A/N: Well, the poll results are in. The Merlot plot line is… it was actually a tie between keeping it and scraping and replacing it with something else. For now though, it's not being completely discarded, just being put in the sidelines for now. We'll see how the rest of this story goes.
If I do scrap it completely… it'll be kind of awkward because I lost the original chapter files and I can't edit them out without retyping those entire chapters letter by letter… which honestly is a huge pain in the ass.
Anyway, here's chapter 24. Enjoy!
"And we are sure that this is all?" Ironwood asked.
"That is correct James," Ozpin said. The two of them, Qrow, and Glynda were in the headmaster's office going over a damage report from the dance. "Despite the small amounts of property damage, Glynda was able to fix it all relatively quickly. Thank you by the way, Miss Goodwitch."
"You are welcome for me repairing the more than numerous amounts of damage, Ozpin," she thanked and corrected him. Despite the damages being small, they were numerous and scattered everywhere across the school.
In actuality, the only serious incident happened at the CCT tower. A drunk Mistralian student had tried wandering in but a guard stopped her and wouldn't let her enter, no matter how hard she tried drunkenly flirting with them before passing out. The guard then drew a dick on her face with a permanent marker and now has latrine duty for a week.
"I'm just relieved this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Qrow remarked. "By the way, where did you find your arm?"
"Not important, and don't ask that again," Ironwood sneered in a way that told them whatever happened would die with him.
"Well, with that out of the way," Ozpin said, "despite the setbacks from this 'eventful' ball-"
"Oh it was eventful, wasn't it Ozzy?" Qrow wiggled his eyebrows.
Ozpin blushed. "Glynda, if he brings that up again throw him out the window."
"Yes sir," Glynda said a little too quickly and with a smile that made Qrow shiver.
"Anyway, despite some setbacks, we'll still set and all good with sending the students out on missions later today," Ozpin said. "I've even gotten the list of professors and huntsmen who will accompany them all ready to go."
Glynda blinked. Ozpin taking responsibility for and getting ahead on paperwork? Next you'll tell her the sky is green, Grimm make excellent pets, or that she'll marry a student... oh, wait.
"Well, thank you for staying ahead of the game Ozpin, I appreciate it," Glynda said.
"You are quite welcome, Glynda. Now, unless there's anything left to discuss, that will be all for now. Thank you all for your time."
Glynda was the first in the elevator, leaving the other three alone.
"So why did you work on the huntsmen team assignments by yourself?" Ironwood asked. "I thought multiple professors worked on it together."
"We do normally," Ozpin said, "but I felt Glynda could use a break for onc-"
"It was so Glynda wouldn't notice that she was getting paired with Jaune's team, wasn't it?" Qrow interrupted.
"... just spoil all the fun and surprise why don't you," Ozpin sighed. "I figured more time together will get those two more open with one another about their unusual situation."
"I still give it a year before they realize how this won't last long term and call it off," Ironwood said. "I still think you're a fool for betting they'd stay together."
"Call me a sucker for happy endings."
"I'm not complaining, more lien for me."
Teams JNPR and RWBY were having lunch together as usual. Everyone seems to have gotten over the shenanigans from the dance and put it all behind them… everyone but Blake that is. She's been looking at everyone with paranoia for the past few days. All Jaune was able to figure out was that it was related to a video that they took down. As curious as he was, he didn't pry further.
"Hey Pyr, you've been glued to your scroll all meal. Who are you texting?" Yang asked. Pyrrha didn't hear her, still smiling at her scroll. "Pyrrha?"
Nora leaned over and peaked at Pyrrha's scroll, and smiled. "She's looking at a picture of a boy with a little cock in his hands." Everyone's reactions varied, but everyone's wide eyes turned to the champion.
"WAIT WHAT NO!" Pyrrha jumped and screamed in embarrassment. "THAT'S NOT-" she paused when she realized her scroll flew out of her hands and slid to the center of the table. Yang quickly reached down and held it up for all to see,
It was a picture of a little farm boy, no older than Ruby. He was holding a baby chicken in his hand.
The table was silent. "Nora..." Ren said slowly.
"What? That is a boy. He has little chicken in his hands. Chickens are also called cocks. What did I say was wrong?" Nora shrugged her shoulders, not even trying to hide her mischievous grin.
"I hate you," Pyrrha punched Nora's shoulder and took her scroll back, her face growing redder by the second. "Hate you hate you hate you hate you hate you," she said with each punch.
"Who is that?" Weiss asked. "Is he a student here? I don't recognize him."
"No, his name is Oscar and he's a farmer from Mistral," Pyrrha explained.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Ruby asked.
"Yep," Pyrrha smiled as she typed a message to him.
"He looks cool, how come you never told us about him?" Ruby asked.
"Umm... " Pyrrha refused eye contact. "He's a… recent friend."
"How recent?"
"Since the dance recent," Nora said and received another punch to the shoulder.
"Oh? Tell us more oh great and wise Nora," Yang exaggerated with hand gestures as everyone else also grew a little curious. "Please give me more teasing material."
Pyrrha shot her teammate an 'I will break your spine if you speak' look, but it went ignored.
"Eh, I don't really know what you're looking for," Nora shrugged. "She just got a text from the wrong number, he apologized, and they just started talking."
As everyone looked back to the picture of the boy, only Jaune caught Nora winking at Pyrrha, who looked a little relieved. He wondered what that meant.
"That's still nice," Blake commented.
"So you say he's just a friend, but is he really?" Yang asked in her usual teasing way.
"No," Pyrrha denied, "just long distant friends and nothing else."
"You denied that a little too quickly there Pyr~" Yang's mischievous smile grew.
"Quiet you."
Jaune zoned out of the conversation in thought. He realized how all too familiar this felt when one of his sisters got caught liking a boy, all down to the teasing, denial, and siblings looking out for one another from mom and dad, just like how Nora just was. Jaune quickly put two-and-two together. Pyrrha and Oscar were close friends and have been for a while. If they aren't already bf/gf, then Pyrrha was crushing hard on him and failing to hide it. Thinking back to the picture of Oscar, the two of them would look cute together.
"Ok, so what if I do like him like that?" Pyrrha said as he zoned back into the conversation. "It's not like it's a problem that we're two years apart."
"Getting awfully defensive there Pyrrha," Yang teased, making Pyrrha's cheeks turn a shade of red darker.
Wow, how long was he zoned out that Pyrrha was practically admitting it now? And only a two year age gap? That wasn't even close to a problem, that was average. Hell, his mom and dad are two years apart, and he and Glynda are way beyond that.
"I don't think it's a problem. In fact, I think it great that you like someone like that. I hope it goes well for you," Jaune said honestly as he took a sip of water, causing him to miss the dumbfounded stares from six of his friends.
After a speech from Ozpin, all of the first-year teams went to a series of terminals. Jaune and many others were excited about this. They were going out on actual missions, going out to help make a difference in the world and prove just how far they've come. Jaune did feel a little nervous about this, but having Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora by his side made him almost feel bad for the Grimm. Almost.
However, they first had to overcome an obstacle: picking the mission. One would assume it would be an easy task, but sadly it was not.
"What about this one?" Pyrrha pointed to a mission listing.
"Patrol along the eastern agricultural districts," Ren read. "Sounds pretty nice."
"Not the most exciting sounding mission, but it would be cool to see the other parts of the kingdom. Any objections?" Jaune asked. All three of them shook their heads and Jaune went to accept the mission. As he did, the screen buffered for a moment, only to refresh and show the mission was accepted by another team a few minutes ago.
"Oh come on! That's the sixth one in a row," Nora grumbled with crossed arms. "All the missions will be gone at this rate."
"Don't worry Nora, we'll find something," Jaune reassured his teammate as he continued searching. "Say, what about this one? Extermination mission at-"
"I don't care, just pick it!"
"Ok, ok!" Jaune said quickly accepted the mission, and after a quick buffering, the screen displayed that they got it. "Alright guys, Team JNPR now has their first mission."
"Yes!" Nora raised a fist in the air as the Ren and Pyrrha smiled and nodded.
"Who will be our chaperone for this mission?" Ren asked.
"Good question," Jaune looked back at the screen. "Doesn't say who, just tells us which bullhead pad to head to."
"Guess we'll meet him or her there," Pyrrha concluded.
"Welp, no point in keeping them waiting then. Double-check to make sure we have everything before heading out," Jaune commanded.
After doing so, Team JNPR made their way outside to the air docks.
"So, what kind of huntsmen or huntress do you think we'll get?" Jaune asked.
"Hard to say, there are just so many possibilities of who we could get," Ren said.
"Maybe we'll get a professor?" Pyrrha chipped in.
"You think so? Won't they still be needed here?" Jaune asked. Now that he thought about it, there weren't that many huntsmen professors at Beacon. How did they deal with so many students almost effortlessly?
"Pyrrha could be onto something, look over there at team RWBY," Everyone followed Nora's finger. Dr. Oobleck was giving an energetic speech about a perilous journey and a fight for their lives. RWBY looked… less than excited.
"Ouch," Jaune said as he looked Team RWBY over. "They really don't like Oobleck."
"I mean sure he does talk a little too fast in class sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's not a capable huntsman," Pyrrha defended. No one could disagree with her.
"Well, I suppose it could be worse," Ren said.
"How so?" Pyrrha asked.
"They could have gotten Port," Nora answered.
"I really hope you didn't just jinx us," Jaune said as his mind pictured Peter putting the Grimm to sleep with his stories, and then decapitating their sleeping bodies... on second thought, that would be badass.
"I don't think so," Ren said as he pointed forward. "That's our ship, right?"
Jaune looked at the sign real quickly. "Yeah, this is ours."
"Then it looks like we have Miss Goodwitch as our chaperone."
"Wait, what?!" Jaune did a double-take as he looked to the ship. True to Ren's word, Glynda was there talking with the pilot. Oh god, his wife was his chaperone.
"Are you ok Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Wha- yeah, I'm fine," Jaune recovered quickly with a smile. Pyrrha's face showed she wasn't fooled.
"Jaune, please tell us what's wrong," Pyrrha half begged. "Does-"
"He's nervous being around her because he's still embarrassed about the time in class he was sent flying and got a face full of her boobs," Nora chimed in quickly.
"What?!" Jaune cried in embarrassment as he remembered that short, but an admittedly enjoyable moment.
"Oh… well, I suppose that would make sense," Pyrrha nodding in understanding, "but it was an accident. She without a doubt knows and understands that, Jaune. I'm sure she's over it."
"I…" Jaune sighed and gave in to the lie. "Yes, I am embarrassed but maybe you're right, thanks Pyrrha." He was a little uncomfortable with how easy lying to them was, but was it really a lie if he didn't say what he was embarrassed about? … ok, he'll admit being this ok with lying was becoming a problem. A necessary one, but he hated doing it to his friends. He still feels guilty about his transcripts.
"Just don't be afraid, I'm sure she was just as embarrassed as you were," Pyrrha said. They continued on their way to the bullhead. Jaune lagged behind a little and dragged Nora with him.
"What was that?" He whispered assertively.
"That was me covering for you," she whispered back. "You let your emotions slip, so I gave an explanation as to why. Not giving them one would have just been more suspicious."
Jaune thought about it for a second. Nora was right. "That is a good point. Sorry, and thank you."
"No problem. I promised to keep you and her a secret and I plan to keep that promise. Just don't sneak off with her during the mission, ok. I don't want to be an aunt yet." Nora then grinned a smug smile as she skipped ahead to Ren before Jaune could utter a comeback. He just shook his head with a soft smile as he went to catch up.
As they approached, Glynda only looked surprised to see them only for the briefest moment, but it was so quick and sudden that only Jaune caught it.
"Ah, Team JNPR," she greeted them all with a smile. "How are you all doing today?" Each gave a short one-word answer. "Good. Let's just cut to the chase. We're taking off in a few minutes. Make sure you have everything you need before we do."
Team JNPR did one last equipment check and soon they were in the air, on their way to a major step in their goal to be defenders of humanity.
Half an hour into the trip, his motion sickness seemed to start getting the best of Jaune. He was leaning forward looking down with his eyes closed. Pyrrha offered a comforting smile and rubbed his back, which seemed to help.
Glynda was jealous of the sight, believing she should be in Pyrrha's place but she was strong enough to hide her emotions.
"So, all of you know what's expected of you on this mission?" Glynda asked.
"Yes, we-" Jaune spoke but then stopped suddenly as he looked over his team. He then looked back at Glynda. "Uh... actually, we don't," he admitted sheepishly.
"You don't? Did none of you read the mission details before accepting the mission?" Glynda asked in slight agitation. She was more so mad that they made the same mistake she did when she was a freshman at Beacon. They were so excited to go on a mission that they skimmed the mission details and thus were unprepared for what they were tasked. They all made it back relatively fine though.
"It's my fault. Every time we tried to select a mission, it would buffer and reveal that someone signed up minutes beforehand," Jaune explained.
"It happened six times in a row," Nora added.
"Yeah, so the next mission we found I just immediately accepted. Sorry."
"No don't be, it's fine," Glynda said as she cupped her chin. "Though I do find that odd. The terminals should have automatically updated when a mission was taken. Could be a glitch in the system or something is wrong with the terminal. I'll look into it. So, none of you know what the mission is?"
"We know it's along the lines of quelling the Grimm population near a town, but nothing else," Ren said.
"That is the basics of it. Grimm have appeared in larger numbers near Liebling Perle. We are to exterminate every Grimm we can find in the surrounding area in a few days time." Glynda explained. "This is the most common kind of mission huntsmen and huntresses find themselves in, so after this things should start feeling familiar."
The students nodded and then Pyrrha raised her hand.
"Hold up a moment, did you say we're going to Liebling Perle?" she asked.
"Yes. However, I'm not very familiar with the town other than by name," Glynda admitted.
"My family traveled there several times for vacation before I started tournament fighting. It's a lovely place," Pyrrha said with a nostalgic smile.
"What can you tell us about Liebling Perle?" Nora asked.
"It's a small vacation town. Popular during the summer with their pools and beaches, but their biggest business all year-round are romantic getaways," Pyrrha explained.
"Romantic getaways?" Glynda raised an eyebrow.
"Yep," Pyrrha nodded. "I didn't pay attention to that at first, but knowing that explained why my parents disappeared a lot during our time there." Nora giggled as Jaune and Glynda locked eyes with one another before turning away in embarrassment.
The professor pondered a bit with that new information from Pyrrha. Was it really a coincidence that she was assigned to team JNPR, the team that had her husband on it? And that team JNPR couldn't pick any other mission besides this one because of a terminal glitch? And that the mission they were assigned to happened to be a town that was known for romantic vacations? Now that she thought about it, the hotel that was giving them room and board was named 'Aphrodite', after a fairytale of a goddess of love.
Glynda wasn't pointing fingers or anything, but she had a feeling Ozpin was in need of a few choice words when they returned.
Another hour passed.
"Ma'am!" The pilot called back. "We have a problem!"
"What's wrong?" Glynda stood up and rushed to the cockpit.
"That didn't sound good," Jaune said, voicing his teammates' thoughts as they all upholstered their weapons as they felt the bullhead accelerate. Glynda rushed back moments later.
"We're just outside of Liebling Perle but we spotted a large Grimm pack between us and the town," Glynda explained. "We're going to drop right in front of them and kill them all before they get any closer to the town."
Team JNPR all stood up, ready for anything. The bullhead slowed down and the side doors opened. Glynda lept out first and was followed by Jaune and the rest of his team. They all landed on their feet, facing different directions to clear the area as the bullhead took off.
"They're coming from the left, get ready," Glynda commanded. Team JNPR moved into a defensive position, but Jaune turned behind when he realized Glynda didn't move.
"Miss A- Goodwitch?" Jaune's head tilted to the side.
"This is your mission. Though I will intervene and provide assistance and aid if needed, I am merely here to observe you," Glynda said as she crossed her arms behind her back and offered a soft smile. "You four are among the best of the best at Beacon, some of my favorite students," she made eye contact with Jaune when she said that last part. "Now, go show the Grimm why that is."
The first Grimm came forward and roared angrily as they spotted them.
Jaune shouted orders to his team and they charged forward.
Sky Lark and Velvet Scarlatina snuck their way into Miss Goodwitch's office. While many students were sent away on missions, not everyone was sent out on the same day. Beacon just didn't have the resources to send everyone out at the same time.
"Let's make this quick in case someone comes," Sky said as they started rummaging through Glynda's office, careful to make sure everything looked exactly as it was before they came in. They looked through everything, trying to find anything about Glynda and Jaune's conspiracy against Ozpin's life. If they could find even the smallest piece of evidence, they could use it to warn Ozpin and bring them down.
"I can't find anything," Velvet said as she searched through draw after draw full of binders. "Should we check the computer? Or her room? Or-"
"Hey, I think I found something," Sky said as he pulled out a solid white binder. "This was hidden behind the bookcase, and it's unmarked."
"Every other one was marked, wonder why this one wasn't," Velvet thought out loud. Looking into Sky's eyes told her he was thinking the same thing.
They opened the binder.
A/N: And there we have it.
Just want to give a special thanks to my friends Kc4229 and Donkill for their contribution to this chapter.
Let me know what you guys think in the reviews. I'm very eager to hear what you think. Don't be afraid to PM me any questions if you have them.
Thanks again for reading, have a great day :)