jaune argued. The bag fixed into his back proved him correct. "Plus it's a breath of fresh air. Just imagine, all of the Emerald Forest to ourselves. We get to do as we please-"

"Jaune, we - or I at least - get a breath of fresh air every half day. I get it more than you do, dolt. Hey, why the fuck're you laughing? Hey!"

"Sorry. Hah, Weiss is the only person I know to call anybody that. To think that you, Dove Bronzewing of team CRDL, would say such a thing is highly amusing."

"Tch. It's twelve right now so I'll only stick around for an our. You can stay for as long as you want, I wouldn't care less, but my sleep is important to me. I'll grow a ton of acne if I don't receive it!"

"What are you, Weiss' male counterpart? But on a serious note, you can go when you want. I don't wanna feel like I'm forcing you to do things."

"So what, you don't want to feel guilty for me losing sleep. Gee, what a meagre priority. You sure are selfish, Jaune."

"That's not what I meant, asshole! you know that as well as I do." Jaune voice has been raised at that instant.

"I'm pulling your strings you little noodle."

"I'm six foot one..."

"And I'm six foot two and a half inches, bitch!"

"Shut up!" Jaune smiled, enjoying the little banter they had between each other. It was genuine and refreshing, being able to talk to someone of the same gender for once (sorry Ren). Seven sisters and six friends who just so happened to be girls with zero interest with him really impacted his relatability towards his fellow men. The closest he got to that was his father, Johnny Arc. Ren was more in touch with his feminine side than he was masculine, so there was that. That was without saying Ren himself could act the man, he definitely could.

Their trek came to an eased halt. For Dove, he was at some crazy forest clearing. It looked like some bozo destroyed the scenery with an oversized mallet. For Jaune it was the same place he would always go to when it came to training, beautiful in all of its ruined vegetation.

"Right, so what now?" Dove asked. "Do we activate our Hamon or what?"

"I dunno," said Jaune flatly.

"What do you mean you don't know?! You've done this for much longer than I have, Jaune."

"I mean, I just wait it out. I wait for some Grimm to pop up and I'd kill 'em. I'm at a consecutive winning streak of three, mind you."

"But that's the Grimm, Jaune. They pack a punch and that's that. They're nothing special."

"...Tell you what, We'll fight a few Grimm together. We can do this again on the weekends or this Friday after dark."

"Sure." Dove concluded dryly.

-o-0-o-

For ten minutes, waiting in near-complete darkness felt like nearing the end of time. Everything went dull and Dove would episodically fall asleep, only to be brought back from the state by his peer. He didn't complain, though. He knew how inconsistent the Grimm were, strange and dark as they could be described as. Though, to be fair, he had already engaged in battle with an Ursa Minor just now, definitely reinvigorating all of his systems.

Jaune was busy tending to a Beowulf that so happened to pop up at the same time, so that was that. An entire creature of Grimm, all to himself, ready to pounce just as he himself was.

It's fucking time.

Hallshott fired cleanly, grazing the Minor's skull plating and cracking it as a result. The beast had an attempt at swatting the metal bullet, its head injury stating otherwise. The younger Ursa charged in which it was responded to by a swing of his broadsword. The Grimm didn't even feel like registering the hit, the branded weapon going for nought, hailing no results. Oh shit, this is too close.

Muscle. Muscle and sharp claws knocked the wind squarely out of his stomach. The attack was nimble, too fast to be reacted to for Dove. His Aura went to work shortly after landing on top of a muddy patch of grass, fixing any damages done. The Grimm were mindless, autonomous and ruthless so it was easy to see the monster grab at the present opportunity. Dickhead, Dove thought arrogantly.

Whuooooum! Much better, his Ripple oscillated against the humid, dark atmosphere. Instantly did the Ursa Minor stop its stampede, wary of the light surrounding the tall boy. Seriously, what was going on? He took a quick look at his partner in crime, nervous to think as the other blonde had the same thing encompassing his armour.

"Scared?" Dove teased. He charged, which had been responded to by another. The Ursa was too young to value its life yet, something the hundred-year-olds clearly do. Rational thinking was something a Grimm could never come to terms with, after all.

Dove set Hallshott into its sword derivation, the blade gloriously embracing the ancient martial art. It had been bared straight, the tip of the sword perpendicular to his chest and with one mighty lunge, it easily bypassed the once-impenetrable bone defense.

The Grimm's mind literally melted, evaporating at the hands of the intrusive power. The mercy was, well, merciless. The fight was over and with a quick peer, the same could be said for mutual accomplice.

"We should do this on a Friday; damn, it's difficult trying to stay awake." Jaune agreed with Dove's suggestion. Really, it was a no-brainer.

-o-0-o-

Vacuo, five o'clock sharp, one of many deserts.

Buried deep within the hot, uninviting sands was a statue. The statue itself seemed to have been made by a unique sediment, one that was out of place and definitely didn't belong to the yellow palette Vacuo donned. An expert in geology could mistake the substance for something akin to a dark shade of granite rock, sculpted to represent a handsome, well-built figure with long, wavy hair-

Crack!

However, the dark substance was just a skin. A layer, a covering to hide what truly laid underneath. Underneath the stone was a monster. A monster who had retreated to the hands of a cocky Joestar.

Like a snake molting off old skin, shreds and flakes of stone fell off his skin to reveal a much more organic tone.

One could mistake him for a human. He was much much more.

He was much, much worse.

"I still feel your presence, Salem, Kars,". Rays of the rising sun threatened to piece his new habitat, the grains of sand glowing with increasing intensity.

Santana breathed and burrowed himself deeper into the sandy confines.

Chapter 3. Oh boy, I have zero excuses for how bad this chapter is. It felt repetitive and the only time I really felt like I had fun writing was when I introduced Santana to the cast. Either way, if you feel like this chapter doesn't do as well as the other two did, that's my only real reasoning.

I've read a review stating how they were surprised to see Dove of all people becoming Jaune's first Hamon buddy. Thanks, I guess.

I chose Dove because he was perfect for a mirroring character. Dove has potential and I very much wanted to utilise that. He's got fighting competence from what I've sourced from the RWBY wiki, making him the perfect character for my story.

Also I don't really see Dove get used in enough in FanFictions. Give the lad some justice, please.

About this being 10k long? I lied. I could not be bothered and this was reaching its set deadline anyways. Sorry.

Goodbye!

Edit 1: Somebody pointed out that I wrote two of the same paragraph. I've resolved the issue, thank you!

Edit 2: Writing on a crappy 5s is more difficult than you think. Either way thanks for pointing things out!

Edit 3: Spelling mistake that didn't make sense. Had to correct it otherwise the flow of the story would be ruined.