I am glad so many of you enjoyed the Warp chat in the last chapter. it was quite fun to write but for those who did not get it: look up TTS.
Question is: how will that affect the rest of the story? Keep reading the story to find out.

Librarian Amaretto thought he and his battle-brothers might have been around the Lamenter for a bit too long. The Lamenter's melancholy and cynic worldview seemed to be rubbing of on the Blood Angels.
It was understandable. During these last few weeks the Lamenters Luck seemed to afflict all who made up the now joint-expeditionary force. The mood was not helped by the rest of their company as the expedition had been joined by a third group.

Some time ago they had been joined by a force of astartes from the Flesh Tearers chapter, a second founding chapter descending from the same legion as the Blood Angels.

The Flesh Tearers were on the same quest as the Blood Angels and the Lamenters.
Once Amaretto had been able to establish contact with the Flesh Tearers vessel that had been the first thing he had confirmed with the same poem as with the Lamenters.

It had been pure coincidence that the Flesh Tearers had ended up so close to the other vessels as it had made the jump from the warp. Or was it pure luck?
If so it was a welcome change from the Lamenters Luck.

It was luck but only for the Flesh Tearers. When the Lamenters and Blood Angels had reached the new arrivals' vessel they were met with a solemn sight.
Amaretto had told his battle-brothers of what he had seen when he had reached out to the vessel with his psychic powers but that did not improve the situation.

Once they had reached the vessel was it made apparent just how bad the situation was.
The Flesh Tearers had under the influence of the Red Thirst butchered their mortal serfs until only a few remained and they were in poor conditions. Not to mention several Battle-Brothers had turned on each other and were now stuck in the Medicae.

The mortals had manage to bring the vessel back to real space while their masters rampaged in a blood rage.
But the price for success had been high. All those dead had tried to buy precious moments for their comrades with their lives to get them all out of the warp before it was too late.
It had not been a complete success. The Flesh Tearers' navigator had been slain and her blood drained.

Amaretto ordered Apotechary Deon to look after those mortals that still lived once he had assisted in the treatment of the wounded astartes, trusting in the Apothecary's skill in handling mortals to keep them calm.

Whilst Deon was handling that did Amaretto decided to investigate how this had come to pass.
He already had a solid idea but it would be sloppy not to confirm it.

The Flesh Tearers had set out around the same time as the Blood Angels and the Lamenters and travelled the warp like the other two.
But when the thirst had set in the Flesh Tearers had decided to remain in the warp in hope of reaching their destination before the thirst became too much for them to bear.
By the time the Thirst had subsided the vessel had exited the warp.

The problem was that unlike the Lamenters or Blood Angels, the Flesh Tearers had not sealed away their serfs. And then the Thirst had gotten the better of the astartes. Out of all the mortals that had been brought along only a handful were still alive.

Amaretto was contemplating the possibility of this tale being true.
The Blood Angels had felt the pull of the Thirst weaken weeks ago. He knew that travel through the warp could lead to temporal displacements but was that the case for the Flesh Tearers.

A word with the Lamenters settled the matter as their chapter knew more of warp displacement than most others.
According to the Lamenters it was 'fortunate that the Flesh Tearers had not strayed further from their journey'.

But the state of the now blood-smeared vessel had left the joint expedition in a bind.
What to do with their brothers?
It had been decided after long arguments were practicals were weighed against each other, honours were questioned and old ties were brought back to light until it was decided that the Flesh Tearers would not be left on their own in the void.

But this meant that the expedition had been delayed even further.
The Flesh Eaters' mortal crew had to be supplemented by mortals from the other vessels.

The Lamenters had been reluctant to offer any of their mortals to the Flesh Tearers' care after what happened to their own.
The Flesh Tearers, voiced by a irate marine named Skoraen, had on the other hand demanded the complete surrender of the Lamenters' serfs as they viewed their yellow-clad brothers to be undeserving of surfs. All because they were of the cursed founding.

That had only caused more tension between the forces and it also set the tone for the rest of their collaborations.

The Flesh Tearers then kept on berating the Blood Angels for associating with members of a cursed founding chapter.
When he Lamenters' patience finally ran out they had almost called the Flesh Tearers a pack of madmen fit only for the World Eaters.
Almost.
Such words would have lead to another bloodbath had it not been for Apothecary Deon's timely intervention.

This had been the point when the Blood Angels had stepped in between the two opposing chapters, intending on preventing anymore bloodshed that served no purpose.
Amaretto and his battle-brothers had been forced to step up and act as a middle men.

They reprimand those who were causing trouble and bluntly asked how their Primarch would react seeing them bicker like children.
Arguably, the Angel would have assigned them far away from anything meaningful.

That had worked.
Astartes knew no fear but they did know shame.

"Tell me brother, where did you learn such rhetoric?" had Deon asked once the situation had been diffused.

"I once met one of the sons of Dorn. It was an enriching experience. Surely you have heard of the Hero of Helsreach."
Deon had simply nodded at that. Who hadn't heard of that Templar?

As soon as the Flesh Tearers' crew had been bolstered by mortals from those of the Blood Angels and the Lamenters the journey had continued if a bit slowly due to the lack of navigator on the Flesh Tearers part.
Not that it would have made much difference. The astronomicon was going dark more and more frequently and the warp grew ever more hostile.

Eventually representatives from all three chapters came together to discuss the possible quarry of their quest.
It did deserve contemplation. They were expeditionary forces from three successor chapters of the IX legion and none of them believed in coincidences.
Lamenters Luck they could believe in but not in coincidence.

"A sign that this stems from the legion of old. An uninterrupted line of geneseed that made its way to all of us?" had Deon suggested. After all, the most common ancestor they all shared was the Angel.

"Indeed, this goes deeper than we had previously dared to believe." said Furion as he kept his eyes on his counterpart from the Flesh Tearers.

Skoraen snorted.
"Surely you do not suggest that it could be the primarch? His body rests in the Golden Sarcophagus on Baal."

"What else could it be? Brothers, the writing is on the wall. We all, Blood Angels, Flesh Tearers and Lamenters alike have felt this. We all carry the gene-seed from the legion of old. We can all trace our line to the legion, straight to our primarch."

"Enough! We shall pursue our quarry and get answers. Until then I suggest you seize with these foolish thoughts." had Skoraen shouted.

After his and his brothers' failure to not enter the abyss of the Red Rage he was not too keen on the prospect of meeting his gene-father.
But there was still a bit of hope in him, a wish to reunite with the Angel. To see if he would still deem them to be his sons.

Before they could continue their debate they were interrupted by a serf bearing news.
The astronomicon shone again. Their journey could continue.

"Autch!"

Jaune jerked in his seat as he had tried to sit upright again. He held back a few swear words. If Goodwitch caught him swearing in her classroom he would have detention for sure.

His back stung like it had been through a thornbush.
The ointment Ren had given him had barely taken the edge off the itching and having to sleep on his back had made his back ache. Combining this with the fact that he had had nightmares again one could understand why he was a bit grumpy today.

It had been the flying-in-Vale-dream again.
It was maybe not a nightmare per say, but he had still awoken with a jolt that night.
For he had dreamt of him flying straight into a window.
A sense of déjà vu came over him.

The most important reason he was grumpy was his back, no doubt about that. He just couldn't figure out why it hurt.

Ren, bless his heart, had promised to mix up something even stronger for it. He and Nora would later that day venture into Forever Fall and gather some herbs and plants for it and maybe a jar of sap. Nora had a sweet tooth again.

"Yikes, like someone is poking at my shoulder blades with a rock." muttered Jaune and adjusted his stance in order to relieve his back a little.

Maybe he should get it looked at? Maybe the fangs as well?
He hesitated with that, wanting to keep it to as few as possible.

He furrowed his brow. Did they have something to do with the dreams and the memories?
He couldn't remember all of his past life. Mostly just snippets and tiny bits that he had been trying to put together.
The Thirst he knew came from Sanguinius' life but the rest? He didn't know. There were huge gaps in his memories and they were only slowly filling up.

"Any idea why it hurts?" asked Pyrrha.

"Not really. Maybe it is because you keep knocking me on my back all the time when we train." he joked, making her laugh a bit.

"I mean, I know I asked you to knock me down less on my ass but that didn't mean you should start going for my back exclusively. Why not mix it up once in a while? I mean, I have a perfectly squishable face, you know."

She giggled. "Oh stop it, you. I'm pretty sure your mom would haunt me to the ends of Remnant if I harmed your handsome face."
He really had gotten more handsome as of recently but he himself seemed oblivious to it.

Pyrrha calmed herself as professor Goodwitch stepped forward.
"All right students, enough talking. Combat class is now in session. Any volunteers for today's first match?"

There was the typical murmur in the class. No one really wanted to go first but Goodwitch still insisted on asking for volunteers. But today someone actually raised their hand.

"I volunteer." said Mercury Black, a silver haired boy. He was a exchange student, attending Beacon for the Vytal Festival. Jaune did not really know him but Team RWBY had talked with him and his teammates Emerald and Cinder once or twice.

"Good, I was wondering if I would have to handpick a participant." said Goodwitch. "Do we have another volunteer?"

"Actually professor, I was wondering if I could face the Champion. Would that be possible?"

"I suppose. Miss Nikos, would you be so kind?"

"Of course." Pyrrha said as she got up from her seat.

"Try not to knock him on his back as well." joked Jaune, knowing full well that she would work him to the bone for that remark. Pyrrha masked her reaction well though.

"I will see what I can do." she said while she thought up how to managed Jaune's training later.
Oh yes, Jaune would be worked to the ground and into the ground for that little remark.

'Of course Pyrrha would accept.' thought Jaune. 'She is not one to refuse a challenge or an opportunity to help others get better.'
She was great that way.

The two combatants took their places, flexing limbs, rolling shoulders and getting ready.

"Thanks for agreeing to this little spar. I just wanna see if all the stories are true."

"Not a problem and we will see." Pyrrha raised her shield and readied Milo.

Mercury on the other hand was unarmed but from his stance he seemed to be a melee-purist at first glance, clearly favoring kicks. That was until one noticed his very special boots.
They were heavy, obviously modified and spotted with dust-marks. At a few spots one could see the material stretching outwards like something had burst from their insides.

'Weapons incorporated into boots, inventive.' thought Jaune and compared it to Horus' lightning claw from his dreams.

Reaching into Sanguinius' memories he remembered that the claw had been a formidable weapon, able to do effective melee and ranged attacks.
The memory hurt and that was one of the reasons why he hadn't dived completely into Sanguinius' memories yet. For Sanguinius had not died well or painlessly.
Sanguinius wouldn't have been scared of the memories but Jaune was still Jaune, not some demigod.

The match began and Pyrrha leapt forward, going for the first blow.
To go for the first blow was to set the pace for the engagement.

There was a truth to that and more. By reading and understanding your opponent well enough one could rob them of their freedom of choice, limit their options and gradually box them in.

Mercury however did not let her get the first strike. He leapt up into the air and let out a kick for Pyrrha's weapon, blocking the attack with his boots and used its force to get some distance. Pyrrha did not let up and followed him.

She stabbed for Mercury again but he deflected it with a kick upwards. This however exposed his leg and Pyrrha took the opportunity to push him off balance. With a nudge from Akuo he pushed away Mercury's leg, rotating him around his centre of gravity, hoping to exposed his unguarded side to her.

In a moment of cunning Mercury let her push him and even aided her in spinning himself around. With a little extra push he got himself spun around more than Pyrrha had planned. Instead of being made wide open he instead got into a good angle to kick with his other leg. It looked like it would hit Pyrrha but it missed somehow.

Pyrrha stepped back to avoid Mercury's next attack. It seemed like the instant one of his feet touched the ground it wound spring into action, either to attack or to move him into a better position to attack from.

For Jaune it was clear that he tried to set the pace but his attacks kept missing. And while he kept missing Pyrrha was waiting for an opening.
'Just like in training.'

'Any moment now.' Jaune thought as Pyrrha redirected a kick with Milo, forcing Mercury to changed his pattern.
'Not yet.' A knee was deflected with Akuo followed by a stab, forcing Mercury to step back.
'Now.'

A jab with the sword, a feinted shield bash followed by a low blow with Milo to Mercury's hip. All executed flawlessly and without hesitation.
The gray haired boy yelped. He had not expected that. Nor did he expect the shield bash that he got to the face after that.

"I yield! I have had enough!"
Mercury held his hand up in surrender.
"I guess the stories really are true. Who would have thought?"

"Tsk."
Goodwitch stepped forward.
"You are too quick to give up. You could still have held out quite a while. Your aura has not even dropped to the yellow."

"No offence, professor, but I just wanted to see where I stand in comparison to the Champ. I know when I'm outclassed."
He turned to the audience, gesturing to Jaune.
"Like, uh, Arc suggested, I would just end up on my back."

This got some laughs from the students as that probably would have happened. It did for most people who faced "The Invincible Girl" Pyrrha Nikos.

Pyrrha sat down next to Jaune and noticed that he was not happy. Not angry or sad, but certainly not happy. Concerned maybe?
"Something on your mind? Something about the match?"

"Yeah. Goodwitch was right. He gave up too easily."

"Oh?"

"He quit just as you started using your semblance on him." whispered Jaune.

Now, Pyrrha did use her semblance quite often but most of her opponents did not notice it in the heat of battle. Jaune however had observed it as a third party and had experienced Pyrrha using it against him during training.
It was easy to figure out once you knew what to look for, no matter how subtle Pyrrha was at using it.
And if even Jaune, reborn primarch or not, had been able to notice it then what about others?
"He was looking for something."

Pyrrha shook her head, figuring that Jaune was overthinking it.
"No, this is rather common for me actually."

"Really?"

"Well, it happens, people wanting to see if I am up to stuff. Nothing to worry about."

"... Right. Sorry, I sometimes forget some people care more about your rep than me. Can't help but be careful with my partner."

"He, no worries."

In the corner of his eye Jaune could see Cardin and his team looking in Mercury's general direction. A closer look revealed that it was not Mercury they were looking at but rather his teammate, Cinder.

Jaune had noticed of CRDL's sudden newfound interest in raven haired girls but this was not going to end well for them.
'She is more than you can handle, boys.' thought Jaune to himself as he looked in her general direction.

Now, Jaune could not blame Cardin and company for their interest in Cinder.
She was gorgeous. She had long, lush hair, perfect skin and a face like a seductress from hell.

If that was not enough to make heads turn, she had legs and she knew how to use them. If a boy in Beacon had lost his belt for his pant he had only to look at Cinder walk to keep them from falling down. It was more than a match for the critically acclaimed Bella-booty.

And her voice. Dust, she knew how to drive a man crazy with it.

But for all her beauty and allure, Jaune did not find her appealing.
She was something to be admired from a distance, if admired at all.
'She is dangerous.'
If Jaune had to say why he he felt so he would call it a gut feeling. No, it was more like a thought in the back of his head telling him to stay clear of her.

As he was looking at her she noticed him. She gave him a smile that would have made the rest of the boys at Beacon jealous had they noticed.
Embarrassed, he flashed her a smile in return. As he did he accidentally flashed his fangs as well.

Surprisingly she did not flinch at the sight of them. As if she was used to seeing worse. Still, she had a look of curiosity on her face.
Jaune turned away to watch the next match. For someone who had seven sisters, Jaune did not know how to deal with women like Cinder. Or women in general.

And speaking of women, Jaune had to meet up with Weiss later to meet a tailor she had hired.
Arrangements had been made for the tailor to come to Beacon in order not to disrupt the students' schedules too much.
The ball would take place in a week so the pressure was up. Jaune hoped that it would go smoothly as he had a training session with Pyrrha later.

"Well Mercury?"

Cinder turned her head to her subordinate Mercury. He and Emerald were sitting on the floor while Cinder was sitting on her bed in their assigned dorm.

"Her semblance is polarity. I could feel her steering my feet once she made contact with them." said Mercury, using his hands to mimic what he had felt during the match.

Emerald nodded.
"She is subtle. She uses it just enough to avoid other's attacks but not enough to really be noticable, making her seem invincible when her opponents can't land a hit."

Cinder chuckled. "Maybe so. Add her to the list."

"I'm sure you can take her." Emerald said.

"Maybe, but I am not one to take chances. Remember, it is not always about overpowering your foe but to strip them off their strengths. She may be a problem now but that can be worked around. There is still time."

Emerald nodded and with a few clicks on her scroll she added Nikos to the 'list'.
"Anything else Cinder?"

"Well, not really but I have a notion that our dear Champion seems to be rather fond of her team leader. They seem rather close but not like an item, at least not yet."

Cinder did not truly concern herself with men but she always looked around to see if any could be of use to her. Men tended to be easier for her to 'convince' than women.
This Jaune Arc had sparked her interest. But there was something about him that made her cautious.

Ever since she had seen him a tiny voice in her head had been telling her to be cautious of him.
Cinder thought it was her natural caution and instincts and they had rarely led her wrong before.

Emerald nodded.
"It's true that she take quite a bit of time out of her schedule to help him out with his training and he seems to look out for her. Is it of any significance?"

"My dear Emerald, it is a connection, a connection of the heart. And those can be exploited. Maybe if we "tug" these strings a bit she might be a bit more malleable to our purposes."

Mercury shrugged.
"Whatever. Did you see his fangs though? What is up with that?"

Cinder nodded at that. She had been aware of them since earlier and had looked into them. It had been curious to say the least. Her contacts had informed her that Jaune Arc was officially human, not a faunus.
"Indeed, they are an oddity and it would seem like he is accepted by the faunuses here at Beacon. Though that hardly matters. Our faunus "friends" do not hang out with the ones here."

"He still might matter, though." Mercury objected.
"From what I have heard he was a complete wimp when he got to Beacon. Seems like he thougened up quite a bit since then."

"Yeah, enough to take on CRDL on his own." Emerald agreed.
"That's why the faunus like him so much."

Cinder waved this away.
"As would be expected from someone trained by The Invincible Girl but as he is now he does not constitute a threat to us. Team CRDL is hardly a fitting measuring stick for people in our league. I doubt he will be an issue for our plans."

Cinder's lackeys nodded at this but the voice in the back of Cinder's mind disagreed. Her believed her instincts to be right.
'Heee neeeedsss to beee waaatched. Heee iisss dangerousss.'

Cinder believed in caution so she decided to heed this thought. Better safe than sorry, after all.
"But that doesn't mean we can't take an interest in him and maybe use him. Do keep an eye on him along with the others."

Emerald and Mercury nodded their agreement.

The voice in Cinder's mind kept telling Cinder that she had done the right thing.
'Gooood. Heee must not beee allowed to goo unwatched. Oppurtuunity wiiilll cooommeee...'

That was good. She would pursue this matter further then.

What Cinder never realized was that the voice did not originate from her cunning mind, but from somewhere else.
For all she knew it was she who was pulling the strings right now, that it was she who was scheming.

Well, almost.
Because the best scheme is getting others to scheme for you.

The bullhead set down on the landing area, letting its passengers off. Siwan Taillen was one of them.

He was a tailor, one of the best in Vale. Today he had a meeting with a client at Beacon. The Vytal festival ball was approaching and there was work to be done.

He politely refused a guide. He had been at Beacon before, but not as a student. He did in fact have a certain clientele at the school. There was the headmaster himself for instance and Coco Adel who sometimes needed to improve the fit of one of her clothes. Today Siwan's client was no other than Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC.

Siwan would have thought that such a girl would already have a dress. He simply figured it was a matter of a few minor adjustments.
'Probably to snag some handsome fellow off his feet' thought Siwan.
He was not against it, not at all. Especially as he would be getting paid well for his services.

As he neared the main building he recognized his client. Her white hair was a dead giveaway.

There was the customary greeting and a handshake.
It paid to be polite to the clients.

He was escorted to a slightly secluded room. Understandable as there would be measurements to be taken, not something every girl like to do where anyone could see her. He shut the door behind him and turned to his customer.

There was no dress for him to adjust.
Siwan did not even raise an eyebrow. The rich had their antics.

"Now then, miss Schnee, what can I do for you?"

"Not for me, but for him."
The heiress pointed out a young man standing by the rooms lone window. Siwan had noticed him earlier. He stepped forward and held out his hand for a handshake.

"Jaune Arc, a pleasure to meet you."

The boy had fangs but they were not like regular faunus fangs. They looked like they were sharp like needles. The tailor did not bring that up however, remembering to be polite.

"Siwan Taillen, tailor, at your service. Now what can I do for you?"

"I need a suit." said the boy.

Oh bollocks.
"For the ball, I take it?"

"Yes."

Siwan took a sharp breath. The ball was in a week's time. Making a tailored suit from scratch in such little time would take quite a bit of effort and he didn't have any laying around that he could scavenge.
"You do realize that is quite a tall order on such a short notice?"

"I am aware. This was not my plan. Had it been up to me I would have managed this matter differently."

"Well I suppose if I can cut a few corners if it is just for the ball."
Yes, that could work. Make it look decent on the outside, less so on the inside.
The young man seemed to agree.

Very good. If he could cut a few corners then The suit could be done in a few days.

Siwan's hopes of taking the easy route were crushed by Weiss Schnee.
"No. there will be no cut corners. You shall make him a full suit of the finest quality."

'Nooothing shooort of peeerfectioon will dooo fooor iiit iisss tooo show youuur wealth.'
Yes, this creation would be brought into the world by the riched of the Schnee family. It had to be perfect, thought Weiss.

"But miss Schnee, you must understand, there is so little time and I do have other customers."

"Do they pay anywhere near as well as I do?"

"Eh, no, but-"

"And there is your reason for making this your priority. If you do this well I will see if I can make you the tailor of choice for my family."

Tailor for the Schnee family? This was too good an opportunity to pass up. Siwan's apprentice would have to manage the other clients for now.
"Very well, Let's get started. Take of your hoodie, young man. I have measurements to take."

"Okay, but please try to hurry. I have a meeting soon." Arc said.

"Take your time. I will not expect anything else but perfection." the Schnee girl said with glee.

"Do what you must and remember: expense is not an object."

"This had better be worth it Weiss." Jaune muttered as Siwan began with his work.

The tailor had taken his time taking his measurements. He had measured, written things down, told Jaune to hold his arms differently, measured again, written down and- and-...

Needless to say it had taken longer than expected and The tailor would have to return and have Jaune try out the suit at least once before the ball. The tailor had seemed confident about his skill so there shouldn't be any problems.

Jaune jogged through the corridor.
'Damn Weiss for making me late. A rough fit would have been good enough for me but noooo, not for Weiss I'm-so-rich-I-write-my-reports-on-money Schnee!'

Jaune's protests had been for naught as it was Weiss who was paying for the suit.

He finally got to the roof. Pyrrha was already there. It seemed like she had been there for a while now.
"Sorry, I'm late." he said, trying to catch his breath.

"It's okay. Where have you been?"

"Having a talk with Weiss."

Pyrrha furrowed her brow.
"Didn't you go talk to her immediately after class? Why did it take this long?"

"Well, guess I got caught up in the moment." Jaune said, realizing that he had already said too much.

He was doing this so he could make the suit a surprise for Pyrrha. He couldn't mention the tailor so he needed a cover story.
"She was giving me dance lessons for the ball."

There was a slight twitch in Pyrrha's eyes but Jaune did not notice it as he was getting ready for practice.
Was Weiss helping him dance? Had he been caught up in the moment with Weiss? Why was she helping him and why had he allowed himself to be delayed by her?

'I'm just overthinking it. Jaune has promised to attend the dance with me. If he is as determined to dance well as he is to improve his skills then it makes sense that he would be a bit late.'

But then there was another thought in the back of her mind, full of doubt and treacherous ideas.
'Then whyyy doess hee not praactiiice wiith yoou?'

Pyrrha raised her shield. Getting ready.
"Were her lessons helpful?"

"Eh, maybe. She is not a really good teacher."

"And yet you kept practicing?"

"Well, it would be rude not to?"

That was possible, figured Pyrrha. But still, to put up with Weiss Schnee for that long?
'Isss hee up tooo sssomethiiing with heer?'

"Well, seeing as you are already warmed up, let's get started. Since your back still hurts a bit I suppose we can keep an easy pace today."

"Okay, let's begin."

What is this? Are the people of Remnant starting to hear voices? What could these voices be up to?