A word of warning. This first part will be very confusing. I wrote it and even I can't make proper sense of it. You need not consider it part of the actual story if you don't want to. I just felt like putting it in here.

It was floating around.
It was waking up.
It was remembering.

It was Sanguinius.

It was not whole.

He was floating around in someone else's thoughts but they were still his thoughts at the same time for they shared the same soul.

But it was not whole. Sanguinius was not whole.

The concept of "self" was still a bit fuzzy for him for he had just come to notice his situation.

Who was he? What was he? Where did he come from? Why was he in this place? What had been done to him?
These questions had been haunting him since he had come about. He was still unsure about a few things.

He did not know when he had awoken. Or rather, he knew when but keeping track of the time since then in a young man's mindscape was not easy. It was like living in a mini-warp.
But saying that he lived in the mindscape was not right either. It was more like he was a part of It or rather he was It. at the same time the same could be said for Jaune. They were one and the same, only separated by their perspective on their memories that made up their lives.

It was all very confusing. Maybe Magnus would have been able to explain it. He had always dabbled in such matters. Sanguinius had always deemed it best to stay clear of such things.
Oh well, too late to do anything about it now.

Sanguinius' self had begun to reform itself when Pyrrha Nikos had unlocked Jaune Arc's aura.

Something about that had made the shattered soul stir and gotten it to pull itself together.

In the mindscape of Jaune Arc the shattered remains of Sanguinius' soul was pulling itself together as best it could.

It was taking a lot of time for there was a lot to fix.
Without any real way on measuring time apart from what he gleaned from Jaune's perception, Sanguinius figured it would take a few decades at least. That would give the boy some time to enjoy his life at least for once Sanguinius was done he would reach out to the stars and find the Imperium.

How had his soul been shattered?
That had been the angel's first question when he realized his situation. The memory of his fight with Horus had sprung up and it had been Jaune's first nightmare at Beacon.

During his final moments he had faced down Horus in battle. He had lost and died.
But Horus had done worse than kill him. Horus had wounded his very soul.

That's how the primarch of the Blood Angels now found himself floating around in the mindscape of Jaune Arc, the one who carried his broken soul.

Sanguinius looked at the mental image of himself. He now had his left arm but not his right one. He had a stump of his right leg but not the left one. His wings where not on him either.
He looked into himself. Plenty of the organs his father had bestowed upon him were missing.

He looked around himself. Here and there were pieces of him floating around. His fangs had been among the first to appear. Sanguinius had taken them and returned them to their proper place.
That had been months ago, the day Jaune Arc discovered his fangs to be precise.

Since then he had slowly picked up fragments of himself, putting himself together as he did so. There was still a lot of him missing.

As more and more fragments appeared and joined the Angel did Jaune Arc remember more of his past life.

During the periods when Jaune did not remember anything new, Sanguinius entertained himself by going through Jaune's own memories or seeing the world through the boy's eyes. It was a pleasant enough world to live on he supposed.

There was a few people who the boy held close. They were his team but their bonds were like that of a family.

There were other people around but JNPR was always Jaune's main concern.
Their relations got the Angel to recall the good times and discussions or games of Regicide with Horus and some of his other brothers. Like on Melchior after the battle against the Nephilim, before Horus had uncovered the dark secret of the Blood Angels.

Then there had been the Red Thirst. Sanguinus wished he could make it stop and spare the mortal from it but he found himself powerless.
And while Juane did resist it valiantly he did not have the mental fortitude of a primarch, not yet. It had only been a matter of time until he, and thus Sanguinius, succumbed to it.

Salvation had come in the form of Pyrrha Nikos who gave of her own blood to starve off the Thirst.
Whereas Jaune couldn't comprend the champion's reason for doing so, Sanguinius did.
It was love. Plain and simple love.

Sanguinius had shaken his ghost-head in the mindscape in frustration over his incarnation's inability to see the writing on the wall.

"By father's tap-dancing thyroid gland, how can a reincarnation of me be this dense?"

Seriously, not even Dorn had been this stubborn to get a clue about some things.

Nikos' deeds deserved a reward - a show of gratitude.
Thus Sanguinius had decided to give Jaune a clue or rather a notion of what was going on by planting a few ideas around in the boy's mind. But with his limited agency the Angel could only do so much. At most he just managed to pull a few strings.
It seemed to work to a degree. The boy had begun to realize what he felt for the amazon, if a bit slowly.

That action alone had left the Angel's spirit quite exhausted and so he returned to the depths of Jaune's mindscape to rest. He did not know for how long he would do so. Maybe a week. Maybe a few months. Years?

It couldn't be helped.

It was lunch. Team RWBY was doing their thing. From his seat Jaune could tell that Ruby was up to something. She was carrying a binder with her. She cleared her throat and addressed her team, no all at the table.

"Sisters... friends... Weiss."

"Hey!" Weiss took exception to that one, all others chuckled.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream. That one day, this team would rise up, together, and have the most fun anyone has ever had!"

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, looking up from her notebook.

"I'm talking about kicking off the new semester with a bang!"

Yang turned to Team JNPR with a grin.

"Well I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Eh? Am I right?"

For her bad pun Yang got an apple thrown in her face, courtesy of Nora.

"Your joke is bad and you should feel bad."

Yang began to look around for something to retaliate with.

'Oh-ohhh' thought Jaune. 'If this ain't a dust-ceg ready to blow then I am a tame squig. What even is a squig?'

Ruby continued her little speech without missing a beat, unaware of what her sister was doing. No one tried to stop Yang as they were focused on Ruby. Yang eventually got her hand on the original apple and tried to return it to its sender.

She missed and somewhere else in the cafeteria someone got an free apple in their head.

Nora giggled.
Before Jaune could get Pyrrha or Ren to stop the Valkyrie she had picked up a pie and hurled it towards her blonde adversary.

Now, Jaune was not that good at ballistics or aerodynamics, but even he knew that one should not expect an apple and an apple pie to behave the same way when used as projectiles. This included trajectory.

The pie hit a distracted Weiss right in the face.

Nora tried to shift the blame to Ren by pointing at him while smiling nervously.
Ren facepalmed, somehow surprised by Nora's actions despite having known her for years.

Team RWBY, minus the pie covered Weiss, looked at their sister-team with narrowed eyes.
Jaune could swear that he could make out an annoyed face on Weiss despite her "beauty treatment".

"Pyr, get ready. Ren, establish a fortified position at the end of the cafeteria as soon as things start. I will try to cover you."

Ren acknowledged the order. "Understood, leader."

"What about me?" Nora asked.

"MIA?" Jaune suggested jokingly. Missing In Action would be a fitting end for her as this was all her fault anyhow in a way.
"Arm yourself. We will need your strength."

Somewhere behind him Jaune could hear someone shout. "FOOD FIGHT!"

It was on.

The Battle of the Cafeterium had begun.

Sun and Neptune of Team SSSN were walking along the ground of Beacon. Sun had insisted on introducing Neptune to the awesome people at the school. They were currently walking outside the cafeteria.

Now, to the untrained eye the cafeteria was just a cafeteria. However, to the one who knew their stuff if was a VWBC or a Very-Well-Built-Cafeteria.

The walls could withstand dust explosions, bullets and was equipped with one-way mirror-tinted, shatter resistant glass and was even soundproofed. It was a requirement for cafeterias serving huntsmen, especially the ones in training. This was the reason why the two boys did not see or hear Ruby Rose getting tossed into the window they passed by.

The monkey faunus kept up with his enthusiasm all the way.

"I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest! Not as cool as SSSN, but still."

Neptune was however sceptical. "Suuure."

"They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?

"Dude, are you forgetting who you are talking to?" He gave a smile showing off his perfect teeth. They gleamed.

"Fair enough." said Sun.

As they got to the doors a student jumped out and collapsed in front of them. His head was covered by a melon and he had ketchup stains all over him.

Being decent chaps Sun and Neptune liberated the boys head from the suffocating melon, letting him breath. He was showing clear signs of shell-shock. Before he passed out he muttered a warning to his saviors.

"Food fight."

Then there was a trembling, like a hoard of grimm was on the move. Sun and Neptune barely managed to throw themselves to the sides of the doors when a stampede of students came rushing out.

Being huntsmen in training Neptune and Sun could recognize the behavior of civilians running away from battle. But these people were supposed to be huntsmen in training.

What manner of food fight could make them flee like this?

Sun gestured to a worried Neptune that they were going to take a peek inside. He got a nod in response. If one of them fell in battle that day the other would let their team know.

"Dustspeed, Sun, dustspeed."

Jaune had recovered from his food-induced injuries and had once again taken command of this Teams efforts to fend of Team RWBY's offence. It had gone rather well.

RWBY had been pushed away from JNPR's makeshift fort.

Jaune surveyed the battle field. His team were currently stuck on the defensive. He didn't like it. He wanted to take the fight to the enemy. Soon he would for he had a plan of attack in mind.

Nora was laughing maniacally from on top of it.

"Ahahahaha! I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Even as Nora sang along to her merry tune Jaune could see Ruby getting back up after being repelled yet again. She had an ice cream cone stuck to her head and she was rousing her troops.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful and delicious!"

A milk-carton grenade went off in her hand by accident. Her little speech did manage to raise morale among her battle-sisters. As one they raised their fists and shouted a battle cry.

"Yeah!"

"Alright gang, here they come again!" Jaune said and hefted a baguette in his hand, a stand in for Crocea Mors. The bread had helped him face of against Ruby during her last assault. Somehow it was still in one piece.

"Off with their heads!" Nora shouted and jumped into the fray.

Ren loaded up on melons from their armory and began his barrage. All was going according to Jaune's battle plan.

Ruby had anticipated this melon assault and had her sister block the melons with turkey-powered fists. But that was part of Jaune's plan. It kept the brawler, Team RWBY's main offensive force, occupied.

This let Nora engage Weiss in melee.
Weiss with her light weaponry, a few breadsticks, never stood a chance against Nora's Melon-mallet.

The white haired girl was taken down by a blow to the head, sending her flying into RWBY's base. Ruby knelt down by her fallen comrade, trying to wipe the red from her friend face, but it was too late.

"Weiss! Weiss! Don't give up on me! Weiss!"

"Cough, Ruby, I'm not gonna make it!" said Weiss and closed her eyes to keep the juices from getting into them.

"Nooo!"

Ruby cried out for the loss of a teammate.

It was time to move to the next stage of Jaune's plan. And not a moment too soon. They were almost out of melons to hurl at Yang.

"Ren, keep Blake busy! Pyrrha, prepare for Operation Soda Pop!"

"What will you do?" she asked.

"Keep Yang busy!"

Normally Jaune would not even dream of engaging Yang in any sort of confrontation on his own but he had reasoned it was best this way. Blake was still too fast for him and Pyrrha would need some time to gather ammo for Operation Soda Pop.

Jaune could however keep Yang busy by dodging her blows and taunting her, a very dangerous mission but he was prepared to risk it for his team. The melee was brutal but he didn't need to keep it up for long.

"Nora, now!" Pyrrha shouted, letting her team know she was ready.

Yang and Blake could only stare as Team JNPR's last melons were hurled at them. They didn't get to dodge as the boys pinned them down. The impacts sent the two girls flying towards Ruby and the downed Weiss.

Now all of Team RWBY had been pushed back to their side of the cafeteria and they had no more supplies to muster a counter with.

"Give up, Ruby. Just admit it was your sister's bad pun that started this and we will let you go." Jaune shouted.

"We will never surrender! And Yang's puns aren't that bad."

"Yeah, and they are great buns." Yang mumbled and held up some baked goods just to make her point, earning a groan from all of her teammates.

"So be it, huntress." Jaune said ominously.
"Pyrrha, now!"

With her semblance Pyrrha lifted every soda can in the cafeteria, painstakingly collected when Jaune and Ren were fighting. With a huff she propelled the liquid filled shells at the enemy. Not quite an orbital bombardment but it would have to do.
There was a crash and the sound of hundreds of soda cans bursting open.

Jaune stepped forward, surveying the results of his team's efforts. It was like bringing a very bothersome civilization to compliance or purging a very stubborn bunch of xenos.
"Ah, I love the smell of soda pops at lunch. It smells like… it smells like victory."

"There is no kill quite like overkill." noted Ren as their enemies laid on the floor before them. All except for one, Ruby.

Jaune had been ready to proclaim victory but then he remembered who they were facing. While most people would have surrendered by now, Ruby was not most people. She hated losing and was determined to drag her foes down with her if she did.

That way no one would really win and no one would really lose, she figured.

It was then Ruby broke the cardinal rule of food fights on all of Remnant: she used the furniture and cutlery. Sure, all did it to some degree: as ramps, as shelter or as catapults for food-projectiles.

They did not however use them as projectiles.

Everyone and their mothers knew not to do it!

People could get hurt for dust's sake!

Using her semblance Ruby started going around in circles, picking up speed, picking up air pull. Soon all debris, all plates, cutlery and even tables were dragged behind her. Then she set course for Team JNPR.

"Freedom!" was all Jaune could hear as he felt Ruby run past him. After her followed all the stuff that had been in the cafeteria.

Jaune turned to his partner. He had failed to predict this eventuality, he had failed his teammates. He tried to reach out for his partner but it was too late.

As their fingers touched he heard her say "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Those were his final words before they were slammed into the wall. Their aura protected them for any actual harm but their clothes were stained beyond recognition.

Ruby landed in front of them, a smug grin on her face. "Who has lost now, oh great leader?"

Jaune let out a chuckle. "Not you."

Sure, he had not planned for this to happen but Ruby had acted too late. She was out off time.
Jaune's "relief force" was on its way.

The doors slammed open and professor Goodwitch stomped in. She was rather annoyed. "Oh, crap baskets." said Ruby.

With a flip of her crop Goodwitch began putting everything back in order and pulled JNPR off the wall.

"Children, do not play with your food."

The students apologized and sat down to resume what was left of their meal.

Glynda muttered something to herself when Ruby Rose tried to convince everyone that she had won by being the last one standing.

"Miss Rose, do not take this so lightly!"

"Let it go Glynda." said headmaster Ozpin as he entered. "They are still children so let the act as such. It won't be long until we throw them out into the big and scary world."

He sipped some coffee, thinking of his food fights back when he was young, so very long ago.

"Besides, it seemed like it was rather educational for them."

It had been. They had turned lunch into a battle simulation, had to improvise their weaponry and brushed up on team tactics.
There was however a few problems to sort out in the aftermath.

Ozpin walked past his deputy and tapped Ruby on the shoulder.

"For breaking the universal rule of food fights on Remnant I hereby, as headmaster of Beacon Academy, deny your victory."

"WHAT? What for? Aren't we supposed to use all available methods to win?"

"Yes, in order to safeguard something or capture something you need. But tactics such as yours would end up destroying the very thing you would want to protect or seize. As a huntress, such an alternative is not available to you."

He took another sip of coffee, teaching was thirsty work. That is why he left it to the other teachers.

"That means the victory goes to JNPR. And for once again showing great tactical prowess, ten points to Arc!"

"Who-hoo!" Nora shouted. "Way to go fearless leader!"

"Points to what, headmaster?" asked Glynda. She could smell bullshit in the air, it came from the headmaster.

"Why, to his next exam with you, Glynda."

Before Glynda could pommel Ozpin into dust he snuck away, surprisingly spry for someone with a cane. He gave Sun and the Neptune, who was covered in food, a smile and a nod as he dashed past them, Goodwitch hot on his heels.

Sun gave a laugh.

"I love these guys. Hey, you got something on your everything."

Neptune just glared daggers at him and pulled out a napkin to wipe his face clean with.

A few days after the battle for the Cafeterium.

Never let it be said that the kingdom of Atlas didn't know how to put on a show.

All of the City of Vale was out of doors to watch the grand ships sail past over them. The exchange students from Atlas were just about to arrive.

All were happy about this. To meet new people, to learn more from them and also, to face new exciting opponents.

Jaune however was not really happy about the arrival of the Atlesians. It was only the presence of his friends that kept him from frowning outright. The annoying part was that before Beacon he would not have had a problem with this. But with his new fangs however….

"Oh, come now Jaune. All Atleasians aren't that bad. I mean, technically they have made discrimination against faunus illegal. And besides, Weiss is an Atlesian and she is, er, kinda nice."

Jaune scoffed but still ruffled Ruby's hair, making her protest. She may be a goofball at times but she was still the first friend he had ever made at Beacon.

"For you maybe, but you are not a faunus, or whatever I am."

She eventually pushed away his hand as he messed up her already messy hair. She had worked hard to get it messy in the right way.

"Have you still not gotten past the faunus-not-faunus-thing? Did you ever call your folks about it?"

Jaune just shook his head.

"Why Jaune? They are your family."

"Well Ruby, it's not like it's a small matter so it should be discussed in person, not over scroll. At least that's what I think."

"But that's not all is there?" Ren chimed in. "If you don't mind me asking."

All of Team JNPR turned closer to listen.

"No, that is only part of the reason. When I left for Beacon I needed a weapon, a real weapon. So just as I left home…."

He took a deep breath, making ready to confess one of his sins.

"... I sorta ran away with with the family's ancestral weapons."

His friend whinsed. Yeah, that would cause some friction between Jaune and his folks. Someday, once they had a decent amount of time off, Jaune intended to meet his family and hope for the best. Maybe they would just scold him, maybe they would try to ground him, maybe they would try to grind his fangs down. Time would tell.

They all turned back to watch the spectacle in the sky. Annoying Atlesians or not, it was an impressive sight.

For Jaune however it left a thought as he was delving into Sanguinius' memories.
'I've both seen, ridden and taken down bigger.'

He didn't say it out loud though. For now he just enjoyed the show.

But the Red Tear had been much grander than anything Atlas could muster. That was simply a fact.

He had gotten a better grasp of his other memories lately but a lot still eluded him. At least he did remember who he had been: Sanguinius, primarch of the Blood Angels. One of the Emperor's sons. Made to be supreme princes of battle.
Now he wasn't. He was less than even a neophyte but still carrying the darker legacy of his past life.

It did not help his self-esteem knowing that he had gone from being a demigod to a nobody after dying or the fact that he had retained almost none of the pros that had come with his previous life. Instead he had gotten the fangs and the Red Thirst.

He often found himself wondering if he was doing the right thing. Was what he was doing now what he would have done in his previous life?
Probably not, but right now he couldn't do much about it.

"Why does Ironwood have to drag his work with his everywhere he goes?"

Glynda Goodwitch was not really happy about the Atlesian fleet over Vale. Atlas was bringing more than just their students. It was bringing its military.

"Because he feels like he cannot trust anyone else to look after it, Glynda."

It was not the whole truth but Ozpin did not exactly know the other reasons. He had a guess though. It was not encouraging.

On the computer screen Ozpin was looking at there was a blinking light.

"Entrance requested."

Ozpin pressed a few buttons and looked up from his computer as the elevator to his office opened with the ringing of a bell. In strode a man i pristine white uniform. Broad shoulders carried a head with a square jaw. Back straight he approached the headmaster and his deputy. The military demeanor faded and the man smiled, arms raised as if to hug someone.

"Ozpin!"

"Greetings, general Ironwood."

"Oh, drop the formalities. We are all friend here. Besides, it has been far too long. Still haven't gotten a haircut I see."

The men shook hands as Glynda left the window and headed for the door. James Ironwood almost stood at attention for her out of old habit.

"And it being too long goes double for you, Glynda. How have you been?"

Glynda almost gave him a heartfelt smile "Oh James…."

And then she frowned. "I will be outside."

"I see things haven't changed with her." Ironwood said, a tad disappointed.

"Well James, you did leave her for what is essentially a glorified desk job."

"First Ozpin, it is you who has a glorified desk job. And second, I hardly think running the most powerful military on Remnant and a Huntsman academy is a 'glorified desk job'."

"Yes, but I have never left a lover for it, now have I? And believe you me James, what I am doing is not a glorified desk job either. Why, only yesterday I had to deal with the aftermath of a small civil war in this very school's cafeteria."

Ozpin tilted his head towards a kettle of the table, earning a nod from Ironwood. The trip had been long and tedious. He needed a boost.

Even so he produced a small canteen and poured some of its content into his mug.

For medical purposes, of course. Being Atlas' general was hard on the nerves.

While Ozpin helped himself to a mug Ironwood noticed a chalkboard in the office. It was divided into three sections. One showed the names of Beacon's staff as well as a sum of Lien next to them. Then there was also a X or a O to the far right.

"Betting pool?" asked Ironwood, counting the names. All of Beacon's staff was there plus Qrow Branwen. The general huffed.

'So the drunk is around here somewhere, typical.'

To Ironwood's surprise, only the drunk and Peter Port seemed to be voting "yes".

"Ah, yes. We are having a little bet about one of our student. Whatever he will go above and beyond or not by the end of the school year." answered Ozpin before he sipped his coffee.

"Which student and why the interest?"

"Jaune Arc." Answered Ozpin. "As for why, well he was positively hopeless when he got here but then Port had one of his ideas."

Ironwood nodded. Ozpin had asked him to try to look into the boy's past in order to find clues about who or what could have helped him get his transcripts approved. Ironwoods investigation had revealed nothing.

It had almost been disappointing to hear that the infiltrator seemed to have no talent whatsoever. An infiltrator should at least have the decency to be competent. That was Ironwood's opinion.

Ozpin walked up to the broad. "Well, what do you say? Do you want in?"

"Sign me up. 500 Lien says he won't amount to anything."

The general meant it. He had reviewed the footage that Ozpin had sent him of the boy. It would be easy money and the fact that it would be Branwen paying up would make it all worthwhile.

Ozpin wrote down the general's stake in the matter and sent a message to Oobleck to look up the general later in order to handle the money.

"I hope you remember Beacon's golden rule: no backsies." said the headmaster.

"Why would I have to be concerned about that? I have seen the footage."

"Well, yes, about the footage. Since I sent you that the boy has showed some improvement. Most likely thanks to the assistance of his partner."

"That matters not. The boy will need years worth of training in order to manage what he is up for, not some weeks of it. No matter how good his partner's teachings are."

"My thoughts exactly. But I suppose it gives the bet an air of suspense." said Ozpin and took his seat again.

"Now with the small talk over with… Why is there a frickin' fleet outside of my office window?"

James sighed. For all his qualities Ozpin had never really understood the value of solid military action or the need to show of strength at times. It made one's enemies think twice about doing anything they would come to regret.

"You know why."

"James, we have been over this already. We are having peace now. That is what the Festival is about. The students fighting in the arena instead of armies fighting in the streets. This show of yours will undermine the Festival's purpose."

"But if what Qrow said is true then we-"

"... Then we will handle it with tact and care, not rush in guns blazing. Can you guess which of the two possibilities the people are fearing right now with your fleet looming over them."

"I'm just cautious Ozpin. Nothing more."

"As am I. That's why I spend my time producing the best huntsmen I can for when the need for them arise."

Ironwood finished his cup, grateful for having spiked it. Then he sighed and turned to the exit. Before he exited he turned back to his friend.

"Ozpin, will the children ever be ready for this war? Ready to win it?"

"I hope so, as much as I wished they would not have to be."

As the elevator took Ironwood to the ground floor Ozpin turned to the board for the bet. As much as he wanted to win that bet he was kind of hoping that he had bet on the wrong outcome. For all the Arc boy's shortcomings he was arguably probably one of the schools best tacticians. And he was showing more and more promise by the day.

Those were qualities that would be needed in the times to come. But before that Ozpin would be able to trust the boy.
The most recent developments and information Ozpin had received about Arc was not encouraging.

There simply wasn't any information about him that Ozpin didn't already have. Glynda had spoken of Arc's dream Journal but Ozpin had not been able to get anything useful out of it.

He had reached out to all of his contacts in order to find even the faintest trace of a clue of what was going on.
It had turned up nothing so far.
Ozpin thanked his lucky star that Arc had not done anything suspicions. As far as Ozpin knew, that is.

Not that Ozpin would ever admit it but he did not know of everything that happened at his school. Arc's and Nikos' most recent activities were unknown to him and they would remain as such. No one from JNPR would speak of the matter if any of them were confronted. And why would anyone do that when no one knew of what had happened?
While Ozpine had wondered as to how Arc had suddenly gained the prowess to best all of CRDL on his own he had just attributed that to Arc's training with Nikos. Surely anyone would improve greatly under such guidance.

Ozpin let the matter of Arc go for now as he had other things that took up his time. More important things.